ADVENTURES IN REAL ESTATE

Category: NC

  • Hey, Boomers! This One’s for You

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    Dianne Goode
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    Yesterday I attended a Broker Luncheon, deliciously catered, for the launch of a new subdivision near Briar Creek. With me in the photo is my friend Cathy Michelena, who is going to be one of the on-site agents for the Four Seasons at Renaissance, an “Active Adult Community” just over the Durham County line off…

  • The Triangle on the Grow

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    Dianne Goode
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    The 2010 census data shows that the Triangle Area experienced amazing growth during that decade just past. Raleigh added 127,000 new residents, a 46% increase, and several of the small towns of Wake County doubled in size. Even during these three recession years, our area has continued to grow, albeit more slowly. Population growth fuels…

  • Looking Ahead to Fewer Buyers

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    Dianne Goode
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    The percentage of Americans who own their own home is down to 66% from the recent historic high of 70%, and falling.  Several factors will combine to make it fall farther in the years ahead:    1)  Risk-averse banks are imposing tighter credit requirements and asking for higher down payments, keeping many people out of…

  • ITB Chickens: Very Chic Chicks

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    Dianne Goode
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    Last summer I had a client with an unusual requirement:  the back yard had to be suitable for chickens.   I had already encountered urban chickens in my own neighborhood, so I wasn’t totally surprised.   There’s a whole movement toward pet poultry, and why not?  According to their advocacy group (urbanchickens.org) backyard chickens produce…

  • Waiting for Snow

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    Dianne Goode
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      We’ve been waiting for snow all day.  This will be the fourth snowfall of the winter, after an unusually cold and snowy December that culminated in six inches Christmas night.  This photo was taken the next day.  The Raleigh area doesn’t usually get  much snow, which is good because we don’t handle it well.…

  • Changes in the OTP

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    Dianne Goode
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    We  live in interesting times.  I spent four hours in CE (Continuing Education) class this morning —  the mandatory update class on the new Offer to Purchase effective 01/01/11.  Realtors take 8 hours of CE every year; four hours update and any approved four hour elective.  The update always includes changes to forms but this…

  • Behind the Statistics

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    Dianne Goode
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    Mark Twain famously said that there are three kinds of lies:  Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics. Numbers don’t really mean anything; they just are what they are.  Then along comes human intelligence trying to attach meaning to the numbers.  That’s where it starts to get sticky. The News and Observer had an article today that…

  • Lake Lynn in fall

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    Dianne Goode
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      Fall is a beautiful time of year in North Carolina!  Lake Lynn is one of the parks maintained by the City of Raleigh.  The asphalt trail goes 2 1/4 miles around the lake.  Ducks and geese wait eagerly to be fed.

  • Market News

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    Dianne Goode
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    I was quoted in the News and Observer this week, saying that this market is “brutal for sellers,” which it is. In the same article, Loan Officer Todd Barbour said that buyers won’t buy just because of low housing prices and mortgage interest rates — it takes jobs. I said it takes confidence in the…

  • Area News

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    Dianne Goode
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    At this month’s Women’s Council of Realtors meeting the guest speaker was Stacey Anfindsen. Stacey is a local appraiser who has found a niche crunching MLS and CSS numbers, publishing his summaries as an online newsletter calledThe T.A.R.R. (Triangle Area Residential Real Estate) Report. At the WCR meeting, he told the roomful of Realtors that…