Buyers Want Cozy, Connected Kitchens

The kitchen isn't just for cooking. Today it's used as a gathering place for families, a central work space, and an open area to pursue craft projects or entertain. Living room and family room activities are merging into the kitchen, and it's changing how kitchens look. As homes are getting smaller, we're using the kitchen for much more than we have in the past. Home owners want a more versatile floor plan.

The walls in kitchens started coming down in the 1980s and 1990s. First to go were walls separating the kitchen from the dining room and now homeowners are saying goodbye to walls between the kitchen and the living room. Kitchens are also being designed in a less utilitarian way with larger windows, fewer cabinets and softer lighting.

Hawai on the Horizon

I checked the weather report this morning for Honolulu, Hawai. At 1:39 am. the temperature was 76 degree. The high for the day will be 85. Wow that seems a lot like paradise. Around here in Massachusetts, the only time it gets to 76 at 1am is in the middle of an extreme heat wave - in other words almost never. Can't wait to be in Paradise next week.

Last Week Economic Report - mostly positive but a slow recovery

The Institute for Supply Management reported that the monthly composite index of manufacturing activity was 56.9 in October after reaching 54.4 in September. Economists had anticipated a reading of 54.5. A reading above 50 signals expansion. It was the 15th straight month of expansion.

Total construction spending rose 0.5% to $801.7 billion in September, following a revised 0.2% drop in August. Economists had anticipated a drop of 0.5% in September.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted composite index of mortgage applications for the week ending October 29 fell 5%. Refinancing applications decreased 6.4%. Purchase volume rose 1.4%.

Factory orders rose 2.1% in September to a seasonally adjusted $420 billion. The increase follows a 0.5% drop in August. The increase was largely due to a 15.8% rise in demand for commercial aircraft. Excluding the volatile transportation sector, orders rose 0.4%.

The Institute for Supply Management reported that the monthly composite index of non-manufacturing activity rose to 54.3 in October from 53.2 in September. A reading above 50 signals expansion.

The National Association of Realtors reported that its pending home sales index, a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts, fell 1.8% in September after a revised 4.4% increase in August. On a year-over-year basis, pending sales are down nearly 25%.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 20,000 to 457,000 for the week ending October 30. Continuing claims for the week ending October 23 fell by 42,000 to 4.34 million, the lowest level since the recovery began. Non-farm payroll employment increased by 151,000 in October, a reading much higher than the 60,000 anticipated.

Upcoming on the economic calendar are reports on wholesale trade on November 9 and consumer sentiment on November 12.

Last Week Economic Report

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city housing price index — on a seasonally adjusted basis — fell 0.3% in August after a 0.2% decrease in July. On a year-over-year basis, prices rose 1.7% compared with August 2009.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted composite index of mortgage applications for the week ending October 22 rose 3.2%. Refinancing applications increased 3%. Purchase volume rose 3.9%.

Orders for durable goods — items expected to last three or more years — rose 3.3% in September after decreasing a revised 1% in August. Excluding volatile transportation-related goods, orders posted a monthly decrease of 0.8%.

New home sales rose 6.6% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 307,000 units from a rate of 288,000 units in August. Economists had expected a pace of 300,000 units.

The Commerce Department announced that gross domestic product — the total output of goods and services produced in the U.S. — increased at an annual rate of 2% in the third quarter of 2010.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 21,000 to 434,000 for the week ending October 23. Continuing claims for the week ending October 16 fell by 122,000 to 4.35 million, the lowest level since the recovery began.

Upcoming on the economic calendar are reports on construction spending on November 1, factory orders on November 3 and pending home sales on November 5.