Perhaps, let me tell you what I do know. It reminds me of the real estate market here in Atlanta just prior to the 1996 Olympics. So many people said the prices are inflated. (yea right). I for one knew that the local home prices were well below other major metropolitan areas.
Well the games came and went and nothing happened to the home price. No bottom falling out. I say nothing happened, well nothing bad happened. The dam broke and all those fence riding buyer got tired of waiting. They came in groves and they bought and bought. From late 1996-spring of 2000 it was like a feeding frenzy. Go figure the prices went up. Some areas as much as 20%+. The days of Milk and honey. It all lasted until the Dot com crash in spring 2000.
Point is people create their own dead lines and when these dates are reached they get on with their plans to move and buy real estate.
Nearly 1/2 of all home buyers (44 percent) believe the housing market will improve once the new President takes office in January, 2009, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by Move, Inc.
"Hot town, summer in the city Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty Been down, isn't it a pity Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city"
-Lovin Spoonful-
Well, the proverbial Dog Daze are here, at least here in the Atlanta Real Estate market . Seems every one's batteries run out by mid-afternoon. Transitioning from air conditioned office to sweltering parking lot to even hotter car to air conditioned car, Whew. To say it is taxing on ones body is a understatement. Productivity is effected, attitudes are effected.
My question for those in the Sun Belt, how much does it effect your local real estate market? Do you find clients passing on going to see homes either after work or anytime past noon on Saturday? Or worse are your clients leaving town to go to the mountains or some place cooler instead of looking at the largest pool of available homes for sale, known to man?
How do you cope?
Perhaps you are selling in these cooler 2nd home markets, how's business?
Wow, Can you believe it is the halfway point for 2008? I hope some of you are on track. Fact is many agents I know spent the first part of this year getting educated on the many changes that have happened in this business.
Short Sales, REOs and bargain hunting buyers seem to be the theme, at least as I see it.
If you are experiencing something very different, I'd like to hear about it.
Well enough reminiscing. What about the future? What are you going to do the second part of this all so challenging year? The same stuff? More of the same stuff? Chase FSBOs or expired?
Well I can tell you one prediction that won't work, at least not well. That is, waiting for the market to change. All the prognosticators in the media can't tell us when the market will turn.
"This change can be witnessed in places like Atlanta, Georgia, Detroit, Michigan, and Dallas, Texas, said Leinberger, where once rundown downtowns are being revitalized by well-educated, young professionals who have no desire to live in a detached single family home typical of a suburbia where life is often centered around long commutes and cars."
Well there is a definite trend to bring people intown. Gas isn't getting any cheaper.
"The so-called McMansion, he said, will become the new multi-family home for the poor."
I'm not so sure about this one.
"they are looking for what Leinberger calls "walkable urbanism" -- both small communities and big cities characterized by efficient mass transit systems and high density developments enabling residents to walk virtually everywhere for everything -- from home to work to restaurants to movie theaters."
Sound like small town USA. Nothing wrong with that.
"Mortgage volume increased for the first time in about a month thanks to strong gains across all loan types, the Mortgage Bankers Association said today.
The application index increased 10.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending June 6, and was up 23 percent on an unadjusted basis compared to one week earlier.
However, application volume was still 16.5 percent below levels seen during the same week a year ago, much thanks to a recent slide that left activity at pre-boom levels.
The latest surge was led by a 17 percent jump in FHA loans, a 12.8 percent increase in purchase activity, and an 8.4 percent increase in refinance loans.
Despite the increase in refinance apps, the refinance share of activity dipped to just 39.8 percent from 40.6 percent.
Interest rates were no help either, with the traditional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rising to 6.24 percent from 6.17 percent.
The 15-year also worsened, climbing to 5.78 percent from 5.7 percent a week earlier, as mortgage points increased on both products by six basis points to 1.12 percent on average.
Interestingly, the ARM share of total applications increased to 10.3 percent from 8.7 percent, despite the fact that the one-year adjustable-rate mortgage climbed to 6.87 percent from 6.8 percent a week earlier."
All this talk of where gas prices are headed and who is at fault and who can solve this problem that effects us all. Well one thing is quite certain, most of us, especially real estate agent can do on simple and easy thing that will see instant results.
Don't miss this Mediterranean styled two-story stucco home built in 1950. Conveniently located inside 285 in the Riverside Community in Atlanta, you're minutes from the city. Many new housing/retail developments in progress, including parks & pathways - this is a secure investment. Contact Rod Rich with Re/Max of Buckhead at 404-713-4019 or rodrich.com.
It takes less than a minute. Work this out as you read .
Be sure you don't read the bottom until you've worked it out!
This is not one of those waste of time things, it's fun .
1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to go out to eat. (more than once but less than 10)
2. Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold)
3. Add 5
4. Multiply it by 50
5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1758...
If you haven't, add 1757.
6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.
You should have a three digit number The first digit of this was your original number. (I.e., How many times you want to go out to restaurants in a week.) The next two numbers are YOUR AGE ! ------ (Oh YES, it is!)
THIS IS THE ONLY YEAR (2008) IT WILL EVER WORK, SO SPREAD IT AROUND WHILE IT LASTS!
"The most interesting thing about a postage stamp is the persistence with which it sticks to its job. " Napoleon Hill
Dear Friend:
As you are probably well aware, Stamps Increasing by One Cent to 42¢ on May 12. Although many of you probably pay your bills online, the Postal Service provides a service that we must utilize from time to time.
Realizing that your time is valuable and you have more important things to do, enclosed in this letter, dutifully transported by the USPS, you will find several .1 cent stamps. This is designed to save you time and money in several different ways. Before you run out and buy these new .42 cent stamps and feel inclined to throw away all of your old stamps, you can just use them in conjunction with the .1 cent stamps in order to make sure your snail mail is delivered. Also, before you forget and are forced to use two .41 cent stamps in order to send your mail, this creates a great savings and effectively doubles the amount of letters you can send. For those of you that were planning to rush out to buy .1 cent stamps, this absolves you of having to go to the post office and stand in the now ridiculously long line. Trust me, I just did.
Hopefully this small gesture has just saved you some time, money and helped the environment by keeping your car off the road.
Sincerely,
Rod Rich Associate Broker RE/MAX of Buckhead 404-713-4019
Oh, by the Way...if you know of someone who would appreciate the level of service I provide, please call me with their name and business number, and I'll be happy to follow up and take great care of them.
The event that dominated my afternoon and evening:
ATLANTA -- An Atlanta Public Schools bus went up in flames Thursday afternoon, but all 40 students aboard escaped without injury.
"The bus driver told WSB-TV Channel 2 reporter John Bachman that he smelled smoke coming from the vehicle just after 3 p.m.
He said he pulled over on Chateaugay Lane in northeast Atlanta and ordered the children, first through fifth graders at Sarah Smith Elementary School, to line up and exit the bus as quickly as possible. They all got out before the bus burst into flames.
The driver is being called a hero for his quick action.
When parents who heard about the fire rushed to the scene, the bus was a charred hulk.
There's no word yet on what started the fire." Video
Yea, that's my daughter, interviewed. She thinks she is now famous. Lol. I just thank God everyone got out in time.
Rod Rich - Atlanta- Associate Broker
volume increased for the first time in about a month thanks to strong gains across all loan types, the Mortgage Bankers Association said today.
All this talk of where gas prices are headed and who is at fault and who can solve this problem that effects us all. Well one thing is quite certain, most of us, especially real estate agent can do on simple and easy thing that will see instant results.
The event that dominated my afternoon and evening: 
;)
;)
