The Biosphere Next Door
By Wendy Cole, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
The Ocean Habitat
This weekend REALTOR® magazine Editor in Chief Stacey Moncrieff and I entered Biosphere 2, the 7.2 million cubic ft., sealed glass structure where eight Biospherians famously spent two years growing their own food, recycling their own water and waste, and, according to media accounts, getting on each other’s nerves. The experiment, which started in 1991, was intended to increase understanding of the feasibility of space colonization, by recreating Earth’s natural environments under a series of giant lattice-windowed domes.
While the United States isn’t quite ready to develop a subdivision on Mars, our 90-minute tour of the enclosed rainforest, desert, ocean, and residences revealed how prescient the Biospherians and their funders were. Biosphere 2 (Earth itself was considered the original Biosphere) was a shining example of the potential for sustainable, eco-friendly living back in the day when “green” was nothing more than a color. The facility seemed far more expansive than what I remember from TV and is well worth a visit if you’re in the Tucson area. Read more
Cost vs. Value: Two Ways You Can Make It Better
By Stacey Moncrieff, Editor in Chief, REALTOR® Magazine
Stacey Moncrieff
We’re on our way to producing the 2009-10 Cost vs. Value Report. So far, 1,544 REALTORS® have completed the Cost vs. Value survey that’s in the field. Another 1,153 have started the survey but not completed it. That’s a great start, but I’d love it if more of you–brokers, salespeople, and particularly appraisers–would take the survey (http://www.Specpan.com/CostValue).
The Cost vs. Value Report is one of the most popular features we run every year. It gives an estimated resale value for various remodeling projects (33 this year). In REALTOR® magazine, we present an overview of the report (typically in December, but because of our reduced publication schedule, watch for this year’s Report in January 2010). Our partner, Remodeling magazine, provides complete metro area reports free (in PDF format) to those who register at costvsvalue.com.
Chances are, if you live in one of the 80 metro areas covered by the report, you’ve already received an e-mail message (or two, or three) from me asking you to complete this year’s survey. I apologize for the redundancy, but the broader the participation, the more reliable our data. So the first way you can make the report better is by completing the survey.
