Murrell Weissinger

We know the 450th anniversary o St. Agusitne, FL's founding is coming up in 2015, but who knows apart from us local and who will be on board for this?? After the dissolution of the organization ,the First American Foundation that is retuning a good part of the money they were granted( at least 150k out of 275k), the whole affair might seem ruderless while they try to get the next act together. However, the Commeration Committee, whose ,members were governmenet appointed by the U.S. Dept oof the Interior, Ken Salazar, has been there since April and is set to have their first meeting on July 18th in Saint Augustine. They are a very impressive group, including Andrew Young, and I personally have high hopes that this really means the whole country will get onboard and be a part of this celebration. You can always go to the COSA(City of St. Augustine) website for loads of information. Also, check out George Gardner's newsletter, AND you can sign up for a special designation for your property or business, called the Improvement Club!

It has been awhile since I've written about Romanza, St. Augustine's version a mini-Spoleto a la Charleston and the original in Spoleto, Italy, founded by Gian Carlo Menotti and an important fixture in the euopean summer festival scene. Last night marked the end of the gatherings for Romanza until September. Romanza is intended to be a week-long festival of the arts, to be launched in May, 2012 and to carry on every year and hopefully, to help set the stage for the celebrations for the 450th anniversary of the founding of St. Augustine. There is a great deal of goodwill, lots of energy and good ideas, but a noticable lack of funds. The success of this venture will depend, I believe, on the ability to bring in some big names, "headliners" to sprinkle around during the week in order to attract not just locals, but outsiders. The organizers are seeking some serious money which I sincerely hope they will be "granted" because this has got to fly and will show that, despite the confusion and dismanteling of the core committtee for the 450th, we can still accomplish something very important and run with it all the way!.Will the city/county/state help by stepping up to the plate? We shall see....

I love living and working at real estate in St. Augustine. (Click to see a Saint Augustine slideshow) If you're looking for property in St. Augustine Beach, Historic District, or anywhere in St. Johns County, I can help! Here are some of my featured properties. I also specialize in listing properties and can help sell your home. Call me for a FREE CMA at 904-669-2146. Just click here to search the MLS like an agent.

Murrell Weissinger, P.A. Realtor

904-669-2146

Watson Realty Corp.

3175-1 A1A South

St. Augustine, FL 32080

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I recently had to change my lifelong version of Ponce de Leon and his search for the Fountain of Youth, which supposedly brought him to St Augustines' shores in 1513, prior to its official founding in 1565. George Gardner, who regularly writes a wonderfully informative email/newsletter, The St Augustine Report, brought to light the most probable explanation of this "myth", through his research from "The Exploration of Florida and Sources on the Founding of St. Augustine", by Luis Rafael Arrana. It would seem that the exploirer was headed to Bimini to search for more useful treasure, ended up sending his co-adventurer, Juan Perez Ortubia who did find Bimini and apparently started the harmless rumor about Ponces' quest for this magical water as a sort of joke. This rumor became almost fact by 1535 when another Spanish historian picked up the story about Ponces' fantasy and his waste of time pursuing the elusive fountain. My apologies to the many people and friends I have misled over the years. Too bad - it was a good story! What a perfect example, however, of how a rumor can grow in size and eventuallly become "fact"! George - thank you - your newsletter is not always informative but a good read! Get on his email list gardner@aug.com

Well...according to NAR, our inventory of homes is down from a 12 month supply in mid-2010 to a 10 month supply. That's good news. Curious point - home sales were up from 4.8million to 5.2million - the same amount as in 2000!! also the "pent-up demand" could be as high as 30million people! whew! won't it be something when they make a move! Have we seen the bottom of mortgage rates? That threat should help people get off the fence if they have been waiting and watching!!

According to some info from Realtor.Mag the upward trend in mortgage rates might get some buyers off the fence. The general feeling is that the rates have bottomed ouit and can only creep up. The "perfect" loan ( i.e., significant money down, great credit, ec.) 30 yr rate went up to 4.61 (good luck!) and the 15 yr rate from 3.81 to 3.95. We all know there is a pent up demand and that sales in St Johns County seem to be increasing, although not the average price. Comments I have heard would indicate that the general public still believes the prices will continue to go down (though a faster recovery is expected for St Johns County than the rest of Floroida) and that another wave of distressed property sales is in our near future. A rise in the mortgage rates could encourage buyers to move forward anyway - we'll see!!

On another note, Inman News has named thier 100 most influential people of the year and that included 6 officers from the national board of NAR! Goes to show how imporant real estate is to our economy!!

Curb appeal is top of the list for helping the sale of a property. Exterior improvements lead the way with a steel entry way door getting back 102.1% of the investment! These replacement projects are less expensive and give back the most. Upgrades such as granite countertops, actually declined on percentage of money gained back. You have to get people in the door before anything can happen!!