Market Update and OFFICE CHANGE (again :) )

Instead of writing something new here, I'm gonna take advantage and use something that is already written...thanks for stopping in!

Peace,
Greg

FROM THE COVER LETTER TO MY SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER:

Here's what’s happening to your home’s value these days... As I’ve been indicating these last couple of months, we are in a plateau of a market in Maryland these days (and I’m sure your friends in many other states would truly LOVE to be able to say the same thing!). The statistics for the Baltimore area (including ALL 6 counties surrounding and including Baltimore City) for August 2007 came in with the average sold price down just 0.03% from that of August 2006. Still, the average days on market is up 44.83% (58 last year to 84 this year) and the overall sales volume is down 17.13% ($1.1+ billion last year to $925+ million this year). At the most basic level, all of this means that 2580 homes went from ACTIVE to CONTRACT in the 6 counties, and only 485 of those contracts had a “sale of home” and/or a “seller to find home of choice” contingency on them. In short, while some areas have prices going down, other areas have prices going up, and most areas have prices holding steady…again, with everything going on with lending and the national real estate market, this is GREAT news!

On the personal front, I do have one announcement: after some careful considerations and some negotiations, I have officially rejoined my first office, LNF Ft. Meade/Odenton. If you remember, I went to LNF Severna Park because it offered me a bit more support and a mentoring relationship with one of the best in the industry. At Severna Park, I developed my skills and expertise as a top-notch real estate professional, and my business has grown in leaps and bounds as a result. However, my mentor left the company three months ago and with him went the primary reason for me to stay at Severna Park. In comparison, the Ft. Meade/Odenton office is offering me better terms, it is closer to the majority of my real estate transactions (which will help me serve my clients and coordinate my business activities more efficiently), and it is right in the heart of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), which will have the single greatest positive impact on the real estate market in Maryland between now and 2011. So, that is why the address on this envelope is different from the one on last month’s envelope. :) One of the great things about being with Long and Foster is that, no matter what my “home office” is, I can use any office that is best suited for every situation (I have met with clients in 17 different Long and Fosters this year!). So, really, from your standpoint, it truly makes little practical difference what office I call “home”! :)

You wrote a contract at what time??

What do you do when a client works night-shift and wants to buy a property that you just found out there is another offer on and you need to get a better offer in by first-thing the next morning, but you already committed to a poker game that you still kind of want to play in (it's the only time you're going to play in 10 days, too!)?

"Hey, man...Why don't I just stop by during your night shift?"

"Um...that'll work. What time?"

"I don't know...probably like 2am."

"Sure...I'll see you there."

Yep. So, at 2am last Tuesday, I showed up at my client's place of work with a contract offer in hand for him to review and sign. 90 minutes later, we figured out how to use the coolest fax machine ever (this machine is somewhat involved, smarter-than-the-average-person, state-of-the-art copier, printer, fax machine that must have cost his company upwards of $20K from the looks of it) to get the offer over to the listing agent by around 4am.

So, assuming the home inspection and termite inspection confirm that this is a wise purchase for my client, that transaction will settle in a couple of weeks, and I have another good story to tell clients while I drive them around to different homes and there are lulls in conversation. :) I actually met up with this same clients about 1:30am yesterday to round out the paperwork that changed a bit in the negotiation stages.

Well, it's almost 1am, and I'm still at the office. Thanks for reading!

Peace,
Greg