Who doesn’t love some trivia? It’s as American as apple pie! After all, Jeopardy has been a household favorite since 1964 (no, Alex Trebek wasn’t the original host!), and Trivial Pursuit continues to be a family night favorite for 42 years and counting! So, why wouldn’t we love some home-based trivia, too? For our spring home edition, we’ve compiled some of our favorites!
- We all want a low mortgage interest payment, but can you imagine your home interest rate being a whopping 18.45%?! Would-be homeowners in October, 1981 faced those kinds of interest rates. GULP! Thank goodness for mortgage refinancing, right?
- The tradition of housewarming started exactly as it sounds – wood was brought for the fireplace. Since then, traditional housewarming gifts are bread (so, that the house will never know hunger), salt (so that life will be full of flavor) and wine (so that joy and prosperity will reign forever).
- A red door is meant to imply protection. However, in Scotland, a house with a red door means that the homeowner has paid off the mortgage. Goals, right?
- In New York, there is a “Ghostbusters Ruling,” and while it may sound crazy, sellers are required to disclose whether ghosts frequent the residence.
- Even though “downsizing” is a buzzword of recent years, and we even experienced the tiny house movement not too long ago – the average home is 522 square feet larger than 20 years ago. And, today’s homes are 30% larger than they were 40 years ago.
- Colors in your home matter. Studies have shown that a yellow exterior may sell for $3,408 less than it would if painted another color. And, houses with black front doors could yield up to $6,271 more than another color!
- The average American home has 300,000 items in it.
- There is an apartment at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France; however – it has never been rented to anyone.
- The Hollywood sign in Los Angeles was originally a real estate sales promotion.
- Speaking of California, the most expensive listing in America was in Beverly Hills. A 157-acre of land was listed for $1 billion. However, the property was foreclosed and ultimately sold at a fraction of the original asking price – $100,000.
- The average person will move 12 times in their lifetime.
- Even though Warren Buffet is the fourth richest person in the world (with a net worth of $73.5 billion), he lives in the same house he bought for $31,500 in 1958. His home has five bedrooms and two and a half baths. Taking a wild guess that his door is painted red…
- Everyone who was a fan of the TV show “Friends” remembers Monica’s apartment. Though fictional, the estimated cost of the apartment was more than $2 million.
- The White House is valued at approximately $100 million.
- In 2020, 64.8% of Americans owned a home.
- Since COVID, video tours have become more popular. In fact, video tours make up 1/3rd of all showings, with FaceTime being the most popular.
- Globally, all real estate totals approximately $217 trillion.
- John Malone holds the most land than anyone else in the United States, owning 2.2 million acres.
With all that said – what trivia surprises you the most?
References: BestLifeOnline.com; NewAmericanFunding.com; DidYouKnowHomes.com; TheClose.com; Inman.com; Retipster.com; PropLogix.com
