Real Estate Information Archive

Smaller homes, lower prices. That's the outlook for new home builders this year. In a recent poll by (NAHB) National Association of Home Builders 95 percent of those polled say they consider one or the other or both as their top buyer priorities.

At the recent 2010 NAHB International Builders' Show builders were given a list of 40 features and asked which ones they were likely to include in new homes this year. Here's what's hot and what's not.

Items most likely to be found in new homes for 2010:

1. Walk-in closet in master bedroom
2. Separate laundry room
3. Insulated front door
4. Great room
5. Low-E windows
6. Linen closet
7. Programmable thermostat
8. Energy-efficient appliances and lighting
9. Separate shower and tub in master bedroom
10. Nine-foot ceilings on first floor

The least likely items homebuyers will find in new homes this year include:

1. Outdoor kitchen
2. Outdoor fireplace
3. Sun room
4. Butler's pantry
5. Media room
6. Desk in kitchen
7. Two-story foyer
8. Eight-foot ceiling on first floor
9. Multiple shower heads in master bath
10. Smaller kitchen area than in recent years

We have notice that buyers are focusing their wants heavily on energy-saving. Things we thought were consumer necessities — such as granite countertops in the kitchen or home offices — are no longer on the list.

Also not as popular in 2009 were energy-guzzlers like the high-ceiling entryways. Builders are leaning more in 2010 to nine-foot ceilings hoping to give the buyer a feeling of more square footage, which has been reduced.

Buyers continue to look for products that save money. Did you know, water-saving toilets use an average of 39,000 fewer gallons of water annually for a family of four. That's enough for a lifetime of drinking water for three people according to Kohler a leading manufacturer of faucets and fixtures.

NAHB conducted a consumer survey to compare the wants of older buyers with others. They found that those age 55 and older have a slightly different "want" list in a new home:

1. Washer-dryer in the unit
2. Storage space
3. Windows that open easily
4. Garage door opener
5. Easy-to-use thermostat
6. Master bedroom on first floor
7. Private patio
8. Porch
9. Attached garage
10. Bigger bathrooms

According to the Austin Business Journal, work has begun on the first two sections of a residential development that could bring as many as 5,500 new homes to Leander and Liberty Hill. Gunn & Whittington Development is the developer of the three subdivisions.

Rancho Sienna on Parmer Lane in east Leander is 610 acres. Middlebrook, along Hwy. 29 in Liberty Hill, is 400 acres. Santa Rita, also in Liberty Hill, is 1,200 acres.

Construction on the first 167 lots of Rancho Sienna and the first phase of Middlebrook has begun. Buildout is expected to take five years. Plans for Santa Rita call for buildout completion in nine or ten years.

But there is conflict happening on who is going to provide the utilities for this area. Leander city officials don't want outside MUD (Municipal Utility District) to oversee the utility for this area because eventually Leander would have to absorb the debt of it. This means the Tax payers will be paying for it.

Middlebrook homes will range from the $140,000s to $220,000s. In the other two subdivisions, prices will be from the $200,000s to $400,000s.