Backporch: Trendspotting

Facts and figures show us what’s happening on THE home front’s horizon—and they make good conversation starters for your next party.

Facts and figures show us what’s happening on THE home front’s horizon—and they make good conversation starters for your next party.

In 1949, the Levitt brothers of Long Island designed an 800-square-foot “ranch” home for their pioneering Levittown development. That post–World War II enclave gave birth to modern suburbia, from New Jersey to North Dakota. The $7,990 home included rare amenities like a Bendix washer, a General Electric refrigerator and stove, and preassembled white metal cabinets. Baby, we’ve come a long way….

GET OUT THE CHECKBOOK:
In the third quarter of 2005, the average sale price for an existing home in northern New Jersey was $454,400; in central New Jersey, $389,300, and in southern New Jersey, $265,200.

IT PAYS THE MORTGAGE:
The median income for New Jersey home buyers in 2005 was $83,500.

I’LL TAKE MINE USED:
86 percent of us who purchased a home in the third quarter of 2005 bought a previously owned house.

TOOL TIME:
At its 64 stores statewide, Home Depot offers a series of free home improvement classes and workshops on everything from hanging dry wall to designing the perfect bathroom. The company also offers quarterly workshops just for women

SOME LIKE IT HOT:
The weather may be dicey much of the year, but when it turns hot and sunny, New Jerseyans are ready. Residents own 187,000 inground swimming pools, 322,500 above­ground pools, and 58,700 hot tubs. The state ranks an impressive seventh in the country when it comes to the number of inground pools, and a surprising third for aboveground pools.

CHIC CENTRAL:
The Garden State is home to some of the top names in home design. Benjamin Moore Paints is headquartered in Montvale; Thibaut Wallpaper and Fabrics is in Newark; Hunter Douglas (window treatments and shades) is in Upper Saddle River; and tony European designer Villeroy & Boch’s U.S. subsidiaries are based in Monroe Township (tile and plumbing) and Princeton (tableware).

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