Home Sales Climb for Third Consecutive Month

Today the National Association of Realtors (NRA) reported that existing home sales continued to climb in January for the third consecutive month. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said, “The uptrend in home sales is consistent with improvements in the economy and jobs, which are helping boost consumer confidence,” Yun said.

Credit remains tight and has lead to an abnormal increase in cash-only and investment purchases. Competitively priced homes are selling and homes in good condition are holding their value, said NAR President, Ron Phipps.

In Thurston County, January home sales were up 10 percent over last year. There were 153 closed home sales last month, compared to 139 in January 2010. The National Association of Realtors reported that the growth in sales of existing homes in the West rose 7.9 percent, a trend we hope continues.

To read entire story visit:
http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2011/02/january_above

Paper Airplane Flight School

Did you enjoy making paper airplanes in school? Competing with your friends to see which plane would fly the furthest? Kids today still enjoy making and flying paper airplanes across classrooms, playgrounds and living rooms. To enhance interest in flight, our local Olympic Flight Museum is hosting a spectacular event called “Paper Airplane Flight School.”

The event will be held on Saturday, February 19th from 1-3:30 p.m. at the Olympic Flight Museum, Olympia Regional Airport, 7637-A Old Highway 99 SE, Tumwater. Participants will enjoy professional instruction, construction materials and a snack. The cost for Flight School Participants is $7.00; $5.00 for spectators and general admission.

This hands-on experience will introduce the excitement of paper airplane folding and include a friendly competition. “From the simplest folded paper airplanes to the ‘cutting edge’ in paper airplane technology, you'll learn the basics of aircraft pitch, roll, and yaw! Enter your creations in the Distance and Spot Landing Contests and compete for awesome prizes!” For more information visit http://www.Olympicflightmuseum.com for more information.

Home Foreclosures Up or Down?

Yesterday, a news story today reported “U.S. home foreclosures jumped 12 percent in January 2011 over the month of December 2010.” The implication one could take away is that foreclosures are sharply on the rise. However, December is historically a very slow time for foreclosures. So a 12 percent increase from a smaller number is not a big jump in terms of real numbers.

Perhaps a more important stat compares this January to last. That is a more "apples to apples" comparison and shows a significant drop. According to the real estate data firm RealtyTrac, foreclosures fell 11 percent in January 2011 from January 2010. While Washington’s housing market still faces challenges, it remains healthier than the hardest hit parts of the country. California, Florida, Michigan, Illinois and Arizona have more than half of all foreclosure filings.

To read a related story, please visit: http://cnbc.com/id/41505006.

Helping Hands

If you know a woman currently undergoing chemotherapy, please let her know there is an inspirational service that provides FREE housecleaning - once per month for 4 months while she is in treatment.

There may be a family member, friend or colleague who would find this service a true blessing. Please join us in spreading the word about this caring service: Cleaning for a Reason can be reached at http://www.cleaningforareason.org/

To receive assistance, the patient will need to sign up and have her doctor provide a note confirming treatment. "Cleaning for a Reason" will have a participating cleaning service in her zip code area arrange the cleaning. This organization serves the entire USA and currently has 547 partners to help these women.

What is a Tag?

You may have noticed something new on the front page of our Buyer’s Guide, on our property brochures, and in other print media. They are called Tags, and otherwise known as QR (Quick Response) codes.

If you are a smart phone user you may already be familiar and using these. A tag will connect you to information, videos, websites and more via your smart phone. For example, scanning a Tag like the one above may open a web site, download contact information, receive a message, or dial a phone number.

A tag reader may be downloaded to your phone for free. Using the Microsoft Tag Reader app on the smart phone you can immediately access information about any Tagged item.

To get the Tag Reader visit http://gettag.mobi/ on your mobile phone browser.

To scan a Tag, use your phone to center the tag in the viewfinder. For best results, make sure the Tag is clearly visible, without being shadowed or reflecting light. If you encounter lighting difficulties, reposition the phone. You can forget about typing long web addresses in your mobile browser and instead scan Tags to quickly access information. Microsoft Tag can be used virtually everywhere in the world.

Have fun. Enjoy seeing videos of listed homes indicated with Tags in our Buyer’s Guide and in our other print materials.