Cold Feet? Not These Couples: More Millennials (and Northerners) Purchasing Homes Before Marriage

(Base: 1,073 Respondents)

• Approximately 1 in 4 married millennials (24% of U.S. adults ages 18-34) purchased their first home together with

their current spouse before they were married, compared to those age 45+ (14%).

• When looking at all married U.S. adults surveyed, 17% purchased their first home together with their current

spouse before they were married.

• Those in the Northeast (24%) and in the Midwest (21%) are both more likely than those in the South (11%) and

West (12%) to have made this purchase together before they were married to their current spouse.

New Homes for Newlyweds: Trends Among Those Who Waited Until Marriage to Buy a Home

(Base: 1,073 Respondents)

• Over three-quarters (68%) of married Americans purchased their first home with their current spouse while they

were married.

• Those in the South (72%) are more likely than those in the Northeast (60%) to have been married before

purchasing the first home with their spouse.

• Those age 55+ (78%) are most likely to have purchased their first home with their current spouse while they were

married (vs. 65% of those age 35-54 and 46% of those age 18-34).

• 35% of married U.S. adults purchased their first home together with their current spouse before they’d been

married two years (this includes married U.S. adults who purchased a home with their spouse before marriage).

• One-fifth (20%) of married U.S. adults purchased their first home together with their current spouse when they

were between 2 and 4 years married.

• 10% of married U.S. adults purchased their first home together with their current spouse when they were between

5 and 6 years married.

• 5% of married U.S. adults purchased their first home together with their current spouse when they were between 7

and 8 years married.

• 2% of married U.S. adults purchased their first home together with their current spouse when they were between 9

and 10 years married.

• 6% of married U.S. adults purchased their first home together with their current spouse when they were between

11 and 20 years married.

• 5% of married U.S. adults purchased their first home together with their current spouse when they were more than

20 years married.

2

Total Percentage of Married Americans Who Have Purchased a Home with Their Current Spouse

(Base: 1,073 Respondents)

• A large majority (84%) of married Americans have purchased a home with their current spouse at some point in

time, including before they were married.

• Those in the Midwest (89%) are more likely than those in the West (81%) to have done this.

• Those age 55+ (91%) are most likely to indicate this (vs. 82% of those age 35-44 and 70% of those age 18-34).

Those who have purchased their first home with their current spouse while they were married

were asked how strongly they agree or disagree with a series of statements. The following

data points represent their responses:

80% Said Buying a Home with Their Spouse Did More to Strengthen their Relationship Than Any Other

Purchase They Have Made Together

(Base: 717 Respondents)

• 80% of married Americans who purchased their first home while married to their current spouse say purchasing a

home together did more to strengthen their relationship as a couple and family than any other purchase they have

made together.

• Those age 55+ (84%) are more likely than those age 18-34 (74%) and those age 35-44 (69%) to agree with

this statement.

Most Homeowners Who Purchased Their First Home After Marriage Knew it was “Part of Their Plan”

(Base: 717 Respondents)

• A majority (93%) of married Americans who purchased their first home while married to their current spouse

always planned on owning a home after getting married.

• Those age 45+ (95%) are more likely than those age 18-44 (86%) to agree with this statement.

• Men are more likely than women to feel this way (95% vs. 91%, respectively).

9 out of 10 Said Purchasing a Home was a Positive Milestone in their Relationship and Life Together

(Base: 717 Respondents)

• 92% of married Americans who purchased their first home while married to their current spouse say purchasing a

home with their current spouse was a positive milestone in their relationship and life together.

• Those in the Northeast and Midwest (both 96%) are more likely than those in the West (85%) to feel this way.

• Those age 45+ (96%) are more likely than those age 18-44 (79%) to agree with this statement.

3

Full Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States between March 8-12, 2013 among 2,116 adults (aged 18 and over) by Harris

Interactive on behalf Coldwell Banker® via its Quick Query omnibus product. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and

household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often

not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with non-response, error associated with

question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words

“margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities

for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to

this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have

been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the

Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

88% Agreed Buying their First Home with Their Spouse Had a Positive Impact on their Perception of Being a

Couple and Family

(Base: 717 Respondents)

• 88% of married Americans who purchased their first home while married to their current spouse say buying their

first home together had a positive impact on their perception of being a couple and family.

• Those in the Midwest (94%) are more likely than those in the South (85%) and West (81%) to feel this way.

• Those age 45+ (91%) are more likely than those age 35-44 (76%) to agree with this statement.

One-Third Wish They Had Purchased their First Home Together Sooner

(Base: 717 Respondents)

• 35% of married Americans who purchased their first home while married to their current spouse wish they had

purchased their first home together sooner than they actually did.

• Those age 18-34 are overwhelmingly more likely than those age 35+ to feel this way (57% vs. 32%, respectively).

• Men are more likely than women to agree with this (40% vs. 30%, respectively).

Full Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States between March 8-12, 2013 among 2,116 adults (aged 18 and over) by Harris

Interactive on behalf Coldwell Banker® via its Quick Query omnibus product. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and

household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often

not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with non-response, error associated with

question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words

“margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities

for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to

this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have

been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the

Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

Marriage and Homebuying Study

April 2013 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC

Marriage and Homebuying Study

April 2013 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC

Marriage and Homebuying Study

April 2013 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC

Home construction got off to a strong start in 2013, as builders filed for the greatest number of permits in more than four years in January

Permits are a sign of builders’ confidence in the market. It’s also less affected by weather than housing starts. Last month, builders filed for permits at an annual rate of 925,000, up about 2% from December and up 35% from a year earlier. It was the best month for permits since June 2008.

- See more at: http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/20/news/economy/home-construction/index.html#sthash.RARd07o8.dpuf

Meanwhile, the pace of housing starts slowed to an annual rate of 890,000 in January, down 9% from December, when there was a spike related to repairs from Superstorm Sandy. But even the lower pace of starts was up 24% from a year ago.

The housing market has been helped by a number of factors in recent months, including increased sales of both new homes and previously-owned houses, a drop in foreclosures, and near record low mortgage rates. A drop in the nation’s unemployment rate is also helping.

The rebound in housing is good news for builders, such as PulteGroup (PHM), KB Home (KBH), D.R. Horton (DHI) and Toll Brothers (TOL), whose shares are all outpacing gains in the broader markets so far this year. But all were down in early premarket trading Wednesday ahead of the government report because Toll Brothers reported financial results that missed forecasts

- See more at: http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/20/news/economy/home-construction/index.html

GULFPORT — Representatives of Rotate Black Inc. plan to go before the Mississippi Gaming Commission on Nov. 18 to ask for site approval for Gulfport’s second casino.

Jake Vanderli, general manager of the proposed casino, said the firm just signed 99-year leases for about nine acres at the former Marine World site, southwest of Jones Park. The city rezoned the property as an entertainment gaming district earlier this year.

Others have tried

Donald Trump and other developers tried and failed to put together a deal to bring a casino to the site. Vanderli said Rotate Black was able to negotiate a partnership with the city and private landowners.

It has already bought a 240-foot luxury cruise ship that was used as a casino by Harrah’s Entertainment and is refurbishing it in Tampa.

“This vessel is gorgeous,” Vanderli said. It will have 825 slot machines and 20 table games, a theater with seating for 500 to 600 people, and three restaurants and lounges. The top deck will provide a panoramic view of downtown Gulfport, he said.

Connecting to the ship, Rotate Black plans to build a 120-room hotel with a restaurant and bar. Vanderli said a contest will let the customers name the casino and hotel.

As much as commission allows

“We’re in the design phase of the site,” he said. It will develop as the Gaming Commission allows.

The Gulfport council agreed to give Rotate Black four years to build a permanent land-based casino resort with a high-rise hotel.

The Gaming Commission, however, requires an equal amount of land-based non-casino space for every square foot of casino that opens.

“We’re going to do what the Gaming Commission allows us to do,” Vanderli said.

He has worked in the Coast casino industry for 17 years, most recently as vice president of gaming at the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino.

He helped open the Grand Casino Gulfport when he moved to the Coast in 1993, and has worked at Casino Magic in Biloxi and Bay St. Louis.

Rotate Black’s president is Dual Cooper, who headed the Grand Casinos in Gulfport and Biloxi when they opened and later became CEO of Casino Magic Corp.

Tidelands would benefit

The developers also will need a Tidelands lease from Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann to operate a casino at the site.

“We have no application from them,” Hosemann said last week.

The money from the lease will go into the Tidelands Funds account.

Area state legislators will put together a bill to determine how the Tidelands money will be used for conservation, acquisition and to enhance public access, he said.

The gross casino revenue from the Rotate Black casino would be divided between state and local jurisdictions as with any Coast casino, he said.

The developers project tax revenue of $2.4 million and 550 jobs when the casino opens and $4.2 million in taxes when the resort is fully built.
Read more: http://www.sunherald.com/2010/10/29/2596030/leases-signed-for-second-gulfport.html#ixzz142JMn6Sf

OCEAN SPRINGS — Construction crews should finish the city’s new public safety center by spring, relocating the police department, municipal court, jail, fire department and emergency operations center to Bienville Boulevard in east Ocean Springs next to the Civic Center.

Another major construction project — the new Ocean Springs High School — is slated for completion by March 2012 or April 2012.

Rain days and unsuitable ground conditions have delayed the two projects. Construction work at the public safety center began early this year.

“They’re just getting started with the brick work for the fire station,” said Henry Furr, principal architect with Bolton Lack Furr, the company that designed the center.

Furr said the fire station is about 30 to 40 percent complete.

At the police station, they’re getting ready to put up the concrete-block walls, he said. The foundation work is complete.

“The public safety center is actually on one piece of property, but it’s two facilities,” Furr said.

One 24,000-square-foot building will house the police, jail and municipal court. Gulf Construction Co. of Gulfport is the builder. A 14,000-square-foot building on the east side of the property will house the fire department and the emergency operations center. GM&R Construction Co. of Bay St. Louis is building it. Furr said the police department will maintain a presence at its downtown location.

He said the city has been outgrowing its police and fire departments. The new public safety center is one of the biggest construction projects the city has undertaken, Mayor Connie Moran said.

The Ocean Springs School District has been having growing pains as well.

“All of our schools are currently packed,” Superintendent Robert Hirsch said.

Hirsch said the new high school will be one of the biggest schools in South Mississippi. What’s now the high school will become an upper elementary school for grades four through six. The shift will provide more space at the district’s elementary and middle schools.

Work on Ocean Springs’ new high school started in October 2009. The property sits on wetlands, so the ground had to be properly prepared before building could begin. Rain days in the winter and spring also delayed construction, Hirsch said.

“We had fallen about three or four months behind with the dirt work,” he said. “We’re on schedule now.”

The high school is being built on a 100-acre plot at the corner of Mississippi 57 and Old Spanish Trail. The school grounds will be on 40 acres, and the remaining 60 acres will be preserved as wetlands, Hirsch said. Mobile-based company White-Spunner is the builder.

“They completed the footing on the north side,” Hirsch said. “They’re in the process of pouring the foundations for the north side.”

The 320,000-square-foot school is designed to be able to hold about 3,000 students, he said. The high school’s current student body is about 1,650.

“Our intent is for the building to last 50 years,” he said.

The new high school will have inner courtyards, which will allow the district to create additions to the building later on, Hirsch said.

By Elizabeth Vowell – email

BILOXI, MS (WLOX) – The economy may be slow, but that isn’t stopping this businessman from moving forward.

“We’ve got great food and a great atmosphere. It couldn’t be better so we’re going to try for a second one,” said primary Gulf Coast Restaurant Group owner Bob Taylor.

Taylor is working to add a second Half Shell Oyster House restaurant in downtown Biloxi, just two blocks from the Hard Rock Casino.   He hopes that bringing in a new business will encourage others to do the same.

“I’m really excited about Biloxi because there’s not much down here.  We hope that by us opening up, more folks will come join us,” said Taylor.

Located in the old Regions Bank building on LeMeuse Street, this new Half Shell will be almost double the size of the original.

However, the project has some challenges ahead.  In addition to a slow economy, gulf seafood is still struggling to overcome its oily image, and that doesn’t help the Half Shell’s seafood menu.

“The oil spill hurt everybody. There’s still doubt out there whether the seafood is safe.  It really is,” said Taylor.

Taylor hopes that the second location will draw in a whole new group of customers from the east end of the Mississippi coast.

“I think we’re filling a niche by opening up down here that is not being filled and that is kind of the goal,” said Taylor.

According to Taylor the new restaurant will hire around 90 people.   He hopes to open by February.

Copyright 2010 WLOX. All rights reserved. 

LONG BEACH — Local restaurant owners are gravitating back to the beachfront area in Long Beach in a big way.

Cajun Crawfish Hut is returning to the corner of Cleveland Avenue and U.S. 90 after Katrina forced the owner to relocate northward near the railroad tracks. Harbor View Cafe, a fixture on the Pass Christian beachfront before the storm, is being built in the first block of Jeff Davis Avenue. Businessman Jimmy Levens is negotiating with two restaurant groups to decide which will operate a new restaurant on the site of the former Long Beach Lookout.

Barnaby’s, another beachfront favorite before Katrina, is being resurrected into Bull’s, at 300 Jeff Davis Ave.

JOHN FITZHUGH/SUN HERALD Jaimie Ray, left, and ‘Spunky’ Ray of Long Beach lay bricks at Bull’s restaurant under construction on Jeff Davis Avenue in Long Beach on Wednesday.

John Bull, whose family also owns Bernie’s in Biloxi, said all of the activity “tells me everybody wants to be part of that atmosphere in Long Beach. Everybody knows Long Beach is a great place to eat out.”

Bull said construction on the 4,000-square-foot restaurant with patio seating will be completed in early December and Bull’s will be open by the first of the year. It will be a “mixture of Barnaby’s and Bernie’s,” he said and will serve lunch and dinner items including steak and burgers.

“What will be great is to be back in the neighborhood of Long Beach again,” he said.

Gus Harris, who owns Cajun Crawfish Hut with wife Dona, said the new restaurants will help generate business all around.

“I don’t call it competition,” he said. “We need each other.” That’s especially true in this sluggish economy, he and other owners said.

Mayor Billy Skellie said he is excited about the new restaurants and hopes it will bring more businesses to the downtown area.

“We feel like it will spark some development downtown with the new restaurants, the Town Green and the new City Hall and fire station,” he said. “It’s part of our plan to be better than we were before.”

Harris, a veteran restaurateur, said his new eatery will be about 4,600-square feet, twice as large as his original location. The menu, heavy on local favorites such as fried seafood, will be expanded slightly. If all goes well, the restaurant will be open in mid- to late January.

“Long Beach will once again be a destination to eat,” Harris said.

Thomas and Dana Barrett relocated Harbor View Cafe to a shopping center off the beaten tourist path and will reopen in their new location on the corner of Jeff Davis and Fifth Street by the first of the year.

The 4,000-square-foot restaurant will seat about 80, plus a few at the full-service bar, a first for Harbor View. The Southern style building will have gas lanterns, plenty of windows and a wraparound porch with outdoor seating.

“On the south side, you can see the water,” Thomas Barrett said. “Harbor View got its view back.”

Audri Neyland, who is helping to oversee the development of the Long Beach Lookout site for her father, Jimmy Levens, said the new restaurant will be 4,000 square feet and should be ready to start serving customers in the fall of 2011.

The operator will be selected by the end of this month, she said. “Everybody wants something good to happen here in Long Beach.”

By MICHAEL NEWSOM – mmnewsom@sunherald.com

BILOXI — Several construction projects totaling $150 million are moving forward at the Biloxi Veterans Affairs property, and much of the work will be complete a year from now.

As of Thursday, six large projects were in progress at the hospital complex, which was built in the 1930s along Back Bay. It has taken on more patients since the Gulfport VA closed just after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Gary Butterfield, who is coordinating the work, said the staff and patients have made due since construction began in December 2008.

“The patients and the staff have all been really understanding and really good to work with, and so it’s worked,” Butterfield said. “But it’s not optimal…. It’s very unusual to have all this construction going on at a working hospital.”

Officials with the VA note the projects are coming at a good time, as the new Armed Forces Retirement Home reopened earlier this month and many of the residents there will seek treatment at the VA.

New facilities to care for the blind are being built, which should help patients who are now being sent as far as Birmingham. The new center will have a rehabilitation staff to train those who lose their vision to live on their own.

A 100,000-square-foot mental-health center, as well as a 105,000-square-foot, 96-bed, extended-care facility addition are also under construction. Another building in progress will have primary and specialty clinics, outpatients surgery facilities and others.

The finishing touches are being put on a new five-story, nearly 1,000-space parking garage. The former helicopter pad will be converted to green space.

There are also many new upgrades to the water and steam plants, electrical system and roadwork and other improvements to handle the expansion and increased traffic.

The new buildings keep with the architecture of the rest of the campus, which is covered by majestic oaks, bordering Biloxi National Cemetery, where thousands of veterans are buried.

The six projects are part of the $150 million in work set to be complete in about a year, but once that’s done there are plans for more upgrades, which would bring the total expenditures to $310 million. The next phase may include a large laundry, kitchen, security and other facilities, some of which are being designed now.

The VA Gulf Coast Health Care System, of which Biloxi is the main facility, serves about 50,000 veterans in a given year from the coastal area between Hancock County and the Panama City, Fla., area. The system has clinics in Mobile; Eglin, Fla.; Pensacola; and Panama City. The VA also operates a major medical center in Jackson, as well as two veterans centers and others.

By Krystal Allan – bio | email

D’IBERVILLE, MS (WLOX) - The new Can-Can casino is still on track to break ground in D’Iberville at the beginning of 2011. The D’Iberville City Council held a special meeting Tuesday afternoon to track progress of the project. At the meeting, the city manager discussed the developer’s need for a couple more parcels of land to get this economic engine started.

At El Bosque Mexican Restaurant in downtown D’Iberville, manager Lilian Perez, says she’s ready for growth.

“I want to see something happen for D’Iberville on this side of town,” Perez said.

Perez said evening traffic into downtown D’Iberville and her restaurant slows down. That’s why she said the proposed Can-Can casino would deal a winning hand to downtown businesses.

“I think it could inject new blood for everyone and tourism. Especially with the oil spill, we need something to draw people here,” Perez said.

The $550 million project would include a casino, hotel and French village, complete with retail and restaurants.

“There are still a couple more parcels of land that developers are looking at acquiring to enlarge the scope of the project,” City Manager Michael Janus said.

According to Janus, no homes sit on the land the developer wants to acquire.  The developer wants to add a couple of acres to the 23 it currently has. It’s land, according to Janus, that’s been under consideration from the beginning.

Perez supports the project but said she’s ready to see the plans turn into progress and profits for downtown.

“I’ll be a believer when the door is open, and I’m invited to the grand opening. That’s when I’ll start believing.”

Janus said the French Village development and casino tie in with the city’s French Market project downtown. The long-term goal is to make the village an extension of the market in the downtown area.

Copyright 2010 WLOX. All rights reserved.