No better time to buy a home than right now.

I don't have to really tell anyone that prices are the best we've had in a decades around here. With the Fed continually slashing the prime rate, mortgage rates are holding steadily low as well.

If you are a first time buyer (or know someone that should be)... call me today, There are literally thousands of well priced starter homes... we'll find you one.

If you are contemplating an upward move... call me today. The market is perfect for you. Yes you'll probably suffer a little on the selling price of your current home, but keep in mind that on the home you purchase (assuming you're upgrading), you'll get to take advantage of the seller on the higher end home...

Here's how it looks on paper. If your home used to be worth $ 200,000, but now you bite the bullet and are lucky to get $ 160,000 for it (20% decrease in estimated value), you lose $ 40,000.

If you buy a home that used to be $ 400,000, that is now worth $ 320,000 (the same 20% decrease in estimated value)... you are able to purchase $ 80,000 more home for your money.

So bite the bullet on the perceived $ 40,000 loss, to gain $ 80,000... you are $ 40,000 ahead of the game.

Keep in mind that if you wait for prices to come back up... not only will your home increase in value... but so will your dream home.

Now is the time... call me for more details, and let's get horse trading :0)

Good news for a change to start the new year...

A recent article in the MCAR magazine showed increases over 2007 for January... Good news for a change. Also note the most affordable communities in the country info ... all posted in the article below.


January residential sales in Macomb County showed an 8.5 percent increase in sales over the same month in 2007, according to recent figures. Leading the charge among municipalities with 15 or more sales: Roseville, with a year-to-year boost of 42 percent. Also showing year-to-year increases: Macomb Township (27 percent), Eastpointe (23 percent) and Warren (16 percent). Of those, only Macomb Township experienced an increase in sales volume (a modest one, at just over 1.5 percent). Shelby Township saw a 19 percent decrease in sales year-to-year, and Clinton Township’s sales dipped 7 percent.

In Oakland County, Troy sales posted a 22 percent increase year-to-year among municipalities with 15 or more sales. Troy was recently listed as one of the most affordable U.S. housing markets with a population of 500,000 or more in a report from the National Association of Home Builders; the city’s median sales price for January was $217,500. Orion Township’s sales increased 17 percent in the same timeframe, with a 4.5 percent increase in sales volume. Listings for the county, meanwhile, rose a modest 0.5 percent.

About that affordable housing markets list: not only did Troy appear in the 500,000 and up category, so did Detroit and Grand Rapids. In a separate category of markets with fewer than 500,000, even more Michigan communities appeared: Saginaw, Monroe, Bay City, Lansing, Flint, Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. In terms of affordability, Michigan is the best-represented state on the list. The least affordable state? California.

Thankfully January zipped by this year...

Well, it's been a quiet month of '08 so far. If you're counting down... just 90 days until glimmers of summer hit. Every year I question why we stay in this cold state.

Kelly & I went to the black tie event at the auto show this month. Crossed paths with Jennifer Granholm and Kwame (before the text scandal hit :0)). Shook hands with Thomas the Hit Man Hearns, and saw a couple nice cars. Tough to get all excited about all these flex fuel cars though. They look exactly like the regular ones, except they have a flexfuel sticker on the side.

Jessy is back to school and is now swamped... she has a full work load with classes and clinics... and a bunch of patients.

Dave & Lauren are well... Dave has been in the field a bit this month, and has a pretty good case of short timers disease. They are getting pretty excited about their move back home this summer. They're a little apprehensive about our job climate, but we told them it'll all be fine... someone out there has got to be able to hook a couple patriots up with jobs when they get home.

We are planning to head west to visit the end of February. Dave tells me I better get my right arm in shape... He plans on beating me at golf on the WII.

Happy Ground Hog day... hopefully he sees his/her shadow tomorrow... or not... I can never remember which is the good scenario. All I know is my sister Heather was born on Groundhogs day, and there's usually at least a couple months of winter left after we eat cake :0).

As for real estate...

2007 ended on a high note for me personally as usual. It seems like the last quarter of the year brings out a lot of activity. Pretty slow for January so far, but I've got a few very nice listings, and have been getting a good amount of phone traffic the last couple weeks. It's just a matter of time before the levy breaks for '08.

Please click the links above and check out my listings. If you know anyone interested in any of these properties... make sure you forward the link (and my phone number) to them.

I have one piece of vacant Troy property listed at a phenomenal price
I have brick ranch's listed in Royal Oak, Clawson, Farmington Hills, and Warren
I have bungalows in Utica
And last but not least... investment properties listed in Auburn Hills (three plex)

Check these out... and as always, thanks for your referrals. Your family and friends are my family and friends.

Dave