Monday, July 25, 2011

Lafayette LA got it's name from......

My son came home from city hall with the following "The Legacy of Lafayette" and I thought it would be nice to share.

Note: During the revolutionary war there was a French man named Marquis De LaFayette who helped America win the war.

THE LEGACY OF LAFAYETTE

When he came to America in 1777, LaFayette was more interested in fighting the English to avenge the death of his father than he was in the ideals of democracy. That soon change when he worked and fought alongside the founding father of our country, such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. Lafayette also learned much from two close friends that he made: Alexander Hamilton and John Laurans. They debated topics such as the nature of justice, the role of the government and the responsibilities of the individual. LaFayette came to understand that he was fighting for more than just America's seperation from England; he was fighting for the creation of a new era in world history where people could be governed by a rule of law rather than a tyrant's whim, a world where all people would be considered as equals before the law.

LaFayette came to understand that prejudice based on religion was wrong. When he left France in 1777. France recognized only one religion and persecuted all others. When LaFayette returned to France, he was able to secure state recognition of the Protestant religion. LaFayette also had a complete change of heart about racial prejudice. When he first came to America, he had a plan to buy and sell slaves; when he left America in 1885 he set up and funded an organization in French Guyana to free enslaved Africans.

LaFayette learned another very important lesson: education is not confined only to school-we continue to learn from each other and from our experiences throughout our lives. He discovered that simply winning the Revoluntionary War did not create democracy. Democracy requires the work and committment of all of its citizens, and it needs to constantly evolve to keep up with changes in society technology and circumstances. LaFayette left us a legacy of freedom-it is our job to keep it.

America love LaFayette. More than 600 villages, towns, cities, countries, mountains, lakes, rivers, educational institutions, and other landmarks were named for him, or for his chateau at La Grange. LaFayette loved America. He carried a box of dirt from Bunker Hill, site of the first major battle of the American Revolution, home with him to France. LaFayette left instructions that, when he died, this dirt must be placed in his grave so that he could be buried in American as well as French soil, and an American flag has flown over his grave for over 170 years.

Monday, July 18, 2011

A Market in Harmony by Bill Bacque' CEO Van Eaton & Romero

June 2011 real estate market statistics find us in a state of synchronization rather than anomaly. In juxtaposition to 2010, when as a result of the Federal tax credit, home sales shot up from March through June and then cratered for most of the
remainder of the year, our local market has sustained a remarkable level of
normalcy during 2011. This is exemplified by the 219 closed residential sales totaling $41,057,718 in closed dollar volume reported for June 2011. While
underperforming June 2010’s numbers by 22%, June was the culminating month of last year’s tax credit surge. The number of pending residential sales best
reflects the “normalcy” of this year’s market. With 203 homes in contractual stages, June, as well as April, exemplify the steady momentum of pending sales that we we’ve enjoyed all year versus the “rollercoaster” effect that last year’s limited stimulus
created. June’s 21% increase in number of pending sales was complimented by a 28% increase in the corresponding dollar volume of those pending sales. This is reflective of the uptick in upper end buyers ($300,000 and up) that we have experienced during 2011.

In that same spirit of normalcy, the local market is experiencing near harmony in the listing/selling cycle. The ideal ratio of new listings to sold homes
is 1:1 — that means for every home listed, another one is sold. While many of the nation’s markets are seeing ratios that reach 6:1 and beyond, Lafayette
Parish has maintained a ratio below 2:1 with June 2011 at 1.65:1 ratio. Even though we are not experiencing a perfect equilibrium of listings to sales, we’re close enough to admit comfort. As we cross the halfway mark of 2011, the Lafayette
Parish housing market appears primed to retain the level of harmony we have come to expect.

To receive a copy of our latest Acadiana Residential Real
Estate Report, call Kisha Kana @ 337.255.5884 or email Kisha@KishaKana.com