Real Estate Information

I'm a geek.  I admit it.  I love statistics and numbers and figuring out what pictures they can paint.  (although my old college professors from Florida State University and the illustrious Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC-Chapel Hill might just keel over from shock hearing me say that!)

But any time I am working on information for a buyer or a seller, I run one of my patented State Of The Market reports.  Which breaks down the numbers within price bands and areas, and allows me to look at absorption rates.

NAR likes to tell folks that a 6-month supply is a balanced market.  (Which is probably the most honest thing being said these days by NAR but i digress).

The real estate market in Charlotte NC is hot in pockets, and soft in pockets.  You really have to know what's happening in the micro-market you're considering, whether you're a buyer or a seller.  For example-in our first time buyer range, in Union County, under $200,000-there's a 6.6 month inventory.  Which is doable.  (How do you beat the 6 month time?  Price and condition, it's that simple.)  But in Cabarrus County in the move-up range, between $400,000-$500,000, there's a 17.2 month inventory.  Holy smokes!  We sure do hope the market in Florida picks up sometime soon!

Moral of the story-study your price bands and micro-markets.  If your real estate agent isn't studying these items, call them and pepper them with questions-a good, professional agent is a student of the market at all times.

It's not a big secret that I love college basketball, especially my beautiful Carolina Blue Tarheels!  Who happen to be smokin' hot right now in the NCAA tournament...

What may surprise you is that it gives me total heartburn whenever we're number 1.  Since it seems that whenever you're on top, you're a target!

I was happy to see in today's Charlotte Observer that Charlotte is the only top 20 market with a price increase showing for 2008.  It's not much of an increase but hey, any increase is better than a decline.  

Many folks ask why Charlotte is stable and still moving upward in light of the drama that's affecting many other markets.  You have to go into economic fundamentals of the market to get a grip on real estate values.  It's more than the national news media would like you to believe. 

There is positive job creation here.  We have a relatively low cost of living.  We have a pleasant climate.  Good schools.  Proximity to vacation areas.  Expanding healthcare resources.

Add all of these things together, factor in the average home price around the $230,000 mark which is inside the affordability range for the average income in this area, and it's no great surprise that folks in and around Charlotte NC are still buying and selling homes.

Now, I know that you're usually keyed up for cultural enlightenment on Friday or Saturday date nights...but Sunday afternoons can fulfill you as well!

Sunday, March 30 2008 at 230pm

Location:  Christ Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC (off of Providence Road just south of Fairview)

Come out and see Charlotte NC's newest choral group, VOX (my group!), in a performance the likes of which you've never seen.  Seriously, this is the response we're getting from each audience-they LOVE the music and it's completely unexpected!

Our special guest performers are none other than Catrina Pegues (you want gospel?  you will get goosebumps listening to Catrina) and Dennis Reed & GAP (they'll be on Oprah one day, you should come hear them now while you can still get tickets!).

Suggested donation of $15 at the door (but we'll take more, we're working on production of our first CD so any contributions are greatly appreciated).

I got this link, courtesy of my fellow Cyberstar, Michael Fournier.

It's quite interesting to take a look at the nation, broken down into smaller economic pockets-and see whether or not this media-driven recession is real to you.  (and I know I'm a member of the VRWC, but seriously people, this recession IS media-driven. 

Just like the real estate market is local, so are economics!

Shhh....I'm about to let you in on a BIG secret!

You want to know why I have a lot of points, eh?  You stare at your point total daily and simmer because your numbers aren't huge?

Well-here's how to get a high point total (and in the interest of full disclosure, my number's not as high as many others!).

WORK AT IT.

Write blog posts.  Rant, rave, share opinions, talk about communities, advertise your listings.

Comment on the posts of others.  Folks you know, folks you don't know.

Do it consistently.  Folks, I've been on here since September of 2006 when we were a community of about 6,000 members.  I've been paying my dues for quite some time.  And i'm not even as faithful to AR as I used to be-too busy, too caught up in other activities, etc.  And honestly, points don't mean a whole lot to me-there are other residual benefits of AR that are much more powerful.

But I swannee, if I get ONE MORE PHONE CALL OR EMAIL from someone wanting to know how I've done it, i might just go through the phone! 

It's actually a pretty fair analogy for the current real estate market in general.  I'm busy.  I have a lot of buyers and sellers and contracts.  And i didn't get them by magic or by wishing or by hoping.  I am busy because I work at it every day and I have been for the past 8 years.  I don't rely on gimmicks or paid leads or any of that stuff-I work my sphere and my past clients and anything i can think of to generate additional leads for the buyer agents who have chosen to join me.  Still, it seems that every other day, I have an agent making comments, wondering why I am busy and they are not.  Whine away, I'll get right back to work.

No cookie-cutter here!  AND no HOA restrictions or dues!  Great home on a very private, beautifully landscaped lot.  This Charlotte NC home for sale is conveniently located just inside Cabarrus County (north and east of Charlotte NC)-so you get some of the best public school assignments going PLUS county-only property taxes!  You also get the bonus of a Charlotte mailing address since you are right beside the county line and I-485.

The main level features an updated kitchen, large dining room, spacious family room with fireplace, and two sets of doors to your outdoor entertaining area (deck plus large patio!).  Just off the garage you will find an amazing flex space-room for a mother-in-law suite or office or teen suite or media room or whatever you need!  There's even a separate entrance in place.

Upstais are three spacious bedrooms, each with a large closet, and two full bathrooms.

This home is immaculate, neutral and move-in ready.  The oversized two-car garage completes the picture.

$162,500 asking price.

For your private showing, visit our website or call Leigh Brown at 704.979.7034.  We're glad to help!

I can't believe I'm writing this.  I'm an advocate of wearing your nametag just about everywhere you go, never can tell when someone will need to talk real estate.

But I just got back from a funeral.  I'm sitting there waiting for the service to begin, and up the aisle comes a local Realtor (and I love her, she's a total sweetie, but she's newer in the business) WEARING HER NAMETAG.  Are you serious?  This is a funeral. 

There's a time and a place for everything.  Put the darn thing away-it's tacky and doesn't do very much for your professional image!  (I am trying very hard to convince myself that she just forgot she was wearing it, but considering that it was on her suit jacket and not her overcoat, it's a hard sell).

Ick.

It's apparent that the folks in this picture weren't afraid to let the world know they were hungry-shoot,why else would you raise watermelons that large?

But if you're a professional in real estate or a real estate-related industry, you might want to rethink your attitude and carriage.

Let me preface this by saying that I have been there.   I have been hungry.  I have been starving for leads and transactions and buyers and sellers.  In the words of my father, I put my head down and worked and managed to survive.  That was several years ago, I'm very blessed right now to be established in real estate and I keep learning and keep working every single day to make sure that the clients who have chosen me feel good in their choice.

But for those of you that are hungry-and I direct this mostly to the folks out there in money world-you've got to find a way to hide it.  Buyers and sellers can smell it when you're hungry.  I can smell it.  And like a dog sniffing out fear and exploiting it, clients will exploit it when they know you NEED them.  For they don't NEED you unless you're doing a bang-up job demonstrating your value. 

If you remain focused on the value that you bring to the table, keep in contact with folks, and just go learn something new, you will most likely survive.  If you get focused on your bank account and commission checks, you may not make it.

And if your focus changes, I have no choice but to quit sending prospects to you.  You are damaging my reputation when my clients smell your money fear.  They want to work with successful people who can HELP them, not be the last bandaid on the gaping hole in the side of the ship.

For me, it's business as usual.  I am working for buyers, working for sellers, doing everything I can in the way of marketing to get houses out there and to hunt down just the right place for my buyers.  I don't have the time to take 14 calls from a lender who wants to tell me how badly he needs a closing, and how he still really wants to do business with me.   Before the mortgage world blew up-you took applications, followed up, and folks were happy. 

Get your focus back.  Demonstrate your value.  Talk about money and numbers and programs and news and NOT about how many closings you do or don't have.  I'd really appreciate it.

Or even let the kids stay up late for a fabulous benefit gala in Davidson NC (just north of Charlotte NC).   Many folks who relocate to Charlotte ask what kind of cultural events are available-this is a prime example of the exciting opportunities in Charlotte-for both giving and receiving. 

(If you didn't already know, VOX is the professional choral ensemble that I perform with-so if you show up, you can catch me after the show!) 

Saturday, February 23, 2008 at 8:00pm:

The Firebird Arts Alliance, in collaboration with Central Piedmont Community College, present:

VOX

PRESENTS LIVE RECORDING / BENEFIT CONCERT:

"Vox & Friends"  

Charlotte's newest professional choral ensemble, VOX, will present "VOX & Friends," a live recording / benefit concert at 8:00pm, on Saturday, February 23, 2008 at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Davidson, in support of Inspire the Fire, Inc., an inner-city, youth arts-training program.

Firebird Arts Alliance Artistic Director David Tang and Associate Artistic Director Peppie Calvar lead VOX in a program of spectacular contemporary choral music by composers like Edwin Fissinger, Duke Ellington, Astor Piazzolla, Stephen Leek, and more, to be included in VOX's debut CD - "Out of this World;" the program will also include spirituals, jazz and gospel music in celebration of Black History Month, performed in collaboration with some of Charlotte's best African-American musical artists.

Proceeds from the event will benefit Inspire the Fire, Inc.

Guest artist/collaborators include Ethel Beatty Barnes, Dennis Reed & G.A.P., Henry Lebedinsky and Catrina Pegues.

Ethel Beatty Barnes  (http://fundraisingthruthearts.com/biography.html), star of Broadway stage and film, joins VOX in Duke Ellington's Come Sunday and other jazz/gospel favorites.  Ms. Barnes performed leading roles on Broadway, opposite artists like Gregory Hines, and appeared in Martin Scorsese's The Cotton Club.

Dennis Reed & G.A.P., Charlotte's hottest new Gospel sensations (http://www.dennisreed.com/ or read about Dennis: http://www.nuthinbutgospel.com/spotlight_dennisreed.htm), recently performed with VOX and the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra in the CSO's Daybreak of Freedom performance, celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr., to thunderous ovations.  Seriously, they're going to be on Oprah one day, so you should take advantage of seeing them now!

Catrina Pegues (http://catrinapeguesministries.net/) won the 2004 Charlotte Gimme the Mike-Charlotte competition and sings gospel and inspirational music throughout the region.

Henry Lebedinsky, Music Director of Music at St. Alban's (http://www.saintalbans-davidson.org/musicatstalbans.htm), appears as guest conductor of VOX, conducting an original work by Mr. Lebedinsky.

The performance will take place on Saturday, February 23, 2008 at 8:00 pm at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Davidson, NC (301 Caldwell Lane, Davidson, NC  28036 - http://www.stalbans-davidson.org/

Ticket reservations can be made by calling (704) 365-1661.  Limited seats are still available, call today if you want to come tomorrow.

$20 - general admission / $12 - students and seniors

ABOUT THE FIREBIRD ARTS ALLIANCE:  The Firebird Arts Alliance brings artists and artistic institutions together from all disciplines, to collaborate in innovative, commercially successful, and socially beneficial ways.Firebird will facilitate collaborations between artists of all disciplines as well as people of all races, religions, cultures and backgrounds, in order to inspire a community of respect, equality and creativity.