You are on the private e-group of Adrienne "Abe" Wagner and Robert "Wags" Wagner, REALTORS of Prudential Preferred Realty, Laurel Highlands Office, Donegal PA, in the Laurel Highlands of SW PA, USA. If this message comes to you in error our apologies. Please let us know and we will clear you from this group. This update is not an attempt to solicit the offerings of other brokers and is for informational purposes only. Properties referred to are those listed or represented by our team and do not represent all properties in market area. All opinions are ours alone.

Thank you to all who enjoy our updates! Always know that we do post these updates on our Newsletters Page on our website so if in the future we may seem to be late please check our site, your spam system may be blocking our message.

1. Overall Local Market - Saltlick, Jefferson, and Donegal Townships have a varied selection of residential, land, and commercial properties for sale. If you have ever thought about having a place in our part of the world NOW is a great time to buy!

2. Seven Springs - 560 new residential real estate units over a 10 year plan were proposed to the "Voters of Saltlick Township Fayette County" in early April. The Somerset and Fayette county line (according to the topography maps) splits Lake Tahoe. Southwind sits on the Somerset side and there is much more ground available crossing over to the Fayette side. More housing means a greater need for food and beverage services and thus the referendum for alcohol on the ballot (Saltlick has always been a dry township). This carrot along with $8,001,797.00 of future tax and permitting income was the key for a "YES" vote on May 15 (alcohol ONLY ALLOWED on resort property). Using the numbers they presented the average selling price would be coming in around $420,000.00 So far all of the housing has been built in Somerset County. Read more under the local paragraph.

Seven Springs is getting a face lift. We recently had a REALTORS conference there with 400 people. Most have not been on the mountain since the Nutting Family took over and all were very pleased with the new paint, paper, lighting fixtures, and employee attentiveness. Seven Springs also rolled out a web page with some great new features. If you haven't been here for awhile come see the improvements!

SOUTHWIND Phase Three still has 14 properties for sale with only two resales in the total community on the market. Phase Three has not followed suit with the first two phases selling out within days of their initial offerings. If you want to be in this year CHECK out our slopeside property! Scott Bender shared at a recent Saltlick Twp meeting that the amenity center was going to be completed this year.

Sellers will be watching the next few months very carefully as we head into our busiest sales time. Resale inventory continues to increase giving buyers a selection they haven't seen for several years. There are currently 38 listings but this number is still far below what is considered common for resort communities. We are seeing more price reductions as market supply and days on market continue to increase. Still don't expect to see bargain basement prices here!! Entry price begins at $139,000! Want to know how your property fits into this market? E-mail ABE@ABEandWAGS.com or give her a call at 412-897-8535.

3. Hidden Valley - The rumor mill is working overtime here! At last count there were at least 4 groups interested in pursuing purchasing the resort. The BUNCHER Company (they purchased 800 plus acres next to the resort) seem to be the leading contender! Several sources claim Buncher is picking up tabs for golf course (check out those new golf carts!) and resort amenity center items. When money starts flowing back into the resort the possibilities will be endless!! WHEN a sale is consummated the dynamics of Nemacolin, Seven Springs, and Hidden Valley may be changed forever. We can envision a working relationship between the three as you see out West.

With a functioning resort we might see more Seven Springs buyers spending their money here. You still are getting much more floor space for way less money but then again the amenities are not here (so they are 5 miles away!). We see an excellent opportunity for sales prices to climb.

Resale inventory stands at 61 with only 1 property available under $100,000 . The list continues to grow for properties over 300,000 right now there are 21 listings. With only one sale in this price range the last four months sellers will have to be competitive with their pricing and preparation. Recorded sales seem to be saying that at this price point (and above) buyers are being cautious about spending. We look for the market to pick up after the dust settles as to a new owner of the resort. BUY NOW! E-mail Abe at ABE@ABEandWAGS.com to find out how your property fits into this market or call her at 412-897-8535.

4. Developments - Fern Mountain It's a first on the mountain! Starting in the summer of 2008 PARCEL OWNERS in this development will be able to board horses on the mountain! The FULL CARE BOARDING facility will have open trails and nearly 30 acres in pasturing. UNLIMITED ACCESS to Forbes State Forest's riding trails will also be available. Plans are set for an indoor riding arena scheduled to open in 2009. There are limited stalls available EXCLUSIVELY to Fern Mountain Residents. Bill Steele, President of Steel Construction Inc., and development partner at Fern Mountain shared, "We are committed to developing many new projects that will enhance our residents experience." Advance boarding reservations are being accepted, call Bill at 724-593-7203! Pick your lot NOW before they're all gone!

5. Local - Saltlick Township As neighbors go there are still bridges that need to be built to make these residents raving fans of what the resort can do for their community. Saltlick Township (where we reside) is still a "dry" township except for the property owned by Seven Springs Mountain Resort. It was the resorts third attempt to pass the referendum. The campaign was intriguing with signs on one side of the road reading "VOTE YES" and on the other side, "KEEP OUR TWP DRY" with reference to Proverbs. Voters were enticed with, "Adding new real estate developments will only increase those tax revenues and could slightly help to alleviate future property tax increases." Oh and more jobs too! According to posted results there were 348 YES votes and 317 NO votes, certainly not a landslide endorsement.

Middlecreek Township, Somerset County is where the majority of the properties at Seven Springs are currently located. The Rockwood School system benefits tremendously from the 1,000 plus residents that for the most part are not here full time. In other words they reap the tax benefits and don't have to educate any additional children. Weren't the locals shocked to find out that the "district does not have enough money to meet its June 30 payroll." They recently received court approval to borrow $500,000 to pay bills for the rest of the year!! The shortfall was explained by an inaccurate number used to project cash flow from Seven Springs transfers at Southwind.

What it all comes down to is Seven Springs property owners (as well as all residents in the taxing area) are more than likely to see a hike in the millage rate raising taxes next year. We'll keep you posted on this one! This is a true case of taxation with out representation for second home owners as you can't even vote on this issue.

6. State - Recent rhetoric about the source of funding the state highway initiative has now put focus on going after the oil companies and has taken the real estate transfer tax off the list as a potential revenue source. As REALTORS we have lobbied the state not to increase the tax you pay to buy or sell a house. At this time it is 2%, usually split equally between buyer and seller. Their earlier proposal for highway funding suggested raising this to 3% or more in certain areas. This is why we stay so involved in our state and national organization, because if you are not active when these plans are proposed you end up getting them put into your lap with out having any say in the process.

7. NATIONAL - Federal Flood Insurance. As Hurricane season begins June 1 we wanted to share some of the information we gained from being at our REALTOR Mid Year meetings. Changes are going to HAVE to be made as the Flood Insurance is 21 BILLION dollars in debt. First take a moment to check out Flood Smart. Here you can type in your address and see if you are in a flood zone.THIS MATTERS BECAUSE IF YOU ARE AND YOU DON'T HAVE IT, OR A BUYER CAN'T GET IT, A MORTGAGE COMPANY WON'T LEND THE MONEY TO BUY IT! Flood maps can be found here too along with explanations of the coding system.

Many of our friends with beach area properties are telling us horror stories of the new costs to get a policy. AND how some insurance companies are just pulling out of certain states. This could have a direct effect upon your property's future value!! Make sure you stay informed. (Hey, stay HERE on our mountain and then you don't have to worry!)

8. CAMPING - We've been watching the campers, YES, RVers too roll into our mountains kicking off this three day holiday weekend. We realized that we have never chatted with you about what a great place the Laurel Highlands is for an outdoor experience WITHOUT having a second home here! When we Goggled "campsites Laurel Highlands pa" there were 143,000 results!

Locally we can name at least a dozen in our immediate area! Some even have public water! Camping has sure been modernized since we were kids! Most links say full camping hook ups, cable TV, security, pools, and stores. Some of the larger facilities boast full dinners, miniature golf courses, amenities like bocce, volleyball, tennis, the list was surprisingly long! Here are a few that have their own web sites, Pioneer Park, Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park, and one for the kids, Summer's Best Two Weeks.

9. Team News: DC NATIONAL UPDATE Technology is going to continue to change the way EVERYONE does business! Try out this site Zappos.com. YES it's a shoe store but look at how the product is displayed, options are given, and quality is graded. NOW think houses instead of shoes! These options are just months away. A project underway is known as the National Gateway. Its mission is to post ALL housing with information whether it's on the market or not. Visual Tours are on their way out soon to be replaced with videos (hey we still have some plastic records and the kids are going WHAT?). Changes are coming faster than we could have ever imagined. To look at some of the new real estate models on the Internet visit www.Zillow.com and www.Trulia.com. Search zip 15622 for Seven Springs and Hidden Valley area. As you can see they still have some development needed to represent these markets.

If you want to max out your profit or make sure you are not overpaying it's imperative that you recognize not all real estate agents are created equal! If you are selling, interview at least two agents (yes we think we should be one of them!) and compare marketing strategies INCLUDING commission rates! If you are buying, make sure your agent is representing YOU as a designated buyers agent and not practicing DUAL AGENCY where they represent neither the buyer or seller.

10. Tek Tip As a member of the Real Estate Cyber Society we have a Monthly Newsletter with really neat Internet tips and tricks. This months newsletter features articles on on line document sharing, NEW GOOGLE mobile service, identity theft protection plans, and getting rid of junk mail. Enjoy.

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7 Springs	2007	2006
<100,000	0	0
101 to 200,000	2	5
201 to 300,000	9	8
301 to 400,000	6	12
401 to 500,000	2	4
>501,000	12	5
TOTAL	31	34

Hidden Valley	2007	2006
<100,000	1	5
101 to 200,000	12	15
201 to 300,000	2	4
301 to 400,000	1	3
401 to 500,000	0	0
>501,000	0	0
TOTAL	16	27