Real Estate Press Releases

Best Places to Live

HOWELL, Mich., March 28 -- Relocate-America.com, a website that assists consumers in finding communities that best fit their needs, has just released "America's Top 100 Places to Live in 2006."  The full list can be found at Relocate-America.com , which offers consumers anabundance of community information and links to knowledgeable real estate agents.

    "It's a challenge every year to create this list because residents are so passionate about their communities," said Steve Nickerson, president and CEO. "In addition to schools, people are looking to their communities for more amenities, and these top places provide those benefits."

    "America's Top 100 Places to Live" are chosen based upon a variety of criteria.  A community must first be nominated by a current or past resident, or other individuals familiar with the community's benefits.  Relocate- America's editorial team reviews the nominations for compelling reasons regarding what makes the community a special place to live.  Such descriptions
often include references to a community's:

    *  People and neighbors
    *  Beauty of area
    *  Great schools
    *  Low crime rates
    *  Activities, such as museums, theaters and sports
    *  Economic health, with employment opportunities and affordable housing

    For verification and ranking, the nominated towns are also reviewed for
education, crime, employment and housing data for the past year by Relocate-
America.

    From the Top 100, the Top 10 communities are ranked and the remaining 90
are compiled alphabetically to equally recognize those top communities on the
list.  Each year, thousands of communities across the U.S. are nominated and
considered for the list.

    The Top 10 communities chosen from "America's Top 100 Places to Live
in 2006" are:

    1. Naperville, IL           6. Ann Arbor, MI
    2. Cary, NC                   7. New York, NY
    3. Boulder, CO              8. Columbia, MO
    4. Ithaca, NY                9. State College, PA
    5. Charlottesville, VA     10. Bend, OR

    The Top 100 List, compiled annually since 1998, reflects the choices of thousands of HomeRoute site visitors and can be viewed at Relocate-America.com/townvote.htm .  Visit Relocate-America.com to request information and nominate your favorite town.

    The complete list of top 100 communities for 2006 is included below.

    Everyone is encouraged to nominate a community for "America's Top 100 Places to Live in 2007" at Relocate-America.com  by selecting the Top 100 button, clicking the "Nominate Your Community" link and answering the question "Why Is This Community Special?"  After making a nomination, visitors can download and print a free Relocation Organizer, a valuable tool filled with information including getting a house ready to sell, choosing a Real Estate Agent, a home buyer's check list, moving with children and more.

    Relocate-America.com is one of a family of real estate websites founded by HomeRoute, one of the first and most successful Internet real estate companies that features real estate professionals and provides consumers with real estate resources.  Relocate-America.com and Relocate-Canada.com, its sister site, present visitors with community information about areas to which they
may be relocating.  HomeRoute also produces Homes101.net, a website designed to educate consumers with buyer, seller, and owner tips.

    Relocate-America.com's parent company, HomeRoute, is a member of the National Association of
REALTORS(R), Michigan Association of REALTORS(R), and the Livingston Association of REALTORS(R).  President and CEO Steve Nickerson is the principal broker.

    About HomeRoute:
    HomeRoute, with corporate offices in Howell, Michigan, has been providing
marketing services for real estate professionals and information for
homebuyers and sellers since 1997.  Recognized in 2003 by Inc. Magazine as one
of the 500 fastest growing companies in America, HomeRoute programs service
thousands of the real estate industry's top professionals.  HomeRoute directly
helps thousands of consumers relocate successfully each month.  For additional
information on HomeRoute, please visit HomeRoute.com , email
snick@homeroute.com , or call 800-524-5805.

                   America's Top 100 Places to Live in 2006

    Only the top ten communities are ranked.  All other communities on the list are considered winners since they are chosen from more than 5,000 potential communities and all have exceptional and unique qualities.

    Anchorage, AK             Spencer, IA             Bartlesville, OK
    Madison, AL               Naperville, IL          Edmond, OK
    Montgomery, AL            Fishers, IN             Norman, OK
    Fayetteville, AR          Fort Wayne, IN          Ponca City, OK
    Paragould, AR             Jasper, IN              Bend, OR
    Rogers, AR                Lafayette, IN           Medford, OR
    Lake Havasu City, AZ      Lawrence, KS            Allentown, PA
    Scottsdale, AZ            Overland Park, KS       Columbia, PA
    Yuma, AZ                  Wichita, KS             Harrisburg, PA
    Benicia, CA               Boston, MA              Meadville, PA
    Redding, CA               Brockton, MA            State College, PA
    Roseville, CA             Hagerstown, MD          Upper Darby, PA
    San Francisco, CA         Ann Arbor, MI           Westerly, RI
    Yorba Linda, CA           Grand Rapids, MI        Aiken, SC
    Boulder, CO               Rochester, MN           Charleston, SC
    Colorado Springs, CO      St. Paul, MN            Columbia, SC
    Danbury, CT               Columbia, MO            Greenville, SC
    Guilford, CT              Springfield, MO         Brookings, SD
    New Milford, CT           Asheville, NC           Sioux Falls, SD
    Norwich, CT               Cary, NC                Johnson City, TN
    Stamford,         Chapel Hill, NC         Kingsport, TN
    Wilmington, DE            Raleigh, NC             Arlington, TX
    Bradenton, FL             Fargo, ND               Austin, TX
    Clearwater, FL            Papillion, NE           Bellaire, TX
    Jupiter, FL               Manchester, NH          Carrollton, TX
    Mount Dora, FL            Nashua, NH              Lewisville, TX
    Punta Gorda, FL           Portsmouth, NH          Sugar Land, TX
    Sarasota, FL              Las Cruces, NM          Charlottesville, VA
    St. Petersburg, FL        Rio Rancho, NM          Virginia Beach, VA
    Venice, FL                Cooperstown, NY         Bremerton, WA
    Athens, GA                Ithaca, NY              Olympia, WA
    Atlanta, GA               Long Beach, NY          Vancouver, WA
    Vidalia, GA               New York City, NY
    Des Moines, IA            Saratoga Springs, NY

Real Estate Auction Online

OMAHA, Neb., March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- What a difference a day makes.

    In a brief 6 1/2-hour period, on Saturday, March 18th, Proxibid -- the
Omaha, Neb.-based firm that provides auction houses with a method for
broadcasting live auctions via the Internet -- of the $24.5 million in sales,
Proxibid posted sales in excess of $5 million, a new record for an online
bidding platform.

comment:This isa  phenomenal amount of money sold online and thru an auction.

    "We hosted sixteen auctions that day, with a total of more than
900 registered bidders online," said Bruce Hoberman, CEO of Proxibid.  "It was
the first real test of our new live Internet bidding application designed to
broadcast timeshare and multi-parcel real estate auctions, and it passed with
flying colors."

    Of the 16 auctions, the one driving the biggest numbers was held by Keenan
Auction Co., a Maine-based firm selling 237 fractional-share units and
35 whole ownership condominiums at Steamboat Grand Resort Hotel &
Condominiums, one of Colorado's premier mountain vacation destinations.

comment:Fractional Share Units is a growing phenom that will be interesting to follow as it has potential for marketing opportunities in the vacation and second home markets.

    "Nearly 200 of the registered online bidders were for the Keenan sale,"
Hoberman pointed out, adding, "We achieved nearly 25 percent sell-through
online.  It was the largest ski condominium auction of its kind, ever, and we
were proud to be a part of it.  The success of this sale proves that the world
of real estate and timeshares has truly entered the computer age."

    A special website --steamboatgrandauction.com -- was set up for the
sale.  With a click of the mouse, potential buyers were able to view and
ultimately bid on a wide selection of floor plans, without having to leave
home or visit the resort site.

    "Being able to utilize the Internet for an event of this size and scope
was exciting," added Stefan Keenan, Real Estate Manager of Keenan Auction Co.
"Buyers were able to save thousands of dollars by going through the preview
process online."  Keenan said the amount of inventory sold during the auction
might represent the highest amount of real estate ever sold at auction in a
single day.  "Obviously, having Proxibid handling the Internet bidding process
made it possible to reach such a lofty goal," he said.

    Proxibid teamed with Keenan, which was conducting the sale on behalf of
the property's developer, Grand Summit Properties, Inc.  All units were sold
absolute, meaning they went to the highest bidder, regardless of price.

    Proxibid is a premier provider of live Internet auction broadcasting
services, marketing and advertising for hundreds of auctioneers from the
United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

    The Proxibid service allows bidders to see, hear and participate in live
auctions from the comfort of their home or office via the Internet.  Their
live bidding service is connected to a powerful auction portal, where auction
companies can post their catalogs for bidders to browse and search.

    As a leading pioneer of live Internet bidding technology, Proxibid
continues to dominate the marketplace by offering an unparalleled level of
service for their customers.

    To learn more about Proxibid, you may visit them online at
.proxibid.com.

NAR Sales Down

NAR: January Existing-Home Sales Ease

( February 28, 2006) -- Sales of existing homes were down in January while home prices continued to appreciate at double-digit rates, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

Total existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – declined 2.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 6.56 million units in January from an upwardly revised pace of 6.75 million in December. Sales were 5.2 percent below the 6.92 million-unit level in January 2005.

David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said sales are tracking the trend in the association’s Pending Home Sales Index. “Our leading indicator, based on pending sales, has been trending down since hitting a record last August,” he said. “In the wake of interest rates peaking in November, I expect we are in a bit of a trough that may be followed by a modest rise and then a general plateau in the level of sales activity. Existing-home sales should stay below the record levels experienced over the last two years, but they’ll maintain a historically high pace.”

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage was 6.15 percent in January, down from 6.27 percent in December; the rate was 5.71 percent in January 2005. In November, the 6.33 percent fixed rate was the highest in over three years.

The national median existing-home price2 for all housing types was $211,000 in January, up 11.6 percent from January 2005 when the median was $189,000. The median is a typical market price where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

NAR President Thomas M. Stevens from Vienna, Va., said home prices continue to show the long-term effects of tight supply. “Although housing inventory levels have been improving, it is far from being a buyer’s market in most of the country and we see the momentum of double-digit appreciation being sustained in home prices,” said Stevens, senior vice president of NRT Inc. “Even when home sales slow, they still supply solid returns. The longer you own, the bigger the gain.”

Total housing inventory levels rose 2.4 percent at the end of January to 2.91 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 5.3-month supply at the current sales pace.
Single-family home sales dipped 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.77 million in January from an upwardly revised 5.86 million in December, and were 4.8 percent lower than the 6.06 million-unit pace in January 2005. The median existing single-family home price was $210,500 in January, up 13.1 percent from a year earlier.