It can be difficult to lend the illusion of more space to a home with low ceilings. A recent article at Houzz from columnist Becky Harris explains how you can make low ceilings appear higher.
Painting the ceiling a glossy white will allow the room to reflect more light, making it appear more spacious that it really is. Interior designer Lourdes Gabriela used glossy white ceilings in a Florida condo that, she said, was suffering from “oppressively low” ceilings. The short height of the ceilings was exacerbated by low-hanging track lights and short louvered doors. After giving the ceiling a glossy paint finish, Gabriela also used a flush-mount chandelier over the dining table to help lift the perception of the ceiling.
Using horizontal design elements can actually lift the vertical parts of a room. It also distracts the eye from looking up. Designers with MainStreet Design Build used long horizontal display shelves on the walls in the kitchen to “draw the eye to the long horizontal planes and the objects on them,” Harris notes. The shelves command attention and lead people to notice the expanse of the wall instead of the challenges of a short ceiling. “The generous amount of white space between the top shelf and the ceiling makes the ceiling seem higher,” Harris writes.
Floor-to-ceiling millwork not only gives a space an eye-catching design element but also can be used to lift the ceiling, too. Designer Carl Mattison added wall paneling to the open-concept dining space in an Atlanta cottage. “Seeing so many stacked squares lends the illusion of height,” Harris writes. “Painting the millwork and adjacent kitchen cabinets the same color keeps the room from feeling chopped up.”
Height isn’t the only reason to consider design elements that can showcase the ceiling in a different light. There are plenty of stylish ways to showcase the ceiling as a means of adding more depth to a room or more pizzazz to a home that may be lacking eye-catching qualities. Consider some of the design pops for the ceiling in the photo gallery below.
The Federal Reserve voted unanimously on Wednesday to leave borrowing costs unchanged and says it will continue to be “patient” about making any moves to its benchmark rate. The Fed’s vote came despite increased calls from the White House to cut interest rates. But the central bank left rates unchanged on Wednesday, citing the lack of inflation pressure.
The Fed’s closely watched benchmark rate will remain in a range of between 2.25% and 2.5%. The Fed’s rate is the rate charged to banks that lend to each other. Its key rate does not have a direct impact on mortgage rates but does often influence them.
The Fed’s decision to hold rates steady likely will result in little change to mortgage rates, Moneywise.com reports. This week, mortgage financing giant Freddie Mac said it expects favorable mortgage rates for the remainder of this year. It projects the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to average 4.3% for 2019, below last year’s average of 4.6%.
“Economic activity rose at a solid rate,” and job gains remain solid, the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement on Wednesday following its two-day meeting. The jobless rate is at 3.8%, the lowest level in 50 years. The economy has performed much stronger in the first quarter than many economists anticipated, CNBC reports. The GDP has increased 3.2%, and the financial markets are performing stronger. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 14% for 2019.
Fed officials, so far this year, have backed away from original plans to continue tightening rates in 2019, following several increases in 2018. Many officials have cited concerns about a slowdown in global growth. Originally, the Fed signaled two rate hikes this year. But it has since changed those projections to zero, as of the end of its last policy meeting in March.
“The economy looks better than it did when the Fed last met in March, but with inflation readings continuing to decelerate, the Fed is no closer to resuming rate hikes,” says Greg McBride, Bankrate’s chief financial analyst.
Following four weeks of rate increases, fixed-rate mortgages posted a drop this week. Rates remain well below their averages from a year ago, and Freddie Mac predicts that will be a boon to home sales over the next couple of months. This comes after the Federal Reserve voted Wednesday not to increase its benchmark rate.
“Slightly weaker inflation and labor economic data caused mortgage rates to dip this week,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Moving into summer, we expect rates to be about a quarter to half a percentage point lower than where they were last year, which is good news for the housing market. These lower rates combined with solid economic growth, low inflation, and rebounding customer confidence should provide a solid foundation for home sales to continue to improve over the next couple of months.”
Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending May 2:
30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.14%, with an average 0.5 point, falling from last week’s 4.20% percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.55%.
15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.60%, with an average 0.4 point, dropping from last week’s 3.64% average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 4.03%.
5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 3.68%, with an average 0.4 point, falling from last week’s 3.77% average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.69%.
Homeowners have been less transient the last few years. In the first quarter of 2019, homeowners who sold their homes had owned them an average of 8.05 years, down slightly from a record high of 8.17 in the fourth quarter of 2018, reports real estate research firm ATTOM Data Solutions. Still, that’s up a 7.75 year average recorded a year ago.
Prior to the Great Recession, from the first quarter of 2000 to the third quarter of 2007, homeownership tenure averaged just 4.21 years. Homeowners who stay longer, however, are seeing higher gains at resale. In the first quarter of this year, home sellers pocketed an average price gain of $57,500 since their purchase, which is an average 31.5% return on the purchase price, ATTOM Data Solutions reports.
Among large metros with populations of at least 1 million, the areas with the longest average homeownership tenure for home sellers who sold in the first quarter were:
Hartford, Conn.: 12.52 years
Boston: 12.36 years
Providence, R.I.: 11.15 years
San Francisco: 10.40 years
San Jose, Calif.: 10.27 years
Twenty-three percent—or 25 of 108 metros—that ATTOM Data Solutions analyzed are countering the national trend and seeing homeownership tenure decrease from a year ago. Researchers noted homeownership tenure is dropping in places like Kansas City, Mo.; Tucson, Ariz.; Boston; Orlando, Fla.; and Oklahoma City.
Homeowners continue to reap profits off their home sales. U.S. homeowners who sold in the first quarter of this year realized an average home price gain since purchase of $57,500. That is up slightly from an average of $56,733 a year ago, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ Q1 2019 Home Sales Report. The gains represented an average 31.5 percent return as a percentage of the original purchase price.
Markets along the West coast saw some of the greatest dollar gains. For example, in San Jose, Calif., home sellers saw nearly a half-million-dollar gain when they sold their home. The following are the markets with the top seller gains in the first quarter, according to ATTOM Data Solutions:
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.: $479,500 (first quarter 2019 gain)
How effective is it for your buyers to write a personal letter to sellers to win over their hearts and get their offers accepted? Personal letters have been drawing criticism lately because of the potential for buyers to inadvertently reveal items that could hurt their negotiating position. Virginia real estate pro Daniel Bortz recently shared in a realtor.com® article some of the phrases he suggests buyers never use in an offer letter, including:
“I can see our family celebrating Christmas here.” It is illegal under the federal Fair Housing Act for a seller to discriminate based on religion. But if a buyer reveals their faith in an offer letter, it would be difficult to prove in court that it led to discrimination, Craig Blackmon, a broker and real estate attorney in Seattle, told realtor.com®. To prevent such potential for discrimination, Blackmon recommends that buyers never reveal their religion in an offer letter.
“We would do anything to get this house.” Bortz writes that buyers should never suggest they are desperate to buy the home in an offer letter. It tells the seller that the buyer is willing to pay a higher price and could encourage a higher counteroffer.
“Our lease is up soon, so we really need to close quickly.” This could hurt negotiations with a seller who is looking for a longer closing timeline. Also, this statement could weaken the buyer’s negotiating power if the seller senses desperation. Buyers may need to be reminded that real estate agents will communicate with the listing agent to find out the seller’s intentions for a move-out date.
“Your home’s fenced-in backyard will be a perfect place for my dog to run around.” This could turn off a seller who isn’t a pet lover. Bortz cautions buyers specifically against mentioning their dog’s breed since there are some stigmas around certain types, such as pit bulls. “Even though the sellers will be moving, they may be concerned about their neighbors’ safety,” Bortz writes. On the other hand, if you happen to know the seller loves dogs, mentioning your pet in the personal letter may actually help form a connection between the buyer and seller, Mindy Jensen, a real estate professional in Longmont, Colo., told realtor.com®.
Photos often make the first impression for your listing. That’s prompted real estate professionals to carefully scrutinize their listings’ online presentation to make sure their photos are giving off the right vibe.
ShareGrid – Unsplash
The extra attention is understandable: 87% of home shoppers say they relied on photos to help make their decision on whether to buy the property, according to surveys by the National Association of REALTORS®. Professionally photographed homes tend to fetch a premium, too—a 47% higher asking price per square foot, according to an analysis by Redfin.
“We are a visual society,” Sharron Jones, a real estate professional with Weichert, REALTORS®, told The Washington Post. “Go to successful retail stores like Nordstrom or Target and look at photos for ads, commercials, or merchandising displays in stores. All of them are designed to show their products at their best. Likewise, a seller should show their property at its best.”
HomeVisit, a real estate photography company, recently provided The Washington Postwith some tips for prepping a home for a photo shoot, including:
Clean all of the mirrors, floors, and surfaces. You want to ensure they are spotless and unsmudged, shining in the photos.
Check that the furniture is sized correctly for the space. Any oversized pieces will make rooms look cramped. Remove any bulkier items. Shift furniture around to open up your photographs. Get tips: Amateur vs. Pro Photos
Declutter all surfaces. Put two or three objects on counters at most. But anything you do keep on the countertops, make sure the placement is deliberate.
Open all blinds. Allow the natural light to flow in. Brighter rooms will appear larger and photograph better.
Watch contrasts. Too many colors or objects can be distracting. On the flip side, “low contrast can seem muted or boring,” HomeVisit notes. “The key is to have the right amount of contrast. Place a few framed pieces of art on the walls and try to stick to a single color scheme.”
Tend to the outside: Mow the lawn, clean the pool, and add extra props, such as a table setting on the outdoor table, towels by the pool, and potted flowers around the doorway.
Economists are sounding more upbeat toward the housing market this year. Realtor.com® has revised its 2019 housing forecast, reflecting optimism for a much stronger market. Lower mortgage rates are mostly behind the shifts in attitude.
Realtor.com® economists are projecting mortgage rates to average 4.5 percent by the end of the year—nearly a percentage point lower than they originally forecasted. The lower mortgage rates are increasing buyers’ purchasing power, despite a continued uptick in home prices.
“The 2019 housing market is different than what we predicted in fall 2018, primarily due to an unexpected drop in mortgage rates in January 2019,” says Danielle Hale, realtor.com®’s chief economist. “We believe 2019 will be characterized by lower, but still increasing, mortgage rates that will buoy home prices and sales by boosting buyers’ purchasing power beyond what we initially projected. This will create a slightly hotter, but still cooling housing market relative to the initial forecast five months ago.”
Mortgage rates have slowly been inching up over the past month, but they remain below their levels a year ago.
“Despite the recent rise in mortgage rates, both existing- and new-home sales continue to show strength—indicating the lagged effect of lower rates on housing demand,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “This, along with improved affordability, should push housing activity higher in the coming months.”
Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending April 25:
30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.20 percent, with an average 0.5 point, rising from last week’s 4.17 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.58 percent.
15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.64 percent, with an average 0.5 point, rising from last week’s 3.62 percent average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 4.02 percent.
5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 3.77 percent, with an average 0.4 point, falling from last week’s 3.78 percent average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.74 percent.
Working with tenants is stressful, landlords agree. Eighty-eight percent of landlords recently surveyed say they have experienced some stress renting out their properties, yet 80 percent say the money from being a landlord is worth the stress, according to a new survey from Porch.com, a home remodeling website.
Nearly 49 percent of landlords say they’ve had a tenant ask to break a lease early; 45 percent have had to evict a tenant; and about 41 percent have had a tenant who suddenly stopped paying rent, according to the survey. Porch.com surveyed 563 renters and 532 landlords nationwide to learn more about the renter-landlord relationship, from repairs and responsibilities to working with tenants.
“Chasing after people’s rents, having units returned to you in a dire state, tenants who refuse to respond to calls and emails … there is no end to the list of hair-tearing stressors that landlords regularly face, not to mention a ton of hoops to jump through before they can even set up shop,” the study’s authors note.
Are landlords doing enough to pick the best tenants? Twenty-seven percent of landlords say they never or rarely do criminal background checks. Nearly 18 percent say they never or rarely do credit checks.
“Credit reports are a great vetting tool for companies,” the report notes. Landlords are less likely to do a criminal check than a credit check, but a criminal check “can help reduce their liability and ensure community safety.”
