Originally posted on http://realtormag.realtor.org/home-and-design/feature/article/2016/10/creative-ways-market-odd-spaces One client’s closet is another client’s playroom. Plant imaginative ideas in your staging and marketing copy demonstrating how outdated rooms and home features can better meet the needs of today’s buyers.   OCTOBER 2016 | BY BARBARA BALLINGER What do you say to buyers who look at a listing’s floor plan only to focus on the large space labeled “dining room” that they know they’ll rarely use? The fact is, buyers and sellers may have vastly different perceptions about how they want to live in the same home. But that doesn’t have to be a deal-killer. Part of the problem stems from how architects and builders label rooms on plans, says Chicago-based commercial interior designer Mary Cook. “Rooms get designated and labeled for specific purposes, so it’s difficult to break that perception and think about them as spaces that are something else,” she says. But as a real estate professional, you can help make a difference with the descriptions you write in your marketing materials and with the way you talk about space in a listing. Clever copy can provide just the right inspiration for buyers who might have otherwise turned away. A huge log-burning fireplace dominating a living room can be recast as a “built-in entertainment center to gather around,” suggests designer Lonnie Unger of Fredman Design Group in Chicago. Just be sure to make concrete suggestions that buyers can visualize, even before they zoom in on photos or step through the front door. Whether you’re working with sellers who have outdated notions of their listing’s assets or with buyers who can’t imagine how they’d use a space that doesn’t seem to apply to their lifestyle, we’ve amassed some talking points that can help you smooth out the conflict. Here are five examples to inspire you to help your clients imagine what can be, rather than allowing what is to become a deal breaker. 1. What it is: Oversized walk-in closet The big closets that came along with the McMansion trend were often outfitted with shelves, rods, cabinets, and even storage islands and seating space. As conspicuous consumption falls out of favor, these spaces may seem like a waste for some buyers, who’d rather spend their square footage elsewhere. What it can be: “Practical laundry space adjacent to master bedroom.” Because large walk-in closets are usually well illuminated and may even have a window for daylight, they offer numerous possibilities. How about an upstairs laundry by the bedrooms? After all, this is where most of the dirty clothing originates, so why should home owners trudge down to the basement with their hampers? If the space is large enough, a built-in ironing board or folding counter...

By Lisa Johnson Mandell | Nov 29, 2016 Marry the small-house craze with the equally hot trend of prefab homes, and what do you get? Small prefab homes, which are the housing industry’s equivalent to miniature schnauzers tied with a gift bow on Christmas day: extremely cute and increasingly in demand. Or, so argues Sheri Koones‘ latest book, “Prefabulous Small Houses,” which explores the beauty, variety, and benefits of small-scale prefab construction in all its glory. Also the author of “Modular Mansions” and “Prefabulous World,” Koones argues that these prefab homes may be small, but they are so beautiful and well-built, you can’t tell the difference between them and the supposedly “nicer” houses constructed on-site. Robert Redford, who wrote the foreword, is also a fan: “Building smaller, along with building houses prefabricated—in the process using less time, fewer materials, and using both more efficiently—is the sanest and wisest recipe for home construction, for now and for the future.” We talked with Koones about what we can all take away from these modest yet amazing dwellings. Q: What’s the biggest misconception people have about small prefab houses? A: The important thing for people to understand is that prefab homes today are literally indistinguishable from site-built houses. Realtors® don’t even have to disclose a house [they are selling] is prefabricated. I interviewed someone who bought a prefab panelized house, and he didn’t understand why I wanted to interview him. I explained, “your house is panelized,” and he said, “no, no, my house is a very expensive luxury house.” I said, “yes, it is,” and it was panelized and that means it’s prefab. Q: What do you consider a ‘small house’? Is it the same thing as a ‘tiny house’? A: The smallest house I feature in the book is 352 square feet. I differentiate that from a “tiny house” in that the one I write about is connected to the grid, it has a foundation, a septic system, plumbing electricity, etc., and it meets all the local codes. The largest house I feature is 2,500 square feet, and I’m considering that small, because it’s one of the smaller homes in Santa Monica. It’s all relative to the area. Q: What are some of the basic elements of the small prefab houses? A: In all of these houses, space is used in an intelligent way. A lot of the rooms are multipurposes. There are no large hallways or wasted space. All were built in less time than a site-built house would take, and are sustainable and low maintenance. Those are elements everyone seems to be looking for in homes these days. Q: Are small prefab homes less expensive than houses built on-site? A: Well yes, if they’re smaller. But price per square foot is usually about the same. But you save in other ways. Construction costs are reduced, because small...

By Angela Colley | Nov 30, 2016 When you’re selling your home, you must be ready for people to pop in at a moment’s notice. And no, it’s not like when your neighbor drops by to ask you to water her plants while she’s on vacation, and leaves in five minutes without noticing how many dishes are stacked in your sink or the layer of dust on your coffee table. Nope, these people will scrutinize. And they will judge. But you’re still living in your home—how do you keep it clean enough to make a good impression, no matter the time or day? It turns out you don’t have to hire a live-in housekeeper, and your life doesn’t need to come to a screeching halt just because you’re showing your house. Try these hacks to get the job done quickly and easily, so you can free up your time—and save your sanity. 1. Work the room Half of my cleaning problems come from not knowing where to start. I walk into a room, picture myself trying to clean all the things at once, get overwhelmed, and suddenly feel the urge to sit down for a while. Apparently I’m doing it wrong (no big surprise there). But if you know how to work the room, cleaning will go much faster.“ At first, follow the top-to-bottom and left-to-right rule for each room in the house,” says Lauren Haynes, home organizing and cleaning expert at Star Domestic Cleaners. That means start by dusting the ceiling fan, the top of the bookshelves, and anything up high before moving on. Going from left to right (or right to left, if that feels more natural) will keep you on task and make the cleaning go faster.“Then focus on the top eye-catcher places and things like floors, ovens, and bathroom [fixtures],” she says. While your instinct might be to clean everything, you might also go crazy trying to pull it off before every showing. Instead, zero in on what the potential buyer is likely to notice, Haynes recommends—cleaning it every day or two, and then doing a deeper clean once a week. 2. Use mobile storage As soon as you know you’re going to show your house, pack up everything you don’t normally use. “Remove all the nonfunctional stuff or things which don’t contribute to the overall look of the property,” Haynes says. It’ll feel weird to live like that at first, but the more stuff you have, the more stuff you have to clean. Once you’re down to the stuff you actually need, find a way to quickly and easily hide it when it’s time to show the house. “When we had a viewing on short notice, we used plastic and cardboard boxes...

By Cicely Wedgeworth | Nov 30, 2016 We won’t pretend to know everything that 2017 will bring—heck, 2016 sure surprised us—but we’re pretty certain there will be changes. A lot of them. And while the surprise triumph of Donald Trump in the presidential election won’t alter the fundamentals shaping the 2017 real estate market, its impact is already being felt. We’ve seen interest rates jump since the election, a movement that’s likely to affect the youngest generation of home buyers. Just like last year, realtor.com®‘s economic data team analyzed our market data and economic indicators to come up with a picture of the key housing trends for 2017. As we prepare to bid farewell to 2016, it looks like we’ll be saying goodbye to the last of the record-low interest rates of the past few years, too. Interest rates have shot up 40 basis points, or 0.4 percentage points, since Trump’s election. And that’s significant, especially for first-time home buyers, including many millennials. “With more than 95% of first-time home buyers dependent on financing their home purchase, and a majority of first-time buyers reporting one or more financial challenges, the uptick we’ve already seen may price some first-timers out of the market,” says Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke, who worked on the realtor.com 2017 housing forecast.According to the forecast, the 2017 national real estate market is predicted to slow compared with the past two years, across the majority of economic indicators studied.  But maybe “slowdown” isn’t quite the right description. “I would characterize our 2017 forecast as a moderation, as opposed to a slowdown,” says Smoke. “The pace of growth is still strong and, for pricing, still represents an above-average level of appreciation.” Smoke says we’re mostly reverting to normal prices, after years of appreciation as the housing market recovered from its 2008 crash. Recovery is good, but the flip side is that pricing is tougher for consumers, Smoke points out. “Throw in higher mortgage rates, and it becomes more challenging to be able to afford homes compared to what it was over the course of this recovery,” he says. Here are some of the key predictions for 2017: 1. Millennials and boomers will move markets In 2017, the U.S. real estate market will be in the middle of two massive demographic waves that will power demand for at least the next 10 years.Millennials and baby boomers, the two largest American generations in history, are both approaching life stages that typically motivate people to buy a home: marriage, having children, retirement, and becoming empty nesters.Smoke predicts that millennials will make up 33% of buyers in 2017, lower than his original estimate due to those increasing interest rates. 2. Millennials will look to the Midwest While...

By Jennifer Geddes | Nov 30, 2016 Odds are you’ve made the rounds to plenty of people’s homes for parties, be it for a housewarming, the holidays, or other event. And, as you should know by now, a prime way to work your way into the party host’s good graces is to bring a little housewarming gift. Only what? Allow me to fill you in. When it comes to parties, you name it, I’ve hosted it. Super Bowl? Every year, without fail. Triple Crown race? Twice, in fact, for 30 people each. New Year’s Day soirees, spring fling cocktail parties, Thanksgiving for 24 (two turkeys, seven pies), and even a Kentucky Derby/Cinco de Mayo combo. As a result, I’m an expert in hostess gifts. From the good and the bad to the downright ugly, I’ve gotten it all and I’m here to say: No one wants your cast-off bottle of chardonnay. Same goes for that rancid candle in a jar. Instead, do the right thing and offer up something your hostess reallywants. Here are eight perfect picks that are all but guaranteed to result in a return invitation. Breakfast the next day It sounds obvious, but almost no one offers up this godsend: After a late night of wiping up spills, doing mountains of dishes, and putting away every piece of glassware I own, I’m exhausted. The next day, all I want is to sleep in and enjoy a ready-to-go meal. It doesn’t have to be homemade jam or granola (though both are excellent choices). Instead, a yummy loaf to slice and slather with butter is ideal, especially if it’s an almond stollen from Red Truck Rural Bakery ($31). New dish towels I use at least two or three every day, which means after a few months they end up looking stained and frayed and downright nasty. A guest who brings a pretty tea towel or dishcloth gets extra meatballs and the top-shelf bourbon in her Old-Fashioned. I literally leap for joy when I see this gift coming. These beauties from CypressInk ($10 each) are a good place to start. (I love the jellyfish and the octopus!) These towels are hand-printed with eco-friendly ink on soft cotton Cypressink.com Something personalized My husband loathes fancy cursive monograms, but he’ll live with personalization at home if it’s a very simple version. Coasters or cocktail napkins with the host’s last initial are very welcome. Even better is this useful and unusual gift ribbon from Namemaker ($21) for the endless holiday wrapping that’s coming up. Personalized ribbon is also a two-fer, eliminating the need for a name tag. Personalized ribbon is cute and useful.  Namemaker.com Candles I don’t mean boring white tapers or those 100-pack votives, though I do stock a cabinet full of each. Instead, seek out something really beautiful—maybe one...