May is National buy a home month...

Well, not really but they designate months for everything else, why not real estate? April has turned out to be a pretty strong month... lots of activity is beginning to happen.

MAR reported that home sales in Michigan were up around 23% in February compared to the same period in '06. That number was very encouraging for the area, but was tempered by about a 6% decline in March. As I mentioned April has been very good to us, I wrote 7 offers for purchase in April, and 2 lease agreements. Traffic is beginning to build on listings as well. The more homes that are sold and inventory clears off the books, we'll begin a rise to normalcy for '07 (hope springs eternal :0)).

Open house traffic continues to be dismal though in most markets. It's generally felt that with so many homes on the market, people aren't running all over the countryside trying to locate a home before it disappears from the market. There are a thousand websites to do a real estate search, and agents are clammering to assist every buyer that wants to go through a home. When the tide starts to shift toward sellers again, I'm certain that traffic will start to build as well.

We went to visit Dave, Lauren and Isabella for her first birthday this past weekend... where does the time go? It seems like yesterday that she was born and I was posting photos for all to see. Dave just returned from a month in S. Korea, Izzy's walking now and has started talking, but I'm pretty sure she's picked up a foreign dialect somewhere :0) Dave dragged me up Mount Blackie on the base Saturday to show me what he does every morning around 6:00. I proudly made it, but I was a lot more winded than jr. And I was shown up by a 48 year old firefighter that made three trips up and down running in the same time span I made one trip walking.

Here's a couple pics from her big b'day weekend.

Jessy is graduating this spring from Western with her undergrad degree, and has been accepted into their Masters program for Speech Pathology. She is excited to begin the new journey, and has become a real smarty pants :0)

Kelly's ankle has started to heal, she has begun a normal life after crutches and casts... still pretty tender in the ankle and swelling still haunts her, but I don't have to carry her around anymore.

Me... all that matters is that golf season and motorcycle season have finally gotten here. No more snow or cold weather. Well, that and May 8 marks Kelly & my 25th wedding anniversary. We have planned a short trip at the end of May to motorcycle in Tennessee. It's hard to believe she hasn't kicked me to the curb after all these years... for that I'm grateful :0).

Thanks again for all your support with my business. Your referrals are important to me, and as such I treat them all as my own friends and family... see you in June.

If April Showers bring May flowers... what do May flowers bring???

Pilgrims... nyuk nyuk nyuk. That was one of my dads favorite spring time jokes. It's a shame that most of the people on my e-mail list didn't get the opportunity to meet pops... he was a one of a kind guy, and he really thought he had a good sense of humor. I guess I feel a little obligation to carry his torch, so you can't blame me :0). If you'd like I can compile a list of his top corniest jokes and post them here... Good project for Mays blog.

Don't forget Easter Sunday next week, and all that the holiday represents. It's more than colored eggs and chocolate. Not that there's anything wrong with those :0).

March showed signs of life in the real estate business. Buyers seem to be moving around a bit. Our office had three listings receive multiple offers last month. We probably didn't have three multi offer sales in all of '06 combined. It's early to say the tide has changed from buyers to sellers, there's still a tremendous amount of inventory out there to clear off. It is good to see signs of life though.

Motorcycle season has gotten off to a quick start with all the mild weather, and Dr. Kelly has self diagnosed that if she wears a leather boot in place of her air cast, she's good to ride. You can't keep those Harley women down. Golf season is just around the corner... since I don't have any May jokes, I'll just have to come up with a good Golf story.

The kids... Jessy is anxiously waiting to hear from several schools she's applied to for her masters. She graduates this spring from Western... It's good to have a brainiac in the family. Dave, Lauren & Izzy are well. Dave is in South Korea seeing another part of the world for a month. Lauren is busy planning Izzy's first B'day party (May 3), and Gramms and I get to go out there at the end of the month to visit. Looking forward to that. Here's a gratuitous grandbaby pic (9 months)

Thanks again for all of your support... I appreciate any real estate leads you send our way. Please know that I take great care of your friends and family, and treat them as if they were my own...

See you in May

Dave