Minister's Tree House

from atlasobscura.com fun info on world's largest treehouse...At 10 stories tall, with roughly 10,000 square feet, wow!



As he tells the story, in 1993, Minister Horace Burgess was praying when god told him, “If you build a tree house, I’ll see that you never run out of material.” Inspired by this vision of god, the quiet minister set out to build the largest treehouse in the world

Located just outside of Crossville, Tennessee, the 97-foot-tall tree house and church is supported by a still-living 80-foot-tall white oak tree with a 12-foot diameter base, relying on six other oaks for support.

For fourteen years, Minister Burgess has been adding to the tree house, spending only $12,000 and never running out of material. Over that time, the treehouse has grown to truly monumental proportions, and the Minister may have already achieved his goal of building the world’s largest treehouse. Currently, his treehouse is 90 feet tall, said to contain 80 rooms, and stretch up to five stories, complete with a church and a bell tower. The bell tower at the top of the treehouse is equipped with oxygen acetylene bottles that, repurposed as bells, chime daily.

In true southern style, every story is fully surrounded by a deck. And there are no “Private Property,” “Stay Off the Grass,” or “No Climbing” signs: Burgess say the treehouse is god’s house and everyone is welcome.

To that end, there are only two signs to be found: “Welcome” and “No Smoking” which, for a house of timber, makes sense. Despite some trouble with vandals, the Minister kept the treehouse open and in fantastic and ever-improving condition. From the top — which one must be rather brave to attempt climbing to — one can see the word “Jesus” spelled out in flora on a nearby field.

Unfortunately, the Tennessee Fire Marshall has closed down the treehouse until further notice, despite Burgess’ insistence that there are no building codes for treehouses.

Chill taking hold in metro Denver's housing market

from nationalmortgagenews.com interesting considerations...

The number of homes on the market surged, the number of sales dropped, and price reductions were abundant last month, all signs that buyers are pulling back in metro Denver, according to the latest market trends report from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.

The inventory of single-family homes and condos available for sale at the end of August rose to 8,228, an increase of 7.65% from July and 11.8% higher than August 2017. Normally, the inventory barely drops between the two months and the change set a record.

"Over the past four years, we've experienced the strongest sellers' market in recorded history," Steve Danyliw, chairman of the DMAR Market Trends Committee and local Realtor, said in the report. "This past month, we saw available homes for sale increase to the highest level in four years, giving buyers more homes to choose from."

Single-family home sales in August dropped 7.46% from July, and are down 9.75% from the same month a year ago. Condo sales dropped 5% for the month and are down 15.6% from August 2017.

About 30% of sellers lowered their listing price in August to entice buyers, Danyliw said. That has created downward pressure in the market.

The median price of a single-family home sold in August was $445,000, down 1.1% from July and up 8.54% from a year ago. The median condo price was $299,000, up 0.89% from July and 9.05% from August 2017.

The number of days it took to sell a condo rose to 20 in August, up from 18 in July, while the number of days a single-family home took to sell rose to 23 from 21. While higher, both still reflect a fast pace of sales.

Danyliw pointed to several signs that buyers are pushing back more — fewer multiple offers on properties, fewer inspection allowances and fewer appraisal guarantees. That said, homes that are priced correctly and move-in ready still sell quickly.

Metro Denver's housing inventory hit the highest level in four years in August.

from thedenverchannel.com market shifts to consider...

DENVER — The Denver metro area’s housing market is showing signs of a slowdown in the rate of price growth as inventory increased to the highest level in four years, according to the September Denver Metro Real Estate Market Trends Report.

The report released Thursday shows both average and median prices have dropped from July. The median price for a home in metro Denver in August was $410,000, a 1.20 percent decrease from the previous month.

Housing inventory in the residential market hit a four-year high year to date in August with a total of 8,228 homes on the market, up 11.79 percent from last year.

“Over the past four years, we’ve experienced the strongest sellers’ market in recorded history,” said Denver REALTOR Chairman Steve Danyliw in a press release. “This past month, we saw available homes for sale increase to the highest level in four years giving buyers more homes to choose from.”

Still, Danyliw says market conditions favor the home seller and the next few months should see increased activity.

The highest priced single-family home sold in August was a $6,750,000 Larkspur property with 7,704 square feet representing four bedrooms and seven bathrooms, the report read.