January marked the highest pace of new home buying since the recovery began, defying expectations that more winter weather during the month would keep potential homebuyers away. A strong rise in purchases of homes not yet under construction may help explain the jump during inclement weather.

Consumer confidence data revealed an increase in plans to purchase a new home, keeping the outlook bright for sales.

The only drop in sales was in the Midwest, where unusually cold temperatures were low enough to close schools in the typically cold-resistant Chicago area. All other regions saw sizable gains in January.

The median new home sales price slipped to $260,100, but still remains three to four percent higher than a year ago. Low inventories are still supportive of further price gains.

Fornetto.

Alfresco Home, a designer and manufacturer of distinctive casual furniture, garden accents and the exclusive North American distributor of the Fornetto Wood-Fired Dual Purpose Oven and Smoker is proud to introduce Rick Baker as Outdoor Gourmet Brand Manager. An industry veteran, Baker's vast knowledge and expertise in the world of outdoor living are integral in establishing Alfresco Home and its Outdoor Gourmet division.

Joseph Cilio, CEO of Alfresco Home said, "Since the launch of our Outdoor Gourmet category with the Fornetto product line, I realized that as the brand develops at retail, we would need a brand leader. Rick and I have been doing some independent projects together and when presented with the opportunity to work closely on growing Fornetto and furthering our presence in the outdoor cooking category, we both jumped at it."

Baker brings outdoor living sales management, wholesale and manufacturing operations experience, as well as a strong retail background to Alfresco Home. He has served on the editorial review board for several trade magazines and was president of the Casual Furniture Retail Association. His familiarity with all segments of the industry positions Alfresco Home well as they drive the Fornetto brand further into the independent marketplace. Additionally, Baker will continue to field sales to the southern parts of the U.S.

"The opportunity to work with Joseph and the whole team at Alfresco Home is something I welcome a great deal," said Baker. "Taking the Outdoor Gourmet category and the Fornetto Brand to more retailers and working with our North American sales team to help our current customers further develop the brand is an exciting challenge I look forward to addressing."

Anthony Cilio, vice president of Product Development, comment that, "As Alfresco Home develops the Outdoor Gourmet category with a broader range of outdoor cooking products and accessories, having Rick on board will help us focus on growing this business while taking care of our dealers with the expertise of an industry leader."

The addition of the outdoor category in 2013, combined with Alfresco Home's casual furniture and garden accents, further solidifies the company's position in the outdoor living marketplace. With showrooms in Chicago, Atlanta and Philadelphia, and a seasoned network of sales representatives across the country, Alfresco Home continues to make outdoor living easy.

From NAHB Eye on Housing

Preliminary data provided to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) by the Census Bureau on the characteristics of homes started in 2013 show the trend toward larger homes continued unabated last year, as did the share of new homes with 4+ bedrooms, 3+ full baths, 2-stories, or 3-car garages. The average size of new homes started in 2013[1] was 2,679 sq. ft., about 150 sq. ft. larger than in 2012 and the fourth consecutive annual increase since bottoming out at 2,362 sq. ft. in 2009.



New homes started in 2013 were also more likely to have additional features: nearly half, 48%, had 4 or more bedrooms; 35% had 3 or more full bathrooms; 22% had a garage for at least 3 cars; and 60% were 2-stories. The share of new homes started with these features has been increasing consistently for 3 or 4 years, and the most obvious question is "Why?" Why are homes getting this BIG?



To get an answer, just take a look at WHO is buying new homes? The typical new home buyer in recent years has been someone with strong credit scores and high levels of income. To the first point, the graph below shows how the average credit rating of all U.S. consumers has remained rather flat over the last few years (blue line), while the average credit rating of mortgage borrowers (red line) took a dramatic jump after 2007. By 2013, the gap between the two measures was 58 points, compared to 33 points in the early 2000s.



To the second point, the graph below shows the rising trend in new home buyers' income in recent years. In 2005, the median income of new home buyers was $91,768. By 2011, it had increased by more than 17% to $107,607. It's not too surprising, therefore, to see home size and features continuing to trend upward, given that those buying new homes are precisely the kind of buyers who generally purchase large, feature-loaded homes.