Ron Trzcinski

Why Will $6500 Help the Market?

Here are some statistics from Baltimore County, Maryland. They are probably relatively similar to many parts of the country.

Year ----- Avg List Price ---- Avg Sold Price ---- Sold / List ---- Difference

2007 ----- $325,592 ---------- $308,413 --------- 94.72% ------ $17,179

2008 ----- $317,773 ---------- $291,959 --------- 91.88% ------ $25,814

The total change from the average list price of 2007 to the average sold price of 2008 was $33,633 or about a drop of 10.33%.

If the $6,500 tax credit is deducted from the average sold price of 2008, it would provide a further drop of 2.02%.

The year over year drop in list price and the year over year drop in sold price is more than $6,500.

The difference between list and sold price for 2007 and for 2008 is well above $6,500.

Since the $6,500 is a small percentage of the actual sold prices and since the price adjustments are much more than the $6,500, it can be deduced that the market forces are already making the adjustments neccessary to keep the market moving.

Compared to the changes that the market has made on its own, the $6,500 could be viewed as irrelevant.

If $6,500 is all that it would take to get the market moving, then it appears that it could make that adjustment all on its own without the help of the $6,500 tax credit.

Looking for a Dream House . . . . Look at These Homes in Baltimore City

Are you looking for a special home? Would you like something that is not a cookie cutter home from the suburbs? Are you interested in being close to the culture of a cosmopolitan city? Check out these homes which are all located within the boundaries of Baltimore City.

This is just a small taste of homes which are currently (11-19-2009) on the market in Baltimore City. You can see more about each home in the link below.

http://mrislistings.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?ID=34088690926

Maryland My Maryland

Perhaps your company or your job is relocating to Maryland or maybe you are considering making a move for yourself or for your own company.

Here are some reasons why you should leave your trepidations behind and make the move to Maryland, the area which is sometimes referred to as "America in Miniature" or the "Land of Pleasant Living".

• To the west are the Appalachian Mountains, where you can find lakes, hiking trails, skiing slopes, caves to explore, and several quaint towns, with their antique shops, all nestled within the valleys.

• To the east is the Atlantic Ocean, which provides copious amounts of sun and surf, deep sea fishing, and plenty of shops, restaurants, and fun activities along the Ocean City Boardwalk.

• In the center is the Chesapeake and its fresh water tributaries which holds the tastiest of treats, Rock Fish and Blue Crabs, which when steamed are one of the most delectable dishes on the planet. Or, just unhurl the sails and enjoy the gentle breezes.

• To counter, the beautiful nature there are the metropolitan areas of Baltimore and the suburbs surrounding Washington, DC. The regions eclectic architecture features homes and commercial buildings of all styles. Baltimore has more park land than most major cities.

• One can not drive far before finding a major or minor league sports arena, with 2 professional football teams, and one major league baseball franchise, plus golf courses galore, which hold an occassional tournament for the elite in the sport; the area has plenty for the sports enthusiast.

• The culture does not stop with sports as Baltimore has a world class orchestra and the region has many museums, which frequently exhibit the finest works of art from around the world.

• With DC along its southern border and with New York just a short 200 miles to the notheast, Maryland is in a very influential region.

• Maryland has one of the highest ranked educational systems in the nation and is one of the wealthiest states when measured by average household income.

• The population is one of the most diverse of any in the world and the area has a very large retirement population keeping the knowledge here for the youth.

• Maryland is in the forefront of the biotechnology industry with Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland leading the way.

• The Port of Baltimore is extremely busy with imports and exports and even with Carribbean bound cruises.

• Transportation is very accessible with numerous interstate highways, several subway, light rail, and commuter train lines, and BWI International Airport.

• There is a huge defense industry in the region with numerous military bases, defense contractors, as well as NASA.

• Some of the most affordable housing in the Northeast US can be found in this region. This may include stately mansions, suburban single family homes, city rowhomes of every type of architecture, mountain cabins, bayside homes, and more.

It does not stop at that. Come visit and you will be impressed.

Chicken or Egg

It's an age old question of philosophy. What came first the chicken or the egg? It is cyclic in nature; you can not have one without the other. Although, I did have eggs for breakfast without the chicken and then I had a chicken sandwich for lunch without the eggs. Perhaps the question has more to do with your opinion of creationism versus evolution; I don't know.

. . . and then there is Santa Claus . . . myth or reality? Well, I did meet Santa and I have pictures to prove it. That's right; me and my brother sitting on Santa's lap. However, when I was a bit older, I found my brother bringing a friend from down the street, who was dressed like Santa, to see my little sister. I had to wonder. Was there a conspiracy and my brother was in on it? Me and my sister were being indoctrinated into this charade. But why?

Now that I am older, I am hearing about a new philosophical dilemma. What comes first: the service / product or the profit? To further complicate the situation, beyond that of the chicken and egg concern, is the idea that profit might not actually need to exist.

I believe that society and its economies are complex. My approach regarding the question of service versus profit is that service comes first and profit comes second if the service was needed and was delivered in an efficient manner. Further, the purpose of my profit is to turn around and purchase other services from other people, services, which they can provide more efficiently than I. The more profit that I make, the more services that I can purchase.

Some people believe that profit comes first. When profit is considered first, then the service may or may not have value, but it will yield a profit. Some people call this greed. I agree. However, the one benefit to this type of thinking is that an argument could be made that they do not need to pay a value-added tax, since their product has no value. Nonetheless, this type of thinking must have a limit to the potential profit, because people will eventually determine that there is no value in what they are buying. This last sentence takes me back to one of the reasons that I approach service first rather than profit.

In one sense, I can see how profit does not need to exist, but this is only related to definitions. Services and products come from people, resources, and the ideas and labor of these people. These things already exist. Money, including profit, is actually a common denominator. It is a way to equate the many different services and products that are produced within the economy. For instance, a six pack of cola may cost the same as a gallon of gas or in monetary terms possibly $2.50. It is much easier to use money to purchase products than it is to barter products.

Let me step back. Why does one need profit? Basically stated, profit is the difference between what it costs to make and deliver a product and the amount that is paid for that product. Without this profit, one would have no money available to purchase other products. It is obvious why one would need to purchase other products. In an efficient economy and society where basic and advanced needs are being met, it is most effective for people to specialize and to use the talents which they possess both naturally and through their developmental efforts and to use the resources which are most available to them. No individual will produce everything that they need by themselves. Yes, there are individuals who have wonderd off into the wilderness and lived on their own, but not without the knowledge that they gained by first living within a society.

Even if you did not have the Santa fantasy, you probably learned that it was human nature to want more, first basic needs and then higher level needs. It was profit that propelled the fullfilment of these desires. It was the pursuit of meeting these needs that led to an increase in the overall wealth.

So where does this take us? Let us go back to Santa Claus, that jolly fella who would deliver anything that your little heart desired. You would simply sit on his lap, put in your order, and he would have the slaves, er, I mean elves slap it together for you. Whether he was real or not, it seems that those years of indoctrinating our youth has led to a society that believes, if not in Santa, then, at least, in the concept. So how does it work?

In the modern day world, the role of Santa Claus and his modest North Pole operation has been taken over by Big Government. Apparently, one of the elves had wondered off of the northern plantation and came upon Chicago where he met several individuals who taught him the basics of expanding this Santa concept. He was instructed that he only needed to infiltrate the government and that there he would find an endless supply of goodies to "spread around" and make good cheer. So with magic dust (no wait, that was from an earlier time in this elf's life). . . . So with words of inspiration he went out to dupe the country and the world into believing that "Help is on the way." Soon he and some other radical elves were controlling the show, they were calling the shots in the biggest organization in the world. They were spreading the wealth around.

•· Insurance companies and banks were receiving bailouts in the billions (but careful what you wish for, as there were no more huge paychecks for the corporate executives anymore).

•· Automobile companies too were receiving tons from this powerful Santa-like organization as long as they made windmill powered cars.

•· Soon Uber Santa was promising health care for all.

•· The list was endless.

As for the chicken and the egg, forget it; there would be no more eggs, for they had too much cholesterol; and forget the chicken too, everyone would eat lettuce.

But if nobody had to make a profit anymore, then from where did all of the wealth come? China?

Nottingham, Maryland

If you are looking to buy a home, but have not yet decided upon a neighborhood, then you may want to consider Nottingham, Maryland.

Here are some reasons why:

• Great accessibility with I-95, I-695, Bus Routes, and the MARC Commuter Train all conveniently available, making it very easy to get to Downtown Baltimore, BWI International Airport, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Washington DC, and more.

• Proximity to major colleges such as Johns Hopkins, Loyola University, Towson University, Goucher College, and several others.

• Copious shopping opportunities where one can find almost any major retailer with White Marsh Mall being the anchor location for many of these stores.

• Close by entertainment with theaters, movie complexes, major league sports' teams, such as the Baltimore Ravens and Baltimore Orioles all within 30 minutes or less of the area.

• Several casual and fine dining restaurants all within a short distance.

• A variety of affordable homes are available in the area. The link below provides a glimpse of what is available:

http://mrislistings.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?ID=34049200756