Archives for 2012
Architectural Oddities Throw Home Design a Curveball
September 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Among the hundreds of thousands of home photos on Houzz, most fall into a few broad stylistic categories. Designs rooted in traditional styles tend to predominate, and modern houses get their fair share, even though the two camps can rarely agree. Even in the eclectic category, many of the buildings are still very similar to traditional or modern/contemporary houses, with slight idiosyncrasies.
But what about the truly odd? Showing some of these houses was my goal in this ideabook, and thankfully, I’ve found a few.
Browse Home Office Products on Houzz- For Example:
How to Turn Your Basement Into an Office
September 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
If you want to put a new office into your home, you may not need to look any farther than the basement. A lower level can be the ideal spot for a home office, since it can offer the necessary quiet and separation from the rest of the home.
Could your basement be a great home office? Consider some tips from design professionals.
Browse Accessories And Decor on Houzz- For Example:
Artwork · Fireplaces · Frames · Holiday Decorations · Home Fragrance · Indoor Fountains · Mirrors · Vases ·
15 Floor Plans Of TV’s Best Homes
September 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment
TV shows have some of the greatest homes. You’ve got Dallas, the apartment from Friends, the mansion from Fresh Prince of Bel Air. All of these places are decorated perfectly and often have layouts that you can never find in actual homes. In fact sometimes the layouts defy logic. Until now!
Buzzfeed has compiled 15 floor plans from some of TV’s best places to live. Pictured above is the layout for Sheldon’s and Penny’s apartments from CBS’ The Big Bang Theory but they’ve also got layouts of the Seattle pad from Frasier, Carrie’s apartment on Sex and the City, Wayne Manor, Bewitched, I Love Lucy and more.
What I love about TV homes is you never worry about what the rent or mortgage payment is and how that relates to the character’s occupation. So throw mortgage calculators to the wind and enjoy exploring the layout of some of TV’s most interesting homes.
1. Friends
Source: nikneuk.deviantart.com / via: shortlist.com
2. Sex and the City
Source: nikneuk.deviantart.com / via: shortlist.com
3. Frasier
Source: nikneuk.deviantart.com / via: shortlist.com
4. The Big Bang Theory
Source: nikneuk.deviantart.com / via: shortlist.com
5. Batman
Source: prod-images.exhibit-e.com / via: markmooregallery.com
6. The Flintstones
Source: prod-images.exhibit-e.com / via: markmooregallery.com
7. Bewitched
Source: prod-images.exhibit-e.com / via: markmooregallery.com
8. I Love Lucy
Source: prod-images.exhibit-e.com / via: markmooregallery.com
9. Mary Tyler Moore
Source: snapshotnarrative.files.wordpress.com / via: markmooregallery.com
10. The Jeffersons
Source: prod-images.exhibit-e.com / via: markmooregallery.com
11. Seinfeld
Source: fantasyfloorplans.com / via: lovelyish.com
12. The Simpsons
Source: fantasyfloorplans.com / via: lovelyish.com
13. Laverne & Shirley
Source: fantasyfloorplans.com / via: lovelyish.com
14. Golden Girls
Source: fantasyfloorplans.com / via: lovelyish.com
15. Mad Men
Pending Home Sales Index Approaches “Tax Stimulus” Levels
August 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The pace at which homes are going under contract to sell is increases. In July, for the third time this year, the Pending Home Sales Index surpassed the 100-value threshold, climbing to 101.7.
The housing market continues is slow, steady pace of recovery.
Highest Reading Since April 2010
The Pending Home Sales Index is a monthly housing metric from the National Association of REALTORS®. It measures the number of homes going into contract that are not yet sold.
Historically, 80 percent of “pending” homes go to settlement within 60 days of contract, with the majority of the remaining homes closing within months 3 and 4. As a result, the monthly Pending Home Sales Index data often correlates with NAR’s Existing Home Sales report — a report of homes actually closed — two months into the future.
The Pending Home Sales Index is a forward-looking indicator for housing and it points to a strong fall season. Homes have not gone to contract at such a furious pace since April 2010, the last month of that year’s federal home buyer tax credit.
In April 2010, the Pending Home Sales Index read 111.5.
Purchase Mortgage Applications Rising
There are two noteworthy data points in the July Pending Home Sales Index.
First, the index posted north of 100. This matters because of how the Pending Home Sales Index is “scored”. It’s a relative index, based on housing market activity in 2001, the metric’s first year of existence.
2001 happened to be a good year for housing.
When the Pending Home Sales is higher than 100, therefore, it suggests that the housing market is doing better than it did in 2001. Conversely, when the Pending Home Sales Index is below 100, it suggests that the housing market is trailing what it did in 2001.
This year’s housing market is in stark contrast to the market of the last few years :
- May 2010 – February 2012 : The Pending Home Sales Index crossed 100 zero times
- March 2012 – July 2012 : The Pending Home Sales Index crossed 100 three times
Furthermore, with mortgage rates low and momentum building, the number of purchase mortgage applications continues to rise. As reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association, the Purchase Index rose a seasonally-adjusted 1 percent last week from the week prior.
Low Downpayment Options For Home Buyers
It’s a terrific time to be a home buyer. Home prices remain relatively low, mortgage rates are sub-4.000 percent, and low-downpayment mortgage programs are readily available. The FHA offers a 3.5% downpayment mortgage, and the USDA and VA both offer 100% financing options to qualified home buyers.
Network Your House with SmartThings: Rule Your Home with Your Phone
August 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment
SmartThings has a pretty lofty goal. They want to be the hub to control everything in your home. While some companies and apps today control various aspects, like lights or air conditioning or security systems, SmartThings thinks that’s just child’s play. Actually, children are the only thing SmartThings can’t control.
From cabinets being open to clothing recommendations based on weather to lights turning on when you get out of bed, SmartThings is central command for every exiguous aspect of your home in the palm of your hand. Sounds complicated? Surprisingly, the concept is simple. By attaching custom sensors to objects you want to control, it then sends signal to a SmartThings hub that looks as innocuous as a WiFi router which then communicates with your iPhone for alerts and to adjust various settings.
Apparently the demand to literally be master of your domain is quite high. The SmartThings page on Kickstarter.com (Kickstarter is a site for funding new ideas & companies) shows that the funding for this product has already exceeded its first round goal by 82% making it well on its way to mass production.
The interesting part for me is there is a potential here to create a new ecosystem for developers and even home owners to build on. Through what they are calling their SmartApps platform, I envision 3rd parties will eventually be able to create their own custom features that can be integrated with the SmartThings hub. The Kickstarter page lists the following as existing enhancements to the platform:
- Get notified immediately if your pet runs out of your yard without you with the “Oh No, My Pet Is Loose!” SmartApp.
- Get an early warning or directly contact a plumber when there is a leak somewhere (bathroom, basement), before damage gets out of hand with the “It’s Leaking!” SmartApp.
- Monitor drawers and cabinets that contain precious or dangerous items with the “My Stuff is Secure” SmartApp.
The day of the truly smart house is incredibly close. For homeowners, a system like this can help the increasingly busy life of a homeowner be on top of the general upkeep and maintenance of their home.
For me the only question is how much angrier I would be when I lost my phone? Check out the demo video for SmartThings below and visit their page on Kickstarter to get more details.
Buyers Worried They’re Losing Bargaining Power
August 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment
While home buyers have been holding a lot of bargaining power in the housing market the last few years, more of them say they are now feeling the market shift against them, according to a new survey.
Seven in 10 home buyers say they’ve faced competition on a home for at least one offer, according to a recent survey of 982 buyers in 19 markets conducted by Redfin. Of those surveyed, 46 percent say now is a good time to purchase a home — that’s down from 56 percent in the first quarter. On the other hand, the number of those who are saying it’s a good time to sell grew by 13 percent in that period. Thirty-two percent now say it’s a good time to sell.
“Many buyers who emerged from hibernation this spring eager to take advantage of low rates and near-bottom prices now seem to have become demoralized by the intense competition for a limited selection of homes for sale,” Redfin said in a public statement about the survey results.
Home buyers may feel more urgency too. The survey found the number of buyers expecting home prices to rise drastically grew — 61 percent say prices will rise compared to 32 percent during the first quarter. However, they are reluctant to get in a multiple-offer situation. Thirty-one percent of those surveyed said that if they faced a multiple-offer situation, they would back off.
Source: “Survey: Buyers Think Market Is Shifting Against Them,” Inman News
State of the US Housing Market [Interactive]
August 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Click to interact with the chart