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Homes + Martha Stewart November 10, 2011

Filed under: Home Innovations,Real Estate — tracee ribar @ 8:33 am

Forget dry stats on housing market trends. Martha Stewart  has proven, after many years in the “elegant home improvement” business that she knows what people want in their homes, be it furnishings, decor or food. So welcome Martha Stewart homes.

Even though Martha Stewart went to prison, we can’t discount what she gave to the world –a glimpse of how gracious living could be; if you had a lot of acreage, lots of hired help and an unlimited budget for foodstuffs.

But, even though we couldn’t have her fancy kitchen and cooking utensils, we COULD make that pie recipe that we saw coming out of her pristine Viking oven. She was the first “home maven”, giving us not only food advice (which we had with the likes of the always inspiring and humorous Julia Child) but home advice. How to plant herbs, fold napkins, artfully arrange flowers and how to shop at flea markets.  She pioneered the idea of putting her name on home related items: paint, linens, housewares to name a few. We may not admire her ability to take stock advice BUT we sure seem to like what she picks out for us.

She went into the slammer and the home entertaining void was filled by a host of Food Network and HGTV stars and wannabes. She has survived because she knows what people want–and she is now applying that to home design. Surprised? Not really right?

The blurb below is taken from the Martha Stewart + KB Homes website (http://www.kbhome.com/martha/) and introduces the concept they are going for. Check it out to see if the developments are happening in a town near you! Again the message: you too can live like Martha (not the prison years.)

It’s a beautiful new concept in homebuilding. And it’s only from KB Home. We’ve partnered with leading lifestyle expert Martha Stewart to create high-quality homes inspired by her very own homes in New York, Connecticut and Maine.

Our Martha Stewart communities feature premier locations and wonderful amenities. Inside and out, you’ll find unique Martha touches like wainscoting, picture-frame molding, open shelving, landscaping packages designed by Martha’s personal gardener, and so much more. And as with any KB home, you’ll select your favorite design, homesite, floor plan and customizing design options.

Come tour our stunning model homes and see how easy we’ve made it to design and decorate your ideal home. With more communities on the way, there’s sure to be one near you soon.

 

Home sales up, inventory down…good signs! November 8, 2011

Filed under: Real Estate — tracee ribar @ 8:33 am

Home sales in central Ohio were up almost 17 percent in September making three consecutive months of home sale increases. According to the Columbus Board of REALTORS®, 1,719 homes sold in September which is 16.6 percent more than the previous year’s 1,474 sales.

In addition to the increase in sales, homes that were put in contract also increased by over 58 percent last month. Year-to-date home sales (January through September 2011) are still trailing 2010 by 3.7 percent.

“As home sales for the last three months have surpassed 2010, the year-to-date sales statistics continue to narrow the gap between this year and last year when the home buyer tax credits were in effect,” says Rick Benjamin, 2011 President of the Columbus Board of REALTORS®. “Although many agents are reporting increased activity, time will tell whether that activity translates into actual home sales.”

The median sale price for home sold during the month of September was $128,000, up from $127,500 in September 2010, but the median sale price is still 3.8 percent behind last year’s average for the months of January through September.

The month’s supply, a measure of inventory that estimates how many months it would take to sell the entire home inventory, fell 17.2 percent to 8.7 percent from 10.5 percent last year.

“A balanced market for central Ohio is around 6½ or 7 months supply,” said Benjamin. “So the decrease is one more positive sign for central Ohio housing.”

Columbus Board of REALTORS®