Question: Joyce, the decision to buy a larger home is making me very anxious. I know that I should be looking at energy efficiency and a smaller place but those homes just do not appeal to me. Am I out of line with the trend?

Answer: Despite rising price for heating and cooling, size still matters to home buyers. The size of new homes last year climbed to 2,433 square feet on average from 2,349 square feet in 2004, according to the National Association of Home Builders. That’s up from 2,095 square feet in 1995, 1,905 square feet in 1987 and a mere 1,660 in 1973.

So it’s time to make New Year’s resolutions again. Gosh, after 2005 (when my New Year’s resolution was “Get married and start a new career”) and 2006 (when my New Year’s resolution was “Stay married and don’t starve to death”) it seems tough to go back to the old standby of “Lose 10 pounds and go to the dentist twice.”

The biggest news of the year for real estate was perhaps the increase in mortgage benefits from the National Housing Trust and the ensuing mortgage rates war among building societies.

In February, former Prime Minster, PJ Patterson, announced that the National Housing Trust would double individual benefits from $1.5 million to $3 million and while the move was welcomed by the real estate industry, some fretted that it would trigger an inflation in house prices, a charge that realtor Valerie Levy of Valerie Levy and Associates dismisses.

Why this architectural style became a nationwide phenomenon

If asked what is America’s most important contribution to residential architecture, most people would probably suggest the log cabin of Abraham Lincoln, a Southern plantation mansion like Scarlet O’Hara’s Tara (even though it was only a movie set), or George Washington’s Mount Vernon.

The correct answer? The ranch house.

Median price statewide drops to $242,500, from $250,400 a year ago; nationally, sales up a bit.

Florida’s single-family existing home sales dipped again in November and the median sales price slipped 3 percent, the Florida Association of Realtors reported today.

The 11,912 homes that sold statewide was down 30 percent from November 2005, about 1,000 fewer homes than changed hands in October, according to the preliminary survey totals. The median price — half sold for less and half for more — was $242,500, down from $250,400 a year ago.
The weakest metro area was Naples, with a 45 percent plunge in sales and the median falling 13 percent to $415,200. Metro Orlando sales also were weaker than the statewide average, down 36 percent to 1,705 homes sold. The median price was relatively flat, up 4 percent to $263,600.