Quiet country living..... bring the horses

Royal Oaks subdivision

2007 Annual Realtor awards banquet

Feb. 15 the Central Ga Board of Realtors held their annual awards banquet at the Board of Realtors new office and conference center. We had about 150 in attendance, including affiliates.  We had a catered Mexican fiesta with lots of good food, mariachi music and pinatas!  We honored out first time million dollar producers, our first time lifetime million dollar producers club and the Silver, Eagle and Phoenix awards. 

There were about 22 first time million dollar producers, and about 14 who made the first time in the lifetime million dollar producer club.  I say "about" because I dont want to miscount anyone.  Two agents in my office made the later club, first time in the lifetime million dollar producer club, Terri Jackson and Blair Myers. We are sooo proud of them! 

The picture on the left is Pam and Helen.

Nine in the Phoenix award, which means they have been million dollar producers for 10 years.

One for the Eagle award, which is 15 years being a million dollar producer.

And one for the Silver award with 20 years being a million dollar producer.

 

The picture on the right is Terri, Jody Sewell, our broker and Blair.

 

Demon Dress Drive

Warner Robins High School  student council collects dresses to make prom dreams come true.

There are so many formal parties in the county and usually a girl wears a particular dress once. It makes sense to make those little-worn dresses available to high school girls who might not want to pay a few hundred dollars for a dress that they will only wear once. That's why the student council is collecting new and nearly new formal dresses, to be sold in the 2nd annual Demon Dress Drive.

Once the dresses are collected, they will be sold at Warner Robins High School.  All proceeds from the sale of the dresses will be donated to Houston County Foster Care program. Young women from all schools are welcome to participate in the sale.

This years sale was larger than last year, as there was much more media coverage than before.  There were over 60 girls and mothers in line when the doors opened at 10am.  The amount of funds raised was doubled from last year.  Thanks to our sponsors, Sharing Elegance, Strato Menswear, Flint Energies and Americom Realty. 

http://www.demondressdrive.com/

Houston county market stats Feb 2008

This report is residential properties only, for the entire service area that our MLS covers.

As of Feb, 2008, there are 1,869 residential properties available in our multiple listing service.  The average listing price is around $180,00 with DOM at 129 days. Since Jan. 1, we have listed 639 homes and sold 26% of these or 167 homes. These 167 homes that have sold, went for 97% of their listed price.  35% of what was listed has expired. 

Last year during this same time period, we were selling 46% of what we had listed, for DOM at 93 days, with only 13% expired. We had listed 1,504 and sold 703. The list price to sale price ratio was 98%.

Market stats Houston county GA

Currently, we are about 459 less residential properties sold, than last year at this time in Houston county, which is an 18% decrease. We are not experiencing what the rest of the country is feeling right now.  But what we are seeing more of is buyers coming into our area, not prepared to purchase right away, because their property is another area has not sold yet.  In the past this has not been an issue, but it seems the woes of the rest of the county are effecting us in this small way. But we are finding ways around this, but arranging and finding sellers who are willing to do the lease to purchase option.

Year to date totals are as follows: (Houston county, residential properties only)

                         Jan-Nov. 2006                      Jan-Nov. 2007
sold                            2,494                                 2,035 (18% decrease)
avg. sales price           $154k                                $153k
 
In Oct. we sold 67 less than last Oct.
In Sept, we sold 95 less than last Sept.
In July, we sold 56 less than last July.
In May, we sold 22 less than last May.

Though sales are a little slower than last year at this time, we are still doing well. The reason?  We use all the latest high-tech tools to maximize a home's market exposure. We use virtual tours on all our listings, completely branded, so they are not allowed to be linked in the MLS, but thats okay. We still have the link on Realtor.com, which is much more important for securing potential buyers.

fun sales meeting, working smarter......

We finally moved to number 20 out of a possible 42, so I feel we are doing wonderful, considering we have only been in business since the first of May. We have moved our sales meeting out of the office and into the community.  We have meet at Roberts by the pool, the bowling alley and at IHOP resteraunt.  We feel more relaxed and are able to enjoy the discussion and it is not so formal. We all equal contributors to the sales meeting and we all feel safe in expressing our opinions and concerns, something we didnt experience before.  We all feel accountable to one other.  Helen picked up a new builder over the weekend and listed 5 new construction homes. Robert immediately volunteered to open the houses every Sun and hold open houses. WOW!  No one asked him to, he just felt like that is what is needed at this time, plus it will help him acquire buyers. We are all excited at the prospect of the coming year, and every agents' and every companys' volume meter gets set to zero.  We are steadily packing the pipeline, excitedly awaiting the outcome in the new year. Our goal is to be in the top 10 companies in volume in the 1st quarter. Not a small feat for a company as small as ours. We are working on recruiting efforts and learning more about ourselves in the process.

New construction in Houston county

This is an all brick home with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms in the Weatherby Plantation, Warner Robins newest upscale community.  Large fenced in back yard, with many upgraded features including crown molding, ceiling fans, ornate lighting, granite counter tops, marble and ceramic tile flooring, decorative columns, and sweeping arches, alcoves, and built in desks, this home is offers delightful surprises throughout. Quiet cul-de-sac lot.

Houston county GA market report June 2007

Houston county,  Residental

Well, I have search through the MLS stats and tried to make sense of the numbers.  This is my take on the market for Houston county, residential sales only. Even though our MLS covers Houston, Peach, Macon, Pulaski, Bleckley, Twiggs, Dooly, Crawford and south Bibb counties, my research indicates that Houston is the dominant county as far as real estate listings and sales activity, so that is what the below stats reflect.  Houston county is mainly Warner Robins, Perry, Centerville, Kathleen, and Bonaire.  Some of the smaller counties have real estate offices that do not subscribe to our MLS, so their listings and sales are not reported, therefore; we can't create an accurate picture of their market.  Perhaps another day, I will give a report on the other counties.  

Since Jan. 07, we have listed 2,283 residential properties, and sold 1,259 of them, a little more than half (55%). Most sold for 98% of their listing price, with an avg. sold price of $152,488, with avg DOM at 91. 

11% of the propertites listed since Jan have exprired, with an avg. price of $177,887. (priced too high for the market perhaps?)

For the month of June, the avg. sold price is higher than the overall avg. sold price for the year, so we seem to be getting more for the properties.

For June 2007, we listed 351 and sold 249, about 71% .  The avg. sold price was $164,744. So, it looks like our market is slightly off from last year at this time by 2%, because we have less listings and sold a bit less.  Sold price hasn't changed much, less than $1,000 .

For June 2006, we listed 409 and sold 298, about 73% .  The avg. sold price was $164,010.

Sales are strongest for single family homes and residential building lots. New construction continues to be on the rise, but resale homes are still in high demand.

 

a big change for me, from International franchise to local independent

I recently left an internationally known franchise for an independent company that has no real estate presence in my area.  They have 1 small office in the Atlanta area, but are not recognizable at all to anyone in my service area. But they do have a logo and a website, and seem to be modestly successful in their service area.  The owner is around my age. His business model is very different than what we are used to in this area, but it works for them in Atlanta, so it should work for us in Houston county.

I welcomed the change that allowed me to express more of my creative side when acquiring new listings and new buyers, and using the mortgage companies of my choice or my buyer's choice.  I want to think for myself and I want to advertise as I want to.  

I no longer have to contend with franchise fees, franchise requirements of paperwork, quotas set by the broker and I realize that the franchise affiliation does not make me any better of an agent.  I realize that the MLS and the NAR provides me with most of the advantages of the franchises. With IDX, a current website and up-to-date technology, I can compete with the franchises.

I can no longer afford to wait for the franchise name on the sign to do the job for me. Being an agent with an independent company means that I am a pro-active agent and my business depends on me to budget and design a marketing plan that will surpass other agents to get the job done. Again, my livelihood depends on it.

I pay more attention to my own website now, and am most concerned with the content and the marketing of myself, rather than relying on the franchise to market for me.  On listing appointments, I focus more on me and my personal statistics. I tell my customers that no matter my affiliation, ultimately it is the other agents I market to, and we all cooperate no matter our company affiliation.

My broker/owner has time to sit down with me, and discuss my concerns and listen to my ideas, and he has the ability to change courses on anything we desire. He sets the commission splits, not the franchise.   We are not bound by the franchise requirements, but make our own way as we go.  We make decisions based on what is ethical foremost, and secondly, what is going to make money.  If we need to change the rate of commission, we will.  If we chose to turn away a listing, referral or a buyer, we can.

I am proud to be a part of my company, and if we succeed, I have only myself to thank, and if we fail, again, I only have myself to blame.  But I will know that I tried and gave it my all, because I had to.  I feel empowered and I know that I am accountable for my own results.