"The Bear"

A White Mountain Tradition... APRIL VACATION IN FLORIDA!

After a great winter of skiing, XC and snowshoeing, locals in the White Mountains head south for the month of April to bake in the warm sun of the Florida coast.

We have been spending every April since the boys were born, on Casey Key on the Gulf Coast, just South of Sarasota. The island is very small and by April most of the seasonal owners have already headed back to their homes in the North. So, we have the island's beaches almost all to ourselves.

We try and swim 2-3 times everyday and this year it was perfect swimming weather everyday but one. Warm water, & blue skies.

On the one cloudy day we headed to Mote Marine Aquarium.

Spring Is Here!

The Grass Has Ris'

I Wonder Where The BUYERS Is?

While the weather has been wonderfully mild this Spring. The Buyers are still very leery of taking advantage of the low prices and low interest rates. Sales in March continue to accelerate, but are running about one property a day, half of a normal March. www.Black-Bear-Realty.com had a very strong 1st quarter with over 2 million in sales.

The government's $8,000 credit for first time home buyers has not been a big driver in the white mountains since we are dependent on second home buyers. But, as more and more 1st time home buyers realize what a great bargain they are being offered it will get more homes under contract. Many will find it is cheaper to buy now than to rent, a good sign of the market bottom.

So get out and enjoy the Spring. The slow March sales are just "Water Under The Bridge!"

And now for something completly different....

Ever wonder where the words we use everyday in real estate come from?

Mortgage- When an impoverished heir (eldest son of a noble) wished to borrow money, he would sign a pledge to pay when his father died and he came into his estate. mort = death, and gage is of Gothic origin relating to the word pledge.
Economy- via Latin from Greek oikonomia = management of a household (oikos = house, and nomia = control.
Offer- from Latin offerre = to present in sacrifice.
Finance- From Late Latin financia from finare, to pay a fine, and finis, a settled payment.
Location- From Latin locus, meaning place: hence location.
Bungalow- From Hindi bangla = Bengali, house built in the style of Bengal (Bangladesh).
Architect- from Greek arckhitekton = chief builder; arkhi = chief, and tekton = carpenter, builder.
Mansion- Comes from the French word maison = house. A mansion was originally a place that held soldiers overnight during their marches.
Room- From German raum as in lebensraum, a space to live in.
Landscape- Dutch landshap = region, countryside; hence ‘picture of countryside.'
Contract- Con is from Latin meaning ‘together'. Also from Latin, tract = to draw. So contract = draw together.
Attorney- From Old French atorner, which means ‘to turn to'.
Term- From Latin terminat = to end, and terminus = boundary. Term is a period (that comes to an end). Over time, term grew to mean the limiting conditions, as in the terms of an agreement.
Neighbor- In the old days, the man next door was a farmer: neighbor, from neahgebur, nigh boor. Boor was a farmer.
Acre- From Latin ager, meaning fertile country or field.
Garrison - From Old French guerite = watch tower, which often meant just
windows on the top story of a building. From guerison, we have the English version
garrison.
Porch- From Latin porticus. Porta = gate. The word veranda comes from Portuguese varanda = porch, gallery.
Roof- From Old English hrof, Germanic khrof.
Application- Comes from Latin application, meaning ‘the act of bringing things together'.
Glitch- From the German word glitschen, meaning ‘to slip'.
Value - From Latin valere, to have worth; via French valoir, past participle valu, value, comes English value.

This information compiled for you by Randy Guida, of Residential Mortgage Services
603.662.6702 cell, 603.356.7937 fax, rguida@rmsmortgage.com

Randy is a great guy for mortgages and like eveyone here at www.Black-Bear-Realty.com has plenty of time on his hand to serve you better!

(Source: The Dictionary of Word Origins by Joseph P. Shipley and Success with Words from Reader's Digest)

New Hampshire Foreclosures Lower Than National Numbers.

Home foreclosures are less than one percent of all owned homes in New Hampshire, but they often are, a much larger fraction of all sales in a town, particularly when there are so few transactions.

The result is that in a slow market with a high percentage of distressed sales, the median home price can show a substantial drop. But, home not in foreclosure may still be demanding fair prices.

This distorts the perception of home values. Potential buyers want to discount every property, while Sellers not in foreclosure are holding out for higher prices.

When the number of foreclosures starts to decline, which it must do fairly soon, then home prices will at stabilize and lenders will feel more comfortable writing mortgages.

Contact the team at www.Black-Bear-Realty.com for more insight on New Hampshire real estate for sale.

ESSC SKI DAY! & St Patrick's Day!

The best time of year and the best day with the kids!

45 - 55 Degees in the middle of March! "Who Could Ask For Anything More!"