IKEA commercials on Youtube

I noticed that Ikea spent a mother load on getting first page placement on Youtube.com. I am happy to see Ikea doing some outside of the box marketing, as the brand is not the most advertised in the world, their following is almost cult like.   Remember Ikea, is a great place to find quality kitchen products, but not a great place for luxury home remodeling ideas. 

What do you think about this commercial?

Kitchen Remodeling Still Going Strong

The unique characteristic about kitchen remodeling is that when home sales fall, kitchen remodeling usually is a matter of personal choice not a financially motivated move. I have seen this in Orange County; that many remodeling companies are not raising prices, but jobs are not that far from normal.

A recent study revealed these facts:

• 46 percent of U.S. kitchen remodels were completely do-it-yourself, while 62 percent were at least partially DIY.

• “Buy-it-yourself,” or BIY, remodels—in which the consumer buys the products and has a contractor install them—account for 21 percent of kitchen remodels.

• Women initiate most kitchen-remodeling projects. Still, men initiated 31 percent of kitchen remodels, up from 18 percent in 2003.

Full Story Here.

How those contractor days have changed!

Can you remember just how difficult it was to find a good contractor 2 years ago? And even the contractors I had worked with for 5 years, were rarely returning my first phone call. Talk about the best of times. Now that the market has turned, you can find great remodeling talent as great prices. And here is the kicker they are even willing to negotiate. Amazing.

Jennifer Openshaw of MarketWatch.com gives some great tips on securing a contractor in a buyers market! Now, if you want to take advantage of the current housing misfortunes to buy real estate, such as perhaps a foreclosure, all kinds of help can be found. Real-estate professionals are lined up waiting for your phone call, and Web-based services such as Zillow, RealtyTrac, and the National Association of Realtors are waiting for your mouse clicks.

All well and good if you're buying real estate, but what about finding a contractor? Here's a 15-minute tour of the basics. Full Story.