Monday, January 23, 2017
Monday, September 19, 2016
2016 Kitchen Trends
THIS YEAR'S FOUR HOTTEST KITCHEN TRENDS
And the three fads to forget.
Open and dynamic kitchens that seamlessly blend with the rest of the home are at the top of home owners' wish lists for 2016, according to the latest Zillow Digs Home Trend forecast, released today.The analysis of popular photos on the real estate listing website and opinions of interior design experts revealed tuxedo or two-toned painted cabinets in complementary colors, hidden appliances, mixed hardware finishes, and wood paneling, like shiplap, are the biggest kitchen trends for 2016.Home owners are starting to take bigger risks in kitchen design. The first trend to go? Matching cabinetry and hardware finishes. Owners now have their sights set on tuxedo cabinets, or two-toned painted cabinets where the top and bottom doors are painted in complimentary colors (such as navy blue and soft gray). Homeowners are also opting to mix hardware finishes for a more eclectic look in the kitchen. Mixed and matched beautiful hardware accents "look like jewelry for the kitchen," said design expert, Jamie Beckwith of Beckwith Interiors in a news release.
Hidden appliances are also on the rise. Stainless steel is still popular, but for a less industrial and more streamlined look owners will choose to hide microwaves and refrigerators behind cabinet finishes. Wood paneling will also be in style as the popularity of the farmhouse kitchen style grows.
As quickly as these trends have picked up, three other design aesthetics have gone out of style. Homeowners will be trading in their speckled granite, short cabinets, and dark wood and paint colors for the styles above. Granite can stain and be hard to keep up with, and the speckled look is no longer popular. Instead, quartz, marble and even butcher block are rising in popularity. Tall cabinetry also gives kitchens the illusion of being bigger and brighter, so homeowners will replace shorter top row cabinets with ones that are flush with the ceiling and will choose light and bright paint colors over dark finishes to expand the open feel.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Portlands housing streak continues to be fastest growth in the US.
Portland's streak continues: 7th straight month home values grew fastest in U.S.
By Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on June 28, 2016 at 9:44 AM, updated June 28, 2016 at 11:28 AM
The streak continued in April: Yet again, home values in the Portland region grew faster than in any of the other 20 major metro areas measured by the monthly Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller home price index, released Tuesday.
It was the seventh straight month Portland topped the list.
Local home values posted a 12.3 percent year-over-year increase in April, the highest gains among the 20 cities by a fairly wide margin. Seattle's 10.7 percent increase over the same period represented the only other double-digit increase.
The Portland market also posted 12.3 percent year-over-year gains in March.
The Portland market also posted 12.3 percent year-over-year gains in March.
Homes across the country, meanwhile, saw an annual increase in value of 5 percent in April, down from 5.1 percent in March, the report found.
"The home price increases reflect the low unemployment rate, low mortgage interest rates and consumers' generally positive outlook," said David M. Blitzer, the chairman of the index committee, in a statement. "One result is that an increasing number of cities have surpassed the high prices seen before the Great Recession. Currently, seven cities – Denver; Dallas; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco; Seattle; Charlotte; and Boston – are setting new highs."
Prices in Portland have been pushed upward, in part, by extremely low inventory. The most recent report from the Regional Multiple Listing Services found that inventory in the area totaled 1.4 months in May. The figure estimates how long it would take for all current homes on the market to sell at the current pace. Six months indicates a balanced market.
What's more, a new report last week from Zillow found that Portland saw the nation's largest decrease in the inventory of bottom-tier homes among the 35 largest metro areas. The Portland market lost 37.6 percent of its inventory of middle-tier homes (homes worth between $279,200 and $420,900) and 39.3 percent of its bottom-tier homes (homes worth less than $279,200) – not good news for first-time homebuyers.
Svenja Gudell, chief economist at Zillow, said in an email that there is "a growing divide between the top and bottom of the market that the Case-Shiller numbers don't reveal."
"Home values for the least-expensive homes are growing twice as quickly as they are for the most-expensive homes, and the gap is widening," Gudell said. "Given last week's Brexit news and the ensuing market reaction, it doesn't look like interest rates are going to rise meaningfully any time soon, which means it will remain cheap to finance a home for those that can afford one.
www.coppercreekhome.com
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Washington and Oregon make the list for top 5 Green States!
2016's Most Eco-Friendly States
In honor of Earth Day, WalletHub determined the greenest states in the nation, looking at everything from air and water quality to energy consumption.
In some states, green behaviors aren't just practiced on Earth Day--some states focus on constructing LEED-certified buildings and keeping their air and water quality high year round.
Conserving resources has become a priority of many builders, as climate change, droughts, and fuel prices affect both the environment and economic conditions of some major home building markets. Texas was plagued by plummeting oil prices and the state of California found itself facing a hardship regarding how to conserve water as things dried up in an historic drought. Builders responded to the environmental challenges with drought-busting homes, like these four here, and ways to apply energy-saving techniques and products to home building.
Some states have been more successful than others when it comes to conserving the environment. WalletHub, a personal finance site, ranked all 50 states based on 17 key factors to find which states in the nation are the most "green" and committed to the environment. The site examined metrics such as air, water, and soil quality, number of LEED-certified buildings per capita, energy consumption and its percentage that comes from renewable sources, gasoline consumption, and percentage of waste including trash and recycling.
Overall, Vermont was considered the most green state for its high air quality and minimal solid waste per capita. Washington, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Minnesota followed Vermont as the top five most green states. Wyoming was the least green state, followed by North Dakota, Montana, West Virginia, and Nebraska in spots 46-49.
Washington and Minnesota had some of the highest water and soil quality among states in the country, compared to states like Arizona and New Mexico which fell in the last two spots for soil quality with soil that was 25 times worse than that of the best state, Michigan. Meanwhile, Hawaii and New York ranked poorly for water quality (click here to see BUILDER's map of the best and worst regions for water conservation).
However, Hawaii redeemed itself when it came to construction—the state has the second highest number of LEED-certified buildings per capita behind New Mexico, while Nebraska and Iowa were the two states with the least.
Maine, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, and Montana have the highest percentage of energy consumption that comes from renewable energy sources, with Maine's share being 17 times higher than the state of Delaware's, which has the lowest percentage of energy consumption from renewable energy sources in the country. Rhode Island and New York are the two states with the lowest energy consumption per capita, compared to Wyoming and North Dakota, the two least green states over all, which use the most energy in the country.
Maine took the number one spot again for having the highest percentage of recycled municipal waste, which is 48 times more than that of Louisiana, which held the bottom seat in the ranking.
Some of these practices are more or less important depending on which environmental factors some into play in different areas of the country. Mary F. Evans, an environmental economics professor at Claremont McKenna College, says, "It’s difficult to prioritize the various actions people can take to contribute to environmental quality as the benefits (and costs) of actions are likely to vary across individuals and geographic locations. For example, someone in Los Angeles who installs solar panels on her home and lowers her water consumption will have a different impact than another person who takes the same actions but who lives in Chicago."
Nancy Engelhardt Furlow. professor of marketing at Marymount University, agrees that location of markets plays the most essential role in determining where environmental efforts should be focused. "For example, in California, lowering water consumption is a high priority, but in states near the Chesapeake Bay, responsible use of pesticides and fertilizers is a high priority. Solar panels may be a great option in the West but not as popular in other areas. The activity may differ depending on the location, but environmental education is essential. The challenges for each location are different, and unfortunately, there isn't a one-size-fits-all solution."
How did your state rank for environmental friendliness? Click on WalletHub's interactive map below to see the overall "green rank" for each state in the nation:
Source: WalletHub
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Copper Creek Homes now Building in Mayers Estates Felida WA from $419,900
Copper Creek Homes now Building in Mayers Estates Felida WA from $419,900
Read Recent Facebook Post
GAINS March home prices at post-crash high as home sellers in March on average sold for $30,500 more than they paid, a 17% average gain.
GAINS
March home prices at post-crash high as home sellers in March on average sold for $30,500 more than they paid, a 17% average gain.
Copper Creek Homes is located in the Portland Metro Area, specifically Vancouver WA.
RealtyTrac, the Irvine Calif. purveyor of housing data, said Wednesday that its March and Q1 2016 U.S. Home Sales Report shows that U.S. home sellers in March on average sold for $30,500 more than they paid, a 17% average gain — the highest average price gain for home sellers in any month since December 2007 at the onset of the Great Recession.
According to the report, among 125 metropolitan statistical areas with at least 300 sales in March, sellers netted the biggest average gains in San Francisco (72% average gain); San Jose, California (60%); Boulder, Colorado (53%); Prescott, Arizona (51%); and Los Angeles (48%). Rounding out the top 13 were Denver (42%); Portland (40%); Austin (40%); Seattle (38%); Baltimore (38%); Riverside-San Bernardino, California (37%);San Diego (36%); and Sacramento (35%).
The median sales price of single family homes and condos in March was $210,000, up 9% from the previous month and up 11% from a year earlier. March was the 49th consecutive month with a year-over-year increase in the U.S. median home price, which is still 8% below its previous peak of $228,000 in July 2005.
Among metro areas analyzed in the report, 36% have reached new all-time home price peaks since January 2015, including seven markets that reached new price peaks in March 2016: Boulder, Colorado; Denver; Portland; Fort Collins, Colorado; Austin, Texas; Greeley, Colorado; and Cincinnati, Ohio.
“Home sellers in many markets are now seeing average price gains close to or above what home sellers experienced during the last housing boom,” said Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac senior vp. “That should encourage more homeowners to take advantage of the prime seller’s market and list their homes for sale this year."
He noted that banks are taking advantage of the market, causing an uptick in the distressed sales share over the last two quarters.
“Given that bank-owned homes are selling at a median price that is 40% below the overall median sales price nationwide, the uptick in distressed sales combined with affordability constraints are contributing to faltering home price appreciation in some markets — most notably the bellwether markets of Washington, D.C. and San Francisco” Blomquist added.
Still, there were laggards. In 19 markets (15%) sellers in March on average sold for less than what they purchased for, led by Rockford, Illinois (11% average loss compared to purchase price); Winston-Salem (10% loss); Cleveland (8% loss); Columbia, South Carolina (7% loss); and Wilmington, North Carolina (5% loss). The rest of the bottom 11 markets with average seller losses in March included Memphis (4% loss); Milwaukee(4% loss); Chicago (3% loss); Cincinnati (3% loss); Birmingham, Alabama (2% loss); and Flint, Michigan (1% loss).
The RealtyTrac Home Sales report is based on publicly recorded sales deeds collected and licensed by RealtyTrac in more than 900 counties nationwide accounting for more than 80 percent of the U.S. population.
Monday, March 14, 2016
Custom Homes one-of-a-kind upscale creation by Copper Creek Homes
Custom Homes and Copper Creek Homes
It's spring 2016 and with New Home building in full production it is exciting to see some new creations on the horizon. Each Copper Creek Homes stand out from the crowd. They are one-of-a-kind, upscale creations that come with luxury upgrades and unique architectural design.In addition to flexibility in home design and architecture, our buyers typically choose their ideal location and environment. As a result, custom home design often incorporates elements of the local landscape, whether that is a view of the Columbia river, Mt Hood, the Washougal River, or the distinct colors and plants of a specific landscape.
Differences between Copper Creek Custom Homes & Production Homes
While production builders build communities by restricting design to a group of preselected home types on lots they have picked and purchased themselves. Copper Creek Homes tends to build on land owned by the customer and start fresh with each design. We allow minor changes during construction such as larger windows or even movement of interior walls to obtain the best views.
Production builders typically construct a large number of homes throughout the year; these may offer a variety of options, but production builders generally do not use construction plans other than the ones selected by the building firm. Custom builders spend more time on each project and often work on fewer than 15 homes a year.
This 2016 Copper Creek Homes will build approximately 15 New Homes from 1 level ADA homes to daylight basement homes on the Orchard Hills Golf Course, a few 2 story custom homes and even a 7600 Multi-Generational Home in Hockinson WA on 5 Acres starting late Spring 2016.
www.coppercreekhome.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)