Welcome to Fall, where did this summer zip off to?

I've never been much of Hallmark Holiday kind of guy, but I just noticed Grandparents day is September 12th this year... I never knew there was such a thing, but what the heck. I suppose it's not even a bad thing to have to share that with Keldo since they don't give us each our own day.

Interesting factoid about Labor Day... The first Labor Day in the United States was celebrated on September 5, 1882 in New York City. It became a federal holiday in
1894, following the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the U.S. military and U.S. Marshalls during the Pullman Strike (a wilcat railroad strike). President Grover Cleveland put reconciliation with the labor movement as a top political priority. Fearing further conflict, legislation making Labor Day a national holiday was rushed through Congress unanimously and signed into law a mere six days after the end of the strike. Now you know...

Rough real estate news the last couple weeks. Nationally it appears that the slow down everyone feared after the expiration of the first time home buyer credit is on us. The good news is that NOCBOR (my local real estate board) reports the 27 % decline in the number of sales from June to July doesn't represent the number of sales contracted in those two months. It represents the number of sales closed according to NOCBOR. There was a decline in the number of contracted sales in Oakland County from June to July, which at this point appears to have only been about 4%.

August’s Oakland County figures for sales contracted appear as though they will be slightly, better than July’s figures. Here is a list of contracted sales (expected to close) by month: March - 1,688; April - 1,844; May - 1,434; June - 1,559 and July - 1,495.

In short, making a one month assessment of the local real estate market is a little misleading given the wide range of dates between contract date and closing date due to the length of time it takes these days to close short sales (3 - 6 months is typical). Also using such numbers does not allow for seasonal differences in sales, a huge impact during vacation months.

So never fear... we are still seeing market improvement despite what you may have read online.

The Fam...

Things are great, although we haven't seen much of anyone this past month, catching up on life and work after the wedding. Almost zero miles on the motorcycles this summer. My fall softball team is off to a great start at 5 wins and one loss (which we will avenge next Wednesday night). Golf league is almost over, and Kelly & I head to San Diego this month for 5 days (she's working I'm going along for the free ride). Lauren & I have birthdays this month... as Dave jr. pointed out this is my last year to be considered the old young guy... I'm heading into young old guy status (49 this year).

Thanks again for all the referrals... I closed a couple sales this month that were referred to me by friends. I appreciate the vote of confidence.

See you in October.

Dave

So much to report, so little space...

Slow news month in August... I suppose Dave & Laurens anniversary and Woodward Dream Cruise 2010 is going to be the highlight. August 21 is the date (for both)... all the cool kids are going to be there. the photo above is a 1965 Dodge Dart I restored about 10 years ago (with a little help from friends). I miss hanging out on Woodward with it after I sold it, but the motorcycles allow us quicker access to parking near the Avenue.

Now lets talk about real estate, that way you'll get good information before I bore you to tears with the wedding and the surprise I promised you last month.

Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel and Bankers home loan have teamed up and introduced an interesting new program for "sidelined buyers". What is a sidelined buyer? A sidelined buyer is one that for any number of reasons can't participate in the purchase of a new home right now... but specifically those that may have been forced into selling a home in a short sale. There is a required waiting period before a short sale buyer can get another mortgage... therefore they are sidelined and can't take advantage of the great home deals and interest rates that are out there right now. Give me a call if you are that buyer, and I'll put you in touch with the right people at Bankers Home Loan to see if you qualify.

Interest rates are still unbelievable, and prices are still great. Give me a call to get pre-qualified for a mortgage if you want to jump into the fun pit.

Now for the events of the last couple weeks...

I'm not even sure which of the kids to start with... either one is going to blame the other for being a thunder stealer.

Jessy & Anthony got married July 30th in Chicago... what a great wedding they had. The kids planned the whole thing themselves down to every detail with little input from us for sure. All I can say is they have pretty unbelievable taste. Anthony surprised Jessy with a ride to the church in a 1969 Rolls Royce... I got to tag along with her & Kelly. I told Jessy & Kelly that i am a lucky guy to have been able to walk down the aisle with 2 of the most beautiful brides ever. I tried breaking my ankle 4 days before the wedding playing softball... thankfully it was just a bad sprain and I was able to walk her down the aisle and do the daddy daughter dance without a cast. I posted a couple pictures here, but if you have a facebook account, friend me and you can see a bunch more random shots from attendees. The legit pics won't be ready for a few weeks.

Dave junior was a groomsman & Lauren was the matron of honor... both gave great toasts at the reception. Bella was the flower girl, and enjoyed spending the day with Aunt Jessy getting her hair did and make-up like the big girls...

We welcome Anthony into the family, and can't wait to see them again when they get back from their honeymoon in Cabo. I hope they wait to have kids though until we settle down a little from her brothers big news... (nice intro to this months surprise)

Dave & Lauren are expecting again... we were happy and a little concerned at first because the newest addition is due Early February. His/her arrival will be just before Austins first birthday... Irish twins anyone? O.K. now for the big news... Laurens having actual twins... that's right Irish triplets. Whoah what a houseful that's going to be. G-Diddy times 4. I posted a scan of the latest ultrasound, wierd I know, but I asked her for it so I could verify for myself that it was in fact twins. Second opinions always help. Something told me I should have looked for a 5 bedroom house when they bought in October, but who knew...

Finally... the Troy Ligers sponsored by Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel (me) took second place with a 10-3-1 record in our innaugural softball season. We are hot and heavy in the middle of playoffs currently. Possibly 3 games this coming Monday night. Stay tuned, I'll post our trophies next month when they don't get overshadowed by weddings and grandkids.

Thanks again for your referrals. I am experiencing a very good 2010 so far. Through mid July, I already have sold twice the volume sold in the same period 2009. That is only possible with the help of family and friends that refer clients to me... I appreciate the help.

Thanks, and see you next month

Dave