Following (or am I leading?) the trends of hyper-localism (and here and here), I’m pleased to announce the launch of a geographically targeted real estate blog for West Linn, Oregon: move2westlinn.com.

West Linn is a roughly 25,000-resident suburb south of Portland. With great neighborhoods, schools, and attractive physical surroundings, it ranks high on the list of communities for relocation candidates in Oregon.

My partner in crime, Jody McLeod, lives in West Linn and is particularly tuned into the schools and city politics. And since our brokerage is located in town, we view a lot of properties and meet a lot of customers here. It is natural fit for us to provide local real estate coverage for this micro-market.

Our mission as it were:

…in the case of creating move2westlinn.com, it was simply a matter of acknowledging that real estate is a LOCAL endeavor.

Best served by local feet on the street. Local eyes on the inventory. Local knowledge of community news and events. Highlighting local homeowners, business people, and resources.

There are many directory or community sites, typically created by companies looking to generate advertising revenue or leads for real estate agents. But these websites provide little additional value to the reader. Even the new flashy, map-driven property valuation national sites tell only part of the story.

We aren’t looking to be a dead-end list of links or an advertisement-strewn real estate site. We aren’t looking to dish gossip or parrot the local newspaper.

We do, however, want to help potential West Linn residents gain a local perspective on housing, lifestyle, and livability. Home values, neighborhood descriptions, architecture, parks, schools, commutes, city planning, and local businesses all add up to paint the entire picture. We are the blank canvas…for now.

Please a peek at the newborn move2westlinn.com. More coverage to come, so add it to your newsreader.

Inanimate objects shall refrain from bragging in real estate circles, according to Lake Superior State University, on its 32nd annual List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness.

The list includes 'boast'; as used in real estate listings in lieu of verbs such as 'features', 'offers', 'provides' or simply 'has'.

See classified advertisements for houses, says Morris Conklin of Lisboa, Portugal, as in "master bedroom boasts his-and-her fireplaces -- never 'bathroom apologizes for cracked linoleum,' or 'kitchen laments pathetic placement of electrical outlets.'"

Amen to that. I also fear that real estate standby descriptors such as 'charming', 'motivated seller', and perhaps, 'UnZillowable' may make future lists.

Other on the list for 2006:

• Combined Celebrity Names - TomKat, Brangelina, et al.
• Awesome -- I've been overusing that word since Sean Penn uttered it in 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High'.
• We're Pregnant -- I've never once made that claim in my wife's presence.
• Drug Deal Gone Bad -- In contrast to all the good drug deals.
• Truthiness -- Steven Colbert's contribution, here and gone in a matter of months.
• Chipotle -- It's time for the ancho chile to receive its due.
• i-Anything -- Following the e-Anything of the dot-com bust.

and

• Search -- Forevermore replaced by the verb 'Google'

The list and lengthy commentary, in its entirety and awesome truthiness.