March 15, 2016 by changescapeweb

Trendiest U.S. Cities

St. Louis in Top Ten Trendiest Cities

Did you know St. Louis MO is in the top 10 trendiest cities in the U.S.?

According to Realtor.com, St. Louis Missouri is one of the top 10 trendiest cities in the United States.

Whether it’s the top notch restaurant and music venues, the Bluesweek Festival every spring, or the median home price of $145,000, St. Louis has much to offer the millennials just starting out, or those already established. They even have Filipino blue crab ceviche in Tower Grove East.

You can read the complete article here.

February 19, 2016 by changescapeweb

Aging in place requires forethought

Housing needs change as people age

Wheel Chair Accessible Entrance

Look around your house. Is there a step at the front door? Are the hallways wide enough for a walker or wheelchair? How about the doorknobs: Do you have to twist them, or can you simply push down on them to open the door? Maybe those home features don’t matter now at this point in life. But what might you need 10, 20, 30, 40 years from now to get around your house? Your housing needs will change as you age.

The Clark County Commission on Aging aims to get people thinking about these forward-looking questions. Aging in place, and other issues related to housing and getting older, will be discussed at monthly talks held by the commission through the end of this year. To start, Alan DeLaTorre, a Portland State University research associate, will talk Tuesday about what housing options are needed for the increasing number of older people.

Modifications

A lot of the new developments Ritchie sees popping up are stacked homes on smaller lots. A multi-story house could work for somebody for a while, but down the road maybe they develop a knee problem, or perhaps they have to use a walker, and the home needs to be retrofitted.

“How do you make those modifications and how do you do it economically?” Ritchie said. Chuck Frayer, a 65-year-old retired accessibility specialist with the U.S. Forest Service, chairs the Commission on Aging’s housing committee. The group has looked into building codes, universal design and what’s being done around the country for those who are trying to age in place.

The Little Details

When Ivan Olin’s pastor at Crossroads Community Church, Ritchie, said he should look into building accessible homes, he listened. Olin Homes has refined its design and has two ADA-compliant homes in its Battle Ground subdivision, Parkview Trails, with two more under construction.

Olin consulted with the Commission on Aging to figure out what basics should be in a home and what could easily be added as people move through different life stages. There aren’t grab bars in the bathroom, but extra backing in the walls means they could be installed later. After all, young families may not like the idea or look of grab bars when shopping for a new home. People can recoil at the idea of buying an accessible home, which comes with the stigma that it’s an “old-person home.”

“People don’t like to talk about it,” Olin said. “That makes it tricky as a builder to do advertising.”

To read the full article, follow this link: https://www.columbian.com/news/2016/feb/15/clark-county-series-talks-offers-tips-aging-in-place/?om_rid=AAB4gB&om_mid=_BWw3-FB9K08jd$&om_ntype=SRESMonthly

January 29, 2016 by changescapeweb

What Will Homes Look Like in 10 Years?

The themes expected to shape the future of residential home design, according to a recent American Institute of Architects (AIA) report are accessibility, automation, conservation, health and safety.

Homeowners have indicated a strong preference for functionality, accessibility and sustainability over the last ten years, and architects expect that to accelerate, with increasing demand for healthy building materials and furnishings, along with designs that provide measures of resistance to weather-related calamities.

The themes above will inform the following major design trends in the next 10 years:

1. Technological Integration

2. Non-Toxic Materials

3. Disaster-Proof Design

4. Energy-Efficiency

5. Aging-in-Place Plans

6. Open-Concept Living

7. Outdoor Space

8. Home Offices

9. Infill Development

10. Urban Characteristics

For more on this article follow the link: https://rismedia.com/trg/22387/1067572/37037704/84628?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email

P.S. Real estate is not slowing down yet this Winter! Homes are selling fast and for the highest prices in years! It is never too late to put your home on the market or for buyers to call me to discuss the Winter market. Don’t miss out on your Dream Home, interest rates are still below 4%. Call me today for details!

December 1, 2015 by changescapeweb Leave a Comment

Why you shouldn’t wait for spring thaw to buy a home; The secret strategies of pricing

Now that the U.S. has regained its job-creation mojo, as the October employment report showed, the demand for housing is only going to grow.

After all, when people have jobs they can break off and form new households—ditching the roommates behind or finally moving out of Mom and Dad’s basement—and that’s what fundamentally drives home purchases.

Most of the households created over the past two years have been renting households, but based on U.S. Census data for the third quarter of this year, it appears that homeownership has started to recover.

This especially makes sense now that it is cheaper to own than rent in more than three-quarters of the counties in the U.S. And it’s not getting better— rents are rising year over year at twice the pace of listing prices. Meanwhile, mortgage rates remain at near record lows but appear poised to increase over the next year. And home prices are rising, too.

So if you qualify for a mortgage and have the funds for a down payment and closing costs—and if you intend to live in a home long enough to cover the transaction costs of buying and selling—you will be better off financially if you buy as soon as you can. After all, if you are tired of your current home now, you won’t feel better about it in six months.

The top factors driving home shoppers this summer were pent-up demand and recognition of favorable mortgage rates and home prices. These drivers will likely remain well into next year.

Yet demand for housing is extremely seasonal. In most markets in the country, we are conditioned to believe that we should buy homes in the spring and summer. So come each October, plans to purchase shift to the spring. While the school calendar and weather do influence the ideal time to move, many buyers would benefit from buying this fall and winter rather than waiting until next spring.

In October, the percentage of would-be buyers on realtor.com® saying that they intend to buy in seven to 12 months was the highest it has been all year and represented the largest time frame for purchase. Likewise, October produced the lowest percentage of would-be buyers saying they intend to buy in the next three months.

In other words, people’s stated plans point to a very strong spring for home sales. Great, right? But here’s the problem: Inventory isn’t likely to be higher in March and April than it is now. And while inventory should grow in late spring and into summer, it won’t grow as fast as the seasonal demand.

So, if you are ready, consider getting in the market now instead of early spring. You will have more choices and less competition, and you can lock in today’s rates rather than risk rates being 25 to 50 basis points higher. (A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.)

A 50 basis-point increase in rates (for example, from 4.05% to 4.55%) would cause monthly payments to be 6% higher. And that increase would not only affect your monthly cash flow but could also affect your ability to qualify.

So if you are considering buying a home this spring, it’s worth exploring the inventory now and reaching out to a local Realtor®. A new home could be the best gift you give yourself and your family this holiday season.

For more on this article from Realtor.com https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/reasons-to-buy-a-home-this-winter

P.S. Real estate is not slowing down yet this Fall! Homes are selling fast and for the highest prices in years! It is never too late to put your home on the market or for
buyers to call me to discuss the Fall & Winter market. Don’t miss out on your Dream Home, interest rates are still below 4%. Call me today for details!

November 11, 2015 by changescapeweb Leave a Comment

A Handyman can Help in Improving your Home

You can find a number of home owners who never consider home renovation and eventually the time comes when the property is needed to be sold. This might be because the home owners become desensitized to their living conditions and are no longer interested in improving them. The other reason might be the load of budget and the home owner is unable to afford it. This might be the biggest reason as majority of people do want to have changes but it is not very easy to get the changes done. The one and the only solution to this problem is to hire a handyman who is expert in performing different jobs for repairing home. These are expert in their jobs and are able to perform everything quickly and efficiently. The best thing about hiring the handymen is that they are very reasonable and can do your jobs as per your desire. They can belong to any background but they are skilled and can perform occasional repair works and renovations. They can be retired plumbers, carpenters or they can be teachers who are performing these jobs as a side business. Although they do perform small jobs like carpentry and other such odd jobs since many years and as a result they become quite efficient and expert in their profession.

It is also a good thing that you do hire some skilled handyman for your home repairs and then you can call them anytime when you have some work at your home. By keeping on calling the same person for your help, he will also get to know about your home and its system. As a result, they will know how to handle the job and fix many different things and will do it effectively and quickly. It will not be wrong to say that such a handyman will act like a property manager for you. It is also possible that you might have some jobs at your place which is sometimes not manageable by them and they can inform you that you need some other expert advice or help. Although these odd job men are very expert and professional but still there are many jobs that are not the cup of tea for them. Not only they can suggest you which help do you need but they can also suggest you some other odd jobber for performing this job. Obviously, they are going to suggest you the person who knows how to fix the things for you in the best way.

In short, these odd jobbers can really help you a lot in home improvement projects. You just need to find one reliable person for yourself. You can do this by going through the ads in the newspapers or on internet. Once you get the contact numbers of couple of handymen then you must call them and inform them about your specifications. Always provide them with complete set of specifications as not every worker knows to do all kinds of jobs. Your requirements will let them know if they can do your job or not. You can also refer the yellow pages and local directories for this purpose. The clearer and more descriptive information you are going to provide, the more right person you will get for your job who will do wonders for you.

Article granted by Ella A. on behalf of: Handyman Handy Ltd.

P.S. Homes are selling fast and for the highest prices in years! It is never too late to put your home on the market or for buyers to call me to discuss the Fall market. Don’t miss out on your Dream Home, interest rates are still below 4%. Call me today for details!

St. Louis in Top Ten Trendiest Cities

Did you know St. Louis MO is in the top 10 trendiest cities in the U.S.?

Housing needs change as people age

Modifications

The Little Details

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