Wow - it's slipping by!

Good grief, how can it already be February! Didn't we just put up (and take down) the Christmas tree? Well, February means Valentine's Day, and for those of you who are on my mailing list, this month's Newsletter has a bit of Valentine's trivia. Then comes Mardi Gras, with all its activities, followed by a week of hoarseness from yelling "Throw me something, mister!"

This year, though, I'm skipping the Mardi Gras madness and heading to Destin for a few days to visit with friends from snowy Indiana who are trying to get warm. But until I can throw my bags in the car and point it toward I-10, there's work to be done (and thank goodness for it!). With the low interest rates, things are hopping; te phones usually go silent from November until the day after Mardi Gras, but things started getting busy the week of Christmas. Not that I'm complaining, mind you.

There was an interesting article in the Daily Advertiser about a week ago. Mary Jane Bauer,with our local real estate board, gave a really good synopsis of the current market. So many people watch the national news and assume that the rotten real estate market exists here, as it does in so many other places. In truth, the market here is strong - and weak offers still rarely purchase a property. With low unemployment, the Acadiana area holds steady in real estate sales. According to Mary Jane's article, we were only slightly down from last year, and really still ahead of our pre-Katrina sales (which were strong). If you'd like some information from Mary Jane's article, let me know and I'll be happy to send you a copy.

If you're a first time home buyer, you will want to check out the tax credit available to you if you buy before July 1st, 2009. You can get all the information on it at the following web site (courtesy of Jesse Regan, at Family First Mortgage):

http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/index.html

If you aren't already on my mailing list, email your request to be added to it to me at: aduhe@vaneatonromero.com

If you're looking for property, check out the MLS listing on my web site:
www.JustAskAllen.com

And, as always, if you have questions about real estate, there's one ready source for all your answers: Just Ask Allen!

Laissez les bons temps roulez!