The first two houses are in escrow at Harbor Crossing, a subdivision in Gig Harbor to ultimately contain about 180 units. The project is notable for its location (next to the new Costco and YMCA and planned hospital) and for the urban-inspired style of homes: close together, some with shared driveways and others (deemed cottages) that don’t get any bigger than 1,300 square feet.

The Dwelling Co. plans to build 111 homes – a combination of houses, town homes and duplexes, according to Noree Milligan, Dwelling’s marketing manager. The first six being sold by the company (the ones already in escrow are Dwelling’s) range in size from 1,268 to 2,349 square feet and are priced at $344,990 to $539,990. Models will be available in November, Milligan said.

Bennett Homes, which is building the remainder, plans to begin selling Sept. 1, when a sales trailer will open, said agent Linda Kepler. (Models should be ready later in September.) Square footages range from about 1,800 to 2,600 square feet and prices are expected to start in the $400s. Notable attributes include minimal yards and master bedrooms on the first floor, which Kepler said appeal to retired buyers. Several are under construction with the first to be ready no later than January, she said.

I asked Kepler this week if she’s concerned about getting the units sold in today’s slow real estate market.

“Not really,” she said. “Bennett Homes is still selling homes.”

“Our research shows there’s a real need and market for this kind of housing. There’s nothing like it in the Gig Harbor area. We’re cautiously optimistic we’ll do really well.”

One added note: The Gig Harbor area had Pierce County’s highest supply of homes in July, at 9.7 months, which could present a location-specific challenge to anyone selling a home in the harbor area. You can read the story I wrote on the supply issue here.

For those following the potential closure of North Shore Golf Course in Northeast Tacoma to put up hundreds of homes, residents critical of the project have started a blog. To take a look, go here.

Also, the Northeast Tacoma Neighborhood Council will be taking on the topic at its Thursday meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Meeker Middle School, 4402 Nassau Ave. NE.

You can find more information on Soundbuilt Homes, the parent company of SBI Developing, which is putting the project together, here. Kurt Wilson, who manages SBI, said the project will be opened up to multiple builders.

Speaking of Zillow.com ... next week's Fortune magazine just landed on my desk and you'll never guess what's on the cover. A story titled: "What's Your House Really Worth? (How Zillow is turning online voyeurism into a real estate revolution.)"

It's a lengthy explainer piece that takes readers through the site's history and various aspects, including price history charts, the Make Me Move feature and how Zillow is charting its future. Check it out here.

I can't help it. Every time I drive by one of those "Jungle Houses" I want to buy it. Ya know the kind I'm talking about. The lawn has turned to weeds that are about two feet high, the windows have never been washed, the thing has never been painted, there's junk everywhere and the gutters are falling off the roof.

My brain goes into "Fix & Flip" mode. (Buy it, Fix it, Sell it, Lay on the Beach for a month in Mexico from the profits). Most of the time just cleaning up the junk and re-painting the sucker will net you 20 grand. But unfortunately, when I look at the gas gauge on my piggybank it almost always says EMPTY, so I just continue to dream on and drive by.

Others are smarter than me however and actually do what I dream of and buy homes in various stages of disrepair in order to fix 'em and live in 'em or sell 'em for a quick buck.

If you're one of those brave real estate "Disaster Commanders" or if you just want to sell your home and need to drastically change the Junk to Equity Equation, I stumbled upon a really fun company to call. They call themselves 1-800-Got-Junk? After reading through their website I came to the conclusion that their motto ought to be: "We make taking out the trash fun!" because some of their marketing and brand-building materials are just hilarious.

There's plenty of phone numbers you can call from the classifieds or Craigslist with names like "Bob's Hellacious Hauling Company" or "Two-Men-And-A-Dump-Truck-R-US", but the 1-800-Got-Junk operation seems to work a bit differently. For me at least, it's not as scary to call a national 800 number, or better yet for us digital heads, a request for junk removal can be booked completely online.

Once you punch in your basic info, the website tells you what their schedule looks like and you can click to choose your pick-up date and time. It's a national company (Canada too) that uses local-level franchise partners to service customers in various geographical territories.

According to Hal Smith, the Tacoma area franchise owner, his company also works directly with real estate agents as an "on-call" service for clients who are preparing their homes for sale. That's a good idea in my opinion because it makes it MUCH easier to sell a home if it's clean and tidy. I love the idea of just tossing stuff into a pile in the garage and having it magically disappear.

In reality the home will sell with or without the junk. The only differences will be how long it takes to sell and how much more a buyer will pay for one that is neatly presented. This is a classic example of a time when (if you're not willing or able to do it yourself) paying someone to do something will result in a significant net gain at sale time. :)

Submitted by Steve Hurley

www.Tacondo.com

"Thoughtless, developer driven tract homes" vs. "Beautiful, thoughtful, architecturally designed homes".

Whoa… those sound like Fightin' words!

Actually, they're phrases spoken kindly by Sausalito architect Michelle Kaufmann who has created several outstanding eco-friendly modular style homes.

I don't know about you, but this global warming thing is beginning to bug me in a subtle but un-nerving way. In my lifetime I've been about as good about following ecological guidelines as I have about following healthy eating habits… That is to say, not very well. I've always preferred a nice juicy double bacon cheeseburger to a plate of rabbit food.

But gosh darn it I'm determined to change my way of thinking. And if the truth were to be known, I might even decide to go nuts and go totally green someday.
The thing is, it's gotta be easy. Most people, I would say, would choose the path of lesser impact on Ms. Earth as long as it doesn't cramp their lifestyle. Well I might have stumbled on a way in real estate terms to have your carrot cake and eat it too.

For years you might have seen those modular homes along side of Hwy 512 (near the Steele Street exit) built and sold by Evergreen Modular Homes. Recently however, Evergreen was purchased by a company called MK Constructs. Are you catching on to the connection here? MK = Michelle Kaufmann?

Yup. Yesterday I talked to the president of the company, Paul Warner, a delightful man who says the former Evergreen Modular facility is being converted to manufacture the MK Designs homes utilizing the latest techniques in modular technology. And according to the website, the Lakewood factory will build homes for the California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii markets.

For you architecture fans, Michelle K has some incredible educational roots as she was a student of internationally renowned architect Michael Graves at Princeton and also worked for Frank Gehry (Experience Music Project) in Los Angeles for five years before moving to the Bay Area to open her own office.

The whole idea behind the structures are to get as close as possible to that Holy Grail of ecology: "Zero waste produced and Zero energy consumed". I doubt if anyone has gotten any closer on a production level. I know that quite a few local builders are beginning to use Built Green standards in some of their construction, but it seems as though it's primarily marketing driven rather than a core part of their company philosophy.

All in all, this a refreshing trend in the building industry. And the builders who are participating in this worthwhile trend are to be commended.

I wonder if I'm still allowed to eat fries with my vegeburger?

Submitted by Steve Hurley

www.Tacondo.com

Last weekend my daughter and I attended the Fall Home & Garden Show at the Tacoma Dome. She usually doesn't like home shows but I told her that Smokey the Bear would be there like he always is. Unfortunately Smokey was a no show. (the staff indicated he would be back for the Spring show however).

So with a disappointed 8 year old in tow, I set out to find something that would catch her interest. It didn't take her long to figure out that almost all the booths had a candy jar so she started filling up her Lowes bag faster than a kid on Halloween night. Then she stumbled upon a booth that had a great toy to play with.

"Hey Dad, over here!" she called. "Look at this snake thing!". What she found was the booth for Hide-A-Hose, a central vacuum system company out of Monroe, Washington.

My family had a central vac in our house when we were growing up. They worked good, that's for sure. But lugging that big honkin hose around was a pain in the… well, ya know, the thing was heavy.

The Hide-A-Hose company seems to have solved that problem though. In their systems they use a self retracting hose, and I gotta say it works really good. While the vacuum is still on, you just put your hand over the end of the hose and the suction recoils the hose right back in the wall for storage.

Another feature I hadn't seen before is a kitchen floor vacuum inlet that can be installed in a kitchen cabinet baseboard. You can use this to sweep debris from the kitchen floor into. Much better than kicking the dropped elbow macaroni under the oven like I prefer to do. (Hope my wife isn't reading this).

Anyway, great product. Cost is about $2650 installed into an existing two story home. New construction install would cost less. Another unique point is that with this system you can use up to a 50 foot long hose which covers a floor area of over 2000 sq feet. This means typical home will only need one inlet valve per floor. Pretty cool huh?

Submitted by Steve Hurley

www.Tacondo.com

If you've ever remodeled an old home you probably wince when it's time to tackle the plumbing. For years galvanized and cast iron pipes were the standard components used for home water systems. But father time has not been kind to this material. It was difficult to install, a nightmare to repair and ultimately it faces a corrosive demise requiring replacement.

Fortunately copper tubing and plastic came on the scene to save the day. And wow, what a difference. It's lighter, easier to work with, non-corrosive and it was less expensive. Can't get any better than that right?

Well there might be an even better idea making an inroads in new construction these days. Homebuilders such as Dream Builders NW are now specifying Manifold Water Distribution Systems in their luxury homes using something called PEX flexible water pipe.

I think most plumbers are still a bit reluctant to embrace this water distribution method, but with copper prices skyrocketing this year, homebuilders are beginning to force the issue.

The water manifold systems have some pretty strong points in their favor. Aside from being less expensive and faster to install, every plumbing fixture in the house has it's own dedicated water line from the central control unit. A separate line is run for each cold and hot line. And each one has it's own it's own shut-off valve which is marked like an electrical panel. This way you can shut down just one faucet for maintenance instead of having to turn off the water for the whole dang house. I kinda like that.

During installation the tubing bends around smoothly through the walls requiring virtually no elbow fittings. The end fittings are clamped on with a special crimping tool. From what I've read, it's a fairly easy installation learning curve so Do-It-Yourselfers should have good success with this for remodeling too.

What I couldn't figure out was how long this stuff lasts. 40? 50? a hundred years? Who knows? They've been using PEX tubing in Europe for a few decades but what happens if all starts to disintegrate? The manufacturers will only commit to the term, "long-lasting", so how does that make you feel?

On the other hand, does it even matter? In another few years we'll probably have something like "zoned microwave heating systems" anyway. Just don't turn it up too far or you'll accidentally roast the cat. ;)

Submitted by Steve Hurley

www.Tacondo.com

Last year I helped secure the permit for a "little house". It was kind of funny when we rolled out the plans at the Pierce County annex. The first thing the plans examiner asked was, "how big is this thing anyway?" "Oh, about 15,000 square feet", I said with a big grin.

The second thing he asked as he crooked his head sideways was, "how many garage stalls did you say there were?" As I recall, there were 11 garage stalls drawn on the plans.

Knowing that particular client, he's probably added a few more bays by now. But then again, he can pretty much afford whatever he wants, so it's not much of a stretch to imagine him throwing in helipad too just for the heck of it.

Here's an interesting twist. A couple of weeks ago I got a flyer in my inbox for a new development in Auburn called Pinnacle Estates. Steve Jensen Homes, (who happens to be one of my favorite builders), is the general contractor and the homes are "priced from the $700's"… (you know what that means, lol).

Anyway, I was reading through the features list and it looked like pretty standard fare for the price range, but then my eyes just about bugged out. Up to 6 car garages available! Whoa, hold on there trigger, did I read that right? Six car garages?

Yup, turns out it's a pretty popular option according to the listing agent. Now these are tandem style garages mind you. That is, they're basically "double-depth" 3 car garages. But if you back all the cars out you could still host a neighborhood roller rink night in that puppy.

I told my wife I need more garage space because my measly little 3-car garage just wasn't cuttin' it anymore. She reached into the cupboard and grabbed a frying pan to hit me upside the head… so I decided to drop the whole idea. :)

Submitted by Steve Hurley

www.Tacondo.com (it's a secret, but you can look)

When I grew up, the houses on our block were all painted different colors. We lived in a new subdivision and everyone chose colors that fit their personality, and oddly enough, it worked.

Then in the 80's, along came the "Northwest Color Palette." Some corporate design expert must have decided that if you were going to buy a new house it was going to be beige or grey or some other boring variant of neutral. All the houses looked pretty much the same and the architectural landscape became about as exciting as the finish on a cement sidewalk.

Lately though I've spotted shades of life sprouting from the paint bucket again. Here's a shot of some DR Horton (doesn't that name remind you of Dr. Seuss?) homes in Fife.

And one builder at The Buttes in Orting is even experimenting with using natural wood finishes for major accent areas.

But the area that takes the cake for color is downtown Tacoma of all places. The new condo explosion is spattering it's vibrant color swatches all over the Foss facing hillside landscape. The City Steps project is nearing completion and it's going to look great. Even the older buildings are beginning to show their colors.

So nowadays I look in my wallet and see the new multi-colored legal tender. And coincidentally as I view the new construction sites, it looks like the builders are following suit by infusing color into their housing currency too.

I think it's all pretty cool. Do you?

Submitted by Steve Hurley

Reprinted with permission from:
www.NewHomeReportBlog.com

I'll take a "Tall Skinny Crystal w/ no Bonus".

No, this isn't something you'll be ordering at your local Starbucks Drive-Thru window. But if you stop by the sales trailer at Meridian Greens in Puyallup you could live in something like it for about $285,000. What I'm referring to here is a relatively new kind of housing development that you're likely to see more of in the near future.

As I was winding my way home out of the mountains after a soothing motorcycle ride, the silhouette of this unusual looking development caught my attention. I've seen similar projects popping out of the ground recently, so I decided to stop in and see what was up.

What's interesting about this South Hill community of 97 lots, is that it plans to feature amenities that you would normally associate with an apartment or condominium complex. Features such as a community center and swimming pool might be just the attractions needed to lure buyers who are considering making the jump from renting to owning their own home.

When completed, this particular community will even have a gated entrance which will provide a nice measure of security and exclusivity.

But the most intriguing thing you'll find about this new-fangled sub-division is the variety of large and small floorplans, all portraying a very "slim-line profile". While some of the larger plans still maintain the traditional front-entry garages, the more provocative homes in this community utilize a 2-car garage which is accessed from an alley in the rear. This is an idea popularized several years ago at Northwest Landing in DuPont.

These ultra-narrow profile plans allow the builder to shoehorn in a string of 1500 to 1700 +/- sq. ft. homes onto a series of approximately 30 foot wide lots. It's actually quite an architectural achievement to do that while adhering to the county's minimum property line setbacks. In fact, "The Crystal," (one of the narrowest of Integrity Built Homes' available plans), has a footprint of only 21 ½ feet wide. That's pretty dang narrow folks!

But somehow it all fits nicely with the idea that it's better to own piece of the American dream than it is to lease a tiny cubicle within a rental mega-plex. Moreover, the homes are rather charming. They have a really fun feel to them.

Now, being an acreage sort of guy, I usually say bigger is better. And I admit to having been a bit snobby in the past by thinking these "sardine can" homes are for the birds. But I can definitely see the appeal here. With affordability stretching the limits of first-time home buyers and the land crunch beginning to show it's ugly fangs, cities and counties are adjusting the building codes to accommodate - and even promote - this type of higher density housing. And I think that's a good thing if it's constructed in an efficient yet attractive fashion, as this example appears to be doing.

Just my take. What do you think?

Submitted by Steve Hurley

Reprinted with permission from:
www.NewHomeReportBlog.com