Do you know a baluster from a banister? Where would you see coffering? What about friezes and festoons? Can you tell a quoin from a quirk? Is that a widow’s walk or a belvedere? What time period was Gothic Revival architecture? Folk Victorian led into what other distinctive American style? Is that a pre-cut Sears home, or possibly one from Montgomery Ward? This 7-hour course will discuss the construction, style and architecture of homes and other buildings throughout the US. Students will be able to identify the architectural styles and time period, as well as materials used, and how homes were constructed. Many buyers and sellers don’t realize that history helps to sell their home, as well as a knowledge of how and when the house was built.

Agents and appraisers will explore the actual style and construction of American homes, beyond the “does it fit in the box?” descriptions for Fannie Mae, and be able to clearly define the architectural styles and features of a house, and date a house based on construction, materials used, architectural details, etc. We will spend time discussing changes made to buildings over time, which can be confusing when trying to date and place the home. Agents need to know what they are selling, and appraisers need to know what they are appraising. Finally, innovations in construction which led to changes in architecture will be reviewed..

Learning Objectives

1. Identify the basic styles/fashions, forms/shapes, structure/anatomy, and neighborhoods/groupings of the American home.
2. Identify building materials used in various parts of the US, and the evolvement of building materials over time.
3. Review key basics/form elements of homes including: roofs, railings, columns/supports, chimneys, roof/wall junctions, porches, doorways/windows, walls, foundations, and decorative elements. We’ll discuss the names for items found in architecture, so we can correctly describe the house.
4. Identify home style classifications and periods: “Folk Houses,” “Colonial Houses,” “Romantic Houses,” “Victorian Houses,” Eclectic Houses,” “Modern Houses,” and “Styled Houses Since 1935” and relating these style classifications and periods to the Q ratings in a Fannie Mae report.
5. During the home style classifications, students will discuss the identifying features, principal subtypes, variants and details, and the region of the United States where the style of home is located.
6. Discuss the impact of pre-cut homes [Sears, Montgomery Ward] tract houses, modular or ‘pre-fab’ houses, manufactured houses, and the trend of tiny houses on the real estate market.
7. American architects: who designed that? A quick review of major American architects