Read beyond the headlines

I saw this on money.cnn.com the other day:

No wonder there is so much uncertainty as to what is going on. If you click the links you find that these stories cover back-to-back one-week periods. This sort of time period is hardly indicative of any trend, especially when they conflict with each other. Also, when you read beyond the headline about "sliding" applications, you find this information:

Refinance volume plunged 15.3 percent during the week, while purchase volume increased 6.1 percent.

So actually purchase loans increased during this time period which is a better indication of what the real estate market is doing. You certainly wouldn't know that from reading the headline.

CNN is of course dealing primarily with national trends which may or may not have any bearing on your local market. Keeping an eye on your local information and speaking with local professionals is your best bet to keep a finger on the pulse of market.

Mayor bans the phrase "I don't know"

The mayor of a Siberian town has banned 25 phrases including "I don't know", "I can't" and "It's not my job". People using these phrases will be on their way to unemployment.

I embrace this mentality. In past jobs when I was supervising projects and people, when people contacted me with a problem, I expected them to have thought of some possible solutions before they contacted me. They were deeper in the project than I was and would have a better understanding of the problem. They often came up with good solutions, and could then check in with me for my opinion on which course was best. It certainly simplified my job and as the article states "To say 'I don't know' is the same as admitting your helplessness."

As an Integrated Agent, any time I normally would answer 'I don't know', I replace it with "I will find out". I try to have as much knowledge as possible, but I am certainly not all-knowing. I am your advocate and it is my responsibility to provide you with the best information possible. And you definitely won't hear "It's not my job". That is just another dead-end answer. I will contact the responsible party and find out what is going on. As always, I want you to be the strongest, most well-informed buyer out there.

How walkable is your new neighborhood

I have added a Walk Score tile onto my website. The Walk Score tile allows you to enter in an address and compute the walkability of the surrounding neighborhood.

The formula computes the score by seeing how close the home is to grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops, etc. You can use this tool to compare different homes and neighborhoods you are considering. Check it out!