How was that for the first storm of the year?  Only maybe two inches, but a real mess.  For those of you not in Maine, we were hit with a very unexpected squall right during Monday evening rush hour that caught the city off guard.  I guess the golf clubs can finally make their annual trip to the basement - looks like no last minute rounds are in the immediate future.

Did you know that the sending of commercially produced greeting cards at Christmas began in the Victorian era?  In 1843 Sir Henry Cole, director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, commissioned John Callcott Horsely, a fashionable artist of the time, to design the initial card.  1,000 lithograph Christmas cards were printed and put on sale in London.  Thus began the tradition which you might be struggling to complete as you read this today!

Original copies of this first card are quite rare - and valuable.  One was reportedly sold in 2005 for £9,000.

Although the period between Thanksgiving and New Year's is traditionally a slower time for real estate and business in general, the level of activity is exceeding our expectations.  We currently have properties under contract through the beginning of February. 

Despite the dire warnings of many national prognosticators (see article below), there continues to be a healthy level of showings and under contracts not only in our office, but across southern Maine.  This is especially true of what could be considered the "middle market".  Not only is pricing up for homes priced over $500,000 (3.9%), but volume is also up statewide 15.4% YD compared to 2009.  Focusing on Cumberland County, single family homes sales, in this same price range, are up 18.1% and pricing is up 5.8%.  Additional market information is included in the story below.

We continue to be cautiously optimistic about 2011.

Finally, thank you to everyone who participated in our drawing for a copy of "Five".  The winners were Paula from CT and LeeAnn from ME.  We hope they find the same inspiration we did in this small, but powerful book.

We wish you a happy holiday season and thank you for your continued support - it is greatly appreciated.