The Irish have the wearing of the green; Maine has the wearing of the orange. When venturing into the woods some orange clothing is always a good idea, but it becomes a requirement during hunting season. In fact, for a few dollars you pick up a vest, can clip a compass to it and maybe carry a small survival kit in one of the pockets. You carry a spare tire, right? Do you think more of your car than you do yourself?

Fall means shorter days, colder weather and a number of hunting seasons. With thanks to Representative Pete Johnson’s and his email newsletter, here are some of the 2008 hunting seasons… but you don’t have to keep track (unless you want to hunt!); just always wear your orange!

Firearms season: Nov. 3-29 (statewide); Any-deer Wildlife Management Districts (WMD) are 15-17, 20-29.
Residents Only: Nov. 1
Youth Deer Day: Oct. 25
Archery: Oct. 2-31
Muzzleloader statewide (all WMDs): Dec. 1-6
Muzzleloader WMDs 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29: Dec. 8-13
Expanded archery season (designated areas only): Sept. 6-Dec. 13

MREIS (Maine Real Estate Information System) reports the median home sales price in Maine dropped 7.69% in August 2008; with a statewide median sales price of $180,000 compared to $195,000 last August. The median sales price indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less. There were 955 home sales in August 2008, down 32.98% from August 2007. Nationally, single-family home sales declined by 9.6% in August. NAR reported a national median sales price drop of 9.7% to $201,900.

Comment: Obviously, this does not tell the whole story! Real estate markets are very local in nature… if you are thinking about buying and selling we need to consider the market you will be working in and remember that the market doesn’t buy and sell; people do!

As a collector of real estate humor, I enjoyed the following story being told as true:

While looking at a house my brother asked the real Estate agent which  direction was north because, he explained, he didn’t  want the sun waking him  up every morning.

She asked, “Does the sun rise in the north?”

When my brother explained that the sun rises in the East and has for sometime, she shook her head and said, “Oh I don’t keep up with all that stuff.”

Sadly, it’s a believable story.

By the way, I carry a compass when I’m showing property. And I know the sun rises in the east! (Well, generally… some one with a need for precision might correctly argue that it changes slightly with the seasons.) There are lots of things to consider when looking at a property… your agent’s job is to “keep up” with them!

The Secretary of State’s Office is taking orders for buttons to honor our veterans on Election Day. The button, which reads “I’m voting in Honor of a Veteran,” is personalized with the name of a veteran the voter wants to recognize for his or her sacrifices to ensure our freedoms, including the right to vote. Maine’s Vote in Honor of a Veteran program was created as a “Promote the Vote” initiative for the 2000 General Election. Because of the program’s popularity, as well as the events of September 11, 2001 and their aftermath, the program continues. Order forms for the Vote in Honor of a Veteran button can be found at http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/voter_info/veteran/index.html. The buttons are mailed directly to the voters’ homes, and there is no cost for the button or for the shipping. To ensure receipt of the button in time for the election, voters should place their orders as soon as possible.

Actually, not only did I approve it, I wrote it! Ok, that’s a pretty lame way of attempting to piggyback on an incessant political phrase, but I couldn’t resist the temptation to “blow my own horn” in much the way the politicians do.

Just a bit of background: Inman News is a national news aggregator featuring financial and real estate related industry news. Several weeks ago they ran a story about JD Powers Associates Customer Service Awards to several large real estate companies. Subscribers are invited to comment on stories and this particular one generated some interesting comments. I, of course, couldn’t resist a few observations of my own.

Last night’s Inman News Digest included an article headlined “Anyone Been ‘Burned’ By Their Realtor?” I couldn’t resist reading that one… and it immediately started sounding familiar. Hey, I wrote that! My observations had been posted and emailed to the masses as one of the “Inman News Headlines!”

Anyone been ‘burned’ by their Realtor?

This link will by-pass the headline message and take you straight to the article. 

Forgive me if I feel a little honored…