DO NOT CALL UPDATE - IMPORTANT INFO

JUST A REMINDER....31 days from today, all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sale calls. ..YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS... To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222. It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years.

HELP OTHERS BY PASSING THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS OR GO TO: www.donotcall.gov

What's In, What's Out with Homebuyers in 2006

What's In:

• Smaller square footage homes. After years of sprawl, new construction buyers want less space with better finishes.
  
• Quality kitchen cabinets. With the kitchen/great room the center of family living, buyers today are looking at furniture style cabinets.
  
• Bamboo wood floors. It could over-take maple as the favorite light-colored wood flooring in 2006.
  
• Wall space for flat screen TV's. The popular location for installation in new construction is over the fireplace.
  
• Multiple and high-powered phone lines. With modern DSL, wi-fi moving into mainstream use, tech-savvy homebuyers want "wired" homes.
  
• Separate shower stalls and bathtubs in master bedrooms. The growing divide among "soakers" and "showerers" is increasing.
  
• Built-in home stereo systems are a must-have for many audiophiles. Wireless hasn't quite made the pre-wired audio system home obsolete, at least not in 2006.
  
• Balconies and decks wider than 3 feet. Homebuyers want usable outdoor space. Big enough for a bistro table and chairs and a couple of pots for container gardening.
  
• Guest parking. With the rise in condominiums, lofts and zero-lot line subdivisions, homebuyers want their gueststo have a hassle-free experience when they arrive at their new home. Buy or lease an extra space for family or friends.
  
• Dog Parks. Dogs and homeownership go hand-in-hand. They new way to meet neighbors in the hood is to interact with them at the dog park. Before buying a home, check out the nearest one.
  
• Ranch or one-level homes. The baby-boomers are discovering their utility in droves.
  
• Second homes. The baby-boomers are also keeping this market segment strong. Demand for second homes was still on the upside in 2005, but if primary home demand weakens, the second home market will historically follow.
  
• Seller give-backs. With a more balanced market in most metro markets, requests by buyers to pay closing costs have increased, and some sellers are paying them.
  
• Carbon Monoxide detectors. Home inspectors red flag homes that have only smoke detectors. Inexpensive and life-saving, install one on every floor of a home.
  
  What's Out:
  
  
  
  • The real estate bubble. It's a correction with a soft decline in prices.
    
  • Ebony-stained hardwood floors. You're better off tearing it out than trying to sand the ebony out to refinish.
    
  • Single-rod closets. Buyers want the most storage in the least amount of space. Organizers accomplish this.
    
  • Dark rooms with small windows. Natural light can over-rule a lot of other problems in a home.
    
  • Wallpaper. Buyers never have the same taste as decorators. Take it down (carefully) and paint.
    
  • Builder-grade light fixtures and interior fixtures used outside. The right fixtures say quality to buyers.
    
  • Mid-century awnings on exterior windows and doors. Buyers want to let the sun shine in.
    
  • Mirrored backsplash's in kitchens and everywhere else. Mirrored walls and ceilings say1980's hedonism.
    
  • Commitment (strong, bold, trendy) colors. They look great in magazines, but as one buyer said to me "I don't live in a magazine."
    
  • Gas grills that need their own tank. Buyers prefer the gas piped from the house so they don't have to replace tanks.
    
  • Dropped ceilings. It might have updated a bungalow in the 1950's, but buyers want as much vertical space as possible.
    
    On The Way Out:
    
    
    
    • Stainless steel appliances. Word-of-mouth says the cleaning requirements aren't for everyone.
      
    • Laminate flooring that looks like hardwood. The noise it makes with high-heel shoes in unappealing.
      
      Note: This information was taken from an article by Mark Nash