I have said previously that even though there are inflationary pressures out there, I did not feel that the lid on interest rates was going to be taken off during this election year.
Interest rates are very vital in the recovery of this economy. YES – housing needs to recover if the economy is going to [...]

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Bet you didn’t expect me to say that, did you?  Yes, we need your home to sell. In April alone, we listed over 1,200 homes in the Carolinas but placed close to 1,600 under contract.  Our Sales Units Year-To-Date are up 37 percent from last year.  Our closed units are up 31 percent and our [...]

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The trend continues.  We are well into the Spring buying season and a stable pattern of growth is developing. It is very hard to believe, but inventory levels are so low that there just aren’t enough homes for sale to satisfy the buyer demands.
Speculative new home building has been left to a very few national [...]

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There’s a lot in the news about the hot rental market.  As I have said previously, we Americans don’t do anything in moderation.  Because rents are high and rising, what are banks lending money for?  Yes – building more rental units. I predict the following as interest rates increase, and they will, and prices [...]

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At the peak of the housing market, it was commonplace to have purchasers bidding against each other for a property they desired. It was one of those bygone events that took place often.
But wait, they are back!  Back for a whole different set of reasons, but they are popping up once again for those [...]

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The big bright windshield of the future is in front of us. At this time of year, we clean the closets, plant the flowers and wash the windows. But as we check spring tasks off on our list, we ask ourselves “Why is this behavior so short-lived?”
When our task list is overflowing, it can be [...]

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Most people think a real estate agent is someone you call upon when you’re ready to buy or sell a home. While that’s true, your real estate agent can also provide helpful advice and counsel throughout the homeownership lifecycle. For most of us, our home is our largest single investment. Make sure you have a [...]

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Right now, the residential real estate market is not lacking in sales activity. It is caused by fabulous interest rates, rock-bottom prices and an increase in demand. Thus far, the first two months of 2012 are 50-60 percent greater as compared to this time last year.  All indicators for the Carolinas look at a healthy [...]

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Last year, I was asked to chair the 2012 Cultural Vision Plan Process, the fourth such event of its kind. Every eight to ten years, the challenge is to assess the greater community agenda (themes, ideas, and issues) and determine how the cultural community at-large can facilitate movement and advancement of those community-wide opportunities.
In previous [...]

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Do you dream of owning your own home someday? The pundits want us to believe that your generation – born between 1980 and 1995 – are disenchanted with the dream of homeownership. But I, for one, don’t believe it for a moment, although for the first time in history, you’re not leading the charge in [...]

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