We Just Made Searching For a Home Easier!

Coldwell Banker has just made searching for your new home easier! Below is the press release that came out today about our new search function for iPhone users. Now not only can you receive emails from me when a home that fits your search criteria comes on the market, you can see all the details as well!

To use this great new search tool, visit my ColdwellBanker.com profile page:


http://coldwellbanker.com/servlet/AgentListing?action=detail&ComColdwellbankerDataAgent_id=63900&page=agent




PARSIPPANY, N.J. - Sept. 29, 2008 – Continuing to blaze a path of innovation in the real estate industry, Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC today became the first full-service national real estate brand to launch a customized online platform for iPhoneTM users.
The Coldwell Banker flagship Web site, coldwellbanker.com, now has a different look and feel, along with navigation specifically tailored for optimal viewing on the iPhone, most notably with the property listings search and home value estimator functions. When a user accesses the site through his or her handset, the Coldwell Banker Web site automatically recognizes that it is being accessed by an iPhone, and will serve up the special iPhone interface. iPhone users do not need to download any special software to benefit from this enhancement to the Coldwell Banker mobile technology.


“Providing easy access to real-time real estate information is critical for consumers in the home buying and selling process,” said Michael Fischer, senior vice president of marketing for Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. “Distribution of listings is crucial in today’s environment. Our mobile society is moving away from the desktop and utilizing cell phones and PDAs for more and more content and entertainment. With so many connecting to the Web by phone, we have to be where the consumer is in a way that makes sense.”


Those looking for a home will be able to search for homes and utilize the brand’s home value estimator. In addition, consumers will be able to enter specific search criteria such as city, state, price as well as optional filters including number of bedrooms and bathrooms. When a property is selected, iPhone users can view all of the specifications for that home and contact an agent directly.


“Now more than ever consumers want to access information about a home as they see it, pass it or hear about,” continued Fischer. “Being in front of a computer should not be mandatory.”
Earlier this year Coldwell Banker became the first national real estate brand to put its listings on in-car GPS devices through an exclusive feed to Dash Navigation. Drivers can now call up Coldwell Banker listings, map them, get directions and view other Coldwell Banker listings in close proximity.


And if you searching for a home in the Midtown/North Hills Area, visit my website at:

www.LiveInRaleighMidtown.com to see all the latest listings and other Raleigh Midtown News.

(iPhone is a registered trademark of Apple Computers, Inc.)

How Will the Federal Mortgage Buyout Affect Our Local Real Estate Market?

Wow is all I can say right now! In an unpresendented move, yesterday the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve began discussing with our leaders in Congress a large plan to buy up huge numbers of distressed mortgages held by investors and financial institutions.

Details on this plan are not complete, but when everything is worked out, this could be the largers bailout in US History. Much larger than the Resolution Trust Corp, which is what this plan is based on. (For more information on the Resolution Trust Corp, please visit this site:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resolution_Trust_Corporation ).

Several blogs are going on about this new proposal, both for and against it. With the Federal Reserve loaning, just yesterday, almost $300 billion to worldwide financial markets, one question is where is the money going to come from? Ultimately, US Taxpayers will be responsible for any portion of the assests that the government cannot resale.

And the large influx of money did little to stop the panic and make the general

public feel more secure. But the overall goal in all of this is for the government to eventually make money on the well unpriced securities that it does purchase.

So what does this mean for our real estate market? One thing it will do is free up money for these institutions to lend to new home buyers. Lending institutions rely on the mortgage payments of existing loans to fund new ones. If those loans are in default, then they don't have money to loan to new buyers. And it also makes the qualification process much tougher. All of this would mean more sales in our area.

If you would like more information, this is a great article that I found on the LA Times site:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-rtc19-2008sep19,0,1876178.story?track=rss

I hope you have a great weekend and if you know of anyone looking to buy or sale a home, please have them contact me!

Real Estate Is Still a Great Investment!

Something to think about - The Fed is attempting to be savvy and creative in its

ways to help the financial system get back on track. However, there is simply no

one who can draw upon past experience to find answers here. This situation is historic...and we are living through it. It is almost comical to hear the zany ignorance that comes out of the mouths of some of the politicians who are paraded in front of the cameras...I can't help but think that we actually elected these people.

There is a lot of panic out there. People are very worried about their life savings. Is money in the bank safe? How about if it is in a life insurance policy? How about in bonds? Unfortunately the answer is no, no, no. Yesterday, the panic reached a level that caused such a demand on Treasuries, that the total return of some short-term paper went negative. That's right...the premium paid was higher than the return provided by the yield. So keeping your cash under the mattress is better than an investment in some Treasuries, and apparently safer than the financial market. Suddenly, guess what may become the most attractive way to protect your money?

Think about it...you can touch it, get a tax break, and live in it too.

Yes, Real Estate is starting to look pretty good, especially since the pricing has become more reasonable.

The local and national media are having a field day with falling house prices in various parts of the country. But for the most part, what they are using to confirm their stories is the mediam pricing index distributed by the National Association of Realtors. They seem to forget that real estate is unique to the area, and sometimes right down to the neighborhood or street that we live on. So the big question is:

How are home priced holding up in Wake County?

The answer is that we are doing just fine! In the last 18 months, the average appreciation for a home in Wake County is around 4.8%. Any seller that purchased a home in 2008 and needed to sell has been lucky to break even, and most of them have. The luxury home market ( homes valued over $500,00) is oversupplied, but we all knew that. There is currently a ten month supply of these homes. But there is light at the end of the tunnel for this market. Building permits for these homes have dropped, so the supply should shorten within the next year to year and a half.

The Fed has come to the rescue lately, but all these bailouts and programs to help faltering companies are hard to sustain. They can't save everybody because money will run out. As mentioned, the Fed has been very creative. But eventually, the money and creativity could run out. And the Fed may need to actually print money - this would be highly inflationary. Let's hope it doesn't get to this, as that would be very bad for rates.

So history has proven once again that real estate is still a great investment. If you are considering adding real estate to your investment portfolio, please give me a call at 919-272-4754 or email me at LisaColeman@hpw.com . I would love to show you how to create a great cash flow with investment properties.

You can also search my website at www.LiveInRaleighMidtown.com for homes!

Will the FED Cut Rates Today?

It's Fed Day, but that isn't the big story at the moment. Right now, all eyes are on insurance giant AIG, which is in very serious trouble. The company is in desperate need of around $75 Billion and it has until today to shore up this capital, otherwise it could face bankruptcy. This story is far reaching as AIG is a worldwide company, with $1 Trillion in assets and operating in 130 countries.

Think about this - AIG provides insurance in all facets of life, from car to life insurance - and should AIG go bankrupt, claims around the world would not get paid - that is scary to imagine. We will see what happens in the next several hours as this story develops.

At 2:15pm ET, the Fed will release its interest rate decision and policy statement. Up until the last few days, there wasn't much of a chance for a Fed Cut - but as of this morning, the Fed Funds Futures are saying there is a 100% chance of a .25% cut and a 50% chance of a .50% cut. This is really amazing. We won't know for sure what will happen until later today - but with mounting issues in the financial sector, the Fed may just cut in an attempt to restore a sense of calm in the global financial markets. Should the Fed cut, Mortgage Bonds may not like this action because of its inflationary effects so stay tuned - prices are already down slightly on the day even in the face of heavy selling pressure in Stocks.

We hope the Fed doesn't cut, as they did when they panicked in January. We are just starting to see signs of inflation moderating, oil prices receding and the US Dollar strengthening. A Fed Cut would likely disrupt those nice trends. Should the Fed not cut - Mortgage Bonds may likely move another leg higher, but should they cut - we could see prices give up some of their recent gains. We see Mortgage Bonds moving higher in the longer-term, but a Fed Cut today could provide a speed bump and possible retracement in prices.

If you would like more information on how a federal interest rate adjustment will affect your future home purchase, you can contact Jody Mueller at 919-845-3715. Jody is with Alera Financial and he is wonderful at helping you get the best rate for your mortgage in these tough lending times!

Midtown Raleigh Shopping Event Tonight!

I wanted to let everyone know about a great shopping event at Uniquities at North Hills. Their fall fashion event is tonight, September 11th, from 6-8 pm. Polished will be on hand to help you as you are browsing around, and will be offering free fashion advice for a night out on the town!

For tonight only, they are offering special discounts to shoppers:

Spend $250 and get $50 off!

Spend $500 and get $100 off!

Spend $1000+ and get $200 off!

Also, for tonight, you can receive one free hour of future Polished services with any of the above purchases!

(So here's the fine print: This is valid only for this evening, and discounted items are a final sale, and you cannot use the discount on previous purchases).

And if you just want to look around, they will be serving Champagne and Light Apps.

For more information on Uniquities and Polished, go to their website at:

http://www.uniquities.com/

And for more information on Raleigh and the Midtown Area, visit:

www.LiveInRaleighMidtown.com

Happy Shopping!

What is Midtown Raleigh?

What is Midtown Raleigh?

For the past decade or more, Raleigh has been searching for its “Midtown”. But the wait is over, and really has been over since 2005.

Most people think that it is equivalent to North Hills, but it is much more than that. Midtown magazine considers it every area within the 27609 zip code. The News and Observer includes some areas inside the beltline, around Whitaker Mill Road and as far east as Brentwood. According to the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, Raleigh's midtown includes the Five Points neighborhood to the south, extends northwest about five miles to N.C. 50, follows Millbrook Road east to U.S. 1, then southwest to Wade Avenue. An easy way to define it is to go north of the I-440 Beltline up to Millbrook Road (some go as far as Lynn Road) between Fall of Neuse Road on the East and Glenwood Avenue on the West.

An urban feel with suburban convenience, according to the Chamber, a midtown district comprises of homes, convenient to shopping, school, major roads and entertainment. It is not downtown, but it does have a higher density, for example, than neighborhoods north of I-540, with walk able elements.

Since the idea of Midtown has caught on, property values of surrounding neighborhoods have averaged an annual appreciation of 8-10%. It is quickly becoming a destination for home buyers, similar to the “inside the beltline” feel.

How many of us wish we could have purchased property in the area when it was just considered North Raleigh? My parents purchased a home on Currituck in North Hills in 1971. You don’t know how many times I have wished they had kept it! But things do come full circle, and I am raising my children in the Midtown area in Quail Hollow.

So if you are considering a home in the area, or if you just want more information about the Midtown area, please visit me at http://liveinraleighmidtown.com/. We will be updating our blog on Midtown frequently, so please bookmark our site and visit us often. We will be focusing on all things Midtown, not just the real estate market, but on restaurants, things to do, and much more. Also, if you know of something going on, please let us know, we would love to include it.


Lisa