Real Estatin' the Facts

Mediterranean Hall by Montreal Interior Designers & Decorators Esther Hershcovich 8 Home Projects Perfect for Holiday Downtime - 8 Home Projects Perfect for Holiday Downtime - Why It’s Cheaper to Buy a House in the Winter - Fully 70% of homebuyers don’t know about down payment assistance - Housing's Millennial Mismatch - Most Competitive Neighborhoods for Home Buyers in 2014 - California unemployment rate dips to 7.2 percent - The year in Silicon Valley real estate: Google grows, Vallco sells, industrial booms - What's the Right Wood Floor Installation for You? Enjoy!

Drawings by Columbus Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers Jacobs Grant Design ltd What a Landscape Architect Wants You to Know About What They Do - What a Landscape Architect Wants You to Know About What They Do - Walkability Is Good for You - Home-Builder Results Provide Muddled, Sober Outlook For 2015   - Why millennials aren't rushing to buy homes   - Applications for new home purchases plunge - The Gift of Home: Crowdfunding the Best Present Of All - 8 Popular Cabinet Door Styles for Kitchens of All Kinds Enjoy!

Eclectic Living Room by West Hartford Media & Bloggers Rita from Design Megillah How to Decorate for the Holidays When Your Home Is for Sale -  South Bay Area Real Estate Market Data  - Check it out; Seasonal changes, yearly gains.  - How to Decorate for the Holidays When Your Home Is for Sale - Booming Silicon Valley job market may be held back by housing costs - Ca Millennial Reports: 35% Live With Mom Or Dad, Income Plummets Below 1990 Level - Residential developer buys 8.5-acre industrial site in San Jose - $3.5B worth of Silicon Valley property sold - Shaping the City | Affordable housing design doesn’t have to be boring - Two galleries explore Bay Area tensions - 12 Ways to Beat the Home Decor Blahs Enjoy!

Eclectic Spaces by Adelaide Media & Bloggers Jeni Lee To-Dos: Your December Home Checklist - To-Dos: Your December Home Checklist - Realtor.com’s Chief Economist Announces First Annual Forecast - Self-employed find it's not easy to get a mortgage - How Higher Gas Prices Can Shape Home Values - One in five housing markets less affordable -  Trend Watch: 13 Kitchen Looks Expected to Be Big in 2015 Enjoy!

Modern Living Room by Mill Valley Interior Designers & Decorators Elena Calabrese Design & Decor Room of the Day: Multipurpose Design Brings a Room to Life - Room of the Day: Multipurpose Design Brings a Room to Life - Could Obama’s immigration initiative boost the housing market? - Loan limits raised in four California counties by Fannie, Freddie - Is 2015 the Turnaround Year for First-Time Home Buyers? - Apartment rents near BART still affordable, but few are available, real estate app says - The Bay Area's top 20 elementary schools in (relatively) affordable neighborhoods - 13 Ways to Be Happier in Your Home This Year Enjoy!

Traditional Exterior by Dc Metro Siding & Exterior Contractors Vinyl Siding Institute How To Wash Your House - How To Wash Your House - How to Beat Newly Hot Real Estate Markets - California forecasted to add more than 10,000 construction positions by end of year - Why It's So Hard for Millennials to Find a Place to Live and Work - Nine Reasons to Buy a House Right Now - Spotlight on Los Altos: The Most Expensive Housing Market in the U.S - 9 Ways to Configure Your Cabinets for Comfort Enjoy!

Modern Bedroom by Knoxville Architects & Building Designers Sanders Pace Architecture Design Workshop: How to Separate Space in an Open Floor Plan - Design Workshop: How to Separate Space in an Open Floor Plan - Silicon Valley claims 4 of 5 priciest U.S. housing markets - Google could hire 30,000 in Bay Area based on tech titan's development spree - Inflation Is Major Bay Area Risk - Parks and open space measures win in Silicon V alley, East Bay and nationwide  - US Rule of Law Drives Foreign Investors - Get What You Need From the House You Have   Enjoy!

Modern Entry by Other Metro Architects & Building Designers Dualchas Architects Design Workshop: Is a Phased Construction Project Right for You? Design Workshop: Is a Phased Construction Project Right for You? The Next Housing Crisis May Be Sooner Than You Think California Forecasted to Add More Than 10,000 Construction Jobs by End of 2014  Modest Bay Area homes hit mind-boggling prices BART stations in San Jose, Santa Clara could be cut from plans CalBRE alerts consumers, real estate pros about fraud First look: Facebook's early plans for Menlo Park TE Connectivity campus 20 Great Examples of Transitions in Flooring Enjoy!

Contemporary Spaces by Portland Interior Designers & Decorators ID Seven Room of the Day: Storage Attic Now an Uplifting Master Suite - Room of the Day: Storage Attic Now an Uplifting Master Suite - Young Adults Are Living With Their Parents, But Not As Much As (Or Why) You Think - Pending Home Sales Reverse Five-Month Decline In September - This is why California is in the middle of another housing crisis - A Guide to Investing in Real Estate - Heads-Up Hues: 10 Bold Ceiling Colors Enjoy!

Transitional Kitchen by Decatur Architects & Building Designers TerraCotta Properties 10 Upgrades for a Touch of Kitchen Elegance - 10 Upgrades for a Touch of Kitchen Elegance - The new normal for Silicon Valley home buying: 36 days on the market - Silicon Valley home prices up 19% in last year to median $800,000 - Deja vu all over again? - Amid controversy over Silicon Valley housing fixes, Mountain View weighs big developer fee hikes - Relaxed mortgage regs could free up credit - 10 Ways to Bring Charm to Your Home’s Exterior Enjoy!

Industrial Kitchen by Burlington Interior Designers & Decorators Joanne Palmisano, Salvage Secrets Contractor Tips: How to Shop for Your Remodel Contractor Tips: How to Shop for Your Remodel Bay Area apartment rents at record high How to Buy a Home in One Market While Selling in Another 49ers fans crunch Santa Clara hotel market; Will new rooms get built?  Google's Silicon Valley hometown targets $15 minimum wage More Americans Are Going Solo Rent vs. Buy: Which is Cheaper for You? Enjoy!

Traditional Landscape by Austin Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers B. Jane Gardens Small Gem Lawns: More Impact From Less Grass - Small Gem Lawns: More Impact From Less Grass - 2015 Housing Market Predictions: 5 Real Estate Trends to Watch Next Year - Tech Investors Cut Venture Risk With Real Assets - How driverless cars could encourage sprawl – and reshape Bay Area real estate - The fight for East Palo Alto: Where does Stanford lie? - San Francisco Supervisors vote to legalize Airbnb - The Fading Distinction Between City and Suburb Enjoy!

Traditional Exterior by Port Chester Paint & Wall Coverings Facelifts Home Improvement To-Dos: Your October Home Checklist - To-Dos: Your October Home Checklist - Homeownership Expenses You Might Not Anticipate  - Coldwell Banker Previews International Luxury Market Report Reveals Newcomers On List Of Hottest U.S. Cities For Luxury Home Sales - City proposes new incentives for affordable housing - Chinese investors remain an X Factor for the US housing market - Income Growth Key for Housing - 10 Simple Ways to Personalize Your Front Entry   Enjoy!

Traditional Landscape by New York Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers Earth Mama Landscape Design 5 Ways to Put Fall Leaves to Work in Your Garden - 5 Ways to Put Fall Leaves to Work in Your Garden - Realtors are alerted on hot issues ahead for real estate - Apartment Rents Jump — Especially In Silicon Valley - Student loan debt curbs housing market by $83 billion, study says - California Affordable Homes in Short Supply After Cuts - More investment dollars pour into San Jose's North First Street - Own a piece of Sand Hill Road: Rare offering on Silicon Valley's most famous street -  Dream Spaces: Home Offices You’d Be Delighted to Work In Enjoy!

Contemporary Living Room by Irvine Interior Designers & Decorators 27 Diamonds Interior Design 9 Questions to Ask a Home Remodeler Before You Meet -  9 Questions to Ask a Home Remodeler Before You Meet - 200,000 housing units in Bay Area pipeline. Is it enough to move the needle? -  Tesla Motors spawns an automotive ecosystem -  Why would a Chinese tech company buy a $16 million Morgan Hill golf course? -  Why Bitcoin may be superior to cash for sellers of real property -  Where Millennials Live: Redfin Breaks Down Key Attributes of Neighborhoods Where the Young and Educated Cluster -  New HUD Secretary outlines his vision for last years of Obama Administration -  12 Ways to Get a Luxe Bathroom Look for Less Enjoy!

Contemporary Kitchen by Scottsdale Kitchen & Bath Designers Sand Castle Kitchens & More, LLC The Kitchen Storage Space That Hides at Floor Level - The Kitchen Storage Space That Hides at Floor Level - Realtors issue safety tips for folks who are selling a home - Move Over Millennials, Better Homes And Gardens Real Estate Reveals Homebuying Dreams Of   Gen Z Teen - Silicon Valley claims 2 of California's 3 best places to live (if you're rich) - Pruneyard poised for sale to Ellis Partners for $285M-$300M - Developer breaks ground on $120 million, 394-unit project near Facebook HQ   - Bay Area Home Sales Slow in August; Prices Increases Ease Back - 28 Outdoor Projects Everyone Should Know About Enjoy!

Traditional Dining Room by San Francisco Architects & Building Designers Gast Architects To-Dos: Your September Home Checklist - To-Dos: Your September Home Checklist - 5 Surprising Homebuyer Turnoffs - 5 Smart Staging Tips - SummerHill buys Sisters' 10-acre convent grounds in Los Gatos - Developer breaks ground on $120 million, 394-unit project near Facebook HQ - Silicon Valley Offices Are Stunningly Pricey, Just Like the Workers Inside   - 10 Great Places for Rich Fall Colors Year-Round Enjoy!

Contemporary Kitchen by Brooklyn Photographers Rikki Snyder Get Turned On to a Lighting Plan - Get Turned On to a Lighting Plan -  How to Prepare for the Bay Area’s Next Earthquake - KB Home Strengthens Foothold in California with New Property - Palo Alto: Official approves relocation assistance package offered by mobile home park owner - County expands homeless programs while searching for new shelter - Silicon Valley Tech Wealth Driving Santa Cruz Real Estate Boom - Overall, Americans in the Suburbs Are Still the Happiest - Hidden in Plain Sight: 10 Cleverly Closeted Home Spaces Enjoy!

Midcentury Living Room by San Francisco Architects & Building Designers yamamar design Home-Buying Checklist: 20 Things to Consider Beyond the Inspection - Home-Buying Checklist: 20 Things to Consider Beyond the Inspection - Two Good Omens for Housing Market - Housing construction surges in July - 3 facts crippling California's housing recovery - How long can the Bay Area apartment boom last?   -  Bay Area home prices plateau on slowing sales   -  Just a Few Things for the Dream-Home Wish List Enjoy!

Traditional Kitchen by Lake Forest Design-Build Firms crbs co. How to Stage Your Kitchen for a Home Sale -  How to Stage Your Kitchen for a Home Sale - A Look At The Housing Market Eight Years After The Collapse - Higher Housing Costs Aren't Likely to Fade Soon - 6 things home buyers should avoid doing once they are preapproved for a mortgage - As Closing Costs Rise, Here's How to Knock Them Down - Mortgage Rates Slip to Near Lows for the Year - Storage Help for Small Bedrooms: Beautiful Built-ins Enjoy!

Midcentury Bedroom by San Jose General Contractors Flegel's Construction Co., Inc. Rethinking the Master Bedroom Rethinking the master bedroom; many renters can afford mortgages, but not homes; 5 reason for milllenials to enter the houing market; San Jose real estate market plateaus; housing costs are a drag on CA's economy; 10 year Yelp review: CEO on SF company's journey; Tesla's manufacturing rennaisance; Google propels commercial real estate sales; the future of backsplashes. Enjoy!

Farmhouse Kitchen by Newton Center Media & Bloggers Justine Hand 4 Obstacles to Decluttering — and How to Beat Them Obstacles to decluttering and how to beat them, pricey home sales hit record in the Bay Area, Reasons the housing market could improve in the second half of 2014, Silicon Valley rents rise $390/month since 2012, Realtors seek to ban shill bids, Japantown apartment project, property lines in pictures.  Enjoy!

Eclectic Bedroom by Dallas Media & Bloggers Sarah Greenman 10 Tips for a More Peaceful Home 10 Tips for a more peaceful home, debt to income ratios can sink mortgage app, not enough affordable homes to go around despite housing market improvements, foreclosure fade, later half of 2014 expectations, mortgages, 8 ways to dress up a hallway. Enjoy!

Midcentury Patio by Santa Barbara General Contractors Allen Construction 6 Ways to Cool Off Without Air Conditioning 6 ways to cool off without air conditioning, 5 tips for winning a house bidding war, Silicon Valley's real estate crunch is opportunity for other US cities, Bay Area home builders struggle to keep up with demand, Bay Area rents continue rising, California home prices simmer down, forecast says US homes are overvalued and will peak in 2016, 9 ways to open a house to the outdoors.  

Mediterranean Pool by Other Metro Architects & Building Designers Bureau d'Architecture Modeste A First-Time Buyer’s Guide to Home Maintenance First time home owner's maintenance guide; Julian Castro; Consumer's expect higher rents and lower home prices; Google's $600 million real estate shopping spree in Mountain View; Hotel developer buys in Milpitas; Developer drops plans to buy Palo Alto mobile home park; Silicon Valley assessment roll posts more growth; Tiny houses; Backyard cottages. Enjoy!

Traditional Kitchen by Oakland General Contractors Mueller Nicholls Cabinets and Construction 11 Things to Expect With Your Remodel Last week I felt kinda … “off.” I arrived late to appointments, forgot random letters and words in emails and handwritten correspondence, and in the end, didn’t even get my weekly round-up posted. I know it’s Monday, not really the day for leisurely reading, but felt these were worthy of sharing. So better late than never, Here are the links, making up for lost time.  What to expect with your remodel, Declaration of Independence, what to do when your water heater bursts, America's looming rental crisis, Big Sur Dragon House for sale, concrete flooring... Enjoy!

Traditional Landscape by Putney Architects & Building Designers Putney Design How to Grow 10 Favorite Fruit Trees at Home How to grow 10 favorite fruit trees at home; Where is the U.S. housing market headed; Best places to flip homes in the Bay Area; Housing prices cool slightly; Renters pour out woes at Mountain View housing event; Common credit mistakes for mortgage seekers; Housing isn't overvalued, except in these 10 spots; Cash sales decline; Ideas for shared kids' rooms.  Enjoy!

Other Kitchen of the Week: Storage, Style and Efficiency in San Francisco Kitchen redo in SF; Walkability drives values; Winning a bidding war; New construction to help normalize market in 1-2 years; CA housing market predictions; Population boom affects housing market; Affordable housing crisis; Who's footing the bill for affordable housing?; Some statements from Yellen; What to do with a small backyard.  Enjoy!

Traditional Kitchen by New York Interior Designers & Decorators Beach Glass Interior Designs To-Dos: Your June Home Checklist June Home Checklist, Bay Area Home Equity Lending Surges, Tech Companies Expanding in Silicon Valley, Top 5 Home Buyer Mistakes & How to Avoid Them, Why Renters Are Ending Up in the Suburbs, Home Price Gains of 20% Vanish As Hottest Markets Cool, Create the Illusion of An Entry Hall. Enjoy!

The Future of Home Automation: Cheap, Wearable and Mobile! The future of home automation, what American homeowners really want, housing on the mend, underwater homes in Silicon Valley fall 40%, cash deals for homes reach record with boomers retiring, 8 ongoing homeowner expenses, new strategies for hiding the TV Enjoy!

Traditional Family Room by San Francisco Architects & Designers Arcanum Architecture How to Navigate an Extended Guest Stay How to navigate an extended guest stay, National Bike Month, top 100 California restaurants, Bay Area wages are very high, signs of an suburban comeback, how the real estate market is reflected on TV, comsumers paying mortgages ahead of credit cards, Ericsson leasing in Santa Clara, 8 uses for a sideyard.  Enjoy!

Farmhouse Spaces by Adelaide Media & Bloggers Jeni Lee Simple Pleasures: 10 Ideas for a Buy-Less Month 10 Ideas to buy less, gains in existing home sales, mortgage rates fall, lifestyle budget cuts,  Pruneyard, Google in Sunnyvale, Tesla top auto employer in California, tap into stud space for more wall storage. Enjoy!

Asian Landscape by San Francisco Architects & Designers Adamson + Molina Have the Kids Left Home? 16 Things to Consider Empty nest considerations, Warren Buffet acquires Intero, Silicon Valley's fastest growing cities, California median home prices rising, cash buyers, Palo Alto trailer park, middle class home buyers, pros and cons of charging utilities for rentals, and furniture design trends. Enjoy.

Other by Menlo Park Media & Bloggers Janet Paik What to Look for in a Contractor's Contract Million dollar home sales thrive, American home buyers prfer new homes, Real estate investors target the coast, Google makes biggest property purchase of the year, San Francisco's rental market propelled by construction and tech sector, and Backyard escapes. Enjoy.

Contemporary Exterior by Seattle Architects & Designers chadbourne + doss architects How to Hire the Right Architect: Comparing Fees How to hire the right architect, why there aren't more homes for sale, school data and ratings fueling residential segregation, richest small cities in America (Silicon Valley has 2 of the 5) and more. Enjoy.

Transitional Bedroom by San Francisco Media & Bloggers Nanette Wong 7-Day Plan: Get a Spotless, Beautifully Organized Bedroom Higher prices choke housing, rental crisis, first time homeowners becoming first time landlords, questions on the state of mortgage lending, new projects in Morgan Hill and Gilroy, Bay Area luxury homes, entry ways. Enjoy. 

Other Life Lessons From 10 Years of Living in 84 Square Feet Suburban living, why 2014 is a good year for housing, 6 commercial real estate trends to watch, new homes in Sunnyvale coming, affordability crisis is overblown, and porches - because, I like porches. Enjoy. 

1818 The Alameda, San Jose, CA  - Eugene Zelenko Whole Foods coming to The Alameda, turnkey homes, Silicon Valley mortgages mapped, how to pay your mortgage down, apps that challenge kids to solve environmental issues, creative window treatments. Enjoy.

By Tomincal (Own work) [ CC-BY-SA-3.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons Filoli  - Country House set inWoodside, CA Luxury markets, urban villages, efficient office spaces, and in need of 25-34 year old home buyers. Oh, also snow in Big Sur (thank you for that news) and a new gallery find for me.

Silicon Valley, San Jose, Santa Clara, Peninsula, Collage Skyline - found on Etsy The overall themes today are commercial real estate, job growth, and work-life lifestyle of the Silicon Valley, which directly impacts residential real estate. 

Great Blue Heron Flying Above Reflection In Water Top 10 Markets by Equity Appreciation since 4th Quarter 2010. Hint, San Jose did well, which is a great segueway into f our million more homeowners now 'above water'   and housing affordability spiking this year . Another layer affecting affordability is the increase in interest rates as suggested by Janet Yellen in her first press conference. 

House on Scale by Images Money A lot of my buyers have been feeling the pinch of rising rental prices.  Absorption rates for rental apartments have been generally rising since late 2008 as rental demand increased as a result of the housing downturn.  If you're curious, interest rates will have to hit 5.4% in San Jose for it to not make sense to buy if you're still on the fence of renting vs buying .   Despite recent volatility in consumer attitudes, housing recovery expected to press on - notably, home price expectations climbed significantly in February – with 50 percent saying home prices will go up in the next year. 

Found on Etsy This post was actually inspired by an out of the area agent who I will have the privilege of helping in the next upcoming weeks. She's helping place her buyers back into the Bay Area, a reminder of how often I take for granted the allure of this place. 

Transitional Bedroom by Sausalito Architects & Designers Urrutia Design Would you mind if I took a break and digressed from my usual conversational patterns? Today, I've opted to use a list format for links I've found around the internet that might be helpful in fostering a more well-rounded understanding of real estate and how to pay for the space you occupy.

Green Leaves by Cuba Gallery While I service a diverse range of clientele, the majority of my clients are first time home buyers in my age bracket, Generation Y or the Millennial Generation. Though Generation Y is economically frustrated , and  unsure if they stand a chance , the question remains -  are they really lost ?

Heart by Phil Whitehouse Happy Valentine's Day! This post was inspired by a client who referred me to her father, who's name means "love", which I found appropriate for today.  My email signature, "Home is where one starts from," is an excerpt from  "East Coker V, Four Quartets"  by T.S. Eliot. No, I've not read the entire quartet. Home is about the familiar, the original blueprint for the beginnings of our experience of intimacy. It's a personal language that begins before we can use words, usually in relationship to a primary figure. 

Confetti in the Blue Sky This post was inspired by current clients of mine who are open-minded and forward thinking, prompting the search for up and coming neighborhoods. Price is relative. When a client tells me that something is too expensive, or calls something cheap, I usually ask, "For whom? And compared to what?" Here's an interesting collection of  how one makes do in the Bay Area .

Moyan Brenn This post was inspired by a loved one born in the year of the horse.  While Chinese New Year 2014 will ring in the  year of the horse , 2014 is being called the  year of the trade up seller , most likely due to sellers'  desire to take advantage of low interest rates or to cash out at what might be at least a temporary peak in home prices.