The Week in Review
.....your Wilmington Connection
June 21, 2008
The first day of summer started with a thunderstorm. But plenty of sunshine for us to enjoy. The market has seen a steady increase in closings. Good to see that people are still buying, but perhaps just taking a little longer to make decisions and why not with so many wonderful homes on the market to choose from and all competing to get there home sold. This is what has been going on in the real estate market this week. Wilmington Market Overview.
Michigan utility chooses Castle Hayne based GE Hitachi reactor design
A fourth U.S. utility has selected Castle Hayne-based GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy's
ESBWR advanced reactor design for a potential new unit at its existing Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating station, the GE venture said late Monday.
Detroit Edison, Michigan's largest electric utility, recently notified the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission of its plans to choose the 1,520-megawatt ESBWR when it submits a combined operating license application (COLA) to the agency in September, the GE Hitachi statement said.
The venture's Generation III+ ESBWR reactors have already been selected by Exelon Corp., Dominion Resources Inc. and Entergy Corp., GE Hitachi spokesman Ned Glascock said Tuesday.
Detroit Edison, a subsidiary of DTE Energy Co., said it is considering building an ESBWR plant to help address the recommendations of Michigan's 21st Century Energy Plan, which makes clear the state's need for additional plants over the next two decades to ensure sufficient generating capacity.
The utility, which provides electricity to about 2.2 million customers in southeastern Michigan, now gets 15 percent to 20 percent of its electricity from the Fermi 2 nuclear power plant, the company's Web site said. The 1098 megawatt power plant, which began commercial operation in 1987, is located on the shore of Lake Erie near Monroe, Mich. - halfway between Detroit and Toledo, Ohio.
Exisisting Home sales ease.
Existing-home sales slowed in April, partly because restrictive lending practices hampered home buyers. At the same time, a greater number of areas are showing sales gains from a year ago and a recent reversal in mortgage policy means the market is better positioned for a turnaround, according to the National Association of Realtors.Existing-home sales - including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops - declined 1.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million units in April from an upwardly revised pace of 4.94 million in March, and are 17.5 percent below the 5.93 million-unit level in April 2007.
Federal Aid and Foreclosure?
Question: Could federal aid to homeowners facing foreclosure affect MY home's value? Even if I'm not delinquent on my mortgage?
Answer: As this is written there's proposed legislation on Capitol Hill that would allow the FHA to refinance $300 billion in toxic loans. The terms, however, are hardly generous: Lenders would have to accept a loss on their loans, borrowers would have to pay market interest, share sale profits if the home is sold within five years and pay a 3 percent "exit" fee thereafter. By no means is this cheap financing.
As to your home's value, if the property next door is foreclosed you can pretty much bet that the value of your house will plummet. This happens because the cheap sale will show up on community property records and those recent comparables help buyers determine the bids they might make for local homes. That you have faithfully paid your mortgage is irrelevant.
If, on the other hand, your neighbors can get their financing straight it's likely that the value of your home will be maintained. You ought to hope that Uncle Sam can help your neighbors if that's necessary because such assistance will keep money in your pocket.
...........until next week in The Week in Review
Tina
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