Dear Friends,

The summer is coming to an end and it is time to write you all once again. Time seems to have disappeared with the sun these last few months. I feel as though I blinked and missed most of it! Below I have captioned a few things that I actually do remember happening, if for nothing else, to have literary record that there really was a summer 2008.

The Family
Life on the home front is full of much laughter and many tears. We have a 2 ½ year old, need I say more? I didn’t realize a human being was capable of such enormous and instantaneous mood swings! Yet, beneath all the tantrums and showers of kisses is a little boy I couldn’t love more. The youngest is equally wondrous, but a lot easier on the ears! He’s quiet, cuddly, and ridiculously good looking, which is probably why my wife swears he takes after her. Hanna ran her first ½ marathon this summer, started painting, and is busy with life in general. If I ever feel like pulling my hair out, I just spend a day or two doing what she does. I’m so glad she takes care of us boys.

The Business
Thanks to you, this has been a good year so far. One of my great joys is receiving referrals from my past clients. Thank you for trusting me with your friends and family.
This week I am heading to Texas for a week of training. I’ll be at an intensive Keller Williams Conference where I will be able to network and learn valuable information about our market and Real Estate. I want to be the kind of person who is always learning. It helps me, my business, and ultimately my clients and co-workers. My assistant will be here to hold down the fort while I’m gone. If you have any questions, give her a call.
Aside from my Keller Williams world, I am involved in a branch of Business Networking International. There are several BNI groups in Alaska that have been extremely effective. After a lot of research, I decided to start one myself. Our group has reputable and outstanding business men and women. We meet once a week. It’s an awesome system for giving and receiving business referrals. If any of you are interested in learning more about it, give me a call!
The Market
Many of you have heard me say that the real estate market is not national- it’s local. So here are some of the local highlights:

-We are the only state that has appreciated since the “peak” in 05!!!
-Our Valley job growth of 3.9% is 3 times the national average.
- In the state we created 1,700 jobs in the last 12 months 648 of those jobs are here in the valley.
- Since 2002 our average property values have gone from $150,000 to $225,000.

All that said, I won’t pretend that we don’t have many people struggling to get out of their homes. Those that struggle the most in this market are people who bought homes with “time bomb” loans and after their interest rates adjusted they could no longer afford their homes. Even though our home prices have increased in the last three years, there are a large number of homes on the market which makes it difficult to sell some certain homes without a loss. This year I have made it my goal to help as many people out of this situation as I can. I have been able to help people get out of their homes and not lose their shirts through “short sale”, “early payoffs”, and a lot of hard work. If you know some one in this position please let me know. I may be able to help them avoid foreclosure.

I am so thankful to have all of you in my life and hope that you have had a profitable and fun summer. Thank you for all your support!

Wayne L. Salmans
Real Estate Consultant
Keller - Williams Realty
(907) 841-8231
Fax (907) 376-8039
Salmans@mtaonline.net
http://www.waynesalmans.com/
http://valleymarket.blogspot.com/

first-time home buyer tax credit designed to stimulate home sales. - $7,500

Great news for any 1st home buyers that closes on a home after April 7th this year.
Opportunity of a Lifetime for First-Time Buyers
President Bush signed the Housing Bill into law yesterday morning. The tax credit ended up being capped at $7,500. This web site answers many questions about the first-time home buyer tax credit designed to stimulate home sales.
http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/index.html
For aspiring home owners who find their goal stubbornly elusive, newly enacted legislation providing a tax credit of as much as $7,500 for first-time home buyers might just be the opportunity of a lifetime.But like so many of the good things in life, time is of the essence for buyers who want to take advantage of this outstanding opportunity. Only homes purchased on or after April 9, 2008 and before July 1, 2009 are eligible. Use the links below to learn more about the tax credit.
Thank you to Christy Hudson a Mortgage Loan Originator for Residential Mortgage LLC, for providing this great information. You can e-mail her at hudsonc@residentialmtg.com

E-mail me for today’s list of best buy homes. salmans@mtaonline.net