Fading Home Fads

Fads come and go (remember Zubas?) and the same occurs within the realm of real estate. An article was recently written in REALTOR Magazine discussing some home fashions that are starting to go out of fashion. The list includes:

1. Fireplaces: The fireplace skyrocketed in importance in homes in 1991 with 62 percent of new homes having one or more. But the number has steadily been decreasing ever since. In 2007, the number dropped to 51 percent.

2. Carpet: While 54 percent of homes still have carpet floors, the number is decreasing and hardwood floors are taking the place. Vinyl and ceramic tile flooring also are being bypassed more by buyers. Seventeen percent of new homes contain hardwood floors throughout the entire house.

3. Living room: These once-decorative centerpieces of homes are slowly vanishing from newer homes. Thirty-four percent of consumers say they’re willing to buy a home without a living room.

4. Desks in the kitchen: These desks were once looked at as great storage areas but they’re often too small and quickly become clutter spaces in a home, said Gayle Butler, editor in chief of Better Homes and Gardens. Instead, more consumers say they prefer larger desks in or near the family room—equipped with a messaging center—where they can keep an eye on their kids as they work on the computer.

5. Skylights: The little windows that allow natural light to seep into a home from above are falling out of style. Only 10 percent of new homes will include them this year, a continuing downward spiral for skylights.

6. Upscale kitchen finishes: Granite countertops are slowly becoming less desirable among buyers who are now moving toward affordable, low-maintenance laminate countertops—which tend to last longer and now come in various styles.

So add these to the "passe" list along with acid-wash jeans and Members-Only jackets, grunge and disco music, VHS and cassette tapes, and the DeLorean and VW buses. But you know what they say; fads are cyclical. Maybe we will once again see kitchen appliances in avocado and mediterrainean brown colors as we did in the 70's.

Home Fads That Are Falling Out of Style

The Mike Webb Team: www.NorthernVirginiaHouses.com