home buying infographics

Infographics provide an easy means by which to learn about current home purchasing trends, the home buying process and other related topics. In searching for ones to feature, I found that the majority seem to be created and distributed by realtors. This obviously makes sense as home buying is their business but they don't always make for the most neutral of sources. Also many representations did not site their sources or provide a date range from which the data was gathered. Irregardless, I think they can provide a quick and visually appealing way to gather a lot of good information. Here are a few I found particularly interesting: 

by Doorsteps via National Association of Realtors

This one is nice because it states its data sources and is for the year 2012. The thing I found most interesting about this one is its "area of compromise" section - I would not have thought that the "price of home" would be the second most likely thing buyers would compromise on.  

via Coldwell Banker

This infographic is similar to the first in terms of content. However, I like that it adds more detail to what the first time home buyer's home looks like - number of bedrooms and baths, importance of proximities etc.  

via Pinfographics presented by Aloha Tony Hawaii Realtor

I really like this infographic because it provides a context for how to understand the current market. I also appreciate that it presents different ways to determine what price of house you can afford - price to income ratio etc. 

via Visual.ly published by Elika Real Estate and designed by Trafficado

This one very clearly is a rent vs. buy infographic but what is unique about it is its projections into the future. I also like that it presents some of its sources with their corresponding data.

Resource Review: The Distinctive Home

Several weeks ago, I had coffee with a former professor (hi Ben) who after taking a look at my blog suggested I read The Distinctive Home - A Vision of Timeless Design by Jeremiah Eck. I just recently finished the book and could not recommend it more. In fact, instead of doing just one post dedicated to the book's review I have planned a small series. 

In the introduction, Eck defines distinctive houses as those that "avoid the sameness, blandness, and thoughtlessness of many new houses being built today" (Eck, 2).  He goes on to state that the means to create a distinct home is to take a step back and look at four fundamental design concepts - the site, the floor plan, the exterior elements, and the details. Each principle is given its own section of the book and uses examples of contemporary residential architecture to support the points being made.

A premise of the book, which is never clearly stated, is its assumes all new construction. I find this to be somewhat isolating in that the majority of people are not building their own homes from ground up but rather are in some way modifying an existing home. This is not to stay that Eck's points don't apply but rather they just need to be adapted; which is what I will attempt to do in my forthcoming posts. Stay tuned for the first installment on the site!

our bird netting solution

As I mentioned last Monday, we added a bird net to our vegetable garden. Initially, I just draped it over top of the cucumber trellis knowing that sometime in the near future we would need to add corner posts. Yesterday, Jeff went out to the store and bought some bamboo posts and now we have a garden that looks like a covered wagon. The solution is not particularly elegant and I do have concerns that the cucumber plant is going to growing into the net but I think it should work for the remainder of the grow season. Its all a learning process and I definitely will be making some design edits next year.