Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Pantone Names Emerald as Color of The Year for 2013




Sun Chan / Getty Images
It’s what gave the capital city of Oz its signature tint, Elizabeth Taylor her sparkle and Roman emperor Nero improved eyesight. And now, the shade that reportedly experienced its heyday during the 1980s is making a comeback, thanks in part to color corporation Pantone.

Every year, Pantone polls designers and brands about colors they’re featuring to aid in its decision for what hue will tinge the next 12 months. For 2013, the company has bestowed the distinction of Color of the Year on the shade its database identifies as 17-5641: Emerald Green.

“Green is the most abundant hue in nature — the human eye sees more green than any other color in the spectrum,” Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, said in a press release. “It’s also the color of growth, renewal and prosperity — no other color conveys regeneration more than green. For centuries, many countries have chosen green to represent healing and unity.”

The firm characterized emerald as “vivid, verdant” and “promoting balance and harmony,” according to the release. In contrast, 2012′s “spirited” hue Tangerine Tango “provided the energy boost we needed to recharge and move forward.”

Eiseman said in the release that emerald is easily applicable to fashion and to interior design. Celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Elizabeth Moss have already helped the hue make a resurgence by sporting clover-green gowns at the 2011 Golden Globes. More recently, designers such as Tracy Reese, Nanette Lepore and Marimekko have shown emerald garments in their Spring 2013 collections. Home goods retailers have also incorporated the lush tone into their product lines: JCPenney will debut Pantone Emerald bedding, accessories, pillows and towels in February. A 2013 Color of the Year collection will appear on cosmetics vendor Sephora’s shelves in March as well.

Although retailers have embraced Pantone’s choice, emerald has garnered mixed reactions in the design community.

“It’s a happy-go-lucky color,” Steven Stolman, president of furniture and fabric supplier ScalamandrĂ© and the self-described “only Jewish member of the Irish Georgian Society,” told the Los Angeles Times via email. “Although I’ve never really been comfortable with the green beer [on St. Patrick's Day], I love emerald green for jewelry, of course, and clothing.”

Cathy Callahan, a craft enthusiast who lives in L.A., said she hadn’t considered using emerald in her work. She has, however, contemplated adding mint — reportedly the “it” color for the upcoming spring — to her palate of turquoise and teal.

“I’m not on board yet with Emerald,” Callahan told the Times, “but I guess I’ll have to give it a thought.”

 

Monday, December 10, 2012

Charleston Area Home Sales Up 14% Year-to-Date

 
 
Charleston Area Home Sales Up 14% Year-to-Date
Pricing shows sustainable growth as well; 5.6% increase in regional median price
CHARLESTON, SC—(December 10, 2012) According to preliminary data released today by the Charleston Trident Association of REALTORS® (CTAR), 845 homes sold at a median price of $192,500 in November. Sales volume grew by nearly 200 sales this November, when compared to November 2011.

Year-to-date, 9,662 homes have sold at a median price of $190,081. These figures, which represent all homes sold through the Charleston Trident Multiple Listing Service (CTMLS), show 14% growth in sales volume and a 5.6% increase in median price for the region over last year at this time, when 8,493 homes sold at a median price of $180,000.
Charleston County has led the region in activity, with sales growth of 20.5%, year-to-date. In Charleston County, 5,464 homes have sold at a median price of $225,000 thus far in 2012. “In 2012, Charleston County alone will likely close out the year close to 6,000 sales. When you look at data from 2009 you’ll see that regionally, we sold 8,300 homes that year. It clearly shows how much consumer confidence in our market has improved in the last 36 months” said Owen Tyler, 2013 CTAR president.
“2012 has been the turning point for the Charleston region—sales have grown at a sustainable, healthy pace, inventory has declined significantly throughout the year and we expect this consistent activity to continue into 2013” said Tyler. “This fall has been noticeably busier than years past—the market is seeing a great deal of activity from investors, as well as from traditional buyers who were waiting for security to return to the market” Tyler continued.
While the impact of Washington's decision regarding the Fiscal Cliff remains to be seen, REALTORS® are standing together in defense of the long-standing policy that allows homeowners to deduct mortgage interest payments from their income taxes, which has been threatened by various versions of a potential Fiscal Cliff deal. "We urge our lawmakers to understand that the mortgage interest deduction is vital to the stability of the American housing market and to the stability of the overall economy. REALTORS® will remain vigilant in opposing any future plan that modifies or excludes the deductibility of mortgage interest" said Tyler.
OCTOBER ADJUSTMENTPreliminary data reported for October 2012 indicated that 898 homes sold at a median price of $185,112. Adjusted numbers now show 910 homes sold at the same median price.
BERKELEY COUNTY
193 homes sold at a median price of $179,190 during November in Berkeley County. Year-to-date, sales volume has increased 4%, with 2,098 closings and the county-wide median price has grown a healthy 3%, to $164,300.
CHARLESTON COUNTY
In November, 458 homes sold at a median price of $232,000 in Charleston County. Year-to-date, sales volume has increased 20.5% with a total of 5,464 sales. Median price has increased a healthy and sustainable 2%, to $225,000.
DORCHESTER COUNTY
170 homes sold at a median price of $160,000 in Dorchester County during November. Year-to-date, the county has seen a 7% increase in sales volume and a 4% increase in median price. 1,768 homes have sold at a median price of $167,222 thus far in 2012.

With 3,600 members, CTAR’s mission is to promote the highest standards of professionalism, ethics, education and technology, and to ensure that its members are the primary source for real estate services in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Only those who are members of the Association of REALTORS® and its parent organizations are called REALTORS®.