Kathy Carson Lynchburg, VA, REALTOR VA HOMES - LYNCHBURG, BEDFORD, CAMPBELL

I am a Full Time Realtor in the Lynchburg Association of Realtors. I struggle daily with having to deliver the bad news to Clients who are considering the issues of Selling their houses. Today I did a Market Analysis for one of my clients and realized I was delivering yet again the same information that I had delivered a few days ago to another client. I had wrote my Seller an email explaining their situation in detail and it dawned on me that this is what I say over and over to Sellers. Normally, it does not matter what area they live in, the style of the house, the price of the house or how long they have owned the house - basically it is the same story.

I reviewed what I had written my Client and I wrote this blog:

Dear Seller,

This is not what information you want to hear. It is not fun to deliver information like this but I do not gloss over the down and dirty details with Sellers. The Housing Market is what it is and I have the unfortunate duty to tell people the way is now!

Your property has gone down in value because of the Housing Market. Your house is worth today as much as it will be for several years unless your area experiences growth. The average time it takes to sell a house is 5 months. The weapons we use to reduce “Days On The Market” are:

· Price

· Condition of House

· Ease of Showing

· Staging of the house – Buyers need to see a their “stuff” in your house

You are not the only ones in this situation – unfortunately I have this conversation daily with other Sellers.

So Now - You have to Decide – are you ready to change your life-style and accept the costs of doing so? This is a hard decision.

Many Sellers are deciding that their Life-Style Changes are more important than staying in houses that no longer work for them. They recognize that the house provided shelter for their families. Their house may not be worth what it was 5 years ago before the “bubble burst” but houses do have value and can be sold. Sellers look at the diminished value but recognize they paid to live in the house they chose and it provided a home for them. Shorter Term Sellers (home owned less than 5 years) are seeing that basically “they paid rent.” Add to this, the fact that interest rates are at Historic Lows – Seller/Buyers are making up some of the diminished value by reducing their mortgage loan interest rates.

Please let me know your thoughts on this information – the Spring Market has already started so you need to get your house on the Market if you make the decision to sell!

Sincerely,

Kathy

Lynchburg VA Area

CLOSED HOME SALES FOR THE WEEK OF 1-15 thru 1-21-2012

AMHERST CO:

551 Round Mountain Loop Madison Hts $ 80,000.00

1508 Wagon Trail Rd Monroe $ 165,000.00

BEDFORD CO

5712 Cottontown Rd Lynchburg $ 215,000.00

1352 Oakwood Knolls Dr Bedford $ 260,000.00

1219 Thompson Dr Forest $ 347,000.00

CAMPBELL CO

217 Candlers Mtn Road Lynchburg $ 110,000.00

10198 Richmond Highway Lynchburg $ 118,500.00

80 MacArthur Dr Lynchburg $ 165,000.00

CITY OF LYNCHBURG

209 Reno Dr Lynchburg $ 110,000.00

522 Jackson St Lynchburg $ 120,000.00

721 Euclid Ave Lynchburg $ 135,000.00

1219 Greenway Ct Lynchburg $ 155,000.00

12 Homes Closed at an Average Price of $165,042.00

49 Houses Went on the Market for Sale last week.

This is a “snapshot” of Real Estate activity in

Amherst, Bedford, Campbell Counties and the City of Lynchburg

This information is taken from statistics for single family homes from the LAR MLS & analyzed by Kathy Carson, Realtor.

There can be variables that affect this report. I supply this information for my customers, clients & business associates

Lynchburg VA Area

CLOSED HOME SALES FOR THE WEEK OF 1-8 thru 1-15-2012

AMHERST CO:

114 Westhaven Dr Madison Hts $ 30,000.00

222 Garland Ave Amherst $ 128,000.00

193 Stoney Creek Rd Madison Hts $ 229,900.00

BEDFORD CO

838 Randolph St Bedford $ 100,000.00

1123 Roundtree Dr Bedford $ 129,900.00

1066 Commonwealth Cir Forest $ 163,000.00

1094 C8 Commonwealth Cir Forest $ 167,750.00

108 Springhill Cir Bedford $ 247,500.00

113 Snooty Fox Rd Goode $ 269,900.00

CAMPBELL CO

175 Coopers Way Evington $ 190,000.00

2608 Smoky Hollow Rd Lynchburg $ 193,000.00

CITY OF LYNCHBURG

1200 Toledo Ave Lynchburg $ 46,000.00

1907 Mimosa Lynchburg $ 80,000.00

3600 Old Forest Rd #114 Lynchburg $ 112,000.00

4303 Tremont Lynchburg $ 134,000.00

2716 Hurdle Hill Rd Lynchburg $ 225,000.00

16 Homes Closed at an Average Price of $157,403.00

63 Houses Went on the Market for Sale last week.

This is a “snapshot” of Real Estate activity in

Amherst, Bedford, Campbell Counties and the City of Lynchburg

This information is taken from statistics for single family homes from the LAR MLS & analyzed by Kathy Carson, Realtor.

There can be variables that affect this report. I supply this information for my customers, clients & business associates.

Kathy Myers Carson, Realtor 434-660-4025 or KathyCarson25@gmail.com

Lynchburg VA Area

CLOSED HOME SALES FOR THE WEEK OF 1-1 thru 1-8-2012

AMHERST CO:

NONE

BEDFORD CO

1115 Huntington Hts Bedford $ 79,500.00

1025 Woodhaven Dr Bedford $112,000.00

1839 Meadow Down Dr Forest $288,000.00

1116 Blessed Mtn Rd Goode $325,000.00

CAMPBELL CO

138 Charlotte Dr Evington $ 28,000.00

1023 9^th St Altavista $ 50,100.00

10 Haven Ct Lynchburg $ 165,000.00

CITY OF LYNCHBURG

902 Craddock St Lynchburg $ 60,000.00

3208 Memorial Ave Lynchburg $ 69,900.00

3409 Milton St Lynchburg $ 91,500.00

309 Harrison St Lynchburg $ 113,000.00

11 Homes Closed at an Average Price of $125,682.00

64 Houses Went on the Market for Sale last week.

This is a “snapshot” of Real Estate activity in

Amherst, Bedford, Campbell Counties and the City of Lynchburg

This information is taken from statistics for single family homes from the LAR MLS & analyzed by Kathy Carson, Realtor.

There can be variables that affect this report. I supply this information for my customers, clients & business associates

DECEMBER 2011 - LYNCHBURG HOUSING REPORT

Houses for Sale (current MLS) 1366 (1-6-2012)

New Listings for DECEMBER 2011 143

Houses Sold in DECEMBER 2011 136

• Average Days on the Market = 145/168 Longer than previous months
• Sale Price % to List Price = 95.86 (Up by 1.12% )
• Average Sales Price = $ 170,337.00 (Positive – Up by $ 1466.00)

The Inventory of HOMES for SALE is 9.5 Months

DOWN below 12 months for the 1^st Time since I started this report April 2010!

Dear Friends – HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Will 2012 be Happy for Realtors – Mortgage Lenders – Home Inspectors – Closing Companies, BUYERS and SELLERS?

I am hitting the ground running! I have completed my Business Plan for 2012 & it shows me that I will be working smarter to make the most out of the hours I work with both my Buyers & Sellers.

The Outlook:

· BUYERS are taking longer to make decisions on the home they buy because there are so many homes on the market for them to look at and because they are scared by the news they hear each day. BUYERS have to reconcile their “feelings” – their housing dollar goes farther today than ever because houses are priced low & INTEREST RATES are at a Historic Low!

· SELLERS are frustrated because they can’t get offers on their houses after they have lowered the price. SELLERS must be realistic – The Housing Market is What It Is! The House has to be priced as the Market dictates, it has to be Turn-Key, all Repairs have to be done, and the house has to be shown because no shows = no offers = no sales!

· Me - My job is to keep both groups motivated, informed, pacified and calm - Not an easy job!

· CLOSINGS are taking 45 to 60 days on average and are requiring the Patience of Job for everyone in the transaction!

I am excited to announce that I will be launching HOMES FOR HEROES this month – watch for the announcement and details. This is a wonderful program that gives me the opportunity to make Home Buying & Selling more affordable for Community Heroes! To get a sneak peak go to www.homesforheroes.com – I am the exclusive Realtor for this program in the Central VA area!

This information is taken from statistics for single family homes provided through the LAR MLS & analyzed by Kathy Carson-

There can be variables that affect my analysis. I supply this information for my customers, clients & business associates.