FRIDAY - ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE

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.

5 Tips for Winning a House Bidding War - With low real estate inventory in many parts of the country, properties in some markets are receiving multiple offers and sparking bidding wars among eager buyers. National real estate brokerage Redfin reports that in March, 63.4 percent of offers submitted by Redfin agents across 19 markets faced competition from other buyers, up from 58.7 percent in February. That's below last year's bidding peak of 73.4 percent last March.

Silicon Valley’s Real Estate Crunch Is A Golden Opportunity For Other American Cities - Indeed, the cost of living and commercial real estate is also pricing smaller startups out of San Francisco. I’m seeing bootstrapped founders, who have yet to a take full round of funding, trickle into surrounding cities like Oakland, Daly City and the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco, if they’re not considering urban hubs in other parts of the country altogether.

Bay Area home builders struggle to keep up with demand - Land costs have gone up at least 40-50 percent in the past two or three years, Smiley said, ranging now from $3 to $4 million an acre in San Jose, to $5 million on the Peninsula and $3 million for East Bay sites near Silicon Valley's booming job market.

Bay Area apartment rents continue relentless rise on tight supply - A limited supply and strong demand are responsible, economists and housing experts say. They worry that continued job growth in the region -- boosted by the remarkable boom in tech --- is unsustainable without similar growth in housing.

California housing-price increases simmer down - “June marks the sixth consecutive month that sales have been lower on a year-over-year basis. The lack of distressed property inventory and rapid increase in median prices has definitely taken a toll on demand,” Schnapp said.

Forecast Says U.S. Home Prices Are Overvalued, Will Peak In 2016 - The U.S. home price rebound has nearly run its course, and Americans should prepare for several years of home prices that don’t increase much, if they rise at all, according to a report published by bond strategists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Design Workshop: 9 Ways to Open a House to the Outdoors - Explore some of the best ideas in indoor-outdoor living — and how to make the transitions work for both home and landscape. Here are some of my favorites: