The way to get things back on track!!

When Did Americans Start Playing It Safe?

by Steve Harney on August 2, 2011 ·   There seems to be a paralysis in America right now. Companies are afraid to hire even though they are sitting on hordes of cash. Politicians are afraid to show leadership on certain issues as it may cost them the next election. People are afraid to move forward with a purchase of a home because they are afraid a better buy will appear next week. Everyone wants to PLAY IT SAFE.

Playing it safe did not make this country what it is today. If General Washington played it safe, we would still be talking with a British accent. If Dr. King played it safe, he would have told us about a plan he had not that he had a dream. If Disney played it safe, there would be no Disneyworld.

If my pop played it safe, he would have kept us in an apartment in the Bronx and not moved us 50 miles east into our own home with our own backyard on Long Island. However, he didn’t play it safe. Was he nervous about the financial responsibilities that came with buying his first home? Of course he was. But he loved his family so much he didn’t allow fear to paralyze him. He conquered his fear and did what he knew was the right thing to do. If he were alive today, I’d hug him right now.
Companies, politicians and the American people have to get back to dreaming and doing the right thing. This country has always been a place where, if you work hard, your
kcmblog.com

Homeownership still the best option

Homeownership: Still the American Dream

by The KCM Crew on August 16, 2011 · 12 comments

in For Buyers,For Sellers

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• Yesterday, Fannie Mae released their National Housing Survey for the second quarter of 2011. They survey the American public on a multitude of questions concerning today’s housing market. Each quarter, we like to pull out some of the findings we deem most interesting. Here they are for the most recent report:

Most Important Reasons to Buy a Home

When we talk about homeownership today, it seems that the financial aspects always jump to the front of the discussion. However, the study shows that the four major reasons a person buys a home have nothing to do with money. The top four reasons, in order, are:

• It means having a good place to raise children and provide them with a good education
• You have a physical structure where you and your family feel safe
• It allows you to have more space for your family
• It gives you control of what you do with your living space (renovations and updates)

The Home as an Investment

Though most people purchase a home for non-financial reasons, everyone realizes there is a money component to homeownership. Here is what they said on this issue:

• 65% of the general population (and 67% of homeowners) believe that homeownership is a ‘safe’ investment.
• 56% believe that homeownership has more potential as an investment than any other traditional asset class.
• 69% think that now is a good time to buy a home (this number has increased in each of the last two quarters)

Rent vs. Buy

We are always interested in the difference people see in renting vs. owning.

• 63% of renters have aspirations to someday own their own home
• 72% of renters think that owning is superior to renting
• 95% of homeowners see homeownership as a positive experience (4% see it as a negative experience) while 82% of renters see renting as a positive experience (17% see it as a negative experience)
• 96% of homeowners live in a single family residence while 46% of renters live in a multi-unit building

Bottom Line

Even in difficult times, Americans still realize the value of homeownership.
Article credited to kcmblog.com

Light at the end of the tunnel

The latest S&P Shadow Inventory Report shows that the months of shadow inventory already is decreasing. The report explains that the number of families falling 90 days behind on their mortgages has decreased dramatically. That means that as we clear these distressed properties there will be much less of a backfill. The end to the housing crisis is finally within sight.
Article credited to kcmblog.com

Set yourself apart from the PACK!

Nobody wants ordinary.
There’s an abundance of that.
The line that separates ordinary from extraordinary is small, but the impact is large…..and the return for the small investment of time, effort, and creativity to get from one to the other is priceless.

Creditibilty (hard to establish and easy you ruin)

There’s a reason why not everyone is doing this – successfully.
It isn’t easy!
It takes dedication.
And it takes attention to detail.
Every detail – not just a few.
Because the one detail you miss will be the detail that exposes your weakness.
Especially if it’s your “claim to fame”.

Seth Godin says that “All Marketers Are Liars”I (unfortunately) respectfully agree with him….
“Service is our top priority” – (the voice mail picks up the phone).
“We market luxury property” – (the photography is taken with a cell phone camera).
“Our website is the industries best” – (it takes forever to load).
“We believe in transparency” – (but keep some things to ourselves).
“We are global” – (we have never left town).
Credibility is earned over time with consistent attention to detail.
It is easily lost with a broken promise.
Credit Shaun Osher (CORE Realty)

Tour of Homes

  The Winston-Salem Junior League Tour of Homes was a huge success. Thanks to everyone who came out to my entry, we had a large crowd. It was great meeting everyone and showing off my entry. Also thanks so much to Marybeth Barrett for heading this years tour. She did an amazing job. I look forward to contacting everyone who showed a interest in having my company be part of their future construction projects.

Is a deal always such a good deal

  When do we ever associate the cheapest price with the best quality. We all want to get the most for our hard earned dollars, but in the end isn't the quality the most important goal. It seems whenever I purchase something that seems to be just to good of a deal, it ends up costing me more in the long run. The article below really illustrates this point. 

Susan Stellin wrote an article in Sunday’s New York Times that is sure to rustle some feathers. The article discusses the commission model and negotiability of this (or not) in the current environment.
My feathers aren’t rustled, but I am certainly bewildered at the lack of collective insight about how this business and the expectation of clients has evolved, both by the Stellin, and by some of the people that she quotes.
My favorite: “At a certain price point, 6 percent just feels vulgar.”
Huh ?????
I am never nauseous when I pay top dollar at the Apple Store for an iPad or an iPod Touch. Apple’s seamless service and their product innovation is worth every penny – to me!
Sure, I might be able to get a similar product for cheaper, but that’s not the product or experience I’m interested in.
I am never upset when I pay FedEx to ship a package to me when I want it. Their reliability, their tracking mechanisms and their ease of use is worth every penny – to me!
Sure, I can use another carrier to ship it more inexpensively, but will I get the package, in one piece, on time, every time?
My money manager at the hedge fund charges me a higher fee than the online mass-market trader online. His knowledge, insight and the strategy I get, along with personal service, is worth every penny (and seen in my ROI).
It is DIFFICULT to find high-level service.
This takes time, effort, attention to detail, expertise and money in order to create it.
Companies who offer high level service are rare, but are usually worth every penny.
It is EASY to get things for cheap these days.
Anyone can deliver that! (And it seems that everyone is trying to).
Discount companies with mass-market appeal have their place.
But it isn’t always wise to be penny wise and pound-foolish.
When it comes to buying or selling a home, I would imagine that it is smarter to work with innovative experts who are knowledgeable and who deliver high touch service and results.
After all, a home is probably the largest purchase or sale you are going to deal with for a while.
Wouldn’t it be wise to use the best – not the cheapest?
I certainly think so!
Source for the article is Shaun Osher (CEO Realty Group).

Winston Salem Monthly Magazine

Pick up the March issue of Winston Salem Monthly. It is showcasing the homes that will be in this years Tour of Fine Homes on March 19th. It also has information regarding ticket purchases. For additional information please go to http://www.jlws.org/ or http://www.winstonsalemmonthly.com/

2011 Housing Info

The housing industry is poised to gain strength this year after coming off one of its worst years ever in 2010, economic forecasts and new data released Wednesday show.

One cause for optimism: Building permits for new single-family homes rose 5.5% last month, the third consecutive monthly increase and the strongest showing since March, the Commerce Department said.

That sets the stage for more home construction later this year as the economy improves, says Celia Chen, economist at Moody's Analytics.

"The trend is up," Chen says.

But it'll be a slow slog. The previous two years have been the worst on record for home builders in at least 50 years. Nationwide, home prices are down almost 30% from their 2006 peak. A new USA TODAY survey of 44 top economists finds that 48% say average home prices won't hit bottom until sometime this year, and 27% say it'll take longer.

The housing market recovery "will be two baby steps forward and one backward," says Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors.

The theme of slow improvement is likely to be repeated in December's existing home sales data, to be reported today. A small gain is expected over November, says IHS Global Insight economist Patrick Newport.

He also says that December's permit numbers indicate that housing construction "may be set to grow again." But some of December's jump may have been driven by builders trying to get permits ahead of 2011 building code changes in California, New York and Pennsylvania, the Commerce Department said.

Newport also cautions that home-building numbers "are still really awful." Housing starts, for example, fell 4.3% in December as cold weather and snow delayed construction. But Newport says other factors will continue to depress housing starts.

Those include low prices on foreclosed homes, which makes it hard for builders to turn profits on new homes, and tight financing for home builders and buyers. What's more, the recession sharply reduced the rate of household formation, which means that more families are doubling up in homes vs. each getting their own, Newport says.

Moody's doesn't see home construction getting back to more historically normal levels until at least 2012, Chen says. USA TODAY's economist survey indicates that 669,000 new home starts are likely this year, up 15% from 2010.

The key is job creation, says Lawrence Yun, chief economist with the National Association of Realtors. When more people are working, and earning higher incomes, home buying increases. IHS expects the economy to add 2.5 million jobs this year and 2.7 million next year.

"The (housing) market appears to have hit bottom, and now we're trying to get back to normal," Yun says.

Source for this arcticle is the USA Today.

Economic News

No one can really deny that the job market is really starting to kick in now.

This past week provided economists a very positive jobless claims report for the February 5 week. It showed a steep 36,000 decline in initial claims to 383,000 for the lowest total in 2-1/2 years.

The Labor Department -- which released the report -- suggested in their comments that the latest level is likely free of seasonal or weather related distortions.

The four-week average, which helps even out weekly distortions, fell a very substantial 16,000 to 415,500.

Adding further fuel to the positive jobs report was the news on Friday that the Reuter's/University of Michigan's Consumer sentiment index continues to improve and is approaching its mid-year 2010 recovery high.

The two positive reports added an exclamation point to a week that begin by showing retail sales numbers skyrocketing into February. Source for this information is The Good News Economist.

Tour of Fine Homes

For those planning on attending the Tour of Fine Homes on March 19th, we are going to have a  TWO wonderful drawings at our location. One will be for a gift basket and the other a 2 hour consultation with Quinn Pillsworth. He was the architect that was involved in drawing the plans for the house located at 172 River Hills. You will have the opportunity to work with him and pick his brain for that home project that you have in mind. The gift basket will be stocked with various services and products. Currently the value of the gift basket is around $700. I will update the items in the gift basket as we get closer to the March 19th date. All you have to do is put your contact information in the fish bowls that will be at the house. We will draw the winners after the tour ends around 5:00 pm and the winners will be contacted on March  21. Hope to see you all there. In addition to the drawings our food will be supplied by Floursh Catering. Just another incentive to come take a look and see what potential your house could have.

Junior League Tour Homes

The Winston-Salem Junior League has selected the remodel project that we completed last year (172 River Hills in Bermuda Run) to be on the flyer for the 2011 Tour of Homes. Thanks to all the people who put so much hardwork into this extreme makeover project. It was a huge success.

Bernanke and Fed: Recovery Gaining Traction

Bernanke and Fed: Recovery Gaining Traction