We love stomping around German Park at 5549 Pontiac Trail near Dixboro and North Territorial with our old friends and football fans. There is a dance band – play video below, hotdogs, see youtube video below, pop, beer and wine. Liberty Title is a long time sponsor/host and invites me. This year Carl Ent from Bank of America also sent me an invitation. I love meeting up with many people who I don’t get to see except at this event. The fun started at 7 pm. There are some of my client coaches who come too. We cannot always be selling Ann Arbor Real Estate, right?

The Ann Arbor Board of REALTORS reports Washtenaw County housing statistics show a stable market with a slight upward trend in the number of sales. The year-to-date residential listing inventory declined by 23.53 percent when compared to last year.  The number of residential sales for July rose 2 percent compared to a year ago, while residential sales increased 3.6 percent year-to-date over last year. Pending sales increased 12.39 percent compared to last year.
 
The average sales price went from $248,715 to $225,447 year to date 07’ vs. 08’. We have 8 closing on the last day of August, so 20 closings for August, and we are on track to achieve our sales goals in moving families in the Ann Arbor market.  This is a FANTASTIC time to buy.  I feel the bottom is near.
 
Listen as national speaker Terri Murphy discusses the market and short sales with Kathy Toth.  First Time Home Buyers can take advantage of the $7500 tax credit per a previous post. Please come to the Home Buying Seminar scheduled for August 26th at 6:30 pm, in the United Bank and Trust building located at 355 S Zeeb Rd Ann Arbor, MI.  RSVP with Buyers Agent, Vicki 734-216-2172.  It will be our pleasure to give you a pre-approval and have the experts show you secrets for the stress free way to house shop.  Get a head start by looking for your house or condo with our helpful mapping.

Recently the City of Ann Arbor signed on with Pioneering Technology Inc, developer of the Safe-T-Element to provide safer cooking units in local affordable housing projects.  The Safe-T-Element was engineered to help prevent stove top cooking fires and reduce the amount of electricity required to cook.  Stove top cooking fires are the number one cause of fire in North America. 

The Washtenaw Affordable Housing Corporation was recently afforded a grant by the Ann Arbor Office of Community and Development for the purchase and installation of these elements.  The city hopes to provide a higher standard of safety for families vulnerable to the hazards of stove top cooking.  This new technology has been written into the design specifications for all affordable housing properties supported by the City of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County.

Once again, Ann Arbor tops the list of responsible and ‘energy smart’ forward thinking cities.  We are proud to be part of this wonderful community.

Relocating to Ann Arbor?  Please contact Kathy Toth and Team for assistance.

Comprehensive Ann Arbor MLS Search

Related Links:
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Please visit our website for a complimentary MLS search

You may be surprised at who is the typical Ann Arbor homebuyer

Here’s a glimpse of the typical homebuyer, by the numbers:

• Age: 39.
• Household income: $74,000 (median).
• Search: Takes eight weeks, sees 10 homes.
• Location: Half of buyers want something within 13 miles of where they currently live.
• Buys: 1,810-square-foot, single-family home.
• Pays: $215,000 (median).
• Down payment: 9 percent (median).

Bargaining power:

• 36 percent pay asking price or more.
• 37 percent pay 95 percent to 99 percent of asking price.
• 28 percent pay 94 percent or less of asking price. 

Family situation:

• Married couples: 62 percent.
• Single women: 20 percent.
• Single men: 9 percent.
• Unmarried couples: 7 percent.
• Other: 2 percent. 

Race:

• Caucasian: 83 percent.
• African-American: 7 percent.
• Hispanic/Latino: 6 percent.
• Asian/Pacific Islander: 5 percent.
• Other: 2 percent

Numbers have been rounded to the nearest percent.
Race totals more than 100 percent because some individuals fit into more than one category.  

For more information, Click here to read the entire article written by Dana Dratch

Click here to search all listings in Michigan with pictures and tours -FREE!

What drives Ann Arbor housing cycles

Kathy Toth and Team
www.KathyToth.com
Keller Williams Realty 

Kathy's successful marketing methods have allowed her to succeed in an ever-challenging Ann Arbor real estate market

Last week Kathy Toth of Keller Williams Ann Arbor was interviewed by respected real estate mentoring company, www.isuceed.com.  With 19 years of experience in the constantly changing real estate landscape Kathy has developed a keen business sense that has enabled her to build a successful real estate business in her local market of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

From using a variety of stayed traditional methods to incorporating unique and innovative programs for buyers and sellers, along with employing state-of-the-art technology methods every week, Kathy remains a vibrant force in her sometimes challenged market.  Proof that if you remain vigilant and flexible, you can adapt your business to ride any market-shifting waves.

In Kathy’s 30 minute iSucceed interview you’ll learn about her strategies for surviving any market:

1. Kathy Toth’s Background
2. The Ann Arbor Real Estate Market
3. How ‘House Hunters’ Came About
4. How Kathy Promotes Staging as a Service
5. The 200-Plus School Tour
6. Kathy’s YouTube Channel
7. The Video Interview Series
8. The Client Programs That Keep Them Coming Back
9. The Buy-Back Program Results
10. Stepping Out Into the Short Sale Market 

Despite the challenging Michigan real estate market, you can count on Kathy Toth to use innovative methods to help get your home sold.  To listen to Kathy’s interview, you must be an iSucceed member.

Please contact Kathy Toth and Team for information about the Ann Arbor real estate market or to find out how you can sell your home.

Washtenaw Community College Invites Mentors at the Annual Foundation Luncheon

While at the Women’s Council Luncheon this week, I discovered the Mentor Program.

Washtenaw Community College Foundation Women’s Council provides a Mentoring Program.  A Mentor is a responsive guide, listener, friend, coach. At  WCC that mentor could help with setting academic and life goals, tackling tough homework, writing a resume, planning a career, work/life balance or just hang out.

The WCC Foundation’s Women’s Council and the Women’s Resource Center have teamed up to offer women a chance to find a mentor within their chosen career path.  This is a great way to discover what it’s really like working in the selected career.  For more information on this program, contact the WCC’s Student Resource and Women’s Center at 734-677-5105. Washtenaw Community College is located at 4800 East Huron River Drive   Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1610.  My friend Barbara Fuller is a mentor. If you want to talk to her or other mentors, let me know and I can connect you.  

If you are a WCC student with a GPA of 2.0 or above, and think you would like a mentor, call the above number.  You might also look at www.wccnet.edu/foundation.

Click here to search all listings in Michigan with pictures and tours - FREE!

Kathy Toth and Team

www.KathyToth.com

Keller Williams Realty

Women's Council Luncheon celebrates the Future of Women in the Ann Arbor Area May 13th 2008

The Women’s Council raises funds to secure the future of women at Washtenaw
Community College.  The proceeds from this year’s luncheon go the Women’s
Council endowed scholarship at Washtenaw Community College and to sustain
the Women’s Resource and Student Center, which offers support in a holistic
manner for students who need extra assistance.

Included here is an inspiring speech presented by Amanda Klain, Scholarship
Recipient

Speech for the Women’s Council Luncheon

Although I hold a Bachelors Degree from WMU that I received in 1991, until three years ago when I first began my education at WCC I was still trying to find some type of meaningful focus in my life.

For me the past fifteen years have been a non-academic exploration of the relationship between human health and our environment, and how physical, mental, spiritual and emotional healing can take place through the acknowledgement and heartfelt application of that interdependence.

From 2003-2005 I worked at a health center here in Ann Arbor that combines allopathic medicine with alternative treatments. Inspired by the doctors, nurses and therapists that I worked with I decided to pursue my nursing career and enrolled in WCC for fall 2005, and I took classes every semester until Spring/Summer 2007 when I realized it was ok to take a semester off!

Every time I walked through the Student Center I was magnetically drawn to the Women’s Resource Center and I soon made an appointment with a counselor (Liz Orbitz) who provided me with much needed academic counseling as well as information on all the different financial aid options. For me the Women’s Resource Center is the place that really brought together my experience of getting back into the academic world. Whenever I hear classmates talking about the struggles of juggling life, work and school and lack of support in that struggle, I always start rattling off to them about the Women’s Resource Center and all the services that WCC offers and what doors opened for me when I reached out for support.

I have received three Foundation Scholarships which I am extremely grateful for. It is such an incredible gift to have financial burdens lifted off the shoulders of people like me that for whatever reason are not financially able to comfortably pay for the education that they seek.

There is also a less tangible support that runs somewhat deeper in meaning and more heartfelt than money can ever be. For me receiving these scholarships is another way of someone saying "I believe in you and your dreams and I trust you to do your best in making them come true". There is nothing than a little outside pressure and accountability to keep you on track! I pursue my nursing career with all of you in mind and with gratitude.

I want to thank everyone for listening. It is very inspiring to be surrounded with role models and to share in the diversity of our own personal stories of the journey into empowerment through and by the support of each other. Thank you!

I was thrilled to be a part of this worthwhile cause. Amanda’s gratitude
was heartfelt and made all attendees proud to part of such a worthwhile
cause.

Kathy Toth and Team
www.KathyToth.com
Keller Williams Realty 

Complimentary Ann Arbor Real Estate Tools

Relocating to the Ann Arbor area?  Kathy Toth and Team can provide you with all the real estate tools you’ll need to do your research.  At www.KathyToth.com you’ll find a myriad of complimentary Ann Arbor real estate tools to help you in your search.

Complimentary Ann Arbor MLS Search:  Kathy provides a free portal to all available properties in the Ann Arbor MLS.  There are no strings attached, you can search for Ann Arbor, Dexter, Saline, Brighton, Manchester, Ypsilanti, Chelsea and Pinckney properties at your leisure.

Real-Time Market Snapshot:  Wondering what your Ann Arbor home is worth?  Sign up to receive local market conditions from Kathy!

VIP Buyer Program:  Serious about buying an Ann Arbor home?  Kathy’s preferred buyers are placed ahead of all other clients and given attention specifically focused on meeting exact needs.

Kathy also offers many other valuable, complimentary Ann Arbor real estate services:

Virtual School Tours
Ann Arbor Home Buying Seminar
Ann Arbor Foreclosure Deals

Please contact Kathy Toth and Team for questions about Ann Arbor Real Estate.