U.S. News & World Report has selected Durham as one of the Best Places to Live 2009 in the United States as it looked at cities with ’strong economies, low living costs and plenty of fun things to do.”

“Once a tobacco town, Durham, N.C., has evolved into a world-class center of all things advanced. This city of 206,000, located halfway between the Atlantic coast and the Great Smoky Mountains, is called the “City of Medicine” because of its expansive healthcare industry. And although widely known as the home of prestigious Duke University, it’s also a thriving technology hub. At the same time, Durham’s mild climate allows residents to get out and explore the region’s abundant outdoor attractions. Consider hiking one of the many distinct trails and greenways or heading over to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park for an afternoon baseball game.”

 Click here to see coverage on Trinity Lofts in Re-Nest – Abundant Design for Green Homes.

From the Triangle Business Journal:  “The Triangle’s housing market continues to be among the best in the country in terms of prices, according to a new batch of federal data.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency says home prices in the Raleigh-Cary area increased by 2.96 percent in 2008. That ranks the Raleigh metropolitan area 18th best in the country. The Durham-Chapel Hill area also fared well, placing 28th with home-price growth of 2.15 percent for the 12 months ending Dec. 31.

For the full article, please click here.

From the Triangle Business Journal – an assessment of the relatively positive economy in our area: “Durham and Raleigh ranked in the top 15 in 2008 among major metropolitan areas in terms of keeping jobs, according to a new analysis. The analysis was performed by American City Business Journals, parent of Triangle Business Journal. It says that the nation’s major labor markets lost nearly 1.2 million jobs last year. The study focused on the 88 U.S. markets that have at least 250,000 nonfarm jobs. They collectively had 90.42 million jobs in December 2008, compared to 91.60 million at the end of 2007. That equaled a decline of 1.18 million. According to the report, Durham ranked 11th best among the metros, creating 1,700 jobs in 2008. Raleigh tied with Seattle for 15th by creating 200 jobs.” For the full article, please click here.

 ”Since prices generally soften in the winter, it may make sense to start looking seriously once the mercury bottoms out. “If you look at new developments next spring, you may not have the choice you thought you would have or be in the  bargaining position you thought you would be,” Mr. Shepherdson said. Also, if you wait after June 30, you will miss out on a $7,500 federal tax credit for income-eligible first-time home buyers that works like an interest-free loan. Finally, allow yourself to consider how it would feel if you bought and then prices dropped another 10 or 15 percent. ” Click here for the rest of the piece in the New York Times Your Money section.

www.urbandurhamlofts.com

 Not that we don’t have plenty of space at Trinity Lofts, but Sarah Susanka’s now 10-year-old book The Not So Big House is philosophically  what Trinity is all about: “a new way of thinking about what makes a place feel like home—characteristics that many people desire of their  homes and their lives, but haven’t known how to verbalize”. The Not So Big House is reviewed in the most recent Forum for Urban  Design semi-annual Urban Design Review. “Not So Big Remodeling” comes out in February.  ”In the latest groundbreaking step in the Not So Big revolution, Sarah Susanka and Marc Vassallo demonstrate how carefully chosen tweaks and simple additions can make a home seem much larger and more inviting. They avoid high-end architectural solutions, focusing instead on how Not So Big ideas can dramatically improve even the most modest home. The authors show readers how to think like an architect, so they can accurately assess their homes shortcomings, apply Not So Big principles to their remodeling plan, and phase in their project incrementally over time.”

 Check us out here…

 And see these local artists in Trinity 108:

 Gwendolyn Thomas Designs

     Handcrafted fine silver jewelry

     gwendolynthomas@mac.com    

      843-364-0436

Radiant by Marjorie Brown Pierson

     Fine art photography

     marjorie.pierson@yahoo.com

     919-699-1717

 Hothouse Posey by Ndidi Kowalczyk

     Intricately woven, wearable gardens for your body

     amaradesigns@gmail.com

     919-785-9632

The Eric Wilson Collection

     The art of framing & multimedia flowers, 2-D presentation of 3-D works of art

     theericwilsoncollection@yahoo.com

     704-426-0350

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www.urbandurhamlofts.com

A tax credit of up to $8,000 is available for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence before December 1, 2009.

www.trinityloftsdurhamnc.com

  On one hand, the economy is precarious. On the other, we live in a community that  will grow in the long run, and in a period when home prices have softened and interest  rates are decreasing. This online tool provides a precise look at whether renting or  buying is a better value, and under what circumstances.

 www.urbandurhamlofts.com