Gainesville FL Real Estate Blog

Everyone enjoys spending time relaxing poolside or splashing around in the refreshing cold water. For many kids it is a favorite summer pastime that seems harmless. Drowning is actually the second leading cause of death for children who are 14 years old or younger. Approximately 3,000 children in this age group make trips to the emergency room in need of treatment for near drowning incidents. People ages 60 and older are also at a higher risk for experiencing danger in the water. Death and other water related accidents can be completely prevented and avoided if the proper precautions are observed and enforced. Whether hanging out around your Gainesville FL home’s backyard pool or enjoying the day at the community pool these tips will keep family and friends safe and smiling.

• Supervise all children at all times, especially children ages 14 or younger.
• All pools should be completely surrounded by a barrier fence that is at least 5 feet tall with gates that automatically close and latch. Children drowning after wandering in to an unenclosed pool account for over half of the children who die from downing every year.
• Drain entrapment is another evil danger that haunts swimming pools. Pools must have anti-entrapment drain covers on all of the drains. There also needs to be a safety vacuum release system. This system prevents children from being trapped under water when they are captured by the drain’s powerful suction.
• It is a good idea to install pool alarms around you Gainesville FL home’s pool area. Pool alarms can be installed on gates to detect when someone is in the area. Specialized pool alarms can also be installed to detect when someone gets in the water.
• Get training and become certified to perform water rescue skills, like CPR and first aid.
• To take extra precautions complete a lifeguard certification course.
• Always keep rescue and first aid equipment readily available and easily accessible in the actual pool area.
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Great Gator Gatherings

That’s right! Gator Homes Realty has 2 complimentary football tickets for each of the upcoming home games.

As a valued customer, you are invited to attend a southern style tailgate party before heading to the Swamp.

2010 Home Schedule includes:

September 4      Miami (OH)
September 11    South Florida
September 25    Kentucky
October 9            LSU
October 16         Mississippi State
November 13     South Carolina
November 20     Appalachian

Just email me at linda@gatorhomes.com and let me know which home game you and your family would like to attend. It’s that simple…Go GATORS!

Contract activity for pending home sales fell after a surge of activity in preceding months to beat the original deadline for the first-time home buyer tax credit but remains comfortably above a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in November, fell 16.0 percent to 96.0 from an upwardly revised 114.3 in October, but is 15.5 percent higher than November 2008 when it was 83.1.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said a drop was expected. “It will be at least early spring before we see notable gains in sales activity as home buyers respond to the recently extended and expanded tax credit,” he said. “The fact that pending home sales are comfortably above year-ago levels shows the market has gained sufficient momentum on its own. We expect another surge in the spring as more home buyers take advantage of affordable housing conditions before the tax credit expires.” 

Let’s look at December Gainesville FL real estate sales statistics to see how the housing recovery is progressinglocally. 

The Gainesville FL area single family home sales saw a 20% increase in sold listings in December 2009, when compared against December 2008.  New listings saw an increase of 9%.  Pending sales saw a 8% increase and the average sales price decreased by 1% to $197,731, while market times decreased by 4 days.  

 The Gainesville FL area Condo/Townhome market saw the average sales price decrease by 19% to $121,802 in December 2009 compared to December 2008.  While new listings were down 5% and sold listings decreased by 5% in December 2009.  Pending sales decreased by 18% when compared to December 2008, while the average market times decreased by 18 days. 

For the latest Gainesville FL real estate market conditions in your area, please call me at 888-424-8841 or visit MyGatorCondo.com.

Food for Thought 

THANKSGIVING TIDBITS AND TIPS

 ”Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.”
                               ~ Edward Sanford Martin

Although some historians claim that the first day of giving thanks in the New World was on December 4, 1619, at Berkeley Hundred in Virginia, it is commonly believed that the first actual celebration of the harvest and blessings from God took place in Plymouth in 1621.

The festivities lasted three days and included feasting, entertainment, and competitions. President George Washington issued the first governmental National Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1789. In 1863, during Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, Thanksgiving became a federal holiday, and FDR, in 1939, designated the fourth Thursday in November as the official Day of Thanksgiving.

Food Fact: The first Thanksgiving feast most likely did not include turkey, mashed potatoes, or pumpkin pie, but the early settlers did enjoy seafood of all kinds, seals, swans, geese, corn, turnips, and spinach. 

Here are some great sites for Thanksgiving recipes!! Here you will find food from the past (chestnut stuffing, mince pies), meals for the vegetarian or diabetic, healthy adaptations for old favorites, gourmet dishes, treats for kids (Daddy’s Popcorn, cheesy ranch Chex mix). Also visit the websites of Ocean Spray, M and M’s, Pepperidge Farm, and McCormicks. And get all your Turkey cooking questions answered at Butterball.com or call  the Turkey Talk Line – 800-288-8372.

“What we’re really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?
                                  ~Erma Bombeck
                                    “No One Diets on Thanksgiving,” 26 November 1981

Tasty Tip:
To make basic cornbread stuffing crunchy and delicious, simply add lots of toasted pecans and moisten the mixture with sweet apple cider. You can also add liquid bacon for a smokey flavor. For extra zing, do this while softly singing, “Oh, turkey dear, oh, turkey dear, how lovely are thy feathers…” and drinking spiked hot cider punch!

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Gainesville ranks #50 in Forbes Magazine 11th annual ranking of Best Places for Business and Careers.

The rankings are determined by a series of metrics established by Forbes ranking factors including local colleges, educational attainment of residents, and quality of life offerings.

Gainesville came in #77 for ‘Job Growth Projection’, #63 for ‘Cost of Doing Business’, and #13 for ‘Educational Attainment.’

Once again we are proud of live in Gainesville!

Amidst the economic gloom and doom, there’s some good news to report about Gainesville. Among large metro areas, Gainesville ranked #34 in the Best Performing Cities in 2008 survey conducted by the Milken Institute/Greenstreet Real Estate Partners. The Best Performing Cities ranking depicts those U.S. metropolitan areas that are recording the top economic performance.

Cities were ranked according to how well they are creating and sustaining jobs and economic growth. The ranking depicts those U.S. metropolitan areas that are recording the top economic performance for wage and salary growth.

Nationally, Ginesville ranked #34 in wage and salary growth for 2008, moving up from the #52 ranking in 2007. In other rankings, Gainesville is # 79 for 5-year job growth, and #63 for 1-year job growth. In Florida, Gainesville ranked fourth behind Orlando, Ocala and Pensacola.