August Dips In Home Sales - What's Next?

The existing homes sales currently on the market did a dip in August posing a bit of a slow down in what some were defining as a housing turn-around.



Check out this great video from Wall Street Journal to get more details.

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"Because Integrity Does Matter!"

Fun & Quick Quiz - What's Your Architectual style?

I ran across this really fun quiz to take from Front Door. It doesn't take long, there are only ten easy questions to answer. At the end it pegs your architectural style for your home.

I have to say while I admire different styles, it did get me spot on when it comes to my own personal home and surrounds.

It pegged me as Ranch Style - "Homey"

Try it here http://bit.ly/bB8Uq

Twitter@JamieMori
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"Because Integrity Does Matter!"

The Top Home Builders in the Triangle

Most of the talk these days is in the resale of homes. Yet, you can hardly go down a street anywhere in the area without seeing new homes construction either still going up or for sale.

So what's been happening with the new home marketing in the Triangle?

Let's take a look at who the big dogs are that are playing in our community ball fields and where they rank by the dollar volume of Triangle contracts.

According to the September 11, 2009 issue of Triangle Business Journal here is where they rank:

#1 Pulte Homes (#3 in 2004)
#2 Centex Homes (#1 in 2004)

***Note - A merger between Centex Homes and Pulte Homes was completed in August 2009.

#3 KB Homes (#5 in 2004)
#4 Toll Brothers (#6 in 2004)
#5 Standard Pacific Homes (N/A 2004)
#6 Not Listed
#7 St. Lawrence Homes (#4 2004)

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"Because Integrity Does Matter!"

Green Home Building

Building a house is certainly not an easy task. A huge amount of money, resource and time is involved in building a house. With rising cost of living and price of goods, things have become all the more difficult for an average citizen. A basic necessity like shelter has become a dream for many. However, constructing a house that is cost effective is not a difficult task. It is indeed not difficult to build affordable green homes. These homes will tackle the issue of environmental pollution.

The best thing about these houses is they are easily affordable by all. Constantly declining fossil fuels, global climate changes, have made it imperative on our part to look for alternative means of energy. Going green is the way. There are many beautiful houses that are built on these lines. The materials used in the construction of green products use very little energy. This has a direct impact on the reduction of carbon emission. Eco friendly design methodology can also reduce energy consumption by minimising energy inputs for heating, cooling and light, and incorporating energy efficient appliances. This will help you save energy and money as well. It is a smart way to build house that is eco friendly too. Such houses can withstand all kind of weather.

One can find information regarding construction of such houses by looking online too. You can get numerous green home building suggestions. Know more about how to build healthier homes:

Eco-friendly construction will help create a favourable indoor as well as outdoor environment. The conventional building materials are known to cause serious environmental problems and also a host of health problems. Chemical pollutants from paints, solvents, plastics and composite timbers, along with biological pollutants such as dust mites and moulds causes symptoms such as asthma, headaches, depression, eczema, palpitations and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Green buildings will help eliminate such problems. Proper ventilation design, breathable walls, and using natural and non-toxic products and materials will help you build a house that is environmental friendly. There are many advantages of building such houses. Using natural products to construct house will help re-stabilize the ecological balance and also get rid of certain diseases. A natural and friendly environment will ensure you breathe fresh air. This will certainly keep at bay certain life threatening disease. There are benefits galore of opting to construct green homes. Besides, this it will also give jobs to local business and help strengthen the staggering economy. Using household solar panels will help you use freely available energy and put it to good use. It will help save energy consumption too. Solar energy, if utilized properly can be put to good use. It can be used to heat water and generate electricity.
Sadhna D, Expert Author, Platinum author

Know more about Sustainable Building:
Sustainable Building
For more information on Green Home Building Guidelines:
Green Home Building Guidelines
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sadhna_D

"Because Integrity Does Matter!"
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A List Raleigh Does Not Want To Be One

Hope you all were able to enjoy the weekend somehow with family or friends. Wanted to go to the beach yesterday but the weather had other plans. That's okay, we ended up hanging out together and going to see the new Harry Potter movie - very fun! I've been so busy lately between real estate and creating some exciting new business developments (I'll tell you about that when I'm finished) that the days have been flying by - in a good way.

I wanted to see if you all caught the report from Sarah Lynch she put out the end of last month on Forbes.com. It is called America's Most Stressful Cities 2009. This is one list I am thankful Raleigh and the surrounding Triangle area is not on.

The rundown of America's Most Stressful Cities are as follows:

1. Chicago, IL
2. Los Angeles, CA
3. New York, NY
4. Cleveland, OH
5. Providence, RI

The statistics were based on a number of factors such as quality of life, unemployment figures, median home price, population density, and this one I love, the number of sunny and partly sunny days per year. You can check out the full report at http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/20/stress-unemployment-homes-lifestyle-real-estate-home-values-stressful-cities.html


"Because Integrity Does Matter!"

Current Real Estate Facts in North Carolina

I like to bring you an array of information about what's going on in the real estate/housing market on a regular basis, focusing in on North Carolina and particularly the Raleigh area. But since we do not have life changing news in our local market everyday, thank goodness for that, the information while useful is sometimes more far reaching. Today, however, are the reports I love to give, because they give you the up to date stats on what is happening in real estate right here in our local market.

A recent report from the North Carolina Association of Realtors was spot on with some of the facts you and I want to know. Let me give you a run down of the high lights:

1. Pending Home Sales between June of 2008 and June 2009 rose 6.7%. We haven't seen an increasing like that since 2004.

2. North Carolina homes sales rose for the third month in a row by the end of July 2009.

3. New construction surprisingly jumped in July to hit its highest level since September of 2008.

4. One of my personal favorites is that nation wide the supply of homes was down 2.5% from June 2009 to July.

5. This one you'll love. The nation had a 32% increase in foreclosures in July of 2009 annually, while in contrast North Carolina had a 20% decline in foreclosure from a year ago July.

So my friends there is sunshine in the city today and sunshine on the horizon in real estate. It truly is a beautiful day.

"Because Integrity Does Matter!"
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$8000 First-Time Home Buyer Ends November 30!

All summer long we've been hearing about the first-time home buyer credit, and while quite a few have taken advantage of it, there are still some on the fence as to whether they should jump in yet or not. Well, to all you fence sitters, you have less than 90 days now, to find a home, make an offer and go to closing. Let's take a quick look at the program.


Congress passed legislation that grants a tax credit of up to $8000 to first -time home buyers in an effort to help the down turned economy. So who qualifies? First-time home buyers who purchase by December 1, 2009 qualify based on the fact that his or her spouse did not own a residence during the three years prior to the purchase. So technically you do not have to be a first-time home buyer. You just have to have not owned a home for at least three years prior to buying one now. This $8000 tax credit can be applied to primary residence which would include single-family homes, condos, town homes and co-ops.


So how much if all of the $8000 tax credit do you get? The credit is equal to 10% of the purchase price of the home, maxing out at $8000. So basically you have to buy a home that costs $80,000 or more. Not to hard to still find today, even with the decreased market value. Part two to that equation is that the buyer's income, if single $75,000 and married couples $150,000 max respectively to qualify. So you say, "What if I earn more than that? Am I punished and discouraged from buying a home?" Well not exactly, if you're single and make between $75K and $95K you can still get the tax credit, it just decreases. Same goes for married couples whose joint income is between $150K and $170K. If you make more than that, sorry, it's a no go with the Tax-Credit.


So you're going to get the tax credit. The next two things you should be asking is, how is it applied and do I have to pay it back? The answer to the first question is that you don't actually receive $8000 off the purchase price of the house. You will see the tax-credit at well, tax time. When you file in April of 2010, the tax-credit will be applied then. Do you have to pay it back? No, not this time, unless...you sell your home anytime during the three-year period following the purchase of your home, then Uncle Sam will take back the credit at the time of closing. Once again, you wait for money, Uncle Sam doesn't.

All in all a good program if you are in a position to take advantage of it. Talk to your Realtor or lender to get more details.





"Because Integrity Does Matter!"

www.JamieMori.com

How Great It is To Live Here

My oldest brother John called me today from the Orlando area. He wanted to know if he could drop in next week and spend over on his way to D.C. My dad will be coming in from Missouri to meet him here as well. I get calls like this all the time and I love it. Friends and family members calling to see if they can stop in for a day or two on their way to somewhere else. I never got that when I lived near St. Louis. No one seemed to be goin' my way so to speak. Since living here however this kind of call has become a regular and I love it.

We've all by now heard the statistics, such as Number 2 Best Place for Business according to Forbes and Number 1 Hottest Job market reported by Business 2.0, and many more reviews raving about the Triangle area from a dozen different sources. But for those of us that live and work here we don't need any reports to tell us how wonderful it is here, we know because we are privileged to enjoy it every day.

The beautiful Atlantic coast is just three hours away to the East, and to the West are the amazing Blue Ridge Mountains, also just a few hours away. We've got some of the best restaurants in the country, art and history museums, L.A. style boutique shopping, some of the best Universities the country has to offer and the sports teams that go along with them, enough outdoor recreation to keep all of the local R.I.E. stores in business and just an endless stream of fun, culture and entertainment..

Then there is the weather. I love that we get all four seasons and a milder summer, yes I said milder, than other parts of the country (the lower midwest has oppressive humidity with no breezes passing through.) And OMG, did I mention the winters are to die for here. Just enough cold to let you know what time of the year it is but not enough to keep you inside for six months out of the year. Trust me on this one, I was stationed in Grand Forks, North Dakota - now that was cold!

All of the aforementioned not to be outdone by the overall health of our economy and housing market, which each invariably go hand in hand. While we are not immune to the current status in economics across the country, I am certainly thankful to live in a community that is still growing and thriving.

So hooray for Raleigh and the surrounding communities, you all Rock!

"Because Integrity Does Matter!"
www.JamieMori.com