Happy New Year!  I can smell the black-eyed peas cooking as I type this.

I don’t know about you but I’m glad the holidays are over. I’m ready to get back into a routine.

Am also glad rockfish season is over (that helps to get back in that routine). Yesterday I caught my last fish of the season and moved the Carol M to Dividing Creek. If a day comes up in the next couple of weeks that the bay is as flat as pancake I want to experiment and see if I can find out what hangs around some of those nearby wrecks in the winter months.

I’m getting geared up for the coming year. In the next couple of months we should have some new lots coming on the market. These lots are in Northumberland County on a protected creek with great views that lead into the Potomac River. If you have been waiting for the opportunity to be one of the first to see something before everyone else has chosen all of the better lots well this is your chance.

I’m also anticipating the listing of a residence near Sandy Point. I don’t want to say too much until I actually have the listing in my hand but it is on the Yeocomico with a wide view.

 Everyone wants to know about the housing market. Building permits for new homes here the Northern Neck are down about 50% from last year. The homes that are being built are all high dollar/high end homes though.

A lot of people think this is a bad thing. To tell you the truth I’m glad to see it. It use to be that anyone wanting to get a new home built had to get on a waiting list. Sometimes the wait could be as long as 2 years before construction would actually start. Today you might be able to get a house started in 60 days.

Another thing I think that makes this slow down good is that now there are contractors out there that have time for remodeling.

There are some absolutely great deals out there if you look at the cost of the lot and compare it with the house. In many instances the square foot cost of the home could be less than $50 a square foot. You can do a lot of remodeling at that price and come out cheaper than buying new.

A good example of this is this property. 2000 plus square feet, deep sailboat depth water, great pier with boat lift and heated swimming pool for $649,000. Even if it were to cost 100k to remodel it would be a home run!

Take a look at the Northern Neck MLS and if you see something that interest you give me a call.

"Top 10 Tax Breaks, On The House"
"Battle of the Warring Housing Price Indexes"
"Smoothing The Rough Road To Refinancing"
"Going Green: Easier Than You May Think"
"Understanding How Federal Reserve Rate Cuts Work"

Plus a roundup of December real estate activity as well as much more advice and information.

I hope you enjoy this monthly newsletter. If you have any comments, please e-mail them to me. Or, if you would like to see a certain topic covered in future months, let me know that too!

Here is the link once again for the Northern Neck MLS.

Happy New Year,