Bainbridge Island real estate market improves - Bainbridge Island ...

By RICHARD D. OXLEY
Bainbridge Island Review Staff Writer
February 4, 2013 ? 2:52 PM

The economic storm raging through America's real estate market has thundered for years. But now, local industry officials are reporting a break in the clouds.

"Bainbridge is a great marketplace, we are probably one of the safest market places around," said Jim Laws of Windermere Real Estate on Bainbridge.

"We've really weathered this storm as well as any community has," he said.

Weathered, but not unaffected. Bainbridge wasn't immune to the financial ailment that struck the nation in 2008.

"The first months of 2007 were crazy busy, and then somebody flipped a switch," Laws said.

That "switch" caused industry numbers on the island to drop considerably. The island went from 332 homes sold in 2007 to 187 sold in 2008. The median price in 2007 was $680,000. That dropped to $493,000 in 2008.

Prices and home values fell. People have since been reluctant to buy or sell. Until now.

"Bottom line, it was a great year," said Craig Clark of Johansson Clark Real Estate.

The numbers for 2012 have come in and they have those in the island's real estate industry excited.

"In terms of trends, we will look back and see that 2012 was a great time to buy real estate," Clark said.

The numbers have slowly climbed back up in the wake of the 2008 crisis, but last year showed the most progress. There was a 50-percent increase in homes sold in 2012 from 2011.

"To go from 257 homes sold (in 2011) to 386 homes in 2012, that's a big jump," Laws said. "And that actually surpassed 2007."

The median price of an island home also showed improvement in 2012. The current median home price is $524,650 after a 6 percent rise last year.

"This is the first time we've had an increase in the median price since 2007," Laws said.

The median price is still not up to 2007 levels when it was approximately $680,000, before dropping to $493,000 in 2008.

Laws notes that the numbers only account for home sales, and not other real estate purchases such as condos or business properties.

He further said that the statistics relate to the island market as a whole, not necessarily to any one particular home.

"If I say the market has gone up 6 percent, that means some homes have gone up 6 percent and other homes have gone up 10 percent, and others have stayed flat," Laws said.

The news is giving real estate brokers a positive outlook for 2013.

"In the next 24 months we could see a 7 percent increase in value," Clark said. "Interest rates are going to stay low, and inventory is going to stay low which will drive up the market somewhat. It won't stampede, but values will trend up."

But the news doesn't come without caution.

"The outlook would be consciously optimistic," Clark said. "Our problem is that we have more buyers than we have properties to meet their needs."

Laws also pointed to the national economy as something to consider as well.

"For buyers to feel confident enough to pay money, they have to feel confident enough that they will have a job," Laws said. "Stuff like the fiscal cliff, and the next fiscal cliff, and Europe, creates concern."

"The real estate market is driven by employment," he said.

Contact Bainbridge Island Review Staff Writer Richard D. Oxley at roxley@bainbridgereview.com or (206) 842-6613.

Source: http://www.bainbridgereview.com/news/189730161.html

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Wall Street to open lower after Tuesday rally, results eyed

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were poised to open lower Wednesday, indicating the S&P 500 may retreat as it faces resistance to further gains beyond five-year highs in the wake of a 1-percent rally on Tuesday.

A 6-percent advance this year so far has lifted the S&P 500 index to its highest since December 2007, while the Dow <.dji> briefly climbed above 14,000, making it a challenge for investors to continue pushing the equity market upward amid a dearth of fresh trading incentives.

Walt Disney Co beat estimates for quarterly adjusted earnings and said it expected the next few quarters to be better, with a stronger lineup of movies and rising attendance at its theme parks. Shares advanced 2.8 percent to $55.81 in premarket trading.

"You knew a correction was coming; the question was whether they were going to tease you and get it close and then start selling it off or get it up to 14,000 and then start to make a move to the sell side," said Gordon Charlop, managing director at Rosenblatt Securities in New York.

"We got a quick move and it's really just not healthy for markets to go one way, so the idea that a little bit of a correction is due isn't troublesome to me at all."

According to Thomson Reuters data through Tuesday morning, of 278 companies in the S&P 500 <.spx> that have reported earnings, 68.7 percent have exceeded analysts' expectations, above a 62 percent average since 1994 and 65 percent over the past four quarters. In terms of revenue, 66 percent of companies have topped forecasts.

In another positive sign for profits, fourth-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are now expected to grow 4.5 percent, according to the data, above a 1.9 percent forecast at the start of the earnings season.

S&P 500 futures fell 6 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures lost 51 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 9.75 points.

The benchmark S&P index rose 1.04 percent Tuesday, its biggest percentage gain since a 2.5-percent advance on January 2, when legislators sidestepped a "fiscal cliff" of spending cuts and tax hikes that could have hurt a fragile U.S. economic recovery.

Visa , the world's largest credit and debit card network, is expected to report earnings per share of $1.79 for its first quarter, up from $1.49 a year earlier. Smaller rival MasterCard recently reported better-than-expected results but said its revenue growth could slow in the first half of the year due to economic uncertainty.

Ralph Lauren Corp climbed 5.5 percent to $174 in premarket trading after the fashion company and retailer reported holiday quarter sales and profits that showed renewed momentum.

Time Warner Inc gained 3.1 percent to $51.49 before the bell after reporting higher fourth-quarter profit that beat Wall Street estimates, as growth in its cable networks offset declines in its film, TV entertainment and publishing units.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-index-futures-point-slightly-higher-wall-street-103207021--finance.html

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92% Skyfall

All Critics (284) | Top Critics (46) | Fresh (261) | Rotten (23)

It's been a long time since I enjoyed a Bond movie so much.

'Quantum of Solace,' was a dour, dire letdown. This picture's a substantial bounce back, and easily the best Craig Bond picture. Emotional depth and all.

Sam Mendes' 'Skyfall': sleek, slithery, sensual

The cool accomplishment of Skyfall, 23rd in the Broccoli franchise, is that it seems a necessary, rather than mandatory, addition to the year's popular culture.

Among the most ambitious imaginings of Bond to date: dark, supple, and punctuated with moments of unanticipated visual brilliance.

Mendes' approach to action is classical and elegant - no manic editing and blurry unintelligible images here - but what makes the movie special is the attention he pays his actors.

One of the ten best films of 2012.

The film serves as a trip back to the beginning of the 50-year-old cinematic legend and the promise of a golden future with Craig in the role of 007.

What propels this grisly chapter is the characters' keen sense of agency.

Skyfall epitomizes what a Bond movie should be, and its director, for once, justifiably deserves much of the credit.

Skyfall isn't quite a throwback to the absurd thrills of the 007 films of old, but it does inject some fun back into the franchise.

As the saying goes, you've got to shake 22 Bond films, before the 23rd is stirred to perfection. Without a doubt, this is the best James Bond movie.

James Bond looks broken and weary, an embodiment of a traditional model of international spydom, the one premised on national borders, white-Western-wealthy entitlements, and excessive consumptions of alcohol, cars, and women.

I have no compulsion whatsoever in declaring Skyfall, in terms of cinematography, the best looking Bond film ever ... Action movies simply don't look like this - but ... this is no ordinary action movie.

Sentimental touches underscore the fun and frivolity of Bond's past while relishing the brutal landscape of the modern day super-spy.

This makes the list of truly great 007 films alongside the list of Goldfinger, Thunderball, Live And Let Die, Licence To Kill, Goldeneye and Casino Royale.

Worlds collide in this near-brilliant, meticulously refined 21st-century redefinition of James Bond.

Sam Mendes has done a magnificent job, creating both a relevant and timeless entry into the Bond canon, while deftly adding homages to the series' past.

...tough and grim but still spry ... feels like something of a rearguard action in the case of the British Empire.

Sometimes the old ways are the best. This is a theme and repeated line running throughout the new James Bond film Skyfall and never has it been more true.

Skyfall does what all of the best franchise entries do: it makes you want to see the next one immediately. Consider me (physically) shaken and (emotionally) stirred.

Not the best Bond movie ever but a very good one; a little darker but still unsettled as to what type overall it wants to be.

Too often this martini is sloppy, not smooth.

This is one of the 50-year-old series' most exciting and commandingly compelling entries. Yes, James Bond is back to being James Bond.

Seen against the ineffectual backdrop of 2008's Quantum of Solace, this is a return to form but it doesn't exceed Craig's impressive debut as Bond in 2006's Casino Royale.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/skyfall/

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90 Years, 9 Day: 'The Wizard Of Oz' (1939)

"The Wizard of Oz" has really entered a one-of-a-kind stratosphere of pop culture recognition. There's the ruby slippers, the songs. Even the Wicked Witch of West's musical cue is burned in the brains of the children who grew up on the MGM classic. Most people know it beat for beat, so why is its inclusion [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2013/02/04/90-years-9-day-the-wizard-of-oz/

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Boehner steadies GOP team, reframes deficit debate (The Arizona Republic)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/282345610?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Strong earthquake hits Japan's northern island of Hokkaido

TOKYO - A strong earthquake has struck Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, but authorities say there is no danger of a tsunami and there are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Japan's Meteorological Agency says the quake had a magnitude of 6.4 and hit at 11:17 p.m. (1417 GMT) Saturday in the Tokachi region in southern Hokkaido, at a depth of 120 kilometre (75 miles).

The agency says there is no danger of a tsunami from the quake.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake's magnitude was 6.9.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK says nearby nuclear power plants, including Tomari and Higashidori, which are currently idled for safety inspections, have reported no abnormalities.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/strong-earthquake-hits-japans-northern-island-hokkaido-no-154756189.html

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HTC's Peter Chou flashes M7 at company gathering, screams the name

Guess who's super excited about HTC's upcoming flagship phone? Why, Peter Chou, of course! At the company's year end party in Taipei earlier today, the CEO went on stage to thank the M7 team for working overtime last week in order to finalize the device this week, according to cnYES. Surprisingly, Chou then decided to openly play with the yet-to-be-released M7. "This event today is a great opportunity for testing [the camera]. I was still testing it just now," the exec is seen saying in NextTV's clip (available at the source link), followed by him whipping out a silver edition and a black edition of the phone.

While the video clips available aren't of decent enough quality for some detailed close-ups of the M7, we can just about make out a super slim body with two distinctive lines on the back -- nothing quite like the leaks we've seen so far. Judging by the size, it does seem to match up with the rumored 4.7-inch screen size, but that's all we have for now. HTC's chairwoman Cher Wang added that she looks forward to launching the phone later this month, and naturally, so do we. After the break we have a clip of Chou enthusiastically shouting "M7" a few times with his homies -- it's OK, feel free to join along.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Comments

Via: Mobile01

Source: NextTV, cnYES (Chinese)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/01/htc-m7-peter-chou/

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