SPRING FLOWER SHOW IN WORCESTER THIS WEEKEND - 02/29/12 04:02 AM
The spring flower show is this weekend.  March 1st is the meteorological beginning of spring.  Calender wise spring starts March 20th.  Personally I think all the rodents were wrong and there is not another 6 weeks of winter.
I say that with an eye to the calender this week.  We have snow coming.  Mother Nature has no sense of humor.  She has dropped 16 inches of snow in April.  Croaking the crocuses is her specialty.
Back to the Flower Show.  I love going because they have forced flowers to bloom early.  The smell is wonderful.  The sites are delightful.  This has … (5 comments)

NAR ANNOUNCES PSI FOR JANUARY OF 2012 - 02/28/12 04:07 AM
the highest since April 2010 when the tax credits expired.  PSI stands for pending sales index.  These are the homes that are under deposit that month.  The percentage that indicates the marker is normal is 100.  The PSI percentage for January was 97.
It is a shaky and uneven path that housing has taken since it lows but the indicators are up.  New home construction is still down but certain areas in the country are experiencing growth.
The south led in January with a PSI of 109.1.  All areas of the country are up over January of 2011.
The housing recovery … (10 comments)

THE DUCKS ARE HERE AND I AM CONFUSED - 02/25/12 04:10 AM
There is a family of ducks that live in the small pond that I abut.  There are usually six of them.  They usually arrive when the ice is gone in March.
They are at least a month early.  So did they really go south or hang around here?  A friend of mine have crocuses blooming.  Does this mean spring or summer will be a month longer?
So did half this family get it right?  Did the half of the family that didn't show up get it wrong?
I am so confused.
… (11 comments)

MAR PROFILE OF 2011 BUYER CONTINUED - 02/22/12 03:43 AM
94% of buyers/sellers using a Realtor still impresses the heck out of me.  The median income increased from $82,100 to $89,700 in 2011.  60% were married couples, 19% single females, 7% single males and 11% unmarried couples.
The median age for a buyer was 32 and remained unchanged. The median age of the a seller was 51, up from 46 in 2010.  They had a median icome of $114,000 vs US median of $101,500. 
17% sold because their home was too small, 17% job relocation, 15% family size change and the final 3% because they couldn't afford it.
In 2011 90% … (17 comments)

MAR PROFILE OF 2011 BUYER - 02/21/12 03:29 AM
The Mass Association of Realtors released a profile of the typical buyer in 2011.  94% (NINETY FOUR PERCENT) of all buyers and sellers worked with a real estate professional.  What an awesome number - 94%.  This is a 12-13% increase.  Nationally the number is 89%.
Interestingly only 3% of sellers indicated they were selling because they couldn't afford the home.
Reasons they bought: 36% desire to own a home; 9% wanted a larger home; 9% a change in family situation; 7% because of affordability and 7% becasue of a job related relocation.
Survey said that 97% of sellers sold under normal … (30 comments)

ST JOSEPH AND HOME SELLING - 02/18/12 06:00 AM
Have you heard how St. Joseph can help you sell a home?  To millions of Catholics he is the saint that they pray to for an easy death.  He is also the Patron Saint.  He was a carpenter who taught his step son Jesus the carpentry trade.
This custom of burying St. Joseph upside down in the yard of a home that is for sale began in the 70's.  There are as many rules and prayers on how to do this as there are agents.  Essentially St. Joseph is buried in the yard (front or back is different with each package).  … (7 comments)

What's the Point? - 02/16/12 07:08 AM
I commented to Connie how naive I am.  I wondered how you could just have a picture and that would count as a blog?  I never gave the signature a thought.  Doesn't seem right but I guess those are the rules.  Thanks Connie.  I counted the words and there were only 42 so I wrote more.
Via Connie Harvey Realtor Nashville TN Real Estate (Pilkerton Realtors):
It seems like Points is an often discussed topic here in the Rain. Kind of like the never ending discussion on Featured Posts and what is feature worthy.
Recently I've noticed that several members are playing … (19 comments)

NEARLY 1 IN 20 US ADULTS - 02/14/12 07:23 AM
over 50 have had one or more knees replaced.  Well I am over 50 and I just had my knee replaced and I am part of the Boomer generation.  So why is this happening so often?
We are exercising more than any other generation.  Treadmills, ellipticals, jogging paths, tennis. racket ball, tennis, softball, etc.  I have averaged 5 days a week exercising on stationary bikes, treadmills and ellipticals for the last 29 years.  I originally hurt my knee playing football.  It finally became bone on bone with arthritis in between.
I didn't realize that knee replacements started in the 70's.  So … (9 comments)

MASSACHUSETTS PENDING SALES UP 39% IN JANUARY 2012 - 02/11/12 07:15 AM
Massachusetts Association of Realtors announced that the number of single family homes put under agreement went up again for the NINTH straight month over the same time in 2011.  Our milder winter and historically low interest rates have helped improving the numbers.  Personally I am having a super year compared to the last six years.
The number of condos also went up 25.77% compared to January 2011.  It is this type of information that will help affect positive feelings in the potential buyers sitting on the fence.
If we can get the government out of the real estate business we can … (9 comments)

“Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination.” - 02/10/12 07:25 AM
Roy Goodman is attributed to that quote.  We really have very little control over life.  We do have control over our attitude.  Happiness is not money.  Happiness is having your dog giving you kisses after you had a really rotten day.  Happiness is practicing random acts of kindness.  Helping an elderly neighbor with her groceries.  Happiness comes in all forms.  Some people look at a traffic light as a red light.  Why isn't green a go light?  Same light but a different perception.
Happiness doesn't just happen.  You have to expect it and recognize the moment.  I don't mean a pollyanish … (10 comments)

BERNANKE AND FED TO KEEP RATES LOW FOR THREE YEARS - 02/09/12 07:24 AM
Fed Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke has decided to keep interest rates artificially low.  Poor Ben has not learned from history.  Let the market makes these decisions!!  The government has no business being in business.  The government primary responsibility is to protect us.
Bernanke is proclaiming that the jobs market is no where near  as healthy as the numbers would indicate.   The unemployment rate only reflects those who are actively looking for a job.  It doesn't count part timers or those who have stopped looking.
The economy is improving at a real slow pace.  Thus the need for low interest rates.  … (10 comments)

DADDY HOW WAS I BORN? - 02/08/12 07:52 AM
A little boy goes to his father and asks 'Daddy, how was I born ?' The father answers, 'Well, son, I guess one day you will need to find out anyway! Your Mom and I first got together in a chat room on Yahoo. Then I set up a date via e-mail with your Mom and we met at a cyber-cafe. We sneaked into a secluded room, and googled each other. There your mother agreed to a download from my hard drive. As soon as I was ready to upload, we discovered that neither one of us had used a firewall, … (14 comments)

POLITICAL MUSINGS - 02/07/12 07:50 AM
We hang petty thieves and appoint the great ones to run for public office - Aesop
Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber. - Plato
Politicians are the same all over.  The promise to build a bridge even when there is no river - Nikita Krushchev
I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to politicians. - Charles De Gaulle
Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession.  I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance … (14 comments)

TIME IS LIKE MONEY - 02/06/12 07:55 AM
Yesterday is a cashed check; tomorrow is a promissory note; today is cash.  Spend it wisely. 
We all know people who live in the past?  "If I only had done this or done that" they lament.  There are people who obsess over the future.  They are afraid that something might happen.  They worry about something that might not happen.  Plan for the future and live today. 
We barely have control over what we are doing on a daily basis.  You have to live in the now.  Concentrate and try to control your goals for that day.
Don't forget that people plan … (18 comments)

SUPER BOWL RESULTS - 02/05/12 10:44 AM
I keep hearing all the experts picking the Giants.  They comment that their heart is with the Patriots but the Giants will win.  Joe Theisman commenting about Tom Brady and the Patriots.  The Giants this and the Giants that.
This is the team the had nine losses in the regular season.  If the Patriots stop the Giants from running then Eli will be susceptible to throwing the interception.
It comes down to the team that make the fewest errors will win the game.  Tom Brady rarely has had two bad games in a row.
Brady bunch 31 Giants 28.
… (12 comments)

SO WHAT IS RADON? - 02/01/12 07:40 AM
Whats the big deal about radon?  Why should we be concerned if it is in our water or air?  Lets start with the definition.  Radon is a cancer causing radioactive gas.  It is the second leading cause of lung cancer.  You cannot  smell, see or taste radon gas.  It is measured in pCi/L.  A reading of more than 4 pCi/l is considered to be beyond acceptable levels.
If you smoke and have high levels of radon you have a 1 in 100 chance of coming up with lung cancer.  I am told that because radon is a "single atom gas" unlike … (18 comments)

 

Find MA real estate agents and Webster real estate on ActiveRain.