Hello Friends!

Perfection is tricky. Just when I think I have achieved it — that rare moment in which every

surface is dust free, every dish put away, laundry laundered, and floors glimmering in the

afternoon sunlight that streams through newly Windexed windows — humanity in all its

incumbent imperfection sweeps in with its backpacks filled with “art” I will have to display until

I die and lunch boxes in which three-day-old, milk-filled thermoses lie in wait.

When Matt and I were newlyweds, no one mistook our decor for anything but estate-sale and

hand-me-down furniture, but, boy, could we set a table! Not only had I collected a hope chest

of lovely silverware and dishes, but our wedding guests had outdone themselves. We could

have seriously rocked glass kitchen cabinet doors, but because we were charmingly poor, our

actual cabinets were so old they were being held together by their many layers of paint. We

also had tile countertops from 1939. A few of the tiles had to be set back into place every time

we wiped down the counters.

Fortunately, we had candles, mostly from our dramatic wedding ceremony, to tweak the reality

of our home’s imperfections for the length of a dinner party. In other words, life was pretty

close to perfection.

Then, I became pregnant. The energy I had used to coax our charmingly flawed home into a

romantic little bungalow evaporated. I dragged my nauseated carcass from bed to couch to

bed, and in between sleeping and resting, I napped.

I woke up in my third trimester to discover that I could stay awake most of the day, that we

really were going to have a baby, and that he was going to need someplace to sleep. So, in a

burst of newly regained energy, Mom and I collected paint samples, baby furniture (preowned),

made curtains (I supervised that part) and pulled together the world’s most perfect

baby room.

Then Ethan came home from the hospital and pooped and peed his way through several

outfits and all the crib sheets.

As I said, perfection is tricky and often short lived. If you are waiting for perfection — the

perfect time, the perfect price, the perfect house, painted in the perfect colors, in the perfect

location, not to mention perfection in your own house before putting it on the market — you

will likely miss your opportunity. If, however, you are willing to give just a little, you just might

find…home.

Jessica Side – Broker/Owner

509-62-HOUSE

This month closed sales are up 11.7% over March last year. The average sales price for March was

$220,984 up 8.1% from March last year when the average sales price was $204,421. The median sales

price was up 9.3% compared to last March, $204,900 v. $187,500.

First quarter closed sales total 1,268 compared to 1,190 for first quarter last year, an increase of 6.6%.

The average sales price through the first quarter is $212,426 compared to $198,691 for first quarter

last year, an increase of 6.9%. The median price for first quarter this year is $197,475 compared to last year

at $182,500, an increase of 8.2%. Current inventory is down 27.6%.