The American Dream....part 2

A while back I talked about the American Dream....and the importance of home ownership to the American Dream. Maybe I am still biased because we build and sell new homes, but needless to say I was very happy to see that many Americans agree.....

A recent study study commissioned by www.Bankrate.com found some reassuring and I think very positive results. Chief among the results was that 92% say that a home is a good investment for the future.

Another notable quote from this study was a statement from Greg McBride, Senior Financial Analyst for Bankrate " Houses are homes first and investments a distant second" I could not agree more...we, for whatever reasons, over the last few years, lost site of the true purpose of our homes ....they are our castles, refuge and place for family, friends, holidays, birthdays and other important events and memories. Yes, homes will appreciate in value (given we take care of them) but they are not a commodity like stocks and bonds...they are a center piece and anchor for your family and your life.

Realtor Magazine ran and article titled "Buyers Rush to Beat Tax Credit Deadline" . It describes a flurry of activity by first time buyers in the market trying to take advantage of the governments $8000 first time buyers tax credit prior to its expiration on November 30, 2009. "Because mortgage approvals, residential inspections, and other steps in the buying process typically take about 2 months, buyers hoping to take advantage of the incentive will need to have a contract by the end of September"
"The new flurry of activity, now as house-hunters try to meet the deadline, is triggering bidding wars and energizing the property market, which historically is slow at the end of summer. As a result more homes are getting their full asking price." (Realtor Magazine).

I can not say we have seen "bidding wars" but the stimulus has spurred activity and sales for us. I hope to soon see bidding wars ( wow that would be great)!

Rock On!

How do you Shop?

If you were to believc all that you read and hear, it would seem that social media is how everyone communicates. What do you use?

Do you twitter?

Do you have a Facebook page?

Do you follow a blog?

Do you look at YouTube?

A recent survey showed that when making a large purchase decision (over $25,000) people have migrated to virtual events, search engines (google, yahoo, bing, ), company web sites, business news, social media....and have left traditional things like face to face trade shows, and other traditional advertising.

How do you shop? Are you using traditional advertising or resources (newspaper) or are you now more reliant on the internet?