Your REALTOR: Pat and Mark Cole July 2008 The Right Agent Makes All The Difference In The World Copyright © 2008 Realty Times All Rights Reserved. Daily News And Advice Updated 01:00 AM CDT Today  Today's Feature Stories Gas Prices Fuel Urban Desire Global warming-spawned climate control was already making us reconsider where we should live. Now the cost of gasoline is also giving new meaning to "location, location, location." FULL STORY-> Realty Viewpoint: Dallas Gains Jobs, Yet Banks Choke Housing Dallas homeowners are between a rock and a hard place. The city is adding jobs, yet real estate is softening. The Dallas Fed blames banks and tighter lending standards to produce greater interest-rate spreads. FULL STORY-> Happy 141st Birthday, Canada? Inflation, recession, job loss, and slowing economies may be words that weren’t heard at July 1 birthday parties, but these cold realities loom. PJ Wade examines the context in which we celebrated Canada Day and move beyond. FULL STORY-> Real Estate Marketing Strategies: The Biggest Mistake Real Estate Agents Make And How You Can Avoid It How often have you heard someone say that when business is down and the economy is questionable? It seems logical, doesn't it, to tighten your purse strings? FULL STORY-> Headlines Washington Report: Tax Provisions The mortgage bailout sections of Congress's massive federal housing bill have gotten all the attention in the press, but there are two tax provisions tucked away that could prove far more significant for some home buyers and realty professionals. FULL STORY-> Wild, Wild West: Drizzle Forecast For Seattle Home Prices Seattle's resilient housing market has managed to weather the housing crisis like few other cities in the nation. But a little rain could be about to fall. FULL STORY-> Interest Rate Update Today's Interest Rates from Realty Times are based on a 30 year amortization rate, with good credit and no origination fees. Economic forecasts have come in as expected with no surprises and mortgage rates remain the same. FULL STORY-> Realty Viewpoint: More Scare Tactics For Boomer Retirement With real housing prices falling at a rate of approximately 1.5 percent, the Center for Economic and Policy Research predicts that most baby boomers will be financially devastated if the housing crunch continues to 2009. FULL STORY-> Market Conditions: Collin County, Texas Comparing sales activity through May in the major cities of Collin County, Roxanne Deberry indicates that there has been a sales decline of approximately 14 percent to 31 percent over the same period of last year. FULL STORY-> What is the NAHB? tba FULL STORY-> Tech Tools Making Homes Smarter, More Desirable Advancements in technology have forever changed many aspects of our lives, especially in our homes. While smart home devices have been around for as long as 30 years now in small numbers, a new breed of computerized products from a new diverse group of suppliers is ready to enter the marketplace. This is good news developers who, if they add smart home automation systems as a value added service, can expect long-term revenue streams. FULL STORY-> Getting Back to the Basics when the Basics have Changed It's time to take our industry back. And as difficult as it is to stretch our comfort zone, it's time to break in a new pair of shoes. Columnist Mollie W. Wasserman explains. FULL STORY-> Investor Report: Anti-Flipping Rules Here's some really good news for anyone involved in acquiring, rehabilitating and reselling foreclosed houses: The Federal Housing Administration is temporarily waiving its "anti-flipping" rules and will now insure mortgages on properties that have been owned by the current seller for less than 90 days. FULL STORY-> Realty Viewpoint: New Home Sales Will Reverse Without Stimulus New home sales fell another 2.5 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted rate of 512,000 units. At this rate, about one million new homes will be sold by the end of the year, about half what both the National Association of Home Builders and the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard says sales should be. FULL STORY-> Market Conditions: Brunswick County, North Carolina How Can We Re-Zone? Long Term Rates Little Changed This Week: ARMs up in Anticipation of Fed Actions Ask Realty Times Man's Best Friend May Be Costly When Selling Your Home Surviving Uncertainty in Today's Market: Six Secrets to Keeping Your Balance, Business and Humor Real Estate Outlook: Inflation and Mortgage Rates Realty Viewpoint: Investment Bank CEOs Cash Out, Proving Life's Not Fair Market Conditions Will Federal Bailouts Affect My Home's Value? The Dream Catcher Series: Creative Event Planning in a Challenging Real Estate Market Assessing Your Readiness to Invest in Foreclosures Vacant Home Insurance Alert The Fake Foreclosure Debate In Washington Condo Trends: Fractional Ownership Of Luxury Condos the New Thing Realty Viewpoint: More Signs Housing Nearing Bottom Market Conditions Mortgage Moment: Real Estate Investing Should I Sell Before I Marry? Buyer's Market, Also 'Buyers Beware' Market CURRENT MORTGAGE RATES Interest Rate Watch 30 yr fixed: 6.45% 15 yr fixed: 6.04% 1 yr adj: 5.27% (U.S. Daily Averages) LIBRARY Buyers Advice Sellers Advice Homeowners Advice Advice for New Homes Advice For Borrowers Rental Advice Homeowner Association News NAR News - Back - Pat and Mark Cole E-mail: markcole1@NUMBER1EXPERT.com Web: http://www.RWJax.com 904-707-2287 Realty World Excutive Group 904-215-5712 414 Old Hard Road, Suite 200 Orange Park, FL 32003 Equal Housing Opportunity

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