Brenda D. Moore, Associate Broker Serving the Lynchburg, Va Area

People are always asking me "How is the Market?" I always tell them, "It depends!" By that I mean, where are you located? What are your needs? Are you a buyer or a seller? It all depends on a lot of situations.

I live in Forest, Virginia and I can tell you that we have a 9.5 month supply of homes in inventory. Lynchburg, Va has a 11 month supply of homes and Bedford County has a 10.5 month supply of homes if I am looking at 6 month figures.

A six month supply is considered a balanced market. We do not have enough buyers to purchase the amount of supply we have on hand right now in any of these areas.

That tells me that we are in a Buyer's Market and will be so for a very long time.

In the month of October, Lynchburg, Va. (25 sold) solds came in at $3,112,500 with an average home price of $124,500.

In the month of October, Amherst, Va. (15 sold) solds came in at $2,337,250 with an average home price of $155,816.67. The reason Amhert was so high was because of one property that sold for $725,000.

In the month of October, Bedford County, Va. (24 sold) solds came in at $5,008,800 with an average home price of $208,700.

In the month of October, Campbell County, Va. (12 sold) solds came in at $1,897,050 with an average home price of $158,087.50.

These are figures I give my buyers and sellers every month to help them see where they stand in the market. If a seller is looking to sell their home, they must price it competitive and at a price that is going to attract the buyers.

We cannot do anything about the location, size, or features of a home but we darn sure can do something about the CONDITION of a home and the PRICE of a home.

I get my figures from the Lynchburg Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.

Absorptions Rates are very important in deciding whether to list your home or how to price your home. I did a little research yesterday on my area and this is what I found in the City of Lynchburg, Va.

The criteria I used is Lynchburg, Va., price range $125,000-$180,000, Lynchburg School District for 3 and 6 months.

In the last 6 months 73 Homes have closed in Lynchburg, Va. in this criteria.

The average homes sold per month - 12

Current Active in MLS (Active, Pending, Sold, Withdrawn, Expired) 287

Month Supply of Inventory to be Absorbed IF NO OTHER HOMES COME ON THE MARKET - 24 months

% Probabiiity of Selling - 25%

In the last 3 months 36 Homes have closed in Lynchburg, Va. in this criteria.

The average homes sold per month - 12

Current Active MLS (Active, Pending, Sold, Withdrawn, Expired) - 160

Month Supply of Inventory to be absorbed IF NO OTHER HOMES COME ON THE MARKET - 13 months

7.5 % Chance of selling your home in 30 Days!

What do all these numbers mean? It means that we have more then a 6 months supply of homes on the market which is an unbalanced market. There are not enough buyers to purchase the supply.

What does this mean for a seller? If means you must price your home to sell, stage your home to sell and be patient.

Good morning:

THEY say if you don’t ask, you do not receive, so I am asking today for your real estate business, your families real estate business, your neighbors real estate business and your friend’s real estate business. Out of all the people you know, WHO is the next person who will be buying, selling or investing in real estate? I would love to be their real estate agent.

I consider my current clients, past clients and friends and family my “TEAM”. You help me with my business and I take great care of your real estate needs and the needs of those you send my way. I also like to reward my referral team with small items throughout the year. Whether it is a card, newsletter, item of value, gift card, or some other token of appreciation for your referrals to me. My referral team is very important to me.

I have just recently made a career change to John Stewart Walker, Inc. John Stewart Walker has been in business since 1890. Our office is located at 3211 Old Forest Road, Lynchburg, Va. 24501. I am very happy to call this fine Company my new home.

As a REALTOR, I feel that education is very important and over the years I have spent many hours in training and classes to better help my clients. Last year I took classes and passed the State Exam and received my Broker License. I was very proud of this accomplishment and it opened so many doors in my career. I also feel that the internet is where buyers and sellers go first to look at homes and I have jumped on that bandwagon to sharpen my tools with Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and other social medias that are becoming very important to the real estate world.

I dedicate 100% of my energy toward serving my clients. This focused approach has provided me with the time to enhance my education and experience so I can guarantee a fully professional level of service to you. As a result, my valued customers and friends refer their family members, coworkers, neighbors and other people they know to me for advice and consulting services, My goal is to build strong, lifetime relationships, one person at a time.

All I ask of you, is to think of me when someone talks about selling their homes or a friend who tells you that they are thinking about buying. Tell them about me, give them my card and let me know you have referred them to me. I do not always get the business, but I get the chance to tell those you refer to me about what I can do for them.

I have been giving it a little thought lately as to where do buyers search for their home purchases.

For so many years, it was the main newspaper in the area. Every week the new listings would come out in the back of the paper and folks would go through them, circle the ones they wanted to see, and called the agents/office for appointments. Real Estate agencies were not scattered all over the area, they were all located in my case, on Main Street in Lynchburg, Va. and they all worked for the sellers.

Later on in years the "BOOK" came out and all the agents had the books but were unable to share them with their buyers. So the only way you could find properties were through the newspaper and calling the agents who had the "BOOK". That was about the time I started selling real estate, about the time that the "BOOK" was beginning to go out of existance. Now I do know a few agents who wish they still had the "BOOK" today.

Then the internet came on the scene and everything took off. Buyers had more knowledge of where to find property, agents were worrying about buyers not calling them anymore about listings, and Multiple Listings didn't want to share their listing information. It was so funny! It was like the world of agents didn't know what to do anymore. Their secrets were out and everyone had access to that information.

Personally I love the internet and the advantages it brings to the table. I love to market on the internet and show the world my listings and where they are located. I love to post the pictures, do the video tours and much more for my clients. I believe that is my job - to market their properties where ever I can.

Recently, a client of mine was concerned that I was leaving a franchise and going to a well-known family owned Real Estate Company in Lynchburg, Va. They were worried about the exposure their listings would get. You know, with the invention of GOOGLE and other search engines, you can find any property out there that is for sale. When a buyer goes online to find a property, they don't go to the REMAX site, or the C21 site or other well-known franchise site, they go and search for where they are looking for property through search sites.

If I were looking for property in Lynchburg, Va. because I was thinking about moving there because of a job or personal reason, I would search "homes in Lynchburg, Va." or "homes in Forest, Va." or Lynchburg, Va. - Not through a specific company. Now once I had found the listings I wanted to see, I would then interview those agents to see if we worked well together.

Things have changed so much since I started selling real estate but I love it and I hope it continues to change. I don't have to do a written ad in a Florida newspaper to advertise a beautiful piece of vacation property in Amherst anymore. I just go online and advertise that land there.

What thoughts do you have and have do you preceive the age of the internet?