Smaller Homes, Bigger Fridges?

Trends for 2010: SUV-sized Fridges

Here's an early 2010 housing and home style prediction: smaller homes and bigger . . . . refrigerators.

Really.

It's got nothing to do with Americans being increasingly overweight (obviously true); average household size getting bigger (the opposite is true); or even Thanksgiving approaching (that's just a seasonal blip).

Rather, it's more a feature of today's economic landscape.

Here's the logic:

In a rocky economy, people eat at home more.

Sooner or later, meat loaf, tuna casserole, and spaghetti (or pizza, chips, and ice cream) get old. And fattening.

Meanwhile, with all that "staycation" time on their hands, people apparently are watching . . . cooking channels (what are there, 14 of them now?)

From there, it's only a small evolutionary step to start preparing better, more interesting food -- which necessitates buying more and better ingredients -- which takes up more space!

More Educated Palates

Think of it this way: 25 years ago, the typical American fridge stocked milk, eggs, red meat, and some veggies.

Now, at least in more well-to-do households, the list can easily include things like fresh basil, arugula, goat cheese, three different kinds of kefir, two different kinds of olive oil, etc.

Add to that modern maladies like lachtose intolerance, peanut allergies, etc., and suddenly every family member has their own, unique dietary requirements.

SUV's may no longer be in fashion, but the refrigerator equivalent is increasingly starting to show up in the kitchens of upper bracket homes.

Upper Bracket "Spec Homes"

"Great Room Lite" (And Other Trends)

Where: 4615 Wooddale (in Edina's Country Club neighborhood)
What: new Federal Colonial Revival with 5BR/6BA and over 5,000 FSF
How much: asking price - $1,995,000
When: on market now
Who: list agent - John McDonald; broker - Edina Realty

One of the fun things about upper bracket "spec homes" is that they collect -- under one roof -- all the latest trends, not to mention lots of fun bells & whistles (if you don't know, "spec" means speculative, as in "build it and they will come").

The home featured at today's Exceptional Properties meeting, 4615 Wooddale in Edina's Country Club neighborhood (pictured above), had on display a laundry list of current (and future?) Buyer favorites:

--"Great Room Lite" concept: Combination Kitchen-Family Room-Den; Dining and Living Rooms are laid out more formally.
--Upper level laundry
--Lower level with 9' ceilings (standard is 7'); in-floor heat
--Built-in radon remediation (according to the builder, the cost to install new is $800, vs. $2k-$3k for retrofitting)
--Big, flat panel TV's . . . . everywhere (above fireplaces, bathroom vanities, etc.)
--"Marmoleum flooring" (an all-green variation of linoleum)
--Picture rail moldings . . . on the ceilings! Several rooms used this to define sitting areas directly below
--Lots of bathrooms. In fact, three of the four upstairs bedrooms had private Baths

In addition to all of the above, the home had a "HERS" rating of 52 (that stands for Home Energy Rating System). Even though the range is from 0-100, apparently 52 is a very good score (steep curve!).

And though the illustration above doesn't show it, in the builder's words, the home "scales nicely" with neighboring homes. In other words, it blends in -- style-wise, size-wise, etc. -- rather than sticks out, like so many McMansion's do.

So how much does all this luxury cost in a brand, new 5,000 FSF home in the middle of tony Country Club?

Asking Price is $1.995M.

Depending on the kindness of . . family

Recession Housing Trend: Doubling Up?

Families around the country are weathering the recession by hunkering down with relatives and friends . . "I'd rather be home if I'm going to be broke," said [one person who moved back home].

Kris Haher, "Homeward Rebound: Weathering the Storm With Kin"; The Wall Street Journal(4/7/09)

If you don't know the term, "boomerangers" refers to 20-somethings who move back in with their parents after leaving home for college.

Now, thanks to the recession, that trend appears to be spreading to older adult children -- sometimes with their own children. According to the Journal, the people opening their doors aren't just parents, but in-laws, extended relatives, and even friends.

Aggravating the problem: overwhelmed social service agencies, and long waiting lists for such things as food stamps.

The article mentions such places as Alabama, Iowa, and New Hampshire, but no doubt there are plenty of affected families in Minnesota, too.

Latest "Pending" Home Sales

January Numbers: Down 7.7%

According to the National Association of Realtors ("NAR"), pending home sales fell 7.7% in January.

A home sale is considered "Pending" once the inspection contingency is removed, but before the Buyer's financing is finalized and the title is transferred at closing. In a typical deal locally, the interval between a "Pending" and a "Closed" sale is about one month.

Given the growing financial turmoil, it's hardly surprising that Buyers are balking at making such a major commitment -- for most consumers, it is THE biggest ticket purchase they likely make.

When you read that monthly car sales are down 50%, the impact on something much more expensive, like housing, isn't going to be pretty.