Spring fever is here.

I can tell spring is in the air. I've had a noticeable uptick in inquiries about real estate the last couple weeks. Folks are getting a little anxious for the spring feeding frenzie we all hope is around the corner.

Just received some info from the local mortgage rep... rates have been teetering around the 5.25% mark for a bit. Also got the scoop on the real estate Federal Tax that was slipped in on the health care bill. It appears it's the real deal effective January 1, 2013. It's a 3.8% tax and as it relates to real estate, it appears to be a capital gains tax, but there are a lot of caviats.

First, it is not imposed on all real estate transactions, only on the gains less losses of a real estate transaction. It is only imposed on individuals with an adjusted gross income over $ 200,000, and couples with an adjusted gross income of over $ 250,000. I put this info out there since I've had a lot of questions recently about the rumored real estate tax in the bill... by all means, check with your accountant especially if you are planning on selling a rental property after January 1, 2013.

I wanted to give out a shameless plug for a doctor in the Troy Chamber of Commerce. He told me at our meeting this morning that he is looking for companies that would like to offer a free perk for an employee appreciation day. If you think your company would be willing to have Dr. Todd Camarata and his crew come in and give employees massages on their breaks... give him a call. He did this at my office in December and everyone loved it. Call Dr. Todd at 248-338-7477 and tell him I sent you. You won't regret it.

With Spring around the bend, my Ligers softball team is lined up to start playing around mid April. First break in the weather we'll start practicing. Kel & I are chomping at the bit to hop on the motorcycles. Uncle Jim has his annual trip down to the St Pattys parade in Detroit on the motorcycles. We've gotten pretty lucky a couple years, and we've been kind of unlucky a couple years weather wise. We're hoping for Sunny and 50.

The cold and flu season has hit the fam hard. I've been texting a lot the last couple weeks due to my failing voice... if you don't get a verbal reply from me, but a text... you know why. Sorry and thanks for the patience. The grandkids all had strep throat, and flus, but at last it seems like we're all breaking out of it.

Anthony and Jessy came home last week to meet the twins. We took advantage of the time to have Austins first birthday party a few days early. He loves cake, and doesn't mind feeding himself. Mema didn't even stress out about cleaning blue frosting off everything in his vicinity.

As always, thanks so much for your referrals. They are appreciated. I am really putting the push on for listings these days though. It seems like anything listed these days that isn't a short sale gets good traffic and sells (pricing is critical though). Not sure I'm ready to say the market has bottomed out or not, but there are good signs of activity the last few months.

If you know anyone considering selling their home, even if it's months out... I'd love to talk to them. I do a lot of consulting, and don't mind at all getting to know your friends and family... you never know when they might need a great Realtor.

Thanks and have a warm March

Dave