Now it's official. The chairman of the Federal Reserve Board himself has said it publicly that it looks like the recession is over.
Here comes the recovery.
But there was a big footnote in Bernanke's speech on the economy last week in Washington: Don't look for a dramatic recovery.
It'll be more like a slow moving, plodding sort of improvement where the economy inches toward expansion. But there'll be no sudden, splashy return to economic boomtime anytime soon.
Bernanke's point about the end of the recession was underscored by a 2.7 percent jump in retail sales for the month of August, according to the Commerce Department.
That's an important indicator because the key to pumping up the economy again is to get consumers spending, and that appears to be happening. Not just for auto sales, which got a big boost in August from the government's "cash for clunkers" program, but also for other key categories, like food and clothing purchases, department store retail, entertainment and restaurant spending, sporting goods.
They were all up for the month, after having been mainly down for well over a year.
One reason for the pick-up in consumer spending: People feel more confident about the direction of the economy in the months ahead. They see the stock market up, so their retirement funds and 401 K plans are bouncing back.
They see home values stabilizing or growing in most areas, so their equity is beginning to increase again.
The one big negative -- and it's definitely a drag for housing -- is the unemployment rate, which Mr. Bernanke said won't be coming down fast, even with the end of the recession.
Nonetheless, the vast majority of Americans who do have jobs have seen their real wages rise this year, up five percent. That's the largest annual gain in fifty years.
All of this is feeding into the housing sector in key markets, such as southern California, where August sales were up 11 percent compared with the year before, according to MDA DataQuick. Even prices are rising slightly.
In the combined markets of Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, San Bernadino-Riverside and Ventura, the median price of homes sold gained 2.6 percent in August, which is very encouraging for one of the hardest-hit boom-to-bust areas of the country.
Meanwhile, the mortgage market continues to be exceptionally positive for housing sales and values: 30 year fixed rates averaged just above 5 percent last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, and 15 year loans averaged 4.4 percent.
K. Harney
A new federal law beginning April 2010 will require all contractors performing renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in private homes, childcare facilities, and schools (built prior to 1978) to be certified in the prevention of lead contamination.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) document titled What You Need to Know About Lead Poisoning, "Despite laws established in the 1970s to make people aware of the dangers of lead and its poisonous effects, lead poisoning in children remains a common, yet preventable, environmental health problem in the United States." Heavily-leaded paint is in about two-thirds of homes built prior to 1940 and one-half of homes built from 1940 to 1960, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). "Some homes built after 1960 also contain heavily-leaded paint."
The CPSC recommends that any homes constructed before the 1980s be tested for lead before renovating. You can learn more about lead-based paint by visiting the EPA's website In today's column we'll assume you understand that if you think you have lead-based paint you need to seek expert help before any renovations. Now, we'll tackle the fun stuff: choosing colors that have mass appeal (in case you're selling soon), selecting quality paint, and understanding when to buy paint. For this information we turn to Gabrielle Genevich, branch manager, Sherwin Williams.
Top selling colors, still neutral for mass appeal. "We have a list of our top 50 selling colors. Most are light white or beige. Kilim beige is sort of a light tan color and most often that's what people pick—warm colors that they can use for their entire home," says Genevich.
Genevich says that the new design of homes is what helps to make these neutral colors so popular. "Most of the time people are looking for that one color that they can work throughout their house because so many of the houses now are open and you can see from one room to the next so they want a color that matches everything," she says.
When it comes to selecting color for a specific room, say, the kitchen, Genevich cautions homeowners to not be too tempted by what they see in home makeover magazines. "For instance, people come in and they want a yellow kitchen and they pick out these bright lemon yellows [colors] you see in a magazine and they think it will be amazing in their house but then they get home and it looks like neon yellow. So I always tell people to go for the more muted tones. If you want a bright yellow you might try more of a gold tone, something that is a little more muted so that it doesn't stand out so much. People want to go with big color which is great but you need to do it so that it doesn't overpower everything else," says Genevich. What about paint quality? Do you really need to buy top-of-the line? Surprisingly, Genevich says no. "You don't have to buy the best paint but buying a better paint is going to save you time and money. It's going to save you from having to put three coats on your wall. A better paint will be fast, easy, and error- proof." She suggests buying something in the mid-range for good coverage and value.
"If you have smoke stains on your ceiling you'll want to repaint it but [if that's not the case] you don't need to paint the ceiling to make your house look fresher. You can just do the walls. If you do paint the ceiling you can use a lower-cost interior flat paint," says Genevich.
One final tip before you get started, Genevich says, "Prep work is most important because you don't want paint on your trim, carpet, and floors. Get a good brush and roller that's not going to leave fuzz on your walls.
When's the best time to paint? Well, that's pretty open if it's an interior paint job. However, Genevich has some advice about the best times to buy paint. "Shop around holidays; that's when all the paint stores have good sales." She adds, "If you're going to do a big project where you're painting your interior house it's going to pay to get 25 percent or 30 percent off."
P. Chongchua
The first major change to the $8,000 home buyers tax credit began moving through Congress last week, giving hope to real estate and building groups pushing for extension of the entire program before it expires Nov. 30.
House Ways and Means Committee chairman, Congressman Charles Rangel, a New York Democrat, combined several smaller bills into the “Service Members Home Ownership Act of 2009” late last week, with a floor vote expected this week.
The bill is intended to correct a flaw in the original tax credit legislation: By requiring buyers to occupy and own their first home for 36 months to fully qualify for the credit, the program creates serious problems when military, Foreign Service and intelligence agency personnel are transferred overseas.
During their absence, they are not occupants of their houses, and sometimes have to rent them out or sell. Any of these events make them ineligible to retain the $8,000 credit under current law. Ineligible buyers must then repay the credit to the IRS.
Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer, sponsor of one of the bills consolidated into Rangel's, said “it is absurd that thousands of Americans serving our country, away from friends and family ... must choose between their service work and home ownership.”
The Ways and Means committee's bill would waive the repayment requirement when a service member must sell a home within the 36 month period because of a transfer to a new duty station or overseas, and would count service-related absences toward the 36 month requirement.
Another provision in the bill would extend the $8,000 credit for another year for personnel who may have missed out on claiming the credit because they thought they wouldn't qualify due to an overseas posting.
The credit for these individuals would be extended to November 30, 2010 from November 30, 2009, provided the served outside the U.S. for at least 90 days during calendar year 2009.
The bill, which has bipartisan support, could be sent to the Senate for action as early as next week, Congressional sources told Realty Times.
More important for the housing market overall, however, is the precedent set by the bill's extension of the credit for an extra year. It's not a far leap from that position to a general extension of the entire $8,000 credit program to the same date.
The National Association of Realtors, National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association jointly sponsored an ad campaign last week aimed at convincing Congress to give the credit program another year.
K. Harney
McLEAN, VA -- Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.04 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending September 17, 2009, down from last week when it averaged 5.07 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.78 percent. The last time the 30-year FRM was lower was the week ending May 28, 2009, when it averaged 4.91 percent.
The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.47 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.50 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.35 percent. This is the lowest the 15-year FRM has been since Freddie Mac started tracking it in 1991.
The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 4.51 percent this week, with an average 0.5 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.51 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 5.67 percent.
The one-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 4.58 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.64 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.03 percent.
"Interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages eased for the third consecutive week and remained at 3-month lows," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have averaged just above 5 percent through mid-September, which is roughly a percentage point below last year’s average and suggests that 2009 may reach a record annual low since the survey began in 1971."
"Low mortgage rates are aiding new home construction. Housing starts for single family homes have increased consecutively over the five past months ending in July, although starts eased slightly in August. Moreover, homebuilder confidence improved for the third straight month in September, with all four regions showing positive gains, according the National Association of Home Builder’s Housing Market Index."
Financing the purchase of a home could be the most complex financial decision you'll every endure.
You need all the help you can get.
To help get you started with the basics, the Federal Reserve offers "5 Tips for Shopping for a Mortgage," because, well, the fundamentals always apply.
Don't bite off more than you can chew. Check your budget. You must have a budget so you can estimate what you can afford to pay for a home, including the mortgage, property taxes, insurance, and monthly maintenance and utilities.
You also have to have enough to save for emergencies. Plan ahead to have enough to afford your monthly mortgage payments for several years. Check your credit report to make sure that the information in it is accurate. A higher credit score may help you get a lower interest rate on your mortgage.
Shop around. Online and off, shop lenders, brokers, credit unions, government (city, county state) programs, even seller financing. Shopping around is a bear, but it can save you thousands of dollars.
Understand costs. Shopping around means scrutinizing loan costs and fees not just the annual percentage rate (APR) On any given day, lenders and brokers may offer different interest rates and fees to different consumers for the same loan, even when those consumers have the same loan qualifications. Keep in mind that lenders and brokers also consider the profit they receive if you agree to the terms of a loan with higher fees, higher points, or a higher interest rate.
Learn risks, benefits of loan options. Mortgages have many features -- fixed interest rates, adjustable rates, payment adjustments, interest-only payments, prepayment penalties, balloon payments and more. Consider all the features, including the APR and the settlement costs.
Have your lender calculate how much your monthly payments could be a year from now, and 5 or 10 years from now. A mortgage shopping worksheet can help you identify the features of different loans. Mortgage calculators can help you compare payments and the equity you could build with different mortgage loans.
Get advice from those you trust. Ask family, friends, co-workers, professional associates and others you trust for referrals. Talk with a trusted housing counselor or a real estate attorney that you hire to review your documents before you sign them. You can find a list of counseling resources at NeighborWorks and on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) website or by calling (800) 569-4287.d
B. Perkins
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-Over $300 Millions in Career Sales -Over 350+ Career Closed Sales -#1 Agent North Shore Region; KWRP -Top 10 Mid-American Region; KWRI -Top 1/4 % of all Agents in Mid-American Region: KWRI
Welcome to the Best in Northern Cook and Lake County!
Specializing in Glenview, Northbrook, Morton Grove, Niles and all of Northern Cook and Lake County Illinois Real Estate....
Helen is "Your Best Move!"
In an effort to be the best and to provide the service she is noted for, Helen is proud to employ a full service team to assist you in your real estate transaction. With Helen as the President and Team Leader she oversees the team and handles all aspects of your transaction to ensure that your real estate transaction is seem-less and enjoyable. With this team into place you can rest assured that you are in the best of hands! We understand your needs and we tailor our services to extend above and beyond the call of duty! With our "It's my pleasure attitude" we guarantee that you will be thrilled with what we have to offer you!
After experiencing several careers, Helen has determined that her drive to be the best combined with tenacious persistence, and innate perception, make real estate her best career choice. Her intelligence, education, strong communication skills and her amazing ability to negotiate make her a power producer in the real estate industry. Helen has found her true calling as a real estate professional, where she has the ability to do what she does best...achieve excellent RESULTS for the clients she represents!!
Without reservation, Helen is a consistent leading professional and she has been awarded the Prestigious President's Elite Award for 2004, 2005, 2006; the second highest designation that Coldwell Banker offers for it's agents. For 2007, Helen has literally surpassed all of her prior accomplishments by again achieving President's Elite status and has closed over 60+ units, has actively listed over 200+ properties and counting and she is exceeding her volume and GCI goals by 78% from 2006. In 2008, Helen sold 90+ properties making it a record breaking career year in real estate. In 2009 Helen has already sold 81+ properties and anticipates another fantastic year. Helen is also In the Top 10 for the Mid-American Region of Keller Williams Realty International. She is a dynamic market leader specialzing in selling real estate. In a changing market Helen is even more successful and is sought after by clients who demand the best marketing and the best results. Her creative and magnetic personality make her a strong advocate in the ever-changing world of real estate. She is extremely perceptive, dynamic, thorough and precise and her advice is multi-dimensional.
With an innovative vision and an ability to plan for the future Helen's mission is to constantly raise the bar in the profession of real estate. She employs the highest and most advanced technological tools to make her marketing of residential properties unbeatable. She has a targeted business plan for each property, provides exemplary service to each client, and ensures a results oriented seamless transaction.
Helen's incredible gift of planning is immaculate and her execution is accurate. She is an expert at anticipating, reacting and handling situations appropriately and professionally. With Helen lies the confidence and assuredness that your number one vested interest is thoroughly protected at all times!
In a competitive market with an abundance of realtors, it is clear that Helen Oliveri does whatever it takes to produce RESULTS on behalf of her clientele'. She acts in their best interest and, in fact, puts their needs above all else. She does this with ultimate professionalism, first-class service and intense goal-oriented work ethic. Her results-driven program is productive and effective. Helen understands this business fully and completely, it's demands and it's challenges and thrives off of it. Helen is your ally in creating and maintaining a solid business transaction!
Make "Your Best Move" today and call Helen Oliveri...
See why we create raving fans and call us right away!
Ph: 847.967.0022
E-fax: 847-574-7573
Email: helen@helenoliveri.com
Helen specializes in selling residential real estate including condos, town-homes and single family homes. She is an expert in resales, new construction and REO foreclosures. If you need a real estate professional who is dynamic, driven and customer centric, Helen is the agent with the team for you! When you work with Helen, consider it SOLD!!
Helen is very knowledgeable, very motivated, well organized and personable. Everyone on Helen’s team works well together and with the client to accomplish the objective – sell houses! Helen’s team gave me status reports and updates very frequently. I feel my home in Glenview was marketed excellent and the property sold so quickly. I rate my experience with Helen Oliveri and The Helen Oliveri Team just outstanding. At the end of the day, our house had been on the market for a year with a different agent and had not been sold. The house sold in 28 days after I listed it with Helen Oliveri and The Helen Oliveri Team and that is what it is all about.
Don & Linda Van Dyke
My experience with Helen Oliveri was excellent and she was very in tune with the market. She is a real professional. Helen's team was also excellent; the staff was constantly aware of what was going on with each individual deal. There was never any back and forth and everyone on the team was on the same page and the weekly calls and updates are great. Helen's marketing was tremendous! I have never seen anything like it. The brochures and CD's were great. My construction lender was at the property one day and was so impressed with the marketing materials. It gave me and her so much more credibility. My overall experience with Helen Oliveri and her team was just amazing. I have been building for 15 years and without a doubt she and her team is the best. Being in the business and realizing what the market conditions are, she was phenomenal. She has a true understanding of marketing and is not just going through the motions. She is highly self-motivated which makes me feel at ease as to not having to hound her or her team for answers. It truly feels like she is on my team. When dealing with Helen and her team you feel like she is only working for you. Danny and Alison are probably the best support staff I have ever encountered in the industry. I would recommend The Helen Oliveri Team to anyone with 100% confidence.
Kevin Walsh
Helen Oliveri and her team represent the highest professional level of expertise and customer service skills. Helen's knowledge of the current market helped us sell our house in a very short period of time, which is really amazing in today's difficult real estate environment. Being a real estate professional (as we own a title company) we can appreciate her expertise in the field. As our title company conducted the closing, we could first hand witness her professionalism. She not only knew the specific requirements of the market, but also handled the transaction with attention to detail to fulfill the needs of her clients. We will recommend Helen and her team to anyone looking for a qualified agent to sell their home.
Sincerely,
Agatha and John Piecha
National Title Center
We were so very pleased to have you as our selling agent and having your company represent us. You definitely exhibited the dedication warranted by your profession. You have a keen sense for knowing the right type of customer service required, advertising, presentations, customer base, financials, innovative approachs and market strategies. We were especially impressed by your personal touch and concern for our interest, market in-puts and follow-up, quick turnaround time, and knowledge of your field. Also, the extra care taken to keep an eye on our property and keeping the unit clean for us while we were out of town. You should be proud of what you do as you definitely stand out as a extremely highly qualified real estate agent, one who presents themselve as a top agent and expresses confidence in your profession. Your company should be very proud to have you represent them. You definitely get results. Once again, thank you for being our agent. We never felt you ever let us down and were always looking out for our best interest. Should you need us as a reference please don't hesitate to call.
Sincerely,
Elliot and Pat Bedrosian
Helen and The Helen Oliveri Team are simply the best real estate team I have ever known. I have built and sold many homes in my life and never EVER have I experienced such professionalism, market expertise and customer care as I have with Helen and her team. They were there always with a smile, handling literally every aspect of my sale without reservation. They even supervised my move, cleaned my home personally and even took care of all of my closing documents without question. Helen is always personally available and made me feel like her closest friend and confidant and she fought for me unlike anyone I know. I am so confident in Helen and her team and I would recommend them without hesitation. This has been a hard time for me and she was there both as my real estate professional and as my friend and her team is phenomenal. I will always use Helen Oliveri and her team for any and all future real estate transactions. Thank you for selling my home in such a tough market....Helen you are the BEST!!
Sincerely,
Jodi Westphal
I felt as though I had a trusted friend by my side each and every step of the way while buying my very first home. Helen is honest and genuine, an invaluable trait in a friend, so you can imagine how pleased I was to find it in an agent! She answered all of my questions and explained the things I didn't understand without making me feel silly or inferior. I feel confident that she treats all of her clients with the dignity and respect they deserve when buying or selling a home. When the time comes, I won't hesitate to entrust the sale of my home to Helen Oliveri. Working with her was truly a pleasure!
Sincerely,
Canella Mullins
We would whole heartedly nominate you for "Realtor of the Year". We are convinced that it was your superior skills as a realtor that enabled you to sell our townhouse so quickly in this extremely difficult market. Hiring you as our agent was really 'our best move'. Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
James & Lolita Cox
Thank you so much for all your help with my new condo! It has been a wonderful pleasure working with both of you. My new home is beautiful! Thank you also for the gift basket! The items will certainly come in handy and they were all on my shopping list! In addition, the closing was painless!
I will miss working with all of you. I certainly will recommend your team to friends and family every time the opportunity arises! You make a great team!
Sincerely,
Rosi Odulio
I asked if Julieann and I could write this letter because of the way the two of you saw us through a tough situation. The sale of our house was tricky at best. I had been in the house for 28 years, so I had no idea of the market or what to expect of the process. Your honesty and humor kept heads clear and things light.
Even with the purchase and closing of your own home, you returned every call within minutes so that we could ask questions and in most cases, got us the answers the same day. You told us what the marketing plan was going to be and you did everything you said you would.
I've been in sales most of my adult life and must say that I've never run into a team such as yourselves. The lines of responsibility were very clear between the two of you making it easy for Julieann and myself to feel reassured that you were ALWAYS on top of things.
We had made the mistake of first signing with another team.....their claims being much the same as yours. What we learned was claims are one thing, but living up to them is another thing altogether. That experience made us even more "gun shy" of your claims of service and attention.
You lived up to and went beyond every claim.
Your work ethics and attention to detail inspired us to ask if we could put this letter together.
I have never done one of these letters before, but I knew I would have been remiss if we didn't somehow try to offer the two of you the help that you gave us.
Thank you so much
Jerry & Juliann Wexler
Many thanks to you for being so terrific in selling our house. We've owned/sold seven homes in the past, and your knowledge and experience have surpassed all our expectations. No other realtor experience comes close.
We had our house up for sale six months with a limited service realtor, only to be constantly disappointed. You turned things around for us in six weeks! And for a selling price we were happy with.
Our only regret is that we didn't sign up with you in the first place. You people are serious - and it's so obvious that you love what you do.
Bottom line, we'll recommend you to anyone who wants to experience real professionalism and real action! You're the best Helen!
All of ours,
Ed & Gail Tossing
Thank you so much for all your help in selling our home. We have had a fantastic experience with you! We are still in shock that you sold our home before the sign was put in the yard!!
What a pleasure it has been to receive "play by play" communication. We felt secure & well-informed each step of the way. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Lovingly,
Steve & Misti Wiggins
We want to thank you for a job well done!
In deciding who would list the house, we were very impressed with your knowledge, professional presentation, but most of all, your enthusiasm.
We are Real Estate Brokers who relied on a broker familiar with the area and expected a high level of professionalism.
You exceeded every expectation.
We will recommend you at every opportunity.
Regards,
Earl & Margo Stafford
Karen Kudlinski
I really did not know Helen and her team too well, because Helen sold my house in a week! The first thing that Helen impressed me is her punctuality. Before I selected Helen as my realtor, I interviewed several others. A couple of them came late, though they called ahead. One of them was 30 minutes late and did not even bother to call me. Helen's follow-up is excellent. She kept me informed during the whole process and always returned my calls promptly. I would absolutely refer anyone to Helen for her real estate service.
Sincerely,
Benny Cheung
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