http://pittcountynow.com Thu, 9 Sep 2010 23:02:07 EDT http://pittcountynow.com/post/361/25/august-2010-the-new-reality.html http://pittcountynow.com/post/361/25/august-2010-the-new-reality.html The big story in August is that the national market is, in fact, stabilizing; but is doing so at historical lows (or either the short-lived, artificial recovery is petering out, but, at least for now, my fingers are crossed). Both the jobs and housing markets have rebounded, somewhat, from where they bottomed out in early 2009, but are still a long way down from the peak of prosperity--and perhaps that's a good thing. Our economy will have much more integrity if it finds success through hard wor... Read More]]> Fri, 6 Aug 2010 17:14:34 EDT http://pittcountynow.com/post/324/25/july-2010-a-before-and-after-of-the-beaufort-co-housing-market.html http://pittcountynow.com/post/324/25/july-2010-a-before-and-after-of-the-beaufort-co-housing-market.html For the July 2010 Market Report I decided to shift focus from the national real estate market to the local market. I zoomed-in on Beaufort County, divided the county by area, and took unique snapshots of market activity compiled for each area during the 22 months leading up to the Sept. 2008 market collapse, and the 22 months following it.

The data confirmed national trends. Nationally and locally, since the collapse, market volume has increased, the number of days a home sits on the market ha... Read More]]> Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:38:31 EDT http://pittcountynow.com/post/282/25/june-2010-a-good-buyer-is-hard-to-find.html http://pittcountynow.com/post/282/25/june-2010-a-good-buyer-is-hard-to-find.html For all those treading water, hoping to toe-touch a housing-market bottom, it may be better to embrace life as fish. The bottom is elusive, as are the ready, willing and able buyers it will take for the market to provide solid ground for folks to stand on their own feet again. The world economy is held fast, it seems, in a Catch-22 situation: The recession was caused and is being drawn out by the housing bust, and now the recession is expected to cause more downward pressure on home values.

Th... Read More]]> Wed, 16 Jun 2010 10:52:08 EDT http://pittcountynow.com/post/252/25/may-2010-tax-credit-expiration-removes-crutch.html http://pittcountynow.com/post/252/25/may-2010-tax-credit-expiration-removes-crutch.html As a real-estate broker, I am often approached with the question: Has the housing market hit bottom? Even though I want to present the housing market as stable so that I can sell houses, I have to answer, simply: No.

Home prices nationally fell 3.8 percent in the first quarter of 2010 from a year ago and 1 percent from the previous quarter, according to a new report from Zillow.com. After 30 months of straight declines in home prices since August 2006, the United States may be 6 percent underva... Read More]]> Mon, 17 May 2010 11:51:16 EDT http://pittcountynow.com/post/182/25/are-you-ready-to-buy.html http://pittcountynow.com/post/182/25/are-you-ready-to-buy.html There?s absolutely nothing wrong with not being able to buy a house. I am a Realtor and an advocate of home ownership, who is currently renting a home. Of course, I would love to build equity, feel the security of having title to my own piece of earth, or simply have a real interest in remodeling my kitchen, but I am financially unprepared for such a responsibility.

Instead I?m happily setting myself up to take on this responsibility by working hard, paying off debt, saving money and getting my... Read More]]> Mon, 8 Mar 2010 11:02:02 EST http://pittcountynow.com/post/181/25/what-to-do-before-listing-your-property.html http://pittcountynow.com/post/181/25/what-to-do-before-listing-your-property.html For many, selling property marks the end of an age. It’s a physical representation of the changing dynamics within your family, your relationship, or your career. A change of this magnitude isn’t easy. Leaving memories behind can be incredibly difficult. Take photographs, host a moving party, but before you put that For Sale sign in your yard, make sure you and your home have said your goodbyes.

It may sound harsh, but once it goes on the market, you are open for business and the c... Read More]]> Fri, 5 Mar 2010 14:05:08 EST http://pittcountynow.com/post/178/25/long-the-markets-right-now-get-ready-to-have-your-lunch-money-taken-for-the-next-50-years.html http://pittcountynow.com/post/178/25/long-the-markets-right-now-get-ready-to-have-your-lunch-money-taken-for-the-next-50-years.html Since the March 2009 lows in the major American indices (S&P 500, Dow, NASDAQ), it’s been a wild ride straight up as markets attempt to digest information and find a new equilibrium in the aftermath of the largest private sector debt bubble in history (not to metion the world wide public sector debt crisis set to take place within the next 5-10 years). Many investors are thoroughly convinced that we’ve found that equilibrium here in the 9,500- 10,700 range.

They are optimistic... Read More]]> Mon, 1 Mar 2010 13:38:52 EST http://pittcountynow.com/post/126/25/deflation-isn-t-such-a-bad-thing.html http://pittcountynow.com/post/126/25/deflation-isn-t-such-a-bad-thing.html Market "experts" and CNBC talking heads may have many of you worried about runaway inflation resulting from the massive amounts of cash our wonderful Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, with the help and encouragement of our bankster-controlled political mafia, dumped into the financial system. Whilst inflation, or the threat of hyper-inflation, would be a very valid concern if these enormous amounts of surplus cash ever made it into the real economy; that simply is not, and will not be, the case.

The ... Read More]]> Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:25:54 EST http://pittcountynow.com/post/123/25/greece-is-just-the-beginning-of-the-sovereign-debt-crisis.html http://pittcountynow.com/post/123/25/greece-is-just-the-beginning-of-the-sovereign-debt-crisis.html Determinism is defined as follows: The philosophical doctrine that every state of affairs, including every human event, act and decision is the inevitable consequence of antecedent states of affairs. (http://www.answers.com/topic/determinism) In short, decisions that are made in the present affect options available in the future. This is important because, since the end of WWII, the entire world economy has become increasingly dependent on the credit quality of the United States.

Since the Uni... Read More]]> Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:58:53 EST