As the inventory of luxury homes in the local real estate market continues to grow, an increasing number of homeowners are choosing to perform remodels, many in an environmentally friendly way. This trend reflects homeowners’ attempts to boost their properties’ values and to incentivize buyers.

Forget the move; make home improvements
A recent National Association of Home Builders report shows that Americans are expected to spend $217 billion on remodeling this year. That’s up by nearly $10 billion from 2008, and is nearly identical to 2007, when the economy was much stronger and homeowners had far more disposable income.

There’s little doubt that Portlanders are contributing to these numbers, especially since remodels in the market have a long and successful track record of earning returns for homeowners. In the most recent 2008-2009 Cost vs. Value Report by Remodeling Magazine, the Pacific Northwest came out on top by a wide margin – nearly 15 percent – for the best payback on remodeling. And while construction costs in the region are almost 17 percent higher than other regions, the resale value makes up for it.

But these aren’t the remodels of yesteryear. Today, homeowners are becoming much savvier at upgrading their homes, simply because there’s so much competing luxury product on the residential market.

Homeowners also are being more selective than ever before about the quality of labor and products they put into their homes. They’re looking for materials unique to anything else on the market in order to protect the home’s value. And they’re seeking the right professionals to design and contract these often intensive renovations.

“It’s a great strategy, especially for those selling homes at the top of the market,” Coldwell Banker Bain Managing Director Ron Sparks said. “We’ve seen much more remodeling activity in the luxury market over the past few months, simply because the pool of potential buyers is much smaller than for the more typical home. Owners have to make their properties stand apart – today, and in the future.”

The color of money

One of the ways luxury homeowners are building distinction is by remodeling their properties in a sustainable fashion. Consumers are increasingly aware of the cost-saving advantages of green home products and the intrinsic value they provide to the homeowner. Statistics now show that green homes sell faster and retain more value than those less environmentally friendly.

The demand of green products has also reached a tipping point so that consumers don’t have to trade luxury for eco-friendly. No longer are sustainable products merely recycled materials, nor is there a need to compromise luxury for sustainability.

A Trombe wall, which soaks up heat and releases it back into a room like a solar space heater, can be incorporated into a luxury home remodeling project. Radiant heating in the floors, and geothermal desuperheaters to preheat water, 18-inch dishwashers and all-in-one washer-dryers are other mechanisms that homeowners are using to reduce their carbon footprints. Additionally, many materials incorporated into these sophisticated green remodels are harvested sustainably, such as floors milled from diseased trees or specialty tiles that are created from recycled glass using eco-friendly processes.

Increased sophistication and collaboration
Another factor that’s changing today’s home remodeling industry is the higher level of sophistication and collaboration these projects demand from industry experts. For example, architects are strategizing with product distributors earlier than ever in the preliminary design process in order to leverage their expertise in a very specialized market. Likewise, to match the level of sophistication demanded by today’s homeowners, collaboration between distributors and their sources is a critical rung in the design ladder.

It is no longer enough for a luxury homeowner to feature a beautiful granite kitchen countertop; they want the rarest stone that displays like a work of art in the kitchen in order to set their home apart. Distributors who are meeting client demands are those who know where to find these one-of-a-kind materials. They travel the world, visit private quarries and hand-select the finest pieces. These experts can provide architects and designers a competitive advantage for these specialty projects.

Peter Pental is the president of Pental Granite & Marble. Contact him at 206-768-3200 or peter@pentalonline.com.

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