Posts by James

The April numbers are in from the Cromford Report @ www.cromfordreport.com March was a somewhat stronger month for sales volumes but most trends continued in the same direction as they have for many months. Here are the basic ARMLS numbers for April 1, 2013 relative to April 1, 2012 for all areas & types: Active […]

A small percentage of the home buyers in the current marketplace are looking for their retirement homes. With the market still low in some areas it makes sense to purchase early for your retirement and maybe even rent it out for the time being to help cover your payments. Of course, you would want to […]

What makes America successful even in the face of hardship? I say it is the people, people like Tom Roeser of Carpentersville, Illinois. CNN Money released an article about this man’s efforts to help the town’s struggling people have safe, adequate places to live. Roeser has purchased almost 200 of the town’s 9,000 homes. And […]

According to a CNBC- All- America Economic survey, 79% of Americans feel that owning their own home is part of the American Dream. The number of Americans who say it is better to own than rent has also increased. Diana Olick of CNBC reported that “The housing numbers are all heading in the right direction…Home […]

On Sunday, March 24, 2013, Dateline NBC aired a story that questioned the effectiveness of many common household smoke alarms. Their investigation indicated that many of the most common types of ionization smoke alarms, though effective at detecting some types of fire are NOT effective in detecting slow burning smoky fires. (such as those from […]

Even with a rise in the average home cost of 7% in the last year, it is still cheaper to purchase than rent. Just how much cheaper? If you were to stay in a residence for 7 years, the cost to own it is on average 44% cheaper than it would be to rent the […]

“The credit box may be expanding,” says Jonathan Corr, president of Ellie Mae. Since late 2008 lenders have had to drastically tighten their guidelines and restrict the amount of new mortgages they approve. The good news is there are some indicators that show a slight loosening of the belt. The average FICO score on approved […]

A study was recently conducted by Michael Seiler, founder of Old Dominion University’s Institute for Behavioral and Experimental Real Estate, tracking the eye movements of people viewing online real estate ads. Of those studied, it was found that overall they spent 60% of their time looking at the photos, 20% looking at the property description […]

If you purchased your home in the last 2-3 years when the market was low, you have likely gained a decent amount of equity. If you are planning on selling your current home   in order to upgrade to a different home in the same market, now may be the time to cash out for two […]

Adjacent to the resort, the Arizona Biltmore Country Club boasts a challenging 36-hole design, featuring two of the premier Phoenix golf resort courses: The Adobe and The Links. Built in 1928 and restored in 2004, The Adobe offers wide fairways and classic cross-bunkers for that extra challenge. The Links features rolling fairways, desert ravines and […]