Thursday, April 26, 2012

May Steve & Jack's Home News

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mom's out there!!! Without them none of us would be here. My mom Mary Anne will be in Italy for Mother's Day, as you will remember from last month's newsletter taking the vacation of a lifetime with Jack for 3-weeks. They are so excited and they were able to secure a tour of the Vatican. Michelle and I are so excited for them and can't wait to see some photos of their trip. If you have ever been to Italy, please e-mail or call Jack as he would love to have some more tips on what to do and NOT do while there. Steve remains exceptionally busy during this spring selling season. This has turned out to be one of the absolute busiest springs we have seen in 6 years! Houses are selling in days with multiple offers for above listing price in many instances. In fact, the numbers are unreal. In Central Indiana,.3% increase in closed sales, a 4.9% increase in median sales price, and an 11.7% decrease in inventory, which is excellent. Our inventory is down to 7.8% from over 13% just over a year ago. Distressed sales make up less than 25% of our total market, too. Anyway you slice it our market has improved 11 of the past 15 months. Interest rates are still at or below record lows at 4%. Looking into our crystal ball, home prices will continue to increase over the next several years, interest rates will have to go up, and we will officially enter a 'sellers' market next year sometime, which is defined as having <6 months of inventory. We have steadily been moving in that direction for months. Bottom line, if you are thinking of moving, do it NOW. On a personal note, Ana is having a great time playing soccer and is the star of the team consistently scoring 5-6 goals/game with multiple assists (technically we don't keep score, but every parent knows how many goals his child scores each week). We are so proud of her and she is truly having fun. Watching Ana play soccer is one of our favorite things to do each week. Brigid is having a great time coaching Ana again this year. Ana has also expressed an interest in joining the Indianapolis Childrens' Choir. Several people have told her she has a good voice and she constantly is singing. In fact, that is one way she memorizes things for school is by making up songs. Pretty clever. Ana still enjoys tumbling at Speed Athletics, too. And she continues to do well at school. Natalia is also doing very well at school and enjoys watching her big sister play soccer. She can dribble a ball better than most of the kids on Ana's team already. So, Ana, watch out!! Natalia is still very much of a bull in a china shop and has no fear of anything. Our one struggle with her right now is potty training. She is past being ready and has made progress, but it is very, very slow. We are frustrated since Ana was fully potty-trained by 18-months. Each child progresses differently, but it is still frustrating... We are open to suggestions... Brigid is still doing well at Merck and enjoys coaching Ana. We are looking forward to the Carmel Farmer's Market as we ride our bikes down there each Saturday morning. This year, Ana will be able to ride on her own as she recently learned to ride without training wheels. For spring break this year, we went to Edisto Beach, SC. It is about an hour SE of Charleston. We stayed in a time-share and were met mid-week by Brigid's family. We had a great time and Steve was even able to see his college roommate John Parker as well a few times. Don't miss out on some very interesting articles this month in the newsletter, such as: • A Good Example Goes A Long Way • May Quiz Question • What Mother's Know • May's Other Days • Charisma Can Be Developed • The Art of The Cheap Road Trip • Gas Waste • Thermogenic Foods Burn Fat • The Importance of Advertising Happy Mother's Day!! Thank you, moms for all of the sacrifices you have made and continue to make for us!!! Click here for a link to our May Newsletter, our blog, and our exclusive discount savings site. Click here to visit our website full of information on real estate and Indy: http://welcome2indy.com/ For the absolute BEST and brand new mobile real estate app in the state, text the following. You will be one of the very first to own this cutting-edge technology: TEXT: HOME21 to 87778