How Work From Home Has Impacted Trends in the Real Estate Market

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Working from home became an inevitable reality for many Americans over the last year. It has ultimately changed the meaning of home and affected what we need or desire from our living spaces. As a result, many people have relocated both locally and nationally in search of a place that suits their new needs, and even more, are planning to make a move this year.

In the latest edition of @ The Market, @properties EVP of relocation and referral services John D’Ambrogio joined the webcast to offer his perspective on the latest relo trends that have emerged during the pandemic. He also addresses where he sees businesses heading in the coming year.

A Redfin survey recently reported that one-third of homebuyers would relocate if remote work becomes permanent. Although John does not anticipate that employees will be working from home forever, he does believe that the work-from-home model will be integrated into the ways that companies do business in the future. With flex work weeks becoming more popular and giving employees the opportunity to alternate between working from home and the office, he notes that the location of some peoples’ homes will be less significant than if they were commuting Monday through Friday. Homebuyers thus have the freedom to look in areas farther out than they typically would to find a home more suitable to their lifestyle.

John also offered insight into the hotspots that are gaining attention from those relocating throughout the country. He highlighted two particular regions as emerging relocation hotspots, dubbing them the New South and New West. The New South includes cities like Charlotte, Raleigh, Nashville, and Atlanta, while the New West is drawing homebuyers to Austin, Denver, and Houston. These regions have ample job growth, warm weather, and are generally within tax-friendly or tax-neutral states. As for Chicago, the Windy City is still a popular spot for corporate relocation, and remains a hub of industries such as finance and consulting.

Written by: @properties

The Best Plants for Each Room in the House

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Spring is the perfect time to begin adding a bit of green to your home. Not quite sure where to start? Finding a plant that best suits your home can seem daunting, like what plant might thrive best in certain rooms. Don’t get too worked up, with a little guidance, finding the perfect plant for that space you’re thinking of can be easy.

Bedroom: Peace Lily

With bright and glossy leaves, Peace lilies are one of the easiest plants to care for and will breathe some life into your bedroom. These plants thrive in bright, indirect sunlight but can also flourish in low light. Peace lilies are toxic if ingested, so be sure to keep them out of reach of children and pets.

Bathroom: Fern

Do you love hot, steamy showers? So do ferns! These plants are adapted to forest floors and other spotty-light, high-humidity places, so they fare best in a bathroom with a north- or east-facing window. It’s important to make sure ferns stay moist, so if the plant is looking a little dry, a quick spritz should do the trick.

Sunroom or Entryway: Aloe

Known for all its well-known medicinal purposes, the aloe plant is a beautiful and easy-going addition to the household. A sunroom or any sunny entryway will work well as they love bright light. The best part? For those of us not great at remembering to water our plants, aloe thrives in arid conditions and will survive from one watering to the next.

Living room: Rubber Tree

Rubber trees will grow as big as you let them, making them a natural living room focal point. Plant them in a medium/large pot to promote and stimulate growth and cultivate a modern look with a stand-alone plant. Lots of indirect sunlight will best serve them. Their watering varies from season to season, so be sure you are supplying it with the correct amount of water, and you are wiping the leaves off every once in a while to help your tree stay healthy.

Dining room: Snake Plant

Easy to grow and dubbed as “indestructible,” the snake plant is a great addition to your dining room. Both bright and low light work for these plants as they easily adapt to their environment. As for watering, the best strategy is to keep the soil damp, which you can ensure with a simple touch test.

Anywhere: Pothos

One of the easiest plants to grow and maintain is the Pothos. It thrives in moderate light and almost any environment, and is, quite frankly, difficult to kill. Once these plants start growing, they won’t stop — the gift that keeps on giving. They are also easy to propagate, and before you know it, you’ll have pothos in every room of the house.

Source: @properties

Simple Changes @ Home for a Positive Mindset

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Since COVID-19, we’ve adapted to doing everything from home, and that, in turn, has changed what we want and need in our homes. With the onset of winter, here are a few simple, low, or NO expense ideas for setting up a stay-indoors friendly, inspiring, and supportive home.

Rearrange your Decor. Small changes, such as we can figure when your furniture can make a big difference.

  • Move decorative items around-be it artwork, family photos, or vacation chotchkies
  • Add vivid colors – such as a new set of couch pillows, a flowering plant, or an accent rug – to help brighten your days
  • Add more lamps to bring in more light on our darkest days.

Invite Nature In. These can make your home feel livelier and relieve stress.

  • Open your curtains and let the sunshine in
  • Add house plants
  • Hand pictures featuring elements of nature
  • Grow herbs and use them in your cooking.

Stay tuned for more simple solutions to make life at home more enjoyable!

 

You CAN Donate Old Textbooks!!!

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Beneficiaries of Books4Cause

I get so excited when I find resources that solve BIG problems…and in this case, do GOOD!!!

This is an organization that you can donate your OLD books to, including old textbooks.

This amazing resource is here in Chicago (also in NYC). It takes book donations and makes libraries in Africa… or gives them to schools here in Chicago or sells them to pay for shipping or recycles those that can’t find a new home. It’s called books4cause. Their office is located in Skokie, but they will even pick up the books from your home!

Get more facts at:  http://www.books4cause.com/
You can also find them on facebook under “books4cause”

Check them out, then share your experience, by commenting below.

How to CHOOSE SEA-LIFE SAFE SUNSCREENS that Don’t Kill Coral Reefs or Hurt Fishes

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Protect Sealife by choosing Non-Toxic sunscreen

Like me, are you heading south for a sunshine and ocean holiday vacation? Did you know that MOST sunscreens are killing the coral reefs and hurting the fishes? I just learned this, so I wanted to quickly share what you can do to help protect our sea-life.

Make a difference by choosing products that are NOT TOXIC. Below is a link to an article I found most useful in explaining the problem and how to choose ocean-safe products. In this post I have summarize the key points from this article and will show you two of the products I happened to have that appear to be ocean safe.

DON’Ts:

-Don’t use sunscreen with Active Ingredients: Oxybenzone and/or Octinoxate. They kill coral.

–Don’t use sunscreens with Methyl Paraben, Butyl Paraben, or Phenoxyethanol. These are preservatives that are also toxic.

-If you must use these, they don’t recommend using SPF ratings over 30. They are not anymore effective in protecting your skin and contain higher concentrations of the toxic chemicals.

–Don’t use aerosol sunscreens. The chemical ingredients are microscopic and [are] inhaled into the lungs, and dispersed airborne into the environment

Reef-safe sunscreen, bought at Walgreens.

DO:

-Do use sunscreen with Non-Nano Zinc Oxide

-Do use sunscreen with Non-nano Titanium Dioxide. See pictures. I bought these sunscreens at Walgreens, here in Highland Park,

–The best thing to do is wear UV protective shirts or “Rash Guards.”  A rash guard, also known as rash vest or rashie, is an athletic fitted, spandex top, bottom or one-piece that protects beachgoers from the sun and other elements. Surfers typically wear them while they are riding the waves or hanging out on the shore. These shirts/leggings have UV protection ratings.

Remember, you will still need sunscreen protection on your face, neck, feet and hands… so be sure to wear the non-toxic products!

Here is the article link: https://www.travelandleisure.com/style/beauty/reef-safe-sunscreen

Also reef-friendly sunscreen