Home design trends include offices, mud rooms, not theaters

However, there are finally signs that market conditions are stabilizing for several of the new construction categories. A growing number of respondents in the first-time buyer/affordable, move-up, and custom and luxury home sectors report market conditions to be improving. While all three still have negative scores, these sectors may be close to bottoming out.

In contrast, market condition scores for townhouse/condominiums and second/vacation homes remain quite negative. For townhouse/condos, fewer than 15 percent of respondents report market conditions to be improving, while over 40 percent indicate that they are still weakening. For second/vacation homes, almost 60 percent report continued weakening, while fewer than 12 percent report improvement. These two market sectors are likely to be the last to see a national recovery (figure 9).