Summer 2010 Highlights

 

It’s been a volatile year so far, nothing that—somewhat superstitiously—Chinese Astrologists haven’t predicted already.  Since February, we’ve entered into the lunar “Year of the Tiger,” often thought to be the most tumultuous of the lunar years.

We started off with some wild weather this year, from sizable earthquakes around the world, to volcanic eruptions in Iceland that cost the tourism & airline industries (the European ones in particular) billions in lost revenue, to the current environmental disaster stemming from the BP oil platform explosion.  Though the spilling was recently capped, the final estimate of total spillage will be several hundred million gallons.

Domestically, we continue to work towards improving employment figures, increasing consumer spending and augmenting the momentum of our economic recovery.  However, the government’s buy-down of interest rates and its homebuyer tax credits have ended recently, so it remains to be seen if the housing & banking industries are strong enough to continue recovering without more aid.  Mortgage rates, though, hover near record lows, which have surprised many real estate market analysts, who comment that this is a huge positive for the economy and for homeowners looking to shave some money off of their monthly payments.

The Tiger Year may be volatile, but it has a silver lining: the year is notable for its life-changing opportunities.  As Americans have learned to become more thrifty in recent years, increasing personal savings levels and reducing personal debt, we will be in good position to capitalize off of  the undervalued financial and real estate investments that will increasingly be found around us.

 

The final deadline for closing on first-time and move-up buyer purchases is 6/30/2010.  Both houses of congress have just passed an extension to that date, to be moved to the end of September.   Due to the increased time it’s taking to close purchases, this measure only helps pending purchases, not new ones.  If you or a friend has a pending purchase that was put together before 5/1/2010 and qualifies for all of the first-time buyer rules, then try to close before the end of September so that you can capitalize off of the credit.

I am often asked if I think there will be another buyer credit.  Possibly, but I don't think so.  I say possibly because if the real estate market stalls further, new measures may need to be put in place to inject life into it.  However, the cost of the credits would be another expense that we may not be able to afford.

Seahawks 2010 Schedule

 

  1:15pm     9/12/2010      San Francisco 49ers   FOX

  1:05pm     9/19/2010      Denver Broncos   FOX

  1:15pm     9/26/2010      San Diego Chargers   CBS

  10am       10/3/2010       St. Louis Rams   FOX

  10am       10/17/2010     Chicago Bears   FOX

  1:05pm   10/24/2010      Arizona Cardinals   FOX

  1:15pm   10/31/2010      Oakland Raiders   FOX

  1:05pm   11/7/2010        New York Giants   FOX

  1:15pm   11/14/2010      Arizona Cardinals   FOX

  1:05pm   11/21/2010      New Orleans Saints   FOX

  1:05pm   11/28/2010      Kansas City Chiefs   CBS

  1:15pm   12/5/2010        Carolina Panthers  FOX

  1:05pm   12/12/2010      San Francisco 49ers   FOX

  1:05pm   12/19/2010      Atlanta Falcons   FOX

  10am      12/26/2010      Tampa Bay Buccaneers   FOX

  1:15pm   1/2/2011           St. Louis Rams   FOX

 

 

 

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