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Saturday, May 01, 2010

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Thursday, May 28, 2009

The American Dream

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released their quarterly House Price Index on May 27th 2009. This report shows trends in house prices for the 1st Quarter of 2009, the Last Year and the Last 5 Years.

In this last category, statistics for the last 5 years, Washington clearly outpaces every other State in the Nation. Our fine State has an incredible 9 of the top 20 market gains in house values over the last 5 years! That’s an incredible statistic when you realize that the FHFA recognizes 294 markets in the United States.

If you’ve owned a home in or near Wenatchee, East Wenatchee, Spokane, Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Anacortes, Olympia, Bremerton, Silverdale, Tacoma, Vancouver, Seattle, Bellevue, or Everett for the last 5 years, congratulations! You’ve made a great investment.

Homes aren’t a short term investments like stock. Homes are long-term assets that are rightfully viewed in years rather than months. You don’t buy a house and sell it a few months later, right?

The last year has been rough for the housing sector, no doubt. However, Washington State and Skagit County (Mount Vernon – Anacortes) in particular have not been hit anywhere near as hard as the bulk of the country and we’re already recovering... The 1st Quarter of 2009 actually reported a gain in home prices, albeit a trivial .17 percent. It is still a positive number in this shaky economy trying to make a comeback. I don’t know about you, but I’m happy with that number!

I’m also very happy that my home’s value and the homes that my customers have bought through my services over the last 5 years have risen by over 50% in the last 5 years. It’s time for people to stop railing against home ownership and remember that it is the American Dream!

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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Dow Gains Nearly 1,400 Points!

Make no mistake, the economic recovery is well underway in this country!

From March 2nd, 2009 through April 22nd, 2009 the Dow Jones Industrial Average (the DOW) has gained a whopping 1,395 points. Not bad for less than 8 weeks!

It certainly has been a rough 12 months that has affected the entire nation. Just a year ago, the DOW was around 13,000 points. An incredible amount of wealth in this country has been lost over the last year. I'm not losing sight of that. However; a recovery or rebound is clearly visible.

On March 2nd, 2009 the DOW was at 6,626 points compared with the 8,021 points during today's trading just a few minutes ago.

It is time to get going with the American Dream again! Invest in a house, buy some stock, get yourself or your family a nice car or something. The bargains out there are amazing.

The news reports are still mixed. There are still many good signs as well as bad, but like all of the other recessions America has ever faced, this recession will end.

This is America! It is time for our people to remember that!



Data Source: MSN Money Central. Click here for the current chart








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Saturday, April 04, 2009

Weekend Update... April 4th, 2009

I currently have 6 Active Listings on the market. They Are:

Residential:
- 28191958 - $193,995 - 3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1014 SqFt, Sedro Woolley
- 28139798 - $274,750 - 3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1344 SqFt, Mt. Vernon
- 28198155 - $377,000 - 3 Bed, 2 Bath, 2032 SqFt, Burlington
- 29000501 - $415,900 - 5 Bed, 2.5 Bath, 3297 SqFt, Mt. Vernon

Vacant Land:
- 29044731 - $150,000 - Big Lake View Building Lot, Mt. Vernon
- 29044711 - $275,000 - Big Lake Waterfront Lot, Mt. Vernon


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Monday, March 30, 2009

Federal Housing Tax Credit Information

In a continuing effort to stimulate the economy, Congress has enacted legislation for First Time Home Buyers. They will receive up to a $8,000 tax credit for purchasing a home between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009.

First Time Home Buyers are defined in this legislation as people who have not owned a home for the past 3 years.

For detailed information about this great First Time Home Buyer program, click here.


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Monday, March 23, 2009

Existing Home Sales Up 5.1% in February!!

Hi,

Sales of existing homes rose 5.1% in February, according to the National Association of Realtors.

This jump was much better than waht economists had been predicting. This news combined with the Toxic Asset purchase plan announced today has pushed the Dow Jones stocks up over 400 points so far today.

It sure does feel like we have finally turned the corner on this recession!! This combined with Citibank's profit announced a couple weeks ago along with the big news that Housing Starts had their biggest jump since 1990.

You can read more about the Housing story at the FoxBusiness.com web-site.

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Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Reuters News Video About Housing News





March 17, 2009
Reported By Conway Gittens of Reuters

The Economic Recovery Has Begun!

Hey Everybody,

Today, the Commerce Department announced that U.S. housing starts jumped a staggering 22.2 percent to an annual rate of 583,000 units last month. That is the biggest percentage rise since 1990.

Housing (banking) led us into this economic mess and it will be housing that leads us out of this mess...

Last week, CitiBank shocked everyone by turning a profit.

This week, home builders shocked everyone by actually building homes again. This announcement comes as the first gain in housing starts since April of last year.

Wall street understood the meaning of this announcement and posted a 178.73 point (2.48%) gain for the Dow, NASDAQ posted a 58.09 point (4.14%) gain, and the S&P 500 gained 24.23 points (3.13%) on the Commerce Department's great announcement.

All last week, I was reading stories by the various so called experts saying that this month's housing news from the Commerce Department will be more bad news... In reality, this day or this week may well mark the turning point in the market. 5 out of the last 6 Wall Street sessions ended the day in the green... The economic recovery has begun!

Here are some of today's stories.....
- Wall Street Journal - Home Building Rebounds While Wholesale Prices Rise
- CNN - Housing Starts Unexpectedly Surge
- Fox Business - Pleasant Surprise: Housing Starts Surge 22%
- Reuters - U.S. Housing Offers Hope For Economy
- Yahoo - Surprise Jump In Housing Starts Ignites Wall St. Rally

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You can find many great Mount Vernon real estate agents and loan officers on ActiveRain.com Bill Sauneuf is a proud member of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network, a free online community to help real estate professionals grow their business.