Real Estate is Market Specific

An article posted yesterday on msn.com by Forbes magazine provided lists of the best ten and worst ten real estate markets in the United States. While Grand Rapids, or any city in Michigan, wasn't on either list, the market-specific nature of real estate was evident. For example, two of the best and two of the worst markets are in California. The best are San Francisco and San Jose and the worst are Los Angeles and San Diego.

An even finer distinction was made in Colorado where Denver was on both the best and the worst lists. The difference was in what part of the greater Denver area one was considering; e.g. downtown Denver, the suburbs, or the area between Denver and Colorado Springs.

The implication is clear: focus on the area that you are considering and get all of the relevant data on that area. The best way to do that is to employ the services of a real estate professional who can provide you with all of the latest information.

Steam Ovens: Energy Savings & Health Benefits

The Home and Garden section of the Sunday, April 13, 2008, The Grand Rapids Press included an article on the energy savings and health benefits of steam ovens. Energy savings result from shorter cooking times, lower wattage of the cooking elements, and the ability to prepare an entire meal without the use of the stove top, an inefficient cooking method due to the loss of heat around the sides of the pots. Health benefits result because foods cook faster without losing as many of the natural flavors and nutrients. Therefore, less salt and other seasonings are required.

The article suggested the websites of several manufacturers and I checked them all. mieleusa.com was my favorite with more information about the products, features and benefits, and the steam cooking process. However, my cooking and traveling interests were aroused by the culinary tours described on the vikingrange.com site. The other sites mentioned were kitchenaid.com and gagganau.com. The sharpusa.com site does not currently feature steam ovens and suggests that viewers check back later in the year.

The picture above shows one of the Miele ovens featured in the article.

Informed Consumers for Real Estate Tansactions

A recent article posted on msn.com titled "What Realty Agents Won't Tell You" would have been more appropriately titled "What Realty Agents Can't Tell You." The article is informative but leaves the impression, at least initially, that agents don't want to tell clients certain things. However, the article later explains that fair-housing laws and the agents' desire to not engage in steering precludes those agents from providing that information. By the way, "steering" is directing a client toward or away from a particular property or neighborhood in a discriminatory manner.

The author of the article provides several resources for finding information about the neighborhood under consideration. These sources include familywatchdog.us, schoolmatters.com, and scorecard.com, a website that offers an environmental scorecard at the county level. Of course, it's always a good idea to go straight to the source and contact the local school system and the local government office.

For information on neighborhoods in Grand Rapids, go to grmag.com, click on "Article Archives" at the lower left of the screen, scroll down to "August 2007 A City of Neighborhoods," and then click on "Read Full Story." For your convenience, I've added a link to Grand Rapids magazine to the left side of my blog.

Be an informed consumer of real estate - and websites, for that matter.

Sustainable Business Program at Aquinas College

I've mentioned before that the Rapid Growth GR website is one of my favorites and this week's issue is no exception. Click on the link on the left side of this page or go to www.rapidgrowthmedia.com to read about the program and the success of one of it's graduates. There are also links to other websites that provide information on a variety of topics related to sustainable design.

For those of you who enjoy the work of Brian Kelly, whose photographs grace the pages of Rapid Growth GR, I've added a link to his website. It's located on the left side of this blog. Or, go to www.briankellyphoto.net.