RE

118 and 8--some movement but not worth commenting on.

Plus the snow from yesterday was not handled as well as previously. All surrounding towns and townships did a better job, except, of course, EN.

Covered Bridge Construction Update and Icy Roads Last Week

No idea why the dates are set European, but it's Jan 25, 2009, and this is what the (is it?) three months of "construction" have yielded. Doesn't look like much has happened. Maybe the "construction" was a ruse b/c the bridge was structurally unsound. Who knows. It'll be nice when this bridge is open once again.

Also wanted to note, in the spirit of my more positive/productive posts, that I was driving home from Elkton last Sunday or Monday or whatever day when it snowed all day long, and on the day it was coming down hard and the day afterward, the roads in Elk were always in better shape than the roads in Elkton/Cecil County and into East Nottingham Township and into the Borough of Oxford. The roads in Elk are almost always in better shape when it snows than in other places. There's often a good coat of salt and gravel already waiting before it snows. So good work, whomever plows and watches out for the roads.  

Yahoo RE for 19363

117 and 10.

Cold as hell outside--18 degrees with 15 MPH wind.

A RE Theory from a Calculated Risk Posting

I was reading something of interest, related to earlier RE posts, on calculated risk (one word @blogspot.com):

"As the U.S. housing recession enters its fourth year, there’s no sign of a recovery because speculators account for most of the rise in sales.
...
While the purchases are trimming the inventory of unsold properties, most of those bought by speculators will likely return to the market when prices rise again, hampering any recovery, said Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz and Yale University Professor Robert Shiller in interviews.

“We’re creating a shadow inventory of homes that will be right back on the market as soon as the economy and the housing market begin to improve,” said Stiglitz, a Columbia University professor of economics. “We could see a double-dip in the housing recession if that happens.”"

(http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2009/01/speculators-or-investors.html)

What I find interesting isn't that speculative investors have bought up all that inventory that disappeared in the fall, but that some fraction of that inventory--at the lower end, I imagine???--as rock-bottom-priced real estate. I've seen some great deals--the one on Glendale springs to mind, and that seems to be a rental or a owner-residing fixer-upper now. 

Yahoo Real Estate

170 existing homes and 14 foreclosures (FCs). So a month ago, there were fifty more existing homes for sale. There's no way they sold so my guess is that they were pulled off the market by the owners. The FCs haven't changed much so my guess is none of those fifty converted into FCs. I hadn't figured on this large of an inventory over the summer, into the fall, and now in the winter's dead sales season. I wonder if we'll lose more inventory as sales lag, seasonally and in this odd market, and owners remove their homes from the inventory. It's good news that the FCs haven't increased much for about a year.

Goat or Sheep on State Road Across from Rodgers Road

This scenic farm always has scores of these critters wandering around. A really scenic farm, don't you think?

Hickory Hill Covered Bridge Repairs and Beautiful House on Glen Mills

This house on Glen Mills is a couple of years old, and it really is one hell of a nice place. It sits on a ridge on glen Mills Road and overlooks the MD border and Patsy DuPont's property. Notice the three-story tower, which must have wonderful views of the rising and setting sun. Very nice.

Since Nov, 13, 2008, the Hickory Hill bridge has been closed. Notice the two signs and the two piles of gravel blocking vehicle access. Guess it's still OK for foot and bicycle traffic. Wonder what the improvement plan is since the bridge has felt--while driving across it--as solid and not in need of repairs. I've always thought that the township has missed a great opportunity with its covered bridges and winding roads to create a roadmap online so that day visitors could visit the bridges and perhaps buy lunch at, for instance, the pizza place Matteo's Pizza at the intersection of Hickory Hill and 472. There are maps, for instance, of winery tours in PA and MD, but none that combine the two states' winery tours--which a "covered bridge tour" could connect and exploit. Well here's hoping this bridge is back in service and looking better sooner than later. It's not really on any of my routes so I hardly ever go over it, but when I do, it's one of those elements of the country that is a real positive.