And when it comes to trends, consider some of these interesting thoughts to ponder:

One hundred years ago, (1903) the average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47.

Only 14% of the homes in the US had a bathtub and only 8% had a telephone.

A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost $11.

There were only 8,000 cars in the US and only 144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

The average wage in the US was $0.22/hour. The average US worker made between $200-$400/year.

Sugar cost $0.04/pound. Eggs were $0.14/dozen. Coffee cost $0.15/pound.

Canada passed a law prohibiting poor people from entering the country for any reason.

The five leading causes of death in the US were 1. Pneumonia &influenza; 2. Tuberculosis3. Diarrhea; 4. Heart disease; 5. Stroke

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was 30 and one in ten US adults couldn’t read or write. Only 6% of all Americans had graduated from high school.

A survey published by the National Association of Home Builders suggests that ours is a nation enamored with remodeling. Homeowners are making alterations that reflect a changing residential lifestyle. What popular features are showing up in home remodel plans across the country?

Great rooms are replacing the conventional living room/dining room floor plan. “Open up the space!” is the cry that brings down walls, as kitchens merge with living and dining spaces into multi-purpose living areas where food preparation, family interaction and entertaining occur in a comfortable blending of function.

Master bedrooms and bathrooms are becoming larger and more luxurious, incorporating breakfast alcoves, linen closets and Jacuzzi tubs. Walk-in pantries and island work areas are being added to the kitchen.

One word of caution: be careful not to over-improve your property in comparison with other homes in the neighborhood, or you might not recover your investment when you decide to sell the home.

Be sure to consult with a real estate agent to determine whether the remodeling project you have in mind will add value to your property.

A research study conducted by Unique Homes magazine surveyed the tastes of homeowners who own at least one property valued at $2.5 million or more (70 percent owned two or more million dollar homes). These homeowners are buying, selling, designing and remodeling homes loaded with amenities that support their lifestyle. What are the latest amenities of choice?

The top item on everyone’s list is high-speed Internet access at home, required by 95% of the homeowners surveyed. As you might expect with these statistics, 84% of these luxury homeowners choose to invest money on home electronics above other luxury products, and most want a home office. It’s important for a principal luxury residence to be technology-enabled, because eight out of ten of these householders are corporate executives, business owners or self-employed professionals.

More of the households have more than four bedrooms and bathrooms, and the preferred design in master suites includes larger sitting areas, coffee and juice bars, walk-in closets, dressing rooms and dual master baths with spa features. More than half own swimming pools and well-equipped home gyms.

Indoor and outdoor professional quality kitchens are an up-and-coming trend, as luxury buyers choose to pursue gourmet restaurant dining in the comfort and privacy of their own homes.

Home entertainment has undergone a major transformation during the last two decades. “Home movies” means something entirely different from Dad setting up the projector and portable screen in the family room. Built-in theaters now combine the privacy and comforts of home with the sound and picture quality of a Cineplex.

Companies that design and install home theaters report that most homeowners order seating for eight to twelve viewers in a room of 500 to 800 square feet. Screens often measure 5 by 11 feet or 4 by 8 feet, but multiple screens are not uncommon. Must-have audiovisual components include a high-definition television (HDTV) receiver, projection equipment, a surround-sound system with at least five speakers and combination amplifier/receiver, VCR and DVD players.

Other features that make home movie viewing a delightfully luxurious experience are custom-made plush theater-style reclining seats and touch-control temperature – never again will you have to sit in rigid chairs bolted to the floor, shivering in polar-strength air conditioning or suffocating in an overheated theater. In between features, refreshments are available at your own wet bar or soda fountain.

A basic home theater can be installed for about $50,000, but more extravagant fixtures such as customized carpet and fine wood finishing can push the cost into the hundreds of thousands.

The top 10 most expensive markets in the country are:

1. LaJolla, Calif., 2. Beverly Hills, Calif., 3. Santa Barbara, Calif., 4. Palo Alto, Calif., 5. Greenwich, Conn., 6. Newport Beach, Calif., 7. San Mateo, Calif., 8. San Francisco, Calif., 9. Wellesley, Mass., and 10. Kailua Kona, Hawaii.

The top 10 most affordable markets in the country are:

1. Minot, N.D., 2. Great Falls, Mont., 3. Arlington, Texas, 4. Billings, Mont., 5. Killeen, Texas, 6. Tulsa, Okla., 7. Topeka/Shawnee County, Kan., 8. Parkersburg, W.V., 9. Cadillac, Mich., and 10. Knoxville, TN.

Note: This article is not meant as tax or legal advice and you should always check with your Accountant and/or Real Estate Attorney to verify your current tax options.

If you are waiting until prices drop to buy a home, you might have a long wait. There are solid reasons to buy a home now, no matter what conditions currently shape your local market.

You gain wealth when you buy property. The average national appreciation in the value of real estate is between 5 and 6 percent annually. If you keep the home, you benefit from home equity ownership interest, whereas if you pay rent, you hand the same money over to someone else.

Building home equity is a means of saving money and having a stable, secure place to live at the same time. The home is yours to change and decorate as you wish, and the more you improve it, the more your investment grows.

Your monthly mortgage payments won’t increase over time like your monthly rent. The U.S. government allows you to deduct the interest you pay on your mortgage and your property taxes.

If you decide to sell the property, you are allowed to keep $250,000 in tax-free profit as a single taxpayer or $500,000 as a jointly filing married couple.

Financial gain, stability, tax savings, predictability and freedom are all good reasons to buy a home in any real estate market.

Note: This article is not meant as tax or legal advice and you should always check with your Accountant and/or Real Estate Attorney to verify your current tax options.

Has your business or investment real estate become unprofitable, does it require large or growing maintenance expenses, or has it reached the peak of its value (making it a lackluster investment)?

If so, you would probably like to have a more profitable investment but are concerned about the tax consequences of acquiring new and different properties.

Because of internal revenue code 1031, it is possible to relieve yourself of current properties and make new real estate investments while remaining tax-free.

One or more properties can be sold and reinvested in any number of other properties and an unlimited number of times without being subject to the normal income tax from a sale as long as they are like-kind exchanges.

This exchange can even take place with properties under development, and as much as six months after the sale of your current holdings. In a like-kind exchange no gain or loss is recognized unless unlike property is received in the transaction, in which case only a portion of the gain would be taxable and the rest tax deferred. This process is called a “tax deferred exchange”.

The tax deferred exchange poses myriad benefits, but it can be easy to invalidate a tax-free exchange without a comprehensive understanding of the forms and codes.

Meeting the requirements of a “trade or business or investment” property, filing for a delayed exchange, establishing intent, and working with a facilitator who can hold funds during the exchange process are all crucial and if done incorrectly can cause an exchange to be invalidated by the IRS. For these complexities consulting an expert is invaluable.

Note: This article is not meant as tax or legal advice and you should always check with your Accountant and/or Real Estate Attorney to verify your current tax options.

Our Board recently had a meeting with our tax assessor Al Garzi. He said that we would be reassessed every four years at 70% of market value.

It’s hard to say that The Town figures will be exactly the same as the figures the real estate community will use since it depends on supply and demand as well as updates etc.

The more updated a home is, the faster it will sell, and since everyone is very busy today with more two family careers, there is less time to tackle home remodeling projects.

If you were thinking of selling in the next year or so I would love to hear from you. Sometimes we can put buyers and sellers together if we know someone has plans to move, then you can save the hassle of being on the market for several weeks or maybe months.

Please remember that for all residents 65 or over, you should call the Town Hall to get your $787 tax credit. Also, for people with incomes not to exceed $55,000, you can defer up to 100% of your tax bill plus simple interest.

The mill rate will be going down consequently the taxes on personal property (cars) will be less. Al said that he expects that when the current evaluation is completed, the town’s Grand List of taxable property will have grown substantially from it’s current $2.75 billion to around $3.9 to $4 billion.

The revaluation is required by the state. The new values will be in place for the Oct. 1, 2002 assessment year, meaning it will not affect tax bills until July 1, 2003.

Note: This article is not meant as tax or legal advice and you should always check with your Accountant and/or Real Estate Attorney to verify your current tax options.

Periodically people ask me about the taxes involved in selling their home. It is as follows:

The State of Connecticut conveyance tax on the sale of residential property is .005 per cent of the first $800,000.00 and .01 per cent of everything in excess.

The Town of Ridgefield conveyance tax is .0025 per cent (note: the legislature has authorized eighteen specific cities and towns to charge a higher local conveyance tax, but Ridgefield is not one of those).

Example 1: Sale of $700,000 house = $3,500.00 State Conveyance Tax and $1,750.00 Town Conveyance Tax

Example 2: Sale of $1,000.000 house = $ 6,000.00 State Conveyance Tax ($4,000.00 + $ 2,000.00) and $5,000.00 Town Conveyance Tax.

Note: This article is not meant as tax or legal advice and you should always check with your Accountant and/or Real Estate Attorney to verify your current tax options.

F.Y.I., if you die and leave your home to someone, that person will inherit your home at its fair market value.

The technical folks say the beneficiaries received a “step-up in basis.” That means if you bought your home in 1950 for $20,000 and it’s worth $500,000 today, the lucky person inheriting your home after you’re gone will never pay tax on that $480,000 gain.

This perk is set to expire in 2010 when the estate tax disappears, so if you’re going to die, do it within the next few years.

Be sure to check out the IRS Publication 523 — Selling Your Home and Publication 530 — Tax Information for First-Time Homeowners, on the web for more details.