Have you seen the announcements that Philip Morris is leaving Concord, NC, and moving to it's larger plant in Richmond, Virginia? This phasing out will take place over the next three years according to a customer of mine who works there. There was a large article on the front page of The Charlotte Observer this morning. I'm sure you can access it on www.Charlotte.com, which is their website.
How will the loss of 2500 jobs and Philip Morris being 13% of our city's tax base affect our county? They paid excellent wages with good benefits, and both the company and its employees have been great supporters of civic and charitable causes in the area. A good many of my past customers have been Philip Morris employees, and I am deeply concerned for them. My hope is that with Corning re-opening their plant in Midland and the new BioTech Center in Kannapolis developing nicely, these excellent employees will be offered training and opportunities to fill openings there.
How will our real estate market be affected? If the phase out is spread over three years and growth in other service and technology/biotech industries continue their upward climb in this area, we should be fine even if days on the market lengthen and prices flatten a little. I am an optimist, and a financial conservative for my clients. I will be here for the needs of Cabarrus County as I have been since 1993. Counseling individual homeowners on their options is what being a good real estate professional is all about. It's what brings back repeat customers through good economic times and bad. All of the REALTORS in this area will need to remember that. It's the long term relationships that matter the most.
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