Outdoor Living Expansion

Everything we do inside, we now want to do outside more than ever before. Consider a few options as you plan projects to enhance your outdoor living spaces.

Renovation Nation

High-end accents like a fire pit or hot tub are both in demand right now. Homeowners want tailored, renovated spaces for safe gatherings and more staycations. Create a custom look by adding lighting, which is on the list for more than half of those tackling an outdoor reno project.

Work And Cook At Home

Many are still working from home. And if you work from home, you eat and cook more at home too. Add an outdoor kitchen with a cooktop, extra counter space and a refrigerator for convenience. Outdoor pizza ovens and barbeques are hot trends. Foodies are planting vegetables and herbs right outside the door, too, since fresh produce tastes so much better in summer salads and entrees.

Focus On The Front Yard

Before 2020, we did most of our socializing in the backyard, where we had room for cozy gatherings on the deck or patio. But many are now looking to enhance the usefulness of the front yard too, where they can visit while maintaining guidelines for social distancing.

Space To Relax

Homeowners seek out space where they can unwind and find quiet. And privacy has become a big priority. Outdoor additions like covered side yards and nooks provide an area of respite. Build a garden set away from the house to relieve stress and triumph in the crop pick. Add feeders and a water source for the friendly neighborhood birds, who will bring soothing bird melodies with them during their visit.

Find more tips for homeowners at melfostercoblog.com

Mulching Tips to Make Your Yard Look Great

Mulching Tips

If you want your yard to look its best, mulch is a great way to highlight various parts of your landscaping. These basics will help you get started.

  1. When to Mulch

When the weather starts to warm up it’s tempting to get started right away on landscaping. But don’t put mulch down too early in the spring. Give the soil a chance to warm up. Mulching too early will slow down the warming process and may cover up perennials that have not popped up from the ground. Normally, mid to late spring is the best time to put down mulch.

  1. How Much Mulch

The exact amount of mulch to place depends on the type you’re using, but generally you want about one or two inches of mulch. The main reason to apply mulch is to prevent weed growth, but too much mulch may stunt your plant growth. If you’re trying to keep a particular area free from any plant life, you can use as much mulch as you like.

  1. Choosing the Right Mulch

Choosing the right mulch material is your choice. Mulch’s purpose is to prevent weed growth, retain water, keep temperatures consistent and beautify the landscape. The color of the mulch is usually personal preference, but recycled mulch will break down more quickly and add nutrients to the soil. Rubber mulch is more expensive initially, but does not decompose.

Want more tips for caring for the outside of your home? The Mel Foster Co. blog has hundreds of articles for homeowners.

 

Wanted: Your Home

Now is an ideal time to list your home for sale because there are many buyers, but not enough homes for sale. This means you can get a higher selling price now that the market is in the seller’s favor.

Interest rates are still low which encourages homeowners to move. More competition is always good for sellers who may be in a position to review multiple offers. Sometimes a bidding war can break out, driving the final sales price up higher than the listing price.

According to James D. Shilling from DePaul University’s Institute for Housing Studies, the seller’s market is driving home prices up higher. This helps homeowners with negative or low equity to make more money from a sale and eases the burden of being upside down on their home. This gives the seller a chance to enter the market as a buyer when interest rates are near record lows.

Shilling predicts rates will stay low through 2013 and most likely into 2014. But the interest rates won’t stay low forever. When rates do rise, homeowners won’t want to sell their homes and lock into a new, higher interest rate. This shift means fewer buyers and lower offer prices for your home.

It’s a sweet time to be a seller. Contact a Mel Foster Co. agent about listing your home and take advantage of the market conditions.


,
Office:




© 2024