Attention Home Buyers & Sellers You are not Alone!

Things will Improve!

Why Real Estate Markets Will Improve in 2007

There are reasons to be optimistic about real estate next year, a BusinessWeek Online analyst says.

New and existing home sales might slide further in 2007, but there won’t be a sharp decline like there was in the early ‘80s and ‘90s. Why? Because the overall economy is in good shape.

Some markets will become much more affordable, making a home purchase possible for people who never could have afforded one previously.

Speculators who drove up housing prices will move on to speculate on something else.

Fewer new homes will be built, and surplus inventory will be absorbed, so prices will stabilize.

Mortgage rates will remain at relatively low prices and could go even lower if the Federal Funds Rate falls, which it might.

Source: BusinessWeek Online, Maya Roney (12/12/2006)

Doggy Mansions

Sell a Fancy Dog House, Earn a Commission
The housing market is going to the dogs – literally.

Doggie Mansions, a company in West Palm Beach, Fla., that builds designer doghouses priced anywhere from $10,500 to $100,000, is offering 10 percent commissions to real estate professionals who make the sale.

Partners (and dog lovers) Stacy Small and Donald Gorbach, a veteran real estate practitioner, started the company last summer and quickly realized the value of paying commissions.

"On a $25,000 home, the commission comes to $2,500, and [real estate practitioners) don't have to split it with anybody," says Small, who goes by the title Chief Barketing Officer. "This way we can have a sales force in place."

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer is among the company’s customers. He spent $25,000 on a two-story, brick-faced

Doggie

Mansion

for his three dogs – two Rottweilers, Chuck and Homer, and a Maltese named Muffin.

The 8-by-10-foot luxury dog retreat is equipped with air conditioning, a brushed micro-velvet suede couch, ceramic tile floors, large arched windows, a flat-screen plasma TV that loops classic canine movies like "Benji" and "Rin Tin Tin" and, of course, football-shaped doggie beds.

The mansions take two to four weeks to build, and can be shipped around the world. The company's Web site, www.doggiemansions.com, includes listings of dog houses.

Source: Newhouse News Service, Sam Ali (11/22/2006)

Curb Appeal is Important!

5 Ways to Improve Curb Appeal on the Cheap
Curb appeal is important. When the outside turns off buyers, they may never bother to look at the inside of a home.

An investment of as little as a few hundred dollars can make a huge difference in the appearance of an exterior. Here are some simple but effective suggestions:

• Wash the windows and replace any cracked or broken ones.
  
• Put a fresh coat of paint on siding, downspouts, and doors.
  
• Fill cracks in the driveway and walks.
  
• Trim bushes to below window height. Edge the lawn.
  
• Fertilize the lawn and plant blooming flowers. Put potted plants in strategic places.

Source: Chicago Tribune (11/27/06)