With the housing market in a slump it's no surprise that every home builder is looking for an edge over his competitors. The exterior of a home is often the first thing a potential homebuyer will look at and it can set the entire mood before they even set foot in the door. A great first impression on the outside can often make up for a lackluster inside. Alternatively, a bad first impression on the outside can often keep potential homebuyers from acknowledging the great assets on the inside of a well done home. That's why it's important to make sure that if you're selling a home you have the right amount of curb appeal on the outside to get your potential home buyers in and exceed their expectations.

The builders bloom of 2006 has come to a halt and now there are many builders in 2008 sitting on houses. For the last couple years many of these builders have been trying to build a better house cheaper and sometimes this has meant cutting corners or keeping the exterior simple to lower costs. These builder are now struggling to get home buyers in the front door. In this heavily favored buyers market, builders are resorting to add-ons and upgrades to make their homes more attractive and appealling to home buyers. It's no surprise that window boxes haven't missed a beat and are flying off the shelves faster than ever. Home owners, as well, are struggling to sell homes without enhancing and upgrading the insides and the curb appeal.

PVC material is beginning to be seen for window box applications to help make them maintenance free. This is a great selling point for builders and homeowners struggling to sell homes. Since PVC material is rot-free and requires no maintenance, builders have chosen it as a selling feature to help them sell their homes. With the advent of PVC and other low maintenance materials, architectural accents that faded away are starting to make a comeback. Detailed accents that normally rotted out can now be added to a home and last virtually forever.

Architecture during the 20th century has shifted from the craftsman style filled with details to the track home style of simple, easy to repeat homes. The housing recession will certainly work to reverse some of that by not only correcting the housing market, but also by correcting the architecture. Don't be surprised to see craftsman style homes and french-country architecture make a comeback.


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Matthew Buquoi is the owner of Flower Window Boxes, a large window box company that specializes in PVC window boxes and custom window boxes.