Peter den Boer,MBA,GRI,ABR, Associate Broker

Nope. I did not spell that incorrectly. I went to the Cherokee county airport this week for a tour and learned all sorts of things! The Cherokee county airport has been around for only a few years, but what a great asset to the county!

Built for $34 million, and with a runway just extended to a little over 5,000 feet, this regional airport can handle up to a lightly loaded 737! There are several multi million dollar planes parked here. Why the fuss over these planes? Well, the county gets to tax these planes just like they would your automobile. Taxes can run as high as $15,000 per year! Sound like a bunch of money? Well it is, but the taxes are less in Cherokee county than at other nearby airports, and this one is really nice!

The main terminal has a terrific meeting room on the second floor with a panoramic view of the runway and the planes parked outside. It is outfitted with the latest and greatest media systems for presentations as well. there is a fantastic pilots area and the place overall looks brand spanking new!

The hanger next door is over 16,000 square feet and 6 more are in the works. Cherokee county should be proud of this facility. If you are ever in the vicinity of exit 24 on highway 575, pull off and take a look at your airport. I think you will be amazed at this hidden jewel.

Water. A very basic necessity. On occasion we have droughts and thats when everyone remembers that this precious resource can disappear. I learned yesterday, that the cities of Cherokee county are well taken care of by a band of men whose life work has been to safeguard the integrity of our water supply.

I visited the water treatnment facility at the intake point on the Etowah river yesterday. I was able to see how the plant works and was told that the plant is currently using less than half of its designed capacity. This seems good for future growth in our county.

After the tour and seeing the massive pumps supplying our clean water, what most impressed me are the folks running the system. For the most part, they are people who have worked in the system for many years. they know the system inside and out. I was truly impressed which everyone I met.

So, if you are looking for a place to live and worry that southern droughts could affect your life style, look no further than Cherokee county Georgia. We are blessed with the Etowah river, a terrific back up reservoir, and lake Allatoona all as drinking water supply. I am convinced that with the stewards of the system that I met yesterday, our drinking water supply is in terrific hands!

The Daffodils have been up and open for a while now. The trees along my street are showing a bit of color. The temperatures this week are in the mid 60's to low 70's, and they are expecting some thunderstorms tomorrow. But I really am not referring to the weather or the season when I say we are in an early Spring!

The spring selling market for our area tends to start in early March. This year it started in January! Our office sales here in Woodstock are up 119% from last years numbers. I know that my team numbers are up way more than that, as we had a slow start last year this time.

So why are homes finally selling? Well, I think it is a combination of low rates, good pricing, and pent up demand. People have put off buying homes for a couple of years and have finally decided the time is right to jump in. However, this has opened up another problem. We have drastically low inventory now!

People have decided the with home values so low, they are choosing to hunker down,(A good Southern term) and try to wait until prices revive to put their homes on the market. I think that by doing this, depriving the market of inventory, they will accomplish their goal. Low inventory and high demand over time should equate to higher values.

This market constantly amazes me. if you have a home that needs to be sold, now is a great time to get it on the market. If you are a buyer, there has never been a better time to buy, if you can find the right home.

Can you believe it? The inventory of homes for sale in the Metro Atlanta area is very low. We are just entering the season when more homes begin to flood onto the market, but right now we are at a very low point.

What does this mean to Buyers and Sellers? Well, it should mean that Sellers have the ability to strengthen

their pricing. You know, the old supply and demand rule? But I have not personally seen this. There are still too many foreclosures and short sales in the mix for pricing to regain much strength.

For Buyers, what I have seen is fewer good properties to show. And the ones we like, so does everyone else. Multiple offer situations are popping up more frequently. I can't tell you how many times just this past weekend I select a list of homes to show from the MLS system ,(still showing as active) that when I call the a\gent I am told the home has just gone under contract. Ok, I will tell you, 4 just this weekend!

So, I wrote 2 offers this weekend, 1 ended up being a backup offer and the other I will find out about this morning. The other two possible offers were foiled by other contracts already placed.

If you are thinking about putting your home up for sale, right now is a great time. Prices are not rising but they are holding fairly steady. Well priced homes in good condition are selling fast. If you are thinking of buying, once again with mortgage rates as low as they have been in forever, the time is right. Just expect to move quickly if you see a home you like and be prepared to fight for it.

Yes, even Madonna. If you watched the Super Bowl halftime program last night, you may have seen Madonna stumble during her performance. It wasn't much. It was just a second of unsure footing, but it was there. This icon of pop music, a true professional entertainer, stumbled. And you know what? She kept right on going and I'll bet most people didn't even notice!

The lesson here, and yes, there is always a lesson, is that no matter how good we get at something, no matter how professional we are, there always comes a moment when we can stumble. The lesson, as my piano teacher in 8th grade used to tell me is, don't stop. Keep going and make the rest of your performance as perfect as you can. Most people will never notice the one flub.

No one is perfect. We all make mistakes, both small and large. The key is to keep moving. The other key is to let others who make mistakes keep moving as well.

I really like it when I wonder what to blog about and the ideas just seem to come from everywhere. Have a great day, don't make any mistakes today, but if you do, just keep moving!