FUTURE HOME SMALLER WITH MORE GADGETS

Single-family homes are not in the "Jetson Age" yet, but with the advent of the VCR, pre-recorded VHS video tapes, laser disc movies, and satellite technology, it's beginning to look a lot like the 21st Century.

Take, for example, "home theater."

A few home plans actually include a special room which features a large screen and projector system that can be adjusted from a 20-inch to a 100-inch screen, with a stereo sound system.

A new television has already been developed that can double as a monitor for a home computer, using a cable to hook into the PC. The user simply presses a button to tell the set whether he wants to watch TV or turn on the computer.

Future homes may use satellite systems for a number of options already being used in the home -- television, telephones, computers.

Aside from the "extras," 21st century home may be "smaller," but much more energy efficient.

"The homes may have a lot more gadgetry," said Tom Mogelnicki, of Moge Construction Co. in Cape Girardeau. "They'll also be more utility-efficient and feature clean-air systems."

`Picture phones' are already happening, said Mogelnicki. "I think we'll be seeing more face-to-face phones, along with more and more remote-control appliances."

Home size will range from 1,800 to 2,000 square feet, said Allen Morris, housing manager for BBL Contractors & Components at Perryville.

"More people will be going with energy-efficient windows and climate-control heating/cooling systems," he said.

A few people, said Morris, are also asking for 2 x 6 studs instead of 2 x 4, to allow for more insulation.

"Actually, in our area, 2 x 4s are sufficient," said Morris.

Morris, Mogelnicki and others see a continuing market for new and existing single-family homes.

New-home sales are expected to total 6.3 million for the decade of the 1990s, almost equaling the record 6.5 million sold during the 1970s.

Total homes sales for the 1990s, leading up to the 21st century are estimated at more than 35 million, with the lion's share being existing homes, at more than 30 million.

According to the Housing Market Index (HMI), conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), home building and sales are expected to continue.

Low interest rates, generally healthy economic conditions and steady growth in the number of U.S. households have all contributed to the growth of the housing market of the 1990s.

The median prices of a typical new home nationally have more than tripled over the past 20 years, increasing from $44,200 in 1976, to $137,000 in 1996, or about 5.8 percent a year. The average home price in Cape Girardeau County is about $94.300.

At a 5 percent increase per year, home prices, nationally, could hit a median of about $160,000 by the second or third year into the new millennium, while local home averages could hit $112,000 to $115,000. New home construction values have averaged between $135,000 to $141,000 here over the past three years.

Traffic of prospective buyers is rated as "high to very high," by the HMI Index.

There are more than 34 million renters in the U.S, which provides a home-buying pool. The average renter is single, 36 years old, with a median income of $21,000.

Today's typical new single-family home has almost 2,100 square feet of living space, up about 500 square feet form the typical home built 20 years ago.

Many new homes owners in the new millennium, say Morris and Mogelnicki, will revert to the 1970s square footage of between 1,600 and 1.800 square feet.

Today's new homes have fireplaces, two-car garages and central heating and air/condition.

"I think that will all continue," said Morris.

Some of today "extras" will be commonplace in the future.

Housing will continue to be a powerful force in the economy, according to the NAHB.

Single-family and multifamily construction currently accounts for 4 percent of the nation's total economic activity, or more than $230 billion annually.

In the city of Cape Girardeau alone, 440 new homes have been built at a cost of more than $56.6 million, an average of about $130,000. Another 100 family units have been added via duplexes or apartments, at a cost of $13.7 million.

The construction of 1,000 new single-family homes generates in most area will produced:

-- 2,448 jobs in construction and construction-related industries.

-- $75 million in wages.

-- More than $37 million in federal, state and local tax revenues and fees.

Construction of 1,000 multi-family homes (duplexes and apartment buildings) generates:

-- 1,030 jobs in constructed.

-- $32 million in wages

-- $15 million in taxes.

Economic benefits don't end with the purchase of a new home.

During the first year after purchasing a new home, owners spend an average of $6,500 to furnish, decorate, and improve their homes. Buyers of existing homes spend about $2,250 more than new-home owners.

New-home owners spend money on improvements such as landscaping, decks, patios, fences, driveways. Existing-home buyers are more apt to spend money on remodeling rooms, plumbing repairs, heating and/or air conditions.