Weekly Blend: May 15, 2015

The Weekly Blend is your ‘weekly’ source covering real estate news that you just may have missed. Our hard at work Weekly Blend crew scours the web, newsgroups and forums looking for obscure, bizarre, interesting and informative real estate (or real estate related) stories. If you have one you’d like to share please feel free to share it in our comments section or tweet about it using the hashtag #WeeklyBlend. So brew yourself a fresh cup of coffee and enjoy these stories…maybe even share them with friends or colleagues. Happy reading!

Here are my weekly picks:

REALTOR.com has enlisted the help of actress Elizabeth Banks to star in eight TV ads and five web videos. Here are two of them. Thoughts?

Looking for an escape this long weekend? Some of these accommodations may be far away, but they all look well worth the trip.

In 2009, Medicine Hat launched an ambitious five-year plan to eliminate homelessness based on the “housing first” principle. Find out how it’s working out.

It requires zero nails, cutting, or waste and needs only a drill to be put together. What is it? It’s a BONE structure home and the first one is being built in Calgary.

Focusing on a smart growth plan for a city less reliant on the automobile, Calgary’s East Village is set to get 167 new condos complete with zero parking spots.

Jim Spatz, a prominent developer, believes that Halifax will have no trouble attracting aging baby boomers to properties he is developing.

MTV’s “Real World” – the granddaddy of reality shows – took place in 30 houses over 23 years. This website goes behind the doors of each one of them.

Four couples – all best friends and fans of the tiny house movement – went one better than living in the same town, they created “Bestie Row” and all live next to each other.

If you love ice cream and hate potholes then you’ll really enjoy this story about a Chicago street artist and his solution to pothole problems in the Windy City and Jyväskylä, Finland.

Talk about a hot romance: an apartment fire in Regina lead to a surprise wedding proposal.

Sports-themed condos are scoring big time with Canadian fans.

Montreal’s Sainte-Catherine Street is set to undergo a major transformation featuring driving lanes, heated sidewalks, free Wi-Fi, and intelligent lighting.

Kitchen parties are not just for Newfoundlanders anymore. More and more people are renting kitchen space to host special occasions.

Have a look at the kitchen of the future (2025 to be exact) with a little help from IKEA.

And in other IKEA related news, they’ve just announced that London, Ontario will be home to their first ‘pick-up-point’ location in Canada.

Stricter lending standards are just one reason why millennials aren’t buying homes.

In New York City, a deed thief is trying to steal family’s $1.5M Hamilton Heights home.

CNN takes a photographic look inside a faculty apartment at North Korea’s Kim II Sung University.

Fans of “Moonrise Kingdom”, “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”, and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” will surely love the quirky design and minimalist look of the Milan’s “Bar Luce” – designed by filmmaker Wes Anderson.

In the past we’ve posted stories about how American neighbourhoods were named. Today we stick a little closer to home and explore the names behind some areas of Hamilton, Ontario.

Hipsters rejoice (or be angered) as Wegmans gets set to open at the Brooklyn Navy Yard (that’s some prime real estate space).

We’ve seen drones used to sell properties and in Las Vegas, builders of a new hockey arena are hoping their drone footage will help win them an NHL franchise.

Here are 10 home improvement fails that will leave you scratching your head (and thanking your contractor).

I think the Peruvian floating islands may be my favourite of these 19 places you won’t believe exist. Why? Because it’s all waterfront property.

If you wanted to get your hands on the Tesla battery you’re out of luck. It’s estimated they are sold out until mid-2016.

It’s now opened but, just days ago; Lenny Kravitz was the only guest/tenant of the Edition Hotel – NYC’s newest luxury 237-room hotel.

Hoping your dog likes the couch you’re thinking of buying? Let them try it out at one of these 19 dog-friendly stores (not all sell furniture though).

Last week it was a goat farm, before that it was an inn and now, this week’s essay contest (for the admission fee of $75 and your best cupcake recipe) will get you a Vermont Bakery.

Thinking of selling? Here are 22 easy and affordable upgrades that could help sell your home.

Jonathan Baker, our former Speech Writer, contributed to the development of speeches, advertisements, and communications to our membership. Our staff knew him as the go-to guy at 200 Catherine for some comic relief. Prior to joining CREA, Jon worked in the radio industry in Ottawa. If you meet Jon, be sure to ask him to tell you about his encounters with many famous musicians while volunteering at a local music festival for more than 10 years.


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