Houses are like cars. Each is an expression of the owner's personality.

Personality evolves over time. When you first go to a showing of a home, you are seeing the current owner's personality. Do you have the ability to see past current state and envision the potential for your parsonality to shine? What would you change? Is it superficial change or structural change? 

I continue to discover my personality; shows up in odd ways as we make our house into OUR home. From changing wall color to how we hang pictures to the plantings outside the front door to how to our doors look. It slowly evolves into our own.
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Every personality is different . Savor the journey. We are :) 

This week I connected with friends living in 'exotic places' like Washington DC, Seattle, NYC, Madison, & Minneapolis.  Only one owns, the rest rent.  Why is that?  Isn't the American Dream to own your own home?  What gives? 
I had to investigate.  As of 12/2015, 63.9% of Americans own a home, but this varies dramatically by age.  In general, following the 2008-9 financial crisis, home ownership has dropped, the with the most significant drops being for those under 44 years old (generation y or younger). Only 35% of those under 35 own, meanwhile approximately 80% of those over 65 own their home.  As baby boomers age, and potentially 'downsize' or seek assisted living options, more houses could enter the market. This could impact upcoming housing starts for new construction. 

I then got curious what the home ownership rates were in other countries that are similar to the US. 
Canada: 66.5% (12/2014)
Australia: 67% (12/2011)
UK: 63.5% (12/2015)
Japan: 61.9% (12/2013)
Germany: 51.9% (12/2015)
All pretty similar to the US except for Germany....why?  Two reasons: Germany has more stringent processes for getting a mortgage than the US, and tax code (property owners are not favorably treated like here). My dreams of owning a home is Austria have been shattered as well--Austrian home ownership closely mirrors Germany. 

Home ownership rates also vary by state, the more 'rural' or having less population density seems to overlay with higher potential home ownership rate. 

My key takeaways:
1) Iowa is a more approachable to buy a home in compared to many other places in the US.  
2) Finding the above statistics leads me to more questions....I wonder what the average home selling price is by state? 
Seek and you shall find!!  Iowa ranked #39 with the average sell price being $130,900.  
Highest average sell price: Hawaii @ $547,600
Lowest average sell price: West Virginia @ $88,900 (not surprising they lead in homeownership!)

Here is a Sweet Heat Map of Home Prices  
Oh, did I mention I love statistics?  
​Have a good weekend--

A murphy bed.  Of course we have seen them in the movies, so the concept makes sense...but what about in real life?  The one pictured above is at The Markket  (Edgewood, IA)--yes, those shelves in the center is a bed.
Be it for a tiny home or a multi-use space/place--its fun, practical and surprisingly comfortable.  Being an avid DIY gal, I started my search.  LOTs of styles and concepts are out there. Better yet, one of my favorite places to get woodworking equipment carries the mechanism kit--Rockler (they even provide directions on how to make your own bed!).   
Being a big fan of 'contained' mess, those with side cabinets for storage appeal to me more than those with just a bed, I even found one made from reclaimed barn board.  This concept for a kids room could really open up the room to also serve as a play area, or if you are in studio like space, make the room multi-functional.  
Always dangerous when my creativity starts seeing the potential possibilities.  Finally, some awesome plans for bedroom built-in cabinets from Sawdustgirl (by favorite idea area--how can you not love it when the tagline is 'built it like a girl!?')

What does 20% down look like in Seattle?  
While exploring the neighborhoods of Ballard and Phinney Ridge (Seattle), there aren't many 'for sale' signs.  The ones I did find come with a surprising price tag. 
We walked by this one for example, its a wee home of about 1,200 square feet and a matching small lot....the price tag $775.000.  Here are the numbers for you:

• approx. $645/sq. ft. 
• 20% down = $155,000
  • 3 bedrooms
  • 1 bath (upstairs)
  • 1 stall (detached garage)
• 12 days = avg. time on market
• 6% = avg. paid OVER list price.

From someone from the midwest, well, that is a lot for being 15 feet away from your neighbor's house.