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Housing Prices Dropping

Time Magazine online recently reported on a report from Trulia.com indicating that housing prices around the country are dropping fairly significantly. Minneapolis and Milwaukee lead the way.  The report says 39% of sellers in Milwaukee dropped their asking price recently by an average of 9%. See the article and report here.

10 Home Repairs That Save Money

From Yahoo Finance: Remodels are great, but can get pretty pricey. Not everyone has thousands to add value to their home - but what about those less glamorous repair projects on your to-do list? These simple and inexpensive maintenance items don't seem like they add to your home's value, but they're big money-savers in the long run.

See full article here, Home Repairs that Save Money

Home Inventory Report & Tips

If your home was damaged by a fire or a burglar made off with your valuables would you be able to give

your insurance company a complete list of all the items that were damaged or destroyed? Having an

up-to-date personal property home inventory will help. Here's a link to an inventory form provided by the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, home inventory report.

From Slate.com and the Wall Street Journal

Home Prices Expected To Start Climbing Next Year

There's lots of good news in the real estate industry for a change. A new survey of economists and housing analysts by MacroMarkets LLC predicts that home prices in the United States will start recovering by 2011. On average, those surveyed expect prices to rise by about 12 percent in the five years ending in 2014. When looked at individually, though, some of those surveyed were wildly optimistic. Joseph LaVorgna, an economist with the esteemed Deutsche Bank, for example, expects that over the next five years home prices will rise by 37 percent. "Separately, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that single-family housing starts in April surged to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 593,000, up 10.2 percent from March," the Wall Street Journal reported. MacroMarkets LLC, the organization behind the survey, was co-founded by Robert Shiller, a Yale University economist known for creating the Case-Shiller indexes.

Read original story in The Wall Street Journal | Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Sunlit Realty Joins Watertown Chamber of Commerce

Sunlit Realty is pleased to be the newest member of the Watertown Chamber of Commerce. Sunlit Realty is an independent discount real estate company, based in Watertown, offering low cost flat-fee MLS by owner services and FSBO web pages - see sunlitrealty.com for details. Chamber Ambassador Gerry Arnholt, of Cousins Subs, is pictured here with Barry Ashenfelter, Sunlit Realty owner.

Save Money & the Environment at Home

RISMEDIA, April 29, 2010—HomeGain, a leading website that connects real estate agents with home buyers and sellers recently announced the results of its Green home improvement survey.

Receiving responses from nearly 1,000 real estate agents and brokers nationwide, HomeGain configured a list of the top nine do-it-yourself (DIY) Green home improvements that cost under $300 and that benefit sellers most when they sell their homes.

Money-Saving Green Home Improvements

Open House - 315 N. Warren St., Watertown

Great big house with lots of room in a nice neighborhood. 3-season porch, huge kitchen. Open House, Sat. May 8th, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Open House - 1415 S. 3rd St., Watertown

Check out this remodeled Watertown ranch home. Great new kitchen and stainless steel appliances included. Walk up attic. Clean and dry basement. Open House - Sat. May 8th, noon - 2 p.m.