Columbia Maryland 21045 Sales Since July 1, 2010

To find out how much your home is worth, call us at 301-785-5889 or contact us today!

Columbia Maryland 21044 Sales Since July 1, 2010

To find out how much your home is worth, call us at 301-785-5889 or contact us today!

Ellicott City Maryland 21043 Sales Since July 1, 2010

To find out how much your home is worth, call us at 301-785-5889 or contact us today!

Ellicott City Maryland 21042 Sales Since July 1, 2010

To find out how much your home is worth, call us at 301-785-5889 or contact us today!

West Friendship Maryland 21794 Sales Since July 1, 2010

To find out how much your home is worth, call us at 301-785-5889 or contact us today!

Poolesville Maryland 20837 Sales Since July 1, 2010

To find out how much your home is worth, call us at 301-785-5889 or contact us today!

Once the movers walk out the door with your worldly possessions, it’s usually a good idea to have a professional cleaning service come in and scrub your empty house from top to bottom. You want to leave it as clean and shiny as possible for the new owners. This means remembering to clean all the storage spaces, as well as the living areas.  At the final walk-through, the buyers will feel much better about their purchase if the house is spotless.

The good karma should continue all the way to settlement, and everyone will part friends!

Here’s the press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Stacie Hunt
410-730-4474
The following leaders have recently been chosen for the Leadership Howard County 2009-2010 Premier Program, according to an announcement by Paul Gleichauf, Chairman of the Board of Directors.

“The selection of these outstanding participants was a difficult task,” said Mr. Gleichauf. “Howard County is blessed with a wealth of talented and committed people. The candidates who are selected for this program reflect a balance of interests and backgrounds, bringing an array of perspectives, talents and resources to the class.”
“We are very pleased that these individuals and their respective organizations are making this commitment to enhancing the pool of leadership talent here in Howard County,” he added.
The Leadership program was launched in 1985 to develop capable, well-informed individuals committed to formulating plans for community improvement. The program addresses countywide issues in monthly, daylong seminars where these concerned citizens meet with established leaders in business, government and community services.

“The emergence of community leaders should not be left to mere chance,” says Stacie Hunt, President and CEO. “Therefore, we have designed a program to identify and prepare outstanding leaders who are committed to meeting the challenges of community development and Howard County’s future.”

For more information on Leadership Howard County, call Stacie Hunt at 410-730-4474 or visit our website: www.leadershiphc.org.

Alex Adler, Schaefer Financial Group, Inc.;Robert D. Biagiotti, Gas & Electric Field Services;
Judith Bluhm, Ascend One Inc.; Thomas Capps, Harkins Builders, Inc.; Larry O. Collins, Howard
County Tech Council; Timothy Joseph Collins, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab;
Sheila E. Donahue, Howard County General Hospital; Stacey Fields, Howard County Library;
Richard W. Flint, Howard County Historical Society; Joseph Garrison, Strategic Wealth
Management Group; Stephen Gerwin, HC Bureau of Utilities; Kenneth M. Green, BCS,
Incorporated; Donna Hennessy, Catalyst Communications; Julie Hughes-Jenkins, COPT
Development & Construction; Cindi Jenkins, Attiva Soft; Shontrea S. Jones, TechNique Consulting
Group, Inc. (TCG); David C. Jordan, Howard Community College; Daniel Patrick Kelliher, Law
Office of Daniel P Kelliher, LLC; Laura Kittleman, Kittleman Realty Group/Team of Keller Williams
Select; Lee Lachman, Howard County Dept. of Police; Debra Lacy, Liberty Mutual Group; Mary D.
Lasky, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab; Timothy D. Lewis, Chesapeake Corporate
Advisors; Anoop Mehta, Science Systems & Applications, Inc.; Mary McCusker Hilton, Kids for
Peace; Grace Morris, Columbia Housing; Glenn Page, M&T Bank; Dottie C. Paxton, The Columbia
Bank; Kimberly Penny, CB Richard Ellis; Brett Plano, Plano-Coudon LLC; Laurie Remer,
Leadership Howard County; Patricia M. Sasse, Bright Minds Foundation’s Computers for Students;
Robert Brian Satola, Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults; Judy Lynn Smith, Northrop Grumman
Corp.; Richard H. Wagener, Wagener-Lee, LLC; Matthew Wilson, SIOR, First Potomac
Management LLC; Linda T. Wise, Howard County Public Schools.

###

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Market Update

Housing activity continues to remain above year-ago levels despite some setbacks resulting from the now-expired tax credit. Improved stability in home prices with similar levels of distressed properties seen last year offers a hopeful sign the market is holding its ground. However, the economy still has a considerable way to go to achieve its full recovery.

Consumers are saving more and being picky about how they spend their money. While a higher savings rate means less spending in the near term, this is a positive sign that households are taking control of their finances to build some cushion that can be used to pay down debt and/or support future spending.

Existing home sales marked the twelfth consecutive month of year-over-year increase in June. On a monthly basis, sales activity eased 5.1% from May. The moderation in home sales reflects “understandable swings as buyers responded to the tax credits,” according to Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. He anticipates such impact to show up in the next two months.

June’s median home price increased for the fourth consecutive month. Distressed homes, accounting for 32% of sales last month, continued holding home prices at highly affordable levels for the time being. While distressed sales hovered around the same level as a year ago, the gain in home prices is pointing to a sustained stability in the making.

Interest Rates

Mortgage rates set a new record low in July as consumer confidence softened and unemployment remained elevated. This presents a great opportunity for buyers and investors. Coupled with lowered home prices and a robust rental market, investors are finding their way to cash-flow opportunities. As recovery gains deeper roots, rates will need to rise to keep inflation in check.

Rates as of August 6.

This Month’s Video

Topics For Home Owners, Buyers & Sellers

Consumers Beware: New Credit Card Tricks

On May 22, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009, marking a turning point for American consumers and ending the days of unfair rate hikes and hidden fees. While the new law offers significant safeguards, consumers still need to be vigilant against new practices designed to outflank the new rules.

Stay as informed as possible, read your statement , report any irregularities immediately, and watch for these tricks.

• Shortened Billing Cycle: The CARD Act requires companies to allow a window of at least 21 days from when a statement is mailed and when payment is due. Cardholders are reporting being shortchanged on billing cycle time and then being assessed late-payment fees.
  Advice: Watch out for shortened payment dates.
• Sunday Due Dates: The CARD Act stipulates if a creditor does not receive or accept payments on weekends or holidays, then the date is extended and late-payment fees shouldn’t be triggered. However, some banks say they’re open for business even when there’s no mail delivery.
  Advice: Don’t assume you are safe.
• Low-Limit Cards: The CARD Act says a card’s total annual fees can’t exceed 25% of a borrower’s credit line. However, some issuers may be evading the fee restrictions by charging an up-front processing fee that doesn’t fall under the 25% cap.
  Advice: Watch out for processing and other fees.
• False Inactive Fees: Issuers will no longer be able to charge inactivity fees or extra charges for people who don’t spend a certain amount each year, effective August 22. However, some issuers are charging an annual fee that’s waived if cardholders reach a certain spending threshold.
  Advice: Watch out for conditional annual fees.
• Rebate Offers: Some credit cards offer refunds on finance charges when customers pay on time. However, rebate offers aren’t governed by the CARD Act, and such offers can be revoked suddenly and for any reason, leaving cardholders stuck with higher charges.
  Advice: Rebates may translate to real savings in finance charges.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Contact Kittleman Realty Group,

your local real estate expert,

for information about what’s going on in our area.

301-785-5889

Newsletter Contents

1. Market Update

2. Interest Rates

2. Video

3. Topics for Owners, Buyers & Sellers

Brought to you by KW Research. For additional graphs and details, please see the This Month in Real Estate PowerPoint Report.

The opinions expressed in This Month in Real Estate are intended to supplement opinions on real estate expressed by local and national media, local real estate agents and other expert sources.  You should not treat any opinion expressed on This Month in Real Estate as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy, but only as an expression of opinion.  Keller Williams Realty, Inc., does not guarantee and is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of information, and provides said information without warranties of any kind.  All information presented herein is intended and should be used for educational purposes only.  Nothing herein should be construed as investment advice.  You should always conduct your own research and due diligence and obtain professional advice before making any investment decision.  All investments involve some degree of risk.  Keller Williams Realty, Inc., will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in This Month in Real Estate.

Get the complete picture here:
http://kittlemanrealtygroup.com/2010/06/howard-county-real-estate-market-stats-may-2010/