253 September 2021

SEP 2021

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Fall Adventures!

Find out our favorite places to see the season's changing colors

Trend Watch: Hygge Learn about this style focused on comfort, warmth and coziness

Local Real Estate Market Statistics

To find fall adventures you don't have to go very far. Some of the best spots to watch fall captivate and amaze with all it's glory.

The chill is coming.

PIERCE COUNTY

Loyalty Park 516 Boyd St, Sumner

Point Defiance Park 5400 N Pearl St, Tacoma

One of the areas oldest parks.

The Japanese garden is a must see. There are so many veiwpoints on Five Mile drive to choose from.

Wildwood Park 1101 23rd Ave SE, Puyallup 80 acres of lush natural forest with many trails and paths.

Clocktower Park 1401 Palisade Blvd, Dupont A beautifully landscaped Park with many walking trails.

Wright Park 501 S I St, Tacoma Is always remembered for one of the biggest pile of leaves you'll ever see. The WW Seymour Conservatory should not be missed.

Hygge /ˈhjuːɡə/

Cozy

Hygge is a quality of coziness that makes a person feel content and comfortable. It's also often used as an adjective meaning "cozy or comfortable."

Hygge (pronounced hue-guh not hoo-gah) is a Danish word used when acknowledging a feeling or moment, whether alone or with friends, at home or out, ordinary or extraordinary as cozy, charming or special.

Another definition of hygge is “an art of creating intimacy” (either with yourself, friends and your home).

While there’s no one English word or simple definition to describe hygge, several can be used interchangeably to describe the idea of hygge such as coziness, charm, happiness, ‘contentness’, security, familiarity, comfort, reassurance, kinship, and simpleness.

Danes created hygge because they were trying to survive boredom, cold, dark and sameness. The undefinable feeling of hygge was a way for them to find moments to celebrate, acknowledge and break up the mundane or harsh. With so many cold, dark, days, the simple act of lighting a candle and enjoying a cup of coffee could make a huge difference to one’s spirit.

Click here to learn how to say hygge

Arguably one of interior design best home décor secrets, hygge is a concept of creating joy and coziness in life’s everyday moments. Hygge is a state of mind. The state of being present in your environment and having your home reflect that it’s filled with family, friends, and history.

While it may sound appealing to have your home look like the cover of a magazine, what most people realize is the hygge is missing. The idea behind hygge is for someone to walk into your home and immediately get the “I love to live here” vibe.

Furniture designer Morten Georgsen explains it perfectly: “We Danes love the state of mind – hygge – because it’s peaceful, friendly and a fantastic stress reliever. It’s out Zen, we breathe it, almost live from it. Maybe it’s one of the reasons that the Danes year in, year out are nominated the happiest people in the world.”

Interior design is a great way to delve into the realm of sensory. With design elements ranging from light and texture to color it’s impossible not to explore the full range of human senses while creating a space one wants to spend time in.

Check out the following pages for some characteristics of hygge that translate well into home décor.

Joy in the everyday

1. Cozy up your space with lighting Candles, lamps, and fireplaces are among the common uses of lighting always found in a home full of hygge. Lighting can set your mood, so choose something that you love. It’s common in Scandinavian décor to find candles scattered throughout the space or fairy lights draped across the mantle.

A cozy reading nook with a plush chair and warm light is the perfect place to find your inner “Zen” and relax your body and mind. Having lighting on either side of the bed is also a great way to incorporate hygge into your home décor, making the bedroom feel more like a getaway rather than only a place to sleep.

2. With Hygge Decor, Less Is More Select favorite pieces of decor that carry function and subtle style. Choose neutrals and whites for your wall colors throughout the house to create a sense of space and calm. Books that you love, that may spark a conversation among guests, or a crystal bud vase from your great grandmother are perfect examples of bringing some hygge to your home decor.

3. Add soft cushions and large knotted blankets There is something so comforting about curling up on the couch with a big comfortable blanket draped over you, relaxation at last. Blankets, pillows, provide comfort to any space in the home. Using soft textures like cashmere can also help you indulge in the sense of touch.

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Designer tip: Change out your throw pillows and blankets depending on the season. For example in the spring and summer bring out your linen throw pillows and light weight blankets, while in the fall and winter you’ll want more of a chunky knit throw with faux fur pillows for a new and exiting texture.

4. Let in a little wabi sabi Design does not need to be perfect, so value the pieces you have. Your personal touches and knickknacks can bring back nostalgic memories and make you smile.

5. Stick with a neutral color scheme Let’s be honest, as much as we love it, color can be very distracting. Avoid this in your home décor by keeping everything in a neutral color palette. It creates a streamlined feel throughout the whole space.

Incorporating warm woods is a perfect way to bring a Scandinavian touch into your home. Not only do wood tones warm your home, it also helps bring you closer to nature.

6. Create a spa-like bathroom for the ultimate hygge Make your bathroom an oasis—not only a place to get ready in the morning, but a place to escape and relax. Try adding a plush rug for your bare feet to cozy up on, or a cozy robe hung up on the wall, just an arms reach away. We’ve seen this trend becoming more and more popular.

7. The Hygge Décor Essential: Make a Fire In Danish culture friends and family gather around the fireplace when spending time together. This hygge experience represents warmth and togetherness and is sure to make any home feel cozy and welcoming. This also ties back into our first point of lighting. Having layers of light, such as candles, string lights, and fire bring such a feeling of home in hygge home décor. Sitting around firelight is such a heartwarming and cozy feeling that one should radiate every day.

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NOT SLOWING BUT EVER CHANGING

It seems the real estate market has been holding its breath for a while. Time to exhale.

An Article from Fortune Magazine

Since bottoming out this spring, the number of homes for sale is up 30%. Sure, some of that can be attributed to seasonality, but the bigger reason is buyers are finally balking at insane prices—which have risen 18% over the past 12 months.

Another factor: Edgy sellers who don't want to miss out on profits may be rushing to put their homes on the market—and may feel a bit more comfortable moving now than they did when the pandemic was raging unchecked.

But this softening isn't over: There's more inventory looming.

The mortgage forbearance program, which allows some borrowers to pause their payments, is set to begin winding down on Sept. 30. There are still 1.7 million borrowers enrolled in the program. Not all of these struggling borrowers are going to be able to afford those payments. Some of them will simply sell rather than restart paying. That of course, means more inventory.

As Fortune has previously reported, this will shake the housing market. In a nation of more than 80 million homeowners, 1.7 million might not sound like a lot. That is, until you consider there are only 1.3 million homes for sale.

Keep in mind that not every borrower will exit forbearance at the same time.

Instead, they'll be phased out over several months. But the largest chunk— estimated at nearly 452,000 borrowers—are expected to drop out of the program at the end of the month (see the chart below). This risk of a sudden influx of sellers in late September and October is why the end of forbearance has the attention of so many industry insiders.

The big question is how many of those struggling borrowers will sell? To find out, Zillow ran the numbers. The real estate firm estimates 25% of the 1.7 million borrowers still in forbearance are likely to list their home for sale. That would, Zillow researchers predict, add an additional 211,700 homes onto the market in the coming two months alone.

"Hundreds of thousands of U.S. homeowners are expected to exit forbearance in coming months. A significant share of these homeowners will likely end up listing their home for sale, contributing meaningfully to overall inventory levels and allowing homeowners in forbearance to benefit from home price appreciation and use the equity gained for a future down payment," write the Zillow researchers.

Even if 25% of forbearance borrowers go through with listing their home, it's unlikely to cause a housing market crash. Why? Demand for homes simply outmatches supply. U.S. inventory is still 38% below pre-pandemic levels. And demographics coupled with low mortgage rates continue to push the market forward.

If the end of forbearance does lead to a spike in inventory, it would make the market a bit friendlier for buyers—a welcome change for anyone who has spent the past year house hunting in a sellers market.

MUCH LIKE PEOPLE, EVERY MARKET IS UNIQUE. SOME MARKETS HAVE VIEWS, SOME LARGE YARDS. FROM HOMES BUILT AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY TO NEW CONSTRUCTION, EACH AREA HAS ITS OWN FEATURES AND TYPES OF HOMES.

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