Los Osos, CA

JANUARY-DECEMBER 2008 VERSUS JANUARY-DECEMBER 2007

For January-December 2008, Los Osos saw a drop of 17% in sales of stick-built single-family homes when compared to the same period in 2007. The number of stick-built single-family homes sold fell from 124 in 2007 to 103 in 2008.

At the same time, sellers took more time - an additional four days based on an average marketing time of 129 days to sell their properties in 2008 compared to a year ago.

The median home price decreased by 8% from $471,000 in 2007 to $435,000 in 2008. The decrease is not surprising as we saw fewer sales of higher priced properties.

Out of the 103 stick-built single-family homes sold in 2008, almost 64% or 66 out of 103 homes are under $500,000. Only five of these sales were priced over $1 million.

The data obtained from the Central Coast Multiple Listing System reflects more sales in the lower price ranges due to short sales and foreclosures in this small coastal town.

Notes:

1. AVG. DOM = Average Days on Market

2. Data compiled from Central Coast MLS, deemed correct but not guaranteed.

3. Only stick-built single-family residences are included.

4.. Condos, PUDs, and mobile homes are not included in this study.

I was sitting around whining and complaining when I was jolted back into reality. I was reminded that I need to be true to my mission statement, which reads, in part:

"Ms. Brown is a strong advocate for families, consumers, and her clients. Her mission is to:

· Raise the bar for real estate and mortgage industry professionals
· Educate consumers, be an advocate, and help bring positive change to our economic system
· Assist families to increase their financial knowledge, economic independence, and wealth freedom through individual counseling and published resources."

Thank you, God, for reminding me at just the right time!

So in following my mission and my philosophy, I'm going TAKE ACTION to be an ADVOCATE for homeowners.

My question to you is: WHAT SOLUTIONS MAY WORK TO SOLVE THIS MORTGAGE MESS?

There are many creative solutions, none of them are wrong. Go ahead and brainstorm, it's too important to leave in politicians' hands.

I hope we as real estate industry professionals can have a positive impact on future generations (who may be stuck with fixing our mistakes).

Part 1 is http://activerain.com/blogsview/948424/Be-part-of-the-SOLUTION-1-Need-Homeowner-Horror-Stories-from-Mortgage-Mess.

Part 2 is http://activerain.com/blogsview/948430/Be-part-of-the-SOLUTION-2-How-did-America-get-into-this-Mortgage-Mess-anyway

And this is the final step: your recommendations!

Please post a comment to this blog OR you can email me at RPBrown @ Realtor .com (remove the spaces).

THANK YOU so much for your effort, I am honored to work with such a fine group of colleagues. Collectively, we are geniuses and we can put our heads together to generate some solutions!

Join my new AR group and post your blog at http://activerain.com/groups/virtualoffice

Regina P. Brown
Broker, Realtor®, e-Pro
Author of eBook "Stop Foreclosure Fast: Solutions to Save your House"

Text copyright © 2009 R.P. Brown, All Rights Reserved

So I get an email from Brett Noel, www.BrettNoel.com, top Real Estate success trainer.  He wants me to take a look at his new slide show on his Linkedin.com profile.  So I check it out.  And I'm really impressed.  It was a simple PowerPoint presentation, but now it's a mini-presentation, embedded in his linkedin profile!  How cool is that.

So I thought, hey if Brett can do it, I can too!.  So I went to www.SlideShare.net.  And I joined.  It was free!  So far, so good.  I have a few PowerPoint presentations from seminars and workshops I've conducted. So why not try out this service?

So I make 3 "sample" PowerPoint presentations and upload them.  http://www.slideshare.net/rpbrown, yeah, check it out!  It was so cool and easy to make this page.

Then I say, "Hey, what else can I do with them?"  Slideshare.net gives me the option to post the links to Twitter.  So I do.  Boy that was cool!  Then I do what Brett did, I go to my linkedin profile and add their "widget" for Slideshare.  Now all my visitors can see them too!  Oh and look, I can click and put them onto my Facebook page too!  Wow, I'm starting to get carried away. 

I can embed them into a blog or a web site too, like this:

(Yes I finally figured out how to embed in this AR blog; first save the post, then edit it and insert into the HTML page.)

Now the next step is to add mp3 audio to create a customized SlideCast.  Oh and I see that I can insert a YouTube video too.... so cool, what is next?

I know this can now be a play-on-demand webinar!!!  By jove, I think I've got it.

Join my new AR group and post your blog at http://activerain.com/groups/virtualoffice

Regina P. Brown
Broker, Realtor®, e-Pro
Author of eBook "Stop Foreclosure Fast: Solutions to Save your House"

Text copyright © 2009 R.P. Brown, All Rights Reserved

Do you want to end the constant barrage of credit card junk mail in your mailbox? Opt out at:

www.OptOutPrescreen.com is the official consumer credit reporting industry website to accept and process requests from consumers to opt-in or opt-out of firm offers of credit or insurance. Or call 1-888-567-8688.

Complete the online form to stop the consumer credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion, and Innovis) from selling your information to junk mail companies. Opting out helps you prevent identity theft, and may even raise your credit score!

To stop other junk mail:

• https://www.dmachoice.org/dma/member/home.action;jsessionid=AAA84DAA341FE04539267F2341B09094.tomcat2

To stop unwanted phone calls:

• www.DoNotCall.gov

Note that you cannot stop calls to your business phone number -- only personal phone numbers. So if you have your cell phone advertised for your real estate business, you can expect to receive unwanted sales calls on your cell phone -- and it's perfectly legit!

Join my new AR group and post your blog at http://activerain.com/groups/virtualoffice

Regina P. Brown
Broker, Realtor®, e-Pro
Author of eBook "Stop Foreclosure Fast: Solutions to Save your House"

Text copyright © 2009 R.P. Brown, All Rights Reserved

STEP 9: YOUR NEW HOME

• CONGRATULATIONS! You are now the proud owner of your own home. Hurray! You can breathe a sigh of relief.

• Call the movers! And since you planned for an overlap of occupancy between your old home and new home, you can pack and move without stress.

• Be sure to thank the professionals who made your new home possible. A successfully closed escrow takes effort from many parties involved.

• Remember to refer your friends and family members to the key folks who did a good job of serving you.

• Many new homeowners will take a moment in their new house to kneel with a prayer of thanks and dedicate their new home to God, who made this possible for their family.

• Take good care of your new house. When items break, repair them right away. Maintain items and replace things as they wear out: water heater, roof, furnace, appliances. Get electrical work and plumbing repairs done by a professional.

• You probably received a 1-year home warranty for the house. Put the phone # to the warranty company on the fridge, and call them when you need a repair.

• Pay your mortgage on time every month. It's your #1 priority and more important than your other bills, especially consumer goods. Also make sure that you pay your homeowners insurance, property taxes, and HOA fees (if applicable).

• Keep track of your income and expenses. Review your budget together as a family every month. Even your children can benefit by learning the right way to handle money so they can be homeowners in the future!

SEE ALL OF THE STEPS HERE (click on the links below)

1. PREPARE FOR HOME OWNERSHIP

2. GET READY TO SHOP FOR HOUSES

3. FIND A HOUSE

4. MAKE YOUR OFFER

5. ITEMS COVERED IN PURCHASE CONTRACT

6. NEGOTIATIONS

7. DURING ESCROW

8. CLOSING ESCROW

9. YOUR NEW HOME

Are you ready? Let's go! Take your first STEP today towards making your DREAM a reality!

Join my new AR group and post your blog at http://activerain.com/groups/virtualoffice

Regina P. Brown
Broker, Realtor®, e-Pro
Author of eBook "Stop Foreclosure Fast: Solutions to Save your House"

Text copyright © 2009 R.P. Brown, All Rights Reserved