SEATTLE - The Baltazars of Gig Harbor have dreamed about building their own home for 35 years, but now they're downsizing their desired upgrades.
"It's been tough.We had to scale down the luxury stuff that we wanted to put in there," said Rod.
They're doing most of the framing and siding themselves.
"To save money," said Cathy.
It's a common theme this year. Many vendors at the Seattle Home Show say potential customers are very discriminating.
"A lot of people don't want to spend money where it utilizes credit, they'd rather do cash," said Ray Pepper of 500 Realty.
"People are more concerned and they're only doing the things they really, really need to," said Tonya Thompson of GutterMaxx.
Nearly 600 exhibitors are trying to entice customers to part with their cash.
Hung Ly admits that right now homeowners might see his LED-lit tiling as a luxury item, but he hopes his debut product will become mainstream.
Timberland Homes hope their smaller "green homes" will have customers parting with their green.
"We're finding a trend towards smaller housing because people are downsizing," said Bill Marr of Timberland.
Promoters say in a good year, 100,000 people visit Seattle's home show. This year's final numbers are not yet available.
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