Text for Duane's Real Estate Video of the Day for August 17

Duane’s Real Estate Video August 17

“It’s a great day to be in real estate! Duane Beisner here… sales manager and a sales representative for ERA real estate.
	Duane’s Quote of the Day   I've seen extreme bravery from the least likely of people. Life is about the moments when it's all gone wrong. That's when we define ourselves. -- Bear Grylls, star of Man vs. Wild TV show

Duane’s Joke of the Day

At graduation, everybody is going to get their diploma but Tom. At the assembly Tom’s entire senior class screams “Let Tom graduate, let Tom graduate!” The principal in a moment of weakness agrees to give Tom one last chance. “If I have five peaches in my left hand and five peaches in my right hand, Tom, how many peaches do I have?” he asked. Tom thought long and hard and then said: “ten.” And the entire senior class stood up and shouted. “Give Tom another chance. Give Tom another chance!”

Duane’s Business Tip of the Day

Rare indeed is the salesperson that can be successful without being  closely monitored, coached and held accountable.

Think about it.

Darwin Award of the Day

(5 September 2009, Oregon) Jake reached the summit of Saddle Mountain, and then and there he informed his friends that he planned to make a controlled slide down the cliff face. He would meet up with them in the parking lot or on the trail below.

Some folks are satisfied with the risks and rewards of dune sliding, and the chance of a 150-foot broken-limb tumble. Not Jake. The 18-year-old decided to 'git-r-dun' down a thousand-foot cliff, instead. He slid pell-mell down the escarpment--and what was intended to be a controlled rockslide ended abruptly 1000 feet below the summit, when his body came to rest in a steep ravine.

Friends were shocked. "We are shocked," they said, "because he is always doing stuff like this and coming out smiling."

Duane’s Social Commentary

China Passes Japan as Second-Largest Economy SHANGHAI — After three decades of spectacular growth, China passed Japan in the second quarter to become the world’s second-largest economy behind the United States, according to government figures released early Monday. The milestone, though anticipated for some time, is the most striking evidence yet that China’s ascendance is for real and that the rest of the world will have to reckon with a new economic superpower. Experts say unseating Japan — and in recent years passing Germany, France and Great Britain — underscores China’s growing clout and bolsters forecasts that China will pass the United States as the world’s biggest economy as early as 2030. America’s gross domestic product was about $14 trillion in 2009. For Japan, whose economy has been stagnating for more than a decade, the figures reflect a decline in economic and political power. Japan has had the world’s second-largest economy for much of the last four decades, according to the World Bank. And during the 1980s, there was even talk about Japan’s economy someday overtaking that of the United States. But while Japan’s economy is mature and its population quickly aging, China is in the throes of urbanization and is far from developed, analysts say, meaning it has a much lower standard of living, as well as a lot more room to grow. Just five years ago, China’s gross domestic product was about $2.3 trillion, about half of Japan’s. This country has roughly the same land mass as the United States, but it is burdened with a fifth of the world’s population and insufficient resources. Its per capita income is more on a par with those of impoverished nations like Algeria, El Salvador and Albania — which, along with China, are close to $3,600 — than that of the United States, where it is about $46,000. Yet there is little disputing that under the direction of the Communist Party, China has begun to reshape the way the global economy functions by virtue of its growing dominance of trade, its huge hoard of foreign exchange reserves and United States government debt and its voracious appetite for oil, coal, iron ore and other natural resources. China is already a major driver of global growth. The country’s leaders have grown more confident on the international stage and have begun to assert greater influence in Asia, Africa and Latin America, with things like special trade agreements and multibillion dollar resource deals. In Japan, the mood was one of resignation. Though increasingly eclipsed by Beijing on the world stage, Japan has benefited from a booming China, initially by businesses moving production there to take advantage of lower wages and, as local incomes have risen, by tapping a large and increasingly lucrative market for Japanese goods. Beijing is also beginning to shape global dialogues on a range of issues, analysts said; for instance, last year it asserted that the dollar must be phased out as the world’s primary reserve currency. And while the United States and the European Union are struggling to grow in the wake of the worst economic crisis in decades, China has continued to climb up the economic league tables by investing heavily in infrastructure and backing a $586 billion stimulus plan. This year, although growth has begun to moderate a bit, China’s economy is forecast to expand about 10 percent — continuing a remarkable three-decade streak of double-digit growth. China is also locked in a fierce debate over its currency policy, with the United States, European Union and others accusing Beijing of keeping the Chinese currency, the renminbi, artificially low to bolster exports — leading to huge trade surpluses for China but major bilateral trade deficits for the United States and the European Union. China says that its currency is not substantially undervalued and that it is moving ahead with currency reform. Although its economy is still only one-third the size of the American economy, China passed the United States last year to become the world’s largest market for passenger vehicles. China also passed Germany last year to become the world’s biggest exporter. China passed the United States in 2006 to become the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, which scientists link to global warming. But China also has an ambitious program to cut the energy it uses for each unit of economic output by 20 percent by the end of 2010, compared to 2006. Duane’s Real Estate News… Applications for Public Housing Surge Cities are being overwhelmed with applications for public housing units. In Atlanta, 30,000 people lined up to apply for 455 vouchers. Roanoke, Va., opened the waiting list for the first time in three years and added 2,400 people – there are no vacancies. When Chicago opened its public housing list for the first time in a decade earlier this summer, nearly 215,000 people applied within the four-week window. The federal government provides 2 million vouchers nationwide. There are four applications for every one vacancy, says Linda Couch, senior vice president for policy at the National Low Income Housing Coalition, an advocacy group. Contingent Offers Regaining Popularity Offers contingent on buyers’ ability to sell their current residence are increasing in popularity. They were almost unheard of during the go-go early 2000s, but common 20 years before that. Sellers generally don’t like these kinds of offers because it puts them in limbo. If their buyers’ home doesn’t sell, they can be back at square one. Also, once sellers accept a contingent sale offer, they must disclose this to other potential buyers, and that can discourage a buyer prepared to make a better offer. Sellers who accept contingent-sale offers can include an escape clause in the contract. This clause allows the sellers to notify the contingent-sale buyers of a competing offer and they must remove the contingency in 72 hours (on average) or lose the home.

I need to say this again… this market right now is the BEST Buyer’s Market you or I will ever see in our lifetime.

If you or anyone who you may know is looking to buy a home or sell a home anywhere in the world, let me know. I can help.

If you are looking to make a move to real estate as a career, please shoot me an email or give me a call.

This is Duane signing off. Happy Trails to you! As always, I am proud to be an American. You can email me at duane.beisner@era.com...  Or visit my website at www.rejedi.com.

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