Yes, the whole thing!

I once read an article about a man who bought an old house for $1. The purchase agreement contained the caveat that the house had to be removed from the property on which it sat, so that the property owner could repurpose the building site without having to demolish the old house first.

Photo Credit: aka kath

That story was so colorful, it made me curious about the process of moving an entire building from one place to another. As I delved into the topic, I discovered a company that specializes in moving houses and other buildings around the country. Wolfe House & Building Movers talks about some of the benefits of moving an entire structure:

• The structure changes locations, intact
• All the plumbing, heating, and HVAC systems go right along for the ride (more…)

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Photo credit: New York Times

With building materials at record lows and annual spending on renovations down by almost twenty-five percent, it’s the perfect time to get great value on a remodeling project. Adding to this consumer bonanza is the onset of builders entering the market. With housing starts slumping — down 80 percent from their high mark in the first part of 2006 — more builders are available for smaller renovation or remodeling projects. Advantage consumer.

Think about this for a minute, if you could add greater value to your home at historically low prices for materials and labor, you might regret not acting sooner to take advantage of some savings. This buyer’s market may not last for long, especially if the economy rebounds later this year as many are predicting. But for now, all indicators are giving consumers the green light on that remodeling project.

David Crowe, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders, told the New York Times that he’s never seen economic factors this favorable for the shopper. “Consumers are the ones in the driver’s seat now,” he said. “It’s the worst of times for the builders and remodelers, who are very anxious, but it’s the best of times for consumers.” (more…)

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A panel of experts today at the 2009 International Home + Housewares Show said that the most important trends at work in the consumer marketplace are:

• Respecting Generational Divides
• Living Within Our Means
• The Live-In Kitchen
• The Green Kitchen
• The Wellness Kitchen
• Cooking for Fun

The annual show, which took place in March at McCormick Place in Chicago, featured nearly 2,000 exhibitors from five continents, including more than 400 new companies introducing thousands of new products. The latest housewares industry news is tracked by the producers of the Home + Housewares Show, the International Housewares Association.

The top trend discussed by the panelists was Respecting Generational Divides, and their findings are intriguing. The general population is divvied up into four age groups, with the following descriptions:

• The Gen Y group is aged 14-33 and is completely connected and wired all day. Most rent an apartment rather than own a home, are still in school, or are just entering the workforce.
• The GenX group is aged 34-43 and typically is raising a family, so the kitchen is a family communications hub for them.
• Baby Boomers are aged 44-63 and are either entering the empty-nester phase or are experiencing children and/or parents moving back in with them. This group is going to need to work longer than planned and is the group with the most discretionary income for housewares.
• Prime Timers (age 64+) are concerned with safe aging-in-place. They want to grow old where they are. They are reinventing themselves, and their focus is on ergonomics and intuitive design. (more…)

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