Americans Want More Bathrooms at Home

Americans Want More Bathrooms at Home

The share of new homes started with three or more full bathrooms is on the rise. That also reflects builders’ focus on the higher-end, larger homes since the end of the Great Recession.

Twenty-seven percent of new single-family homes started in 2015 had three full bathrooms and 10 percent had four or more, Census Bureau data shows. Fifty-nine percent of homes had two full bathrooms and just 4 percent had one – or less.

The South Atlantic region of the U.S. has the largest share of new homes with three or more bathrooms at 42 percent. Other regions with the highest shares of three or more bathrooms in new-home starts included the Mountain region at 39 percent, Pacific region at 38 percent, and West South Central divisions at 38 percent. Meanwhile, the East North Central division had the lowest share of new homes with three or more bathrooms at 24 percent.

Source: “Bathrooms in 2015 New Homes,” National Association of Home Builders’ Eye on Housing blog (Oct. 6, 2016)

Pinterest Strategies That Drive Web Traffic

Pinterest Strategies That Drive Web Traffic

If you’re not already making Pinterest a part of your real estate marketing plan, you should probably reconsider. Many of your prospects already using the social platform and it’s proven to be a successful driver of website traffic. Whether you want to promote specific listings or want more people to check out your real estate blog posts, these strategies can help increase referrals to your website and make your real estate company more visible.

Go Biz or Go Home.

Setting up a personal Pinterest account is easy, but it might be worth it to switch to business account. Business accounts let users add more details like keywords to pins so they’re more likely to get in front of the right audience, and they get access to tips and tricks and comprehensive analytics.

Collaborate

Your Pinterest account can get in front of more eyeballs by just collaborating with fellow employees or including your network of past clients and advocates. On your blog you can make a call-to-action post asking for say, fall decorating or staging ideas and make a corresponding Pinterest board where people can pin and contribute their tips. Once you get a bunch of ideas, you can then write a follow-up post showcasing the best ones. Not only will you drive traffic but you’ll have new engaging content for your blog.

Analyze the Data

One thing that really drives traffic to your site: knowing what content your audience wants to see by tracking it using analytics. If you don’t have a Pinterest business account and have access to the analytics they provide, you can use Google Analytics to create specific tracking URLs. Also make sure you’re paying attention to the types of content that get the most likes and re-pins and adjust your website content strategy to include more of the well-performing content.

Here is my pinterest by the way.

Source: “Pinnable Pinterest Strategies for Every Website,” Website Magazine (Sept. 28, 2016)

Ways to Save Your Clients Money

Ways to Save Your Clients Money

One of the biggest lessons prospective home owners need to learn is how to budget for the costs of home ownership, but many of your buyers may be too quick to dole out extra cash for certain conveniences or frivolous items. You can teach them where to cut gratuitous spending on their home by helping them set priorities. Here are five cost-saving tips to pass along to your clients.

Don’t call maintenance professionals for small fixes. A leaky toilet, for example, is a pretty simple repair your clients can do on their own — which will save them the typical $45 to $150 per hour for a house call. Direct them to YouTube tutorials, which cover most basic home repairs. If they’d rather call in an expert, share this secret: Small, local appliance shops usually have their own repairmen who charge much less than maintenance companies.

Extended warranties aren’t worth it. Most appliances and other home products are high-quality and won’t need a major repair before it comes time to replace them, according to Consumer Reports. So tell your clients the added protection of an extended warranty is rarely useful. They’d be better off stashing the cash in a savings account for future home repairs.

Why replace older appliances with newer models just for modern perks? Your clients won’t necessarily get the best ROI on an oven that talks or remote access to their air-conditioning system if their current units are sufficient enough. “Spend $1,000 on a new, energy-efficient stove and it could take 10 years of energy savings to offset the cost of the new stove,” Arthur Teel, owner and operator of The Handyman Plan in Asheville, N.C., told HouseLogic. Tell your clients to only replace what doesn’t work anymore.

LED bulbs do make a difference. Incandescent bulbs may be cheaper buys, but they are harder on energy bills. Your clients would be better off replacing their bulbs with LEDs, which can recuperate their cost in about a year. But they don’t have to do it in one fell swoop. To stagger the cost, tell buyers to replace incandescent bulbs as they burn out.

Trash or give away unused items instead of putting them in storage. At an average cost of $50 to $300 for a storage unit, do your clients really need to hold onto things they can’t fit in their home? Help them learn to let go, or give them ideas for reorganizing their home’s storage, such as cleaning out closets or building window seats with drawers.

Source: “7 Household Expenses You’re Probably Wasting Your Money On,” HouseLogic

Reduce Buyer Panic Over Rising Home Prices

Reduce Buyer Panic Over Rising Home Prices

With several recent reports showing a sizeable jump in housing prices — anywhere from 5 percent to 6 percent in annual gains — you may be encountering more buyers who are worried that they’ll soon be unable to afford a home.

The National Association of REALTORS® recently reported that the median existing-home price nationally in August rose 5.1 percent from the same time a year prior; the Case-Shiller Home Price Index in July showed prices rising 5.1 percent over a three-month period compared to a year earlier; and the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s purchase-only index showed home values rising 5.8 percent. As if that wasn’t enough to rattle budget-conscious buyers, CoreLogic released a report Tuesday showing annual home-price gains at 6.2 percent.

“Housing values continue to rise briskly on stronger fundamental and investor-fueled demand, as well as lack of adequate supply,” says Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “This continued price appreciation is contributing to a growing affordability crisis in many markets around the country.”

CoreLogic’s report showed that the states with the biggest price gains were Washington (+10.2 percent), Oregon (+10.3 percent), Colorado (+9.1 percent), and Florida (+7.6 percent).

However, you need to reassure your buyers that these reports don’t give the complete picture and shouldn’t be considered evidence of their ability — or lack thereof — to purchase, says realtor.com® Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke. After all, “given the unique nature of homes and how prices are determined through negotiations between buyers and sellers, reports on home prices are, at best, background context,” he notes.

Realtor.com® recently highlighted the differences in how the indexes compute their findings. The article can help you address any concerns from your clients on how those numbers were calculated and what they really mean.

Source: “Home Prices Heat Up: Crisis and Opportunity,” CNBC (Oct. 4, 2016) and “Watching U.S. Home Price Trends? They Probably Don’t Apply to You,” realtor.com® (Sept. 29, 2016)

Reasons to Buy a Home Now

Reasons to Buy a Home Now

The fall may be notorious for a slowdown in the housing market. But for home buyers that shouldn’t mean they should go to an early hibernation. For home shoppers, the fall likely will be the best time to buy.

Realtor.com® recently highlighted several reasons why the best time for your clients to buy is right now:

1. Lower home prices.

October can offer the best month for home deals, according to research by RealtyTrac of more than 32 million home sales over the last 15 years. In October, home buyers paid 2.6 percent below the estimated market value at the time for their homes, the study shows. In other words, on a $300,000 home, they could save $7,800 by purchasing it in October.

2. Less competition.

The home buyer rush from the summer days is over. Home shoppers this summer who were rushing to find a home before school started have already found one. Fall home buyers will have less competition. “Many folks will drop out of the market until after the new year,” says Bill Golden of RE/MAX Metro Atlanta Cityside.

3. More leverage.

Home sellers in the fall may be more pressed to sell. They are “generally people who need to sell, which can make for better negotiations for the buyer,” Golden says. The longer a home lingers, the more negotiating power the buyer likely will have. Plus, some sellers may want to get settled in their new home before the holidays and have more incentive to make a deal sooner rather than later.

4. Year-end tax credits.

Home buyers who close on a home by the end of the fiscal year may find a nice tax deduction awaiting them on April 15. They may be able to deduct closing costs, property tax, and mortgage interest to offset their taxable earnings.

Source: “7 Reasons Fall Might Just Be the Best Time to Buy a Home,” realtor.com® (Sept. 30, 2016