Nancy Milton REALTOR/GRI GoshenRealtyGroup.com

As we zoom toward the end of the year, my Goshen Realty Group partner, Kristina, and I have been looking over our closed transactions to spot our business patterns and figure out how to build on successes for even better years in 2010 and 2011.

We want to know who are buyers are and where our next buyers are coming from.

In recent months, we've seen a surge of buyers in our territory -- St. Louis' southwestern Illinois suburbs -- coming from a specific group: young, single men buying their first homes.

These savvy buyers with good jobs were under 30 years of age and all of them understood that -- given their incomes -- throwing money away on monthly rent for any longer than necessary was foolish. They have made up 25 percent of our buyer business.

Married couples have made up 33 percent of our buyer business. They've been a mix of first-time and move-up buyers, with first-timers taking the lead. Another 33 percent of our buyer business has come from non-traditional households. Those transactions included parents buying homes for their college students attending Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, unmarried couples sharing a household, and adult children buying homes for their aging parents' use.

Surprising us was the fact that only eight percent of our business has come from single women. (Come on, ladies! We'll talk to you about this issue in a separate post. We might have to channel Beyonce's "Single Ladies" tune to get you revved up about home ownership!) The numbers of single women buyers are much higher nationally.

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) surveys home buyers every year to help us thnderstand the big picture in American homebuying. The latest report was released this week.

According to NAR, "One of the most important changes in this year's survey was shaped by record home affordability and the availability of the first-time home buyer tax credit-the share of first-time buyers."

In 2009, NAR's survey found that 47 percent of all home purchases between July 2008 and June 2009 were first timers. (Compare that to 40-41 percent in an average prior year). This is the biggest number of first-time buyers in more than 18 years.

Nationally, the figures continued -- mostly -- to mirror our local findings. NAR says the typical first-time home buyer was 30 years old with a median income just over $60,000. NAR also found that repeat buyers were 48 years old with a median income of just over $88,000.

Here's where our Goshen Realty Group figures veered off from NAR. The NAR survey found that 25 percent of first-time buyers are single females, and 12 percent are single males. Married couples were 49 percent of first-timers. The rest of the national pie is made up of buyers in a variety of living and joint ownership arrangements.

Two-thirds of first-time buyers told NAR that they purchased simply because of their desire to own a home of their own. Repeat buyers said they purchased their home for a large variety of reasons, including a job-related relocation or a personal move, desire for bigger home, or a change in their family needs.

OK, I apologize to Wm. Shakespeare for twisting his lovely words -- "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by another other name would smell as sweet." from Romeo and Juliet for the headline on this post, but I couldn't resist a little literary fun this morning.

What did Shakespeare mean? Scholars will tell you that he may have been poking fun at the rival Rose Theatre, but his point in the context of the play was that it mattered what something IS, not what it is CALLED.

So what is a room? Often my sellers will ask me why one portion of their home "counts" as living space on the MLS listing for their property and another does not. After all, they live in the whole house, don't they?

The vagueries of room count notwithstanding, there is an accepted method to the madness. A room, according to the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standard, is a finished and enclosed space that is suitable for year-round use. It will have walls, floors and a ceiling similar to the rest of the house.

These common rooms ARE included in a home's room count:

• Living Room
• Dining Room
• Great Room
• Media Room
• Kitchen
• Bedroom
• Sitting Room
• Breakfast Nook (if separate from the kitchen)
• Game Room
• Sun Room (if it is heated)
• Finished Basement Rooms

These common rooms ARE NOT included in a home's room count:

• Bathroom
• Laundry Room
• Mud Room
• Utility Room
• Foyers
• Hallways
• Unfinished Basement Rooms
• Unheated Sun Rooms
• Garage
• Walk-in Closets (even if it is bigger than my college apartment)
  

This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of the possible rooms in any home. I've been in Victorian homes that have Card Rooms and Parlors and in new homes that have Craft Rooms and other redefined and renamed living spaces.

Realtor readers: I'd love it if you would weigh in on whether your association uses a different standard or has interesting issues with room counts.

And now, "a thousand time, good night!"

I find a lot of our buyers are excited about seeing an older refrigerator in a house they're considering purchasing. Their first reaction is, "Let's get the appliance we want for the kitchen after we move in and move this bad boy to the garage/laundry room/wherever as the "Beer Fridge!"

Maybe it's because we're from the metro area where "The King of Beers" has been brewed since the 1800s, but the feeling about a secondary refrigerator is almost universal here in St. Louis' Illinois suburbs. Even people who don't, uh, "indulge," see the appeal of an ugly duckling fridge in an unseen part of the house for party trays, soda, the Thanksgiving turkey, etc.

But, from time to time there is a refrigeration unit so unsavory or unneeded in a newly acquired home that there is no place of refuge, no corner dark enough to hide it from sight. That's when you're faced with a new question, "What do I do with this old fridge?"

Believe it or not, Ameren, the Illinois utility company, has a solution. Their Act On Energy Refrigerator and Freezer Recycling Program will haul it away for FREE and will pay you $35 for getting rid of it. This works for old freezers too.

Who doesn't want something back from Ameren? Call 866-899-9088 or click on the Act On Energy web site to schedule your free pick up.

Why are they doing this? It seems for every old appliance you turn off in your household, Ameren figures you can save up to $100 in annual energy costs. This could be the gift that keeps on giving.

What are the rules? You have to be an Ameren Illinois Utilities residential electric customer and the refrigerator or freezer must be in working (cooling) condition. The unit has to have been made before 1993 and be from 10 to 27 cubic feet in size.

So if that Harvest Gold, Avocado or Coppertone appliance has no place in your new stainless-steel kitchen, call Ameren and turn a bad fridge into cold cash.

Yes, I know little flash-frozen ice cream pellets might not be everyone's idea of a gourmet food experience, but I found the idea of a free-standing Dippin' Dots store that just recently opened in Edwardsville too interesting to resist.

Dippin' Dots is typically found served from a cart at stadium events. Here in the St. Louis region, the Edward Jones Dome, Busch Stadium and Scottrade Center (or as my husband -- who has refused to follow its many name changes -- calls it, "that place they play hockey") all have a DD vendor cart. It also is ubiquitous at attractions such as Six Flags theme parks, zoos (including our own Saint Louis Zoo) and any place you see families gathered for a day of fun.

For those of you who haven't experienced a Dippin' Dot, here's a litle background on the company and its claim to fame:

Back in 1988, a microbiologist named Curt Jones used his scientific knowhow to create these teensy, round bits of ice cream, sherbet and yogurt. (We have to assume it was a slow day at the lab.)

Jones' "high-tech, cryogenic freezing process" takes place at the company's Paducah, KY facilities not too many hours from our home in Southweestern Illinois. (He actually started the company in his parents' Grand Chain, Illinois garage in Pulaski County.)

The ice cream flavors are flash frozen with liquid nitrogen, then packaged and shipped to retail locations.

Dippin' Dots is a privately owned company, so -- sadly -- there is no opportunity for dot lovers to buy stock in the operation.That's probably for the best, as the company can grow while keeping quality and customers in mind, not just stockholders.

Which leads us back to the franchised DD store that opened recently in Edwardsville. In addition to getting a clear, plastic cup filled with dots in the traditional manner, customers can enjoy the following types of treats: dot cakes, dotwiches (ice cream sandwiches), milkshakes, floats, sundaes and a big variety of toppings. You also can get Dots 'n Cream which is traditional ice cream blended with DD.

Dot flavors vary by location and by visit, but some of the favorites include Banana Split, Chocolate, Strawberry, Vanilla, Cookies n Cream, Birthday Cake, Bubble Gum, Cotton Candy, Rainbow Ice, Strawberry Cheesecake, Orange Sherbet, S'mores and Peanut Butter Chip. Fudge and Vanilla also come in no-sugar-added versions. If someone in your family has allergy issues, just ask the staff. They have information on the treats' contents. Note that DD is also Kosher-Dairy.

I had a cup of S'mores -- chocolate with graham cracker pieces and marshmallows -- and my Goshen Realty Group partner, Kristina, had Strawberry Cheesecake yogurt. As we finished our treats, we watched a group of moms and kids who had just gotten out of school come in and press their faces against the glass cases. Most of the younger customers ended up with Bubble Gum or Cotton Candy. A couple dove into Birthday Cake. The kids seemed to enjoy eating blue food.

What does it taste like? Your first spoonful of Dippin' Dots is going to present your mouth with a crunchy-yet-smooth texture and a tingly burst of fresh flavor. They do melt as time passes so be sure to actually eat the little beads while you're playing with them in the cup.

Here's a link to a $1 off coupon to try Dippin' Dots for yourself. When you visit the Edwardsville store, tell them the Goshen Gourmet sent you.

PS --With Christmas, Hanukah and other gift-giving holidays approaching, you also might want to consider getting your little gourmet his or her own dot maker. Here's a link to the Dippin' Dots machine available at Toys R Us.

The Edwardsville Dippin' Dots is located in Edwardsville Crossing at 215 Harvard Drive. (That's the new plaza behind Dierberg's.)

As the seat of Madison County, the home of Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and the site of an acclaimed school district, Edwardsville can give the impression of being out of reach to some home buyers.

Not so! There are a number of affordable homes on the market right now in Edwardsville.

Click here to see a list of homes currently for sale in Edwardsville, Illinois priced at under $100,000.

Click here to see a list of homes for sale in Edwardsville priced between $100,000 and $150,000.

Some homes in the very lowest price ranges in any community may be listed as needing some "TLC," or "tender loving care." That's generally a kindly shorthand for "fixer-upper home." Many will require mostly cosmetic changes and some need more extensive repairs. Only you can decide how much effort you are able to afford -- in both time and cash -- to put into making an ugly ducking home look like a swan.

If one of these homes touches your buying button, we also can discuss a HUD 203K loan with your good, local lender. The 203K will allow you to rehabilitate the property and roll the money you need to restore the home right in to your home loan. Hud provides this extra money -- up to a $35,000 cap -- to help with neighborhood revitalization. Or, if you go outside of Edwardsville just a bit, you may qualify for a Rual Development Loan which allows 100 percent financing.

Don't forget that right now you also have an opportunity to take advantage of the up to $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers if you are in contract on your first home by April 30, 2010. And if you're an existing owner, you may be able to claim a $6,500 tax credit if you make a move. Always ask your tax advisor for information specific to your circumstances.