Michael Burkhard 970-640-4655

This morning while I was picking some vine ripened tomatoes from my garden and I could feel the cool breeze blowing across the Colorado River, I stopped for a moment and just looked around at the beautiful valley I call home. WOW what a wonderful place to live. I have what is called a gentleman's farm ( a small acreage used as a hobby farm to grow fruits and vegetables.) I grow mostly vegetables and leave the fruit to the professionals that are good at what they do. It is just walking distance to the fruit stands, so you can have the fresh stuff any time you want in the summer. This is truly why I love living in Palisade, there are allot of different types of properties in Palisade, Large orchards, Award winning wineries, and allot of farms just like mine, just for fun. Or if you would like there are some beautiful homes with small yards so you can enjoy the many events that Palisade has to offer. The big orchards are picking the peaches, pears and such as fast as they can. If you ever feel like you want to call Palisade home or just want to look around, give me a call and I will be happy to show you the place I call home, Palisade Colorado.

Do the summer days sometimes seem to go by to quick. I noticed the back to school specials and it never dawned on me that summer was going to be coming to an end until I heard that the Palisade Peach festival is this weekend. That means that the harvest is in full swing and I can count on some great peaches and ice cream, along with some Big Band music and Dancing in the streets tonight in Palisade Colorado. Kids will be back in school and fall will be upon us here very soon. Now it is time to ask yourself did I get everything I wanted to get done this summer, or do I have a carry over list for next year. I Love this time of year for looking back on the summer and planning for my winter activities.

It seems that this time of year gives us a chance to slow down for a few days and catch up on our planning. The one thing I think is the most important is to take some time to enjoy the beautiful place you live. I really enjoy the peach festival in Palisade because you can see the farmers that have worked so hard all spring and summer long, get to see the Fruits of their labor pay off. So if you get a chance this weekend come by Palisade Colorado and eat a peach and enjoy the soon end of summer. And if you decide you want to get into farming or just enjoying the simple life, call me and I will help you find the perfect place to call home.

You know when you are sitting here thinking what in the world is making this market the way it is. We have not ever really seen anything like this. I for one am always looking at past trends and statistics to see if you can see a real comparison. We have home values that have dropped substantially, and interest rates at a historically low point. This would be the perfect storm for a fast paced Real Estate market. So as I sat here thinking and I got to looking at the actual numbers of what is selling the fastest and why. The bottom line is that the market is being driven by the Government own properties ( Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and HUD) that they have no Skin in The Game to say the least. The homes that they have foreclosed on are on their books and they are doing everything they can to get them sold. Keep dropping the price until it moves. ( Remember it is the Government, what do they have to loose but Our money) So if you happen to be one of the folks that have worked the American Dream for years to build up your equity in you most valuable investment, only to find the Government fire selling homes way below market value because they can. I am making a stand that the Government should package "Our" foreclosed homes into packages and sell them off to investors, or use the home for low income housing. This would keep the appraisers from using these "Fire Sale Homes" in their com parables and I personally think that it would stabilize the dropping prices and move people into home ownership. There has to be a plan that would work and we need to just stay true to the course and we will get into better waters. I am in Grand Junction, Mesa County Colorado.

With interest rates at a historically low place, there should be no question as to whether to buy or to rent. Yet with all the new regulations, the media has everyone thinking that they cannot get a loan. Therefore they are sitting on the fence waiting for rates to go down more, or we have not hit bottom on the prices dropping more. Well if we had all those answers rates would probably not be as low as they are and we would not have as large of an inventory as we do. Here in Mesa County we are already seeing a decrease in the number of homes on the market in certain price ranges, and this in turn will make a difference in supply and demand. There are allot of programs available in Colorado for home buyers. CHFA (Colorado Housing Finance Authority), USDA Rural Development, and Habitat for Humanity. These are just a few of the programs available. So get off the fence before the wind blows you off. As always I am ready to answer any questions you may have.

As we all get ready for the start of summer with the first 3 day weekend, Let us not forget what this weekend is all about. There are all kinds of stories as when Memorial Day started, but there is no doubt it was started as a time to remember all the fallen soldiers that fought for our freedom. I recently returned from a trip to our Nation’s Capital for the National Association of Realtors meetings, and was awe inspired and very humbled while standing in the WW II Memorial. Having not served in our military, I found my eyes filled with tears thinking about all the people that lost their lives to protect our freedoms and the things that I know I sometimes take for granted. So I ask that in all the fun in the sun this weekend and the great backyard BBQ's we take a moment even in our own minds to say thank you to all the brave men and women that have served our country so well. I am very proud to be an American and to live in a wonderful place called Grand Junction, Colorado. And for that my hat goes off to all of our military, and I say a heartfelt THANK YOU, and God Bless America.