'Real-Estate Agents, Wake Up!'

On Gather.com, a fan of California's historic bungalows—and self-confessed open-house addict—rants against real-estate agents who don’t know the architectural value of the homes they are selling. "I've heard agents counsel prospective buyers that beautiful red oak interior trim would be 'livened up by a coat of Varithane'," Moe Hong writes, or that colored mylar can "create a stained-glass effect in a 1909 Spanish Revival home." Hong urges the nation's Realtors, "learn a bit about the local architectural tradition, and don't rely on what you've picked up by osmosis to sell houses. You may be only in it for the money, but you are the guardians of your own town's architectural heritage."