At this time of year, it seems everyone is making their predictions for 2010. Why should I be any different. But my predicitions come with some advice. So here goes.

First, the housing market will slowly recover, but it won’t feel like a recovery. It will be like suffering from a fever of 102 degrees and now it’s only 100 degrees. You feel a little better, but still feel poorly. Unfortunately, there is a lot of housing inventory still out there to be absorbed. That is going to take a while. (more…)

If you’ll pardon the bad pun, it saves dollars and makes sense to stay in your house and remodel it in the face of today’s economy and the dismal state of the real estate market. It’s very hard to sell a house right now and even harder to get a decent price for it. The equity you might have had has shrunken. It’s a buyer’s market so you aren’t going to get top dollar. But if you can wait out the market, the value will eventually come back. Remodeling can allow you to enjoy your present house while you’re waiting. (more…)

Congratulations to Joseph Truini on a great and timely article entitled “5 Reasons Architects Are Worth the Money When Redoing Your Home.” If you missed it, it was posted by Popular Mechanics and MSN Real Estate. I was impressed enough to post the following comment on the article:

With the state of the economy right now, remodeling makes a lot of sense. It’s hard to sell a house, but with construction costs way down, remodeling your current house into your dream house is a great idea. Plus you don’t have to pay real estate commissions or moving costs. That money can help buy you your new kitchen cabinets and countertops or the screened porch you’ve been wanting. (more…)

I received a note from someone the other day asking how much it would cost to add a room to an existing house. She was interested in the “cost per square foot” for budgeting and planning purposes. She also asked what the best options might be. Figuring the cost of building a new house based on a cost per square foot is a tough thing to do because there are so many variables. Additions are even tougher to estimate. You could spend anywhere from $100 per foot to over $1000 per foot. It all depends on the complexity of the addition, the way it is built, the level of the appointments (finishes, fixtures, etc.), the construction materials used, and the location in which it is built.

Can you compare an addition of a simple room with no plumbing or special features with the cost of a kitchen addition full of cabinets, countertops, plumbing fixtures, and appliances? The kitchen addition could cost twice what the simple addition would cost based on the “cost per square foot.” What if an addition was to be built on flat land, clad in vinyl siding, and contained only a couple of simple windows. It would be much less expensive than an addition built on sloping land, clad in fieldstone, full of high-end windows, and included a soaring ceiling. Comparing the cost of these two projects would be like comparing apples and oranges. (more…)