The Dog Days of Summer are here...

I've probably said that phrase dozens of times in my short lifetime, and never gave it much thought. As I began to type it in the title I wondered what the heck does that mean? So in my never ending quest to assist you in your day to day life through my blog... here's an interesting nugget of information to get you through your day... The term "Dog Days" was used by the Greeks, as well as the ancient Romans after Sirius (the "Dog Star"), the brightest star in the heavens besides the Sun. The dog days of summer are also called canicular days.

The Dog Days originally were the days when Sirius, the Dog Star, rose just before or at the same time as sunrise. The ancients sacrificed a brown dog at the beginning of the Dog Days to appease the rage of Sirius, believing that the star was the cause of the hot, sultry weather. Now you know :0) (source Wikipedia)

Speaking of Sirius... Siriusly Good news in real estate... Pending home sales are up for the fifth consecutive month, the first time in six years for such a streak, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in June, rose 3.6% to 94.6 from an upwardly revised reading of 91.3 in May, and is 6.7% above June 2008 when it was 88.7. The last time there were five consecutive monthly gains was in July 2003. This is good news for our area for sure. There's still a lot of real estate to be sold before we see any significant increase in home values, but we have to start somewhere, and (knock on wood) it appears that we are beginning the slow climb out.

Be sure to check out my listings link above... there are several homes I currently have on the market that need a good owner.

The fam is doing well... Kelly loves her new job, and has spent a lot of time traveling the first month. Not sure if getting a break from me is the major contributing factor to her love of job or not though. We haven't spent a lot of time on the motorcycles these days. The weather has been uncooperative at best, seems like whenever we get a break in the action to ride... Mr. Rain is threatening and we decide to stay home.

Lauren accepted a position with Lamphere Schools this month, and is beginning her new career in the next couple weeks. Jessy is just about finished with her summer off between school and beginning her career in Chicago. Anthony is starting his coaching debut with a local (to Chicago) private schools football team. David continues to accel at his career with TACOM... it's hard to belive it's been almost a year since he returned to us from the Army.

Bella continues to brighten our home, and at 3 she can just about swim end to end in our pool without adult assistance.

We really appreciate your help as we continue to grow the real estate business. Without your referrals, this tough market would have been a lot worse... Thanks so much for your help.

See you next month.

Dave, Kelly & the rest of the occupants at Club Hendo