If you are trying to undergo a house extension or sell your house in the year 2018, listen up: The property brokers in Redfin have rounded up some design features and materials which you should think about installing to have the maximum bang for your dollar on the current market, and some fads which are rapidly losing their fascination with prospective homebuyers. What do you consider their home decor components that made their way on this listing?

In: Stainless Steel

This substance has been a favourite home feature for at least five decades now, and it is not going away anytime soon. Stainless steel is generally equated with a current remodel, meaning that the appliances are not very old, as described by Timothy Maller, a Baltimore Redfin property agent. Quite frequently it might help accelerate the final process on a house, because homebuyers feel as though they won’t need to perform much repainting in the kitchen should they see stainless steel in there. Also this trend is in, it most certainly does not mean that timber or timber products are out.

In: Freestanding Tubs

Even though it is not a toilet requirement, it is just a tiny bit of luxury which interests lots of buyers. It is a bit of a bonus when a house has a freestanding bathtub, since that generally means the home was newly remodelled. That is a plus for homebuyers who do not need to do work on the bathroom area as soon as they move in.

In: Smart Home Characteristics

House buyers desire a home that is user-friendly. The capacity to get safety systems, heating and cooling systems, and various devices in a home via a program or app makes it more sellable and in line with the current technological times.

In: Minimalism

A large trend with buyers at the moment and residential interior designers is open floor plans and neutral colours – especially with millennials. Simple designs also enable prospective buyers to better picture themselves at the home, which can earn a place to sell quicker. (Though, this could be one fad that will shortly be on its way out.)

In: Quartz

Quartz countertops are flexible, classic, and need little maintenance, which makes them the newest go-to selection for kitchens and baths. “Someone may pay a bit more to get a house if they want quartz counter tops. It is an investment work considering.

In: Granite

If you’re trying to find a material that is less costly than quartz, then try going for marble. It is a gorgeous option that is popular amongst the current buyers as it offers a more cost-friendly option.

In: Built-in Bars

A growing number of houses are denying their entertaining capabilities as buyers need spaces designated for celebrations and hosting guests. Builders for home extension designs have found an increase in requests for extra space dedicated to entertaining including built-in bars and even a second kitchen area. Real-estate list searches for “built-in bars” continue to rise annually, based on Redfin and just show how popular and point of difference having one can make in a sale.

Out: Breakfast Nooks

These dining places are definitely charming and adorable, but when you are in the center of a kitchen renovation, you might choose to decide on additional kitchen cabinets and counter space instead since it is precisely what prospective buyers are searching for. The more storage space the better. A lot of homes with a coastal interior design have these nooks as it suits the aesthetic of the home and area however, houses styled in an industrial way for example do not suit having a kitchen nook.

Out: Bamboo Floors

The trendy flooring material is on its way outside. Buyers are currently searching for cheaper synthetic choices such as glue laminated flooring, which may readily be substituted, or more conventional hardwood floors which may be refinished to your own liking. Bamboo floors are also proving more of a challenge to style with beach furniture, which is an increasing trend on its own.

Another question on the lips of Australia’s home punters, homeowners and wannabe buyers is, what is the home marketplace going to do in 2018?

2017 was the year which saw a few of Australia’s hottest home markets change pace after a five-year series that saw Sydney’s median house price jump on more than $530,000 and Melbourne’s add over $352,000. The following are two market trends predicted for the following year.

Mortgage rates are expected to keep climbing

Financial markets forecast that the Reserve Bank will raise the official money speed off the record low 1.5 percent amount overdue in 2018, which might have a quantifiable effect on household mortgage obligations, based on ME Bank mind of loans Patrick Nolan.

Greater RBA prices mean payments will even rise, generally $50 for each 25 basis point increase on a $400,000 loan. But if that does not occur, borrowers should prepare themselves for higher mortgage prices.

Even though the Reserve Bank delivered collections of rate reductions in 2011-13 and in 2015-16, important banks chose to not pass on the cuts in total to borrowers, and even though the money rate hasn’t transferred in 15 months, mortgage rates have slowly rising again.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has tightened funding policy, which pushed the banks to raise interest rates out-of-sync together with the Reserve Bank – as a consequence, the gap between the official-set RBA interest rate and what a typical variable mortgage borrower is supplied at the lender is the widest it’s been since 1994.

Banks are utilizing their oligopoly pricing ability to lift house loan benchmark variable rates relative to the RBA’s money rate since 2008, mostly by cutting average variable rates significantly less than the money rate throughout the RBA’s easing cycles.

Whether the Reserve Bank does find a way to raise interest rates in 2018 or not, one thing is clear – mortgage prices will probably not decrease in the not too distant future.

Upgraders will remain put, choosing to renovate

Eye-watering stamp duty taxes on land transfers function as an anchor, pinning Australians for their existing home. Since the stamp duty on account of a median-priced home in Sydney and Melbourne whined roughly $50,000, homeowners choose to remain where they are and re-establish their existing property, even with the help of an interior decorator.

We have seen a considerable growth in renovation loan applications from 2017, a tendency that we are very likely to see well into 2018, as families opted to renovate over moving.

Upgraders are preventing costly moving costs like stamp duty. We are also seeing a few more top ups as individuals benefit from lower rates of interest and leverage the excess equity in their house so as to fund renovations.

The problem worsened considerably as annual home price gains jumped. Particularly, the stamp duty made to a median-priced land in Sydney 20 decades back was, corrected for inflation, $10,916 however it’s currently $50,302 – an increase large enough to form homeowner behaviour.

The thought process is obviously changing, with current Westpac research demonstrating a 14 percent increase in the amount of homeowners contemplating renovating at the subsequent five decades, in comparison with 2015, whilst HIA economists forecast a solid growth from the housing marketplace through in the early 2020s.