We feel confident that 2010 is going to be an amazing year and wish you nothing but the best!
Chuck & Cindy
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Happy Holidays!
We would like to wish you and your family a bright & merry holiday season!
We feel confident that 2010 is going to be an amazing year and wish you nothing but the best!
Chuck & Cindy
We feel confident that 2010 is going to be an amazing year and wish you nothing but the best!
Chuck & Cindy
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Get creative with holiday decor!
Tips for creating a warm and inviting entryway during the holidays:
- Hang seasonal door decorations.
- Mount an evergreen Christmas wreath or swag with glass ornaments or silver bells.
- Hang a set of sleigh bells on the door knob, which will give a festive jingle every time guests pass through.
- If you have a rustic style home, consider adding antlers, a cowboy hat or roping to your wreath.
- For a coastal home, consider a Christmas wreath of woven sea grass with sea shells or brightly painted life preserver with lights and decorative glass floats
- If your door doesn’t merit all the attention, consider wrapping it in bright paper with a large bow or framing it in lights.
- Add accessories around the doorway.
- Frame your entryway with garland and lights – add bows or pine cones for more decorative detail.
- Place pots or urns planted with seasonal greenery, poinsettias and lights on either side of the doorway.
- Put out a welcome mat designed with holiday accents.
- Add new brass or nickel accents such as kick plate, porch lights and door knocker to dress up your door. Holiday door decorations can be supplemented with décor in the windows as well.
- Hang matching Christmas wreaths and candles in all of the windows.
- Paint your door.
- Brighten up your door with a fresh coat of red paint or a strong color that provides contrast to your current color scheme before the weather gets too cold to paint outdoors.
- When using holiday door decorations, be careful to protect your door. You don’t want to put a nail in the door, because this can lead to damage later on. Instead, use a door hanger to hang the wreath from the door knocker, or place a tack on the top of the door frame and use clear fishing line to hang the wreath.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Protecting Your Identity This Holiday Season!
Happy Holidays!
While the holidays can be full of festive fun and celebration, it's also a time of increased identity theft. During the holidays it's especially important to be watchful of your identity! Read the following tips:
Identity Theft Can Happen to Anyone at Any Time It is important to know what to do in the case of suspected identity theft. Below are resources for consumers and businesses to report identity theft.
You Can Be Informed -Visit http://www.idtheft.gov/ and click on "Taking Action" for links to federal agency Web pages on ID theft.
You Can Protect Yourself -
Credit Bureaus
Contact the fraud departments of each of the three major credit bureaus and tell them that you're an identity theft victim. Request that a "fraud alert" be placed in your file, along with a victim's statement asking that creditors call you before opening any new accounts or changing your existing accounts.
Equifax To report fraud: 1-800-525-6285
Or write: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
Experian To report fraud: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
Or write: P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
TransUnion To report fraud: 1-800-680-7289
Or write: Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92634
Federal Trade Commission
If you've been a victim of identity theft, you can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Call the toll-free number or visit the Web site listed below for more information.
Identity Theft Clearinghouse
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580
FTC Identity Theft Hotline: 1 (877) IDTHEFT or 1 (877) 438-4338
www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/
The Federal Trade Commission also provides an online guide to help businesses safeguard sensitive data.
Visit http://www.ftc.gov/infosecurity.
Social Security Services
If you believe someone is using your Social Security number, report it to the Social Security Administration Fraud Hotline at 1.800.269.0271. You can also visit your local Social Security office or the agency's web site at: http://www.ssa.gov/reach.htm.
United States Post Office
If someone has taken your identity by stealing your mail, report it to your local postal inspector. Contact your local post office or visit http://postalinspectors.uspis.gov.
While the holidays can be full of festive fun and celebration, it's also a time of increased identity theft. During the holidays it's especially important to be watchful of your identity! Read the following tips:
Identity Theft Can Happen to Anyone at Any Time It is important to know what to do in the case of suspected identity theft. Below are resources for consumers and businesses to report identity theft.
You Can Be Informed -Visit http://www.idtheft.gov/ and click on "Taking Action" for links to federal agency Web pages on ID theft.
You Can Protect Yourself -
Credit Bureaus
Contact the fraud departments of each of the three major credit bureaus and tell them that you're an identity theft victim. Request that a "fraud alert" be placed in your file, along with a victim's statement asking that creditors call you before opening any new accounts or changing your existing accounts.
Equifax To report fraud: 1-800-525-6285
Or write: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
Experian To report fraud: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
Or write: P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
TransUnion To report fraud: 1-800-680-7289
Or write: Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92634
Federal Trade Commission
If you've been a victim of identity theft, you can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Call the toll-free number or visit the Web site listed below for more information.
Identity Theft Clearinghouse
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580
FTC Identity Theft Hotline: 1 (877) IDTHEFT or 1 (877) 438-4338
www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/
The Federal Trade Commission also provides an online guide to help businesses safeguard sensitive data.
Visit http://www.ftc.gov/infosecurity.
Social Security Services
If you believe someone is using your Social Security number, report it to the Social Security Administration Fraud Hotline at 1.800.269.0271. You can also visit your local Social Security office or the agency's web site at: http://www.ssa.gov/reach.htm.
United States Post Office
If someone has taken your identity by stealing your mail, report it to your local postal inspector. Contact your local post office or visit http://postalinspectors.uspis.gov.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Homebuyers & Tax Credits - Stating the Facts
With the new incentives to revamp the housing market, we have listed below some details for both new homebuyers and step-up homebuyers. These are straight facts based on the existing tax credits.
First-time Homebuyers
· The measure will extend the first-time homebuyer tax credit until April 30, 2010. In addition, those who have signed a contract before May 1, 2010 will have 60 days to close on the home.
· Increases the income limits to $125,000 on a single return and $225,000 on a joint return (from $75,000 and $150,000, respectively). As with the current credit, the extended credit has a $20,000 phase-out after those limits are reached.
· Those who purchase in 2010 will be able to claim credit on 2009 tax return.
· Definition of first-time buyer remains the same as those who have not owned a home in the last three years.
·The credit will remain at $8,000.
Step-up Homebuyers
· Those who have owned the same home for 5 consecutive of the last 8 years will be eligible for a $6,500 tax credit.
· The $6,500 tax credit will be eligible for purchases between December 1, 2009 and May 1, 2010. The same opportunity to close within 60 days applies.
· The income limits are also $125,000 on a single return and $225,000 on a joint return and have a $20,000 phase-out thereafter.
· Those who purchase in 2010 will be able to claim the credit on 2009 tax return.
**Other provisions regarding the homebuyer tax credit in the bill.
· No homes over $800,000 will be eligible for the tax credit.
· It will extend the tax credit for the military and other Foreign Service Officers serving abroad through April 30, 2011. It also waves the recapture fee for all military personnel should the individual move and sells the home within 3 years.
· Cuts down on tax credit fraud by providing authority to the IRS to do greater electronic oversight and requires that the taxpayer claiming the credit be 18 or older.
First-time Homebuyers
· The measure will extend the first-time homebuyer tax credit until April 30, 2010. In addition, those who have signed a contract before May 1, 2010 will have 60 days to close on the home.
· Increases the income limits to $125,000 on a single return and $225,000 on a joint return (from $75,000 and $150,000, respectively). As with the current credit, the extended credit has a $20,000 phase-out after those limits are reached.
· Those who purchase in 2010 will be able to claim credit on 2009 tax return.
· Definition of first-time buyer remains the same as those who have not owned a home in the last three years.
·The credit will remain at $8,000.
Step-up Homebuyers
· Those who have owned the same home for 5 consecutive of the last 8 years will be eligible for a $6,500 tax credit.
· The $6,500 tax credit will be eligible for purchases between December 1, 2009 and May 1, 2010. The same opportunity to close within 60 days applies.
· The income limits are also $125,000 on a single return and $225,000 on a joint return and have a $20,000 phase-out thereafter.
· Those who purchase in 2010 will be able to claim the credit on 2009 tax return.
**Other provisions regarding the homebuyer tax credit in the bill.
· No homes over $800,000 will be eligible for the tax credit.
· It will extend the tax credit for the military and other Foreign Service Officers serving abroad through April 30, 2011. It also waves the recapture fee for all military personnel should the individual move and sells the home within 3 years.
· Cuts down on tax credit fraud by providing authority to the IRS to do greater electronic oversight and requires that the taxpayer claiming the credit be 18 or older.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Local Colleges Contribute to #1 Ranking
How has North Carolina managed to rank No. 1 in Site Selection’s annual business climate rankings eight times in the past nine years?
Focus on higher learning has a large part to do with this. Many major projects and plans involve the university system. There are major educational institutions in the Raleigh-Durham- Cary area. These include North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke. North Carolina State University produced a successful company - Cree, a developer and manufacturer of energy-efficient LED lighting and semiconductor applications. Cree draws talent from the public universities and community colleges in North Carolina, as well as from other states and around the world. The company’s most recent expansion was in 2004, when a $300-million, 300-job R&D investment was aided by an 11-year Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) that could total $5.1 million in benefits.
In yet another instance of JDIG assisting in the creation of high-value jobs, Deutsche Bank in August announced it would invest $6.7 million in a new technology development center in Cary, where the newly formed DB Global Technology Inc. will create 319 jobs over the next five years. The JDIG agreement would award the company up to $9.4 million over 11 years. The new jobs at DB Global Technology will pay an overall average wage of $88,213. In July, Milken Institute named Raleigh-Cary as the second best performing city in the nation when it comes to economic growth, behind only Provo- Orem, Utah. “We are extremely excited at the prospect of opening a professional IT development center in the Research Triangle, which is home to some of the most highly skilled technology talent,” said Anthony P. McCarthy, global CIO, Capital Markets Technology at Deutsche Bank. “Deutsche Bank is the perfect example of the role that higher education can play in terms of skills and in terms of doing sponsored research,” says UNC’s Leslie Boney.
The Research Triangle Park (RTP) has a large part to do with the growth and success, which now can more credibly be called “the granddaddy of all research parks. Prominent private schools such as Duke University also lend depth to the landscape. “A creation like RTP supplies a community of active intellect and inquiry that no one school could create on its own,” said Duke President Richard H. Brodhead at the annual global conference of the International Association of Science Parks held in Raleigh in June 2009. “We all know how much emerges from obscure laboratories. But one thing we don’t sufficiently remember is that the knowledge economy does not and cannot thrive everywhere.
The National Science Foundation’s just-released ranking of 2008 total R&D expenditures at U.S. universities and colleges. Schools in the Tarheel State ranked 7th (Duke University), 26th (UNC-Chapel Hill), 47th (North Carolina State University) and 87th (Wake Forest), out of 679 institutions in the country. The only states with more institutions in the top 100 in that ranking were, in order, California, New York and Texas – states with populations that range from double to quadruple the 9.2 million residents in North Carolina. The campuses themselves may attract that funding. But the growing network of research parks in the state only help spread its effects further. “Like most research universities, Duke does some of the technology transfer work in-house,” said Brodhead, “but it is an essential advantage to have access right down the street to an R&D apparatus [RTP] that is adjacent, complementary but not identical to the university.”
UNC’s Boney says the latest effort to address tech transfer is a new report, developed with IBM, that makes recommendations on how to improve tech transfer across all 16 campuses, in order to “make it easier for companies to work with us,” he says. “We want a more innovative culture on campus that creates more intellectual property, and looks at options for how we partner with companies to make sure we offer a full range of relationships.” Boney says working with the community college system is also important, especially when it comes to 2+2 articulation programs that allow for credit transfers: “That ends up making a difference for the number of aerospace companies in the state,” he says. “That kind of cooperation is an important thing for the companies to see. It also pays off in determining the range of skills a company will need when they get here. Making sure credits transfer is mind-numbingly boring on one level, but for a company it’s very important.”
Rick Weddle, president and CEO of Research Triangle Park, says RTP still gets attention because of the big players in the neighborhood, but “nobody paid attention to the fact that there were 1,500 spinoffs out of RTP. SAS, Quintiles ... we have some of the largest companies in the world that were guys just starting stuff. More jobs have come out of those 1,500 firms in the Triangle than out of the big companies.” Weddle also echoed a point Brodhead made: Schools work with business, but they also make the extra effort to do the unthinkable – work with each other. “Universities are notorious for not working well even among themselves,” said Weddle. “In the Triangle, at these three universities [Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State], it is hard-wired into their culture to work well across lines.”
Source: Site Selection magazine, November 2009
Focus on higher learning has a large part to do with this. Many major projects and plans involve the university system. There are major educational institutions in the Raleigh-Durham- Cary area. These include North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke. North Carolina State University produced a successful company - Cree, a developer and manufacturer of energy-efficient LED lighting and semiconductor applications. Cree draws talent from the public universities and community colleges in North Carolina, as well as from other states and around the world. The company’s most recent expansion was in 2004, when a $300-million, 300-job R&D investment was aided by an 11-year Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) that could total $5.1 million in benefits.
In yet another instance of JDIG assisting in the creation of high-value jobs, Deutsche Bank in August announced it would invest $6.7 million in a new technology development center in Cary, where the newly formed DB Global Technology Inc. will create 319 jobs over the next five years. The JDIG agreement would award the company up to $9.4 million over 11 years. The new jobs at DB Global Technology will pay an overall average wage of $88,213. In July, Milken Institute named Raleigh-Cary as the second best performing city in the nation when it comes to economic growth, behind only Provo- Orem, Utah. “We are extremely excited at the prospect of opening a professional IT development center in the Research Triangle, which is home to some of the most highly skilled technology talent,” said Anthony P. McCarthy, global CIO, Capital Markets Technology at Deutsche Bank. “Deutsche Bank is the perfect example of the role that higher education can play in terms of skills and in terms of doing sponsored research,” says UNC’s Leslie Boney.
The Research Triangle Park (RTP) has a large part to do with the growth and success, which now can more credibly be called “the granddaddy of all research parks. Prominent private schools such as Duke University also lend depth to the landscape. “A creation like RTP supplies a community of active intellect and inquiry that no one school could create on its own,” said Duke President Richard H. Brodhead at the annual global conference of the International Association of Science Parks held in Raleigh in June 2009. “We all know how much emerges from obscure laboratories. But one thing we don’t sufficiently remember is that the knowledge economy does not and cannot thrive everywhere.
The National Science Foundation’s just-released ranking of 2008 total R&D expenditures at U.S. universities and colleges. Schools in the Tarheel State ranked 7th (Duke University), 26th (UNC-Chapel Hill), 47th (North Carolina State University) and 87th (Wake Forest), out of 679 institutions in the country. The only states with more institutions in the top 100 in that ranking were, in order, California, New York and Texas – states with populations that range from double to quadruple the 9.2 million residents in North Carolina. The campuses themselves may attract that funding. But the growing network of research parks in the state only help spread its effects further. “Like most research universities, Duke does some of the technology transfer work in-house,” said Brodhead, “but it is an essential advantage to have access right down the street to an R&D apparatus [RTP] that is adjacent, complementary but not identical to the university.”
UNC’s Boney says the latest effort to address tech transfer is a new report, developed with IBM, that makes recommendations on how to improve tech transfer across all 16 campuses, in order to “make it easier for companies to work with us,” he says. “We want a more innovative culture on campus that creates more intellectual property, and looks at options for how we partner with companies to make sure we offer a full range of relationships.” Boney says working with the community college system is also important, especially when it comes to 2+2 articulation programs that allow for credit transfers: “That ends up making a difference for the number of aerospace companies in the state,” he says. “That kind of cooperation is an important thing for the companies to see. It also pays off in determining the range of skills a company will need when they get here. Making sure credits transfer is mind-numbingly boring on one level, but for a company it’s very important.”
Rick Weddle, president and CEO of Research Triangle Park, says RTP still gets attention because of the big players in the neighborhood, but “nobody paid attention to the fact that there were 1,500 spinoffs out of RTP. SAS, Quintiles ... we have some of the largest companies in the world that were guys just starting stuff. More jobs have come out of those 1,500 firms in the Triangle than out of the big companies.” Weddle also echoed a point Brodhead made: Schools work with business, but they also make the extra effort to do the unthinkable – work with each other. “Universities are notorious for not working well even among themselves,” said Weddle. “In the Triangle, at these three universities [Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State], it is hard-wired into their culture to work well across lines.”
Source: Site Selection magazine, November 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Raleigh Ranks on Top!
North Carolina has the best business climate in the nation, according to Site Selection magazine, which placed the state atop its annual ranking for the fifth straight year and the eighth time in nine years.
The economic development magazine cited North Carolina's university and community college systems for the state's winning streak.
"Businesses are finding in the state what they need to succeed,” editor-in-chief Mark Arend said in a statement. “The synergy between North Carolina’s research parks, corporations, communities and economic developers at the state and local levels is a major factor in this year’s top ranking.”
The annual “Top Business Climate” rankings are based on quantitative and qualitative factors that people who help companies expand or relocate say they consider most important. Fifty percent of the ranking comes from a survey of corporate site selection executives who were asked to rank their top 10 states, and 50 percent is based on four measures of plant openings and expansions.
Texas finished second in the latest ranking, followed by Virginia, Ohio and Tennessee. South Carolina and Georgia also finished in the Top 10.
“Business leaders know we are listening to them and working aggressively to meet their needs,” North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue said in a statement. “Companies know that in North Carolina they will find top-quality talent, world-class infrastructure, a pro-business environment, and premier education institutions. North Carolina is simply a great place to do business.”
Source: www.WRAL.com
The economic development magazine cited North Carolina's university and community college systems for the state's winning streak.
"Businesses are finding in the state what they need to succeed,” editor-in-chief Mark Arend said in a statement. “The synergy between North Carolina’s research parks, corporations, communities and economic developers at the state and local levels is a major factor in this year’s top ranking.”
The annual “Top Business Climate” rankings are based on quantitative and qualitative factors that people who help companies expand or relocate say they consider most important. Fifty percent of the ranking comes from a survey of corporate site selection executives who were asked to rank their top 10 states, and 50 percent is based on four measures of plant openings and expansions.
Texas finished second in the latest ranking, followed by Virginia, Ohio and Tennessee. South Carolina and Georgia also finished in the Top 10.
“Business leaders know we are listening to them and working aggressively to meet their needs,” North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue said in a statement. “Companies know that in North Carolina they will find top-quality talent, world-class infrastructure, a pro-business environment, and premier education institutions. North Carolina is simply a great place to do business.”
Source: www.WRAL.com
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Preparing Your Home for Cooler Temperatures...
Preparing your home for colder weather is very important. To most of us, saving money is even more essential.
Below are some tips on how to do this:
Below are some tips on how to do this:
- Check around doors and windows for leaks and drafts. Use weather stripping or caulk to seal these areas. Every duct, wire, or pipe that penetrates your home's walls or ceilings has the potential for energy loss. Be sure these areas are properly sealed. Plumbing vents can be the worst areas for energy loss. Electric wall plugs and switches can be energy loss areas. Your hardware store has simple, pre-cut outlet gaskets that eliminate most of the potential energy loss.
- Inspect your homes heating ducts before every winter. The ducts can become clogged, crushed, or old duct tape can eventually dry up and fall off the duct joints. You can save up to 10% on your energy bill by sealing leaky ducts.
- Is your fireplace damper closed while not in use? Many homeowners forget from year to year to close the damper!
- Inspect the insulation in your attic. Make sure there are no gaps or holes, especially in the corners of your attic. Older homes may be "under insulated." This can be one of the least expensive ways to save on energy, especially in older homes. Seal any holes in the attic that lead to the home such as pipes or vents.
- Have a routine inspection of your heating system before winter comes.
Replace the air filter in your heating system monthly! This can create big savings at little expense. - If you have a gas heater that is pre 1977 you probably have a 50-60% energy efficiency rating. That means only 50-60% of the energy used goes to heating your home. New gas heaters have up to a 97% rating! This could pay for itself quickly!
- Purchase an automatic thermostat timer that can automatically turn down the heat when you are away. It costs far less to raise the temperature before you come home than to maintain it while you are away.
- Reverse your ceiling fans! A simple flip of the switch will help re-direct warm air that rises to the ceiling area back down.
- Make sure heating vents are not blocked by furniture or other items so air can be evenly distributed throughout your home.
- Open curtains to let in more light and more heat!
- Change to energy efficient light bulbs. Lighting your home can account for more than 20% of your electric bill.
As always, feel free to reach out to us with any questions you may have about real estate in the Raleigh/Durham area. We're here to help!
Chuck Hinton (919) 422-4841
Cindy Leonard (919) 868-4661
Monday, October 5, 2009
CREEKSIDE COMMONS IN PARADE OF HOMES!
Creekside Commons is proud to be a part of the 2009 Parade of Homes!
Come out during the following weekends to see our beautifully-designed custom homes!
October 3-4, 9-11 & 16-18
Open Daily: Noon - 5pm
Creekside Commons is a Charleston-inspired neighborhood perfect for those looking for a charming, low-key and low-maintenance lifestyle.
For more information on this sophisticated and vibrant neighborhood, click here.
As always, feel free to reach out to us with any questions or if you need assistance with your real estate needs!
Chuck Hinton (919) 422-4841
Cindy Leonard (919) 868-4661
Come out during the following weekends to see our beautifully-designed custom homes!
October 3-4, 9-11 & 16-18
Open Daily: Noon - 5pm
Creekside Commons is a Charleston-inspired neighborhood perfect for those looking for a charming, low-key and low-maintenance lifestyle.
For more information on this sophisticated and vibrant neighborhood, click here.
As always, feel free to reach out to us with any questions or if you need assistance with your real estate needs!
Chuck Hinton (919) 422-4841
Cindy Leonard (919) 868-4661
Friday, August 21, 2009
U.S. Housing Market on the Rebound!
The U.S. housing market is rebounding faster than expected. The question is, can it last? Home resales in July posted the largest monthly increase in at least 10 years as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of a tax credit that expires Nov. 30. Sales jumped 7.2 percent and beat expectations, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.
"We've got tens of thousands of homes perfect for the first-time homebuyer and we've taken advantage of that," said George Hackett, president of Coldwell Banker Real Estate in Pittsburgh.
Sales hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.24 million in July, from a pace of 4.89 million in June. It was the fourth-straight monthly increase and the strongest month since August 2007. Sales had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 5 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
The risks to that healthy pace, however, are job cuts, mortgage rates and the looming end to the homebuyer tax credit. And the last one could be a doozy because first-time buyers are snapping up one out of every three homes.
First-time buyers get a credit of 10 percent of the purchase price of a home, up to $8,000. The credit phases out for singles earning more than $75,000 and couples earning more than $150,000. The real estate industry is lobbying to have the credit extended but its unclear if Congress will be swayed.
"I would not be at all surprised to see a dip at the end of the year once the tax credit expires," said Robert Dye, senior economist with PNC Financial Services Group.
The home sales report was another sign that the U.S. economy is on the verge of a long-awaited recovery after enduring a brutal recession and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
Economic activity in both the U.S. and around the world appears to be leveling out and "the prospects for a return to growth in the near term appear good," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday.
But fallout from the recession will linger for some time. Unemployment rose in July in 26 states and fell in 17, the Labor Department said Friday. That is driving up foreclosures, which are not expected to level off until sometime next year.
Sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties made up about a third of all transactions last month, down from nearly half earlier this year. In places like San Diego and Orlando, buyers are snapping up foreclosed properties at deep discounts, and inventories are low.
Those sales helped drag down the national median sales price by 15 percent to $178,400.
Stephen Stoyko hunted off-and-on for two years before he bought a four-bedroom, two-story foreclosure this week for $320,000. The home in Roswell, Ga., north of Atlanta, was initially priced at $335,000.
Stoyko expects to spend about $7,000 to replace missing kitchen appliances and light fixtures _ a cost will be at least partially offset by the first-time homebuyer tax credit. "It's bigger than I needed, but the price was right," he said.
The inventory of unsold homes on the market rose to 4.1 million, from 3.8 million a month earlier as buyers who had held their homes off the market in the past decided to list them for sale. That's a 9.4-month supply at the current sales pace, unchanged from June.
Source: Road Runner Online
To view the article, click here.
"We've got tens of thousands of homes perfect for the first-time homebuyer and we've taken advantage of that," said George Hackett, president of Coldwell Banker Real Estate in Pittsburgh.
Sales hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.24 million in July, from a pace of 4.89 million in June. It was the fourth-straight monthly increase and the strongest month since August 2007. Sales had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 5 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
The risks to that healthy pace, however, are job cuts, mortgage rates and the looming end to the homebuyer tax credit. And the last one could be a doozy because first-time buyers are snapping up one out of every three homes.
First-time buyers get a credit of 10 percent of the purchase price of a home, up to $8,000. The credit phases out for singles earning more than $75,000 and couples earning more than $150,000. The real estate industry is lobbying to have the credit extended but its unclear if Congress will be swayed.
"I would not be at all surprised to see a dip at the end of the year once the tax credit expires," said Robert Dye, senior economist with PNC Financial Services Group.
The home sales report was another sign that the U.S. economy is on the verge of a long-awaited recovery after enduring a brutal recession and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
Economic activity in both the U.S. and around the world appears to be leveling out and "the prospects for a return to growth in the near term appear good," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday.
But fallout from the recession will linger for some time. Unemployment rose in July in 26 states and fell in 17, the Labor Department said Friday. That is driving up foreclosures, which are not expected to level off until sometime next year.
Sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties made up about a third of all transactions last month, down from nearly half earlier this year. In places like San Diego and Orlando, buyers are snapping up foreclosed properties at deep discounts, and inventories are low.
Those sales helped drag down the national median sales price by 15 percent to $178,400.
Stephen Stoyko hunted off-and-on for two years before he bought a four-bedroom, two-story foreclosure this week for $320,000. The home in Roswell, Ga., north of Atlanta, was initially priced at $335,000.
Stoyko expects to spend about $7,000 to replace missing kitchen appliances and light fixtures _ a cost will be at least partially offset by the first-time homebuyer tax credit. "It's bigger than I needed, but the price was right," he said.
The inventory of unsold homes on the market rose to 4.1 million, from 3.8 million a month earlier as buyers who had held their homes off the market in the past decided to list them for sale. That's a 9.4-month supply at the current sales pace, unchanged from June.
Source: Road Runner Online
To view the article, click here.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The National Economy Stabilizes...
After a difficult period, the economy shows signs of stability and the housing market looks promising!
Click here for this article.
Source: New York Times
Click here for this article.
Source: New York Times
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Pending Home Sales Rise - Great News for Housing Market!
Pending U.S. home sales rose in June for the fifth straight month, another encouraging sign of life for the embattled U.S. housing market, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday.
For June, the Realtors group said its pending home sales index rose 3.6 percent to 94.6, from an upwardly revised reading of 91.3 in May. The last time there were five consecutive monthly gains was July 2003.
The results were far better than analysts expected. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected the index to come in at 91.2. The report tracks signed contracts to purchase previously owned homes and is considered a barometer for future home sales. Typically there is a one- to two- month lag between a sales contract and a completed deal.
The jump in pending home sales coincides with other positive trends in the residential real estate market.
"The housing market is healing and the patient is getting healthier at an accelerating pace," said economist Joel L. Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors Inc.
For the first time in five years, home resales have risen for three months in a row, increasing almost 4 percent in June. Low prices, attractive mortgage rates and a first-time homebuyers tax credit of up to $8,000 have kick-started sales.
"Because housing is so affordable in today's market, job security and the first-time buyer tax credit are bigger factors in influencing home sales," said Lawrence Yun, the Realtors group's chief economist, in a statement.
Also Tuesday, homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc. said its fiscal third-quarter losses shrank from the year-ago period, as it took smaller charges against the falling values of its land and unsold homes.
D.R. Horton's results followed similar numbers from Pulte Homes Inc. and Centex Corp., which reported quarterly earnings Monday that showed new-home orders picked up during the first half of the year.
Yun said he expects existing home sales to gradually rise over the balance of the year, with conditions varying around the country.
"It appears home sales are on a sounder footing and inventory is gradually being absorbed," he said. Regionally, the pending home sales index jumped 7.1 percent to 100.7 in the South and 2.9 percent to 100.4 in the West. The index inched up 0.4 percent to 81.2 in the Northeast, and up 0.8 percent to 89.9 in the Midwest.
Source: Associated Press
For June, the Realtors group said its pending home sales index rose 3.6 percent to 94.6, from an upwardly revised reading of 91.3 in May. The last time there were five consecutive monthly gains was July 2003.
The results were far better than analysts expected. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected the index to come in at 91.2. The report tracks signed contracts to purchase previously owned homes and is considered a barometer for future home sales. Typically there is a one- to two- month lag between a sales contract and a completed deal.
The jump in pending home sales coincides with other positive trends in the residential real estate market.
"The housing market is healing and the patient is getting healthier at an accelerating pace," said economist Joel L. Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors Inc.
For the first time in five years, home resales have risen for three months in a row, increasing almost 4 percent in June. Low prices, attractive mortgage rates and a first-time homebuyers tax credit of up to $8,000 have kick-started sales.
"Because housing is so affordable in today's market, job security and the first-time buyer tax credit are bigger factors in influencing home sales," said Lawrence Yun, the Realtors group's chief economist, in a statement.
Also Tuesday, homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc. said its fiscal third-quarter losses shrank from the year-ago period, as it took smaller charges against the falling values of its land and unsold homes.
D.R. Horton's results followed similar numbers from Pulte Homes Inc. and Centex Corp., which reported quarterly earnings Monday that showed new-home orders picked up during the first half of the year.
Yun said he expects existing home sales to gradually rise over the balance of the year, with conditions varying around the country.
"It appears home sales are on a sounder footing and inventory is gradually being absorbed," he said. Regionally, the pending home sales index jumped 7.1 percent to 100.7 in the South and 2.9 percent to 100.4 in the West. The index inched up 0.4 percent to 81.2 in the Northeast, and up 0.8 percent to 89.9 in the Midwest.
Source: Associated Press
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Economic Growth Surprisingly Increasing in 2009
At long last, the worst recession in America since World War II appears on the verge of ending.
The economy dipped only slightly in the second quarter of this year -- falling at a 1 percent annual pace, better than expected. And many analysts think the economy is starting to grow again in the current quarter, setting up a long-awaited recovery.
Still, any rebound is likely to be restrained by consumers' reluctance to spend. Stressed by rising unemployment, smaller paychecks and shrunken nest eggs, Americans spent less in the second quarter. Without the full strength of consumer spending, which supplies more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, businesses would need to deliver more of the firepower for sustained growth.
Economists say they are hopeful that consumers, aided by the "cash for clunkers" program to boost car sales, eventually will nudge up spending. Over time, that would help stem a still-heavy wave of job losses and stimulate hiring.
"We won't have a recovery as long as we keep losing jobs," President Barack Obama acknowledged Friday.
He added: "Eventually, businesses will start growing again and will start hiring again, and that's when it will truly feel like a recovery to the American people."
The small drop in gross domestic product for the April-to-June period, reported Friday by the Commerce Department, followed a dizzying free fall in the first three months of this year. The economy plunged at an annual rate of 6.4 percent in the first quarter, the worst in nearly three decades.
Including the April-to-June period, the economy has now contracted for a record four straight quarters, for the first time on record dating to 1947. Over that period, companies and ordinary Americans have suffered a painful toll, with job losses still exceeding a net total of 400,000 each month.
Many economists had predicted a slightly worse 1.5 percent annualized contraction in second-quarter GDP, which is considered the best gauge of U.S. economic health. GDP measures the value of all goods and services -- everything from cars, clothes and computers to makeup, manicures and machinery -- produced in the United States.
"The recession seems to be largely over with at this point," said economist Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors. "We still have a long way to go to get back to full health."
Behind the better second-quarter performance were other signs of a fading recession: less drastic spending cuts by businesses, a resumption of federal and local government spending and an improved trade picture.
Businesses did end up cutting their stockpiles of goods at a record pace in the second quarter, but that carries a silver lining. With their inventories at rock-bottom, businesses will likely need to ramp up production to meet customer demand. That would stimulate the economy starting in the current quarter. Some economists think growth in the July-to-September quarter could be more vigorous than previously forecast -- possibly 3 percent annual growth or higher.
Obama's stimulus package of tax cuts and increased government spending provided some support to the economy in the second quarter. But it will have more impact in the second half of this year as it extends its reach, economists said.
In the meantime, the damage caused by this recession runs deep.
The figures released Friday provide the most compelling evidence to date that the current recession has been the worst since the Great Depression. It has taken a 3.9 percent bite out of economic activity so far, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. Before this downturn, the most painful hit came in the 1957-58 recession, when GDP fell 3.8 percent, he said.
And in revisions to GDP figures that stretch back to the Great Depression, the Commerce Department now estimates the economy grew just 0.4 percent in 2008. That's much weaker than the 1.1 percent growth the government had earlier estimated.
Even if the recession ends later this year, the job market will remain weak. Companies are expected to keep cutting payroll through the rest of this year. The Fed says unemployment -- now at a 26-year high of 9.5 percent -- will top 10 percent at the end of this year. Businesses won't likely boost hiring until they're certain the recovery has staying power.
In the second quarter, businesses -- including home builders -- continued to cut spending, though not nearly as much as they had earlier. That's one reason the economy didn't contract as much as feared.
Consumers retreated en masse. They sliced spending at a rate of 1.2 percent in the second quarter, after having nudged up purchases at a 0.6 percent pace in the first quarter. In large part, that's because wages and salaries have fallen for the past three quarters.
With people spending less, Americans' savings rate rose sharply -- to 5.2 percent in the second quarter, the highest since 1998. As important as savings is, many economists wish that consumers would save less and spend more right now to help propel the recovery.
"I'm praying, 'God, please don't encourage American households to save a lot more just yet,'" said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight.
Source: Yahoo! Finance
The economy dipped only slightly in the second quarter of this year -- falling at a 1 percent annual pace, better than expected. And many analysts think the economy is starting to grow again in the current quarter, setting up a long-awaited recovery.
Still, any rebound is likely to be restrained by consumers' reluctance to spend. Stressed by rising unemployment, smaller paychecks and shrunken nest eggs, Americans spent less in the second quarter. Without the full strength of consumer spending, which supplies more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, businesses would need to deliver more of the firepower for sustained growth.
Economists say they are hopeful that consumers, aided by the "cash for clunkers" program to boost car sales, eventually will nudge up spending. Over time, that would help stem a still-heavy wave of job losses and stimulate hiring.
"We won't have a recovery as long as we keep losing jobs," President Barack Obama acknowledged Friday.
He added: "Eventually, businesses will start growing again and will start hiring again, and that's when it will truly feel like a recovery to the American people."
The small drop in gross domestic product for the April-to-June period, reported Friday by the Commerce Department, followed a dizzying free fall in the first three months of this year. The economy plunged at an annual rate of 6.4 percent in the first quarter, the worst in nearly three decades.
Including the April-to-June period, the economy has now contracted for a record four straight quarters, for the first time on record dating to 1947. Over that period, companies and ordinary Americans have suffered a painful toll, with job losses still exceeding a net total of 400,000 each month.
Many economists had predicted a slightly worse 1.5 percent annualized contraction in second-quarter GDP, which is considered the best gauge of U.S. economic health. GDP measures the value of all goods and services -- everything from cars, clothes and computers to makeup, manicures and machinery -- produced in the United States.
"The recession seems to be largely over with at this point," said economist Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors. "We still have a long way to go to get back to full health."
Behind the better second-quarter performance were other signs of a fading recession: less drastic spending cuts by businesses, a resumption of federal and local government spending and an improved trade picture.
Businesses did end up cutting their stockpiles of goods at a record pace in the second quarter, but that carries a silver lining. With their inventories at rock-bottom, businesses will likely need to ramp up production to meet customer demand. That would stimulate the economy starting in the current quarter. Some economists think growth in the July-to-September quarter could be more vigorous than previously forecast -- possibly 3 percent annual growth or higher.
Obama's stimulus package of tax cuts and increased government spending provided some support to the economy in the second quarter. But it will have more impact in the second half of this year as it extends its reach, economists said.
In the meantime, the damage caused by this recession runs deep.
The figures released Friday provide the most compelling evidence to date that the current recession has been the worst since the Great Depression. It has taken a 3.9 percent bite out of economic activity so far, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. Before this downturn, the most painful hit came in the 1957-58 recession, when GDP fell 3.8 percent, he said.
And in revisions to GDP figures that stretch back to the Great Depression, the Commerce Department now estimates the economy grew just 0.4 percent in 2008. That's much weaker than the 1.1 percent growth the government had earlier estimated.
Even if the recession ends later this year, the job market will remain weak. Companies are expected to keep cutting payroll through the rest of this year. The Fed says unemployment -- now at a 26-year high of 9.5 percent -- will top 10 percent at the end of this year. Businesses won't likely boost hiring until they're certain the recovery has staying power.
In the second quarter, businesses -- including home builders -- continued to cut spending, though not nearly as much as they had earlier. That's one reason the economy didn't contract as much as feared.
Consumers retreated en masse. They sliced spending at a rate of 1.2 percent in the second quarter, after having nudged up purchases at a 0.6 percent pace in the first quarter. In large part, that's because wages and salaries have fallen for the past three quarters.
With people spending less, Americans' savings rate rose sharply -- to 5.2 percent in the second quarter, the highest since 1998. As important as savings is, many economists wish that consumers would save less and spend more right now to help propel the recovery.
"I'm praying, 'God, please don't encourage American households to save a lot more just yet,'" said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight.
Source: Yahoo! Finance
Friday, July 24, 2009
Existing Home Sales Rise Across US!
Signs of Change: Existing-Home Sales Rise 3.6% in June
Existing-home sales rose for the third consecutive month with inventory easing and home prices declining less sharply in June, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
Existing-home sales-including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops-increased 3.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million units in June from a downwardly revised pace of 4.72 million in May, but are 0.2% lower than the 4.90 million-unit level in June 2008.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, is hopeful about the gain. “The increase in existing-home sales occurred in all major regions of the country,” he said. “We expect a gradual uptrend in sales to continue due to tax credit incentives and historically high affordability conditions. Despite the rise in closed transactions, many Realtors® are reporting lost sales as a result of new appraisal standards that went into effect May 1 of this year.”
A June survey of NAR members shows 3% experienced at least one lost sale as a result of the new Home Valuation Code of Conduct, with seven out of 10 reporting an increased use of out-of-area appraisers. Seventy percent of NAR appraiser members said consumers were paying higher fees, while 85% report a perceived reduction in appraisal quality.
“Clearly the process needs to be revised, but the most logical approach is to use appraisers with local expertise, industry designations and access to local data, who make a physical examination of the property and use apples-to-apples comparisons with nearby home sales,” Yun said. “In many cases, normal homes are being compared with distressed homes sold at a discount, which often are in subpar condition-this is causing real harm to both buyers and sellers.”
According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 5.42% in June from 4.86% in May; the rate was 6.32% in June 2008. Mortgage interest rates have trended lower in recent weeks.
Total housing inventory at the end of June fell 0.7% to 3.82 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 9.4-month supply at the current sales pace, down from a 9.8-month supply in May. Raw inventory totals are 14.9% below a year ago.
“This is another hopeful sign-if we can keep the volume of sales above the level of new inventory, prices could stabilize in many areas around the end of the year,” Yun said.An NAR practitioner survey in June showed first-time buyers accounted for 29% of transactions, unchanged from May, and that the number of buyers looking at homes is up nearly 12 percentage points from June 2008.
NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth, said there are very good opportunities. “Despite some of the challenges, the housing market continues to demonstrate signs of recovery,” he said. “The temporary first-time buyer tax credit is clearly helping people make a decision and is contributing to the overall stimulus impact, but since it’s taking longer to close transactions, many would-be beneficiaries may not be able to take advantage of the credit before the December 1 expiration date. As a consequence, consumers need the expertise of Realtors more than ever to navigate both the obstacles and opportunities in today’s market.”
The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $181,800 in June, which is 15.4% below June 2008. Distressed properties, which accounted for 31% of sales in June, continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes.
Single-family home sales rose 2.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.32 million in June from a level of 4.22 million in May, and are 0.2% higher than the 4.31 million-unit pace a year ago. The median existing single-family home price was $181,600 in June, which is 15.0% below June 2008.
Existing condominium and co-op sales jumped 14.0% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 570,000 units in June from 500,000 in May, but are 3.1% below the 588,000-unit level in June 2008. The median existing condo price was $183,300 in June, down 18.9% from a year ago.
NortheastRegionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 2.5% to an annual pace of 820,000 in June, but are 4.7% below a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was $249,400, down 5.9% from June 2008.
Midwest
Existing-home sales in the Midwest increased 0.9% in June to a level of 1.10 million but are 1.8% lower than June 2008. The median price in the Midwest was $157,000, which is 9.1% below a year ago.
South
In the South, existing-home sales rose 4.0% to an annual pace of 1.81 million in June but are 3.7% below a year ago. The median price in the South was $163,200, down 11.9% from June 2008.
West
Existing-home sales in the West improved by 6.4% to an annual rate of 1.16 million in June, and are 11.5% higher than June 2008. The median price in the West was $214,800, which is 24.9% below a year ago.
Source: www.RealEstateBook.com
Existing-home sales rose for the third consecutive month with inventory easing and home prices declining less sharply in June, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
Existing-home sales-including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops-increased 3.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million units in June from a downwardly revised pace of 4.72 million in May, but are 0.2% lower than the 4.90 million-unit level in June 2008.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, is hopeful about the gain. “The increase in existing-home sales occurred in all major regions of the country,” he said. “We expect a gradual uptrend in sales to continue due to tax credit incentives and historically high affordability conditions. Despite the rise in closed transactions, many Realtors® are reporting lost sales as a result of new appraisal standards that went into effect May 1 of this year.”
A June survey of NAR members shows 3% experienced at least one lost sale as a result of the new Home Valuation Code of Conduct, with seven out of 10 reporting an increased use of out-of-area appraisers. Seventy percent of NAR appraiser members said consumers were paying higher fees, while 85% report a perceived reduction in appraisal quality.
“Clearly the process needs to be revised, but the most logical approach is to use appraisers with local expertise, industry designations and access to local data, who make a physical examination of the property and use apples-to-apples comparisons with nearby home sales,” Yun said. “In many cases, normal homes are being compared with distressed homes sold at a discount, which often are in subpar condition-this is causing real harm to both buyers and sellers.”
According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 5.42% in June from 4.86% in May; the rate was 6.32% in June 2008. Mortgage interest rates have trended lower in recent weeks.
Total housing inventory at the end of June fell 0.7% to 3.82 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 9.4-month supply at the current sales pace, down from a 9.8-month supply in May. Raw inventory totals are 14.9% below a year ago.
“This is another hopeful sign-if we can keep the volume of sales above the level of new inventory, prices could stabilize in many areas around the end of the year,” Yun said.An NAR practitioner survey in June showed first-time buyers accounted for 29% of transactions, unchanged from May, and that the number of buyers looking at homes is up nearly 12 percentage points from June 2008.
NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth, said there are very good opportunities. “Despite some of the challenges, the housing market continues to demonstrate signs of recovery,” he said. “The temporary first-time buyer tax credit is clearly helping people make a decision and is contributing to the overall stimulus impact, but since it’s taking longer to close transactions, many would-be beneficiaries may not be able to take advantage of the credit before the December 1 expiration date. As a consequence, consumers need the expertise of Realtors more than ever to navigate both the obstacles and opportunities in today’s market.”
The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $181,800 in June, which is 15.4% below June 2008. Distressed properties, which accounted for 31% of sales in June, continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes.
Single-family home sales rose 2.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.32 million in June from a level of 4.22 million in May, and are 0.2% higher than the 4.31 million-unit pace a year ago. The median existing single-family home price was $181,600 in June, which is 15.0% below June 2008.
Existing condominium and co-op sales jumped 14.0% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 570,000 units in June from 500,000 in May, but are 3.1% below the 588,000-unit level in June 2008. The median existing condo price was $183,300 in June, down 18.9% from a year ago.
NortheastRegionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 2.5% to an annual pace of 820,000 in June, but are 4.7% below a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was $249,400, down 5.9% from June 2008.
Midwest
Existing-home sales in the Midwest increased 0.9% in June to a level of 1.10 million but are 1.8% lower than June 2008. The median price in the Midwest was $157,000, which is 9.1% below a year ago.
South
In the South, existing-home sales rose 4.0% to an annual pace of 1.81 million in June but are 3.7% below a year ago. The median price in the South was $163,200, down 11.9% from June 2008.
West
Existing-home sales in the West improved by 6.4% to an annual rate of 1.16 million in June, and are 11.5% higher than June 2008. The median price in the West was $214,800, which is 24.9% below a year ago.
Source: www.RealEstateBook.com
Friday, July 10, 2009
Cary, Raleigh & Durham Top the Growth Charts!
Cary, Raleigh and Durham cracked the top 25 fastest growing cities list in the U.S. in 2008, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Estimates for the year between July 1, 2007 and July 1, 2008 showed Cary’s population surging 6.9 percent to 129,545 earning it the third spot on the list. Raleigh, meanwhile, ranked eighth with an increase of 3.8 percent to 392,552. Durham came in 16th with 3 percent growth pushing its population to 223,284.
Source: WRAL.com
Estimates for the year between July 1, 2007 and July 1, 2008 showed Cary’s population surging 6.9 percent to 129,545 earning it the third spot on the list. Raleigh, meanwhile, ranked eighth with an increase of 3.8 percent to 392,552. Durham came in 16th with 3 percent growth pushing its population to 223,284.
Source: WRAL.com
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
2008 was a significant year of growth!
Raleigh and Cary were among the 10 fastest-growing cities in the nation last year.
As of July 2008, Cary ranked third among cities with 100,000 people or more. Its growth rate of nearly 7 percent came in behind only New Orleans and Round Rock, Texas, near Austin.
Raleigh ranked eighth, with a growth rate of 3.8 percent.
Small towns get bigger
Raleigh and Cary topped the growth charts among large cities with at least 100,000 people, but when cities of all sizes are included, the smaller towns come out on top in North Carolina. Here are the fastest-growing municipalities in the state, as of July 2008:
Rolesville, 23.7%
Brunswick, 18.1%
Watha, 12.7%
Carolina Shores, 11.6%
Fuquay-Varina, 11.5%
Knightdale, 9.2%
Holly Ridge, 8.9%
Wake Forest, 7.3%
Cary, 6.9%
Davidson, 6.8%
Clayton, 6.5%
Fairview, 6.3%
Holly Springs, 6.2%
Garner, 5.9%
Unionville, 5.5%
Marvin, 5.4%
Mineral Springs, 5.3%
Zebulon, 5.2%
St. James, 5.2%
St. Helena, 5.1%
Source: News and Observer
As of July 2008, Cary ranked third among cities with 100,000 people or more. Its growth rate of nearly 7 percent came in behind only New Orleans and Round Rock, Texas, near Austin.
Raleigh ranked eighth, with a growth rate of 3.8 percent.
Small towns get bigger
Raleigh and Cary topped the growth charts among large cities with at least 100,000 people, but when cities of all sizes are included, the smaller towns come out on top in North Carolina. Here are the fastest-growing municipalities in the state, as of July 2008:
Rolesville, 23.7%
Brunswick, 18.1%
Watha, 12.7%
Carolina Shores, 11.6%
Fuquay-Varina, 11.5%
Knightdale, 9.2%
Holly Ridge, 8.9%
Wake Forest, 7.3%
Cary, 6.9%
Davidson, 6.8%
Clayton, 6.5%
Fairview, 6.3%
Holly Springs, 6.2%
Garner, 5.9%
Unionville, 5.5%
Marvin, 5.4%
Mineral Springs, 5.3%
Zebulon, 5.2%
St. James, 5.2%
St. Helena, 5.1%
Source: News and Observer
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Positive News For Our Rebounding Economy
The most bearish of Wall Street economic analysts have made the same point for the past 18 months. There's no recovery or rebound in the housing market, they said, until home builders start building again.
"Show us positive numbers on new home starts for a few months," they say, "and then we will we agree that the housing market has finally turned around."
Hey there bears, here are the numbers you asked for: Last week the Commerce Department reported an unexpectedly large increase in new single family home starts during May - up by seven and a half percent.
That was the THIRD consecutive monthly gain in single family starts. Total starts, including multifamily apartment starts and condos, were up by 17 and a half percent!! Not only were starts up a lot, but so were other key indicators of future home building activity: single family permits, which surged by about 8 percent. That was the second straight monthly gain in permits - and points to at least moderately higher starts in the coming six months to a year.
On top of the good news about new construction, which has clearly been the weakest segment of the housing market since 2007, we also got some other positive reports last week:
Consumer confidence, which is extremely important for home buying, was up again for the fourth consecutive month, according to the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey.
Even retail sales were up slightly -- and that's an important sign that people are slowly coming out of the shell they've been in since last Fall, and are now starting to spend money again.
The latest inflation readings -- both the Consumer Price Index and the Producer Price Index -- were down slightly in May. Despite rising gas price, a dollar bought a little more in goods and services last month than the month before. That's good.
The National Association of Home Builders now projects that the current recession will end in the second half of 2009, with a one point five percent growth rate in the overall economy between July and December.
Finally, mortgage rates took a slight dip last week after several weeks of increases. Fixed thirty year rates averaged about 5.5 percent last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, after climbing to 5.6 percent the previous week.
Many lenders had actually been quoting much higher rates - all the way to 6 percent - because of inflation fears in the bond market. We've definitely got to keep our eye on mortgage rates, but otherwise the rebound appears to be underway.
Source: Yahoo Real Estate
"Show us positive numbers on new home starts for a few months," they say, "and then we will we agree that the housing market has finally turned around."
Hey there bears, here are the numbers you asked for: Last week the Commerce Department reported an unexpectedly large increase in new single family home starts during May - up by seven and a half percent.
That was the THIRD consecutive monthly gain in single family starts. Total starts, including multifamily apartment starts and condos, were up by 17 and a half percent!! Not only were starts up a lot, but so were other key indicators of future home building activity: single family permits, which surged by about 8 percent. That was the second straight monthly gain in permits - and points to at least moderately higher starts in the coming six months to a year.
On top of the good news about new construction, which has clearly been the weakest segment of the housing market since 2007, we also got some other positive reports last week:
Consumer confidence, which is extremely important for home buying, was up again for the fourth consecutive month, according to the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey.
Even retail sales were up slightly -- and that's an important sign that people are slowly coming out of the shell they've been in since last Fall, and are now starting to spend money again.
The latest inflation readings -- both the Consumer Price Index and the Producer Price Index -- were down slightly in May. Despite rising gas price, a dollar bought a little more in goods and services last month than the month before. That's good.
The National Association of Home Builders now projects that the current recession will end in the second half of 2009, with a one point five percent growth rate in the overall economy between July and December.
Finally, mortgage rates took a slight dip last week after several weeks of increases. Fixed thirty year rates averaged about 5.5 percent last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, after climbing to 5.6 percent the previous week.
Many lenders had actually been quoting much higher rates - all the way to 6 percent - because of inflation fears in the bond market. We've definitely got to keep our eye on mortgage rates, but otherwise the rebound appears to be underway.
Source: Yahoo Real Estate
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Triangle to Grow Rapidly in the Coming Years
A recent article projects amazing growth for the Triangle in the coming years...
Joe Lanier is no stranger to the Triangle. He grew up in Sanford and received undergraduate and law degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After law school, Lanier moved to the Washington, D.C., area, where he stayed for the next dozen years – starting both his career and a family. But he never forgot about his roots in the Triangle, which grew bigger and more sophisticated in his absence.
Last year, Lanier and his wife, Amy, decided that Raleigh’s mix of big-city opportunities and small-town Southern living was too good to pass up. They left Alexandria, Va., in December so he could take a job at the local office of the law firm SZD Wicker.
“To us, this is the best of both worlds,” says Lanier, who now lives with his wife and three young children in Raleigh.
Research conducted by Triangle Business Journal’s parent company shows that Lanier and his family will have a lot of new neighbors moving into the area over the next decade and a half. Using federal data, Charlotte-based American City Business Journals projects that the three-county Raleigh-Cary metro area will be the fastest growing metropolitan area in the country in the period that began in 2005 and ends in 2025.
During that period, ACBJ says, the Raleigh-Cary population will explode from 953,093, to almost 1.9 million – nearly a 100 percent increase, or a growth of 3.5 percent per year. Based on the ACBJ projections, Raleigh will rise from being the country’s 51st largest metro area to its 38th largest in 2025.
ACBJ projects that the second-fastest growing metro over that period will be Provo, Utah, followed by Fort Myers, Fla.; Ocala, Fla., and Austin, Texas. Other projected fast-growing North Carolina metros are Charlotte, No. 8 on the growth list with a projected 75 percent increase in its population, and Wilmington, at No. 18.
The four-county Durham metro is projected to increase its population by 32 percent, to 604,663, in 2025. That would make it the 62nd fastest growing area in the country.
All of those potential new residents have local leaders thinking hard about the infrastructure that will need to be added over the next two decades.
“We’re attempting to get ready ... we’re not ready yet,” says Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker. He says the most recent draft of the city’s comprehensive plan, which is updated every 20 years, focuses on encouraging developers and planners to build up – not out.
Meeker thinks that a key to combating sprawl is improving transit, both through additional bus service and the construction of a rail system. He wants to make sure the area can grow without choking on traffic.
That’s a problem that Lanier encountered in Alexandria. He says his eight-mile commute to work in the morning sometimes took as long as an hour. Lanier now can get to work in 15 minutes.
Wake County Commissioner Joe Bryan points to efforts in the works that are designed to improve the area’s transportation infrastructure, such as the Triangle Expressway toll road and a proposal in the General Assembly that would create funding for local transit expansion. And he points out that citizens have stepped up to the infrastructure plate in years past by approving bond issuances related to education, libraries and open space.
Robert Parten moved to the area from West Palm Beach, Fla., in late January. “The quality of life is better here, that’s for sure,” says Parten, who works in IT support at PortBridge Internet in Cary.
Sourced from: Triangle Business Journal June 12, 2009
As always, for any questions about your real estate needs, reach out to us.
We're here to help.
Chuck Hinton (919) 422-4841 (919) 469-6504
Cindy Leonard (919) 868-4661 (919) 469-6505
http://www.chuckandcindy.com/
Joe Lanier is no stranger to the Triangle. He grew up in Sanford and received undergraduate and law degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After law school, Lanier moved to the Washington, D.C., area, where he stayed for the next dozen years – starting both his career and a family. But he never forgot about his roots in the Triangle, which grew bigger and more sophisticated in his absence.
Last year, Lanier and his wife, Amy, decided that Raleigh’s mix of big-city opportunities and small-town Southern living was too good to pass up. They left Alexandria, Va., in December so he could take a job at the local office of the law firm SZD Wicker.
“To us, this is the best of both worlds,” says Lanier, who now lives with his wife and three young children in Raleigh.
Research conducted by Triangle Business Journal’s parent company shows that Lanier and his family will have a lot of new neighbors moving into the area over the next decade and a half. Using federal data, Charlotte-based American City Business Journals projects that the three-county Raleigh-Cary metro area will be the fastest growing metropolitan area in the country in the period that began in 2005 and ends in 2025.
During that period, ACBJ says, the Raleigh-Cary population will explode from 953,093, to almost 1.9 million – nearly a 100 percent increase, or a growth of 3.5 percent per year. Based on the ACBJ projections, Raleigh will rise from being the country’s 51st largest metro area to its 38th largest in 2025.
ACBJ projects that the second-fastest growing metro over that period will be Provo, Utah, followed by Fort Myers, Fla.; Ocala, Fla., and Austin, Texas. Other projected fast-growing North Carolina metros are Charlotte, No. 8 on the growth list with a projected 75 percent increase in its population, and Wilmington, at No. 18.
The four-county Durham metro is projected to increase its population by 32 percent, to 604,663, in 2025. That would make it the 62nd fastest growing area in the country.
All of those potential new residents have local leaders thinking hard about the infrastructure that will need to be added over the next two decades.
“We’re attempting to get ready ... we’re not ready yet,” says Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker. He says the most recent draft of the city’s comprehensive plan, which is updated every 20 years, focuses on encouraging developers and planners to build up – not out.
Meeker thinks that a key to combating sprawl is improving transit, both through additional bus service and the construction of a rail system. He wants to make sure the area can grow without choking on traffic.
That’s a problem that Lanier encountered in Alexandria. He says his eight-mile commute to work in the morning sometimes took as long as an hour. Lanier now can get to work in 15 minutes.
Wake County Commissioner Joe Bryan points to efforts in the works that are designed to improve the area’s transportation infrastructure, such as the Triangle Expressway toll road and a proposal in the General Assembly that would create funding for local transit expansion. And he points out that citizens have stepped up to the infrastructure plate in years past by approving bond issuances related to education, libraries and open space.
Robert Parten moved to the area from West Palm Beach, Fla., in late January. “The quality of life is better here, that’s for sure,” says Parten, who works in IT support at PortBridge Internet in Cary.
Sourced from: Triangle Business Journal June 12, 2009
As always, for any questions about your real estate needs, reach out to us.
We're here to help.
Chuck Hinton (919) 422-4841 (919) 469-6504
Cindy Leonard (919) 868-4661 (919) 469-6505
http://www.chuckandcindy.com/
Friday, June 12, 2009
A New York Times Writer Spends 36 Hours in RTP...
Tell North Carolinians you’re heading to the Research Triangle, and they’ll probably ask “Which school are you visiting?” Yet the close-knit cities of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill are marked by more than college bars and hoops fans. Visitors not bound for Duke, the University of North Carolina or North Carolina State come to see buzz-worthy bands, dine on food from farm-worshiping chefs and explore outdoor art. From its biscuits to its boutiques, the Triangle occupies a happy place between slow-paced Southern charm and urban cool.
Friday
3 p.m.
1) ART INSIDE OUT
Anyone who has visited the Met or the Getty might scoff at the relatively succinct collection at the North Carolina Museum of Art (2110 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh; 919-839-6262; www.ncartmuseum.org). But the lack of tour bus crowds means unfettered access to the Old Masters and contemporary heavyweights like Anselm Kiefer. The real treat is the adjacent Museum Park, more than 164 acres of open fields and woodlands punctuated by environmental art like Cloud Chamber, a stone hut that acts as a camera obscura, with a small hole in the roof projecting inverted, otherworldly images of slowly swaying trees on the floor and walls.
5 p.m.
2) TOWER OF BAUBLE
There’s no pigeonholing the eclectic wares in this four-story indie minimall collectively known as Father & Son Antiques (107 West Hargett Street, Raleigh; 919-832-3030), and including Southern Swank and 2nd Floor Vintage. The organizing principle, if there is one, might be high design meets kitschy Americana, as the intermingling of vintage disco dresses ($18), Mexican wrestling masks ($20) and Eames aluminum group chairs ($250 to $500) attests.
7 p.m.
3) UPSCALE DINER
Memorable meals are easy to come by in the Triangle owing to its high concentration of accomplished, produce-fondling chefs like Ashley Christensen. She left one of the area’s top kitchens to open Poole’s Downtown Diner (426 South McDowell Street, Raleigh; 919-832-4477; www.poolesdowntowndiner.com) in a space that began as a 1940s pie shop. Diners sitting in the bright-red booths dig into Christensen’s low-pretense, high-flavor dishes, like a starter of lovably sloppy fried green tomatoes crowned with local pork smoked over cherry wood ($11), and the Royale ($13), an almost spherical hunk of ground-in-house chuck roll seared in duck fat, topped with cheese and perched on a slice of grilled brioche.
10 p.m.
4) CHEERS TO THE CHIEF
For most bars, a popular politician’s visit would be a game-changing boon. But the Raleigh Times Bar (14 East Hargett Street, Raleigh; 919-833-0999; www.raleightimesbar.com) was packed well before Barack Obama showed up the day of the state’s Democratic primary. The owner, Greg Hatem, painstakingly restored the century-old building that once housed its namesake newspaper and decorated the walls with old newspaper clippings, paperboy bags and other artifacts from the defunct daily. Mr. Obama bought a $2 Pabst Blue Ribbon (and left an $18 tip), but anyone not campaigning might choose one of the more than 100 other beers ($1 to $68), including esoteric Belgians and local brews you won’t find elsewhere.
Saturday
10:30 a.m.
5) ECO JUNK
The Scrap Exchange (548 Foster Street, Durham; 919-688-6960; www.scrapexchange.org) is a “nonprofit creative reuse center” specializing in industrial discards or, for those not versed in eco-jargon, a bazaar of modestly priced former junk donated by Carolinians and scavenged from local businesses that include a hosiery mill, a zipper factory and a parachute plant. Even if you’re not one of the giddy artists, teachers or theater producers who comb for utilitarian treasures, plan to spend at least an hour rummaging in a cool-struck trance through test tubes (20 cents to $1), empty fire extinguishers ($3 to $5) and swaths of double-knit polyester ($1 a yard).
Noon
6) TACO TIME
Anyone not on a hunt for serious Mexican food might drive past Taqueria La Vaquita (2700 Chapel Hill Road, Durham; 919-402-0209; www.lavaquitanc.com), an unassuming freestanding structure with a plastic cow on its roof, just five minutes from Duke’s campus. But if you did, you’d miss tacos ($2.19) made with house-made corn tortillas, uncommonly delicate discs topped with exceptional barbacoa de res (slow-cooked beef) or carnitas (braised-then-fried pork) that you eat at one of the picnic tables out front.
2 p.m.
7) RIVER WALK
One of the Triangle’s charms is that its urban trappings are so easy to escape. A 10-mile drive from downtown Durham brings you to Eno River State Park (6101 Cole Mill Road, Durham; 919-383-1686; www.ncparks.gov). Its trails pass through swaying pines and follow the river past patches of delicate purple-and-yellow wildflowers and turtles sunning themselves on low branches in the water.
5 p.m.
8) GOING WHOLE HOG
Small towns and back roads, not cities, have a monopoly on great barbecue. What makes the Pit (328 West Davie Street, Raleigh; 919-890-4500; www.thepit-raleigh.com) a striking exception is Ed Mitchell, the legendary master of the eastern North Carolina art form of whole hog cooking. Now instead of trekking 100 miles to porcine meccas like Ayden and Lexington, you can dig into pilgrimage-worthy chopped or pulled pork — made from pigs purchased from family farms and cooked for 10 to 14 hours over coals and hickory or oak — just a short stroll from the Capitol Building. A chopped barbecued pork plate with two sides and greaseless hush puppies costs $12.
7 p.m.
9) ROOT FOR THE HOME TEAM
The Triangle is college basketball country, home to two of the winningest teams and some of the most rabid fans in N.C.A.A. history. But soon after the madness of March, the more tranquil local baseball fans stream into the Durham Bulls Athletic Park (409 Blackwell Street, Durham; 919-687-6500; www.dbulls.com). The Bulls, founded in 1902 as the Tobacconists, recently became the Tampa Bay Rays’ AAA affiliate. The major league-quality play comes at minor league prices ($7 to $9 a ticket).
10 p.m.
10) BIG BANDS
Nirvana played at the Cat’s Cradle (300 East Main Street, Carrboro; 919-967-9053; www.catscradle.com) for the first time in pre-“Nevermind” 1990 to about 100 people. A year later Pearl Jam played to three times as many, filling just half the standing-room-only space. This summer the Cradle, just a mile from downtown Chapel Hill, hosts acts like Akron/Family and Camera Obscura that probably won’t be playing for such small crowds for long. Ticket prices vary but $15 is about average.
Sunday
10 a.m.
11) DRIVE-THRU BISCUITS
There are several places in Chapel Hill that serve a distinguished Southern breakfast. Diners linger over gravy-smothered pork chops and eggs at Mama Dip’s (408 West Rosemary Street; 919-942-5837; www.mamadips.com) and peerless shrimp and grits at Crook’s Corner (610 West Franklin Street; 919-929-7643; www.crookscorner.com). But for a morning meal on the go that’s equally unforgettable, roll up to the drive-through-only Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen (1305 East Franklin Street; 919-933-1324), where the iced tea is tooth-achingly sweet and the main course is fluffy, buttery and filled with salty country ham ($2.02) or crisp fried chicken ($3.40).
THE BASICS
Several airlines offer flights between the New York area airports and Raleigh-Durham International Airport for as low as $150, according to a recent online search. Durham, Raleigh and Chapel Hill are 20 to 40 minutes apart from one another and public transportation is infrequent, so if you’re planning to visit at least two points on the Triangle, you should rent a car.
The 150-room Umstead Hotel and Spa (100 Woodland Pond, Cary; 866-877-4141; www.theumstead.com), about 15 minutes from downtown Raleigh, has a pool, an elegant adjoining restaurant called Herons and an on-premises spa that offers massages and facial treatments. Doubles are $249 to $399 (there’s often a two-night minimum).
Whether you stay in one of the seven impeccable rooms, garden cottage (complete with a porch swing) or 1700s-style log cabin at Arrowhead Inn (106 Mason Road; 919-477-8430; www.arrowheadinn.com), 10 miles from downtown Durham, you’ll enjoy imaginative breakfasts made by a co-owner, Phil Teber, and have access to six acres of manicured lawns, gardens and magnolia trees. Weekend rates start at $150 for a room with a fireplace and double bed and reach $325 for the Carolina Log Cabin.
The Carolina Inn (211 Pittsboro Street, Chapel Hill; 800-962-8519; www.carolinainn.com) is not your typical on-campus hotel. In-room massages, dry cleaning service and a lobby whose Southern grandeur extends to the hotel’s 184 rooms make it much more than just convenient lodging for parents visiting the University of North Carolina. Rates start at $168.
Source: New York Times
Friday
3 p.m.
1) ART INSIDE OUT
Anyone who has visited the Met or the Getty might scoff at the relatively succinct collection at the North Carolina Museum of Art (2110 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh; 919-839-6262; www.ncartmuseum.org). But the lack of tour bus crowds means unfettered access to the Old Masters and contemporary heavyweights like Anselm Kiefer. The real treat is the adjacent Museum Park, more than 164 acres of open fields and woodlands punctuated by environmental art like Cloud Chamber, a stone hut that acts as a camera obscura, with a small hole in the roof projecting inverted, otherworldly images of slowly swaying trees on the floor and walls.
5 p.m.
2) TOWER OF BAUBLE
There’s no pigeonholing the eclectic wares in this four-story indie minimall collectively known as Father & Son Antiques (107 West Hargett Street, Raleigh; 919-832-3030), and including Southern Swank and 2nd Floor Vintage. The organizing principle, if there is one, might be high design meets kitschy Americana, as the intermingling of vintage disco dresses ($18), Mexican wrestling masks ($20) and Eames aluminum group chairs ($250 to $500) attests.
7 p.m.
3) UPSCALE DINER
Memorable meals are easy to come by in the Triangle owing to its high concentration of accomplished, produce-fondling chefs like Ashley Christensen. She left one of the area’s top kitchens to open Poole’s Downtown Diner (426 South McDowell Street, Raleigh; 919-832-4477; www.poolesdowntowndiner.com) in a space that began as a 1940s pie shop. Diners sitting in the bright-red booths dig into Christensen’s low-pretense, high-flavor dishes, like a starter of lovably sloppy fried green tomatoes crowned with local pork smoked over cherry wood ($11), and the Royale ($13), an almost spherical hunk of ground-in-house chuck roll seared in duck fat, topped with cheese and perched on a slice of grilled brioche.
10 p.m.
4) CHEERS TO THE CHIEF
For most bars, a popular politician’s visit would be a game-changing boon. But the Raleigh Times Bar (14 East Hargett Street, Raleigh; 919-833-0999; www.raleightimesbar.com) was packed well before Barack Obama showed up the day of the state’s Democratic primary. The owner, Greg Hatem, painstakingly restored the century-old building that once housed its namesake newspaper and decorated the walls with old newspaper clippings, paperboy bags and other artifacts from the defunct daily. Mr. Obama bought a $2 Pabst Blue Ribbon (and left an $18 tip), but anyone not campaigning might choose one of the more than 100 other beers ($1 to $68), including esoteric Belgians and local brews you won’t find elsewhere.
Saturday
10:30 a.m.
5) ECO JUNK
The Scrap Exchange (548 Foster Street, Durham; 919-688-6960; www.scrapexchange.org) is a “nonprofit creative reuse center” specializing in industrial discards or, for those not versed in eco-jargon, a bazaar of modestly priced former junk donated by Carolinians and scavenged from local businesses that include a hosiery mill, a zipper factory and a parachute plant. Even if you’re not one of the giddy artists, teachers or theater producers who comb for utilitarian treasures, plan to spend at least an hour rummaging in a cool-struck trance through test tubes (20 cents to $1), empty fire extinguishers ($3 to $5) and swaths of double-knit polyester ($1 a yard).
Noon
6) TACO TIME
Anyone not on a hunt for serious Mexican food might drive past Taqueria La Vaquita (2700 Chapel Hill Road, Durham; 919-402-0209; www.lavaquitanc.com), an unassuming freestanding structure with a plastic cow on its roof, just five minutes from Duke’s campus. But if you did, you’d miss tacos ($2.19) made with house-made corn tortillas, uncommonly delicate discs topped with exceptional barbacoa de res (slow-cooked beef) or carnitas (braised-then-fried pork) that you eat at one of the picnic tables out front.
2 p.m.
7) RIVER WALK
One of the Triangle’s charms is that its urban trappings are so easy to escape. A 10-mile drive from downtown Durham brings you to Eno River State Park (6101 Cole Mill Road, Durham; 919-383-1686; www.ncparks.gov). Its trails pass through swaying pines and follow the river past patches of delicate purple-and-yellow wildflowers and turtles sunning themselves on low branches in the water.
5 p.m.
8) GOING WHOLE HOG
Small towns and back roads, not cities, have a monopoly on great barbecue. What makes the Pit (328 West Davie Street, Raleigh; 919-890-4500; www.thepit-raleigh.com) a striking exception is Ed Mitchell, the legendary master of the eastern North Carolina art form of whole hog cooking. Now instead of trekking 100 miles to porcine meccas like Ayden and Lexington, you can dig into pilgrimage-worthy chopped or pulled pork — made from pigs purchased from family farms and cooked for 10 to 14 hours over coals and hickory or oak — just a short stroll from the Capitol Building. A chopped barbecued pork plate with two sides and greaseless hush puppies costs $12.
7 p.m.
9) ROOT FOR THE HOME TEAM
The Triangle is college basketball country, home to two of the winningest teams and some of the most rabid fans in N.C.A.A. history. But soon after the madness of March, the more tranquil local baseball fans stream into the Durham Bulls Athletic Park (409 Blackwell Street, Durham; 919-687-6500; www.dbulls.com). The Bulls, founded in 1902 as the Tobacconists, recently became the Tampa Bay Rays’ AAA affiliate. The major league-quality play comes at minor league prices ($7 to $9 a ticket).
10 p.m.
10) BIG BANDS
Nirvana played at the Cat’s Cradle (300 East Main Street, Carrboro; 919-967-9053; www.catscradle.com) for the first time in pre-“Nevermind” 1990 to about 100 people. A year later Pearl Jam played to three times as many, filling just half the standing-room-only space. This summer the Cradle, just a mile from downtown Chapel Hill, hosts acts like Akron/Family and Camera Obscura that probably won’t be playing for such small crowds for long. Ticket prices vary but $15 is about average.
Sunday
10 a.m.
11) DRIVE-THRU BISCUITS
There are several places in Chapel Hill that serve a distinguished Southern breakfast. Diners linger over gravy-smothered pork chops and eggs at Mama Dip’s (408 West Rosemary Street; 919-942-5837; www.mamadips.com) and peerless shrimp and grits at Crook’s Corner (610 West Franklin Street; 919-929-7643; www.crookscorner.com). But for a morning meal on the go that’s equally unforgettable, roll up to the drive-through-only Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen (1305 East Franklin Street; 919-933-1324), where the iced tea is tooth-achingly sweet and the main course is fluffy, buttery and filled with salty country ham ($2.02) or crisp fried chicken ($3.40).
THE BASICS
Several airlines offer flights between the New York area airports and Raleigh-Durham International Airport for as low as $150, according to a recent online search. Durham, Raleigh and Chapel Hill are 20 to 40 minutes apart from one another and public transportation is infrequent, so if you’re planning to visit at least two points on the Triangle, you should rent a car.
The 150-room Umstead Hotel and Spa (100 Woodland Pond, Cary; 866-877-4141; www.theumstead.com), about 15 minutes from downtown Raleigh, has a pool, an elegant adjoining restaurant called Herons and an on-premises spa that offers massages and facial treatments. Doubles are $249 to $399 (there’s often a two-night minimum).
Whether you stay in one of the seven impeccable rooms, garden cottage (complete with a porch swing) or 1700s-style log cabin at Arrowhead Inn (106 Mason Road; 919-477-8430; www.arrowheadinn.com), 10 miles from downtown Durham, you’ll enjoy imaginative breakfasts made by a co-owner, Phil Teber, and have access to six acres of manicured lawns, gardens and magnolia trees. Weekend rates start at $150 for a room with a fireplace and double bed and reach $325 for the Carolina Log Cabin.
The Carolina Inn (211 Pittsboro Street, Chapel Hill; 800-962-8519; www.carolinainn.com) is not your typical on-campus hotel. In-room massages, dry cleaning service and a lobby whose Southern grandeur extends to the hotel’s 184 rooms make it much more than just convenient lodging for parents visiting the University of North Carolina. Rates start at $168.
Source: New York Times
Friday, May 29, 2009
Raleigh Ranks #1 for Relocation!
The below is a recent Forbes magazine article and it shares that Raleigh ranks #1 for cities where people are relocating!
Ten Cities Where Americans Are Relocating
Unemployment is on the rise, credit is tight, and consumers aren't spending--which means they aren't picking up and moving much either. Very few places in America saw significant population growth in 2008.
But the buzzing metropolitan area of Denver bucked that trend. Its population increased by 2.17% in 2008. In 2007, it increased by 2.09%. In 2008, Denver was the 10th-fastest growing metro area in the U.S.
What's Denver got that other places don't?
In Depth: 10 Cities Where Americans Are Relocating
For one, according to an October 2008 survey conducted by Pew Research Center, Denver is the most popular city in America. People like it for its skiing, culture and vibrant nightlife, as well as its business opportunities. As of January 2009, the metro area's unemployment rate was 6.5%. That's high, but still two percentage points below the national average of 8.5% for the same month.
Despite the overall economic slowdown, some parts of the country keep on moving ahead, attracting more and more newcomers--even if it's at a slower pace than in more sound economic times. These places still offer a semblance of stability, as well as great weather, cultural life and, in many cases, affordability.
Behind the Numbers
To determine the fastest-growing metro areas in the country, we used 2008 population estimates for metropolitan statistical areas with a population over 1 million, released March 19, 2009, by the U.S. Census Bureau. MSAs are geographic entities defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for use by federal agencies in collecting, tabulating and publishing federal statistics.
We then compared the 2008 population estimates to the previous year's data to see which areas had grown the most, percentage-wise.
Nine places fared even better than Denver, though they share similar qualities: more business opportunities, better weather and more affordable housing. The top three areas according to the data are Raleigh, N.C., ranking first, which jumped 4.29% to nearly 1.9 million; Austin, Texas, which came in second, with a 3.77% increase to almost 1.7 million; and Charlotte, N.C., which moved up 3.36% to 1.7 million.
All these areas' increases were smaller in 2008 than they were in 2007, (Raleigh increased by 4.7% in 2007, Austin by 4.29% and Charlotte by 4.2%), but a slight slowdown is not necessarily a bad thing, according to William Frey, Ph.D., a demographer at the Brookings Institute, an independent research and policy group based in Washington, D.C. "Part of the story here is the rapid rise in growth in the middle of decade," says Frey. "That growth was unnatural."
The in-migration that happened in the middle of this decade certainly had a lot to do with the housing boom. When that went bust, so did those crazy population balloons. But these particular places are still growing because instead of building an economy that relies heavily on one industry (in Las Vegas, it's hospitality; in New York, it's finance), most of the metro areas on our list serve as headquarters for a diverse range of companies.
For example, Austin's biggest employers include University of Texas, Advanced Micro Devices and Dell . That wide range might have something to do with the area's relatively low January 2009 unemployment rate of 6.4%.
This is the opposite of what happened in true housing boom-and-bust towns like Las Vegas. In 2004, Vegas--a foreclosure mecca--saw a population increase of 4.6%, followed by 3.66% in 2005, 3.98% in 2006 and 3.22% in 2007. In 2008, that number fell to 2%.
The Power of Business
When it comes down to it, a buzzing business community is a metro area's most important characteristic, says Sean C. Safford, a professor at the University of Chicago and author of Why the Garden Club Couldn't Save Youngstown: The Transformation of the Rust Belt. He studies the social economics of U.S. cities and metro areas.
"Perception is driven by the vibrancy of the companies in an area," he says.
However, that doesn't mean that these metros won't suffer from a slowdown in population when 2009's numbers are released next year. Charlotte, for example, reported a 10.5% unemployment rate for January 2009, likely related to the fact that Bank of America is headquartered there. That high unemployment rate almost guarantees stunted growth in 2009.
"We don't quite yet know what the impact [of the ongoing recession] will be for 2009 populations," says Frey. "But we do know it's not going to get any better."
Indeed, where Americans are relocating today has little to do with where they'll be moving tomorrow.
(Source: Forbes)
Ten Cities Where Americans Are Relocating
Unemployment is on the rise, credit is tight, and consumers aren't spending--which means they aren't picking up and moving much either. Very few places in America saw significant population growth in 2008.
But the buzzing metropolitan area of Denver bucked that trend. Its population increased by 2.17% in 2008. In 2007, it increased by 2.09%. In 2008, Denver was the 10th-fastest growing metro area in the U.S.
What's Denver got that other places don't?
In Depth: 10 Cities Where Americans Are Relocating
For one, according to an October 2008 survey conducted by Pew Research Center, Denver is the most popular city in America. People like it for its skiing, culture and vibrant nightlife, as well as its business opportunities. As of January 2009, the metro area's unemployment rate was 6.5%. That's high, but still two percentage points below the national average of 8.5% for the same month.
Despite the overall economic slowdown, some parts of the country keep on moving ahead, attracting more and more newcomers--even if it's at a slower pace than in more sound economic times. These places still offer a semblance of stability, as well as great weather, cultural life and, in many cases, affordability.
Behind the Numbers
To determine the fastest-growing metro areas in the country, we used 2008 population estimates for metropolitan statistical areas with a population over 1 million, released March 19, 2009, by the U.S. Census Bureau. MSAs are geographic entities defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for use by federal agencies in collecting, tabulating and publishing federal statistics.
We then compared the 2008 population estimates to the previous year's data to see which areas had grown the most, percentage-wise.
Nine places fared even better than Denver, though they share similar qualities: more business opportunities, better weather and more affordable housing. The top three areas according to the data are Raleigh, N.C., ranking first, which jumped 4.29% to nearly 1.9 million; Austin, Texas, which came in second, with a 3.77% increase to almost 1.7 million; and Charlotte, N.C., which moved up 3.36% to 1.7 million.
All these areas' increases were smaller in 2008 than they were in 2007, (Raleigh increased by 4.7% in 2007, Austin by 4.29% and Charlotte by 4.2%), but a slight slowdown is not necessarily a bad thing, according to William Frey, Ph.D., a demographer at the Brookings Institute, an independent research and policy group based in Washington, D.C. "Part of the story here is the rapid rise in growth in the middle of decade," says Frey. "That growth was unnatural."
The in-migration that happened in the middle of this decade certainly had a lot to do with the housing boom. When that went bust, so did those crazy population balloons. But these particular places are still growing because instead of building an economy that relies heavily on one industry (in Las Vegas, it's hospitality; in New York, it's finance), most of the metro areas on our list serve as headquarters for a diverse range of companies.
For example, Austin's biggest employers include University of Texas, Advanced Micro Devices and Dell . That wide range might have something to do with the area's relatively low January 2009 unemployment rate of 6.4%.
This is the opposite of what happened in true housing boom-and-bust towns like Las Vegas. In 2004, Vegas--a foreclosure mecca--saw a population increase of 4.6%, followed by 3.66% in 2005, 3.98% in 2006 and 3.22% in 2007. In 2008, that number fell to 2%.
The Power of Business
When it comes down to it, a buzzing business community is a metro area's most important characteristic, says Sean C. Safford, a professor at the University of Chicago and author of Why the Garden Club Couldn't Save Youngstown: The Transformation of the Rust Belt. He studies the social economics of U.S. cities and metro areas.
"Perception is driven by the vibrancy of the companies in an area," he says.
However, that doesn't mean that these metros won't suffer from a slowdown in population when 2009's numbers are released next year. Charlotte, for example, reported a 10.5% unemployment rate for January 2009, likely related to the fact that Bank of America is headquartered there. That high unemployment rate almost guarantees stunted growth in 2009.
"We don't quite yet know what the impact [of the ongoing recession] will be for 2009 populations," says Frey. "But we do know it's not going to get any better."
Indeed, where Americans are relocating today has little to do with where they'll be moving tomorrow.
(Source: Forbes)
For your real estate needs, put your trust in our experience.
Chuck & Cindy
Chuck Hinton (919) 422-4841 - (919) 469-6504
Cindy Leonard (919) 868-4661 - (919) 469-6505
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
It's Time To Buy!
Because of the job growth in our local market, a growing and well-educated population and lots of first-time
homebuyers, Today Show contributor Barbara Corcoran ranks Raleigh among the top five real estate markets on the rebound.
That's great news for the Triangle!
homebuyers, Today Show contributor Barbara Corcoran ranks Raleigh among the top five real estate markets on the rebound.
That's great news for the Triangle!
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Cool tips for your home from Chuck & Cindy!
With summer ahead, it is important to be as efficient as possible when it comes to maintaining home appliances.
COOL TIPS FOR THE FRIDGE!
You want to keep your refrigerator running smoothly, so that during the heat of the summer you have plenty of cool drinks ready to enjoy!
- Is your refrigerator door shutting tightly? To test it, close the refrigerator door on a dollar bill at various places along the door, and pull lightly. If you can pull the bill out, you may need to adjust your door or replace the gasket. Doing so will save energy, reduce your utility bill, and lengthen the life of the compressor.
- To keep your refrigerator operating efficiently and cooling properly, it is very important to clean the condenser coils at least twice a year. The purpose of these coils, which are generally located at the bottom of the refrigerator (behind the kick plate), is to disperse heat from inside the refrigerator out into the room with the aid of a fan.
- To clean the coils, first unplug the refrigerator or turn off it's circuit breaker. Next, remove the cover panel beneath the door to reveal the coils. With a long, narrow nozzle on your vacuum, clean out all of the dust and debris. You can also buy a special long-handled brush that looks somewhat like a bottlebrush for this job. The last step is to replace the cover, and restore the electricity. Remember, cleaning the condenser coils at least twice a year is the best way to lengthen the life of your refrigerator.
Stayed tuned for more cool tips!
Chuck & Cindy
Chuck Hinton (919) 469-6504 (919) 422-4841
Cindy Leonard (919) 469-6505 (919) 868-4661
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Protect Your Home This Summer
With summer around the corner, it's a good idea to brainstorm on how to keep your home safe while you are away. Below are some helpful ideas to reduce the liklihood of invasion by an unwelcomed party.
- Inform a trusted neighbor that you are leaving town
- For longer vacations, notify your newspaper and mail carrier that you will be away for an extended period of time
- Make arrangments for someone else to keep up with landscaping so that the physical appearance is not a hint to those eyeing your home
- Inform your alarm company that you are going on vacation.
- Turn the volume of the ringers down on home phones so that if anyone approaches your home, they do not hear unanswered calls. Avoid leaving messages on your answering machine notifying people you are away.
- Enable automatic timers for lights throughout your home.
- Leave a car in the driveway or ask a neighbor to park theirs in your driveway temporarily to give the illusion someone is home.
- Double-check locks on all doors, windows and fences.
- Leave blinds and curtains open as if you were home.
- On the day of departure, try and make this as least noticeable as possible so as to not draw attention.
- Prepare for the worst by taking inventory of valuable possessions.
For more information on our services and how we can help you, please visit ChuckandCindy.com
Chuck Hinton (919) 422-4841
Cindy Leonard (919) 868-4661
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Raleigh Ranks #1 - Forbes' Best Places For Business And Careers
In a recent article, Forbes ranks Raleigh, NC for the third year in a row as the Best Place for Business and Careers. This ranking can be atributed to Raleigh's strong job growth, low business costs and a highly educated workforce.
To see the full article, click here.
For a break down of other rankings regarding Raleigh, click here.
Source: www.Forbes.com
Chuck & Cindy
Chuck Hinton (919) 422-4841
Cindy Leonard (919) 868-4661
http://www.chuckandcindy.com/
To see the full article, click here.
For a break down of other rankings regarding Raleigh, click here.
Source: www.Forbes.com
Chuck & Cindy
Chuck Hinton (919) 422-4841
Cindy Leonard (919) 868-4661
http://www.chuckandcindy.com/
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Cary/Raleigh Rank #1 In Growth Nationwide!
The Raleigh-Metro area is the fastest growing city in the US!
This news come straight from Federal statistics and is very encouraging for those living in the area as well as those who are considering moving this way. The growth has been undeniable over the years regarding jobs and new home development.
These new statistics are reassuring in this tough economy.
As stated in the article:
This news come straight from Federal statistics and is very encouraging for those living in the area as well as those who are considering moving this way. The growth has been undeniable over the years regarding jobs and new home development.
These new statistics are reassuring in this tough economy.
As stated in the article:
The combined population of North Carolina's capital city and its family-friendly suburb of Cary increased to 1.1 million people between July 2007 and July 2008, a 4.3 percent jump, according to the U.S. Census Bureau data.
Local government leaders in Raleigh and Cary attribute the growth to top hospitals, universities and Research Triangle Park, a sprawling business complex with more than 170 research and development companies and more than 50,000 employees.
With 11 of the 100 fastest-growing counties nationwide being in North Carolina, it is predicted that Raleigh and Cary will fare better during the downed economy than other parts of the country.
Source: www.Wral.com
For more information or for help with your real estate needs, please feel free to reach out to us.
Chuck Hinton (919) 422-4841
Cindy Leonard (919) 868-4661
Friday, February 13, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
7 Things You Need to Know About Refinancing Your Home
With mortgage rates at an all time low, it's understandable you may be looking into refinancing your home. Below are 7 key factors to consider before doing so.
1. Percentage point break: Despite the attractive rates, homeowners will have to thoroughly analyze their financial position before determining whether or not now is the time to refinance. A good rule of thumb, however, is if your mortgage rate is a full percentage point or more higher than current rates, you should consider refinancing, says Orawin Velz of the Mortgage Bankers Association. "If your rate is about 6 percent currently, then it is a good time to think about it," Velz says. (Keep in mind that anyone trying to refinance a so-called "jumbo loan"--one that's too large for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase--will face sharply higher rates, says Keith Gumbinger of HSH Associates.) The transaction fees lenders charge are another major consideration. Higher fees, of course, eat into the potential savings of a reduced mortgage rate. So the lower the fees, the better. "The fees that you should be paying need to be low enough so that you can recoup your money through the break in the interest rate in a reasonable period of time--usually under four years," Gumbinger says. (More on fees below.)
2. Half rejected: Although more Americans are looking to refinance, a significant chunk of applications won't be approved. In the first half of 2008, roughly 60 percent of refinancing applications were turned into loans, Velz says. "But because of the intensified turmoil in the second half of the year and continued decline in home prices, we believe that the rate has probably declined to [about 50 percent.]" In order to qualify for refinancing, homeowners will need to meet certain specific criteria.
3. FICO 740: While 720 is still considered by some to be a solid FICO score, it's not good enough to obtain the best rates in today's refinancing market, says Chris Freemott, president of All American Mortgage in Naperville, Ill. Instead, borrowers will need a FICO score of at least 740. "FICOs are everything," Freemott says. "[A FICO score of] 740 is the benchmark for the lowest possible rates." Borrowers that don't have this score can still refinance, but they're likely to face higher rates.
4. Equity and documentation: Home equity can be another significant barrier to refinancing today. The real estate crash has sucked a great deal of equity out of homes. Zillow says roughly one in seven American homeowners actually have negative equity—meaning they owe more on their mortgage than their property is worth. In order to qualify for refinancing, homeowners will have to have a minimum of 3 percent equity in their homes, Velz says. In addition to solid credit and home equity, borrowers will also need to be able to document their income in order to qualify for refinancing.
5. Fee paying options: Fees associated with mortgage refinancing vary widely from market to market and borrower to borrower. But on average, a $200,000 refinancing loan may come with up to $6,000 in fees, Gumbinger says. Borrowers have three main options for paying such fees. Those with enough cash may want to just pay the fees up front. Borrowers with less cash on hand may be able to opt for a higher interest rate instead of paying the fees. A third possibility is to have the fees tacked on to the principal of the mortgage, Gumbinger says. The key is to chat with your mortgage lender about structuring the fee payment so that it makes the most economic sense for you. "I've been doing this for 11 years now and… I've never written the same loan twice," Freemott says. "Everyone has a little difference to their situation."
6. Shop around: Given tougher lending standards and falling home prices, homeowners--especially those without perfect credit profiles--may have to get used to hearing the word no. But just because one lender turns you down doesn't mean you can't find another who's willing to refinance your mortgage. "Two or three years ago, lenders were crawling through the doors and windows to serve you," Gumbinger says. "We're 180 degrees out from there right now. You have to go find the lenders." So shop around. Research rates online, call up different lenders, and find out who's willing to offer you the best deal.
7. Be patient: The wave of refinancing applications comes amid a period of significant downsizing in the lending industry. That means there are fewer employees on hand to handle the surge in business. As a result, expect slow service. "The time to even find out whether your loan has been approved or not could run 30 days," says Mark Hanson, a managing director who handles real estate and finance research at the Field Check Group.
Source: Yahoo Real Estate
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)