REAL ESTATE: StreetEasy.com offers unusual feature August 6, 2008

by Sree Sreenivasan, technology reporter

There’s an interesting feature on a real estate site called StreetEasy.com (NYC and parts of NJ only). It allows you to filter the advanced search results by price changes (5 percent lower, 10 percent lower, or any increases). To see it in action, go to http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/process/sales/edit_search

Example of what I found just now:

Sales in NYC
We found 172 listings where price changed less than 7 days ago where price changed
at least 5 %

Median price: $699,000 Median size: 1,065 ft² Median price per ft²: $798

VALENTINE’S DAY: Some ways to celebrate that are light on your wallet February 12, 2008

Valentine’s Day is a big holiday for TV folks – lots of segments on gift ideas, lots of ads on the station, lots of gossip to be traded. I am doing three segments on this topic:

• High-tech gift ideas
• Electronic Valentine’s Day card ideas
• And, for Thursday, absolutely, positively last-minute ideas for Valentine’s Day (will add the link here shortly)

Here’s something many of you will find useful…

From SimpleDollar.com: Nine Tactics for a Frugal Valentine’s Day
Excerpts:

Take time off. If you both have some vacation time built up, put in for a day off and spend it together. Do some simple and purely fun things that you wouldn’t ordinarily get to do. Cuddle together for a big chunk of the day and just enjoy each other instead of stressing out at work.

Make an elegant homecooked meal instead of hitting the town. Put in the time and make a wonderful meal at home. Put out a nice tablecloth, use a few candles, and make it a romantic evening at home instead of fighting the Valentine’s Day crowds out and about.

If you’re going out, do something unexpected. Lots of places will be crowded on that night, so do something unusual if you’re going out on the town. Don’t go to the high-dollar place – instead, ask around for something quiet and secluded and undiscovered. Not only will the meal be cheaper, it will also be more memorable and distinctive.

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