Defiance Farmer's Market

I don't know if you've been there or not, but if you haven't been to the Defiance Farmer's market you have been missing out. It's open on Thursdays and Saturdays at the Northtowne mall parking lot. There are serveral local farmers offering some of their home grown goods out there and I'm telling you, it's some of the best food around. I recently purchased some sweet corn and tomatoes there and they were delicious! The truth be known, I don't even like eating tomatoes "raw" like that, but the tomatoes that I bought were so good I actually ate some. As an added bonus, there is one vendor there who makes cinnamon rolls that are awesome! She runs out of them pretty quickly because they are so good. If you have a chance, you need to make the effort to get out there and try some of what is offered there. It's really a treat!

Visual Tours

Somthing new and exciting has begun in the marketing of the homes that I am listing. I have been able to start creating "Visual Tours" of the homes. This is just one more tool that I have added to my list of marketing tools to help people get their homes sold. I only have the one right now, but am in the process of getting others as fast as I can. You can visit and see them at www.Youtube.com/DefianceAreaHomes Below is the one that I have created for my listing in Antwerp, OH.

The Real Estate Market Myth

It seems like every day we hear a new story about how the real estate market is in a down turn and that all is gloom and doom if you want to buy or sell a home. In this months Ohio Realtor News letter Carl Horst dispells some of this myth. It is true that some parts of the country are in a housing depression, but in this article he tells us that in reality, the real estate market is not a national market, but rather a local one. Just because the market may be flat in one town or area does not mean that it is in another. On the coasts the market over the past five years was incredible with big gains and now they are not seeing those gains, but over the same period, the midwest had gains, but nothing like they did in California. In fact, the market in our area differs even from town to town. The market in Defiance is different in Napoleon and they both differ from Paulding and so on. In the Defiance area we seem to be on pace in sales as we were as of last year. There are a lot of homes that come on the market each week, but then a lot get sold each week too. The key seems to be pricing a home right. No, we are not seeing the gains in pricing that we saw a few years back, but we are seeing homes that, if priced right, sell. So, if you've been thinking of selling that home ad move to another one, don't let the big city media scare you and give it a shot.

Terry Ryan and Other Famous People

It's a sad day in Defiance as one of our own has passed away. Terry Ryan, the author of the best selling book, "Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio" died this past week. It's amazing how many famous people have come out of this little town in the Northwest corner of Ohio. Off the top of my head I think of Ryan, who not only wrote the book, but also had it made into a movie. Then of course, there's Sam Hornish Jr. the Indy Car series two-time champion and reigning Indy 500 winner. Then there's the numerous baseball players who have gone on to play in the minors and major leagues. I'm sure there's several I've left out, but for so many out of such a small town, to me, is just astonishing. As for Sam Hornish Jr. I'm hoping that this week will be a good one as we are heading for the Indy 500 again on Sunday and it would just be great if he could pull off a back-to-back win.

You can find out more about Terry Ryan by looking at the Crescent News article that they had on her this past week.

Forclosures

Well, we keep hearing every day, just about, that there are more and more forclosures out there today than ever before. Well, I think they are right. There are a bunch in the area that are currently for sale and some of them are at good prices. The problem, however, with most of them are that they are priced too high for the what they offer. It's because the previous owner owed so much for them that they now have to try and recoup most of it. It causes good properties to sit on the market for longer periods of time and thus get "stale" to the market. People get tired of seeing them and thus stop asking about them because they think there is something wrong with them. When in all reality, they may be just fine, but were priced too high in the first place. I'm not sure where all this is headed in this area, but I do know that for those who are patient they will get some great buys! If you are interested in finding these forclosures, contact me and I can get you a list. Don't forget Walmart is opening next month so watch out for falling prices.

A Sad Day in Wauseon

Half a block of downtown Wauseon was destroyed yesterday due to fire. You can go to the Crescent News website to read more and see picts.

The Bridge is Closing

Starting on Monday the bridge on Domersville road will be closed. It's going to be 75 days of mess here in Defiance. All the trafic on that side of town will have to be diverted through town in order to get on to hwy 24. There's even a trucking company on that side of town that sends out over 100 trucks a day from over there that will have to start coming through town. On top of all that I'm not real sure they are going to get all the new street lights up in time. That won't happen unless they decide to work all weekend. I'm hoping that it won't be near as rough as we are anticipating it to be, but it's a short term deal and now that they've set the lights back on the curbs downtown won't be nearly as bad in the future.

As for the housing market here in the Defiance area, it seems to be pretty strong right now. All the news outlets around the country are continually quoting doom and gloom for the housing market, but it looks like here in our area we are still heading for a strong year. The prices in our area have stabalized some or even dropped a little, but homes are still being bought and sold. If you're thinking of selling your home right now or are wanting to buy one, then there really seems to be no reason to be shy about it in our area. The intrest rates are holding around the 6% range still which is a great rate. If you want to see some homes or want to find out how I can sell yours then contact me today!

Updates, Libraries, Basketball, and Opening Day

I just added a Google news section to the right to help keep us up to date with all the real estate news that is happening on a daily basis. I hope that you find it useful, but let me know because it can be removed if it's more of a hassle than a help. On the local front it looks like the Libriaries are still trying to free up some funds in order to possibly fund a new library on the south side of town, as well as, getting the state to free up some of the funding that was frozen several years ago. You can see the Crescent News article for more on that. As for basketball, the beloved Buckeyes failed to win last night to Florida. It's amazing that in both football and basketball that both these teams made it to the championship and that Florida won them both. There are a lot of disappointed people in the area, but I guess there's always next year. Finally, it was opening day for major league baseball around the country. It's that time of year when, from what I hear, Ted (from our office) will be glued to the tv and the raidio trying to get all the games in he possibly can. Are any of you avid baseball fans? If so why don't you leave me a comment and tell me what team is your favorite. I'm a Chicago native and actually like both the Cubs and the White Sox. Well, there are some great deals out there right now for homebuyers like this weeks featured home. So, don't miss out on your opportunities.

Some Good and Some Bad

This just in today...Existing home sales rose in February by the largest amount in 3 years. This backs what we've been trying to tell people that the market was not flat, especially here in the Defiance area. On the flip side, however, the prices of homes have fallen mostly because of the fallout that is happening in the secondary market mortgages. There are just not as many buyers who can get a loan as there were a year ago because there has been such a crackdown on getting "qualified" to buy a home. So, what does all this mean for us here in Defiance? Well, first it means that if you've been thinking about selling your home, but have been worried that the market was flat, you don't have to worry about that. However, you may not get that high dollar you thought you would get that you would have a year or so ago. If you're in the market to buy a house then it's a good time to start looking because there is downward pressure on house prices, as well as, low interest rates. I was sent the rate sheet from First Federal Bank today and they are offering a 6.0% 30 year Fixed Rate mortgage at 95% Loan to Value which is still a low rate. Those low rates combined with the Welcome Home government grant money for down payment makes buying a home right now a great idea. You can access more information about the February sales facts at MSNBC.com

Free Money and Heading Back To State

It looks like the Holgate Tigers are heading back to the state boys basketball tournament again this year. This will be the second time in 4 years they have gone there. They are continuing in their Cinderella story again as they beat a higher ranked team this past week. It was just a few years ago they won the state championship. I'm excited for the team and the town of Holgate as this is adding to their winning tradition. You can read more about the game, as well as, other information at the Crescent News.

-Don't forget to take a look at my previous post as it contains information about getting the FREE grant money to purchase a home. It really seems like an easy way to get $5,000.

-Finally, take a look at this weeks featured listing as this is a great home on 5 Acres. The seller is telling me to tell people he's "MOTIVATED" and is looking for offers. Click on the link under the picture to find out more about this great home or Contact me and I'll fill you in.

FREE $$$$$$$ From Uncle Sam

GOOD NEWS! Starting tomorrow, March 15th, our local banks will begin passing out the "Welcome Home" grant money. I've heard of several banks in the area who have applied for it this year and have it available to pass out. What it is, is a grant that any buyer can apply for and get up to $5,000 to be applied towards their down payment and closing costs. It's a pretty nice deal. The funds are limited, so it's given out on a first come first serve basis. If you are wanting to buy a house, don't procrastinate any longer because if you do you'll miss out! If you want more information about this grant program CONTACT me and I'll fill you in with some more details.

Here's a Question for my readers: How often do you search for a home on the internet compared to the newspaper? Post your comment and lets see what the results are!

The Market Is Picking Up and So are Some Headaches

It seems like with the change in weather comes the change in the market. This week in the Defiance area we have had some very nice weather reaching up into the high 50's. The snow is all about melted and many flowers are beginning to break through the dirt and poke through. There still seems to be an abudance of homes for sale on the market and the buyers are getting some good deals.



There seems to be some stir in the community this past week as we are preparing for our new WalMart store to open. According to this Crescent News article it looks like we are going to be heading into a few headaches with the trafic on the Northside once the store opens up. Together with the Hwy 24 expansion the traffic is going to be a little nuts for a while.