What is Real Estate

Writen by Mark Nash

Everyone's curious about what's going on in the residential real estate market. More so in spring 2006 market than ever before. All the hype about a real estate bubble has created anxiety about what's hot, not, selling, sitting and the overall tone. Mark Nash author of 1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home and regular columnist for RealtyTimes.com shares what he and a network of agents across the country have heard from home buyers, sellers, builders and developers as the spring market reaches it's peak.

-Is there a real estate bubble?

Nash: No, a soft decline in prices is the norm. Houston is on the rise with high demand from Katrina transplants, Seattle is a strong sellers market, Chicago is over last years appreciation and sales volume numbers and the brunt of speculative woes are seen on the coasts, California, Florida and the Washington to New York corridor.

There is no free-fall anywhere. Fear of a bubble is subsiding.

-Are buyers spooked?

Nash: More so than in recent years. Since the negotiating pendulum has swung back in their favor, they take their time and build a strategy before writing an offer. Buyers remorse is on the rise, some buyers are afraid that they are buying at market highs. Sellers need to know that if they aren't priced right, buyers move on, and they have plenty of other options with rising inventories.

-What about Zillow.com and other new online companies?

Nash: Buyers are very savvy with the new wealth of real estate information online and sites like Zillow are popular with home buyers. Zillow had a couple of hiccups at roll-out, but they will grow as a force in the business. The new Internet business models need to figure out the "local" part of residential real estate to gain major market share.

-Will rising interest rates affect buyers decisions?

Nash: They will be able to afford less home with rising rates, so they are more value driven than before. This aspect of the home market has been around a long time, interest rates and home prices are intertwined. Home prices rise with low interest rates and prices fall as rates climb. Remember that supply and demand should be factored in to this equation too, inventory levels are very high in contrast to the go-go days of the past several years.

-What's emerging this spring as a hot new buyer trend?

Nash: Exposed brick in home interiors, old or new. Buyers of all ages are receptive to rehabbed vintage brick exposed walls as well as the use of new brick in new construction. Just a couple of years ago is was difficult to sell a property with exposed brick, it was considered dated. Buyers that are attracted to exposed brick should know that it does have to be sealed properly and it has low insulating values.

-Anything else?

Nash: Crystal or Glass knobs on doors and cabinets. Some builders offered them as a test and buyers have been very receptive to them. They run the design gamut from vintage knock-offs to contemporary , there is a style for every taste.

What's out?

Nash: Spiral staircases. It doesn't matter that they're custom-made from Brazilian cherry, buyers hate them. They're perceived as a floor plan mistake, not kid or pet friendly and a barrier to moving furniture up or down. I've been with buyers that refused to buy a place with a spiral staircase when the rest of the home worked. Buyers couldn't find a place to put in a standard staircase, they're close to becoming obsolete.

-That's it?

Nash: Well, stainless-steel appliances are becoming love-hate. Either they're a must have or a must replace. That's an important change from last year. Buyers have learned first-hand that they require additional cleaning and really don't go visually with every kitchen style, stainless steel with cherry cabinets is out. Buyers are returning to softer kitchen finishes as 2006 continues.

-Any home style predictions?

Nash: Retro 1970's will come back in a big way. Chrome and glass, Lucite, black,white and gray paint themes. I calling it "three-quarter century".

-Any closing thoughts?

Nash: Overall the market is shaping up to be a normal spring market. We haven't seen normal for some years and sellers have been slow to "get it". Flipping properties is on the wane and buyers are looking at housing more as a place to live than a "get-rich-quick" investment.

Mark Nash's fourth real estate book, "1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home" (2005), and working as a real estate broker in Chicago are the foundation for his consumer-centric real estate perspective which has been featured on ABC-TV, CBS The Early Show, Bloomberg TV, Bottom Line Magazine, CNN-TV, Chicago Sun Times & Tribune, Fidelity Investor's Weekly, MarketWatch, HGTVpro.com, Miami Herald, MSNBC.com, Smart Money Magazine, The New York Times, Universal Press Syndicate and USA Today. Mark is a contributing writer to http://www.RealtyTimes.com