I'll show you my marketplace, if you'll show me yours...
I'll go first.
My office is in historic Madison, Georgia - population about 3,700. Madison has a very active tourism and hospitality business, averaging more than 50,000 visitors each year.
My farm is 10 minutes from Madison, in rural Morgan County, where farming matters. We have a mix of heritage family farms, and new farms committed to sustainable practices. With Atlanta just an hour west, foodies are discovering that our farms are fun to visit - so we created FarMeander.
My farm adjoins 19,000 acre Lake Oconee, Georgia's second largest lake. Renowned for its championship golf courses, Lake Oconee also offers boating and fishing sports.
The core of my real estate practice is centered in the three counties (Morgan, Greene, Putnam) surrounding Lake Oconee - with some 50,000 people sharing about 1,200 square miles. But the rural nature of my business regularly takes me into Walton, Oconee, Jasper, and Hancock Counties. I currently have listings and/or pending contracts in five of those seven counties. I use 3 different MLS services to cover such a large area.
The Lake Country MLS stats provide the best look at local trends. Looking at just Jan-Sept sales, its clear that 2009 was definitely the bottom of the market, with a 70% volume drop compared to the 2007 peak. 2011 residential sales are running about 11% ahead of the 2009 rate. Land is another matter, with flat sales YTD compared to 2009 - we've lost 85% of the volume we enjoyed in 2007. We're a small board - about 200 active agents, and the top 50 agents generate 70% of the volume. Our market is still saturated with inventory - we sell about 40 homes per month, and there are 937 currently on the market.
I'm a land and farm specialist, and a rural lifestyle consultant. I'm consistently in the top 10% in my market, because I put my clients needs first, and I work fulltime to keep my business flowing.
How about you?
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