Multigenerational Housing
CMBA President Kevin Maleska, Maleska Custom Builders, Inc.
The largest growing group of buyers the National Association of Home Builders has ever seen in an age category are the 55+ housing market. The organization named multigenerational housing as a top trend in 2012, it remains to be seen how this will be reflected in upcoming construction projects. Read more
Best Return on Investment Remodeling Projects
by Kevin Maleska, Maleska Custom Builders, Inc. CMBA President
May is remodeling month, here are 5 of the most valuable home improvements to improve the value of your home.
5. Exterior Siding Replacement
Replacing siding is one of the most inexpensive ways to improve the appearance of a home’s exterior and at an average of $10,000 and saves money overtime for homeowners due to increased insulation. On average, siding adds a 78 percent return at resale.
4. Remodeled Kitchen
Sanding, staining, or re-painting cabinets and replacing old appliances with more updated models can cost as little as $15,000 total and will recoup an average of 80 percent value to a home.
3. Attic or Basement Conversion
According to US News, converting an attic or basement into living space costs an average of $49,000; adding space could cost $83,000. Conversion of an attic or basement recoups an average of 83 percent on a home’s overall value.
2. Front Door Replacement
Costing an average of $600, homeowners recoup an average of 129 percent of the project’s cost when installing a steel door.
1. Landscaped Yard
A well maintained attractive yard can add up to a 200 percent return at resale.
Don’t Overlook Small Home Repairs
While remodeling the kitchen or landscaping the front yard may seem like exciting remodeling endeavors, it is important to focus on necessary home improvements first. You may have the most attractive yard in the neighborhood, but if you have leaky plumbing or an uneven foundation, you will find your house difficult to sell to prospective home buyers.
Other projects like applying new coats of paint to your home’s exterior and interior and replacing damaged floors are also extremely simple and affordable projects that, while not as groundbreaking as a converted attic or basement, can still result in an increased home value down the road.
To check the benefits of the remodeling project for your area of the country check the Cost VS Value Report updated annually. To find a professional remodeler in Central Minnesota, search the CMBA Member Directory and click to learn What You Should Know About Hiring a Remodeler.
What You Should Know About Hiring a Remodeler
By Kevin Maleska, Maleska Custom Builders, Inc. President Central Minnesota Builders Association
With the ongoing challenging economy, many families are choosing to remodel their homes to fit their changing needs, rather than selling their home and buying another one. Your home is likely your largest investment, and even simple remodels can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, so you want to make sure you find a contractor you can trust. Read more
Beware of salespeople pitching energy savings from radiant barriers
The Commerce Department alerts homeowners, “Radiant barriers are not an effective means to reduce heating or cooling loads in Minnesota homes.”
Radiant barriers consist of a reflective film, usually aluminum, installed over the top of attic insulation in existing homes. They are sold as an energy-saving product, with claims of significant reductions in both heating and cooling costs. However, their potential benefit is primarily in reducing air-conditioning cooling loads in warm or hot climates – particularly in southern states. It is unlikely that most Minnesota consumers would realize any measurable energy savings from radiant barriers in attics.Think twice before installing radiant barriers in attics. The Department’s Division of Energy Resources (DER) has received reports of salespeople pitching radiant barrier products in flyers and at free dinners throughout Minnesota. Read more
Four Generations Working Together
There is a new problem in the workplace, and it has nothing to do with downsizing, global competition, pointy-haired bosses, stress or greed. Instead, it is the problem of distinct generations — the Veterans, the Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y — working together and often colliding as their paths cross. Individuals with different values, different ideas, different ways of getting things done and different ways of communicating in the workplace have always existed. So, why is this becoming a problem now? Read more
Remodeling Data | Estimates in the St. Cloud Area
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has produced estimates on remodeling undertaken by home owners in every county in the country. Estimates are produced by the Economics and Housing Policy Group from a statistical model based on the variables shown in the table below and the American Housing Survey (AHS, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau) applied to county-level data from the American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau) collected over the period 2006-2010. Read more
Undermining Aspiring and Current Home Owners
CMBA President Kevin Maleska, Maleska Custom Builders, Inc.
Discussions among Washington policymakers and pundits about whether the mortgage interest deduction should be sacrificed in the name of deficit reduction are irresponsible and undermining an already fragile housing market.
With mortgage interest rates near historic lows and housing affordability at or near record levels, now is the time that young families should be looking to enter the housing market. Yet, these policy talks alone are fueling uncertainty and standing in the way of a full-fledged housing recovery. Read more
Why it Will Not Get Any Worse
Elliot Eisenberg – NAHB Senior Economist spoke at the BAM Convention in February –
Why it won’t get any worse –
- Manufacturing is on the road to recovery
- Interest rates low
- Housing prices bottomed
- Consumer sediment at helm
- Europe hit bottom, has no effect on our economy
- Banks can’t lend less money than they already do now
- Corporate profits not expected to drop much more
- Congress will cut spending but not until 2013
- No real inflation in site
- Because I said so.
American Voters Value Homeownership
By President Kevin Maleska, Maleska Custom Builders, Inc.
Central Minnesota Builders Association
For generations of Americans, owning your home meant owning your future and building a sense of stability, pride and accomplishment. Even with the economic turmoil of the past few years, Americans remain committed to the American Dream of homeownership. And if politicians seeking to reduce the deficit by reducing or eliminating government incentives to own a home had any doubt, a recent survey of likely voters proves it. Read more
New Homes of the Future: Smaller, Greener and More Casual
By President Kevin Maleska, Maleska Custom Builders, Inc.
Central Minnesota Builders Association
The economic downturn has changed the way Americans look at a lot of things, including what they are looking for in their next home. A study by the National Association of Home Builders suggests that the recession has caused prospective home buyers to shift their perspective on the housing they want and need, and that the new home of the future will focus more on efficiency than indulgence. Read more