Market Continue to Improve

Market sats from Trend show some good news!For single-family homes in New Castle County, inventory has been reduced more than 10 per cent over the past year, from 3,384 to 3,012. Settlements are up, too, from 380 in October, 2008, to 400 last month. Meanwhile, the median price has sagged slightly, from $226,000 to $220,000.

in reference to: Home - TREND (view on Google Sidewiki)

Mortgages - F.H.A. Reaches Out to Condo Buyers - NYTimes.com

Good news for a troubled segment of the market!
Mortgages - F.H.A. Reaches Out to Condo Buyers - NYTimes.com

A Little Clutter Sometimes Helps

A few decades ago, Jane Jacobs wrote a whole book on what amkes a city ticket. Not grandiose planning, she wrote, not vast, empty malls framed by express roads The life of great cities reflects al the clutter and confusion and sometimes purposeful activity of the people who live and work in them. You can get most anything you want in a great city, sometimes within easy walking distance.

I suppose it flatters Wilmington to call it a great city, or even what remains of a great city. It always felll a litle shy of that mark, even in the days (not too long ago) when more than 100,000 souls called it home, and not just during working hours. Its proximity to Philadelphia propably had something to do with that. The big hitters of business and culture, like the big ships on the Delaware, passed by on their way to Philadelphia.
Philadelphia had big-league teams like the Phillies and the Eagles; Wilmington had the Blue Rocks and the Clippers.

in reference to: Op-Ed Columnist - What Makes Cities Live - NYTimes.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Not on THIS List!

Today's news about the Valero refinery shutdown is one more reason why you won't be finding the Wilmington market on lists like this any time soon..

in reference to: http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/19/cities-recovery-unemployment-lifestyle-real-estate-top-ten.html?feed=rss_forbeslife_realestate (view on Google Sidewiki)

Business Week on "Nightmare Mortgages"

Nightmare Mortgages

ING Suspends Foreclosures to the Holidays

Good for you, ING! But what would Mr. Potter have thought?

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Another Week, Another Financial Drama - BusinessWeek

Another Week, Another Financial Drama - BusinessWeek

Regulators prod banks to lend with $700B bailout - Nov. 12, 2008

Cough it up! Cough it up!

Caught in the mortgage trap? Help is on the way!

How do you spell relief? "F-A-N-N-I-E & F-R-E-D-D-I-E"?

Citigroup to help at-risk borrowers stay in homes

Good news: Major banks are beginning to offer help to property owners trying to ward off foreclosure.

Mortgage rates drop to average 6.2 percent

Mortgage rates drop to average 6.2 percent -- baltimoresun.com

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THE FEAR FACTOR

THE FEAR FACTOR -- baltimoresun.com

This certainly squares with our experience in this fear-fraught market. The question is, what do you do to restore a sense of confidence?

So When Will the Banks Start making loans?

Good grief, is this guy right?
If so, there's going to be hell to pay!

Talking Business - So When Will Banks Give Loans? - NYTimes.com

Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Good news at last from the National Association of Realtors. The NYT looks at the national picture and finds that it shows some improvement; locally, the market never has been as depressed as the national stats would suggest.

Read on...

Finally, Home Sales Rise - Economix Blog - NYTimes.com

Help for Owners Is Slow in Coming

Lots of talk about helping the little guy (and gal) with the mortgage mess, but...

Home owners clamor for help that's slow in coming - Oct. 22, 2008

Pending US home sales offer some hope

The worm turns... perhaps.
"Pending" transactions -- deals that have been closed but not settled -- are showing an upswing.
Her's how The Financial Times reports it:
FT.com - Pending US home sales offer some hope

Blackberry(s): A Positive Addiction

I've carried a Blackberry for two years now, and I agree wholeheartedy with this study: Blackberrys may be addictive, but a lot of us working stiffs couldn't get by without them.

From CNNMoney.com:

Addicted, maybe, but users say BlackBerrys improve life - Aug. 24, 2006