Gardens come in all shapes and sizes. For those who don’t have a flourishing backyard with acres of greenery, you’ve got to make do with the space you have to satisfy your inner green thumb. Creating a balcony garden can bring life to your terrace and give you some healthy options to add into your cooking. By plotting out the space, researching which plants will thrive on your balcony, and gathering the right materials, you’ll set yourself up for gardening success.
How to Create a Balcony Garden
First, consider your space. The amount of sunlight your balcony gets will determine what you’re able to grow and how quickly your garden will grow. Crops like tomatoes and strawberries need lots of sun to grow up healthy, while others like peas and herbs can still thrive in less sunlight. If your balcony is sunlight-deprived, you may need to invest in a grow light to give your plants the light they need.
What are your goals for your balcony garden? Are you looking to build out your collection of natural herbs or do you want to turn your terrace into your own personal exotic oasis? Whether your motives are culinary or aesthetic, planning out your garden will help you maximize space. Hanging and stack planters allow you to create a vertical garden, which helps save space. Climbing plants like honeysuckle, ivy, ferns, and different varieties of vines are perfectly suited for this kind of garden design. Before hanging any planting pots, hooks, trellises, shelves, or any kind of gardening equipment, check your governing Homeowners Association (HOA) policies to make sure your plans are within the rules.
With any garden, your main concern is keeping your plants healthy. This means giving them plenty of water, treating your soil with care, and keeping up with seasonal demands depending on your local climate. If you’re looking to save money on your balcony gardening project, don’t focus your frugal efforts on soil. Soil is the lifeblood of your garden, so it’s important to give it a fresh, nutrient-rich mixture. Once you’ve selected your plants, research their needs to see which potting mix you need to pick up at your local gardening or hardware store. Depending on the chemical makeup of the potting soil, you may not need to fertilize your plants right away.
With a balcony garden, it’s also important to keep your neighbors happy. Put saucers underneath your pots to prevent excess water from dripping onto the neighbors beneath you. This will also cut down on wasted water, one of the main principles of sustainable gardening. Self-watering pots are helpful, especially if you’re not always around to water your plants. They prevent overwatering by metering the amount of water your plants receive, only feeding them when necessary.
You also need to consider how much weight you’re adding to your balcony. Yes, terra cotta pots have that quintessential Tuscan gardening look, but a dozen ceramic pots filled with water-soaked plants might bear more weight on your terrace than it’s prepared for. Look at more lightweight potting alternatives and different soil mixtures than can lighten the load on your balcony.
The following analysis of select counties of the Western Washington real estate market is provided by Windermere Real Estate Chief Economist Matthew Gardner. We hope that this information may assist you with making better-informed real estate decisions. For further information about the housing market in your area, please don’t hesitate to contact your Windermere Real Estate agent.
Regional Economic Overview
As discussed in the first quarter Gardner Report, job growth continues to slow. Even though Western Washington added 54,391 new jobs over the past 12 months, which represented a decent growth rate of 2.3%, the slowdown in the creation of new jobs is palpable. The regional unemployment rate in May was 3.7%, which is marginally above the 3.4% of a year ago. As we enter the summer months, I have started to ponder the economic outlook for the balance of this year as well as looking ahead to 2024. Although many are still suggesting a looming recession, I remain unconvinced. However, if enough people expect to see an economic contraction, it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, which has happened in the past!
Western Washington Home Sales
❱ In the second quarter of 2023, 14,997 homes sold. This was down 34.4% from the second quarter of 2022, but up 43.8% from the first quarter of 2023.
❱ The growth in quarter-over-quarter sales was due to the 21.7% increase in the number of homes for sale. While this is positive, it should be noted that inventory levels in the quarter were still 16% lower than a year ago.
❱ Sales fell across the board compared to the same quarter in 2022 but were up in all markets compared to the first quarter of 2023.
❱ Pending sales rose in all counties compared to the first quarter of this year, suggesting that sales in the upcoming quarter may show further improvement.
Western Washington Home Prices
❱ Sale prices fell an average of 7.6% compared to the second quarter of 2022 but were 11.7% higher than in the first quarter of this year. The average home sale price was $773,343.
❱ Compared to the first quarter of this year, sale prices were higher in all counties except San Juan, which, as a small island county, is notorious for its extreme price swings.
❱ The year-over-year drop in sale prices was not a surprise given that the market was peaking due to rapidly rising mortgage rates. That said, prices in Lewis, Clallam, and Skagit counties exceeded those of a year ago.
❱ It was interesting to see list prices rising in all markets compared to the first quarter of the year. Even though inventory levels have risen, sellers still believe that they are in the driver’s seat.
Mortgage Rates
Although they were less erratic than the first quarter, mortgage rates unfortunately trended higher and ended the quarter above 7%. This was due to the short debt ceiling impasse, as well as several economic datasets that suggested the U.S. economy was not slowing at the speed required by the Federal Reserve.
While the June employment report showed fewer jobs created than earlier in the year, as well as downward revisions to prior gains, inflation has not sufficiently slowed. Until it does, rates cannot start to trend consistently lower. With the economy not slowing as fast as expected, I have adjusted my forecast: Rates will hold at current levels in third quarter and then start to trend lower through the fall. Although there are sure to be occasional spikes, my model now shows the 30-year fixed rate breaking below 6% next spring.
Western Washington Days on Market
❱ It took an average of 35 days for homes to sell in the second quarter. This was 20 more days than in the same quarter of 2022, but 21 fewer days compared to the first quarter of this year.
❱ Snohomish County became the tightest market in Western Washington, with homes taking an average of only 18 days to sell. Homes for sale in San Juan County took the longest time to sell at 81 days.
❱ All counties contained in this report saw average days on market rise from the same period in 2022. Market time fell across the board compared to the prior quarter.
❱ The greatest fall in days on market compared to the first quarter was in Clallam County, where market time fell 31 days. Also of note were Pierce, Thurston, and Whatcom counties, where market time fell 25 days.
Conclusions
This speedometer reflects the state of the region’s real estate market using housing inventory, price gains, home sales, interest rates, and larger economic factors.
The increase in listing activity, while pleasing, still leaves the market short of inventory. Even with mortgage rates well above levels we’ve seen over the past few years, demand for homes still exceeds supply. Given that over 86% of homeowners with mortgages have an interest rate below 5% and more than a quarter have a rate at or below 3%, I see little incentive for them to sell if they don’t have to. This tells me that supply levels are unlikely to improve enough to meet demand until rates drop significantly.
With this supply-demand imbalance, it’s no surprise that prices are rising again following the decline in the second half of 2022. I expect prices to rise modestly as we move through the second half of 2023. Rising list and sale prices, shorter time on market, and higher pending and closed sales all offset higher mortgage rates. Given these factors, I have moved the needle in favor of sellers.
About Matthew Gardner
As Chief Economist for Windermere Real Estate, Matthew Gardner is responsible for analyzing and interpreting economic data and its impact on the real estate market on both a local and national level. Matthew has over 30 years of professional experience both in the U.S. and U.K.
In addition to his day-to-day responsibilities, Matthew sits on the Washington State Governors Council of Economic Advisors; chairs the Board of Trustees at the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington; and is an Advisory Board Member at the Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies at the University of Washington where he also lectures in real estate economics.
Harvard University’s latest edition of “The State of the Nation’s Housing” has arrived, and Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner is here to break down what the data presented in the report means for the U.S. housing market in 2023 and beyond.
This video is the latest in our Monday with Matthew series with Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner. Each month, he analyzes the most up-to-date U.S. housing data to keep you well-informed about what’s going on in the real estate market.
Housing Market 2023
Hello there, I’m Windermere Real Estate’s Chief Economist Matthew Gardner, and welcome to this month’s episode of Monday with Matthew. I spend a lot of time reading reports that relate to the housing market, but there is one in particular I’m always impatiently waiting for, and it’s published by my colleagues at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. Every year they release the The State of the Nation’s Housing report and it’s packed full of fascinating data about the ownership and rental housing markets, demographics, and it also discusses the challenges that lay ahead. So today, I wanted to touch briefly on just a few of the report’s high points, but I highly recommend you download it from their website.
What’s happening in the housing market?
As we all know, the for-sale housing market started softening in mid 2022 in response to rising interest rates and deteriorating affordability. What was particularly notable was that seasonally adjusted home prices fell month over month last July and that was the first monthly drop in over a decade. And over in the rental market, asking rents—while still up year over year—also saw their pace of growth slow considerably, and that is a concern.
Is home construction slowing down?
As you see here, multifamily construction continued to rise last year even as rental demand was softening. In fact, 547,000 new multifamily units were started in 2022, the highest number since the mid-1980s, and the 960,000 units under construction in March 2023 was the highest number seen in half a century. On the ownership side, it wasn’t surprising to see single-family construction falling significantly as buyers reacted to sharply higher borrowing costs.
The report also suggested that the decline in new construction was particularly acute for lower-priced homes. Builders just can’t produce entry-level product with current material, labor, and land costs; limited lot availability; and regulatory barriers such as minimum lot sizes that restrict production of entry-level housing production.
U.S. Population Demographics
Now turning to demographics. Population growth—naturally the primary long-term driver of household growth—remains historically low. Overall, the U.S. population grew by 1.26 million people last year, or just 0.38%. Now, while this does represent a slight uptick from previous years that’s really not saying much as U.S. population growth hit 100-year lows in 2019, 2020, and 2021.
Increases in a country’s population come in two ways. The first is “natural” growth—which equals the number of persons born minus the number that have died—and the second is via immigration. Now, gains from immigration can be fickle because they are subject to unpredictable government policy changes as well as economic cycles here in the U.S. as well as in other countries. But natural growth is more predictable because it is driven by slow-moving factors like birth and mortality rates. Until last year, natural growth had been the primary source of population growth in the U.S., but, as you saw in that last chart, things have shifted.
U.S. Population Growth & Migration
This map shows counties with the highest level of natural growth and it’s dominated by large metro markets in California, Texas, Southern Florida and parts of the Northwest. But, what I found very interesting was that the numbers were remarkably low. Only six counties—three in California, two in Texas, and one in New York—saw natural growth above the 10,000 level and 75% of counties across the country saw negative natural growth.
So with natural growth slowing, states will understand the importance of attracting new residents from other markets as domestic migration will become a more important driver of household growthand housing demand. Here you see that Maricopa County, AZ saw the largest gains from domestic migration but, statewide, Florida dominated last year with 319,000 people moving there. Texas came in second with a net gain of over 230,000 people. But on the other end of the spectrum, California was the biggest loser with net 343,000 people leaving, followed by New York who lost 300,000 residents.
It was international migration that accounted for a full 80% of total growth last year and it was the largest source of total population growth for 26 states and 29% of all counties across the country. The biggest winners were LA County in California, Miami-Dade County in Florida, and Harris County, Texas.
These were just some of the highlights of the report and the biggest conclusions I found were that, in the ownership market, supply will remain tight in the resale arena and new construction will not fill that void, especially as it comes to the entry level product. Housing affordability will not improve. This will continue to be a big issue across the country.
An oversupply of apartments coming online will further moderate rents, but renters will also find affordability to be a big concern. Demographic trends suggest that low domestic population growth going forward will lower new household formations and it’s quite likely that population and household growth will start to rely wholly on immigration earlier than the government expects.
So, there you have it. As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject so feel free to leave your comments below. Until next month, stay safe out there and I’ll see you soon. Bye now.
To see the latest real estate market data for your area, visit our quarterly Market Updates page.
About Matthew Gardner
As Chief Economist for Windermere Real Estate, Matthew Gardner is responsible for analyzing and interpreting economic data and its impact on the real estate market on both a local and national level. Matthew has over 30 years of professional experience both in the U.S. and U.K.
In addition to his day-to-day responsibilities, Matthew sits on the Washington State Governors Council of Economic Advisors; chairs the Board of Trustees at the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington; and is an Advisory Board Member at the Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies at the University of Washington where he also lectures in real estate economics.
Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner revisits his Top 10 Predictions for 2023. Reviewing his forecasts for home prices, mortgage rates, and more, he highlights recent changes in the real estate market and updates his predictions for the near future.
This video is the latest in our Monday with Matthew series with Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner. Each month, he analyzes the most up-to-date U.S. housing data to keep you well-informed about what’s going on in the real estate market.
Top 10 Real Estate Market Predictions 2023 | Mid-Year Update
Hello there, I’m Windermere Real Estate’s Chief Economist Matthew Gardner and welcome to this month’s episode of Monday with Matthew. You may remember that at the end of last year, I published my Top-10 Predictions for 2023 and, as we hit the mid-year mark, some of you have been asking me how well my forecasts have been holding up. So, I thought it would be interesting to take another look at them to see how accurate they have or have not been! These were the predictions I made last November, and they covered everything from my expectations for home sales and prices to shifting government policies.
U.S. Home Sale Prices
My first forecast suggested that sale prices would fall in 2023; however, I was not expecting any sort of systemic decline in values. Here you can see that year-over-year prices are down by a bit less than 2%, but when you look at how prices have changed month over month, they rose by 3.6% in April and are up by more than 6% since the end of last year.
I stand by my forecast that the median sale price in 2023 will be modestly lower than the 2022 number; and the monthly increase in sale prices that we have seen so far this year also supports my forecast that we are not seeing any long-term decline in home values.
2023 Mortgage Rates
Although mortgage rates have broken above 7% eight times so far this year—the first time because of the banking crisis, and the second because of the looming debt ceiling—I expect them to become a little less frantic as we move through the second half of the year. That said, my call for them to drop below 6% this year is now likely to be inaccurate given where they are today. I still expect them to drop into the “fives” though, but not until early next year.
Is housing inventory increasing?
Listing activity saw a very modest late spring bump, but for perspective, the number of homes for sale is running at about 40% of its long-term average, and I still don’t see much growth this year. Why? Well, by my calculations, there could be over 20 million homeowners with mortgage rates around 3%. Why would they move!
Is 2023 a buyer’s or seller’s market?
And with limited inventory, the market still “technically” favors home sellers. Now, this is a little speculative because what defines a traditional “buyer’s” or “seller’s” market varies by location, but with relatively few homes on the market and the share of homes with price reductions dropping and list prices rising again, I just can’t see a buyer’s market appearing this year.
Are home prices falling?
Well, this doesn’t look to be meeting my forecasts, does it! Sellers have been pretty bullish so far this year, but I would add that this is not true across the whole country. List prices are still down significantly in markets such as Hailey, Idaho; Jasper, Alabama; and Elko, Nevada, where list prices for single-family homes are down between 30 and 50% from their peak. So, I admit that the country has outperformed my forecast for list prices.
Return to Office Statistics 2023
As I had expected, the pace of workers heading back to the office has not been very robust. In fact, the share of people in the office full time dropped to 42% in the second quarter of 2023, down from 49% in the first quarter, that according to The Flex Report. Meanwhile, the share of offices with hybrid work arrangements hit 30% in the quarter, up from 20% the previous quarter. But I still expect to see more workers heading back to their offices, albeit very reluctantly.
New Home Permits and Starts Have Fallen
With new home permits down 21% year-over-year, and new home starts off by 28%, I think its accurate to say that activity in the new construction sector has slowed. Builders continue to be hit by high financing rates as well as high material prices.
Are U.S. home prices dropping?
As we all know, not all markets are created equal, and this chart shows how far below their 2022 highs some of the country’s metro areas are. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are some markets where prices have already exceeded the highs seen last year (see map below).
Housing Affordability 2023
Affordability has not improved, mainly due to home prices that remain out of sync with incomes as well as financing costs that remain well above the level that buyers had become used to. I still believe that this will not improve in 2023.
And finally, I told you that governments would start to move to address the significant housing shortage that the country is experiencing, and they have. As you can see, in Washington State, Governor Inslee recently signed House Bill 1110 into law which allows the development of duplex up to six-unit buildings within any area zoned for single-family-only development. Additionally, jurisdictions in a significant number of states are either pursuing legislation to tackle this problem or have at least created task forces to look at the issue. It’s a good start, but more needs to be done.
Although it’s really cheating to grade one’s own work, I think that I have been pretty accurate with my forecasts. Yes, I was too pessimistic when it came to list prices and a little optimistic regarding the direction of mortgage rates. But other than those two items, the data seems to suggest that the housing market is headed in the direction that I had suggested.
What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject so leave your comments below. As always, stay safe out there and I’ll see you all next month. Bye now.
To see the latest real estate market data for your area, visit our quarterly Market Updates page.
About Matthew Gardner
As Chief Economist for Windermere Real Estate, Matthew Gardner is responsible for analyzing and interpreting economic data and its impact on the real estate market on both a local and national level. Matthew has over 30 years of professional experience both in the U.S. and U.K.
In addition to his day-to-day responsibilities, Matthew sits on the Washington State Governors Council of Economic Advisors; chairs the Board of Trustees at the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington; and is an Advisory Board Member at the Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies at the University of Washington where he also lectures in real estate economics.
High interest rates and scant inventory across King County are creating new dynamics for buyers and sellers alike. Both sides should be prepared to negotiate — buyers with more cash and sellers with accurate list prices. Find our full market recap here.
News + trends.
[THE STATE OF] REAL ESTATE
Seattle approves new cluster of tiny homes
A new community of tiny homes in Magnuson Park will feature upgraded designs. These residences come equipped with plumbing and kitchens, making them excellent choices for long-term affordable housing. READ MORE
LOCAL ECONOMY
The return to office is making area commutes longer
You’re not imagining it. More employees in the office means more cars on the road, and longer drive times.
Buying a home is, for many people, the largest financial undertaking of their lives. So, how do the numbers work? How is the price of a property converted into a transaction? Let’s take a look at how to pay for a house by focusing on some of the major components in a real estate purchase, namely the down payment, earnest money, and the mortgage payments required to successfully buy a home.
How to Pay for a House
If you have enough money available, it is possible to make an all-cash offer on a house. Most home buyers, however, save enough money to make a down payment that works for them and finance the remainder of a home purchase with a mortgage. Saving money to buy a house requires significant planning, but by being proactive, you’ll eventually put yourself in a position of higher buying power. Reducing debt, increasing savings contributions, and finding additional streams of income are all helpful ways of generating some extra cash to pay for a house.
Making a Down Payment on a Home
The down payment is a lump sum paid upfront by the buyer. The actual down payment amount varies by transaction, but it’s usually somewhere between 3% and 20% of the home’s purchase price. It’s one of the most important home buying costs, given how much planning goes into it. There’s a snowball effect with the down payment; once you figure out how much of a down payment you can afford, that will determine your home loan’s principal amount. The higher the down payment, the less risk for the mortgage lender. When buyers aren’t able to make a down payment of 20% of the purchase price, lenders will require they purchase additional mortgage insurance to protect the investment.
A real estate transaction is not your typical purchase. With so much money being moved around, it requires a little extra protection. This is where escrow comes in. Escrow ensures that your earnest money or “good faith deposit” gets properly disbursed according to plan during the home buying process, and holds property tax and homeowners insurance funds during the life of your home loan.
Making Mortgage Payments
Searching for a home loan is similar to searching for a home: there are many options, but based on what’s affordable and what works for your situation, you’ll eventually find the right one. When looking at the different types of home loans, you’ll compare the loans’ terms, interest rates, and conditions for repayment. For example, 15-year and 30-year mortgages are two of the most common home loan products. You’ll have lower monthly payments with a 30-year loan, but you’ll pay more interest over the life of the loan. With a 15-year mortgage, you’ll have higher monthly payments but pay less in total interest. Work with your mortgage broker to find the best home loan for you.
The Federal Housing Finance Authority recently put a hold on raising upfront mortgage fees given pushback that suggested home buyers with good credit were being penalized. Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner looks at Loan Level Price Adjustments (LLPAs) to explain why some headlines were misleading.
This video on the proposed FHFA mortgage fee changes is the latest in our Monday with Matthew series with Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner. Each month, he analyzes the most up-to-date U.S. housing data to keep you well-informed about what’s going on in the real estate market.
FHFA Mortgage Fee Changes
Hello there, I’m Windermere Real Estate’s Chief Economist Matthew Gardner, and welcome to this month’s episode of Monday with Matthew. As most of you are aware, the Federal Housing Finance Authority announced that they were going to raise the upfront fees for mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and that led to significant backlash from some suggesting that borrowers with good credit would now be paying more than borrowers with bad credit.
And as these voices grew louder, Congress stepped in with House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry and Housing and Insurance subcommittee Chair Warren Davidson announcing a plan to repeal these fee increases if they were introduced. Well, this did not go unnoticed, and the FHFA announced on May 10th that they were putting a hold on a new fee structure in order to engage industry stakeholders and better understand their concerns.
So, for now nothing has changed, but I still think it’s a subject worth discussing because we will see another proposal from the FHFA at some point in the future. So, what’s going on?
Well, periodically the FHFA raises the upfront fees that the Agencies charge borrowers for the purchase and refinance of mortgages that they guarantee, and these fees are called Loan Level Price Adjustments, or LLPAs.
In April of 2022, these fees went up for several types of loans including ones in expensive markets that have a higher conforming loan limit than seen nationally, and they also raised fees on second home mortgages. But to support affordable housing, the lower rates for certain programs including HomeReady, Home Possible, and HFA Advantage weren’t increased. And they didn’t raise fees for loans to first-time home buyers in high-cost areas if they earned at or below the area median income.
And the new round of fee increases that was scheduled to start in May of this year has many believing that it was just another subsidy given to households with lower credit that’s being paid for by households with better credit. But is that really an accurate statement? I don’t necessarily think so.
First off, the FHFA had to increase fees this year simply because they needed the money to cover higher capital requirements that went into effect last year, but that’s a topic for another day. For now, let’s take a look at the changes that would have been made.
Changes to LLPAs
The matrix you see here shows you the difference between the fee that was in place and the one that was proposed. Remember, this is not the actual fee itself, but the spread between the old and new pricing. And, as you can see, on face value it really does look to benefit borrowers with lower credit scores and penalize households with better credit. For example…
Changes to LLPAs: Credit Score 640 – 659
A household with a credit score of between 640 and 659 would see savings across all loan-to-value ranges versus the following:
Changes to LLPAs: Credit Score 740 – 759
A household with a credit rating of 740 to 759 who would be paying the same or more in all bar two scenarios with fees increasing between 0.125% and three quarters of a percent.
But is this really something to be worried about?
There are two things that stand out to me. The first is that a household putting down less than 20% has to buy private mortgage insurance. So, in reality, these households are actually less of a risk to the agencies than those who don’t, so isn’t it right that they should pay less in fees? Secondly, although I can’t disagree with anyone who states that families with lower credit will see fees go down and, generally speaking, they will go up for those with better credit, but people are confusing the CHANGE in the fee with the ACTUAL fee itself.
What I am saying is that low credit borrowers aren’t paying less than high credit borrowers. It’s just the spread in the rates between households with lower credit and those with higher credit has simply gotten smaller.
There is absolutely no scenario where someone with lower credit gets a lower fee. Let me show you.
Loan Level Pricing as of March 1, 2023
This was the new pricing schedule had it actually come into effect. Now let’s say there are two households wanting to buy houses for $500,000 and both looking to borrow 80% of the purchase price.
One buyer has a credit score of 640, so their LLPA would be 2.25% of the loan amount, or $9,000. The other buyer had a credit score of 740 so their fee would be 0.875%. That means the household with higher credit would be paying $5,500 less than the household with lower credit on a $400k loan.
No one is arguing that households with lower credit scores would have paid less in upfront fees, but I actually don’t see a problem with that. Remember, Fannie and Freddie’s mission is, in part, to facilitate access to affordable housing. Moreover, these fees don’t even apply to non-conforming or jumbo loans and they don’t impact FHA or VA loans either.
Although I certainly don’t know where the FHFA will end up regarding fee changes, they will have to do something at some point. I just hope that any modified plan is presented in a way that fully describes the situation and isn’t one that’s able to be interpreted in a manner which allows for headlines that don’t describe the full picture.
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject but, in the meantime, stay safe out there and I’ll see you all next month. Bye now.
To see the latest housing data for your area, visit our quarterly Market Updates page.
About Matthew Gardner
As Chief Economist for Windermere Real Estate, Matthew Gardner is responsible for analyzing and interpreting economic data and its impact on the real estate market on both a local and national level. Matthew has over 30 years of professional experience both in the U.S. and U.K.
In addition to his day-to-day responsibilities, Matthew sits on the Washington State Governors Council of Economic Advisors; chairs the Board of Trustees at the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington; and is an Advisory Board Member at the Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies at the University of Washington where he also lectures in real estate economics.
Whether you’ve just bought a house or you’ve lived in your home sweet home for years, at some point its walls and surfaces will be due for a fresh coat of paint. Repainting can breathe new life into an interior and help you personalize the space, whether you’re working within the latest interior design trends or blazing your own trail. But there’s one fundamental question facing every homeowner as they begin their painting project: How much paint do I need?
How much paint do I need?
Every project has a budget, and with the right planning you can execute the project to its full potential without going over budget. Painting is the ultimate DIY project and can be quite therapeutic, but still requires some calculation to determine how much you should expect to spend. With the right amount of paint, you’ll avoid overspending and getting saddled with the sunk cost of unused paint after you’ve completed your project.
The amount of paint required varies by project, but as a general rule of thumb, one gallon of paint covers about 400 square feet. So, it only takes a few simple measurements to calculate the amount of paint you’ll need for your walls.
How to Calculate How Much Paint You Need:
Start by measuring the length of each wall
Multiply the wall length by the wall height
Total length x total height = total square footage
Total square footage ÷ 400 = number of gallons
Subtract windows and doors square footage
Following this formula will give you the number of gallons you need to purchase for one coat of paint. Depending on your color scheme and the texture of your walls, your painting project may require multiple coats to have it looking just right.
If the walls you’re painting have windows and/or doors, simply perform the same basic calculation to determine their square footage and subtract that number from the total square footage value before calculating how many gallons you’ll need. When painting your ceilings, remember to account for the square footage of any skylights you may have in your home.
It’s often the case that a paint job is only as good as its base coat. A solid layer of primer can really make your painting project shine. But the same query with your topcoat applies to your primer: how much do you need? A gallon of primer will cover up to 300 square feet, so you’ll need more primer than topcoat for your project. Perform the same calculations as above and divide your paintable square footage by 300 to determine how many gallons of primer you’ll need to pick up.
How to Calculate How Much Primer You Need:
Start by measuring the length of each wall
Multiply the wall length by the wall height
Total length x total height = total square footage
Total square footage ÷ 300 = number of gallons
Subtract windows and doors square footage
Calculating square footage for trim isn’t as straightforward as it is for a square or rectangular wall. When preparing to paint your baseboards and crown molding throughout your home, think in quarts rather than gallons. Trim paint may go on smoother depending on the wood finish, and you’ll be using a brush rather than a roller. If you end up with extra trim paint at the completion of your project, it never hurts to keep it around for future touchups.
When it comes time to sell your home, first impressions are crucial. Improving your curb appeal helps to make the most of a buyer’s first glance and sets the stage for their interest in purchasing your home. Working with your agent to identify projects that boost your curb appeal will go a long way towards selling your home quickly and for the best price.
What’s your home worth?
Before you hit the market, it’s helpful to get a home value estimate. Nothing can replace the professional knowledge and local expertise of a real estate agent, but automated valuation models (AVMs) can be a helpful first step in determining home value. Windermere’s Home Worth Calculator evaluates your property and the surrounding market to give you an idea of how much it’s worth. Try it here: WHAT WILL MY HOME SELL FOR?
How to Improve Your Curb Appeal
As you prepare to sell your home, you’ll likely have a list of remodeling projects on your to-do list. Accordingly, it’s easy to get focused on your home’s interior and forget about the exterior. Turn your attention to the great outdoors with simple projects like these.
Landscaping
Lawn: A healthy, well-tended lawn goes a long way towards improving your curb appeal. Clean up all weeds, leaves, and debris, and consistently water your lawn to give it that fresh green look. If you live in an arid climate, consider grass alternatives like artificial turf for the best lawn aesthetic. A well-tended yard will make your home look even more impressive when you start hosting open houses.
Plant Colorfully: Adding colorful variety to your front yard will grab buyers’ attention. Align smaller plants like ground cover and flowers neatly within your flower beds, aiming for symmetry when possible. Use larger plants and trees to frame in your entryway or walkup. If your front yard doesn’t have flower beds, try adding hanging planters or window boxes. Because you’ll be competing against nearby listings, it’s landscaping projects like these that can make all the difference in your listing photos.
Lighting: Landscape lighting boosts your curb appeal during nighttime, accentuates your shrubbery, and adds a welcoming touch for potential buyers, lighting the way to your door.
Image Source: Getty Images – Image Credit: PC Photography
Porch Curb Appeal Tips
Your front porch sets the stage for all your home has to offer. Improvements here will play a significant role in how comfortable potential buyers feel about the property and how inspired they are to explore the inside of the house.
Door: Your front door is an opportunity to make a tasteful statement. Look at bold color choices that are within or slightly stretch your home’s exterior color palette. Take time to prepare the surface for a fresh coat of paint to make the color pop as much as possible and try stylish doorknob options that accentuate the aesthetic to give your door some added flair.
House Numbers: New and stylish house numbers are an easy, eye-catching addition to how your home is perceived by buyers. Look for styles that match with your exterior color palette and any exterior lighting fixtures.
Go for Comfort: Incorporating classic front porch elements like a porch swing, sitting bench, and other outdoor furniture gives a welcoming aura to your home’s entry and creates a sense of comfort for prospective buyers.
Shutters: Windows are the gateway to the inside of your home. Shutters of delicate fabric will bring elegance to your front porch, while wooden shutters deliver a grounded, cozy vibe.
Other Curb Appeal Projects
Miscellaneous projects like these should be on your home selling checklist, too. Though they may not offer the return potential of other home projects, they help to solidify how buyers will feel after visiting your home or seeing it online.
Quick Maintenance: Small chores and minor fixes like cleaning gutters, repairing chipped paint, and cleaning windows are important for buyers with a detailed eye.
Staining: Instead of completely replacing your fence or garage door, look into applying a fresh stain. This brings a refreshed look and is much cheaper than a full renovation or replacement. But if these features need to be replaced, doing so could help to boost home value. Replacing a garage door, for example, is consistently near the top of the highest ROI home remodeling projects for sellers.
Power Wash: Power washing your walkways and driveways makes a significant difference in curb appeal. If buying a power washer is outside your budget, explore rental options from hardware stores in your area.
The following analysis of select counties of the Western Washington real estate market is provided by Windermere Real Estate Chief Economist Matthew Gardner. We hope that this information may assist you with making better-informed real estate decisions. For further information about the housing market in your area, please don’t hesitate to contact your Windermere Real Estate agent.
Regional Economic Overview
The pace of employment growth in Western Washington continues to slow. The region added only 90,340 new jobs over the past 12 months. That said, the annual pace of employment growth was a respectable 3.6%. Three counties have not recovered completely from their pandemic job losses: Whatcom, Skagit, and Snohomish. However they are short by just under 10,000 jobs, which should be recovered by this fall. Regionally, the unemployment rate in February was 4.1%, which was marginally above the 3.8% level of a year ago. The employment outlook has improved modestly, with the likelihood of a recession in 2023 down to about 50%. That said, I expect the pace of job growth to continue to slow as businesses remain concerned about a contraction in consumer spending, as well as facing tighter credit conditions following recent bank failures.
Western Washington Home Sales
❱ In the first quarter of the year, 10,335 homes sold. This was down 30.9% from the same period in 2022 and 18.9% lower than in the fourth quarter of 2022.
❱ Lower sales activity was more a function of the limited number of homes for sale than anything else. Listing activity in the first quarter of 2023 was down 43% from the final quarter of 2022.
❱ Home sales fell across the board compared to the same quarter of last year and were lower in every county compared to the final quarter of 2022.
❱ Pending sales rose in all but three counties compared to the fourth quarter of 2022. This suggests that sales in the second quarter of the year may tick higher. That said, the region is in dire need of more inventory.
Western Washington Home Prices
❱ Home prices fell an average of 6.9% compared to the first quarter of 2022 and were 1.3% lower than in the fourth quarter of 2022. The average home sale price in the first quarter of 2023 was $692,866.
❱ Compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, prices were higher in Kitsap, Skagit, Lewis, San Juan, and Whatcom counties.
❱ Even though prices fell in the region, five counties saw sale prices rise very modestly from the first quarter of 2023.
❱ It’s worth noting that median listing prices rose in all but two markets compared to the previous quarter. This suggests that sellers are getting a little more comfortable with the market. If listing prices continue to rise, one can surmise that home prices will follow suit.
Mortgage Rates
Rates in the first quarter of 2023 were far less volatile than last year, even with the brief but significant impact of early March’s banking crisis. It appears that buyers are jumping in when rates dip, which was the case in mid-January and again in early February.
Even with the March Consumer Price Index report showing inflation slowing, I still expect the Federal Reserve to raise short-term rates one more time following their May meeting before pausing rate increases. This should be the catalyst that allows mortgage rates to start trending lower at a more consistent pace than we have seen so far this year. My current forecast is that rates will continue to move lower with occasional spikes, and that they will hold below 6% in the second half of this year.
Western Washington Days on Market
❱ It took an average of 56 days for a home to sell in the first quarter of this year. This was 32 more days than in the same quarter of 2022 and 16 days more than in the fourth quarter of last year.
❱ King County remains the tightest market in Western Washington, with homes taking an average of 41 days to sell. Homes in San Juan County took the longest time to sell.
❱ Market time rose in all counties contained in this report compared to the same period in 2022 and compared to the fourth quarter.
❱ The greatest increase in market time compared to a year ago was in Grays Harbor County, where it took an average of 41 more days for homes to sell. Grays Harbor County also saw the greatest increase in market time compared to the final quarter of 2022 (from 46 to 76 days).
Conclusions
This speedometer reflects the state of the region’s real estate market using housing inventory, price gains, home sales, interest rates, and larger economic factors.
Although the regional economy is still expanding, it continues to show signs of slowing. With the probability of a national recession this year now fifty-fifty, I do not see any reason for buyers to lose confidence in their housing decisions based purely on economic factors. Sellers appear to be a little more confident in the market as demonstrated by rising listing prices. Periods of lower mortgage rates and the lack of homes for sale are both likely contributors to this. Whatever the case may be, I am not seeing any signs of panic in the market.
Even in the face of higher financing costs, low inventory levels support home values, and the data suggests that the worst of the price declines are now behind us. The region had fewer sales, modestly lower prices, and higher average days on market, all of which favor home buyers. However, lower inventory levels, higher pending sales, higher listing prices, and a higher absorption rate of homes that are for sale favor sellers. As such, I am moving the needle towards a balanced market, but one that ever so slightly favors sellers.
About Matthew Gardner
As Chief Economist for Windermere Real Estate, Matthew Gardner is responsible for analyzing and interpreting economic data and its impact on the real estate market on both a local and national level. Matthew has over 30 years of professional experience both in the U.S. and U.K.
In addition to his day-to-day responsibilities, Matthew sits on the Washington State Governors Council of Economic Advisors; chairs the Board of Trustees at the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington; and is an Advisory Board Member at the Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies at the University of Washington where he also lectures in real estate economics.
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