Emmanuel Fonte | Music | Art | Leadership
If music be the food of love, play on. Emmanuel Fonte website is about music, art, real estate, architecture, design and decor. Occasionally, I talk about my other passion, hockey.
At some point, you will move, and after all the boxes had been lugged away, play this little song by the Weakerthans. (song starts at about 0:50):
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Spring has sprung—it’s time to get cleaning! A thorough cleaning of your home will not only provide a fresh start to the season, it will also help to improve the energy efficiency of your home. Check out this infographic from Ambit Energy for all the details on energy-saving spring cleaning. [via]
The “smart home” has grown in importance over the years, we have seen several door locks operated by mobile devices, but none as advanced as this. The August Smart Lock replaces physical keys with a smartphone app. Now you can control who can enter and who can’t without the need for keys or codes, simply connect the Smart Lock to your smartphone or computer and easily pick your friends, family or services from your contacts and issue them access to your home in seconds. With the Auto-Unlock function you simply get close to the door and it unlocks automatically when it senses your approach! Best of all, there is no need to replace your existing lock, it installs easily over the interior portion of your existing deadbolt. watch the impressive videoGreen building is the practice of increasing the efficiency with which buildings and their sites use energy, water, and materials to minimize environmental impacts.
via: LineShapeSpace.com
Home prices in Seattle rose faster between February and March than in 18 of the 19 other cities tracked in a national index, but the region’s 12-month increase was in line with the national average.
Seattle prices rose 3.0 percent for the month, and 10.6 for the year, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday. The monthly increase was the biggest since April 1990, and the 12-month increase the biggest since January 2007.
U.S. home prices jumped 10.9 percent in March compared with a year ago, the highest annual increase since April 2006. A growing number of buyers are bidding on a tight supply of homes, driving prices higher and helping the housing market recover.
We just got the Case-Shiller report showing house prices through March.
The annualized gain of over 10% was the hottest reading since April 2006.
Not only are home prices increasing, the recovery is accelerating.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-march-case-shiller-2013-5#ixzz2UhDTzPOO
Americans who are between the ages of 18 and 34 — known as Generation Y — could be a “game changer” in the U.S. real estate market, according to Urban Land Institute. As such, ULI researchers are taking careful note of this generation’s preferences when it comes to homes.
A new ULI survey of about 1,200 Millennials shows that 59 percent of those surveyed prefer a home in a neighborhood that has a variety of housing types. For example, 62 percent said they prefer mixed-use developments with shops, restaurants, and offices, and 52 percent say they like pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods.
The survey also showed that 55 percent of Millennials said they want their home to be in close proximity to public transportation. ULI researchers also note that this generation is more likely than older generations to live in apartments and in downtown areas.
Patrick Phillips, ULI’s chief executive, says he believes the Millennials represent a big change from other generations, in that this group will continue to prefer more compact, urban homes, even later in life. He says that will likely lead to more mixed-use development.
“Over time, we’ll see a return to a more compact, metropolitan development pattern,” Phillips said. “We’ll see less sprawl at the edges … the market preferring solutions that are closer in.”
Source: “Is Generation Y a ‘Game Changer’ for Housing?” The Wall Street Journal
