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Modest median price gains in new and existing homes, a stable interest rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage, decreased housing starts and a stable unemployment rate are some of the features of the 2007 housing forecast provided by major trade group economists as reported by The Inman News.

NAR chief economist David Lereah anticipates new-home income to start from 1. 07 million units sold in 2006 to 975,000 units in 2007, which is an 8. 7% decline. He cites decreased new home construction as a massive contributing bourgeois to this change. The median new home price of $238,400 in 2006 is expected to increase by 1. 3 percent to $241,400 in 2007.

NAR also predicts that existing home income figures for 2006 to end around 6. 47 million units, which is an 8. 6% decline from 2005. The 2007 forecast for existing home income is 6. 43 million units. The median price of existing homes in 2006 was $223,700 and is expected to increase 1. 7% to $227,500 in 2007.

Doug Duncan, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association predicts the interest rates on 30-year fixed mortgages to stay around 6. 5 percent, but mortgage originations to start 14% to $2. 1 trillion.

While Lereah predicts that the unemployment rate to stay at 4. 7 percent, Duncan takes it higher and believes it might reach 5. 2 percent by midyear 2007. However, he agrees with Lereah in predicting modest home price gains in new and existing homes for the coming year.

The housing forecast of The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is in line with NAR and the Mortgage Bankers Association. According to David Seiders, Chief Economist at NAHB, the year 2007 will see the housing market re-adjust itself once the housing demand stabilizes, leading to a healthy equilibrise between supply and demand.

Looking at the say level, the California Association of Realtors (CAR) projects that the median price of California homes will end 2006 around $560,700, and will decline in 2007 to $550,000 — a 1. 7% drop. The number of units sold in California will end 2006 around 481,200, and is projected to decrease 447,500 in 2007. CAR predicts that the unemployment rate will stay around 5. 1 percent, even though interest rates on the 30-year fixed mortgage might hover around 6. 7 percent in 2007.

The overall housing forecast for 2007 prefabricated by these four major real estate trade groups is not at all bad. Home buyers and investors planning to go ahead with their real estate activities can fare superior with the help of a good real estate agent.

Article by Jon Levine

Looking for the latest trends in home decor? Each year brings new designs, but there are some classic home decor trends that never seem to drop away.

One new trend that promises not to go away any time soon is environmentally friendly, or green, home decor. Designs that use recycled or repurposed products are hot, hot, hot. The good news is green home decor is not the unsightly duckling it once was. If you want to be friendly to the environment, you don’t have to kill style. Your home décor can be both.

Another huge trend that seems to have staying power is multi-purpose furniture. In other words, beautiful home decor is fine and good, but is it functional? Does it save space? Does it make your life easier? Again, with today’s home decor schemes you can have both style and utility.

On the lighting front, chandeliers are back en vogue on the home decor scene. Chandeliers can set the mood in any room. Back on the green trend, solar-powered landscape lighting is a home decor trend that’s prefabricated its way outdoors while kitchen lighting is getting more attention since it is a gathering place for friends and family indoors.

Texture is hitting huge in home decor. Textured leathers, textures prefabricated from resins that are intertwined with bronzed and antique silver metallics promise to add a glimpse of glamour to your home decor, if that’s what tickles your fancy. Wall treatments, meanwhile, are one of the latest trends on the market. Wall murals can dramatically change the appearance of a room and establish to be cost-effective home decor.

Leather doesn’t ever seem to go out of style, but there are more feminine presentations these days. Over-sized furniture and accessories are also finding their place in the home decor plans of many consumers, as well as Zen-like accessories.

How about color? Color is everything in home decor. Maybe softer pastels suit you, or maybe you are drawn toward bright, bold colors. Trend-wise, blues, greens, aquas, pinks and purples are evolving on the color palette in the home. Pantone’s Home Furnishings Forecast recommends colors like violets with taupes, hues like “Deep Taupe” and “Adobe Rose” and deep brows and grays add a nice feeling to your home decor.

Can’t make up your mind on a home decor style? No matter. The eclectic look is a trend that doesn’t seem to get old. You can blend traditional sofas with funky accessories. You can mix futuristic furniture with antiques. You can get away with just about any home decor scheme these days, so long as it’s done with class.

About the Author

This article is brought to you by Jon Levine for Capitol Supply, Inc. Capitol Supply offers 1 million products for commercial, consumer, government and GSA offices from office products, school supplies, cleaning supplies, Georgia Pacific products, consumer electronics; dorm, home and office furniture; hardware supply, automobile parts, HVAC and government, commercial or consumer appliances.