What to journal about? Start with what you are grateful for (your family, a warm home, the weather, your health, lunch with an old friend, that front row parking spot, etc.) and end with a few notes about the day. You may write one sentence or a paragraph depending on the day. Another great tip is every Sunday set your intentions for the week, both personal and business. You will get crystal clear about what is most important on a weekly basis. Another idea: if you are only interested in documenting your memories, several friends have done a beautiful job of blogging and incorporating their memories with photos. For recommendations of guided journals, email me at chloe@chloerealestate.com.
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The top 2 real estate questions of 2011 were:
1. How is the real estate market?
2. Have we hit the bottom?
Since the CRE team thinks of ourselves as your first call when it comes to real estate, we wanted to answer these questions and give you some stats to back it up.
Answer 1 - This is an opportunity market. It's a great market to move up, invest and be a first time buyer.
Answer 2 - Until the stats below increase over the previous year, we have not hit bottom.
Hartford County 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
New Listings 15,998 16,983 15,880 17,880 19,659 19,642
Pending Sales 8,189 8,910 10,003 9,401 11,231 11,656
Closed Sales 7,255 7,861 8,578 8,400 10,409 10,571
$ Vol Closed Sales $1.9M $2.0M $2.2M $2.4M $3.1M $3.1M
Ave Sales Price $262,213 $265,069 $259,039 $286,093 $302,023 $296,501
Ave Days on Market 83 73 71 67 62 56
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A Super Rental
Sounds like a good offer, right?!?!
Companies offering Super Bowl rentals is a practice that started in 2008 and has gained momentum in the years following. Homeowners can pay as little as $50 and up to hundreds of dollars to have their home listed for rent through such companies.
A Texas-based company rented about 230 homes for the Dallas Super Bowl in 2011. "Competitive" prices had renters paying about $1,200 per night with high-end homes renting for about $5,000 per night. Though it may sound farfetched, another company in Texas has advertised that homeowners can make "up to $10,000 per day".
It is estimated that between 100,000 - 150,000 people will visit Indianapolis leading up to this year's Super Bowl. The 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee does not have a stance on home rentals but stresses that there are 13,800 hotel rooms in the area and that should be enough for the city's visitors.
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WHERE IN THE WORLD...Indianapolis, IN
With a population of 829,718, Indy is Indiana's largest city and the 12th largest city in the country according to the 2010 U.S. Census. It is one of the fastest growing regions in the United States.
Tourism is a vital part of the economy and they routinely host conventions and sporting events. Of these sporting events, perhaps the most well-known is the annual Indianapolis 500 auto race. Indy is a major automobile racing center and even inspired the name "Indy Car" for the type of car used in races. In addition, in February 2012, Indy will play host to its first Super Bowl.
Over the past few years, Indy has won several real estate awards, including:
2009 - #1 on CNN/Money's list of top 10 cities for recent graduates
2010 - #10 in best cities for relocation by Yahoo Real Estate
2011 - #6 among U.S. cities as a retirement destination by Forbes
Data through 12/31/11
Median List Price $102,000
1-Year Change -2.9%
Median Home Size 1,444 sq ft
Average Year Built 1958
Average Property Taxes $1,525
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PLACES TO GO | EVENTS | THINGS TO SEE
February Weekends | Snow Tubing at Woodbury Ski Area, 9 am - 9 pm www.woodburyskiarea.com
Feb 4 and 5 | Big Y Kids Fair, CT Convention Center, Hartford, CT www.ctconventions.com
Feb 5 | Super Bowl Sunday, Indianapolis, IN
Feb 9 to 16 | Fashion Week, New York City
Feb 11 to 12 | Winter Carnival, Winding Trails, Farmington, CT www.windingtrails.org
Feb 17 to 19 | Mardi Gras Weekend Celebration, Ogunquit, ME www.visitogunquit.org
Feb 17 to 26 | Newport Winter Festival, Newport, RI www.gonewport.com
Feb 23 to 26 | Annual CT Flower & Garden Show, CT Convention Center, Hartford, CT www.ctconventions.com
Feb 25 | Harlem Globetrotters, XL Center, Hartford, CT www.xlcenter.com
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CLOSING CONGRATULATIONS: Diane and Dennis Soucy, Maria and Greg Gorski, Ettore Tralongo, Bernice Michaud, Kara Corvo, Erik and Shannon Pecorelli
REFERRAL THANKS: Regina von Gootkin, Vin Provenzano, Kevin Prell, Jim Byrd, Jessica Morelli, Mecheal Hamilton, Brad Lutz and Mike Rivers
Visit our Facebook Fan Page at www.CREFanPage.com for more information about us
