Evansville, Newburgh IN Real Estate Blog

Real Estate Blog

Friday, January 04 2013

Building a new home exactly the way you’ve always wanted it may not be as unattainable as it might seem. To take the first step toward making any dream home real, you have to see if it’s practical: map out how much building it today would cost.

Start by nailing down your size requirement. Think of an existing home that feels right for your needs, and ask the owner for its square footage. Decide if you prefer a single or two-story structure, remembering that the smaller roof and foundation size makes a two-story new home less expensive to build.

Add-ons will add up. Make a list of any special features you consider important. While the difference between a standard tub and a $3,500 Jacuzzi tub for the master bathroom may seem unimportant, if you’re dealing with a 2,000 sq ft house, that kind of detail can swell the bottom line significantly. If you want any special materials or architectural details, note them, too (e.g., a rectangular-shaped new home will be simplest to build; holding depth to 32 feet or less will save costly roofing extras).

Now it’s time to contact several local new home contractors to ask for ballpark estimates. They will be able to give you their recent average cost per square foot -- and with the added details you’ve now gathered, they can make more a precise breakdown.

It’s best when building surprises come as no surprise, so most people with experience know to add 10 – 20% to the initial budget. Last-minute change orders and unforeseen problems are the most common overrun culprits.

Buying a lot and building a new home in Evansville can be a satisfying project for those with the patience to see it through. And for everyone else, today’s buying conditions are close to ideal– some of today’s best properties can be purchased for even less than the cost of building would be. If you are in the market, contact me to investigate the latest deals now being offered. You can reach me on my cell phone at 812-499-9234.

Posted by: Rolando Trentini AT 08:00 am | Permalink | 0 Comments | Email

Friday, January 14 2011

Homes are Getting Smaller, More Energy Efficient

Reporting from the 2011 International Builders Show, Erica Christoffer for HouseLogic

What do home buyers want today and in the future? The answer: smaller, more energy-efficient homes.

The average size of a new single-family home in 2010 was 2,377 sq. ft., down from 2,438 sq. ft. in 2009 and down from the peak of 2,520 sq. ft. in 2007 and 2008, according to U.S. Census Bureau data presented yesterday at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando by Rose Quint, assistant vice president of survey research for NAHB.

And the trend will only continue, Quint said, with the 2015 new home size currently projected at 2,150 sq. ft. with fewer bathrooms and smaller garages.

It’s hard to say whether home sizes will decline to 1970 levels of 1,500 square feet. But Quint says she believes smaller sizes are here to stay based on demographics. The U.S. population was 310 million as of April 2010. That’s expected to rise to 322 million in 2015 and up to 422 million by 2050. The population is also getting older and more diverse. In 2010, 25% were over the age of 55, which is expected to grow to 31% by 3050.

This rising segment of older home owners who won’t want to care for a huge space, Quint said, and then you have Generation Y buyers who are very energy conscious. “People are coming to realize, ‘Let’s buy what we need,’” said Quint.

The Census Bureau data matches NAHB’s findings that builders expect to build smaller homes with more green features in the next five years. Low-energy windows, water-efficient features, engineered-wood beams, joints, or trusses, and Energy-Star ratings for whole home are expected to be more prevalent.

Builders also expect an increase in living room size as well as more planning for universal design features with homes more easily adaptable for future improvements.

Jill Waage, executive editor with Better Homes and Gardens, also presented her magazine’s 2011 consumer preferences survey, which was taken the first week of December. According to Waage, the top three improvement priorities home owners want were a laundry room, additional storage, and a home office.

“The connection to outdoor living space is also really important,” Waage says.

Other trends included in the Better Homes and Gardens study: built-ins, media space for flat screen TVs and gaming systems, and areas wired for technology. Buyers also want combined kitchen, family room, and living room open space. Universal design features, she said, will be incorporated in much more subtle ways.

Posted by: Rolando Trentini AT 09:41 am | Permalink | Email

Monday, September 27 2010

What's New in New Housing Design

Here are the products grabbing the attention of the home building and remodeling industries, according to Bill Millholland, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Case Design/Remodeling in Maryland, and Jamie Gibbs, a New York-based interior designer:

· Appliance Drawers. Small warning drawers, modest-sized dishwasher drawers for small loads, refrigerator drawers and microwave drawers.

· Counter-depth refrigerators. Some are only 24 inches deep.

· Motion-detecting faucets. Like you'd find in the restrooms of businesses.

· LED (light-emitting diode) lighting. These are used under cabinets and in ceiling fixtures as a longer-lasting, more efficient alternative to compact fluorescent lamps and incandescent bulbs.

· Electric heated floors. A nice touch in bathrooms,

· Showers with multiple heads and body sprays. Bathtubs are out.

Source: The Washington Post (09/25/2010)

http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2010092705?OpenDocument

Posted by: Rolando Trentini AT 03:32 pm | Permalink | Email