The Calm Before The Storm? Banks offering Short Sale Counseling, Real Estate Agents Offering Good Advice

Are we seeing the calm before the storm as far as sales moving properties?  Fortunately, we have seen an increase in the bottom line in our area of Weddington, Marvin, Indian Trail and the Union County area in sales.  Across the board, we are definitely moving properties and alot of them are distressed or pre-foreclosure, and even bank-owned.  Charlotte Observer, and I might add "observer" noted on the front page, with it's Front Page Headline stating "More Families Risk Losing Homes" letting us know that foreclosure homes shot up 44% the first month of 2009 until October compared with the first 10 months of last year, 2008.  I attended a focus group with one of our major banks where they told it's attendees that we are looking at a TSUNAMI on the forefront OF SHORT SALES & FORECLOSURES coming our way this year.  Mecklenburg County's foreclosure filing for Jan-Oct 2009 were 10,801 compared to last year Jan-Oct 2008 of 7,493, an increase of 44%.  The Mecklenburg unemployment rate is 11% much higher than our metro-sister city of Raleigh/Durham which is at 8.3% according to state figures.  Primarily, Mecklenburg County and the surrounding counties of Union, Iredell and Cabarrus count on the financial instutitions for employment opportunities and supporting businesses to the banking industry.  Banks are now offering counseling for those who may be sharing the stresses of the weakened economy and job loss.  Advise your clients to get counseling before they go through foreclosure and give their homes back to the bank.  Ask them to price it aggressively through these times and when we get on the other side of this there realtor will be there to help them.  My advice to my sellers is to let me help you get through this by getting your home sold and move forward.