SarahGray Lamm~REALTOR~ 60K Hours of NC Real Estate Experience~

They are BORED with us! Can you imagine! The US housing market is the acknowledged solution to the ENTIRE world’s economic crisis and they are BORED with us! How do I know this, you ask? They bought GM today. Or, more correctly WE bought GM today.

Now, I am not here to talk about whether this is right or wrong. Franky, I don’t know and I don’t care. All my energy goes to caring about one thing and one thing only…REAL ESTATE. Now I know that seems irresponsible to some of you but I’m only one person. I have friends, family and clients that I care about and for whom I MUST protect my time and my energy.

I voted, like I HOPE everyone else did, and my expectation is that those who won election will do what we HIRED them to do and make the right decisions for our country. As for me, I can only do what I am good at and that is REAL ESTATE.

Now before you say I am abdicating my responsibilities as an American or just being naive, let me promise you that I do pay attention to current events and politics. I know what they are doing and from my distant, spectator seat I am disgusted. I want “THEM” to make decisions that will move us forward and, frankly, put my Sep IRA back on track. Being a realist I am fully aware that this is the problem many of us have and the only answer right now is for me to work hard, really hard, to rebuild my retirement. And, don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for A LOT!

So what does GM have to do with this? Everything. The government has moved on…moved on to the next problem on the laundry list of our shared issues. We have gotten all the help we can expect from the government where housing is concerned. They are done with us. They gave us an $8000 tax credit to get first timers (or something like them) into the market. They have held interests rates down artificially for quite awhile …why… because a healthy housing market is fueled from the bottom up. If new folks aren’t coming into the market, nobody can sell to buy up, right?

So what happened last week when it was OBVIOUS that GM would go bankrupt and we would buy them? Hello. Interest rates went up. There is only so much money to spread around and we’ve had our chance. There is no more. Interest rates are going up and we need to work with what we have. I’m cool with that. Really. The great majority of my career has been when interest rates were over 9%...sometimes really over 9%. We have gone from a home affordability index that allowed 50% of folks to get into the housing market to an affordability index that allows 75% of folks to get into the housing market. How bad can that be?

So now, it’s all about me… me helping sellers to understand how they can succeed in this market and me, helping buyers to understand how to profit in this market. It’s pretty simple. Sellers have to PRICE right and Buyers have to understand the COST of buying. What else is there? I mean now that GM is my latest purchase, what else can I do?

Another survey is out and not surprisingly the Triangle AGAIN ranks in the Top Ten! This time it is the Kiplinger Best Cities: It's All About Jobs rankings.

As I have noted before regarding these rankings, the Census Bureau, for some strange reason decided to separate the Raleigh / Cary market (called an MSA) from the Durham / Chapel Hill Market. I am not alone in finding this to be not terribly well thought out. But the fact remains that it is an easy thing to make a case for the entire Triangle being the best place to live.

As the Triangle Business Journal article about the Kiplinger rankings points out, the economic base created by NC State, Duke and UNC is hugely responsible fo the strong showing of the Triangle. Well of course they are! The universities in this region of North Carolina are undeniably the biggest reason folks come here. Whether it is to go to undergraduate or graduate school, to work with a company started by someone with university credentials or just because they are attracted by the creative and intelligent kinds of folks who are involved in university life, they always find other reasons to stay! We are a couple of hours from the coast and a couple of hours from the mountains. We have towns and cities with unabashed community spirit and opportunites for growth, learning and exercise that are unmatched in many places in the country.

We also were not one of the regions of the country that saw hugely unsustainable development and we are lucky to have great options for housing all over the area. Want to live downtown? No problem. Want to live on lots of acreage? No problem. Want your child to walk to school? Absolutely! Want to be able to take a weekend trip with the family to play on the beach or experience colonial and revolutionary history in an afternoon? Bring it on! We've got it! North Carolina is a fantastic state and the Triangle has it all! (Have I mentioned the southern weather isn't too bad either?)

Combine all that AND throw in historically low interest rates as well as a solid future for career growth and opportunity and I'm not sure why you aren't running for the phone to schedule an appointment with me as we speak....oh, there's the phone! You must be calling! Gotta run!

SarahGray Lamm is a licensed, full time, residential Broker in the Triangle of North Carolina. She specializes in serving the real estate needs of home owners and home buyers in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, SW Durham and Northern Chatham County. With over 60,000 hours of experience in North Carolina real estate, SarahGray is proudly associated with Allen Tate Realtors , the Carolinas largest independent real estate company, ranking #8 in the nation. With exceptional relationships all over the Carolinas, SarahGray is able to connect you with other professionals in all areas who will make your home buying or selling experience the best you have ever had!

Use of any content from the Agent Outlier Blog without permission of the owner is a violation of federal copyright laws .

Barbara Corcoran, a real estate expert and motivational speaker from New York, has the ear of plenty of listeners as a regular contributor on the Today Show on NBC and yesterday she was interviewed there about which U.S. housing markets she feels are most likely to rebound.

She cites the four most important factors in making her determination as:

• Job Growth
• Growing Population
• Great Weather
• First Time Home Buyers

Even though since 2005, the Census Bureau strangely separates Raleigh-Cary from Durham-Chapel Hill, it should come as no surprise to those of us in what WE call the Triangle of North Carolina, that Ms. Corcoran has selected Raleigh, NC as the #2 city on her list! In fact I would argue that the same positive factors that Raleigh boasts can also be claimed by Durham-Chapel Hill! This is how I see the Durham/Chapel Hill area stacking up on her list of factors:

Job Growth -According to a recent article in the Triangle Business Journal, “Durham-Chapel Hill soared 24 spots, to No. 19, in the rankings of all U.S. metropolitan areas with at least 30,000 jobs.”

Growing Population - Raleigh was selected by Forbes Magazine as the #1 city to where Americans are relocating. According to 2008 population estimates, Raleigh, N.C. is #1, increasing 4.29% to 1.9 million folks. According to the U.S. Bureau of Census, the Durham – Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical Area shows a steady, consistent growth in population.

Great Weather – We have four seasons, a mild climate and are located 2 ½ hours from the beach and 2 ½ hours from the mountains! Something for everyone!

First Time Home Buyers – Ms. Corcoran explains that without first time homebuyers, there is no reliable move up market. I can talk about this from experience! I have made a career out of selling North Carolina residential real estate for 29 years. One of my favorite groups of buyers is the first timers. I work with lots of them and can vouch that they are indeed here! The median age in Orange County is 33. But in case you want more data…according toThe HH Report “the Income Level of Raleigh - Durham - Chapel Hill residents can be broken down into 8 categories: 21% are High Earners, 17% are Upper Middle Families, 13% are Lowest Income, 12% are Upper Middle Class, 12% are Young Professionals, 10% are Lower Income, 9% are Blue Collar, and 6% are Middle America.” Sounds like folks who buy homes to me!

The only city above Raleigh on her list was Denver, CO and the three cities just below us were Austin, TX, Seattle, WA, and San Francisco, CA. How’s that for great company!

SarahGray Lamm is a licensed, full time, residential Broker in the Triangle of North Carolina.  She specializes in serving the real estate needs of home owners and home buyers in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, SW Durham and Northern Chatham County.  With over 60,000 hours of experience in North Carolina real estate, SarahGray is proudly associated with Allen Tate Realtors , the Carolinas largest independent real estate company, ranking #8 in the nation.  With exceptional relationships all over the Carolinas, SarahGray is able to connect you with other professionals in all areas who will make your home buying or selling experience the best you have ever had!

Use of any content from the Agent Outlier Blog without permission of the owner is a violation of federal copyright laws .

If you live in North Carolina and you are facing difficulty making your mortgage payment or you anticipate a problem paying it in the near future, the fear of the loss of your home and all the horror stories you have heard about the struggle to save your biggest asset from foreclosure weigh heavily on you and your family. Or you may have just received a letter from the State of North Carolina, Office of the Commissioner of Banks advising that you may be nearing foreclosure. The time to act is now and the place to start is FightNCForeclosure.org.

North Carolina has a strong partnership of trained and knowledgeable people prepared to counsel you, provide you with an actionable plan, assist you with contacting your lender and identify resources you may be able to use. The North Carolina Association of Realtors, the N.C. Office of the Commissioner of Banks together with the North Carolina Banking Commission , Self-Help, and Capital Broadcasting Company have teamed up to get you the assistance you need and have launched the website to make this program known to many more folks.

You are not alone. North Carolina had 53,995 foreclosures in 2008, an increase of 9% over 2007. This program has helped hundreds of North Carolina home owners already.

Don’t wait. Call 1-888-442-8188 to be put in touch with a HUD-approved counselor who will provide you with FREE foreclosure counseling. Visit the website and find tips for avoiding foreclosure, stories of successful assistance and a list of the things you need to pull together to begin your process and information on how to avoid scams.

If you need help, start now! This is the first step in saving your home!

SarahGray Lamm is a licensed, full time, residential Broker in the Triangle of North Carolina. She specializes in serving the real estate needs of home owners and home buyers in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, SW Durham and Northern Chatham County. With over 60,000 hours of experience in North Carolina real estate, SarahGray is proudly associated with Allen Tate Realtors , the Carolinas largest independent real estate company, ranking #8 in the nation. With exceptional relationships all over the Carolinas, SarahGray is able to connect you with other professionals in all areas who will make your home buying or selling experience the best you have ever had!

Use of any content from the Agent Outlier Blog without permission of the owner is a violation of federal copyright laws .

I wrote a post recently called “It’s Only A Buyers Market If You Actually Buy” and while scrolling the great comments, I ran across one from an agent who expressed his sellers frustration (and his own) by asking the question “when does a sellers market become a buyers market?”

This is, in effect, the question many frustrated sellers and would-be sellers (not to mention a few agents) are asking these days. They seem to want a specific answer…like “five years, two months and four days.” Whenever they say things like “I can wait”, “I don’t have to sell, you know” or “Buyers need to make us a serious offer” what they really mean is “I want the pendulum to swing back in my favor.”

Here in North Carolina we haven’t been in the tank for as long as some of the other markets in the country. We had a pretty great run (if you were a seller or an agent) of over 10 years, in fact. Name a price, any price. Especially if you are in one of the fastest growing, most stable regions of the U.S. If your house is in perfect condition, sit back and watch the multiple offers roll in. If it’s not in such great shape, not to worry; sit back and wait for the investors offers to roll in. Who needs an agent. Demand a rebate. Ah, the good old days. So folks haven’t had quite as long here to let it soak in that those days are gone. Does that mean you are destined to have your home stolen from you by some opportunistic and evil buyer? Not exactly.

MOST folks still have equity in their homes here. And, lest we forget, equity isn’t real money until you sell (see ‘stock market’ if further clarification is necessary.) MOST folks also still have jobs here as well and MOST of them are still paying their mortgages. So it’s easy to see why MOST folks are frustrated that they are feeling a bit less secure these days. What happened and how do we make it go back?

The pendulum has swung. And, as pendulums do, it has swung as far to the away side as it was pulled up on the near side! Maybe that is rocket science…I’m absolutely sure it is some kind of science. So which part is the one we don’t understand? Oh that’s right…it’s the human nature part… the non-science part. The same part that believes happiness is always going to be with us until, one day; it isn’t. Then we spend all of our time wondering where our happiness went and how long it will take to come back. We forget that it’s the unhappy times that build character and make us appreciate what we had. I mean who even likes a person who is happy all the time?

So here’s the deal. It’s time to build some character, kids. It’s time to recognize that just because all this drama happened while we were going to work, paying our bills, and living within our means…you know pursuing our own agendas, there were other folks out there pursuing their own (maybe not so worthy) agendas. Did some of them take advantage? Yes. Did some of them get taken advantage of? Yes. Are we all learning the lessons that are being taught in spades to the few? You bet. At least I hope so.

So when does a buyers market become a sellers market? No time soon if we are lucky. The markets need to correct. That’s the science part. The best place to be on the pendulum, for all of us who just keep our heads down and move forward, is where it is gently swaying in the middle. Not too far, not too fast. Remember that toy when we were kids; the one that had a row of silver balls suspended on a wooden rack and it made a great click clack sound when you pulled up the one on the end and let it drop, sending the one on the other end flying? We are now the balls in the middle, transferring all the energy to the other side. We must remain solid so eventually, as that toy did, the violent swinging becomes a gentle sway.

The human nature part? Not so easy. How do we deal with the anger and frustration of our sellers (and ourselves) at losing our hard won security? Like happiness, we need to let it go. When we get our security back it will look different but be just as sweet. Clinging to what is gone is unrealistic and counter productive.

We need to realign our goals to succeed in spite of the drama swirling around us. A ‘goal’ is to be where you want to be, doing what you want to do and doing it with folks you care about. A ‘goal’ is NOT to sell your house this year for exactly what you could have gotten last year. That, my friends, is nothing more than an unrealistic expectation.

There are lots of us experienced, well qualified Realtors here to help you achieve a realistic goal and get you heading off down the road toward the stuff that really matters. If you need to sell to move forward, do it. If you don’t need to sell, stop worrying about what your house is worth. It’s worth whatever you get out of it and if that fits with your goals you are still lucky. Stop being angry with buyers who are looking for a bargain. They are just folks who finally, after many years, are in a position to get a leg up on their own goals. Home ownership, is and always will be, a worthy part of our dreams.

Do I expect that everything will change once we all understand how this works? I am reminded of a wonderful trip I made a few years back, snowmobiling in Yellowstone with friends. It was spectacular and we had the good fortune of meeting a park ranger one night in the cocktail lounge at the Old Faithful Lodge. He was fascinating and soon the conversation turned to misconceptions people have of nature (OK, dumb stuff people actually say out loud) and he told us about a visitor who once asked him how long it takes for a fox to become a wolf.

“Five years, two months and four days.” Sadly, some folks really aren’t ever going to understand life.

SarahGray Lamm is a licensed, full time, residential Broker in the Triangle of North Carolina. She specializes in serving the real estate needs of home owners and home buyers in Chapel Hill , Carrboro, SW Durham and Northern Chatham County. With over 60,000 hours of experience in North Carolina real estate, SarahGray is proudly associated with Allen Tate Realtors , the Carolinas largest independent real estate company, ranking #8 in the nation. With exceptional relationships all over the Carolinas, SarahGray is able to connect you with other professionals in all areas who will make your home buying or selling experience the best you have ever had!

Use of any content from the Agent Outlier Blog without permission of the owner is a violation of federal copyright laws .