The numbers are in for July for Palm Beach County towns. The biggest benefit in this monthly marketing report for our readers is to provide content rich local information from a trustworthy source The Realtors® Association of the Palm Beaches.  Understanding that an educated buyer and seller when provided with the latest facts in our marketplace creates trust and develops relationships to make educated decisions when it comes to buying and selling real estate. I hope you enjoy the reports and look forward in discussing any questions that you might have in one of the most desirable real estate markets in Palm Beach County Florida.  Please feel free to call me for any of your real estate needs.   08/27/2014

One Call… One Contact is All You Need. “Why are you blogging?” All of us here have had that question asked of us… heck…. we’ve even asked ourselves that question.   We all have different reasons for blogging but underlying it all is the desire to be found… the desire for someone to read what we wrote. Hopefully that someone will be a future client.. a lead that will turn into a house for you to sell, a home to inspect, a borrower to qualify or a home to stage. The other day I received an email from Lea Tate, the Development Manager for the American Lung Association in South Florida.  I wrote a post last October about the Delray Bash.   Hi Kathy,   I was just doing a quick search for our Delray Bash event and I noticed that you had posted something about it on your blog last year…Thank y... 08/26/2014

Delray Beach- The Lull Before the Season Begins. Our children our back in school, students are heading back to college, if not already there, so we’ve enjoyed a quieter beach on our morning walks.  There are always a good number of early risers who come out to welcome the sun, and a few families taking a last minute beach vacation before they head north for school.   We haven’t had many sand sculptures since the July 4th holidaybut these 2 popped up this week.   I loved the hazy sunrise that welcomed us one morning.       Have a glorious weekend! 08/22/2014

The Daily Hot Sheet of Palm Beach Real Estate & FL Realtor News Friday, August 22, 2014 TODAY'S TOP STORIES Home flipping drops below 5% of 2Q sales RealtyTrac: Flipping - a same-home re-sale in less than 12 months - is on the decline and settling into a "historically normal pattern." But Fla. has exceptions. Read more. NAR to Congress: Extend short sale forgiveness An IRS law that taxes money forgiven in a short sale or foreclosure harms the people a $7B BofA settlement is supposed to help, says U.S. Attorney General. Read more. Realtor.com wants members' help to become No. 1 Move Inc.'s CEO wants to "look forward and not backward." He talked about the future of online ad sites and changes planned for NAR-owned realtor.com. Read more.   Average 30-year mortgage rate at 4.1% The 30-yea... 08/22/2014

Events in Delray Beach- US Army Field Band Jazz Ambassadors on September 12, 2014!   Things are picking up in Delray Beach starting with a FREE community concert at the Outdoor Pavilion at the Center for the Arts/Old School Square. What: U.S. Army Field Band Jazz Ambassadors Concert When: Friday, September 12, 2014 Time:  7:30 P.M. Admission: FREE! Where: 51 N. Swinton Avenue               Delray Beach, FL               At the Center for the Arts/Old School      Square Outdoor Pavilion-Swinton @               Atlantic Avenue This is a wonderful opportunity to see and hear these “Musical Ambassadors of the Army.” The US Army Field Band grew from the First Combat Infantry Band which was formed near the end of WWII.  At the time, to become a member you had to buy a war bond.  Raising over ... 08/21/2014

Delray Beach- No Turtles but Beautiful Sunrises. It was another glorious week in Delray Beach… no turtle sightings but we saw some very special sunrises.  Do you ever find yourself so focused on what’s ahead that you’ve missed where you just were?   This happened to me this week.  I was so busy looking forward to the sunrise ahead, I would have missed this beautiful cotton candy sky behind me.  Thank goodness, Larry was there to point it out for me.       Football season is here and as if to help celebrate look what we found on the beach!  And then, there is the lone flip flop left on the beach. I’ve always wondered how do you leave one shoe behind??       People find all kinds of ways to enjoy working out at the beach and on the water!  Take a look.       Enjoy Your Weekend!!!     08/15/2014

Delray Beach, FL- My Village By the Sea. I first came to Delray Beach in 1987 from Houston, TX, my birthplace and home for 37 years.  It was a move from a city of almost 2 million people to this beautiful Village by the Sea.   Let me show you a little of our beautiful beach. Drive east on Atlantic Avenue until you hit A1A and you’ll see Delray’s 2 miles of public beach. The daytime temperatures average 83 degrees with nighttime lows of 67 degrees.   On any day, you may see early morning fishermen and women casting out to sea, following bait fish or birds high in the sky for clues to where today’s catch might be. There is a gentleman I see on occasion who plays bongos to the beat of his own music; our Piper who welcomes the rising sun and serenades us with Scotland the Brave and Amazing ... 08/14/2014

The Daily Hot Sheet of Palm Beach Real Estate & FL Realtor News Thursday, August 14, 2014 TODAY'S TOP STORIES Florida Realtors honors 2014 award winners Dean Asher, 2013 president, was named 2014 Realtor of the Year at Florida Realtors' Conference & Trade Expo. Sharon Voss is Associate Realtor of the Year. Read more. Real estate Q&A: Who gets foreclosure money? An owner allowed an investment property to be foreclosed, but rising real estate values now make the sale price higher than the amount owned on the mortgage. Read more. RealtyTrac: U.S. foreclosure activity up 2% in July But in a year-to-year comparison, foreclosure activity is down 16%. Fla. still ranks first nationally for foreclosures, but they're down 30% year-to-year. Read more.   Cash home sales hit four-year low CoreLogic... 08/14/2014

Two Fat Cookies! Gourmet Cookies in Delray Beach! One of the marks of a good outing is when you discover something new.   Two Fat Cookies in Delray Beach was just such a discovery.  Located on NE 2nd Avenue in the Pineapple Grove area north of Atlantic Avenue in Delray, Two Fat Cookies is just what all good dessert lovers need. The cookies and other treats are made with quality ingredients, from scratch!  I made the “ultimate sacrifice” and tried the mini-molten chocolate cake and it was as good as I’ve ever had! Two Fat Cookies 245 NE 2nd Avenue Delray Beach, FL33444 561-265-5350 M-F 9-7:30 Sat. 10-6   You can buy their cookies by the pound or cookie platters.  For the kid in us there are pops by the dozen.   Here are just a few of their delicious treats: Cream Cheese Brownies Hazelnut... 08/13/2014

Delray Beach FL Active Rain Meetup Summer 2014   It was a great time, as always, at Kathy Streib's Delray Beach meetup last week.   Time passes so fast at these meetups!  The setting was peaceful complete with beautiful ocean view.  Lunch was good.  The conversation was enlightening and inspiring, and the company was great.  What an awesome group of Rainers!       Here is a photo to commemorate the day.   Pictured are myself, Kathy Streib, Cecelia Cosgove, Debra Shapiro, Eileen Burns, Winston Heverly, Richard Zaretsky, Victoria Lorusso and Lou Ludwig.            For more information on homes for sale in Boca Raton FL or pet-friendly housing in Boca Raton or to find out more about the Boca Raton Real Estate Market, please contact me.I am a Boca Raton Real Estate Agent. I can be reached a... 08/12/2014

August 11 is Play in the Sand Day!  So, What Are You Waiting For? Every day is a special day, but Play in the Sand Day is worth mentioning, especially with summer winding down for some areas. Clear your mind.. what’s the first thing you think of when anyone says “Play in the sand?” Play in the Sand Day is all about letting go and being free.  It’s about putting all of your cares and worries on the back burner just for a little while so that your body, soul and mind can come together and refresh, rejuvenate and heal.   Children and dogs do it all of the time.  I see it everyday on our walks at Delray Beach… people building sand castles, playing bongos or the bagpipes, surfing, fishing, reading, hunting for shells, doing anything and everything. Want to have a Play in the Sand Day for the... 08/10/2014

This Week in Delray Beach- Guess What We Saw! If you’ve read some of my posts on Delray and the beach then you’ve seen our sightings of the large sea turtles and even the baby tracks. We've even gotten up early to see if we could possibly watch the hatching of the baby turtles.  This past week we were at the beach for an early walk, just around 6 a.m. and Larry’s eagle eyes spotted some movement in the sand. I cannot believe how lucky we were.  Take a look. (Scroll down for a video)     Don’t worry, we kept our distance and thank goodness we had our “real” camera with us with a good zoom.  We stayed just long enough to grab a video and some photos.   As we were walking back we saw more walkers coming with their dogs and we quickly alerted them to the mother turtle.  The dogs may have wa... 08/08/2014

August Events in Delray Beach- August 2014 Here are just a few of the many events that Delray has to offer for the month of August.   Even though school starts in two weeks, you can still enjoy some fun and educational activities.  Please check with the event organizer for changes and further information. August 1-24  Delray Beach Center for the Arts/Cornell Museum 561-243-7922   www.delrayarts.org From Ordinary to Extraordinary:Paper as Art Exhibit Admission: $5.00/Children under 6 free Tuesday-Sunday  10 am - 4:30PM August 7-8  Tastemakers Delray Beach 561-243-1077 Purchase your $30 passport that is good at 13 of Delray’s finest restaurants. August 8  Sushi & Stroll 561-495-0233  www.morikami.org/sushiandstroll 5:30-8:00 PM If you’ve not visited the Morikami Museum and Japanese Garden... 08/04/2014

On the Ave Back to Cool Celebration is Thursday, August 21, 2014. On the Ave in Delray Beach heads west and celebrates the start of the new school year! What- On the Ave Back to Cool Celebration When- Thursday, August 21, 2014 Time-  6 PM to 10 PM Where- Elizabeth Wesley Plaza and the 100 block of SW 5th Avenue Contact- 561-279-1380 (Delray Beach Marketing Cooperative) On the Ave dates back many years and is a way for the community and businesses along Atlantic Avenue in Delray to come together.   The venue for this month’s On the Ave is moving west of Swinton to the Elizabeth Wesley Plaza and on the 100 block of SW 5th Avenue.   There will be an expanded Kids Corner with Face Painting, Chalk artwork, a photo booth, crafts and a Splash Zone!   And, there’s more…..   * Performances from ... 08/03/2014

Delray Beach- Summer’s Not Winding Down Here!   School may be around the corner, but summer’s not winding down here in Delray Beach.  Here are some of my favorite shots.   We actually made it for the sunrise this week (thankfully it’s showing its face a little later these days) and it was as if the clouds were helping to lift the sun up into the sky.     I was consulting on a vacant property and couldn’t resist the view!  Want a condo on the water?     Take a look at these two pics.  The one on the right is a combination of the one on the left with the photo of the sunrise above.         And, finally, all those sea turtles tracks we’ve been seeing… well we got to see one of the little turtles on our walk this week. Somehow though, I don’t think this is what they really look like… what d... 08/01/2014

Reading to Make a Difference. Donna Foerster asked us to write about what we’re doing, or hope to do, to make a difference in our community.  I admire so many here who have dedicated themselves to the various community charities and organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and all of the animal shelters.    For me, it has been helping to make sure that our children can read. My first job out of grad school was administering psychological testing to individuals getting out of prison.  Before I could even begin, I had to give them a test to see if they could read at the 3rd grade level.   If not, they had to be given the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory)  via a recording rather than reading the test themselves.  So instead of a test that would take maybe 60 minutes, it ... 07/30/2014

The June 2014 numbers are in. The biggest benefit in this monthly marketing report for our readers is to provide content rich local information from a trustworthy source The Realtors® Association of the Palm Beaches.  Understanding that an educated buyer and seller when provided with the latest facts in our marketplace creates trust and develops relationships to make educated decisions when it comes to buying and selling real estate. I hope you enjoy the reports and look forward in discussing any questions that you might have in one of the most desirable real estate markets in Palm Beach County Florida.  Please feel free to call me for any of your real estate needs.   07/30/2014

Delray Beach, of Palm Beach County, FL Market Stats & Facts for June 2014 Stats and facts about Delray Beach, Florida, are out for the month of June 2014.  The report is packed with information about the county and the local city mentioned above. In a nut shell the inventory of single family homes available for sale are at a 4.7 month selling point which is down nearly 8.5%from a year ago. That’s a good sign things are loosening up and people are buying. Click on this LINK, for more graphs and stats. Whether you are buying or selling in this hot market of the County of Palm Beach, FL, choosing the right company will save you money, time and many sleepless nights. I not only have 30 years experience as a Realtor, construction was a passion of mine as well. This alone is worth so much mo... 07/27/2014

Tastemakers of Delray Beach-August 7th and 8th, 2014.   What a great way to explore some of Delray Beach’s restaurants along Atlantic Avenue!   What:  Tastemakers of Delray Beach When:  Thursday, August 7, 2014  5 PM to 10 PM                Friday, August 8, 2014  5 PM to 10 PM Where: Along Atlantic Avenue and A1A Passport Fee:  $30.00 (cash)  A portion of the fee will go to the Delray Beach Beautification Project. * Your Passport doesn’t stop on the 8th.  It’s good through September 30, 2014 for savings at the participating restaurants. Contact: 561-243-1077 Who’s Participating? 50 Ocean Cabana El Ray Cafe Luna Rosa Deck 84 DIG El Camino FYI Yogurt LemonGrass Mussel Beach The Office Solita Vic and Angelo’s Ziree As you visit the 13 Delray restaurants, you’ll be treated to one of their ... 07/22/2014

Delray Beach-A Little One’s 1st Time at the Beach! If you’re at the beach before sunrise in Delray, you won’t be alone.  Many head east to meet the sun as it slowly rises out of the ocean.   If you blink, or turn away, you might just miss it.   We used to try to hurry out to catch the sunrise,  sometimes with our eyes barely open.  It’s easier to do in the winter when it’s often 7 before that big orange ball starts to show its face.       However, I’ve decided that often some of the best photos are just after the sun has shown its face, and the clouds begin to add their texture to the sky.     You never know what you’ll see on the beach.  Always there’s some child’s toy that has been left behind.  And, of course, as life loves to play tricks on parents, I’m sure the toy was not missed u... 07/18/2014