PHILIP TURNER-MORTGAGE BANKER SINCE 1980

What a blast I had this morning. I was invited to appear on Everyday People with Ann Buonocore this morning at 10:00 AM. Ann hosts a talk show on WXLM News/Talk 103 broadcasting from New London, CT. Her other job is owning a real estate office in Mystic, CT called Buena Vista Real Estate.

We covered a wide range of topics including sub-prime problems, first time home buyers, million dollar home buyers, CHFA, FHA, VA, ADDI, DAP and McCue Mortgage. We discussed area home prices, my predictions for the market and last but not least, she asked me about what happened to Don Imus. Ann is a great host, asks good questions and made our 1/2 hour go by like it was 5 minutes.

If you get an opportunity to appear on a talk show take advantage of it. It was fun.

What a pleasant surprise to open up The Day newspaper (www.TheDay.com) and find that New London Connecticut has been named one of 16 amazing coastal communities by a national magazine, Coastal Living.

The newspaper article mentions that the magazine calls New London "up and coming", " a hidden gem" and that the city is undergoing a "spirited" renaissance.

New London hosts Mitchell College, Connecticut College and the US Coast Guard Academy, has a tremendous amount of historical homes and architecture, sits on both the edge of the Thames River and Long Island Sound, has many public parks along with Ocean Beach Park www.ocean-beach-park.com and the new state park, Fort Trumbull State Park, home to a magnificent fort with a beautiful view of the mouth of the Thames River out into Long Island Sound.

The city is also home to a transportation hub with ferries to Long Island, Fishers Island and Block Island all with ferry slips in New London. Amtrak serves the area from New London along with busses and taxis based at the train station. Cruise ships will also be stopping in New London this spring and summer. Festivals take place at the new Maritime Park that runs behind the train station and winds its way along the shoreline.

Hope that you get an opportunity to check out this "amazing coastal community". I do every day. My office is within walking distance of lots of these sites.

See you in New London.

Approximately 20 state legislative candidates spoke to a group of 150 Realtors, lenders, attorneys and other real estate professionals Thursday morning in Norwich, CT. It was interesting to hear the 20 different speakers make their pitch for votes with an emphasis on how they will work towards property tax relief, the repeal of the real estate conveyance tax and in general, encourage a more positive business environment to stimulate growth in CT. They appeared to be concerned about real estate issues such as eminent domain abuse in nearby New London, CT along with affordable housing initiatives for towns around the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos. The tremendous influx of people coming to work at the casinos has put a lot of pressure on the rental market and in turn on the home sales market. It will be fascinating to see what the next legislative session will bring after the fall elections. Those in attendance also were entertained by keynote speaker Rebecca Lobo, UCONN, Olympic and WNBA basketball star speaking about the balancing of work, babies, buying a home and living with a sportswriter husband. Rebecca also serves as the corporate spokesperson for McCue Mortgage Company.

The legislators and legislator-hopefuls shared with everyone how complex a job it is to try to help everyone without offending this group or that. Definitely some food for thought.

Have you noticed that 30 year fixed rates have dropped from a high of 7% with 0 points at the end of June '06 and are now at 6.375% with 0 points. I am sure you have noticed the gas prices dropping (at least in CT) from $3.24 per gallon for regular to $2.69 for regular on my way home tonight. These decreases haven't made the newscasts and newspapers. They still seem focused on how bad everything is in regards to housing (bubbles, inventory, rates moving up, etc). The rising gas prices were on the news every day. Now nothing is mentioned.

I am mentioning this to everyone I talk to to see if we can get people a little more optimistic about the economy. What is happening where you live and work?