So . . . headed to Whistler . . . I was so excited; a colleague in my office offered my family a FREE stay at her condo right at the base of the Whistler Gondola in Whistler Creek . . . for a week!   In trade, I offered to shoot a video and take photos of the unit as she's getting ready to sell it.  What a fabulous opportunity!  [Note: due to scheduling conflicts, we could only stay for a few days (dang it!).]

     So the three of us - Kathy, Kaleb and I - took off with Bella (our little hypo-allergenic, 11 pound, fully trained Havanese pup) in tow.

     We arrived mid-afternoon, I shot the photos and video, then we headed off to the village to walk around and enjoy the atmosphere of this magical resort. We had a lovely dinner at Rick's Grill, then back to the room for cards, and to edit the video.  

     When we got up the next morning, we enjoyed a fabulous breakfast in the village (a funky little place behind the book store), then another visit to Kaleb's favorite Gem Store, and, back to the room to change and head out on a bike ride. 

     Upon returning to the room, the phone rings.  Kathy fields the call and was asked if we had a dog in the room.  Well, you know the answer to that; She was then told the building is PET-FREE and the dog had to be removed . . . immediately!

     Upon vacating the condo . . . we were charged $200 for fumigating and cleaning PLUS the usual $110 room cleaning to bring the unit back to its "perfectly" PET-FREE condition. 

     So . . . while we certainly enjoyed our 22 hours in paradise, and the drive up was gorgeous, you can probably imagine the ride home wasn't as pleasant!  

INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE  The week ended on the most dramatically impressive new home sales numbers in 47 years. March's 26.9% increase was the biggest monthly sales gain since 1963, taking us to a 411,000 annual rate! Supply dropped to 6.7 months, inventories fell to 228,000 and the median price went to $214,000, up 4.3% versus last year. Some put the sales surge to the soon-to-expire tax credit, but the facts remain that the economy IS recovering and homes ARE substantially more affordable!

The day before, March existing home sales came in UP 6.8% at a 5.35 million annual rate, UP 16.1% from a year ago, with all regions showing gains! The existing home median price went to $170,700, UP 0.4% from a year ago. These good numbers reversed a three-month slide and sent the supply of existing homes down to 8.0 months.

On April 22, the EPA's new lead paint renovation rules went into effect. These require contractors who are disturbing lead-based paint in homes built before 1978 to hire certified renovators working for a certified renovator firm using lead-safe work practices. Realtors need to advise sellers to use certified professionals to fix up a home and to make sure it's safe for buyers to move into a home that's been renovated. The real estate disclosure must include any tests for the presence of lead paint and any dust wipe testing done after lead paint's been disturbed. Property managers with pre-1978 homes must also hire certified renovators. Find more info at http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/lead_paint_main. Or visit the EPA at http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm.
>> Review of Last Week

RALLY CAPS BACK ON... After the prior week's flat stock market performance due to the Goldman Sachs-SEC troubles at the end, this week saw investors resume their 13-month-long market rally. The Dow is now firmly in 11,000 territory, the S&P 500 passed the 1200 mark and the Nasdaq crossed over 2500.

First quarter corporate earnings certainly fueled the enthusiasm. Most of the 85 S&P 500 companies reporting beat both profit AND revenue expectations, meaning the good numbers weren't just from belt-tightening. Big stars included Amazon.com, American Express, Apple, Citigroup, IBM, McDonald's, Microsoft, SanDisk, Starbucks and UnitedHealth, all with nice Q1 earnings.

The Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) index registered its twelfth consecutive monthly gain, up 1.4% in March. The Producer Price Index (PPI) put wholesale inflation up 0.7% for March, but Core PPI, excluding volatile food and energy, was up only 0.1% for the month and 0.9% for the year. New weekly unemployment claims were down 24,000, while continuing claims dropped by 40,000. Excluding volatile transportation, Durable Goods orders were up 2.8% for the month and up 13.5% over a year ago.

For the week, the Dow ended UP 1.7%, to 11204.28; the S&P 500 was UP 2.1%, to 1217.28; while the Nasdaq went UP 2.0%, to 2530.15.

Last week's improved economic data, along with Greece's move away from disaster, hurt bond prices, which tend to benefit from weak economic developments. Investors were also looking ahead to the huge levels of supply on offer this week. The FNMA 30-year 4.5% bond we watch closed down 41 basis points for the week, at $100.09. As reported in Freddie Mac's weekly survey, national average mortgage rates stayed flat, still at historically low levels!
>> This Week’s Forecast

Meet Mr Wow - Ken Harrison from Ken Harrison on Vimeo.