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Wow, have I been bad about posting lately with all my travels!

I have been travelling for the last month and a half.  I will be settling in Lexington,KY in about a week for a while.  After all,  the racing season begins at Keeneland race course in Lexington KY and I love to go to the races in KY in the spring with all the new foilage.  It is breathtaking, refreshing, and uplifting.  I am sure you all enjoy spring in the midwest and north and northwest and northeast U.S.

In the last month I have been from Lexington to Costa Rica to Chicago to Atlanta and now in SE Florida showing property all along the SE Atlantic coast of FL to some upper midwest clients who are fairly tired of wintering in the upper midwest-OK really tired of the snow and cold.  They aren’t just buying a second home or third home as many of my clients/referrals from the North and upper Midwest, but are moving permanetly to sunny FL where it has been 81-84 degrees and clear for the last 7 days !!  With no state income tax and fabulous warm sunny winters, it is hard to resist becoming a permanent resident (6 months plus a day) in FL– Then head North or to the mountains of NC for the summer !!!

And don”t forget the FEI World Equestrian games are coming to Lexington, KY in Autumn 2010.  Come to the spring races in April to see how beautiful Lexington KY and the Bluegrass is in the spring.

Go to my website for more great searches and info from international info to new developments around the world to great featured properties.

Thanks to The Kelly Karls Team, serving ChicagoLand for a great blog from our TEAM Real Estate. www.kjPremier.com

Doesn’t that sound great!??!    Well according to seasoned economist James F. Smith, at Parsec Financial, we should be looking at better days coming this Spring.  His predictions are that the housing market will be the first to rebound (which should get a nice shot in the arm once the new $15000 homebuyer stimulus credit is finalized), and then the vehicle market, followed by consumer confidence and small businesses.

Smith is attributing the doom and gloom attitude to the “herd instinct.”  He suggests that the trillions of dollars on the market sidelines, pent up consumer demand, and the likely stimulus package that Obama is pushing for will pull the economy out of this supposed recession by May 15th.  With 30 plus years experience and a strong track record, he could be on to something here.

If we really are creatures of habit, lets join his herd and get excited.  This market will be booming again by mid-May.  To see the full story in the Chicago Tribune click here.   If you have questions about the housing market, or are looking to buy or sell a home, please don’t wait.  Contact us today at:

www.kjPremier.com   or  www.PremierRealEstateAndHomeServices.com 

maryanne@maryannesimmons.com  or   kkarls@atproperties.com

30- year fixed mortgage rates were down again this week to 6.04% from 6.14% last week.  This  is the 3rd consecutive week that long term fixed rates have dropped.

From Realtor Magazine Online

Five-year and one-year ARMs declined as well, down to 5.87 percent from 5.98 percent and to 5.29 percent from 5.33 percent, respectively.

30 year long term fixed mortgage rates drop

 for 3rd consecutive week.

FDIC’s Bair pushes aggressive mortgage plan
 
In a surprise move, FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair unveiled on Nov. 14th details of her plan to have the government help delinquent homeowners.  There are two key elements to the proposal.
 
First, housing payments for delinquent borrowers two months or more late would be reduced to 31 percent of gross monthly income.  To get there, mortgage rates could be set as low as 3% for five years, before increasing at an annual rate of 1 percentage point until they hit the prevailing market rate. Loan terms could be extended as long as 40 years.
 
Second, to encourage servicers and investors to participate, the government would share up to 50 percent of the losses if a borrower who had been helped ended up in default anyway. The risk of re-default had been one obstacle to getting lenders on board with systematic modification plans. In addition, the FDIC would pay servicers who process mortgages $1,000 for each re-worked loan.
 
The plan is expected to initially help 2.2 million borrowers get new loans; after some borrowers re-default, 1.5 million would ultimately keep their homes, the FDIC estimated.  The plan would cost an estimated $24.4 billion, which Bair has said could come from the $700 billion bailout Congress approved last month.
 
Unless Bair’s proposal gets the Treasury Department’s blessing, it would have to be approved by Congress or wait for review by the Obama administration.
 
Source: CNNMoney.com

What are your thoughts on this initiative ??

Mortgages rates move downward
 
After several weeks of off-the-charts volatility, mortgage rates moved modestly lower last week, according to Bankrate.com.  The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 5 basis points, to 6.39 percent, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point. The mortgages in this week’s survey had an average total of 0.39 discount and origination points. One year ago, the mortgage index was 6.32 percent; four weeks ago, it was 6.74 percent.
 
The benchmark 15-year fixed-rate mortgage slid 13 basis points, to 6.08 percent. The benchmark 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage declined 4 basis points, to 6.42 percent.

I just finished attending the Leaders in Luxury Conference in Miami, FL and I got to see all my Realtor buddies from across the nation.  This is my 4th year to attend The Leaders in Luxury  Conference hosted for Guild members of The Luxury Home Marketing Institute. I have been a member of this for 4 years or so. 

I will be reporting to you some great new statistics about the Luxury market across the nation-statistics  giving you a new fresh perspective that will inform you and help you make wise real estate decisions and choices.

I am so pleased to be associated with all these fine agents/Brokers across America and I look forward to sharing my perspective about the Luxury Market, since this is one of my specilties/niches in the real estate profession.