Matt Thomson Gig Harbor, WA Real Estate & Relocation

It's been a couple of months since I last visited Active Rain, and several more months since I've been "Active" on AR. A few things played into my absense, all good.

1) Business picked back up. I got to be #1 in my community during 2008, when I spent the majority of the year hiding behind my computer and not really selling homes. 2009 saw a new focus on my actual business and my time on AR lagged.

2) My other blog is where my business comes from. AR doesn't carry the same weight with Google nor is it as enjoyable for me as my "Undressed" blog. However, AR is a better venue for agent to agent blogs, so my plan is to come back with a new focus on a different audience.

3) I became a bit frustrated with the content on AR. As the network grew, so did the belly aching. Rather than focus on the positive and keeping myself surrounded by those whom I felt were contributing, I let myself get sucked in by the negative. I've corrected myself, stopped pointing the finger outward, and taken responsibility back for my own actions. Thus, I'll just focus on the blogs that I want to focus on here on AR and not worry myself about the others!

So for those who care (crickets chirping) I'm back. I look forward to re-connecting with some of my old AR friends!

I do hope that you'll also follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and my primary blog. You'll get to know me better in those places!

Many of you know that my baby girl was born 6 weeks early, at just over 4lbs. Within days, she had dropped to 3lbs, 11oz. After 15 LONG days in the Tacoma General Hospital NICU, we got to take our little girl home. Today, at 18 months old, she's as healthy as can be! Yet there's still some healing that my wife and I have to go through. I don't think I can explain the feeling of walking out of the hospital to head home for the night while your child lays alone in a small bubble, tubes and feeds and lines sticking and poking all over. That joy of holding your newborn on your chest? My wife didn't get to experience that, as our daughter was rushed from the delivery room to the NICU.

Friends still ask me when I'm going to get a baby sitter and leave my baby for a while. Although I know they're right, the reality is I had a baby sitter and left my baby for over 150 hours those first 2 weeks of her life. At a time when I feel the child is longing for her parents' touch the most, all I could do was stare at her through the lid of her isolette, wanting to hold her but knowing I couldn't. Like I said, I don't think I can explain the emotions, the sense of helplessness, the feeling of being a failure as a dad, the worry and fear that a phone call will come in saying "She's gotten worse." I can't, and don't need to, explain those feelings, because they are in the past and my little girl is fine.

Many parents aren't as fortunate. Premature births are a real problem, and ensuring that all babies are born healthy has become a cause that matters deeply to me now. Therefore I'm a strong supporter of March of Dimes. I'd love for you to join me in my efforts to give all babies a great start at life. On April 25, at 8:30AM, we'll be participating in the 6 mile "March for Babies" beginning at Wilson High School in Tacoma. My family and I would love to have you join us.

I understand that giving financially can be a challenge in today's economy, and I understand that this may not be the #1 cause that's in your heart. For those who are able to and desire to help financially, we'd be extremely grateful. Please visit our fundraising site to learn how. If you can't give at this time, but would like to show your support for this cause, please consider walking with us on April 25th. You can register on our site as well.

If you've got stories of premature birth you'd like to share, please feel free to comment on this post.

Often times when you're on the inside of something, you can miss what the outside perspective is. The old can't see the forest through the trees analogy. A colleague of mine mentioned that the perception of Keller Williams Real Estate here in Gig Harbor is that we're a new company, a little start-up, kind of a mom and pop. I want to share the following information not to toot our horn, but simply to introduce many Gig Harbor home buyers and sellers to our great company, maybe for the first time.

Keller Williams was formed in the early 1980's in Austin, TX, by Gary Keller and Joe Williams. They wanted to form a new kind of real estate company that was run by the agents in a manner that they (the local real estate experts) felt would best serve the needs of their clients. Keller Williams has been the fastest growing residential real estate company in North America for the past 6 years, and is currently the 3rd largest real estate company in the United States (source: RealTrends).

Keller Williams passed Re/Max for the #3 spot in the nation. While we lost about 7% of our total agent count in the downturn of ‘08, Re/Max saw their numbers drop nearly 20%, moving us into the 3rd spot in agent count. Although we've dropped in agent count, Keller Williams Gig Harbor has seen an increase in the number of agents working in the office as we continue to find ways to assist our agents during the tough times.

Real Trends also discovered that Keller Williams was the only franchise in America that experienced growth in the total number of transactions, total number of offices, and number of agents per office in 2008 (through May ‘08). All other national franchises went backwards.

Keep in mind that these numbers don't include local companies such as Windermere and John L Scott, they are only national franchises. One great advantage to you when it comes to national companies is that we have a great referral network for folks moving in to Gig Harbor from out of state. In terms of local listing inventory, Keller Williams currently sits 4th behind Windermere, John L Scott, and Coldwell Banker. For ‘09, in terms of listing volume, Keller Williams is 2nd behind Windermere.

When considering things from a national perspective, however, it's interesting to note that KW.com receives more than 100,000 more visitors monthly than either Windermere or John L Scott, and we're the only one that has seen an increase in web traffic over the past year. That probably has something to do with the fact that KW.com is the only major real estate website that gives you a comparative home valuation tool that allows you to compare your home's value on Zillow and Cyber Homes, and we have a free foreclosure list right on our homepage.

So what's the bottom line? I believe that all of the local real estate companies in Gig Harbor have some fantastic agents that call them home. There are folks in each office that I'd love to work with. Each company has their own unique value to their agents and their clients. Personally, I believe that Keller Williams has proven that through their agent-centric model that we are the office that gives more value to their agents than any other, thus giving us more tools to benefit our clients. Really, though, real estate is a people business, and it's the person whom you're hiring, not the company. Our huge national presence and top-rated online presence can give you an edge in terms of finding buyers for your home, but the person you hire needs to be someone whom you trust, get along with, and respect. I believe you can find that person at any office in Gig Harbor. I'd encourage you to give me a call and see if I may be that person!

I tried to think of something witty about loving houses, or buy a house instead of a box of chocolates, but I came up empty. So with no fanfare, nothing witty or creative, here is the map of open houses in Gig Harbor this weekend. If you see anything you like, or if you have any questions about buying a home in our area or the Gig Harbor real estate market in general, give me a call.

As we push into February and the weather begins to warm up, open house season is warming up as well. There are several open houses this weekend, both Saturday and Sunday. If you're looking for a new home in Gig Harbor or on Fox Island, there's a little something for everyone. From a $155k trailer in a highly sought after retirement community (over 55 living) to a $1.295M waterfront home, there's plenty to check out this weekend. With the new economic stimulus package looking like it will pass, it is becoming more and more attractive to buy a home now. Gig Harbor is offering more affordable housing than ever, and the luxury homes in Gig Harbor have dropped into a whole new price range that more buyers find themselves in.

You can view my interactive open house map that gives you the specifics and locations of all of the open houses in Gig Harbor this weekend. If you see anything you like, or if there are homes that aren't open but you're interested in, please let me know. I love showing buyers real estate in Gig Harbor. It's what I do! If you want the best online home search tool I've ever seen, click on the Home Buyer's Scouting Report on the right scroll bar and get started. It's free, it's secure, it's private, and it's easy to use!