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Kitchen Styles Through The Decades, Part 1

Here's a fun short article about Kitchen Trends from Remodeling Magazine.  The pics alone are worth the look.  My fav, the Brady Bunch Kitchen.  But then again, I was a child of the 70's & had a little crush on Peter Brady.

Kitchen Styles Through The Decades, Part 1

Monthly Skinny: May 2012

Take a quick look at the Monthly Skinny, put out by the Minneapolis Areas Association of Realtors.   Inventory Levels are down 50% from the peak levels.  I wrote 3 offers this weekend for "Ready, Willing, &  Able" buyers, so there definately is high demand out there.

Yes, the market is shifting.  That good old Supply & Demand from Economics 101 is coming into play.  Inventory levels continue to drop & sales are trending upward.  Barring some major economic issue or a new wave of Bank Owned Foreclosures coming on the market, Real Estate is starting to look a little more rosy.  Check out the Weekly Market Activity Report from MAAR (Mpls Area Association of Realtors).

Weekly Market Activity Report

Buyers don't live in a spreadsheet. When they find a home to love and cherish, they don't intellectualize it too much.  There are generally fewer homes on the market, they're selling more quickly and prices in most areas are no longer in a downtrend. Dwindling inventories means there's less competition and more pricing power for sellers, who are finally starting to be rewarded by strong buyer activity. Interest rates at 50-year lows doesn't hurt either. Love is in the air and all around the housing market.

Quick Facts

Change in New Listings    - 14.9%   

Change in Pending Sales  + 21.4%   

Change in Inventory          - 28.0%

Check out this cool slide show.  8 Ugly, but cool homes.  Which is your favorite?  I gotta say, I like the House that Rocks, but not House on the Rock.

8 Ugly Houses We Love

US Home Buying Season Finally Signaling a Recovery.

Here's a great article from the New York Times about the Housing Recovery, which actually does seem to be happening.  I have had several new buyers pop up in the past two weeks, so that shows a strong signal.

US Home Buying Season Finally Signaling a Recovery

Spring Cleaning the Anti-Martha Way

Kind of a funny article, but there are great tips in the link at the end.  Check it out.

Spring Cleaning the Anti-Martha Way

For the record, we love Martha Stewart. She has elevated housekeeping to high art, which protects home values. Martha’s taught us the devil is in the details, and that even mundane chores can be tackled with grace, diligence, and elbow-high rubber gloves.  That said, spring is here, and cleaning is required. But who’s got the time or energy to rip apart every square inch of the house? When we saw a Martha blog that suggested cleaning our kitchen range in only 22 steps, we threw in the towel and shouted, “Get real!”

Then, we created our Anti-Martha Stewart Spring Cleaning Guide, acknowledging that top-to-bottom cleaning is a good idea, but nobody’s idea of a good time.  Except for Martha. Almost 30 years ago, when I was a cub reporter in Westport, Conn., I interviewed Martha at her Turkey Hill estate there. Then, she was a fabulous local caterer about to hit the big time with her book, “Entertaining.” She gave me a tour of her place — the Federal-style house, glorious gardens, chicken coop — and was appalled to hear I had never eaten an egg fresh from a chicken’s butt.  She straightaway gathered powder blue eggs with brown spots, walked them back to the best-appointed kitchen I’d ever seen, and whipped up the best omelet I’d ever eaten. Lesson learned: Effort bears fruit (or eggs). 

But days have only 24 hours, and work, family, and the tyranny of getting in 10,000 steps makes spring cleaning Martha-style merely a fantasy for most of us. So, we created our own get-real guide. Our guide is all about time-savers and corner-cutters. Our advice:
Don’t scrub when a good soak will do.

Take small bites out of large tasks: If you live long enough, you’ll get it clean.

Invest in white vinegar companies, because vinegar is the one cleaner you can’t do without.

If a machine can clean it better and faster, buy it or rent it.

But seriously, folks. Here’s a little preview of our guide.

Shower heads: A warm white vinegar bath will get rid of mineral deposits.

Windows: Use coffee filters or microfiber cloths instead of paper towels to wash windows and avoid streaks.

Patio furniture: Vacuum wicker furniture with an upholstery attachment.

Primo declutter tip: Get rid of “fat clothes” first, which make you feel bad about your body.

Hey, we’ve got a million of these. Martha, we’re sure, is shaking her head in dismay. But we’re sure our guide will help you get clean in spring and still have time to enjoy the season.  And that’s a good thing.

Check out the this link for more details Spring Cleaning 101 from HouseLogic.com