This is an interesting (and funny) article to share in light of Valentine's Day - "Trulia asked 1,000 single people which home features are the biggest turn-ons. Number one turned out to be a master bath. Men (64%) love that private sanctum almost as much as women (75%) do. Walk-in closets were cited by 55% of men and 72% of women and gourmet kitchens got 51% of the male vote and 62% of the female. Hardwood floors, outdoor decks and home theaters also came in high on the list."

Want a date? Buy a home

By Les Christie @CNNMoney February 14, 2012: 5:30 AM ET

When it comes to dating, homeownership can be the ultimate aphrodisiac.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- When it comes to dating, homeownership can be the ultimate aphrodisiac.

In a survey of 1,000 single people, more than a third of women and 18% of men said they would much rather date a homeowner than a renter.

Only 2% of women said they preferred to date a man who rents, while only 3% of men said they would choose a woman who rents over one that owns her home, according to the survey, which was conducted by Harris Interactive for real estate site Trulia.

Both sexes also clearly prefer it when there's no roommate in the picture; 62% of survey respondents, men and women, prefer to date singles who live alone.

I'm home! Adult children move back in with parents

And there was bad news for the growing number of boomerang kids -- the young adults who went off to college, graduated and then wound up back in their old bedrooms. It's going to be hard to find love, except (perhaps) from your parents. Less than 5% of all singles surveyed said they would date someone living in their childhood homes.

"That's a real deal-breaker," said Michael Corbett, a spokesman for Trulia. "If you're still living with your folks, you're dead-on-arrival for dating."

The home they could love

Trulia also asked which home features are the biggest turn-ons. Number one turned out to be a master bath. Men (64%) love that private sanctum almost as much as women (75%) do.

Cool and unusual homes for sale

Walk-in closets were cited by 55% of men and 72% of women and gourmet kitchens got 51% of the male vote and 62% of the female. Hardwood floors, outdoor decks and home theaters also came in high on the list.

Interestingly enough, hot tubs got a lot less love from respondents. Only 26% of men and 22% of women cited the old standby in the science of seduction as an amenity they would truly want.  

Source: http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/14/real_estate/dating_homeownership/index.htm

I recently sold this beautiful townhome in the College Terrace neighborhood of Palo Alto - we had lots of buyer activity (over 15 disclosure packages out) and ended up with 5 great offers! The townhome sold in less than a week well above asking price.

It's important to have a great real estate agent on your side who understands the ever-changing market climate especially in an area like Palo Alto. Please contact me if you are or know someone who is the market to buy or sell! I would be glad to assist.

We had a great meeting with the Opes Advisors Financial/Mortgage team in Palo Alto this morning! Here is their outlook for 2012:

• The State of the Macro Economy
  • We are still in a recovery that has been happening all year even through the great uncertainty caused by the debt of our nation and European nations
  • We believe this continues into 2012 and likely through at least the first half of 2013
  • We are also experiencing the lowest level of interest rates in 120 years
  • Credit is not universally easy to come by, but we wouldn’t expect it to be easy at these prices.
  • Volume of sales and manufacturing levels are continuing to pick up off the beaten down levels of 2009/2010. And the pricing environment for business is improving as well.
  • Unemployment has been stubbornly high but as of late is showing more positive signs
  • The volatility because of the debt crisis will continue. This is the wild card to this year.

2012 Outlook

1. **Profitability for companies in the valley will be very good and this bodes well for our local economic environment as well as our clients.
2. **We are actually bullish on the stock market in general looking to high single digit gains even though volatility will continue throughout the year.
3. **We anticipate that rates will stay low for the first half of the year and begin rising toward the second half to highs of 3.2% in 10 year treasuries. 
4. **There is a possibility that we have seen a low in the housing markets except for the severely depressed areas that are over saturated and have high unemployment.
5. **Housing starts have continued their rise and we may have seen the low in this area as well.
6. Consumer confidence should continue to increase.
7. **There are still many political battles to be fought: the European crisis, extension of payroll tax deductions, fiscal spending cuts and a presidential election. We are optimists that while all of these will come to the final moments, ultimately people will do the right things. Our system of battling over what is right is still the best form of government on the planet. We are very optimistic for our future and for 2012. 

For more information regarding Opes Advisors, how they have helped my clients and can help you, please contact me or visit their website (http://opesadvisors.com/)

Barclays Capital (BCS: 11.30 -6.07%) analyst Stephen Kim predicts a housing recovery buoyed by improving jobs numbers and the fact prices for nondistressed homes will have stabilized without government support.

"In the absence of a government homebuyer incentives, prices for non-distressed home sales have stabilized for almost a year," Kim said. "This is the most important trend in the housing industry right now, and we are amazed at how little attention it has been getting from the media and the street. This stability on the part of nondistressed prices has occurred despite a very high share of distressed activity and continued declines in overall prices."

Barclays said recent economic data — including higher job creation in November, housing starts and improved homebuyer traffic — point to some improvement potential in the sector.

In mid-2010, the federal homebuyer tax credit expired, leaving the housing market without training wheels for the first time since the 2008 economic meltdown. Yet, prices in some housing markets remained stable on the back end.

With its new outlook in the market, Barclays upgraded D.R. Horton's (DHI: 12.33 -2.84%) stock to buy and raised price targets for D.R. Horton, Lennar (LEN: 19.12 -2.45%), Toll Brothers (TOL: 20.42 -2.44%) and Meritage Homes(MTH: 22.65 -2.08%).

At the same time, the investment bank raised its 2012 earnings-per-share estimates for D.R. Horton, Lennar, Meritage Homes, Pulte (PHM: 6.15 -4.65%) and Toll Brothers, while lowering its estimates for KB Home (KBH: 7.84 -4.04%).

"Thus, the key to timing housing’s recovery depends primarily on when these first-time buyers decide it is safe to buy a house," Kim concluded.

http://www.housingwire.com/2011/12/05/barclays-analyst-sees-housing-rebound-coming-in-2012