It's that time of year. Forget the Superbowl, it UNC versus Duke for the annual version of the ACC/Triangle Superbowl of Basketball. Here in Chapel Hill this evening it's akin to hosting the Superbowl, the Indy 500 and world Championship Heavyweight fight. I can already hear, Dick Vitale offering his version of, “Let's Get Ready to Rumble”

If there's one thing I've learned living here it's that besides knowing where the best Barbecue is; you need to pick a team and be proud of it. (Sorry NC State Fans, I know it's got to be difficult for you.)

Now myself I'm a Duke fan plain and simple. Sure UNC has a good program, but for me when it comes to excitement you just can't beat Cameron Indoor Stadium and the Cameron Crazies. As a Durham resident I also…

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Wow, 2011 flew by and was a fantastic year personally. I appreciate how fortunate I was to have met and helped so many interesting people either buy or sell a home here in the greater Durham, Chapel Hill area in North Carolina where I live and work. You kept me incredibly busy and I'm certainly thankful.

2012 is shaping up to be another phenomenal year. In the past week alone I got one of my investor clients under contract on a foreclosure property they wanted, met with three new buyer clients and am looking forward to working with them. I've got several new listings I'll be bringing onto the market in the next few months and all and all I'm expecting another great year. I have finally gotten myself a personal assistant to do some of the back…

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Current Durham Market Statistics - October 2011

I'm sitting in my office now reviewing the latest market data from a variety of sources, including the raw local data my local MLS, Board of Realtors, Zillow, Trulia and others generate.

This is what I do regularly throughout each year, so that I can help my buyers and sellers get the information they need to make good, informed decisions.

Overall the market picture is mixed. While I’ve had an extremely good year, closing on average more than 3 transactions a month, I realize this is not at all indicative of the broader market. Studying all the data there are a few things that really stand out to me.

Low Housing Stock

First and most important is the overall drop in inventory on the market.…

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Backyard Gardening In Durham Growing was apparently the operative word as evidenced by the attached pictures. What started off as one simple raised bed was so successful that last spring I put in a second and we were off to the races. This year my wife Angela and I enjoyed fresh lettuces, tomatoes, zucchini, okra, summer squash, red and green peppers, lots of spinach, mustard greens, collards, cucumbers, green beans and herbs. we've got brocoli kale, cabbage, more lettuces, carrots, and greens growing now. For those of you who know me, it will come as no surprise that I've kept going and just finished putting in a third (and final) larger bed for next year.

All of these beds are actually in our front yard which gets long afternoon sun, and to make it easier on my wife and I to…

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Rue Cler - Downtown Durham

...Rue Cler is definitely on my list of places that everyone should try.

Rue Cler in DurhamWent out last evening with my wife and had a great time in downtown Durham. We started of with dinner at Rue Cler. Located in the heart of downtown Durham I've been by it countless times, stopped into their bakery on occasion but for some reason I'd never eaten there but after last nights meal, I know I'll be back.

Very much in the style of a traditional french neighborhood local restaurant, their focus is a $30 three course menu. As a former executive chef I was pleased to see that each course only offered three choices. The food is locally sourced and/or produced, the menu done daily, and I can honestly say everything we had was really good.…

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Earlier this week I went and listened to William “Bill” Kalkhof speak to a group of Durham Realtors about Durham. I've had the pleasure of hearing Bill speak before over the past few years and have always found him to be interesting as well as informative about what's going on here in my adopted home town of Durham, NC. This time I left the meeting really pumped up after listening to him Speak.

Bill is one of the founding members and President of Downtown Durham Inc. a nonprofit private organization devoted to the revitalization and development and promotion of Durham's downtown and historic district. Founded in 1993, DDI has been instrumental in Durham's tremendous renaissance, playing a significant part in bringing about such additions as The…

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Living and working here in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina one of the things I enjoy most about my job as a Realtor is the people I get to meet and help find a good home. At heart I'm a people person which is why I love what I do and here in Durham, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, Pittsboro and Cary where I work there's no shortage of interesting and talented people for me to meet.

The ON Button - Durham's Computer Guru's

Over the summer I had the real pleasure of helping one new couple find a great house in Southwest Durham. Ashleigh's here attending Duke and Neil left his job where he was overseeing an IT department for Deutsche bank and after taking some down time and exploring the area a little has started his own tech business,…

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Chapel Hill, NCThe largest public visioning and planning process in the history of Chapel Hill begins on Tuesday, Sept. 27, with the kickoff of Chapel Hill 2020, a community wide effort to create a new comprehensive plan.

Chapel Hill 2020 is all about involving the community from the beginning. There will be gathering at East Chapel Hill High, 500 Weaver Dairy Road. An open house is scheduled from 5 to 6 p.m., and the visioning process will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. All residents - and others who live, work, play and invest in Chapel Hill - are invited to this free and open event. Food is available for purchase, thanks to the East Chapel Hill High PTA. Child care for children ages 5 and older is available, thanks to the YMCA Teen Leaders' Club.

"You have made…

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Sorry, this isn't about UNC Fraternities, Sororities, Undergrads, Medical Students or any thing else related to college life, it's about The Meat House; Chapel Hill's newest butcher shop catering to the area's lovers of fine foods.

I had a few spare moments yesterday and thought I'd stop in and check them out and will admit I was impressed. It's looks great, clean, contemporary and focused on customer service. The staff was friendly and the guys I spoke with behind the counter seemed to know their meat. The prices were pretty good for the quality of their products, certainly comparable to other higher end stores like Whole Foods, A Southern Season, Cliffs Meat Market and others. They had a nice selection of wines, spices, pastas and the usual upscale…

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I cannot begin to count the number of times I’ve had conversations with clients and customers about property tax values, both here in Chapel Hill and Durham as well as in Vermont where I worked prior to relocating here to North Carolina almost 7 years ago. Most property owners think their tax valuation is too high, though I’ve gotten calls from many through the years who actually were concerned that a new valuation was too low. The common factor in each instance was that the property owner didn’t understand why focusing on the tax value was as unproductive as trying to pick the right card in a Three-Card Monte game. They were trying to focus on one card and while not paying attention to the other two. Most homeowners tend to focus exclusively on their…

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