Interest Rates and the Economy

May
21
2012

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 [...]

Full Article

We Need Homes to Sell!

May
14
2012

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 [...]

Full Article

Happy Mother’s Day!

May
11
2012

Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 13, 2012. Traditionally, this day is set aside to honor and celebrate our mothers.
Mother’s Day is celebrated all over the world on various days of the year, most commonly in March, April, or May. In the United States, Mother’s Day became an official national holiday in 1914, when [...]

Full Article

Demand Grows in April

May
07
2012

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 [...]

Full Article

Will the 3.8% Tax on Real Estate Affect You?

May
03
2012

As you may have heard, the federal government has implemented a new tax on real estate transactions that will become effective January 1, 2013. There are many misconceptions about properties and taxpayers that will be subject to this new tax – read on for some good news if you are concerned!
The tax is NOT on [...]

Full Article

A Rental Society … Not So Much

April
18
2012

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 [...]

Full Article

The Tax Benefits of Homeownership

April
16
2012

Recently, there has been much press coverage following discussions in Washington about the Mortgage Tax Deduction. The debate has mostly been focused on reducing the deduction for “high income” (over $250k) buyers and second homes.
However, a recent survey sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and conducted by Public Opinion Strategies revealed that [...]

Full Article

Multiple Offers? You are Kidding Me!

April
13
2012

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 [...]

Full Article

HARP 2.0 is Here!

April
11
2012

Earlier this year, Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac announced that they would offer new refinancing opportunities for homeowners who are underwater on conventional mortgage programs guaranteed by them.
We are pleased to announce that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have now (effective March 18) updated their Automated Underwriting Systems to handle the new HARP [...]

Full Article

Top Brokers Gather for Training and Educational Opportunities

March
30
2012

Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® is the largest network of top independent local and regional brand-name brokerage firms in the residential sector of real estate. The 600 firms affiliated with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® are represented by 5,000 offices and 150,000 associates in more than 30 countries worldwide. Each year [...]

Full Article