When it comes to healthy living, Washington, D.C., is seldom mentioned in the same breath as cities like San Francisco, Portland, Ore., and Seattle, all of which are known for their active, health-conscious residents.

But according to a new report, the city of pomp and politics is the healthiest in the nation. In the second annual American Fitness Index (AFI), a publication released by the American College of Sports Medicine, Washington, D.C., edged out Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., Denver, Boston and San Francisco.

Walter Thompson, a professor in the department of kinesiology and health at Georgia State University and chair of the AFI's advisory board, says the annual project is designed to give communities a data-driven picture of local health--and nudge residents in the right direction.

"I believe significant success in improving the fitness of the community can occur when the residents truly value healthy behaviors," says Thompson.

Consumer confidence up dramatically

Washington Business Journal

Index of Leading Economic Indicators is up in May

Washington Business Journal - by Jeff Clabaugh Staff Reporter

An index measuring confidence among U.S. homebuilders rose for the second straight month in May, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

It is the first back-to-back increase in builder confidence since February 2008 and is now at its highest level in eight months.

The index measuring current confidence rose two points, from 12 in April to 14 in May.

Any reading under 50 still indicates the majority of builders view conditions as poor.

“The fact that the May [Housing Market Index] continued to tick up from April’s 5 point increase provides confirming evidence that the improved confidence level was no fluke,” said NAHB chief economist David Crowe. “This continued increase indicates that home builders feel we’re at or near the bottom of the market and that positive signs lie ahead for builders and potential home buyers, provided that builder access to production credit significantly improves.”

A separate index measuring expectations for the next six months rose three points to 27.

Builders and Realtors are hoping lower prices and historically low mortgage rates will overcome tighter lending standards. The housing market may also benefit this year from an $8,000 tax credit for homebuyers.

Earlier this month, the National Association of Realtors reported pending sales of existing homes rose 3.2 percent in March, the first back-to-back increase in pending sales in

Most houses to choose from: Realtor.com 
This is the official site of the National Association of Realtors, which lists over 3 million properties for sale and rent.

Best local information: Terabitz
This is a right-brain approach to home shopping.  Buyers can create “mashups” of data by dropping “bitz” of information they’re interested in, things like restaurants, shops, banks and cafes. 

Best site to price comparable properties: Trulia
Currently listed and recently sold properties appear on the page with each “for sale” listing, along with graphs showing how that house compares with similar homes. It also gives you the year built, square footage and sales history.

To find out what your neighbor’s house is worth: Zillow.com
Zillow estimates the market value of more than 67 million homes. All you need is the address.

Find the right neighborhood: Neighborhoodscout.com
Click “Build a Neighborhood” and describe your dream. They’ll instantly give you the neighborhood that’s just right for you.

Buy a house at auction: eBay.com
The “world’s largest marketplace” also has plenty of properties for auction in all 50 states and many foreign countries.

To find a foreclosure property: Propertyshark.com
This is an easy-to-use site with plenty of listings.

Buy a house without a broker: Forsalebyowner.com
It gives you the owner’s name and phone number so you can contact them directly. 

Get Zagat-like reviews of a particular street: Streetadvisor.com
Local residents and visitors submit detailed descriptions and ratings of streets and blocks. It includes overall atmosphere, cell phone, TV and Internet reception and whether or not the street is good value for the money.

Snoop into your neighbors’ backyards: Zillow.com
“Bird’s Eye View” gives high-resolution, 3D-like aerial views of anyone’s backyard. You can check out your neighbor’s noisy basketball court or the local neighborhood dump. 

Get the dish on noisy neighbors: Rottenneighbor.com
You’ll find where the “smelly hippies,” “psycho pet haters” and the “mean old lady with no life” live. It also gives you information on the great neighbors, too!

Check out the schools: Homefair.com
Get a free school report for any city or town in the country.

Check on local crime rates: Areaconnect.com/crime
Compares crime rates based on FBI crime stats.

Find local sex offenders: Familywatchdog.us
The maps here show you where offenders live and work, and the crimes they’ve committed.

Check out the local job market: bls.gov/eag/
This Web site tells you how many new jobs are being created and how many jobs are being lost city by city. Statistics and charts are easy to read.

To talk with your soon-to-be new neighbor before you buy: Meetup.com
Whether you’re interested in politics, dogs, poker or physics, it will connect you with a group of like-minded souls in the neighborhood.

Most homes for rent: Craigslist.org
Gives you the price and lets you contact the owner directly.

Swap your house with someone else: Homelink.org
This is the largest international house-swapping site.

Now you have everything you need to buy a home without moving a muscle. Happy hunting!

The internet and your home

All clients of Gerlach real estate, inc. are encouraged to enter their listings in the MRIS system, the local database of practically ALL homes for sale by all real estate brokers.  It is our company policy, with a few unique exceptions, to enter the property within forty eight hours of signing a listing agreement, or a mutually agreed upon date that reflects the home being ready to show. On very rare occasions we may recommend that your property not be entered into the system, and this is on a case by case basis.

Once you property is entered into the MRIS system it becomes part of a very important broker reciprocity system, IDX or Internet Data Exchange, which allows all brokers to display their listings on each others web sites,  as well as the broker restricted data input Keystone system.  In short, the IDX system is the basis of all internet advertising and the grand equalizer between real estate companies since all consumers and agents now have access to almost all of the available listings currently on the market.

MRIS then takes your property and initiates its Real Property Advertising (RPA) program.

Where on the internet does MRIS advertise?

1.         www.homesdatabase.com.       Powered by MRIS this site represents the premier regional search site. Active and Contingent listings are automatically updated in real time within minutes of their appearance on MATRIX, the restricted broker search and update site for All listings and sales information. It is specifically designed to assist MRIS customers in gaining exposure for their listings. Unlike many other real estate search sites this one is free off all advertising and pop ups.

            To further explain, all company sites and other search sites use Homesdatabase.com  as its source of information.  To assist brokers in fully utilizing  the IDX opportunity, MRIS currently offers brokers a product called the Bridge, which www.gerlachrealestate.com adopted many years ago, as its search engine and lead generation tool for brokers. The bridge offers all potential buyers, registration not required by Gerlach real estate, inc, the opportunity to search for any listing in the local MRIS system. The Bridge offers access to MRIS data via any web browser on any web site.

2.         Realtor.com      The Company’s flagship site and the official site of the National Association of REALTORS®, REALTOR.com® is the No. 1 consumer destination for real estate related information with more than 6.3 million monthly unique users. The overall reach of this site is extraordinary and is clearly, for the foreseeable future, the national clearing house for buyers and sellers who use the internet in their home search or home selling process. In our case, Realtor.com ultimately sources its listings with Homesdatabase.com.

3.                  Washingtonpost.com, Trulia.com, Homes.com, Cyberhomes.com and most all company web sites big, small and in between . . These sites pull their listings from our local MRIS system and merely mask it through their own branding.

The internet is a powerful tool for searching homes and finding property. The last survey of home buyers that was done by NAR showed more then 80% of potential home buyers and sellers used the internet at some point in their search. In our market, that number is higher.  Further, the actual amount of homes that buyers looked at in person has fallen dramatically because of the ability to eliminate houses via the internet.  Buyers are not buying the houses online, but they are eliminating ones they will not buy online. And, they are all searching from the same database via the IDX system.

It is critically important in preparing your home for sale, or preparing to buy a home,  that you have a complete understanding of how the internet has dramatically changed the process over the last three or four years.  The days of proprietary web sites that have exclusive listings are for the most part over, gone the way of the dinosaurs. Real estate companies that chose the path of large, extensive, information laden, web sites have been “Googled to Death” and the nimble more flexible web sites have prospered.   Purchasers are finding through their own search engines all the information they need, and what they want,  access to all the properties available in their self  defined search, has been made available by the IDX system.

So, where does that leave the real estate broker, the agent, and the client? We, the real estate professionals, are no longer the keepers of the gate, but rather,  the experts in the field. We are the guides through the rather complicated, potentially liable, and always interesting process of selling and buying homes. Clients, as most already know, are teaming with brokers to navigate that path.

Pending home sales up 3.2 percent in March

WASHINGTON – There was another ray of hope Monday for the distressed housing market: the National Association of Realtors said the volume of signed contracts to buy previously occupied homes rose for the second month in a row.

Homebuyers taking advantage of bargain prices, low interest rates and a tax credit for first-time buyers pushed the seasonally adjusted index of pending sales up by 3.2 percent to 84.6 in March.

The results not only beat analysts' flat expectations, but were also 1.1 percent above last year's levels, the first time that has happened since December.

"After nearly three years of freefall, housing activity may have found a floor," wrote Paul Dales, U.S. economist with Capital Economics in Toronto.

The index tracks signed contracts to purchase previously occupied homes. Typically there is a one- to two-month lag between a contract and a done deal, so the index is a barometer for future home sales.

Hopes have been growing that home sales, while still severely depressed, may be finally showing signs of life. Sales of newly built homes were flat in March while sales of existing homes edged down slightly.

But it's not all bright news out there.

Home prices are expected to keep falling for at least another year, though at a slowing pace. Tens of thousands of homes are tied up in the foreclosure process and not yet for sale. Plus, mounting job losses may keep many buyers from signing a contract for a home.

The Realtors estimate about half of existing home sales are now foreclosures and other must-sell transactions.

Nevertheless, many real estate agents are counting on an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers as their best hope for boosting flagging sales. That incentive was included in the economic stimulus package passed earlier this year.

"This increase could be the leading edge of first-time buyers responding to very favorable affordability conditions," and the tax credit, Lawrence Yun, the Realtors' chief economist, said in a statement. "We need several months of sustained growth to demonstrate a recovery in housing, which is necessary for the overall economy to turn around."

Pending sales were up 8.5 percent in the South and nearly 4 percent in the West. They fell 5.7 percent in the Northeast and 1 percent in the Midwest.