video explaining the Short Sale process and the impact on the decreasing number of foreclosures filed.
Posted in Real Estate Information
OVERVIEW ~ June 7 through June 11 ~ The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) began the week at 9931.97, having declined in the face of the prior week’s disappointing employment report and on-going concerns about debt issues in several of the world’s nations. By the end of the week, though, the DJIA had risen 2.8%, to 10211.07, in the face of very little news that would support its climb. A plausible explanation for this is that the DJIA has a tendency to rise when the general belief is that the economic recovery is continuing in spite of many concerns.
The price of gold gave contrary signals, also; it began the week at a very high 1239.30 and, despite the ups and downs of the stock market indices, the price of oil and the exchange rate of the euro, gold remained above 1220 for the remainder of the week. In other words, even as a rising DJIA signaled a bit more willingness to invest where the risk is a bit higher than it is in gold, the strength of gold still suggested that a large number of investors were unwilling to move their wealth out of this safest of safe investment havens.
FOCUS ~ Retail Sales (where the economy moves from Wall Street to Main Street) for May showed a marked decline of 1.2%.
Consumer purchases make up about two-thirds of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product. Without strong retail sales, we cannot have a strong economy. Indeed, analysts frequently assert that we need better employment figures to have better retail sales data. And to have greater real estate sales volume we need both strong employment growth and retail sales figures.
These retail sales figures, we should remind ourselves, represent only one month. We need more data before we try to reach definitive conclusions. March and April figures, for a slew of technical reasons, may have been higher than they should have been, and the current numbers turn out to be 7% higher than their year-ago levels.
Still, the report raises more unanswered questions about the strength of the recovery, precisely the kind of questions that made this week’s numbers jump around so much.
Posted in Real Estate Information
The Tivoli
The Verona
The Venezia
HouseLogic talks to Red Cross disaster response expert Court Ogilvie about emergency preparedness for homeowners. Read
Decide whether to buy hurricane insurance long before the storm clouds appear. Read
Creating a neighborhood disaster preparedness plan can safeguard your family, neighbors, and property, while strengthening and unifying your neighborhood. Read
Having a home emergency preparedness kit could be the key to your family’s safety if disaster strikes. Read
Your homeowners insurance covers many of life’s disasters, just not some natural disasters like earthquakes and floods, so consider supplemental policies. Read
Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.
Copyright 2010 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
One of the first and most important steps a seller must take before putting your home on the market is setting the listing price – or how much your home is worth. Price too high and you might scare away eager buyers. Price too low and you might have trouble negotiating a reasonable offer down the road – especially in a market where buyers feel they have the upper-hand and more sellers are bringing additional concessions to the table.
Many times your REALTOR® will walk you through this process with a Comparable Market Analysis (CMA). A CMA is the report real estate agents use when they conduct an in-depth analysis of a home’s worth in today’s market. In nearly all cases your REALTOR® is a trustworthy source to lean on when determining your homes’ value. At the same time, smart homeowners should know just how REALTORS® come to their conclusions. Here’s a glance at what you should be looking at when setting your initial listing price.
Comparable Listings and Sales
Look at homes that were or are listed over the past six months and are within a ¼ mile to a ½ mile of your neighborhood.
Compare square footage, number of rooms, size of the lot, and age of the home if possible.
Watch for neighborhood divides. For instance, don’t pull homes from areas that might be considered the ‘wrong side of the track.’ That could drastically and incorrectly reduce the value of your home.
Sold Comps
Compare original list price to final sales price to determine if any price reductions were applied.
Compare final sales price to actual sold price to determine ratios.
Withdrawn & Expired Listings
Pay attention to why these homes were taken off the market and learn from the seller’s mistakes. Take action to prevent your home from falling into this category.
Check out the brokerage that listed the home. Do they normally sell everything and are having trouble with this one? Or is the brokerage skimping on marketing for the home?
Pending Sales
Pay close attention to any price reductions and make note of how often they happen.
Days on market could have a direct effect on your homes’ listing-to-sold time. This ratio will also allow you to set reasonable goals and expectations for your home with your REALTOR®.
Active Listings
Many of these homes are your competition and it’s important to keep an eye on what they are doing.
Tour these homes. What makes them appealing? What doesn’t? Try to recreate the feeling or learn from their mistakes in your home.
Depending on the market’s current conditions you may need to price differently. For instance, in a buyers market you might set your listing price near comparable value with the knowledge that you might have to settle for less.
The reality is, your REALTOR® Laurie Scherer is the expert on pricing homes in our neighborhood. After all, it is her job.
Talk to us ask for a free CMA on your home.
Whether you’re North, South, East or West, summer in the United States means things are heating up and families and friends are getting their grill-groove on. Always remember: safety first!
Take a look at the 9 things you should remember when firing up the grill.
• Check the tubes that lead into the burner for any blockage from insects, spiders, or food grease. Use a pipe cleaner or wire to clear
blockage and push it through to the main part of the burner.
• Check grill hoses for cracking, brittleness, holes, and leaks. Make sure there are no sharp bends in the hose or tubing.
• Move gas hoses as far away as possible from hot surfaces and dripping hot grease. If you can’t move the hoses, install a heat shield
to protect them.
• Replace scratched or nicked connectors, which can eventually leak gas.
• When you reconnect the grill to the liquid propane gas container or if you smell gas at any time, check for gas leaks. Follow the
manufacturer’s instructions.. If you detect a leak, immediately turn off the gas and don’t attempt to light the grill until the leak is fixed.
• Keep lighted cigarettes, matches, or open flames away from a leaking grill.
• Never use a grill indoors. Use the grill at least 10 feet away from your house or any building. Do not use the grill in a garage, breezeway,
carport, porch, or under a surface that can catch fire.
• Do not attempt to repair the tank valve or the appliance yourself. See an liquid propane gas dealer or a qualified appliance repair person.
• Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions that accompany the grill.
Source: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml97/97128.html
After negotiations, endless signatures and initials, successful home inspection negotiations, you finally sold your house. Then the list of things you have to accomplish before you move out hits you!
Take a day or two to relax, then make a comprehensive list.
Here are 10 things you might not remember in your moving frenzy:
1. Change the address on all your subscriptions. Magazines, Netflix, book- or whatever-of the month, etc. Most of these can be done on the company’s website.
2. The post office has a set of postcards that are handy for change of address if it cannot be done online, or when you pay your bills. And while you’re there, be sure to put in a change of address request.
3. Start eating the food in the freezer. It’s so much easier not to have to transport it.
4. Start planning for your pet’s move. A lot of people forget these family members. It may be easier to have them boarded for a few days, or stay with friends or family.
5. Gather up all your appliance manuals if you haven’t already, and put them in a pantry or drawer.
6. Return library books. No need to move them.
7. Try not to schedule doctors and dentists appointments within a month before or after your move.
8. Pack a change of clothes to carry with you as you move. Sometimes there are delays with moving companies, best to be prepared.
9. Likewise, keep a supply of medicines with you.
10. Call your friends and family to let them know you’ve arrived in your new home safely. To save yourself the time, ask one very special friend to spread the word, then you’ll only have to make one call…
Posted in Real Estate Information
Click on the graph to view larger
To see your community Just ask
When there is a great deal on the market it gets a lot of attention and interest. Many buyers are just like savvy coupon shoppers….they are waiting and watching for the right home to go on sale just like a great store sale having a 25% off sale, but the store usually has more than one item to sell..with a house sale there is only that ONE to buy. Guess what…There is more than ONE buyer looking at this home to purchase..Many buyers are waiting for that perfect sale. Waiting for a sign.not a for sale sign a “divine” sign that this is the one..By the time they make their decision its frequently too late.. Someone else decided to move forward without the” divine sign” to purchase. Many buyers are experiencing disappointment because they are not quick enough or they bid too low and someone else makes a better offer. Many buyers think that with all the BAD news articles no one is really buying homes, so they casually place low offers thinking that the seller is going to jump on any offer that comes in. There are good deals to be had, work with an experienced agent to guide you thru the process for great results.. Now IS the time to buy!!
Posted in Real Estate Information
Winston Trails Golf Club is a beautifully designed Joe Lee Championship course that provides one of the finest, upscale semi-private golf experiences in Palm Beach County. Playing to over 6900 yards from the Championship Tees. The facility provides lush manicured fairways with generous landing areas and perfectly conditioned Champion Bermuda Grass Putting Greens. Amenities include a discount golf shop with all the latest in apparel and equipment. Winston Trails G.C. is home to the best practice facility in Palm Beach County, which features a 70 yard short game area with bunkers, a pitching & chipping green, a large putting green and a driving range with target greens.
Posted in Real Estate Information
In the last few years, Florida has become the Mecca for the rich and famous looking for the best place to build their mansions homes or luxury sky penthouse condominiums, competing with places around the world like the French Riviera or Beverly Hills. Attracted by the glamour, the nightlife and the natural beauty, sports legends and movie stars like Sylvester Stallone or Jennifer López call Florida their home. One of the most desired locations to consider in South Florida is West Palm Beach.
The city of West Palm Beach is world-renowned for its sunny palm-lined streets, scenic waterfront views, quaint shopping districts, historic neighborhoods, year-round outdoor festivals, elegance and luxurious comfort, which are the hallmarks of this slice of paradise. The city was founded by Henry Flagler in 1894, as a community to house the servants working in the two grand hotels on the neighboring island of Palm Beach, across Lake Worth. During the 1920s, the city boomed and was a rival to Miami, leaving it with many historic structures and neighborhoods. The city quickly declined thereafter, however, due to hurricanes, the Great Depression and rampant suburbanization.
In the past 10 years, however, the city has undergone a tremendous renaissance as newcomers have rediscovered the city’s historic areas and a resurgent downtown entertainment and shopping district. New developments in West Palm Beach include large apartments and trendy lofts, luxurious beachfront residences and lavish penthouses with breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean.
Let us help you find the home of your dreams in West Palm Beach.
Posted in Real Estate Information
Despite all of the negative talk you hear in the media everyday, now is actually a GREAT time to buy West Palm Beach investment property, for multiple reasons. First, prices have fallen dramatically. In some parts of Florida, we’ve seen prices drop over 50%. For example, earlier this week I looked at a foreclosed home in West Palm that had sold 2 years ago for $210,000. Today, it’s being offered at $50,000, a savings of over 76% off! That’s an incredible difference. Try finding a sale like that the next time you go to the mall.
Second, with falling prices, we’ve seen a return to a market where investment property will cashflow. A couple years ago, this was virtually impossible to do in Florida. Today, you can buy property that will actually produce enough rental income to pay all of your mortgage, tax, and insurance expenses, and still leave yourself with a nice profit each month.
Many people may worry that the market has not hit bottom yet, but consider this: you’ll never know where the bottom is until prices start to rebound, and by that time, prices will have begun rising again. Already, we’re seeing an increase in sales figures year over year in many parts of South Florida. Like the stock market, if you can buy within 10% or so of the bottom, you’ll do great. Folks, that time is here, if not today, within the next few months. Otherwise, you’ll be looking back some day wishing you had bought property when it actually made financial sense.
Posted in Real Estate Information
“Highest Overall Satisfaction For Home Buyers Among National Full Service Real Estate Firms, Two Years in a Row”
Keller Williams Realty received the highest numerical score among full service real estate firms for home buyers in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2008-2009 Home Buyer/Seller StudySM. 2009 Study based on 3,138 total evaluations measuring 7 firms and measures opinions of individuals who bought a home between March 2008 and April 2009. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed April-June 2009. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com
OVERVIEW ~ May 31 through June 4 Monday was, of course, a holiday, so the market week began on Tuesday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) registering 10136.63 at the opening. Tuesday’s close brought a 1.1% loss to the DJIA. By Thursday’s close, the DJIA had risen about 2.3%, the first back-to-back gain of the current year. On Friday, though, the stocks markets dropped in response to the weak employment report and word from Hungary that it too was facing severe debt problems. Interest rates fell on Friday’s market action, with the 10-year T-note reaching 3.197%.
FOCUS ~ The Employment Report ~ A total of 431,000 payroll jobs were added in May, and the unemployment rate fell again to its March level of 9.7%. Ostensibly, this seemed to be good news until analysts looked slightly deeper.
Only 41,000 of the new payroll jobs were created by the private economy; the remainder were temporary census jobs that will soon disappear. Job formation, in other words, was very weak. And the move back to a 9.7% rate of unemployment suggested people who had been looking for jobs simply stopped: There really wasn’t an increase among the number of them who found employment so much as there was a decrease among those actually confident enough in the recovery to seek a job.
There are sources of mild optimism to be found in the fine print of the employment report. The number of hours worked by private sector employees has risen 4.9% over the last three months. And private wages income, combined with higher hourly earnings, rose by about 0.6% in May. Further, the manufacturing sector has shown a 12.1% increase (annualized) in hours worked over the last three months.
These increases in the number of hours worked suggest that employers may need to hire more workers relatively soon. But they are not convincing market investors that the economic recovery is still on a firm, upward path. Indeed, many analysts feel that the economy could slow now as easily as it could strengthen. This helps to explain the very uncertain course the market indices have been following, as they fail to establish a seemingly sustainable trend for longer than a few days at the most.
The employment report didn’t build a convincing case for either a slowing or a speeding up of the recovery.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS (As of 4:30 p.m. eastern, 6/7/10)
10-year Treasury note…3.14%
30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage (avg)…5.18%
Spread between 10-yr note and 30-year FRM…2.04%
Brent Crude Oil Future…71.61
Gold 100 oz Future…1243.40
Copper…274.50
Dow Jones Industrial Average
…9816.49
S&P 500…1050.47
FTSE 100…5069.06
NIKKEI…9520.80
Mortgage Bankers Association Mortgage Applications Index ~ Week ending 5/28/2010
Overall 639.0 (up 0.9%; up 11.3%; down the week prior)
Purchase Money Loans 178.0 (down 4.1%; down 3.3% the week prior)
Refinancing Loans 3336.9 (up 2.4%; up 17% the week prior)
~Freddie Mac average 30-year fixed rate mortgage:
4.78% 5/27
4.79% 6/3
Posted in Real Estate Information
The Stresa
The Stefano
The Salvadora
The Riviera
The Portofino
The Pisa
The Perugia
The Novara
The Napoli
The Modena
The Massimo
The Lugano
The Lorenzo
The Leonardo
The Giovanni
The Giorgio
The Francesi
The Ferrara
The Domenica Bellaggio Floor Plan
The Cesar
The Celestia
The Bellini
The Augustino
The Antonio
The Alexander
KW Belief System
Mo Anderson defines the culture of Keller Williams Realty as “living the mission, vision, values, beliefs, and perspectives” of Keller Williams Realty. Our beliefs are the rules we live by and they dictate how we work together and will treat each other.
We welcome all comments and suggestions
Posted in Real Estate Information
 | Vieseebra on The Scherer Team |
 | VPNGlobe-Disg on The Scherer Team |
 | homeowner24 on Pool Supplies and Repairs |
 | Michael Swidler on How to Deal With Tainted … |
 | christine on Looking for first time home… |
|
![Framing #3 - Stockholm Old Town [Explore]](http://static.flickr.com/5080/7216523256_d7a02bb300_t.jpg "Framing #3 - Stockholm Old Town [Explore]")
