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EXPERTS ANONYMOUS
When it comes to real estate, “EVERYONE IS AN EXPERT”. Trust me on this one.
I do a great deal of industry related reading and research. For the most part, this is to keep me current with trends in the industry and to assure that my company is complying with all the appropriate rules and regulations. Seldom, however, do I bother to read about what the “experts” think.
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THE VALUE OF USING A REALTOR
A 2014 study by the National Association of Realtors confirms that Agent-assisted home sales typically are 13% higher than For Sale by Owner sales (FSBOs). This is really impressive! Most folks choose the For Sale By Owner (FSBO) route to “save” the commission. While commissions are negotiable, they generally range in the 5-6% range. Obviously, the use of a Realtor MORE than covers the cost – – by a wide margin, actually.
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THIS N’ THAT
As we find ourselves squarely into the traditional busy spring market, I thought I would pass along some “tid-bits” that I have taken from the numerous trade publications that I review frequently. For the most part, it remains good news:
Real Estate again named best long term investment. That is according to a recent Gallup Survey where respondents chose real estate ahead of stocks, gold, savings accounts, CD’s or bonds as the best long term investment. Real Estate also took the top spot last year.
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“THE ROAD TO SUCCESS……”
…is always under construction”. This is another adage from my favorite baseball manager, Baltimore Orioles skipper Buck Showalter. So, what does it mean? Well, I think it speaks to the need to adapt and adjust to new and changing trends within your business or industry.
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I would like to take this opportunity again to thank our many friends and clients for making 2014 one of our best years ever. We are off to a very good start and I am extremely optimistic about 2015 as well.
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MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!
This will likely be my last blog for 2014. Once again, we have been very blessed with a quite profitable 2014 – – the best year that we have enjoyed since 2006. I thought I would end the year just with some quick bullet points and a quick comment on each.
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IT’S ALL LOCAL FOLKS!
I still read the newspaper every day. A recent national survey indicated less than 13% of Americans still read the newspaper – – but I do. It is the very best way to keep up on local news.
While I am not a voracious reader by any stretch, I also read business and trade publications religiously. Everything that I read lately, by all sorts of so called “experts”, is really just what I would refer to as a “mixed bag”.
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John Paul II Medical Research Institute
Lou Gehrig ’s disease (ALS) is a terrible, terrible disease. The recent national effort to draw awareness and funding is to be lauded.
The ALS Association, the organization behind the Ice Bucket Challenge, supports embryonic stem cell research. While the Catholic Church supports stem cell research, it does not condone stem cell research which frequently involves embryos harvested from the death of an aborted fetus. For me, and likely many others, this has presented a difficult moral dilemma.
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Real Estate and Geography
The Real Estate micro-market in which I primarily work, as does my office, is the Greater Carlisle Area. This is basically the same area encompassed by the Greater Carlisle Chamber of Commerce and is recognized in the Bright Multiple Listing Service as Area 7.
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First Time Buyer Alert
In several of my previous blogs, I have noted that more and more young Americans are either moving back home or renting. For the most part, I am addressing young adults 25 to 34 years in age. Multi-generational households are also on the rise.
Over the years, I have never encouraged our Buyer clients to be “house poor”. I have always said that there is more to life than making house payments and no one should stretch themselves too thin – – although many choose to do that on their own!