Kitchen Trends and the Death of the Formal Dining Room?

Lately clients tell me they do not care for a formal dining room and they would rather have that space for something more functional, such as a home office or larger kitchen. Kitchen design trends have been moving away from dining rooms and toward eating, drinking, and entertaining in the kitchen itself for a while now. A large kitchen island complete with bar stools, prep sink and wine fridge is the perfect way to make this happen. 
So is the formal dining room dead? Perhaps, for the time being.

Another current trend is open spaces. So a kitchen, with a large functional island, that is open to a dining area (not room) and into the living room is in... BIG time! Now throw down some granite tops, tile or wood floors and you are in business. How about upgrading the appliances? You betcha! Stainless? Sure. Stainless has been big for a a few years now. Avocado green and bisque are certainly out... still. So what else could there be? How about "white ice" from Whirlpool. They may be on to something with this new style, although stainless is going to be a major seller for while yet. Just keep in mind that they are called trends for a reason, because they come and they go. In the near future stainless will be dated, just like everything else that came before it. Will "white ice" be the new king? It's possible. 

If you are looking to do some updating and or remodeling, because you want to sell your home, keep this in mind, open spaces, kitchen islands, granite tops and stainless are key ingredients to help get it done.

Home Sales and the Shifting Market

The times they are a changing..... For the Greater Kalamazoo area Pended Homes for the month of November are up 15% from last year at the same time.
What is even better is that the Sale Prices are up 18% over the same time.
If you are more interested in the Portage area specifically then you you will be glad to see that sale prices are up 7.9% and pending homes are up 45%.
 Across the board the numbers show a rise in pending homes, sale prices and avg price per square foot.
The only thing that is going down, and this is important, is the inventory. It is down 6.6% which shows that we are in the shift to a sellers market. More homes pending for higher prices with fewer homes for sale certainly means that we are in the shift right now.
Combine this with lower interest rates and MSHDA providing a first time home buyers assistance and we are all set to see prices continue to rise thru the year.
Give me a call or send me an email and I will be glad to provide you with a more detailed data report that is specific to your neighborhood.