What are you Doing on the Fourth of July?



A few years ago my father-in-law came for a visit, and flew home from Dulles on the Fourth of July. After dropping him off, as we drove home, we must have driven past at least ten fireworks displays! It was great!

 The wonderful thing about living in this part of the country is the choices we have when it comes to celebrating the Fourth. You can go small town, or you can go BIG town. It's all up to you.

 Here are some sites to consider (Just click them. They are links):

 Fireworks at Mount Vernon? How Cool is THAT!?

 Fireworks on the National Mall
(Best viewing places...
  • U.S. Capitol;
  • Lincoln Memorial;
  • National Mall between 14th Street and 3rd Street;
  • Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial;
  • Thomas Jefferson Memorial;
  • The White House Ellipse;
  • West Potomac Park;
  • East Potomac Park;
  • Anacostia Park;
  • U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial (Iwo Jima);
  • George Washington Memorial Parkway across the Potomac River in Virginia.

Annapolis - One of my very favorite places in the world...

 Chesapeake Beach - Fireworks Over the Bay!

 My Very Own Columbia - Terrific Fireworks Year after Year

 Fort Meade

 Frederick (I hear they're worth the drive)

 Laurel

 Solomon's Island - (if you're up for a drive)

 Fire on the Mountain - Deep Creek

 Catonsville - I've heard these are great!

 Fireworks Cruises! Baltimore and Annapolis

 Baltimore's Inner Harbor - we've done this one for years.  A great display!

Area Market Roars Back

We are seeing the strongest spring market in years as home buyers take advantage of reduced prices and low interest rates. Those rates have begun to rise so if you know of anyone looking to lock in on a home ahead of the increases let me know. 
Here's an interesting interactive chart to see how different markets have performed over the past 25 years.


Mortgage Rates Highest in a Year

We've seen rates jump to 3.8% over the past week or two. 

The Bad News

CNN is reporting what we have been predicting for some time - mortgage rates are on the rise. Rates hit all time lows and really had nowhere to go but up. As the economy improves the FED will want to stop spending 85 billion a month to buy mortgage-backed securities as a way of keeping rates low. The challenge Bernanke has is to gradually ease this buying without having rates spike, thereby slowing down the recovery. I would expect to see an upward trend over the next year. That trend started early since the FED has a long way to go to work out of the quantitative easing policy they implemented a few years ago. 

The Good News

Rates are still a screaming deal!  Even with the jump the increase will only add $2/month for every $10,000 borrowed. The trick will be to move quickly before they rise more.


Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)