Anna Ruotolo's (aruotolo) Blog

President Obama has signed legislation to extend the Homebuyer Tax Credit. Passage of the bill was widely anticipated to further spur economic recovery in the housing sector, as more buyers are now eligible for tax breaks under the new law. The $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit was originall...

Single women account for the fastest growing segment of the home-buying population in the U.S. This trend has been on the rise for many years. From 1994 to 2002, the number of unmarried women owning homes climbed from 13.9 million to 17.5 million. By 2004, 18% of all homebuyers were single women....

Senators Agree to Extend Homebuyer Tax Credit Legislation Pending Approval From Congress ________________________________________ Senators have agreed to extend the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit originally set to expire on November 30. Once the Senate officially votes on the bill it will...

Did you know... More than 36 million children ages 5 to 13 — donning costumes, going door-to-door — will trick-or-treat across the United States this Halloween. The pumpkin originated in Mexico about 9,000 years ago. It is one of America’s oldest known squash-like fruits. Pumpkins generally weigh...

Are you using the wrong tool to fix common but deadly sales technique shortcomings? If you’ve just been patching problems instead of seeking a true fix, learn these five prescriptions for sales healing from Todd Duncan’s book “Killing the Sale.” • Sales Falling Through. When you find yourself in ...

The index of leading economic indicators — designed to forecast economic activity in the next three to six months — rose 0.6% in August after an upwardly revised 0.9% gain in July. It was the fifth straight monthly increase. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of m...

Last Week in the News ________________________________________ The Commerce Department reported that the combined construction of new single-family homes and apartments in August increased 1.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 598,000 units. This follows a 1% decline in July and a 6.5% inc...

________________________________________ Direct marketing — the practice of using impactful one-on-one communication to get your carefully chosen prospects to respond in a desired way — is a smart, cost-effective strategy for increasing your sales and business. The best direct marketers align the...

Last Week in the News ________________________________________ According to the Federal Reserve, consumer credit debt fell in July by $21.6 billion, an annual rate of 10.5%. It was the biggest decline since recordkeeping began in 1943. Economists had forecast consumer debt would drop $4 billion. ...

________________________________________ Existing home sales jumped 7.2% in July — the biggest monthly gain on record. First-time homebuyers are purchasing about one third of all homes sold. This is largely due to the tax incentive, interest rates hovering at historic lows and housing affordabil...