Rick Hoel - Broker/Realtor, Bluffton, SC

I wrote the other day about local attractions as a "Marketing Tool". Since that post, I have received feedback and read other blog posts that remind me that this particular attraction in Savannah, The Mighty 8th Air Force Museum, is much more than this. For me it is full of inspiring stories of the bravery and courage of ordinary young men faced with extraordinary circumstances. Each story helps me cope with the particular problems in our business and my life these days and frankly makes me somewhat ashamed of the extent to which I believe that I am facing tough times.

There were 10 men in the Mighty 8^th who received the Medal of Honor, an unprecedented number from one segment of the war effort. At the Museum, you can see the pictures and read the stories of why these men received the Medal of Honor, many posthumously. Here is one of those stories.

First Lieutenant Jack W. Mathis was born in 1921, in Texas and enlisted in the Army on June 12, 1940. He served in an artillery unit until he learned that his brother Mark had enlisted in the Army Air Corps. Jack Mathis immediately transferred into his brother's unit and received aviation cadet training at San Angelo, Texas. Both brothers were trained as bombardiers and upon graduation, Jack Mathis was assigned to the 303d Bombardment Group of the Eighth Air Force In England, where he flew 14 missions.

On March 19, 1943, Mathis, 21 years old at the time, was lead bombardier on a mission over Germany. The lead bombardier's role in these missions was critical. He was responsible for directing the bombing of the entire squadron. I will let the Medal of Honor Citation speak for itself:

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corps, 359th Bomber Squadron, 303d Bomber Group. Place and date: Over Vegesack, Germany, March 18, 1943. Entered service at: San Angelo, Tex. Born: September 25, 1921, San Angelo, Tex. G.O. No.: 38, July 12, 1943.

Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy over Vegesack, Germany, on March 18, 1943. 1st Lt. Mathis, as leading bombardier of his squadron, flying through intense and accurate antiaircraft fire, was just starting his bomb run, upon which the entire squadron depended for accurate bombing, when he was hit by the enemy antiaircraft fire. His right arm was shattered above the elbow, a large wound was torn in his side and abdomen, and he was knocked from his bomb sight to the rear of the bombardier's compartment. Realizing that the success of the mission depended upon him, 1st Lt. Mathis, by sheer determination and willpower, though mortally wounded, dragged himself back to his sights, released his bombs, then died at his post of duty. As the result of this action the airplanes of his bombardment squadron placed their bombs directly upon the assigned target for a perfect attack against the enemy. 1st Lt. Mathis' undaunted bravery has been a great inspiration to the officers and men of his unit.

Jack's brother Mark was on base when the plane carrying his brother's body landed after the mission. At his own request, Mark Mathis was transferred into Jack Mathis' crew to replace him as bombardier. When the crew completed its tour of duty, Mark Mathis stayed in combat and was killed in action over the North Sea in May 1943.

Somehow, I don't feel that my own problems are quite so important after studying the stories of these brave young men, then and now. My father served with both Mark and Jack Mathis and I appreciate that but for a few events that went one way instead of another, I would not be here today.

These stories, help me face each day with much less self-absorption and before I do anything else, ask myself, "How can I be of help to someone less fortunate than me today?"

As a Realtor, lawyer and writer in Bluffton, South Carolina, I have often visited one of the most fascinating "attractions" in our area, specifically, the Mighty 8^th Air Force Museum in Savannah. It is of tremendous interest to many of my clients here and around the country who either were in World War II, or more recent wars, and the surprising number of people of my generation, the Baby Boomers, who have a connection to WW II through a parent or other relative.

My father was in the "Mighty 8th" and the following story appeared in papers throughout the country in August 2003

Watch Survives WWII, Follows Him Home - ASSOCIATED PRESS

EVANSTON, Ill. - Jim Hoel is glad to have his watch back, even though it had stopped working since he last saw it during World War II. The last time he remembers wearing the old Gallet chronometer was on May 17, 1943, the day he used it while navigating a B-26 Marauder before the bomber was forced to ditch in a canal in the Netherlands . He knows he no longer had the elaborate watch when he arrived at a German prisoner-of-war camp a few days later.

The watch arrived at his home last week in a package sent from England by a truck driver, Peter Cooper, 56, who found it in the possession of an elderly neighbor in the village of Kirton , 75 miles northeast of London .

"It's just eerie, isn't it? That was 60 years ago. I've sort of got gooseflesh," Hoel, 82, told the Chicago Tribune.

Cooper said the neighbor, "Tiny" Baxter, 89, told him his mother had given it to him.

"Whether she found it or it was given to her, I do not know," Baxter, a retired carpenter, said in a telephone interview.

The watch, an enlistment present from the bank where Hoel worked before the war, had his name and Evanston address on the back. Cooper was able to track him down at his new address using the Internet and friends who had contacts in the United States . He persuaded his neighbor to give the watch to him so he could forward it to Hoel.

Hoel said the B-26 was one of a flight of 10 that encountered heavy antiaircraft fire while en route to bomb a power plant near Amsterdam . He and three others of the plane's six crewmen survived. He spent the next two years in German POW camps.

The story was also published in our local paper, The Island Packet, and papers throughout the country. It has also reached "Ripley's Believe It Or Not!" I am currently working on a book about my father's entire story over time. Dad is now 87 years old.

To bring this back to real estate, I'm not selling many homes these days but I am meeting many people with fascinating stories themselves with less than six degrees of separation from our local treasure, The Mighty 8th Air Force Museum. Stories connect people and your local treasures will do the same.

You can read my about my father's entire World War II experience and the many things that have occurred after his "reunion" with his watch at the "War Watch" blog - http://warandtime.blogspot.com/

I'm excited. Commentators from all sides of the economic arena are telling us that we may be about to see something we typically only read about in textbooks - real free market supply and demand principles in action and in an important and very visible aspect of our daily lives. Provided the Saudis don't increase oil production and our government doesn't dip into the Strategic Oil Reserve, it appears that something "classic" may be happening right now that should lower the price at the pump all by itself. People are finally changing their behavior. I'm one of them. Just last week I started using my wife's VW Bug whenever I get the chance while Pam takes my gas guzzling Volvo for her shorter jaunt to work. I now plan my errands and carefully see if I can postpone a short trip and consolidate several into one. My list goes on but more importantly, anecdotal evidence seems to show that many of us are taking steps to reduce our demand for gasoline. Most of my friends in Bluffton, South Carolina have altered their driving habits in some way. If memory serves me right, my college economics professor along with Paul Samuelson's text, clearly told me that with less demand and a stable supply, prices go down. Right?

I lived in Hong Kong in the mid 90's and many say that Hong Kong then, and to a large extent even today, despite the turn-over to China, is one of the last bastions of true free enterprise. Milton Friedman believed that "the only plausible explanation for the different rates of growth (between the UK and Hong Kong) is "socialism in Britain and free enterprise and free markets in Hong Kong." But enough of pure economic thought. The question I want to ask is if we do see a cap on gas prices and if our behavior actually does produce the expected result of lowering those prices, what impact will this have on our real estate market. Let's first look at the impact we have seen and can expect from higher energy prices.

First, when energy prices do rise as they have been for some time now, prices start to rise generally throughout the economy. We've all seen this. Starting with basic transportation, everything that needs to be transported is costing more these days. And that list goes on as well. If these higher fuel costs aren't matched by a higher corresponding increase in productivity, inflationary pressures just continue to mount. We would then expect to see lenders looking for some way to offset these pressures and raising interest rates would be the expected next step. I've already said (Bridging the Gap in Today's Real Estate Market) that those buyers sitting on the sidelines today waiting for the buy of the century may look back in the next several months and wish they had acted now with the combination of rates and home prices at a point we may not see again for quite some time.

See also the May 6, 2008 Wall Street Journal Article, "The Housing Crisis is Over", WSJ.com - Opinion: The Housing Crisis Is Over. As the WSJ Article points out, the key factor that started the real estate slump is the same factor that will bring us out of it - affordability. The author optimistically points out that the recent overall decline in real estate prices has brought us back to the point where it now takes "19% of monthly income for the average home buyer....to purchase a house." This percantage had reached as high as 25% just before the bust in 2006. At this point and above, folks just couldn't afford to buy homes and they stopped doing so, pretty suddenly. But at the current 19%, homes are "back to being as affordable as during the best of times in the 1990s." If energy costs do continue to rise, the factors above could delay what some predict could be a pretty quick recovery from a mild or phantom recession, and depress housing sales even more as rates increase.

Well, if Milton Friedman is right and my own behavior and that of my friends is any indicator, we may all be doing this whole market a favor as we ride our bikes and actually pay attention to speed limits. And if we start to see the price at the pump decline, WSJ may be right. Keep your eye on the pump and honk when you see a Bug.

"Under all is the land. Upon its wise utilization and widely allocated ownership depend the survival and growth of free institutions and of our civilization." So begins the Preamble of the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice of the National Association of Realtors. I was immediately impressed with this powerful prose which I read during one of my introductory courses. I am equally impressed, and proud to be a part of, The Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra's own celebration of our "land" on May 5, 2008 with its "Dream of America" series.

Directed by Music Director and Conductor Mary Woodmansee Green, the orchestra will perform Peter Boyer's moving piece about Ellis Island which recounts the story of immigrants from seven different countries who arrived in America between 1908-1940. The series will feature dramatic music, actors, and visual projections. Also on the program will be American classics by Adolphus Hailstork, Charles Ives, and George Gershwin. The performance will take place at Hilton Head's First Presbyterian Church.

Following this theme and in keeping with the Symphony's mission to "reach" out to the community, in partnership with The Heritage Library Foundation headed by Bill Alstaetter, residents of Hilton Head Island, sister city Bluffton and the overall area were invited to submit family member, ancestor or their own stories of their personal "Dream of America". Stories or essays were to deal "with some aspect of immigrating to America and were to involve life-altering experiences, challenges and/or relations/connections with special personages, either public or private who inspired the writers at some particular point in their journey."

Holocaust survivor Sophie Miklos was the winner of the adult division of the Dream of America Stories Project. Her story, "My American Dream," was one of survival both from the Holocaust and the early struggles to survive in a new country.

The South Carolina State House passed a bill unanimously on Wednesday of this week that may have a positive impact on real estate sales in Beaufort County and the state as a whole, provided the State Senate follows suit. Current state law requires an immediate increase of the assessed value of residential and commercial property when property is sold or extensively improved. The new value is based upon the new market price, which in the case of a transfer is the sales price.

The new bill delays the increase in assessed value to the date when each South Carolina County completes its next reassessment, which occurs by law every five years. The next reassessment in Beaufort County is scheduled in 2009. Typically assessed values on property are significantly lower than market value and many home-buyers in the recent past have been shocked to learn that the taxes they will pay are as high as twice that paid by the previous homeowner. In some cases in Bluffton and Hilton Head Island, this has lead to contract cancellations.

Though nobody would say that the current market slump is a result of property tax policy, in a market that shows some signs of stabilizing, any stimulus can have a very positive impact. This may be another factor, along with price declines and historically low interest rates, that convince buyers that current conditions are about as favorable as they will ever be.