I have lived at Bermuda Pointe which is located on the north end of Hilton Head Island for over 5 years. What a great community to live in and raise a family. We only have a total of 56 properties with only 13 homes that have not been built. Plenty of dogs so you will not be alone on the evening walk. We know all of our neighbors which gives us that secure feeling.
The architecture has a West Indies theme with lots of color. The typical floorplan has parking under and two floors of living space above. The front or the back of the homes have decks to enjoy the lagoon or water views.
The amenities that Bermuda Pointe offers makes this a unique community compared to most. We are gated with the gate closing early evening and opening early morning. We also have leasure trails and a lagoon with a lighted fountain in the center of the community. Last but not least we have a deep water dock the extends into the Intra coastal waterway. We enjoy fishing, crabbing and shrimping along with some incredible sunsets.
Price ranges for available homesites are $249,900 for our lagoon lots and $550,000 for our deep water lots. The homes are starting at $499,000 - $1,499,000. These are great values and a great place to call home. please visit www.bermudapointe.com
Monday, December 29, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Fed's cut rates again.
Most of you know this happened yesterday. But for those of you who are inclined to know more details and thoughts, see the notes below, including comments from the Fed committee, and what this means for the foreseeable future. Historic times to say the least.
Don’t hesitate to call me with any questions…
The Federal Reserve voted historically to cut the target overnight fed funds rate to establish a target RANGE of 0%-0.25% (consensus expectations was a cut to 0.50%) and cut the discount rate to 0.50%.
First, here is the statement, emphasis added:
“Since the Committee's last meeting, labor market conditions have deteriorated, and the available data indicate that consumer spending, business investment, and industrial production have declined. Financial markets remain quite strained and credit conditions tight. Overall, the outlook for economic activity has weakened further.
Meanwhile, inflationary pressures have diminished appreciably. In light of the declines in the prices of energy and other commodities and the weaker prospects for economic activity, the Committee expects inflation to moderate further in coming quarters.
The Federal Reserve will employ all available tools to promote the resumption of sustainable economic growth and to preserve price stability. In particular, the Committee anticipates that weak economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for some time.
The focus of the Committee's policy going forward will be to support the functioning of financial markets and stimulate the economy through open market operations and other measures that sustain the size of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet at a high level. As previously announced, over the next few quarters the Federal Reserve will purchase large quantities of agency debt and mortgage-backed securities to provide support to the mortgage and housing markets, and it stands ready to expand its purchases of agency debt and mortgage-backed securities as conditions warrant. The Committee is also evaluating the potential benefits of purchasing longer-term Treasury securities.
Early next year, the Federal Reserve will also implement the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility to facilitate the extension of credit to households and small businesses. The Federal Reserve will continue to consider ways of using its balance sheet to further support credit markets and economic activity.
Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; Christine M. Cumming; Elizabeth A. Duke; Richard W. Fisher; Donald L. Kohn; Randall S. Kroszner; Sandra Pianalto; Charles I. Plosser; Gary H. Stern; and Kevin M. Warsh.
In a related action, the Board of Governors unanimously approved a 75-basis-point decrease in the discount rate to 1/2 percent. In taking this action, the Board approved the requests submitted by the Boards of Directors of the Federal Reserve Banks of New York, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Minneapolis, and San Francisco. The Board also established interest rates on required and excess reserve balances of 1/4 percent."
The statement and action are significant for several reasons:
· The decision was unanimous. This shows that Chairman Bernanke and the Fed are prepared to take aggressive actions to stimulate to economy and markets.
· They continue to acknowledge that the economy shows signs of further weakening. CPI (Consumer price index) reported their second straight record monthly drop this morning when it fell 1.7% in November.
· They referenced quantitative easing in their statement. Quantitative easing is a tool that can be used by the Federal Reserve (or any central bank) where it basically prints money in order to increase the supply of money. They are able to flood the market with liquidity to encourage private lending leaving excess and therefore in effect halting the liquidity shortage. One of the main goals is to get corporations and individuals to own spread product.
· The statement was as transparent and clear as it could be.
· Many of the questions that were swirling on trading floors and causing a lot of uncertainty were answered in an historically lengthy statement.
o Will they really buy MBSs? Yes.
o Will rates stay low? Yes.
o Did they lay it all out on the table and are they prepared to do all that they can do? Yes. They are trying to instill confidence in the markets and stated that they are prepared to use “all available tools”.
· What happened in the markets? Mortgage-backed securities are trading significantly higher (rates came down); All treasury yields are trading lower with the exception of the 3-month, but the yield curve tightened (flattened) considerably – the 30-year yield dropped to 2.874%, the 10-year to 2.360%, and the 2-year to 0.645%. The Dow is up 345 points to 8909.
· Prime will most likely go to 3.25%, but with the unprecedented range decision, we will see what the Wall Street Journal publishes which is what most banks use as their benchmark.
All in all, their biggest motive is liquidity. If they can introduce that back into the markets, then, as the “ripple-effect” occurred on the way to a slow economy, it will transpire on our way to growth as well. The question now remains how long will it take? We are all especially sensitive to these things as the holidays approach; hopefully 2009 will give a new perspective.
Don’t hesitate to call me with any questions…
The Federal Reserve voted historically to cut the target overnight fed funds rate to establish a target RANGE of 0%-0.25% (consensus expectations was a cut to 0.50%) and cut the discount rate to 0.50%.
First, here is the statement, emphasis added:
“Since the Committee's last meeting, labor market conditions have deteriorated, and the available data indicate that consumer spending, business investment, and industrial production have declined. Financial markets remain quite strained and credit conditions tight. Overall, the outlook for economic activity has weakened further.
Meanwhile, inflationary pressures have diminished appreciably. In light of the declines in the prices of energy and other commodities and the weaker prospects for economic activity, the Committee expects inflation to moderate further in coming quarters.
The Federal Reserve will employ all available tools to promote the resumption of sustainable economic growth and to preserve price stability. In particular, the Committee anticipates that weak economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for some time.
The focus of the Committee's policy going forward will be to support the functioning of financial markets and stimulate the economy through open market operations and other measures that sustain the size of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet at a high level. As previously announced, over the next few quarters the Federal Reserve will purchase large quantities of agency debt and mortgage-backed securities to provide support to the mortgage and housing markets, and it stands ready to expand its purchases of agency debt and mortgage-backed securities as conditions warrant. The Committee is also evaluating the potential benefits of purchasing longer-term Treasury securities.
Early next year, the Federal Reserve will also implement the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility to facilitate the extension of credit to households and small businesses. The Federal Reserve will continue to consider ways of using its balance sheet to further support credit markets and economic activity.
Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; Christine M. Cumming; Elizabeth A. Duke; Richard W. Fisher; Donald L. Kohn; Randall S. Kroszner; Sandra Pianalto; Charles I. Plosser; Gary H. Stern; and Kevin M. Warsh.
In a related action, the Board of Governors unanimously approved a 75-basis-point decrease in the discount rate to 1/2 percent. In taking this action, the Board approved the requests submitted by the Boards of Directors of the Federal Reserve Banks of New York, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Minneapolis, and San Francisco. The Board also established interest rates on required and excess reserve balances of 1/4 percent."
The statement and action are significant for several reasons:
· The decision was unanimous. This shows that Chairman Bernanke and the Fed are prepared to take aggressive actions to stimulate to economy and markets.
· They continue to acknowledge that the economy shows signs of further weakening. CPI (Consumer price index) reported their second straight record monthly drop this morning when it fell 1.7% in November.
· They referenced quantitative easing in their statement. Quantitative easing is a tool that can be used by the Federal Reserve (or any central bank) where it basically prints money in order to increase the supply of money. They are able to flood the market with liquidity to encourage private lending leaving excess and therefore in effect halting the liquidity shortage. One of the main goals is to get corporations and individuals to own spread product.
· The statement was as transparent and clear as it could be.
· Many of the questions that were swirling on trading floors and causing a lot of uncertainty were answered in an historically lengthy statement.
o Will they really buy MBSs? Yes.
o Will rates stay low? Yes.
o Did they lay it all out on the table and are they prepared to do all that they can do? Yes. They are trying to instill confidence in the markets and stated that they are prepared to use “all available tools”.
· What happened in the markets? Mortgage-backed securities are trading significantly higher (rates came down); All treasury yields are trading lower with the exception of the 3-month, but the yield curve tightened (flattened) considerably – the 30-year yield dropped to 2.874%, the 10-year to 2.360%, and the 2-year to 0.645%. The Dow is up 345 points to 8909.
· Prime will most likely go to 3.25%, but with the unprecedented range decision, we will see what the Wall Street Journal publishes which is what most banks use as their benchmark.
All in all, their biggest motive is liquidity. If they can introduce that back into the markets, then, as the “ripple-effect” occurred on the way to a slow economy, it will transpire on our way to growth as well. The question now remains how long will it take? We are all especially sensitive to these things as the holidays approach; hopefully 2009 will give a new perspective.
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