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BIGGER IS BETTER The average price of a new home in the United States has just pushed beyond $200,000. Heavily windowed and with more and larger rooms with tall ceilings, the average new home brought $210,000 in November 1999, up 17 percent from a year earlier. More than a sixth of such homes come with garages for three or more cars. Houston architect William Stern says this trend is all about showing off to neighbors. Buyers regard their homes as not just housing, but an investment place for their stock-option gains. THE MAGIC BARGAIN FIGURE IS '9' Fast food restaurants advertising sandwiches at 99 cents and stores marking merchandise with prices ending in "9" know what they're doing. It's generally agreed that such strategy plays on consumer bargain concepts, but what is surprising is the proof of just how effective that strategy can be. Two business school professors recently persuaded a national women's clothing merchandiser to mail catalogs randomly listing prices of $44, $49 and $54 for the same item. The $44 and $54 prices generated almost identical demand, but the $49 price drew a 50 percent higher response. ATTRACTING THE YOUNG ONLINE The young take their online Web sites seriously. A study by Forrester Research reported that Web users age 16 to 22 years are not looking for games, chat rooms or cool graphics but are demanding customer service and technical support. The study says this group shops online because it is more convenient (70 percent of respondents), and it saves time (64 percent).

NO EXCUSES All major retailing sectors—discounters, specialty chains and department stores—beat their sales goals for December 1999. One analyst declared, "In this economy, there are no excuses for not doing well." Sales at stores open at least a year rose 6.5 percent during the month, the largest December gain since 1992. The retailing forecast is for a growth slowdown this year, but still to remain a husky 5.5 percent, according to National Retail Federation. That's down from 7.6 percent retailing growth in 1999. FAMILIES A HIGHER PRIORITY THAN BUSINESS Asked what bugged them the most, small business owners said it's the battle over benefits. They report workers always demand more expensive packages, according to a survey by the National Commission for Entrepreneurship, Washington, DC. Also high on the aggravation list is a failure to find seasoned executives and a skills shortage among many high school graduates who are unable to do simple jobs such as answering the telephone or running the supply room. These aggravations may be the reason more small business owners are thinking less about their businesses and more about their families. A survey by American Express Co. shows 31 percent of entrepreneurs put family as their top goal this year ahead of expanding the business (21 percent) and getting organized (13 percent).