Indy Home Marketing - August 2009 Newsletter

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August 2009 Newsletter

Volume 3, Number 8


			New-Home Sales Slowly "Bouncing Back" Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 11% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000 units, according to numbers released by the U.S. Commerce Department. Coming on the heels of an upwardly revised number for May, the gain marks a third con- secutive month of improved sales activity. “This is good news that indicates the nation’s housing market may be in the process of turn-
	ing the corner,” said Joe Robson, chairman of the National Associa- tion of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Tulsa, “That said, the key to moving us out of recession is to get Americans back to work. Congress and the Administration should know that housing can be a significant generator of good jobs. We need to make hous- ing a priority in the recovery process, otherwise we could continue to bounce along a bottom for some time.” MORE


	RECIPE OF THE MONTH Steak Fajitas with Chimichurri and Drunken Peppers Here's a great recipe to spice up your next get-to-gether that your friends and family will rave about! Courtesy of: The Food Network

INGREDIENTS:

•	1 bunch fresh parsley	•	1/4 cup lager beer
•	1 bunch fresh cilantro	•	8 8-inch flour tortillas
•	3 tablespoons lemon juice	•	1 to 2 cloves garlic
•	2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
•	1 pound chuck or top round steak (London broil)
•	1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
•	3 poblano peppers, seeded and cut into strips
•	Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
•	1 large red onion, halved and sliced
•	Lime wedges, for serving (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Combine the parsley and cilantro (leaves and stems), half
of the sliced onion, garlic, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon
pepper, vinegar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1/2 cup
olive oil in a food processor; blend into a thick and smooth
chimichurri sauce. Pierce both sides of the steak with a
fork several times; place in a resealable plastic bag and
add half of the sauce. Seal the bag and turn to coat the
steak; refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Cover and reserve
the remaining sauce. Continued

Save Energy & Help the Environment

If every American home replaced just one in-
candescent light bulb with a compact florescent
light (CFL), we'd save enough energy to light
2.5 million homes for a year and prevent
greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions
of nearly 800,000 cars. CFLs not only provide
high-quality and high-efficiency lighting, they
last about 4 to 10 times longer!

	Summer Lawn Care Essentials... In summer, lawns get hammered. There's extra wear and tear from weekend play, stress from summer heat, and corresponding pressure
	from utilities in some areas to cutback on watering. But if you start a sensible lawn-care program now, you can strengthen your turf going into summer, help it stay greener, and give it a better chance against the ravages of insects and disease. MORE

Sales on the Rise... (Continued)

“The big gain in home sales last month was reflected in three out
of four regions and helped shrink the inventory of new homes for
sale to its lowest level in years,” said NAHB Chief Economist David
Crowe. “Even so, the pace of home sales in June 2009 was still
more than 21 percent off the pace of sales in the same month
last year, so we still have quite a way to go. The concern now is
that complicating factors-particularly job losses, appraisal issues
that are torpedoing more than a quarter of new-home sales, and
the impending expiration of the first-time buyer tax credit-threaten
to stifle the positive momentum.”

The number of newly built homes on the market declined for a
26th consecutive month in June, falling 4.1% to 281,000 units.
This marks a relatively thin 8.8-month supply at the current
sales pace.

New-home sales rose by double-digits in the Northeast (29.2%),
Midwest (43.1%), and West (22.6%) in June. Meanwhile, sales
activity declined 5.3% in the South, which is the country’s
largest housing market.

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Steak Fajitas with Chimichurri... (Continued)

Preheat a grill to medium-high. Remove the steak from
the bag (discard the bag of sauce); season with salt and
pepper and grill until medium-rare, about 6 minutes per
side. Let rest, loosely covered with foil, for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in
a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the peppers
and the remaining sliced onion half; season with salt
and pepper. Saute until the vegetables are softened
and caramelized around the edges, about 8 minutes.
Add the beer, cover and cook until the peppers are
tender, about 5 minutes.

Warm the tortillas on the grill. Thinly slice the steak on
the bias; divide among the tortillas along with the
peppers and onions. Thin the reserved chimichurri
sauce with the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice;
drizzle over the fajitas. Serve with lime wedges,
if desired. Return to Top

SUMMER LAWN CARE ESSENTIALS (continued)

Fertilize. If you haven't fertilized yet this year – or if you're
growing heavy feeders such as perennial ryegrass, tall fescue,
Kentucky bluegrass, hybrid Bermuda, or St. Augustine – apply
2 pounds actual nitrogen per 1,000 square feet. If you've ferti-
lized during the past four months and aren't growing a heavy
feeder, give the grass 1 pound actual nitrogen per 1,000 square
feet. (The first number in a fertilizer bag's large, three-number
label gives the percentage of nitrogen in the bag. A 100-pound
bag of 29-3-4 fertilizer, for example, contains 29 percent actual
nitrogen, or 29 pounds.)

Mow. Cut often, so you never have to shorten the grass by more
than a third at one mowing. Use a mulching mower with a sharp
blade. Since grass clippings contain 3 to 5 percent nitrogen, they
feed the lawn if you let them drop (don't bag them). This allows
you to reduce your annual lawn-feeding program by half. Mow
your grass from 1-1/2 to 2 inches in height.

Dethatch. Most grasses develop thatch, a sponge-like layer of
roots, runners, and grass blades just above the soil surface.
Thatch interferes with the downward flow of fertilizer and water,
depriving plant roots; thin it now, if you haven't already done
so (use a dethatcher from a rental yard). The lawn will recover
quickly and will perform better through summer. Grasses like
Kentucky bluegrass and fine fescue should be dethatched in fall.

Water. Most lawns need about 1 inch of water per week. Apply
it deeply and infrequently rather than often and shallowly – and
early in the morning or late evening when there's less wind and
evaporation than during the heat of the day.

Control pests and diseases. To keep the lawn looking its best,
watch for signs of critter damage or disease, and deal with either
immediately.

- Dogs. If a dog urinates on your lawn, flood the area with hose
water. Don't try to repair doggy spots (dead spots among healthy
green grass) by fertilizing; the excess nitrogen in dog urine kills
the grass, so adding more nitrogen won't help. Remove dead
patches along with 3 to 4 inches of soil underneath; fill the hole
with a fresh piece of sod, or overseed.

- Insects. Insect problems vary regionally and seasonally. Your
area nursery can recommend what's the best product to protect
your lawn from most common insects, such as grubs.

- Diseases. Highly maintained lawns (mowed low, heavily ferti-
lized, and liberally watered) are the most subject to disease. Fight
disease by backing off on the fertilizer and water, and by raising
the mowing height by 25 percent.

- Weeds. On most lawns, weeds really take hold when the grass
starts to go dormant in July. Hand-weed small infestations as soon
as they appear. For larger infestations, try a pre-emergence herbi-
cide made from corn gluten meal (available at nurseries).

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