Michael Crist

Google’s Project Sunroof has surveyed 60 million buildings in the United States and has determined that 80 percent of them are “solar viable,” meaning they receive enough sunlight to be worthy candidates for solar energy installations. Co-developed by The Washington Post and Google’s Jigsaw division (that works on technology safety issues), the Sideways Dictionary uses… Continue Reading 4 of 5 U.S. Buildings Have Solar Potential; A Tech Dictionary for Everyone; More in Five for Wednesday

Existing-home sales rose 3.3 percent in January from one month prior while new home sales increased 3.7 percent.  These headline figures are seasonally adjusted figures and are reported in the news.  However, for everyday practitioners, simple raw counts of home sales are often more meaningful than the seasonally adjusted figures.  The raw count determines income… Continue Reading Raw Count of Home Sales (January 2017)

The NCAA Basketball Championships are upon us, and NAR President Bill Brown has caught bracket fever. Think you’ve got the prognostication chops to top NAR’s President? Then head to the links below to make your picks, for both the Men’s and Women’s 2017 NCAA Tournament Brackets. Men’s Tournament Challenge – http://bit.ly/2nhAs5o Women’s Tournament Challenge – http://bit.ly/2mlrct5 To enter… Continue Reading Beat Bill Brown’s Brackets

Economic activity continued on an upward trend in the last quarter of 2016, but at a slower pace, as the first estimate of real gross domestic product (GDP) from the Bureau of Economic Analysis documented. Preliminary figures indicated that GDP rose at an annual rate of 1.9 percent, on par with the average 1.9 percent… Continue Reading Retail Rent Growth Enters 2017 on Upward Swing

Last Wednesday, REALTOR® Magazine announced the 50 finalists vying for a seat in the 30 Under 30 class of 2017. Now, this Friday, March 17 (St. Patrick’s Day!), you’ll have the opportunity to learn more about these young entrepreneurs in profiles that will be published at noon Central Time on REALTOR® Magazine Online. This group of… Continue Reading Meet the 2017 30 Under 30 Finalists & Vote

OK, it’s confession time: I haven’t even been in my house for a full two years yet, and it’s already time for a decluttering session. Maybe part of it was moving into a place that didn’t need much work (oh I know, poor me!). When we moved in, my husband and I just got unpacked… Continue Reading Help Clients Get a Clearer View of Clutter

Wouldn’t it be better to pull your muscle attempting to catch a foul ball instead of shoveling a foot of snow? Knowing there are 13 spring training baseball games being played across the state of Florida and in the Phoenix area makes today’s wintry mess up and down the East Coast even more cruel. It… Continue Reading Buy Where the Baseballs Fly in March

How does a homeowner know when to spend a lot of money on a home project versus when it is all right to go a cheaper route? When taking bids for a renovation project, it can be tempting to take the lowest offer, but if the highest bid comes in at $75,000 and the lowest… Continue Reading Story Ideas: Should a Homeowner Take the Lowest Bid for a Remodel?