Annie Meadows with Hudson Residential

Raleigh Real Estate Agent with Hudson Residential

Home Trends

How Coronavirus is Changing Our At-Home Style Vibes

By

Since the coronavirus outbreak, our home has become so much more than where we lay our head at night. We are working from home, working out from home, home-schooling, and much more! We are now starting to see changes in interior spaces. Below are seven ways design experts predict interior design will change after coronavirus.

Annie Meadows with Hudson Residential

1. Larger Home Office Spaces
Make-shift offices are in kitchens, living rooms, and even basements. In the future, homeowners might be more interested in home offices. Since April 2020, interior design service Modsy has seen a 40% increase in home office design requests compared to the same month last year.

2. Defined Mudrooms and Entryways
A place to remove shoes, masks, jackets, and bags could help to mitigate germs and bacteria in the home!

3. Private Spaces
Being cooped up under one roof with your family can be stressful. There is now a need for private spaces so everyone can enjoy a little alone time. Think designated reading nooks or separate rooms for each child in the house.

4. Thoughtfully Designed Kitchens
Cooking has become a new hobby for many people during this time. It also has people thinking about how they organize and store their food. You might expect to see more storage, larger pantries, and specialty appliances. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a bread machine or cold-brew coffee station?!

5. Hygienic Surfaces
Easy to clean hard surfaces like glazed tile will be a trend in bathrooms and kitchens. Also, no-touch technology for faucets and doorbells to reduce germs on frequently touched services in the house will be in!

6. Increased At-Home Entertaining
Even as restaurants open back up, homes of friends and family are controlled environments which make them an inviting option for safe gatherings. With warmer weather and grilling season in, you’ll find yourself on your back patio now more than ever.

7. New Shopping Habits
As people spend more time at home, the more critically they’ll think about decorating. High-quality furniture and sofas will become the new norm. Custom furniture and international shipments are in limbo or delayed so try shopping locally! A fun local favorite Union Camp Collective has a little something for everyone.

Source: Better Homes & Gardens

We Are Not in a Housing Crisis: Here Are Three Reasons Why

By

COVID-19 has brought fear, pain, and uncertainty for many people. During these troubling times, it is important to stay educated and up-to-date with the latest information. You may have heard that we are in a housing crisis, but I am here to hopefully help calm your fears and give you the facts on this topic. As always, I am just an email away if you have any questions or just want to talk.

We Are Not in a Housing Crisis: Here's Three Reasons Why

1. Today’s market is vastly different from 2008. We all remember the market crash of 2008 but luckily, this is not 2008. As a refresher, the stock market crash of 2008 was the biggest single-day drop in history up to that point. The aftermath of this catastrophic financial event wiped out big chunks of Americans’ retirement savings and affected the economy long after the stock market recovered. The stock market crashed because too many people had taken on loans they couldn’t afford. Lenders relaxed their strict lending standards to extend credit to people who were less than qualified. This drove up housing prices to levels that many could not otherwise afford.

The good news is, today’s market conditions are far from the time when housing was a key factor that triggered a recession. We have easy-to-access mortgages, a surplus of inventory, and excessive equity tapping. You can rest assured that housing is not something that would take us back to that time.

According to Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com, if there is a recession, “It will be different than the Great Recession. Things unraveled pretty quickly, and then the recovery was pretty slow. I would expect this to be milder. There’s no dysfunction in the banking system, we don’t have many households who are overleveraged with their mortgage payments and are potentially in trouble.”

2. Even if there is a recession, this does not mean there will be a housing crisis. If you look at the past five recessions in U.S. history, home values actually appreciated in three of them. In 2008, home values did drop by almost 20% but in the four previous recessions, home values depreciated only once (by less than 2%). In the other three, residential real estate values increased by 3.5%, 6.1%, and 6.6%.

3. While we don’t know the exact impact the virus will have on the housing market, we do know that housing isn’t the driver. COVID-19 has no doubt impacted our economy and will continue to do so. However, everyone needs a place to live and this is not going to change.

Concerns about a recession are real, but housing is not what is causing it. If you have questions about what it means for your family’s home buying or selling plans, give me a call at 919-961-3277 or email me at Annie@HudsonResidential.com.

Source: KeepingCurrentMatters.com

Top Home Trends for 2018

By

Looking to sell in 2018? You will want to keep these top home trends in mind! Learn more at Lonny.com.

Smart Homes – There are just so many choices between lighting, watching TV, listening to music, security, controlling the thermostat, communication, and most all can be done from your phone.

Outdoor Living – Capitalize on available and unused yard space by creating multi-functional entertaining areas.

Spa Bathrooms – Why wait to go to the spa to get that amazing aesthetic? Instead, transform your bathroom into a total escape.

Mixed Metallics – Renovating a bathroom? Don’t worry about matching up your fixtures with your hardware. Don’t forget about matte metallics, either. I love a good black light fixture thrown into the mix!

Statement Ceiling – Adding pops of color or patterns to walls is great, but have you ever thought of putting a pop of color on your ceiling?

Colorful Doors – Give your guests a bright and cheery welcome with a door that isn’t just any old basic shade. A colorful hue is always appreciated – and most likely going to be Instagrammed.

Large Wall Art – Say goodbye to the gallery wall and hello to huge art pieces that will take up blank space in your home.

Source: Lonny.com.