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Advertising is becoming more social. Whether Google succeeds or not third party recommendation will be an ever increasing part of future real estate promotion.
Search for “real estate agents in Bradenton” for example and in theory Google will be able to highlight and promote any real estate business that has “+1” by friends who have made similar searches in your location.
Trust or lack or lack of it is still a major issue when researching purchases online. Choosing an estate agent for an instruction or performing background research on an overseas property agent is little different. In the current environment, without any social signals, people tend to trust companies with sites that look professional and rank highly on Google.
There will no doubt be short-term opportunities to game the system but longer term there are three likely implications:
- It raises the barriers to entry for new agents
- It increases the value of product selection and after sales service for overseas agents
- It gives an advantage to “professional” agents dedicated to looking after the long term interests of clients
If Google can make this work, it should give the companies with the best track records and largest customer bases an advantage.
A home buyer was excited when she bought her home. The home was bank owned and she was excited to be getting such a good deal.
She moved in and life went on happily ever after. That is until the county tax collector notified her that she owed fourteen hundred buckaroos in unpaid property taxes. "I don't owe you any money. I had title insurance when I bought this house", she told the clerk.
"Yes, but the property taxes weren't paid a few years ago. If they aren't paid, then we will have to sell your home at a tax deed auction", the clerk told her.
The formerly happy home buyer was shocked. What had happened? Why did she owe property taxes when she didn't even live in the house at the time?
She called her realtor and asked about it. "You have title insurance that will cover the bill. If you can send me a copy of your title insurance policy, then I will read thru it and tell you what to do", her realtor told her.
She sent him her policy and waited for an answer. The bad news came fast. "I just read thru your policy and the title company wrote an exception into it. They don't have to pay the tax bill" her realtor told her.
(Most title policies have exceptions for future property taxes, homeowner's associations, and future homeowner association fees. They cannot guarantee that you will never owe money as a result of owing your property.)
But, in this case they wrote a lot of exceptions into the policy and the buyer didn't understand what was happening.
After hearing some good news, this was even worse. She managed to scrape the money together and pay off the tax bill. But, it wasn't fun paying for something that wasn't her fault.
As you can see, buying an REO property can be risky. Here are a few of the things that can pop up after closing and cost your buyer.
* Unpaid municipal liens.
* Unpaid sewer, gas, electric, and water bills. Sometimes buyers have to pay the last person's unpaid bill before the company will turn on service.
* Unpaid IRS Liens
* A neighboring building encroaches onto the property. Make sure your buyer orders a survey before buying.
Buyers have these problems because they expect the bank's title insurance to protect them from all potential problems. Remember the recent robo signing scandal?
Some experts were saying that judges could decide the foreclosures were invalid and transfer the homes back to the original homeowners. They speculated that the REO sales would also be considered invalid and the new buyers would have to move out of the homes.
As we now know, that was all a bunch of speculation. But, it does demonstrate the importance of due diligence before a purchase. I recommend that your buyer get a second opinion on the title commitment before closing.
Another title professional can do that. They will know what to check to ensure that your buyer doesn't face unexpected liens after closing.
When we put our homes on the market, we all want two things: for the home to sell fastand for the most money possible. We start the selling process with such hope however when a home doesn’t sell or develops a stigma, sellers are often confused and unable to figure out what to do next.
What creates a stigma? What makes a property sit and sit on the market, generating few if any visits and absolutely no offers? Well, I feel its all about denial. Denial about price.Denial about the appearance of the home. And let’s face it, denial can cost a seller a sale.
When Selling You Want to Avoid Stigmas
So how do you avoid having a listing gather dust on the market? Well, initially it comes down to being realistic about what needs to be done before the property goes on the market. It’s not about what sellers like about their home – its about what you buyers will like – and since sellers need to appeal to as many buyers as possible, they need to understand that just slapping a ‘for sale’ sign in the front yard won’t cut it. The second step? Hiring a professional home stager who will do a consultation and give the homeowners a complete PLAN to get it ready for sale. It’s vital to follow those recommendations as the professionals will know exactly how to stage your home to sell. From finishing outstanding repairs, doing some smart upgrades, neutralizing decor schemes and then staging to sell are all essential steps to a successful market debut.
Next its all about choosing HOW you’re going to sell your home. If you don’t know a successful realtor, ask the professional stager who should have a list of realtors which she can recommend. Don’t be afraid to interview a few and look at their current listings. See how their properties are presented: are they bright, modern and spacious or do they feature dated decor, empty rooms and few upgrades? All realtors encounter a seller who will refuse to do anything to get their property ready for sale however if every listing brings to mind labels such as ‘dated’ or ‘cluttered’ then its cause for concern. Instead of recommending some smart aesthetic changes these agents may be more inclined to simply reduce the property’s price every 30 days.
Fact: Average price reduction according to Zillow.com is 1% of a home’s list price per month up to a maximum of 9% for homes under $500,000. For homes over $500,000, that statistic jumps to 14%. For a $300,000 home this is a $27,000 in price reductions. For a $900.000 that is a staggering $126,000!
Fact: For an owner occupied home, staging can cost between $500 – $1,000 and has299% ROI. For a vacant property, staging can cost between $1,500 – $4,000 and helps vacant homes sell 7 months faster than unstaged properties. The investment in staging doesn’t even come close to what sellers will lose in home equity with even ONE price reduction.
Savvy realtors will encourage investing in staging a home before resorting to price reductions. They understand there is a direct correlation between a home’s appearance and how quickly it is snapped up by a buyer who can’t help but appreciate the VALUE of the home. Last – but definitely not least – LISTEN to the agent about the fair market value for the property. Pricing it way too high is only going to result in zero interest, zero showings and zero offers.
So, your home looks great, you’ve picked a great realtor, decided on a price and you’re ready to list your home .. right? WRONG!
Over 90% of buyers are shopping online FIRST so the pictures need to top notch. So that means that the pictures of the home need to be taken by professionals. Even better are virtual tours which really showcase all the great architectural elements of the property. Bottom line is that in order for buyers to get in the front door, they need to be seduced online FIRST so that your home can get a DATE with them!
Last, but definitely not least, is the wording of the ad for your home. Certain phrases have been used so many times that they have adopted a stigma all their own, so avoid these at all costs! Here are some of our favourites:
Fixer Upper – Uggh this only attracts flippers and gawkers so don’t put this up unless you WANT to scare away the majority of your buyer pool.
One Owner Home – This says dated wallpaper and paint colours, golden rod fixtures in bathrooms and a lot of WORK to most buyers. One owner means they have not sold a home in decades and are still of the mindset that buyers can look past all the things they never got around to updating.
Nicely or Professionally Decorated – Did you know decorating is the OPPOSITE of staging? Decorating is all about personalizing a home to reflect one owners tastes. Staging de-personalizes a home so it appeals to a multitude of would be home owners. If you’re selling, a personally decorated home works against you, alienating much of your buyer pool.
Priced to Sell – Isn’t every home? This title just smacks of desperation. Better to put your efforts into your home’s appearance so you can say its Staged to Sell instead!
Handyman Special – So you want low ball offers and property flippers to flock to your property? Again, some TLC, a small investment and you can make sure your realtor doesn’t have to use this title!
Unfortunately, many of these labels serve these days as creating more of a stigma for homes instead of attracting genuine attention. Whether we realize it or not, trying to create ‘catchy’ titles and wording in ads is something we feel should be replaced by stunning pictures and virtual tour. 97% of your buyers are inherently visual so focusing on providing professional photos of staged listings is going to attract a lot more attention than calling a home ‘Handyman Special.’
Still have questions? Has your home sat on the market and developed a stigma? Contact a professional home stager and hire them to help you develop a PLAN so you can change the way your house is viewed. Next, work with your realtor so that the elements which were scaring away buyers are removed. Sellers have so many great tools at their disposal when it comes to selling their homes so ensure when you put your home on the market that you put them to work for you!
Here is a link to the original post: http://activerain.com/blogsview/2139589/is-your-property-stigmatized-
And here is a short bio which I ask be used at the end of the article:
Rooms in Bloom Home Staging & Design offers a range of staging and design services for clients in Kitchener-Waterloo,Cambridge, Guelph and surrounding areas. Specializing in real estate staging for both vacant and model homes, principal designers Heather Cook and Alana Merritt have a flair for making spaces ‘wow’ worthy. With over a decade of experience and training in the design field, both stylists are accredited stagers from Debra Gould’s Internationally known Staging Diva program. Chosen as the Real Estate Staging Association’s Canadian Professional Stager of the year, Rooms in Bloom Home Staging & Design is one of the top three home staging companies in Canada. For more information on home staging or to contact Heather or Alana, visit www.homestagingdesign.ca.
It seems that this often comes up in discussions, talked about by amateurs and professionals alike. Sometimes, you just aren’t sure what the best dimensions (width and height) should be for the website you’re designing. You could be designing a content-driven site, or you could be designing a one-pager using Adobe Flash, whatever you’re doing, this is important information to know. Please keep in mind that this information is regarding fixed width websites. This advice does not apply to fluid layouts.
What Should My Webpage’s Width Be?
Let’s get right down into it. Your webpage’s width should be as small as it has to be to fit comfortably in your viewer’s smallest resolution without creating horizontal scrollbar. Users generally do not like having to scroll through a page horizontally. If they’ve been scrolling vertically for most of their web browsing lives, why make it complicated and add a second dimension? You need to set your width so that this is prevented.
What Resolution Is Your Audience Using?
This is the biggest question you should ask yourself before designing your website. There are users out there that still use 800×600 resolution on their desktops. As an example, the library down the street has 30+ computers, constantly in use by students and seniors, that run at 800×600. Are you attracting a very broad demographic? What age group are you targeting? What kind of content will you have?
Given those questions, you have two options:
» Design for users with a resolution of 800×600 – This is your very broad audience. Nobody is forgotten. Everyone will be comfortably able to see your website.
» Design for users with a resolution of 1024×768 – This is riskier, but is considered the standard by most. If you aren’t targeting those broad ranges of demographics, go ahead. You gain a lot of content room and room to play with. As long as you use it to your advantage.
How Many Pixels Wide Should My Website Be?
Now we’re getting into specifics. If your site is exactly 800 pixels or 1024 pixels wide, there are a few issues that come into play:
» The Vertical Scrollbar – Even if you don’t plan on having content expand vertically past the viewable section of the website, some browsers (IE6+) have the vertical scrollbar turned on by default.
» The Browser’s Border – Even in full-screen mode, some browsers (IE6+) have tiny borders that line the sides of the screen.
» Not Really in Full-Screen – Not everyone is as computer savvy as you and I. Some users may have dragged the corners of their browsers to take up the screen, leaving even more borders to the left and right of your website that you need to consider.
As a conclusion, I suggest that if you’re going for a specific width on a website, the maximum width’s for your website should be 745 pixels for 800×600 resolution and 970 pixels for 1024×768. Of course, you can probably go about + or – 5 pixels, but that’s up to you.
What Should My Webpage’s Height Be?
Please note that this section applies only if you’re building a website and you don’t want the user to vertically scroll, for example, a flash site, or an design/art oriented website. This also applies if you want to optimize your website so that your most important content is above the fold (in the browser’s viewport before a user has to scroll).
What Resolution Is Your Audience Using?
This section applies exactly the same way it did for determining your website’s width. Will your user’s occasionally be viewing from an 800×600 resolution? or an 1024×768 resolution minimum?
How Many Pixels High Should My Website Be?
What you want to figure out, is how much height (in pixels) is left after OS and web browser take their own space. There are a few issues that come into play:
» Start Bar – The Windows Start Bar is displayed by default, most people don’t turn on Auto-hide. It’s also possible that some users have stretched this so it spans two rows.
» Browser Components – This includes: Tabs, Title bar, Status bar, Back/Forward/Stop buttons and Navigation.
» Toolbars – Google toolbars, MSN toolbars, Firefox extensions, etc. All of these can also take up space.
» Not Really in Full-Screen – Like discussed when trying to determine the width, some users may have dragged the corners of their browsers to take up the screen, leaving even more borders to the top and bottom of your website that you need to consider.
As a conclusion, I suggest that if you don’t want a vertical scrollbar, the maximum height for your website should be 330 pixels for 800×600 resolution and 500 pixels for 1024×768. Of course, you can probably go about + or – 5 pixels, but that’s up to you. These are also the heights (in pixels) of the pixel length of the content that will be definitely be viewable when a user enters your website, without having to use the scrollbar.
Hope that helps for some of you designers out there.
>> Market UpdateINFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE Last week saw the year finish on a high note for the housing market with Pending Home Sales for November coming in UP 3.5%, after this figure was expected to be down slightly for the month. This reading measures homes under contract, and therefore should point to an increase in closings in the January-February time frame. The positive Pending Home Sales report was particularly welcome after Tuesday's Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Index for October. Their 20-City Composite Index registered a 0.8% price decline year-over-year. Some say this threatens a "double dip" in housing prices, an interesting observation now that the "double dip" recession threat has all but evaporated. The negative talk ignored the facts that 4 of the 20 cities showed annual price GAINS and the index is still above its spring 2009 low. In addition, the Case-Shiller 10-City Index showed a year-over-year price gain. It's important to remember that real estate is local and these indexes average only 10 or 20 metro areas. Some analysts feel home prices have bottomed in most markets and a few intrepid observers are even predicting a strong comeback for housing in 2011! >> Review of Last WeekUP TWO YEARS IN A ROW... Investors have been encouraged by recent signs of improvement in the economic situation. Not surprisingly, the stock markets closed out the year UP for the second year in a row. For 2010, the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted an 11% gain. The broader-based S&P 500 index ended UP 12.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite moved UP a hefty 16.9% from where it was 12 months ago. For the week, all three indexes were basically flat with light trading volumes. Not all the economic signs were rosy, however, as Consumer Confidence for December dropped to 52.5 from its 54.1 level in November. This was also well below the consensus estimate. As covered above, the October Case-Shiller home price index had its disappointments as well, although November Pending Homes Sales numbers gave us hope about a boost in closings in the next month or two. Other good news included the Chicago PMI index for December, unexpectedly UP well above estimates, reaching 68.6 versus November's 62.5. This indicates continued strong growth in manufacturing in that part of the country. Initial weekly jobless claims dropped below the 400,000 level, coming in way better than consensus forecasts, at 388,000. This was well under the prior week's 420,000 initial claims and continues the downward trend of the last few weeks. We're of course still not where we should be with jobs, although finally moving in the right direction. For the week, the Dow ended up 5 points, at 11,578; the S&P 500 edged up a point, to 1,258; and the Nasdaq was off 0.5%, ending at 2,653. (Note: we've dropped the decimals and rounded the indexes to their nearest whole numbers.) The bond market swung up and down like a yo-yo all week. But the FNMA 30-year 4.0% bond we watch ultimately finished UP 101 basis points, closing at $99.18. Average fixed-rate mortgage rates also ticked up, but stayed "incredibly low," according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey of conforming mortgages. Their chief economist observed that for the year, 30-year fixed mortgage rates reported "...the lowest annual average since 1955, when the average price of a home was $22,000." But with possible rate increases, people who want to buy or refinance should not waste time. >> This Week’s ForecastWHAT THE FED SAID AND EMPLOYERS DID... We start the new year by finding out Tuesday what the Fed said about the economic situation as recorded in the Minutes of their December 14 FOMC meeting. Subsequently, we'll find out what employers did about creating new jobs in Friday's December Employment Report. An increase of 132,000 jobs is expected, although that won't be enough to lower the unemployment rate, with new people coming into the labor force. We'll also have a look at the health of US manufacturing in Monday's ISM Index and the non-manufacturing sector in Wednesday's ISM Services Index. Both should remain comfortably above 50, indicating continued business expansion. Hopefully, a happy new year begins. >> The Week’s Economic Indicator CalendarWeaker than expected economic data tends to send bond prices up and interest rates down, while positive data points to lower bond prices and rising loan rates. Economic Calendar for the Week of January 3 – January 7
>> Federal Reserve WatchForecasting Federal Reserve policy changes in coming months Economists still expect the Fed to keep the Funds Rate at its super low level for the first few months of the new year. Things could change in the second half, with a strengthening economy or the threat of inflation. Note: In the lower chart, a 1% probability of change is a 99% certainty the rate will stay the same. Current Fed Funds Rate: 0%–0.25%
Probability of change from current policy:
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The National Association of Realtors has vigorously lobbied to restore funding for the rural program since last March, and hailed this development as a great victory for rural homebuyers.
“This is going to be a great lift for thousands of rural home buyers who need to close on their home purchases before Sept. 30 to take advantage of the home buyer tax credit,” said NAR President Vicki Cox Golder. “Many rural families would have been left out in the cold without these guaranteed loans. Increasing the commitment authority will help rural families, support local housing markets, create jobs and generate new tax revenues.”
“The rural housing program is a good example of the kind of program needed for responsible and qualified home buyers who bring common sense to the housing market,” said Golder. The legislation increases the guarantee fee for borrowers, but allows the fee to be financed. “This change will make the program completely self-sufficient,” she said.
Golder thanked Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and Reps. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) for moving the bill to passage in both houses.
The legislation was part of H.R. 4899, “The Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act” that the Senate passed this week. The measure increases the Rural Housing Service commitment authority allowing guaranteed loans; previously, RHS has been providing conditional commitments. The RHS is expected to announce new guidelines shortly after the president signs the bill.
INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE New home sales fell 11.2% in January to a record low level. Existing home sales weren't very pretty either, down 7.2%, though they're UP 11.5% over a year ago. Let's remember that last Fall we all thought the tax credit was going away at the end of November. Many sales got pushed into October and November, causing sales drops the next two months. But the median new home price is down just 2.4% year over year and the average price is now UP 3.7%. For an existing home, the median price is unchanged from a year ago and the average price is UP 2.6%. More evidence home prices are stabilizing, with some analysts expecting modest gains for the year. Supporting this, the Case-Shiller home price index was UP 0.3% in December, its seventh straight monthly rise.
Even more interesting was the news that this has actually been a very good decade for home prices. From January 2000 to December 2009, prices were UP 46%, making residential real estate a clearly profitable investment. And that's not even factoring in the mortgage interest and real estate tax deductions homeowners get!
Finally, we've reported that the Fed will stop buying mortgage bonds at the end of this month and experts feared rates may edge up. Now analysts say mortgage rates might not move much at all. This stems from the fairly calm market reaction to last week's hike of the Fed's discount lending rate (which is NOT the key Fed funds rate). Seeing little or no move in today's low mortgage rates is good news for the near term.
>> Review of Last Week
MINOR SLIP... Another volatile week on Wall Street, as investors drove stock prices down two days, then up two days, with all three major indexes slipping just slightly for the week. Things got off to a weak economic start with Consumer Confidence dropping sharply in February, much like the temporary drop in January 1996 when, curiously, there was another big blizzard on the East Coast.
Folks didn't much like the drop in new home sales either, but good news did come with the Richmond Fed Index, which showed that manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic region went from -2 in January to +2 in February. Then there was Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's monetary policy report to Congress, which he serves up every six months. Bernanke assured everyone rates will remain low, a message loved by investors.
The up-and-down news continued with durable goods UP a solid 3.0% for January, showing business is investing in equipment, usually a precursor to their investing in jobs. Not just yet, though, as weekly unemployment claims edged up a tad. Then Friday we had the blockbuster news that real GDP for Q4 was revised UP to a 5.9% annual growth rate. People who still can't see a recovery should also look at the Chicago PMI. This gauge of Midwest manufacturing hit a five-year high of 62.6 for February.
For the week, the Dow was down 0.7%, to 10325.26; the S&P 500 was down 0.4%, to 1104.49; while the Nasdaq skidded down 0.3%, to 2238.26.
Bonds ended the week pretty nicely as investors sought safety in a week featuring strong Treasury auctions. The FNMA 30-year 4.5% bond we watch ended UP 87 basis points, closing at $101.09. As a national average, mortgage rates inched up a little, but still remain at very low levels.
>> This Week's Forecast
INFLATION, MANUFACTURING, HOMES, JOBS... This week has everything! We start off with PCE, the Fed's favorite reading on inflation, followed by the ISM take on the state of manufacturing, a sector that's been leading the recovery. Thursday, Pending Home Sales looks to the near future of the housing market. Then the week ends with the all-important February jobs report. We will be looking for some encouraging signs on that front.
>> The Week's Economic Indicator Calendar
Weaker than expected economic data tends to send bond prices up and interest rates down, while positive data points to lower bond prices and rising loan rates.
Economic Calendar for the Week of March 1 - March 5
Date | Time (ET) | Release | For | Consensus | Prior | Impact |
M | 08:30 | Personal Income | Jan | 0.4% | 0.4% | Moderate |
M | 08:30 | Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) | Jan | 0.4% | 0.2% | HIGH |
M | 08:30 | Core PCE | Jan | 0.1% | 0.1% | HIGH |
M | 10:00 | ISM Index | Feb | 57.8 | 58.4 | HIGH |
W | 10:00 | ISM Services Index | Feb | 51.0 | 50.5 | Moderate |
W | 10:30 | Crude Inventories | 2/26 | NA | 3.03M | Moderate |
Th | 08:30 | Initial Unemployment Claims | 2/27 | 475K | 496K | Moderate |
Th | 08:30 | Continuing Unemployment Claims | 2/13 | NA | 4.617M | Moderate |
Th | 08:30 | Productivity - Rev. | Q4 | 6.2% | 6.2% | Moderate |
Th | 10:00 | Pending Home Sales | Jan | 1.7% | 1.0% | Moderate |
F | 08:30 | Average Workweek | Feb | 33.7 | 33.9 | HIGH |
F | 08:30 | Hourly Earnings | Feb | 0.2% | 0.2% | HIGH |
F | 08:30 | Nonfarm Payrolls | Feb | -20K | -20K | HIGH |
F | 08:30 | Unemployment Rate | Feb | 9.8% | 9.7% | HIGH |
>> Federal Reserve Watch
Forecasting Federal Reserve policy changes in coming months In Congressional testimony last week, Fed Chairman Bernanke recited his familiar mantra that interest rates should stay low for "an extended period of time." Now very few economists feel the Fed funds rate will rise during the first half of this year. Note: In the lower chart, a 1% probability of change is a 99% certainty the rate will stay the same.
Current Fed Funds Rate: 0%-0.25%
After FOMC meeting on: | Consensus |
Mar 16 | 0%-0.25% |
Apr 28 | 0%-0.25% |
Jun 23 | 0%-0.25% |
Probability of change from current policy:
After FOMC meeting on: | Consensus |
Mar 16 | <1% |
Apr 28 | <1% |
Jun 23 | 3% |
The big question for home buyers and sellers today is: "Where are home prices headed?" People want to know if now is a good time to buy or sell, or if they should wait. We all need to stay on top of trends in real estate values -- so what's a good way to analyze the situation?Yale economist Robert Shiller states it bluntly: "If you look at the trend in rents to see where housing prices are headed, you're looking at the right measure." Shiller is the co-developer of the S&P Case/Shiller Home Price Indices that monthly track residential real estate values nationally and in 20 metro areas.
Traditionally, people have been willing to pay a modest premium to own a home rather than rent it. Recent studies report that in 1999 rents averaged 87% of the after-tax mortgage payment for houses and condos of similar size in the same neighborhood.
When home prices took off, this percentage changed. By mid-2006, rents had fallen to less than 60% of after-tax mortgage payments. In some markets, owners were paying twice as much as renters for a similar property in the same neighborhood. In a few places, owner monthly payments were three times average rents.
The 87% ratio of rent to ownership cost for 1999 is a good benchmark because it stayed around that level throughout the 1990's and the steep rise in home prices hadn't really begun.
With that as our guide, we can conclude that home prices at last appear to be stabilizing. By the end of October 2009, rents on average were up to 83% of ownership costs!
Conditions vary from market to market, so check your own area. But with historically low mortgage rates, plus the homebuyer tax credit, this could be a great time to be buying or selling.... Have a great month!Makes you wonder what it will take to convince them. The initial estimate for Q3 real GDP revealed the economy growing at a 3.5% annual rate -- way better than expected and the first rise in GDP in over a year. Happily, most of the advance was driven by consumption. Q3 GDP also showed home building UP at a 23.3% annual rate, its fastest rise since the '80's. Plus, Q3 corporate earnings reported so far show over 80% of the companies beating estimates, the highest rate in history.
On the jobs front, Initial Unemployment Claims dropped and the 4-week moving average hit a new low in the recovery of 526,000. Continuing Claims fell to 5.8 million. Positive news also included Durable Goods Orders UP for September, their fourth boost in six months. Most impressive of all, the Chicago PMI measuring Midwest manufacturing, shot up to its highest level in over a year. And the Richmond Fed index for Mid-Atlantic manufacturing logged its sixth straight month in expansion territory. All are favorable signs for U.S. manufacturing.
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