Building on a smaller scale has its rewards
The small home movement is gaining a lot of traction, particularly with households who want to leave a smaller footprint on their environment. Architects are responding to the evolving demands of...
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Amazon to add 7,000 new jobs
The online retailer Amazon is expanding its labor force around the nation by adding 5,000 new jobs in its U.S. distribution warehouses. The company also plans to hire 2,000 customer service employees...
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Two million missing households
The current rate of household formation in the United States is still well below the expected trend and faulted as a major culprit for “pent-up demand.” According to an analysis by Trulia, an online...
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Washington’s closing costs among lowest in U.S.
As mortgage rates slowly increase, so do loan origination fees. USA Today reports that loan-origination and other fees went up 6 percent in the last year to a national average of $2,402 on a $200,000...
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Le mot juste applies to housing too
Diction is important for all forms of writing. Applied to real estate, the right word (le mot juste) or sets of words can make a monetary difference. The online real estate company, Trulia, has studied...
View ArticleDownsizing as a design opportunity
Downsizing can feel limiting. After all, the object is to get rid of a lot of stuff and learn to live in a smaller space. Homeowners William and Rhina Wooten, however, demonstrate the benefits of...
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Boomers get hip, move downtown
Baby boomers are broadening their downsizing options, choosing to move out of their suburban homes and into urban condos. The migration to cities that began in earnest in the 1990s slowed during the...
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The resilience of the real estate agent
When Redfin, Zillow, and Trulia became major players in the real estate market, traditional realtors had reason to feel nervous. Would these online sites take significant market share away from the...
View ArticleAdding vintage to your home
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That’s certainly true of Julie, a Chicago resident who repurposes old things into decorative and functional new pieces for the home. P. Allen Smith of eHowHome...
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Seattle home values up 15 percent
Home values across the country are up. In the Seattle metro area, property prices have increased by more than 15 percent from one year ago, based on figures from Zillow, an online real estate company,...
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How natural disasters figure into the home search
The home buying process typically entails a survey of key property data points like square footage, the number of bedrooms or bathrooms, and school district, among others. But natural disasters? They...
View ArticleGet the lawn ready for autumn
As August comes to an end, late summer lawn care is important for replenishing and preparing the grass for the upcoming season. The Early Show on CBS talks with William Moss, Master Gardener, about...
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Seattle’s best pizza
Seattle is known for its coffee, but did you know that the Emerald City is beginning to make a culinary impression on pizza lovers everywhere? TripAdvisor, an online travel site, recently announced...
View ArticleLuxury real estate goes Hollywood
Luxury real estate goes Hollywood. This Wall Street Journal video highlights the new and growing trend of moviemaking for marketing high-end residential properties. Brokers and sellers are utilizing...
View ArticleRefinancing tips with David Bach
Are you considering refinancing your current home loan? Financial advisor and author David Bach provides expert tips on navigating this important decision. http://youtu.be/RxexKR28mDM
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Good news for creditworthy buyers
The passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank), signed into law by President Barack Obama on July 21, 2010, impacted both the financial and housing sectors....
View ArticleSeattle’s hot real estate market
The Seattle metro area continues to be a competitive housing market. Current buyers are feeling a heightened sense of urgency to make their offers swift and strong. Low inventory, historically low...
View ArticleTo repair or not to repair?
Contrary to our wishes, household appliances don’t last forever. When they do break down, should homeowners repair or ditch them? Patty Kim of National Geographic’s The Green Guide provides guidelines...
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How small is too small?
Some residents of the Roosevelt neighborhood of Seattle are battling with the City Council over the new construction of a three-story home. What’s the fuss about? The house is set on a small...
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291 metro housing markets show improvement
Housing continues to recover across the nation, according to the National Association of Home Builders. The NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) for September shows that a total of 291...
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