Paula Ryan's (propertiesbypaula) Blog

The latest scoop from Idaho Business Review indicates sunnier economic skies in the near future for my favorite state: The Pacific Research Institute, in association with Forbes magazine, ranks Idaho second in its 2008 U.S. Economic Freedom Index.  The 2008 study measures factors related to an in...

That's how I felt about driving into the mountains this weekend.  The leaves on the aspens were a golden yellow.  Maples were crimson red.  Turning cottonwoods lined rocky creeks and rivers, with swirling whitewater flowing through the Salmon River and the Little Salmon.  Whitewater was interrupt...

Disclaimer: If you take your appearance way too seriously, or if you are just wound too tight at the moment, please do not read this.  You'll burst a vein in your temple, and what will THAT do to your good looks?  Instead, pour yourself a glass of wine (or whatever it is you do to relax), take a ...

Since March, our market-- known to locals as the Treasure Valley-- has been slowly making gains over what appears to have been a bottom in February.  I'm hoping February, 2008, was the bottom but, since a number of factors have yet to shake themselves out, we'll have to wait and see what happens ...

That's a great statement for me at the end of the day-- to honestly be able to say nothing else I could have done would have made this day any better. Did I sell a house?  No.  Win the lottery?  Not a chance!  I didn't buy a ticket (and rarely do.  Although it's fun to buy them and give them to c...

Imagine living this close to nature-- the sounds of a year 'round brook running over stones in your own backyard... an unobstructed view of Boise's nearest ski resort- Bogus Basin, overlooking the lush trees lining the Boise River and Greenbelt... your horses grazing contentedly in your meadow......

I'm serious about this little survey, although it's easy to see all kinds of potential for some pretty funny answers. For the sake of argument, here's some answers that don't count: finding a bottle of Jack Daniels to drown myself in Happy Hour at the local watering hole, etc... (okay, you get th...

While taking a great real estate class today, I was able to use information I'd learned on Active Rain to make points during a class discussion.  During a break, I mentioned to the instructor that some of the information I'd shared came from Active Rain and its members.  She really lit up when sh...

Who will find this tip helpful? 1. Realtors with listings in a "down" market. 2. Realtors in a market that typically slows down in the winter. 3. Realtors willing to invest in their business and in their clients.   The tip: Upon taking a listing or-- if you have an existing listing-- upon making ...