Neal Pender

Here it is January 2nd and I can already tell that it's going to be a fantastic 2010. It's not just because I've gotten a listing lead and a buyer lead today (although I did) and it's not because I had a closing on December 30th and have two more coming up on January 14th (although I did and I do), it's because I'm going to MAKE it a fantastic 2010.

With every agent who I hear talking about the "down" market, I get pumped up more and more. One the one hand it's sad to hear a fellow agent getting down. But ultimately it's up to each of us to work that much harder at lifting our industry above the sludge of the misbehavior that helped get us to this point in the previous years. Agents who took shortcuts, told "little white lies" and allowed unscrupulous lenders to doctor HUD statements are the ones responsible for letting the reputation of our industry fall below the status of ambulance chasing attorneys (not ALL attorneys of course), sleazy used car salesmen and deceitful door to door salespeople of everything from vacuum cleaners to encyclopedia.

So join me fellow agents. If you're not already a REALTOR, become one and behave in a way that shows the world what our intended purpose is...to help people make the most of their time and money when buying or selling a house.

I'll see you next January 2nd as we reminisce about how our business grew to new heights in the coming months!

Rocky River Crossing in Harrisburg NC is a well kept neighborhood that offers mature tree-lined streets, sidewalks, close convenience to shopping and excellent schools and a nice mix of house styles and amenities. There is a community pool and clubhouse along with basketball court. Several builders have built in the neighborhood including Shea Homes.

I have sold or listed five homes in Rocky River Crossing in Harrisburg NC over the past couple of years, so I have learned a lot about the area and I keep up with it's activity.

Prices of the thirteen sold listings in Rocky River Crossing in Harrisburg NC ranged from $147,500 to $265,000. Eight of them paid some of the buyers' closing costs. The average price per heated square feet was $87. The average Sales to List price ratio was 95.5% which is very good in today's market. Lot sizes range from about a fifth acre to a half acre. The average lot size of the sold listings this year was 0.3 (about a third of an acre).

The average Days on Market in Rocky River Crossing in Harrisburg NC was 118 however keep in mind that this figure can be flawed. If the listing was previously listed with another company and then relisted, that first listing's days on market will not be included in this number. That's why it is a good idea for your agent to do an archive search to make sure of how long the property has been on the market and how many times the sellers have reduced the price. This can help to determine their motivation which affects your negotiating position.

The average heated square footage of these sold listings in 2009 was 2517 SF.

The absorption rate in Rocky River Crossing reveals how much inventory is on the market. Based on the 13 solds in 2009 and the current 17 active listings, the time it will take for these 17 active listings (based on this year's performance) to all be sold is over 15 months! This shows that we are in a buyer favored market. There are lots of homes from which to choose. However keep in mind this absorption rate was calculated for all homes in Rocky River Crossing in Harrisburg NC across all price ranges. Most buyers have a more narrowly defined price range of homes they are considering. So that scary 15 months of inventory is actually lower when you calculate it for a tighter price range.

I am including a handy spreadsheet outlining this information below. This is a quick and easy way to review the market data which I obtained from the Carolina Multiple Listing Service.

If you have specific questions about Rocky River Crossing in Harrisburg NC, I am just an email or phone call away. Feel free to ask. I am always happy to help!

There is a fantastic video blog site called www.GeekBrief.com that features host Cali Lewis keeping viewers up to date on the latest gadgets and technological advancements. Cali and her husband Neal started this site just a few years ago and quickly turned it into a full time business. So in addition to the material they present, they offer a great testimonial for entrepreneurs to appreciate.

Cali and Neal cover everything from iPhones to Drobo external hard drives to the Dallas Cowboy Stadium's new HUGE flat screen (the largest in the world!) and much more. With four or so updates every week, they do a great job of covering a TON of information. This is how I stay up to date on the latest in technology without spending tons of time finding it on my own. This is just another way to speak knowledgeably with others about a hot topic.

In today's market of clients who are more and more tech saavy, it is nice to have a resource to stay informed of what's new. So check them out and enjoy!

There is a fantastic DIY resource website that has been around for a long time.  It is www.AskTheBuilder.com and the man who runs it also has a YouTube channel.  Both sites feature tons of DIY instructional videos on everything from framing a wall, to painting to installing faucets.  Tim does a great job of quickly and concisely showing us how to perform tasks in an easy to follow format. 

Check out this video of his on installing a kitchen faucet.

Heatherstone in Harrisburg NC is a popular neighborhood in Cabarrus County NC. My recent listing in Heatherstone sold in only 33 days on the market! While working on selling my listing at 2153 Woodstream in Heatherstone, I gathered the most recent market data which I will share with you here.

Since January 2009, there have been five closed sales in Heatherstone along with four withdrawn listings (pulled from the market), one expired listing (failed to sell), one conditional listing (has a contract but still must meet some conditions to close), one pending (my listing) and two that are currently on the market. For the price range of this neighborhood and given the desirability of this community, I am not surprised at only five sold homes for the year.

The average list price of the five solds was $316,909 and the average sales price was $294,685. The average amount of buyers' closing costs paid by the sellers was $3167. Of the five listings sold, four of them paid some of the buyers' closing costs, so even at this higher than average price range, people are still needed assistance with their closing expenses. This is not surprising in our current economic climate. Everyone is trying to conserve their cash, so rolling closing expenses into the purchase price is a great way to accomplish this. It will work just fine as long as the house will still appraise at the increased sales price (after adding in the closing expenses).

Of the five sold listings, two were new construction homes as Orleans Homebuilders was closing out their business in the neighborhood. One of the sales was a relocation home where the owners were transferred with their job and their company bought them out. One was a short sale, bank owned property which is more and more common in today's real estate market. Finally the remaining sold listing was a regular sale with no extenuating circumstances.

One important statistic to pay attention to in today's real estate climate is called absorption rate. Absorption rate is a way of calculating the amount of inventory that exists in an area. In other words, if no other homes were added to the market, how long would it take to sell the current active listings (based on past performance) . Since there were five solds in the past twelve months and there are two active listings right now, the absorption rate is 4.8 months. That means there are almost five months of inventory on the market in Heatherstone right now. An absorption rate in a "normal" market (neither a buyers or a sellers market) would be less than two months. So we are definitely still in a buyers' market. That means listings need to be better priced and properly staged in order to be at the top of the list of options for the pool of buyers.

The average sales to list price ratio reveals how much of the listing price that buyers have been willing to pay. In Heatherstone of Harrisburg NC, the average sales to list price ratio for the past twelve months was 92.6%. In our market a couple of years ago, the average ratio ranged from 96% to 99% with some sales over 100% of asking price. This shows that buyers have more leverage today because of the larger amount of homes from which to choose.

The average dollar per square foot price in Heatherstone was $79. This did not include garage square footage...only heated square footage. The average heated square feet was 3796 s.f. and the average acreage was 0.33 (about a third of an acre).

Below is a simple spreadsheet that I prepared using data from the Carolina Multiple Listing Service. It outlines what I have just shared in an easy to read format. If you are interested in a neighborhood's market analysis of recent sales, just let me know via email or phone and I will gladly provide you with the latest data. I am always happy to help folks learn about my home town of Cabarrus County NC.

For more information about Heatherstone in Harrisburg NC click here to read my post on the community's features and close conveniences. Have a fantastic week!

Sincerely,

Neal Pender

704-737-7653