Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Unique Modern Luxury Kitchen Designs
Unique Modern Luxury Kitchen Designs
French Blue White And Wood Kitchen Pictures
Unique Modern Luxury Kitchen Designs
French Blue White And Wood Kitchen Pictures
Unique Modern Luxury Kitchen Designs
French Blue White And Wood Kitchen Pictures
French Blue White And Wood Kitchen Pictures
![The Heirloom and Vintage finishes combine naturally with the French]()
Elegant Dream Kitchen Design
French Blue White And Wood Kitchen Pictures
French Blue White And Wood Kitchen Pictures
Elegant Dream Kitchen Design
French Blue White And Wood Kitchen Pictures
French Blue White And Wood Kitchen Pictures
Columbus Dispatch: Home-price index falls to lowest point since 2002
Home-price index falls to lowest point since 2002
WASHINGTON (AP) -- An index of home prices in big metro areas has reached its lowest level since 2002, driven down by foreclosures, a glut of unsold homes and the reluctance or inability of many to buy.
Prices fell from February to March in 18 of the metro areas tracked by the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city index. And prices in a dozen markets have reached their lowest points since the housing bubble burst in late 2006.
The nationwide index fell for the eighth straight month. Prices have now fallen further since the bubble burst than they did during the Great Depression. It took 19 years for the housing market to regain its losses after the Depression ended.
Prices rose last summer, fueled by a temporary federal home-buying tax credit. But they've plunged since then. This month's report marked a "double dip in home prices across much of the nation," said David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's.
After adjusting for inflation, the home-price index has sunk to a level not seen since 1999.
Many economists think prices nationally will drop at least 5 percent more by year's end. They aren't likely to stop falling until the glut of foreclosures for sale is reduced, employers start hiring in greater force, banks ease lending rules and would-be buyers regain confidence that a home purchase is a wise investment.
"Folks are having so much difficulty in getting financing for a home," said Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo. "It may be early next year before prices hit bottom."
Another obstacle to a rebound in prices: A delay in processing foreclosures. Homes in foreclosure sell for, on average, 20 percent discounts. When they do, they pull prices down further. But many foreclosure sales have been delayed while federal regulators, state attorneys general and banks review how those foreclosures were carried out over the past two years.
Once those homes are eventually foreclosed upon, they will trigger a further price drop in many markets. Those declines are "etched in stone," said Patrick Newport, U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight.
The 12 cities now at their lowest levels in nearly four years are: Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, Portland, Ore., and Tampa.
Minneapolis fared the worst in March; prices there fell 3.7 percent. They dropped 2.4 percent in Charlotte and Chicago and 2 percent in Detroit. But prices rose 0.1 percent in Seattle and 1.1 percent in Washington, D.C. The nation's capital is the only metro area in the index where prices have risen in the past year.
The Case-Shiller index measures sales of select homes in the 20 largest markets compared with January 2000. For each metro area it reviews, the index provides a three-month moving average price. By measuring sales prices of the same homes over time, the index seeks to pinpoint market values and conditions.
The housing sector is struggling even as the overall economy is in the midst of a steady but slow recovery.
That won't change soon. Roughly 92 percent of homeowners say it's a bad time to sell their home, according to the latest Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment.
But housing also affects the broader economy. Homes account for about a third of household wealth. So when prices fall, they have "important spillover effects on other sectors of the economy," said Yelena Shulyatyeva, an analyst at BNP Paribas. Those sectors include consumer spending and state and local property tax collections.
Some of the sharpest price declines have occurred in cities hit hardest by unemployment and foreclosures, such as Phoenix, Tampa and Las Vegas. They are flooded with homes sitting vacant, awaiting buyers. Many banks have agreed to allow homes at risk of foreclosure to be sold for less than what is owed on their mortgages. That trend has pulled down prices.
Coastal areas, such as San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Washington and Boston, have fared comparatively better in the past two years. They have been aided by healthy local economies and low unemployment, desirable city centers and limited space for new housing.
But the damage is now spreading to areas that had long escaped the worst of the crisis. They include Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis and Cleveland. Economists regard them as housing bellwethers - metro areas that are reliable indicators of where national prices are headed.
Denver and Dallas are on pace to hit post-housing bust lows in the next few months.
In the seven years before its peak in July 2006, the home-price index surged 155 percent. Since then, it's fallen 33 percent.
Children, Obey Your Parents
Eph 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
Nowhere in the Word do we see children having an option in obeying their parents. As children of God are to obey Him, so children should honor their parents.
Parents aren't always perfect, but they are always the parents. Parents aren't always right, but they are never wrong.
Dishonoring children of the Old Testament sometimes received capital punishment, disobedient children of our day ought to sometimes receive corporal punishment.
I have to be honest, I find very few consistently parent-honoring children these days, even among church kids. Disney, Nickelodeon and the Cartoon channels are surely no help.
If one ever hopes to lead, one must first earn that right by knowing how to obey.
Parents, we must be very loving, but very consistent in our child-rearing.
Hints:
*Never give them what they whine for.
*Live a God-honoring example before them. Be consistent in your life. Love God and your spouse. The best thing you can do for your kids is to love your spouse.
*Turn the TV off and open the Bible.
*Give them responsibility and supervise the tasks through to completion.
*Never reward disobedience, never let it go unpunished.
*Never yell, firmly get their attention by having them look you in the eye, listen to what you have to say and then repeat it.
*Reward obedience, give constant affirmation and encouragement.
*Don't over-indulge them.
*Guard their lives! Beware of evil communications which corrupt good manners, these include friends, activities, entertainment, etc.
*Teach them to say "yes sir" and "no ma'am"
*Let them know that they must obey completely, immediately and with the right attitude, it may one day save their lives, or someone else's.
*Above all, foster a love of God in them. Encourage them to have a personal walk with God.
By the way, this commandment is the one designated “with promise”, that is, when children honor their parents, they are promised that things would go well and they would be blessed with a long life. Pretty good incentive, I say.
Top 6 House Moving Tips
Most us know how difficult it is to move house, especially if you are doing all of the packing and house moving your self. By the time you have finished moving and cleaned the house you were living in, then unpacked at the new house you can expect to feel very tired. It seems to take another 2 to 3 weeks to actually get over the move, and that is if you've been very well-organized.
Here are some of my house moving tips to help you be extremely organized, so that moving can be a much easier process for you and your family. If you can afford to hire someone to do this for you, then you will find it much easier and it is the way to go. However, my tips will help you even if you do pay for a removalist, as this can be difficult if you do not get the best available.
1: Use a calendar to plan which rooms you will pack, and what date you will do them on.
2: Delegate tasks to all members of the family, so they know what they need to do, and what timeframe they need to have it done in.
3: Previous to moving, make sure that your whole house has been de-cluttered, so that you are not moving house things that will end up in the rubbish later.
4: Pack a suitcase for each member of the family, similar to if they are going on holiday for a few days. This great idea means that each person will have what they need for the few days after you move without having to go through boxes.
5: Keep each box to a liftable weight, even if you have to add things that do not go in the same place.
6: Make sure you mark the top of each box clearly with the room it needs to be unpacked in.
the reading room
We have a lot of books in our house. We read a lot and we like to re-read so we keep them.
We are comfortable with that.
Many people shy away from full book shelves. Dusty, untidy, unfashionable? Different reasons maybe.
How about you? Are you more books on shelves, or books piled on tables?
Would you enjoy any of these reading rooms?
all images with thanks to Mires Paris
Monday, May 30, 2011
