Coldwell Banker West Shell Foundation hosts Trick or Treat for the Troops - Share Story

Coldwell Banker West Shell Foundation hosts Trick or Treat for the Troops - Share Story

This is an outreach that we are particularly proud of.

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Coldwell Banker 2010 Housing Statistics

Newport Beach, Calif., Tops Most Expensive Housing Market List; Detroit Is Most Affordable Market

PARSIPPANY, NJ--(Marketwire - September 22, 2010) - Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC today released its Home Listing Report, a snapshot survey of U.S. four-bedroom, two-bathroom home listings, which found a $1.7 million difference between America's most expensive and most affordable housing markets. Newport Beach, Calif., led the list of most expensive real estate markets in America, with an average home listing price of approximately $1.83 million for property listings meeting the subject home criteria. By contrast, America's most affordable housing market was Detroit, Mich., with an average home listing price of approximately $68,000.

The Coldwell Banker Home Listing Report (HLR) is the brand's latest development designed to provide comprehensive information on real estate data from around the country for homebuyers and sellers. The HLR provides the average home listing price of more than 18,000 four-bedroom, two-bathroom properties on www.coldwellbanker.com that were listed between February and August 2010 from nearly 300 select U.S. markets where Coldwell Banker Real Estate has a presence. The U.S. average for the surveyed listings was approximately $353,000. Markets included in this report were required to have at least six properties fitting the above criteria within the relevant timeframe.1

Known for its sandy beaches and historic Balboa Pavilion (established in 1906), Newport Beach, the most expensive market, has been the backdrop to numerous television shows including "The O.C." and "Arrested Development." Detroit, the most affordable market, is the only major U.S. city that looks South to Canada. Residents of the Motor City take great pride in Red Wings hockey and appreciate the city's hard-working industrial and automotive history.

"Coldwell Banker Real Estate has released national real estate market reports annually for many years to provide consumers with insight into local market conditions," said Jim Gillespie, chief executive officer, Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. "Our study shows that homeownership in the United States is generally affordable, with nearly 30 percent of the studied markets averaging $200,000 or less for a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home -- a size many buyers aspire to own. Today those who have the financial resources and a desire to move up to a larger home have a unique opportunity to take advantage of historically low mortgage interest rates coupled with comparatively lower prices and greater selection."

The Current State of our Local Housing Market

I post this, because so much of the general public is under the impression that the current housing market is "Bad". When in fact much of this kind of opinion is wrong. There has never been a better time to buy a home. Some people say that it is a bad time to sell a house-this too is incorrect. Here is a short explanation of selling. Many sellers are reluctant to sell their homes for less than they paid, but this is almost always the case for someone who purchased a home in the past decade. But 'all ships rise and fall together'-meaning it is not just their home. Everyone is in the same harbor. If they sell their home for 15% less-the home they purchase will be 15% less. The equity for the home they sold is actually in the home they are buying and they will realize the equity when they sell their new home. "buying up in a down market" is a familiar phrase. What this means is : let's say you sell your $200,000. home for $180,000. You loose $20,000. dollars, but you buy a $300,000. home for $270,000. you may have lost $20,000, but gained $30,000 , which gives you a net $10,000 instant equity and a bigger home. The only time it is not a good time to move is if this is nest egg money- meaning you are not going to buy anything new and you intend to live off the proceeds from the home. Then, if you don't have to sell,don't.
if you can hang on for a few years do. But I do believe that a house needs to be more than an investment- it needs to be a home.

Crayons To Computers/ Be a Kid

A project picked up several years ago, "Crayons to Computers" has been a big hit with the agents and the "push for pencils organization. The lightning rod in our office for it has been Ellie Alexander. She also created an event for the office to rally around the collection of school supplies for the teacher Free store. She called it "Be a Kid Day". We had coloring contests and we ate PB&J and hot dogs and fritos,etc. It was very well atended and great fun.

Milford Eagle Explorers Camp & CBWS

It was an honor to be associated with the "Eagle Explorers Camp" reading program with the Milford Schools. I had called Dr. Farrell, the Superintendent of the Milford School district. I asked him 'what would you like to accomplish in your school, had you had additional money and man power'. Without hesitation he saw a need for a reading program for "at risk" students. He said he would like to have them read books on animals and go to the zoo, in the end, as a reward. Because of the resources of our company and our relationship with the Cincinnati Zoo,we were able to help him accomplish it all. Take a moment to read the attached newspaper article.

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