Who Has the Biggest Kitchens?

Who Has the Biggest Kitchens?

For your remodeling clients, they may want to make sure they don’t end up making a kitchen too small compared to other homes in the area. However, the size of the kitchen may vary drastically by geographic location, home size, and home style, according to new research from the National Kitchen and Bath Association, in which researchers evaluated more than 3,000 home plans.

The average size of a newly built single-family home’s kitchen is 161 square feet, or just under 13 feet by 13 feet, the study shows. However, some regions tend to offer much bigger kitchens.

The Middle Atlantic region, which includes New York and Pennsylvania, has the largest average kitchen sizes at 170 square feet, followed by the South Atlantic, which includes Florida and the Carolinas, at 166 square feet, and the West-South Central region, which includes Texas, at 165 square feet. Meanwhile, the smallest kitchens may be found in the West-North Central region, which includes the Dakotas, at 153 square feet, the study shows.

While larger homes tend to have larger kitchens, the scale of the increased kitchen size is not proportion to the overall home, the report notes. Homes that have great rooms tend to have slightly larger kitchens, but only by an average of 5 square feet.

The study found that single-story homes tended to have kitchens with an average of 151 square feet. Kitchens in multi-level homes, on the other hand, tended to have kitchens that average 174 square feet.

Source: “Size of Kitchens in New U.S. Single-Family Homes,” National Kitchen and Bath Association (2016)

Have You Spent Too Much on Digital Ads?

Have You Spent Too Much on Digital Ads?

Real estate professionals are big spenders when it comes to advertising. They will spend an estimated $25.9 billion this year alone, according to the 2016 Real Estate Advertising Update by Borrell Associates, which tracks advertising data. The report includes results from the company’s survey of about 290 real estate agents and brokers about how they allocate their marketing dollars.

But advertising expenditures have fallen 6 percent since last year, and while real estate pros favor digital ads the most, agencies reduced spending in the digital realm by 8.5 percent this year, the report shows. It notes that practitioners may have committed too much money to digital and are now reallocating cash toward more traditional advertising avenues.

“We believe real estate advertisers — especially those involved with residential home sales — have perhaps overspent on digital and are now ‘adjusting the dials’ for a more appropriate advertising mix,” the report says.

Five of the 11 media categories measured in the report showed advertising growth since 2015:

• Directories: +84 percent
• Telemarketing: +20 percent
• Cable TV advertising: +12.7 percent
• “Other print”: +12.5 percent
• Radio advertising: +9.5 percent

Real estate professionals are still putting a strong emphasis on digital ads, particularly video. In 2016, agents and brokers spent 6 percent of their digital budgets — or $472 million — on streaming video advertising. Borrell Associates forecasts that in five years, agencies will spend 29 percent of their digital budgets — or $2.6 billion — on streaming video ads.

Twenty-two percent of all real estate advertising dollars is spent at the local level. Local spending will total an estimated $5.7 billion this year, with online media getting more than half of that amount. Here’s a snapshot of some of the local real estate ad spending estimates for 2016:

• Newspapers: 12.5 percent (local share)
• Other print: 5.1 percent
• Directories: 2 percent
• Broadcast TV: 6.1 percent
• Cable TV: 2 percent
• Radio: 5.2 percent
• Out of home: 1.9 percent
• Cinema: 5.7 percent
• Direct mail: 4.6 percent
• Online/digital: 53.4 percent
• Telemarketing: 1.4 percent

Overall, real estate professionals reported spending an average of $40,047 on advertising in the last year. Four in five agents, however, reported spending less than $2,000 a month on advertising. Here are some additional findings from the report:

• 76 percent of agents say their website is “mobile optimized”
• 88 percent have a social media page
• 62 percent are planning a “major” website change soon
• 64 percent have advertised on Facebook
• 32 percent have advertised on LinkedIn
• Twenty-nine is the average number of monthly calls they get from ad-sales reps
• Three is the average number of media companies they work with
• 58 percent of their digital ad budgets go to email and display
• 17 percent are buying mobile advertising
• 5 percent see mobile campaigns as a significant source of leads

Source: Borrell Associates

Debunk Your Buyers’ Top Fears

Debunk Your Buyers’ Top Fears

Home buyers may get a little anxious when facing the biggest transaction of their lives. Doubt starts entering and they may start second-guessing whether or not they are making a good move.

Realtor.com® recently featured some of buyers’ top fears during the home-buying process and how you can help ease their concerns, including fears of:

“I’m afraid I can’t afford a home.”

Some buyers believe they’ll have to empty out their savings account completely in order to buy a home. “There are many loan programs out there that can help first-time home buyers with down payment assistance or that don’t require a severed arm and leg in order to get a mortgage,” says Bill Golden, RE/MAX Metro Atlanta Cityside. Encourage them to talk with a loan officer about options.

“What if I buy a money pit?”

In reality, most homes aren’t money pits, and there’s a lot buyers can do to protect themselves against buying one too. Before buying, they can use a home inspector to help soothe some of their fears about getting a lemon. The home inspector should be trained to spot signs of water damage or electrical or plumbing problems. They also will advise on any possible repair costs.

“It’s just safer to rent.”

“Rent money disappears without allowing you to build any equity over time. That’s truly scary,” says Scott Forman, divisional vice president of Cross Country Mortgage. For many renters who are willing to pay about $100 a month more, they could own a home, he says — and receive tax deductions.

Source: “Terrified to Buy a Home? Your Top Fears Debunked,” realtor.com® (Oct. 25, 2016)

3 Marketing Excuses You Need to Dump

3 Marketing Excuses You Need to Dump

Do you find yourself making excuses when it comes to your marketing? When some of these excuses enter your head, try to control them, a new article at Forbes.com warns. Otherwise, you risk falling into the trap of becoming a lazy marketer.

This is what always has worked.

No two clients or listings will ever be exactly the same, so don’t treat them as such. You may instantly want to jump in autopilot mode for listing a home, but you may be missing a big marketing piece if you don’t consider each home through a different lens. Be willing to explore other alternatives and you may even get better results.

I can’t afford to try that.

You’re likely to be on a budget with your marketing. But make room for experimentation. “You don’t have to have a massive budget to try a ‘sample-sized’ version of a strategy,” writes Forbes columnist Jayson DeMers. “There are plenty of marketing strategies that can be executed with a simple investment of time.”

I don’t have time to learn that.

New technology can breed skeptics. But “taking the time to learn these things can ultimately save you even more time than you spent in the future, so always be open to trying it — and better managing your time so you can fit it into your schedule,” DeMers suggests.

Source: “7 Lazy Excuses Marketers Need to Stop Making,” Forbes.com (Oct. 20, 2016)

More Owners Are Remodeling: Be Their Guide

More Owners Are Remodeling: Be Their Guide

For your outreach to past prospects, you may want to talk home renovation. There are growing signs that it’s top of mind among more home owners lately, and they might need some advice.

Home renovation and repair spending are showing strong gains that are expected to continue into next year before then leveling off, according to the latest Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity, an index by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. Remodeling growth is expected to reach new highs in the third quarter of next year.

Annual growth in home improvement and repair expenditures is to surpass 8 percent by the second quarter of 2017, the index projects.

“Home owner remodeling activity continues to be encouraged by rising home values and tightening for-sale inventories in many markets across the country,” says Chris Herbert, managing director of the Joint Center. “Yet, a recent slowdown in the expansion of single family homebuilding and existing home sales could pull remodeling growth off its peak by the second half of 2017.”

Could your clients use some remodeling tips? Here are some resources to share:

• Remodeling Impact Report: What Pays Back the Most at Resale
• Outdoor Features That Offer the Biggest Returns

Source: Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University