Pioneer Title Co. | Blog http://pioneertitleco.com/blog New you care about. Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:35:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Give blood! http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2012/01/06/give-blood/ http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2012/01/06/give-blood/#comments Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:35:50 +0000 John Doria http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/?p=700

PTC and the American Red Cross have come together to host the second annual Battle of the Counties Blood Drive. Please join us to help your county win lifesaver bragging rights! Here’s how you can help…

For Canyon County, Idaho residents:
Stop by on Friday, February 10th from 9am – 1pm at our Idaho Center Office

For Ada County, Idaho residents:
Stop by on Monday, February 13th from 9am – 1pm at our Rifleman Street Office.

Donating is fast, easy and can save lives. To schedule a date in your Ada or Canyon County, please contact Gwen Main at 208.870.8300. Help us show the heart of PTC and help save lives; may the best county win!

Download the flyer for full information on how you can help

]]> http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2012/01/06/give-blood/feed/ 0 Bags, bags, and more bags… http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2012/01/05/bags-bags-and-more-bags/ http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2012/01/05/bags-bags-and-more-bags/#comments Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:56:19 +0000 John Doria http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/?p=690 The Bag Ladies

It’s a safe bet that nearly everyone has a drawer, cupboard or pantry space dedicated to storing those plastic grocery bags. You never quite know what to do with them and only when you’re at the grocery store, are you reminded that your market accepts these bags for recycling. Pioneer’s own, Stephanie McCracken took the competitive approach and inadvertently offered to have everyone’s grocery bag stockpile recycled through an interoffice competition. The month-long contest began on December 1st and garnered almost 60 (yes, sixty) pounds of grocery bags destined for the recycling center. Our Meridian office was the big winner and will be rewarded with a fully-catered lunch. Competitive recycling…whoda thought?

]]> http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2012/01/05/bags-bags-and-more-bags/feed/ 0 How did real estate in 2011 shape up? http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/12/16/how-did-real-estate-in-2011-shape-up/ http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/12/16/how-did-real-estate-in-2011-shape-up/#comments Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:11:09 +0000 John Doria http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/?p=678 Pioneer Title Co. President & CEO, Tim Bundgard, sat down with KTVB’s Carolyn Holly on Wednesday to discuss the PTC Index shows about Treasure Valley real estate in 2011. Tim describes the stabilization of our markets along with increases in building permits and average sales prices, up across the board while the number of distressed properties make a decline. Check out the video below for the full interview.

]]> http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/12/16/how-did-real-estate-in-2011-shape-up/feed/ 0 PTCIndex – November 2011 http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/12/13/ptcindex-november-2011/ http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/12/13/ptcindex-november-2011/#comments Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:59:34 +0000 John Doria http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/?p=674 The PTC Index - Nov 2011The holiday season is once again in full swing and it is quite evident that in November, the real estate market is taking a break from the somewhat busier late summer/early fall months. Since October, new and existing home sales took a downturn of 15% and 10.5%, respectively. Building permits, however, jumped by 13% and average Treasure Valley sales price increased by 5% from the month prior from $138,974 to $146,492. Distressed properties (short sales and REO properties) and notices of default made a decline by 3% and 2% respectively. Categorically speaking, we expect to see sustained or slight increases in the historically slower months of real estate activity in the midst of the holiday season.

Update:

You asked, we listened! The PTC Index is now broken down by county so you can compare numbers in both Ada and Canyon as well as the classic, valley-wide view. Check it out…

]]> http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/12/13/ptcindex-november-2011/feed/ 0 Prices stabilize, improvements continue… http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/07/27/prices-stabilize-improvements-continue/ http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/07/27/prices-stabilize-improvements-continue/#comments Wed, 27 Jul 2011 18:32:55 +0000 John Doria http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/?p=658 PTC on KTVB - July 19, 2011 Tim Bundgard last week sat down with KTVB’s Carolyn Holly to discuss new PTC Index numbers for the month of June. We’ve seen some big improvements last month in terms of average sales pricing, new and existing home sales and a drop in distressed and bank-owned properties. Tim believes that as inventories go down, sales prices will climb, so we’re likely looking at a semblance of pricing stabilization. Tim also told Carolyn that shadow inventories (bank-owned properties) are still in the pipeline and will infiltrate the market during the 4th quarter of 2011. Check out the video above for the full interview and be sure to check out PTCindex.com for full particulars on June numbers as well as previous months.

]]> http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/07/27/prices-stabilize-improvements-continue/feed/ 0 Average Sales Price, Building Permits Increase in May… http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/06/21/average-sales-price-building-permits-increase-in-may/ http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/06/21/average-sales-price-building-permits-increase-in-may/#comments Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:41:30 +0000 John Doria http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/?p=642 PTC IndexIn the midst of the traditional home buying season, May has brought some encouraging numbers in building permits, existing home sales, average sales price and a drop in notices of default. While Canyon County experienced a drop in average sales price by 8% to $86,836 (from $94,759 in April), Ada County saw a whopping 26% gain in sales price from the month prior to $175,458 (from $129,320). Valley wide, the average sales price is up by 1.5%. Building permits and existing home sales increased by 6% and 4%, respectively while new homes sales fell 8% from the month prior. Read more and see full May stats…

]]> http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/06/21/average-sales-price-building-permits-increase-in-may/feed/ 0 PTC Sync is coming… http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/06/21/ptc-sync-is-coming/ http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/06/21/ptc-sync-is-coming/#comments Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:15:38 +0000 John Doria http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/?p=636 In a previous post, we wrote about many cloud-based services to keep things tidy in your digital life. All the while, we’ve been quietly working on a cloud-based offering of our own: PTC-Sync. It’s a whole new way to keep track of your transactions with us and offers our Escrow Officers to work with you from anywhere. Find out more and sign up to be notified when PTC Sync hits the street by visiting the official PTC Sync page.

]]> http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/06/21/ptc-sync-is-coming/feed/ 0 Fine-tune your presentations… http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/06/10/fine-tune-your-presentations/ http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/06/10/fine-tune-your-presentations/#comments Fri, 10 Jun 2011 18:50:32 +0000 John Doria http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/?p=623 As the old saying goes, great presenters aren’t born – they are prepared and if you’re like us, there’s always a fine line to tread when creating a presentation that is not only effective, but engaging and informative as well. Lifehacker posted a new article about presentations (aptly titled “How to Create Presentations that Don’t Suck) based largely on advice from Nancy Duarte. Her design firm has prepared over 250,000 presentations over the last 23 years. Some key points:

  • Too many ideas on one slide
  • Cliches and Clipart
  • Lack of emphasis
  • Questionable design choices
  • No relationship to the audience

The article is definitely worth a read and bookmark-worthy if you have an upcoming presentation or just care to hone your skills a bit more.

Further Reading:

]]> http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/06/10/fine-tune-your-presentations/feed/ 0 Consistency is key… http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/06/01/consistency-is-key/ http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/06/01/consistency-is-key/#comments Wed, 01 Jun 2011 21:47:00 +0000 John Doria http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/?p=618 Tim Bundgard visits KTVB Last week, our CEO Tim Bundgard sat down with KTVB’s Carolyn Holly to discuss the state of the real estate market. Tim discussed the PTC Index showing housing prices leveling off after some decreases in early 2011. Check out the video for the full interview!

]]> http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/06/01/consistency-is-key/feed/ 0 Building Permits, New Home Sales make gains in April… http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/05/16/building-permits-new-home-sales-make-gains-in-april/ http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/2011/05/16/building-permits-new-home-sales-make-gains-in-april/#comments Mon, 16 May 2011 18:33:39 +0000 John Doria http://pioneertitleco.com/blog/?p=610 PTC IndexThe first quarter of 2011 is finally in the books and April brought moderate gains in different areas that comprise the PTC Index. Building permits in April where up a whopping 16% over March, while new homes sales and existing home sales were up 8% and 5%, respectively within the same month over month time period. Distressed properties (short sales and bank-owned) and notices of default showed decreases of 3% and 10%, respectively. Days on market also fell 7% from 98 days to 91 days. The average Treasure Valley home sales price also fell slightly; Canyon County’s average sales price fell 1% to $93,524 while Ada County increased to $165,064. Hop on over to PTCIndex.com to check out full details…

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