Low Mortgage Rates Could Soon Disappear
June 1–Mortgage rates are at historic lows, but that might not be the case much longer.
Those holding out for a bargain or waiting to jump into the housing market for other reasons could be in for a rude awakening.
“I don’t want to convince someone to buy a home who shouldn’t, but for those who can and who want to, I want them to get the message that they’re living on borrowed time when it comes to interest rates,” said housing consultant David Jarvis.
Mortgage rates aren’t expected to spike tomorrow. But as the economy improves and if inflation begins to affect more segments of the economy, rates should start to tick up.
How much is anyone’s guess.
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Kitchen Islands – Heart of the home
Today’s homeowners are spending more time eating in, entertaining at home, experimenting with new recipes, and multitasking. That might mean watching TV or reading the paper while stirring a pot of chili. Or supervising math homework and checking out Facebook while rotating batches of cookies through the oven for the next PTA meeting. In this new normal, the kitchen island has taken on an expanded role as the hub and heart of the home. It’s a preferred spot for cooking, homework, entertaining, storage, mobile computing, organizing, cleaning up, and hanging out. Everyday life tends to revolve around this anchor element, which can come in myriad shapes, sizes, materials, and configurations. Take a look at the possibilities!
Kitchen designer: Amazing Spaces, Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. www.amazingspacesllc.com
Water management during drought conditions
The key to a good lawn is to water it correctly. Watering your lawn too little can lead to problems, but watering your lawn too much can also be damaging. Your lawn will look best, and your wallet will be happiest, when you water your lawn smartly and efficiently.
Texas Water Restrictions
Most of Texas is currently in Stage 1 water restrictions. This is the lowest water restriction level and is the level that most cities are on for much of the year.
What does Stage 1 Water Restrictions mean to you?
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Patio designs – 5 top trends
So when does a trend become a tradition? Continued interest in creating great outdoor living spaces, and the trend for jazzing up the backyard may just be on the verge of becoming a staple of the American home, and as much a requirement as a great kitchen or welcoming bath.
Every summer it seems homeowners find new ways to create a “wow effect” in their outdoor living spaces. The outdoor experts at ConcreteNetwork.com point to five hot trends in patio design to help elevate your backyard patio from a nice patch of bricks to your favorite spot to entertain and relax this summer:
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How can you turn your kitchen from drab to fab?
It’s often treated as an afterthought, but a great backsplash can be one of the most crucial design elements in any kitchen. Sure, it provides practical wall protection against grease splatters, dishwater sprays, and flying cake ingredients, but a good backsplash also plays an equally important role in the aesthetic mix.
When rendered in a bold color, pattern, or material, it can bring a commanding dose of eye candy to an otherwise plain Jane space. Or maybe its role is more of an equalizer. If the centerpiece of your culinary zone lies elsewhere, the backsplash can play a key supporting role by helping to achieve visual balance. A smart choice in hue and material will help to smooth out transitions between warms and cools, lights and darks, or shiny vs. matte surfaces.
Here are a few ideas:
*photos www.thundafunda.com
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Tour our model home - NEW model home coming soon 3903 Whispering Woods – Crystal Lakes Estates
I like keeping things simple!
As a custom home builder, I like keeping things simple! Building a custom home is hard enough with so many moving parts and personalities.
I find that some builders try to tell people what they want instead of learning about a customer’s desire, wants and needs. Everyone has had a different experience with homes they have lived in or currently live in.
Most people have areas they are more concerned about than others, i.e. grout for tile. Did you know there is an anti-mildew, anti-bacterial, water-repellant grout for tile? This is must for all shower areas. Contact us for more information about this product!
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Life Made Easy by Home Builder University
These days, life is just too hectic to spend precious time searching various resources for the continuing education and industry specific classes you need to stay current in your field. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a website for building professionals that made it easy to search for information about professional development courses? Well, now there is. mRELEVANCE, a leader in home builder marketing, has just launched a new interactive site that helps busy professionals like you find the information you need at a pace that fits your lifestyle at www.HomeBuildersUniversityBlog.com.
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Ready to build your custom home? It’s easier than you think!
When you hear the word “custom” associated with the home building industry, you probably think of a one-of-a kind home with everything you ever dreamed, right down to the door knobs, at a price reserved for people with large, six-figure incomes. At one time, that was probably correct. But things are changing.
Today, there are myriad custom home options and a variety of different levels of custom home builders in the Houston area. There’s still the full-time, custom home builder who builds a few homes each year. There are higher-volume builders, who will customize a home by moving walls or adding square footage. There are even higher-volume builders who offer custom options in just a few areas of the home, such as kitchens with sunrooms or kitchens as part of the family room.
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Slowly improving conditions in residential construction are easing the pressure on key rooms to do more with less.
According to April issue of Custom Home Magazine, “the housing recovery – slow though it may be—is starting to ease the downward pressure on home sizes and appears to be triggering a bit of a trend reversal, at least according to residential architects who responded to the AIA’s Fourth Quarter 2010 Home Design Trends Survey.”
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NAHB – New Homes Strengthen Economy Year Round
According to NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) Chairman Bob Nielsen, ”Home building is a key driver of the American economy. By generating economic activity including new income and jobs, purchases of goods and services, and revenue for local governments, housing—which has historically accounted for around 17 percent of the GDP—can put America back to work.”
The one-year local impacts of building 100 single-family homes in a typical metro area amount to $21.1 million in local income, $2.2 million in taxes and other local government revenue, and according to the economists at NAHB, 324 local jobs.
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