Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Thursday, December 16, 2010

What to Eat at Christmas

This was such a funny forward sent to me that I had to repost it on our blog. I hope you find is as enjoyable as I did. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!


Eating Tips for The Holidays
1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table
knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave
immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can and quickly. You can't find it any other
time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in
every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an "eggnog-aholic" or
something. It's a treat. Enjoy it!!!! Have one for me. Have two. It's later
than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy.
Gravy does not stand-alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed
potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or
whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car
with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your
eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other
people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello???

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's.
You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the
time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while
carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted
Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near
them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of
attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind,
you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple, cherry and mincemeat - have a slice of each. Or, if
you don't like mincemeat, have two cherries and one pumpkin. Always have
three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert?
Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory
celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or
get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips: Start
over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Gary Nathan and Amanda Mavis
Life is a Gift...Live it!

Monday, November 22, 2010

October Home Sales - A Mixed Bag

The Wisconsin Realtors Assn. reported that Wisconsin home sales fell in October but prices remained stable. Since January the median price was down just 0.9 % while existing home sales were off by 6.9 %.

When comparing October 2010 to October 2009 the findings show that home sales were down 36.3 percent while median prices remained unchanged at $140,000.

In Sawyer County we experienced a 15.5% increase in median price from a year ago; October 2010 prices were $167,500 versus $145,000 in 2009. However, our sales dropped by 31.4%; we sold 24 homes this October compared to 35 in October of last year.

Sawyer did well comparatively to our region which saw a decline in sales of 40.4% and just a 9.7% increase in median sale price.

Part of the drop in homes sales is undoubtedly due to the fact that we had two federal home buyer tax credit programs going on last year which most likely inflated the number of buyers in 2009.

Home buyers remain somewhat uncertain but they continue to be in a favorable position considering high inventories, fairly stable prices and historically low mortgage rates. Our office has had a flurry of business this fall with quite a bit of activity in the pipeline.

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving; please drive safe and enjoy the holiday.

Life is a Gift…Live It!

Gary Nathan
Amanda Mavis
Woodland Development & Realty
15563 Railroad St.
Hayward, WI 54843
715-699-4040
nathan@garynathan.com
http://www.garynathan.com/

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Friday, October 01, 2010

Medicare Tax on Real Estate - Yikes!

Greetings!

Hope you are enjoying the fall colors and the change in our season.

Undoubtedly you have heard about the new Medicare Tax on investment income, including income from real estate. Many of us are still confused about when the new tax goes into effect, who it applies too, and what types of real estate will be impacted.

First of all it does not begin until 2013. A 3.8% tax will be levied on investment income of high-income earners. So who is a high income earner? Single persons with an adjusted gross income (AGI) over $200,000 or married persons (filing jointly) with an AGI above $250,000. The tax will be applied to the household's net investment income or the excess of AGI, over the thresholds, whichever is less.

So, if a person or a married party has an AGI that exceeds the thresholds, they will be required to pay the 3.8% tax.

The tax applies to the following types of real estate:


1. the gain from the sale of a primary residence, if the gain on the home exceeds $250,000 for single households or $500,000 for married households. The tax hit will apply only to the gain over these amounts;

2. the gain from the sale of second homes like vacation homes;

3. the gain from the sale of investment real estate;


4. the gain on the sale of commercial real estate;

5. net rental income from investment properties.


Oh joy, more tax, but not for all.


A good source for more information can be found by going to:

http://www.realtor.org/small_business_health_coverage.nsf/pages/health_ref_faq_med_tax?opendocument


Have a great fall weekend and remember - Life is a Gift...Live It!


Blessings.....


Gary Nathan
Amanda Mavis
Woodland Developments & Realty
15563 Railroad St.
Hayward, WI 54843
715-699-4040
nathan@garynathan.com
http://www.garynathan.com/

Friday, September 24, 2010

August Was No Dog

The dog days of August have come and gone and locally August was no dog. Hayward was busy with tourists, part-time owners and want-to-be owners not to mention us regulars. There are always lots of reports to read when it comes to real estate; I have a couple of interesting sidebars below.

Locally August home sales in Sawyer County, per the Multiple Listing Service, topped 2009 by 30% and the average sale price rocketed to $245,776 from $156,612 in 2009. Average days on market in August of this year was 193 vs. 313 a year ago. The percent of sale price to list price stayed the same at 91% and the average size home purchased was similar at around 1600 sq. ft. This accounts for all on-water and off water residential homes.

The National Association of Realtors reported that July was the largest percentage of decline on record for sales of existing single-family homes and condos. In August those sales rebounded 7.6% to a seasonably adjusted rate of 4.13 million which beat the analyst’s expectations.

Nationally, the resale of homes has been down nearly 20% in the past year. The inventory of unsold homes on the market fell a little to 3.98 million which is about an 11.6 month supply at the current sales pace. Median sales nationally fell slightly to $178,600.

According to a report from Fairway Independent Mortgage, home ownership is still the goal and dream of about 72% of Americans. That is a decline from the past but the interest level remains very high. In a similar poll 27% of renters say they are not interested in buying. Of the renters who do plan to buy, most are putting that off for at least two years.

Another trend that we see, locally as well as nationally, is that people are trending away from the “mcmansions” and are planning homes in the 800 to 1400 sq. ft. range. Personally, I must admit that I too would consider a much smaller home the next time around – at my age I had better start searching. Anybody know a good realtor?

Have a great weekend and remember Life is a Gift…Live It!

Gary Nathan
Amanda Mavis
Woodland Developments & Realty
15563 Railroad St.
Hayward, WI 54843
715-699-4040
nathan@garynathan.com
http://www.garynathan.com/

Friday, September 03, 2010

Something to Celebrate

Greetings and Happy Labor Day!

A good friend of mine recently stopped by to chat, and as usual, we talked about the current market and how we both should slow down and smell the roses - that won't happen. He is in development and construction and has had a very good year and I shared with him that our local market is certainly better than last year. You wouldn't believe it based on all the reports on the radio and television.

Here are some numbers that prove that our local market is holding its own and actually dramatically increased in at least one area. This is data from our local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for Sawyer County only.

The total number of waterfront residential homes sold from January 1, 2009 to September 1, 2009 were 41 units with an average price of $242,830. The highest priced property that sold in 2009 was for $997,000 on Grindstone Lake. During the same period this year, January 1 to September 1 there have been 68 sales with an average sale price of $336,496. The highest priced sale was on Round Lake at $1,570,000.

In the same 2009 and 2010 periods, the off water residential sales for both years was nearly identical at 69 and 67 respectively. Commercial sales during those same periods was consistent at seven sales in 2009 and six sales in 2010.

The sales above do not take into account non MLS sales.

The local market isn't sizzling hot but it hasn't been all doom and gloom; something to celebrate!

The last thought I want to share with you is something my friend said during our conversation, "Gary, you can't buy back time". How true. One of the many perks of my job is the opportunity to listen to folks tell me about the memories they have of their time spent at their Hayward properties. You can't put a price on memories and you can't buy back time. So enjoy your holiday with family and celebrate the fact that we live in an area where many folks dream of escaping to someday.

Life is a Gift...Live It!


Gary Nathan
Amanda Mavis
Woodland Dev. & Realty
15563 Railroad St
Hayward, WI 54843
715-699-4040
nathan@garynathan.com
http://www.garynthan.com/

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Housing Update

Housing Update from Chris McGrath - Woodland Developments & Realty's Broker-Owner.

You probably have heard about the precipitous drop in U.S. existing home sales for July 2010 as compared to July 2009 (down 27.2%). For a bit of perspective, please read Lawrence Yun’s (NAR Chief Economist) comments below for more clarification on the overall housing picture for 2010.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said a soft sales pace likely will continue for a few additional months. “Consumers rationally jumped into the market before the deadline for the home buyer tax credit expired. Since May, after the deadline, contract signings have been notably lower and a pause period for home sales is likely to last through September,” he said. “However, given the rock-bottom mortgage interest rates and historically high housing affordability conditions, the pace of a sales recovery could pick up quickly, provided the economy consistently adds jobs. Even with sales pausing for a few months, annual sales are expected to reach 5 million in 2010 because of healthy activity in the first half of the year. To place in perspective, annual sales averaged 4.9 million in the past 20 years, and 4.4 million over the past 30 years. Raw unsold inventory is still 12.9 percent below the record of 4.58 million in July 2008. Thanks to the home buyer tax credit, home values have been stable for the past 18 months despite heavy job losses. Over the short term, high supply in relation to demand clearly favors buyers. However, given that home values are back in line relative to income, and from very low new-home construction, there is not likely to be any measurable change in home prices going forward.”



Life is a Gift...Live it!


Gary Nathan, Broker

Amanda Mavis, Assisting Agent

Woodland Developments & Realty

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Local Market Update

Greetings!

I'd like to share with you some local numbers and thoughts compiled by Chris McGrath, a broker in our office. The time period is January 1 - May 15 of this year for all waterfront properties in Sawyer County:

2008: 39 sold, $234,667 average price, average selling price of 92% of list, average days on market (DOM) of 186 days

2009: 18 sold, $230,133 avg. price, 89% avg. sale price/list, 321 DOM

2010: 38 sold, $233,998 avg. price, 91% avg. sale price/list, 292 DOM

Please notice that there has been a very small change in average price over the 3 year period. With how dismal last year was, one would have thought the average price would have been much lower. Our market has shown stability in price while at the same time, large variations in # of properties sold (18 in 2009, 38 so far this year, more than double the volume). The current market has made a nice comeback relative to last year and we are seeing that trend continuing as long as the economy continues its slow recovery.

Here are some national statistics:

- Housing unit sales up 23.1 percent while prices continue recent strength with an increase of 7.3 percent over April of 2009
The increase in housing sales is the seventh month in a row where housing sales for the present month were above the same month from the prior year. And price increases just hit their fifth month in a row on the same basis.

- The PMI Mortgage Insurance Co.’s second quarter U.S. Market Risk Index (using 4th quarter 2009 data) showed evidence of a recovering national housing market and the prospect of higher housing prices in many markets within two years. Of the nation's 384 MSAs, 356 had a declining Risk Score, with only one showing a slight increase and the remainder unchanged. The number of MSAs in the riskiest category fell by 26.4% during the fourth quarter, while those in the least risky increased by 79%.

- Foreclosure filings were reported on 333,837 properties in April, a 9 percent decrease from the previous month and a 2 percent decrease from April 2009, according to RealtyTrac’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™ for April 2010.

We have made it through one of the toughest real estate markets in history and we continue to remain positive about the future. Certainly we are not cruising along as we were in the late 90’s and the early part of this decade but this year is much better than last.

Hope you have a great warm and safe weekend. Thanks to our Veterans, we live a life of freedom; one which I often take for granted. Life is a Gift…Live It!

Gary Nathan
Amanda Mavis
Woodland Developments & Realty
15563 Railroad Street
Hayward, WI 54843
715-699-4040
nathan@garynathan.com
http://www.garynathan.com/

Monday, May 17, 2010

Spring is Hot in Hayward!

Our local market has really heated up this spring; buyers are more optimistic and sellers are more realistic which has resulted in a number of deals coming together.

Additionally, Eric Wellauer from the Sawyer County Zoning Department shared some very interesting information. Zoning records indicate that land use permits, soil tests and sanitary permits for 2010 are back to 2005 levels, which was a very good year. Land use permits this year are at 101 versus 58 for the same period last year and that compares closely with 102 permits in 2005.


Here's the latest data for the entire U.S. market as provided by the Wisconsin Realtor Association Realtor Newswire 5/17/10.

April housing rates roar as low interest rates and looming deadline of tax credit brings purchasers out in force.
- Unit Sales up 23.1 percent while prices continue recent strength with an increase of 7.3 percent over April of 2009
- The increase in housing sales is the seventh month in a row where housing sales for the present month were above the same month from the prior year. And price increases just hit their fifth month in a row on the same basis.

Fresh evidence of nation's recovering housing markets
- The PMI Mortgage Insurance Co.’s second quarter U.S. Market Risk Index (using 4th quarter 2009 data) showed evidence of a recovering national housing market, and the prospect of higher housing prices in many markets within two years. Of the nation's 384 MSAs, 356 had a declining Risk Score, with only one showing a slight increase and the remainder unchanged. The number of MSAs in the riskiest category fell by 26.4% during the fourth quarter, while those in the least risky increased by 79%.

Foreclosure activity decreases 9 percent in April
- Foreclosure filings were reported on 333,837 properties in April, a 9 percent decrease from the previous month and a 2 percent decrease from April 2009, according to RealtyTrac’s
U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™ for April 2010.



Next week I will try and pull together some of the local market data for you so standby.



What a great weekend and week ahead weatherwise and thank God for the rain!



Life is a Gift...Live It!



Gary Nathan

Amanda Mavis

Woodland Dev. & Realty

15563 Railroad St.

Hayward, WI 54843

715-699-4040

nathan@garynathan.com

www.garynathan.com