It looks like it might be shaping up to be an interesting spring market. Although the trend of rising inventories is still taking hold, a combination of good weather and continued buyer interest at all price ranges, has kept For Sale inventories lower than we had expected which is good news for sellers. What won't be clear until April or May is whether the increased sales activity for the last 4 months is borrowed business from the spring or a true increase in buyer demand.

Under $250,000 inventories are falling and buyer activity is rising, causing a continued scramble to find a Home to purchase.  Although inventories are rising in the over $250,000 price categories, new contracts are rising faster than new listings, which is keeping the expected inventory jump this winter much less than anticipated.

For the economy in general, economists seem to be pessimistically optimistic. Economic activity is moving forward but at a slow enough pace that it is vulnerable to sudden change in any world activity. With stock prices lower, upper-end markets should slow as well and with stronger home equities, many more sellers will be able to sell, creating more inventory, and potentially slowing appreciation rates, if supply exceeds demand.  All that said, it is also as likely that buyer demand still has some kick left in it, as first time home buyers and as many “boomerang” buyers jump back into the market (see chart below).  So we will simply have to wait and see how the spring market unfolds. It does appear the real estate bulls vastly outnumber the bears in relation to the spring market and 2016 in general. So, with inventories low and demand still strong, those Sellers who may be waiting until spring to put their homes on the market should consider entering the market now.  

To get a feel for how far values have recovered relative to peak values back in 2005/6, here is a chart showing Michigan in comparison to the rest of the country. It shows Michigan back to 92% of peak values, which when adding in the pay-down of mortgages during the past 10 years, puts most Michigan homeowners with more equity than that at the peak.

So far it looks like an early spring for both the weather and for real estate activity, so for both buyers and sellers, don't be afraid to jump in now, the water might be still a bit chilly but it is heating up fast!

Current Mortgage Interest Rates

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Tom, stachler, thomas, real estate, market, updates, 2016, michigan, broker, ann arbor, saline, dexter, ypsilanti, chelsea, inventory, prices, outlook, realty, realtor, houses, homes, property, for, sale, listings, increase, appreciation, depreciation , mortgage, interest, rates, current, loan

Self-directed IRAs that focus heavily on real estate investments are often referred to as "Real Estate IRAs." With a Real Estate IRA, your retirement funds can invest in all kinds of real estate and real estate-related assets. Explore the most popular real estate investment options for your self-directed IRA:

What Can I Invest In?

• Apartment Buildings, Co-Ops, and Condominiums
• Building Bonds
• Commercial Paper
• Commercial Property
• Foreclosures
• Improved or Unimproved Land (Leveraged or Un-Leveraged)
• Joint Ventures
• Leases
• Limited Liability Companies (LLCs)
• Limited Partnerships
• Offshore Property
• Single Family and Multi-Unit Homes
• Tangible Asset Deeds
• Tax Lien Certificates
• Trust Deeds and Mortgage Notes

These are just a few of your options with a self-directed IRA. The real estate-related investments allowed in these retirement accounts are seemingly endless.

Looking for help with this type of investment, contact us today to get started with finding property and purchasing it rental or flip opportunities.  

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Recently, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has been closely monitoring a dioxane plume that is making it's way towards the Huron River, Ann Arbors primary drinking water source. This is a major concern for residents of the area due to the toxicity of dioxane to humans. The agency is scrambling to minimize the potential risk of exposure.

Back in 1966 Pall Corporation- a global manufacturer of filtration products, dumped large amounts of dioxane into the environment. This went on for nearly 20 years, at that point the damage was already done. Unfortunately, due to state laws the DEQ cannot force Pall Corp to do a clean-up. Thus leaving the area polluted and at risk of the chemical spreading into our ground water.

It is unsure where or how the plume will spread, but local officials are growing increasingly concerned about dioxane reaching Barton Pond, primary drinking water source.

Officials from the Department of Environmental Quality discussed the situation with city officials and residents at a meeting of the local Coalition for Action on Remediation of Dioxane. They are pushing towards stricter policies regarding clean-up. 

Pall Corp is working towards releasing a plan of action for the clean-up, but at this time no remedy has been put into place. The DEQ continues to work on establishing stricter laws.

Meet St. Joseph, the patron saint of real estate. For hundreds of years, people have invoked his power to help sell their homes.

Normally known to look after families, fathers, expectant mothers, immigrants, travelers, craftsmen, engineers and working people in general, St. Joseph the Worker might be most popular as an aid to real estate transactions, which could come in handy in this slow market.

To use the statue, Home sellers are told to bury it upside down with the feet pointing toward heaven. It can face the home being sold, or a new home. Some like to plant the statue near the For Sale sign or in the backyard. After burying it, serious sellers are told to say a prayer daily in front of the statue.

Condominium or co-op owners place the statue in a flowerpot near the entryway. After the property changes hands, sellers are instructed to remove the statue, to be displayed for good luck in their new home, or leave it buried to protect the home that just sold.

Over thousands of people have experienced the success of St. Joseph and selling their home, it may be time for you to invest in one

You can purchase this statue online by visiting http://www.st-josephstatue.com or any local store that sells religious items.

Mice - Rodent Control Around Your Home

As much as homeowners enjoy the shelter and comfort of their home, mice, rats, and other rodents do, too. Not only do rodents make a mess, they can carry and spread diseases, contaminate food, and cause property damage.

The first step in keeping rodents out of the home is prevention. Rodents commonly enter homes, garages, sheds and other structures through small cracks and openings. Even a dime-sized hole is large enough for a mouse to get through. Common entry areas include behind stoves and refrigerators, around where water pipes enter the home, attics and crawl spaces, basements, and laundry drains. Outside the home, look for openings around windows and doors, gutters, and places where wiring, plumbing, and gas lines enter the home. Small holes can be stuffed with steel wool, which rodents cannot chew through, and caulked into place. Larger holes may require patching with metal, hardware cloth, or lath screen.

Removing food sources is another key to prevention. Pantry foods should be stored in metal or heavy plastic containers with tight fitting covers. Food-soiled cookware and dishes should be washed and kitchen surfaces cleaned soon after use, and pet food should not be left out overnight. If food waste is kept inside, it should be stored in a metal container until it can be disposed of outside in a rodent-proof trash can. If homeowners enjoy feeding wild birds, feeders should be located away from the house as spilled bird food is a real treat for rodents. There are bird seed mixes available that have been treated with hot pepper – unappealing to rodents and other mammals but birds are unaffected by it.

If rodents are present, it is extremely important that they be removed properly prior to sealing holes and gaps. Snap traps are the most effective method of catching rodents; follow the manufacturer’s instruction for best results. It can take several days for rats to respond to a baited trap. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, snap traps are preferable to live or “humane” trapping, which can cause stressed rodents to urinate and increase possible exposure to disease. Once a rodent is trapped and killed, it should be wrapped in newspaper and disposed of in the trash. Any rodent – dead or alive – should not be handled with bare hands; use disposable rubber or vinyl gloves. Rodents are carriers of Hantavirus and other viruses and bacteria that can cause serious, even deadly, diseases in humans. A person can become exposed to Hantavirus while sweeping or cleaning up rodent droppings as particles become airborne and are inhaled. In addition, fleas, mites, or ticks may be present on the rodent, providing an additional carrier for the spread of disease.

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John Adams Mortgage has an interesting new Program you might wish to explore.  If nothing else, you get a free Amex Gift Card.  See below for details and click here to Apply

Also, you can go to www.LendAnnArbor.com to get a list of the Area's best Lenders and Banks.  

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"The Heavy Ball." It's a mythical term. "His ball was so heavy it was like hitting a bowling ball." Most tennis players and coaches have had the experience of playing an opponent whose ball seemed unusually "heavy".

Maybe the ball seemed to get on top of you before you could respond. Maybe the ball felt like it was going to rip the racket out of your hand. Maybe it felt like the ball would by pass your strike zone altogether and bounce over your shoulder or even your head.

Everywhere I go in tennis I hear different versions of the same story. This player or that player had the "secret" of the heavy ball. It was Don Budge, Bjorn Borg, Tomas Muster, or Pete Sampras--or some legendary local college or pro player that you or I never heard of. "This guy hit the heaviest forehand I've ever played against."

So "heavy ball" is a term with a lot of connotations for a lot of people. But does it have any real meaning? Is there in fact any such a thing as a shot that is really "heavier"? If so can we understand it, quantify it, and/or teach it?

If the heavy ball does really exist, it must be some combination of speed, spin, and shot trajectory. But what combination? Is it something that's just natural for a few gifted or lucky players? Is there a way to intentionally maximize the weight of your shots?

In this section of Tennisplayer, we've set out to investigate these questions in a different way. Thanks to new filming and analytic technologies, it is now possible to measure the shot signatures of the top players and to distinguish how they play by the quality of the ball they produce.

Over the last several years, researchers from Advanced Tennis Research(AdvancedTennis.com) have been investigating these factors of ball speed, spin, and trajectory, and beginning to put the pieces of the puzzle together. A big part of the story is the evolution in technologies that makes this possible. And that's part of the ongoing story we plan to tell

Ball Speed

We'll start with ball speed, and the groundbreaking research Advanced Tennis scientists began on the speed of the ball in 1997 and 1998. This was the first quantitative study to measure the speed of the ball in pro tennis, beyond what the radar guns told us about the initial velocity of the serve. We not only studied the speed of the serve, but also of the groundstrokes, the returns and the volleys.

Although it's absolutely invisible to the human eye, virtually every shot in pro tennis lost half or more of its speed by the time it reached the opponent's baseline.

In the first article we go into detail about how we developed this information, what the results were, and what it might mean for players looking for an edge.

Ball Spin

After looking at the study of ball speed, we'll go on to look at the first ever study of the actual spin rates in pro tennis. In 1997, we filmed at the U.S. Open using a new high speed digital camera technology that filmed at 250 frames per second. This was the first time that live professional matches were ever studied by a camera that was fast enough to actually "see" how the ball spins.

How fast was a Pete Sampras serve really spinning? How about an Andre Agassi forehand? Our camera allowed us to answer these questions. During the course of 5 days, we built up and extensive data base of several hundred spin events with top professional players.

We found for example that there was no such thing as a "flat" first serve in the pro game. In reality, a 120mph Pete Sampras serve was actually spinning at an average of over 2500rpm.

We also found that although many people believed that Andre Agassi's forehand was hit with "heavy" topspin, it was actually spinning at about 1800rpm, less than half what some of the European players were developing.

We also saw for the first time what happened to spin during the bounce on the court. Surprisingly, we found the friction between the ball and the court created as much topspin as the initial hit (and sometimes more), something which had important implications for the creation of the "heavy ball."

These studies of speed and spin opened a window on the literally invisible world of ball dynamics. They also raised almost as many questions as they answered. 

We were able to put real numbers to spin and speed in pro tennis for the first time--key components in trying to understand the heavy ball. But how did speed and spin actually interact?

The next step in the research was to measure speed and spin simultaneously, instead of in separate studies. To do this required a new, more elaborate filming protocol and new original motion analysis software, developed by Nasif Iskander.

Nasif was able to measure the speed of 10 returns hit by Pete's opponents, as well as 3 returns hit by Sampras.

In 2000 we were able to put these new tools into action. We were able to film and compare the ball dynamics of two of the best servers in the history of the game in live tournament play: Pete Sampras and Greg Rusedski. For the first time we were able to measure the speed and spin of the serve over the entire course of the flight. Greg Ryan performed the critical and painstaking task of putting the together to form our most complete picture yet of the heavy ball.

A critical advance in Nasif's software was the ability to measure the components in the spin of top players, for example, the level of sidespin and topspin in the deliveries of Sampras and Rusedski. In addition, Nasif developed a "shot simulator" that actually allowed us to measure how changing amounts of spin influenced the curve and the drop of high speed professional serves.

The results were again surprising. We found that there was in fact no such thing as a "topspin" serve, that the majority of spin in the deliveries of both players was sidespin not topspin. But a critical difference turned out to be the relative amounts of topspin.

These differences in the type and amount of spin had a significant impact on the quality of the ball they produced. And it had a significant effect on the total "heaviness" of the shot at the time of the return.

Since Advanced Tennis completed its initial studies of ball speed and spin, the technology has continued to evolve, making even more detailed and precise studies possible that can contribute to our understanding of the nature of the heavy ball in new ways.

Currently Advanced Tennis is engaged in a collaboration with Hawk-Eye technologies in London, the developer of the "Shot Spot," which has taken a prominent place in ESPN tennis broadcasts, reviewing line calls. "Shot Spot" is based on amazing technology developed by the brilliant young English scientist Paul Hawkins, who first applied it in cricket.

To the average television viewer, this is exciting because it allows for the potential "instant replay" review of the controversial calls which frequently have an impact on the outcome of matches (not to mention the fragile emotional psyches of the players).

But in reality the "Shot Spot" technology can tell us far more, because it is actually measuring the entire trajectory of every shot hit in professional tennis. This means Shot Spot can tell us the exact speeds of the shots of the top balls at any point in the flight of the ball, as well as the path each shot takes.

The one factor that Shot Spot cannot directly measure is spin, which requires an additional, even faster high speed camera trained exclusively on the flight of the ball.

In 2004 Paul Hawkins agreed to collaborate with Advanced Tennis in taking the heavy ball analysis to the next level. This meant that Shot Spot would allow us to combine their speed and trajectory data with our high speed spin data. Together we were able to film matches of Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Marat Safin, and Lleyton Hewitt. This will allow us, for starters, to compare the spin Roddick generates on his serve to Sampras, or Federer.

Over time we hope the end result will be a comprehensive and even more accurate picture of what actually happens when pro players hit the tennis ball. Our goal is that by combining speed, trajectory and spin, we will be able to further unravel the shots of pro players and facilitate the quest for the heavy ball. So Stay Tuned.