Please join the UCR College on Natural and Agricultural Sciences

on April 2nd at the Univesity Theater, 7pm-8pm

for the first lecture in a series of lectures celebrating the 200th year of Darwin's birth

The Dance of the Genes: How Biological Evolution Works

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Come join us for the 16th Annual

Every evening from November 28 to January 4, festivalgoers can enjoy holiday decorations with more than three million twinkling lights along Mission Inn Avenue, ice skating under the stars, horse-drawn carriage rides, live entertainment and of course, Santa Claus.

The Festival takes place in Downtown Riverside on the Main Street Pedestrian Mall where visitors can find a variety of options for dining and unique shopping.

It also features holiday-themed vendors every night, offering specialty food and gift items. Come experience the Festival. Have dinner, shop and enjoy the holiday fun.

Remember to Shop Riverside to support our Police and Fire departments.

Team Tower Realty's campaign for te Leukemia and Lymphoma Society was a great success we raised $5,900.00 for this great organization!

Tower Realty would like to thank all of the voulnteers who came out to show thier support at the garage sale and the walk. We couldn't have done ir without you!

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is holding their annual Light The Night^® Walk on October 4^th at California Baptist University in Riverside.d Lymphoma Society raises awareness

The Leukemia anabout the various forms of blood cancers and their Light The Night^® Walk enables community members to get involved, raise money and enjoy an evening of walking with friends and family to commemorate the lives of people touched by cancer. Tower Realty is proud to be involved with such a worthy organization, so much in fact that of Tower Realty is heading up their own team. Tower Realty has made a concerted effort to reach out to her community and ask them to donate their time to this worthwhile cause. Tower Realty has organized a massive garage sale to be held at the Tower Realty parking lot on September 13^th with all proceeds directly benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Tower Realty encourages all community members to donate unwanted items, so this years Light The Night^® Walk can be successful. Visit www.lightthenight.org for more information and to sign-up with "Team Tower Realty" and join us at California Baptist University on October 4^th.

Please donate unwanted items (or call our office for large item pick-up) to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Light The Night^® Walk Garage Sale, hosted by Tower Realty on September 13^th at our office, located at: 7197 Brockton Avenue, Suite 6. Please contact us with any questions at (951) 369-8002.

Donations Wanted!

I had some questions about lead referrals on AR.  I am not sure exactly what they all are.  I know you send referrals to other agents, but I have been on AR for almost 2 years now and have not recieved one referral.  Am I doing something wrong or is there something you need to do?  Any advice would help.

There needs to be more engaged activity in philanthropic work and more giving back to the community. I believe it is a very important key to success for realtors to be outstanding and involved members in their area.

Tower Realty encourages its agents to give of their time to charitable and community service organizations. Our agents serve in a variety of organizations such as: The Arthritis Foundation, The Riverside Community Hospital Foundation, The Riverside Area Rape Crisis Center, and the California Baptist University Board of Visitors.

My son Brent Lee who is also a broker at Tower Realty serves as a commissioner on the City of Riverside Parking, Traffic, and Streets Commission and is a member of the City's International Relations Council.

Are there more people like me who share this philosophy? Tell me a little about what you're involved in and how you give back to your community. All comments are greatly appreciated.

The percentage of vacant homes for sale in the United States set a new record high in the first quarter of this year, the government said Monday. The Census Bureau report shows that shows that 2.9% of U.S. homes -- excluding rental properties -- were vacant and up for sale, compared with 2.8% in the fourth quarter of 2007. It was the highest quarterly number in records going back to 1956. That works out to 2.28 million properties, up from 2.18 million in the same quarter last year, according to the report.

The West had the biggest gain in vacancy rates among homeowners, rising to 7% in the January-March period from 6.5% in the fourth quarter of 2007. Vacancy rates fell in the Midwest and South, but rose in the Northeast. The national vacancy rate, including new and existing homes, has been steadily rising since mid-2005. The Census Bureau's report also said that the U.S. homeownership rate remained at 67.8% in the first quarter, down from a peak of 69.2% at the end of 2004.

The housing market's five-year boom is quickly becoming a faint memory, as sales and home prices have fallen dramatically over the past two years in once hot sales areas such as California and Nevada. Last week, a Commerce Department report said sales of new homes plunged in March to the slowest pace in 16 1/2 years. Builders have slashed prices, but the discounts have done little to lure buyers who are holding out, uncertain about when the price-drop will stop.

The biggest increase is being seen in the rental market.  Renter are increasing fast and the demand for rental properties is getting bigger and bigger each day. 

Tower Realty's " Happy Campaign" started in January of 2008. It has been a tremendous success so far says broker, Collete Lee. Our company wanted to focus on the positive not the negative. For instance, if you look at the windows of our office on the corner of Brocton and Indiana there are bright yellow "We are a Happy Real Estate Office " signs. On our real-estate sign posts we have added "Happy Faces". We send daily happy thoughts to our agents. We believe attitude is altitude at Tower Realty.

Research shows that practicing certain happiness activities can change people's lives. Happy people live longer, more likely to live longer, make more money, are liked by others and are more productive at their jobs. Since our agents have one of the most rewarding jobs in the world; helping people find their dream homes. And we are excited about this market.

Our goal is to change the attitude of our agents and clients and look for the Happy, all the positive aspects of real estate. We even have a money jar in the front office that an agent will add a dollar to if they are caught having negative thoughts. Tower realty will then donate that collection to charity at the end of the year. "This campaign is fun and we constantly try to be positive even though the market is more challenging but there are more opportunities to serve our clients," says agent, Miles Turner.

There are many opportunities for first time homebuyers, investors or move up buyers. We can put a smile on our client faces by finding a perfect home at a great price. We have encountered some exceptional values, where an investor can purchase and break- even from the onset that ws unheard of 2 years ago, says Brent Lee, broker.

We would like to bring the happiness quotient to your life call 951 369-8002 for more information.

A forecast conducted by Chapman's Anderson Center for Economic Research predicts that Inland Southern California will continue pushing down home prices until late 2009, although the region's overall economy will improve next year. It seems there are more factors at play here with the retail market also declining and the rise of gasoline, food and other consumables is putting the economy into a down whirl spiral it would seem, but according to the study there will be job growth next year and with job growth comes retail buying and an upswing in the real estate market.

Now is a good time to buy, with beautiful homes at low prices and the economy going into an upswing you can get the dream home you have always wanted. This is truly a buyers market offering you the best deals and is a great time to invest as in the end your home values will start to increase and you will see a profit in your investment. So don't hesistate, get out there together and find your dream home today.

I was hoping that someone could explain to me a little bit more on how AR works.  I post the blogs and respond to the maximum amount of comments I can each day, but I am curious as to how AR determines your ranking in your city, etc.  If someone could break this down for me I would greatly appreicate it, I have been a member of AR for a while now, but just need some things explained..Thank you everyone.