Randy Landis

Can you believe it? What this market has done for luxury living! In one of Tupelo's golf course communities, there are homes for sale that just aren't moving. Moving quickly that is. Homes from $299,000 to $600,000. Bargains compared to like properties in other parts of the country. It's not that they are viewed as over priced...just that they are viewed as pricey! I believe the difference herein lies between affordability, consumer confidence, and perceived risk.

Some lots are elevated, and with a view of the golf course and water, they are some of the most enjoyable views real estate has to offer in this area. It's not that nobody wants to live here...just unable.

A couple of years ago, some of these homes would not be on the market but for a short time.Now the opposite is true. When higher priced homes for sale saturate the market, there is just too much competion from would-be move-up buyers trying to sell their moderatly priced homes. With out the desire (or the ability) of the young consumer to enter the real estate market, the domino effect in reverse is realized.

Once the economy begins it's positive treck again, first time buyers will begin showing up with good enough credit, money, and the desire for home ownership. And the the move-up buyers will move up. And then we will progress. Question is: where is the big kick start going to come from? Surely not from another $600 tax rebate that, for the most part will go into my gas tank, and ultimately to the big oil companies in the form of profits. I think we will need something bigger.

Maybe a new president and a new round of tax cuts can do it!

For those who have the means and the desire, you should consider buying now!!! This buying opportunity will not be around very long and it will be years before a similar opportunity presents itself. If you plan on living until you reach, say 300, then ok....WAIT!

This Cub Fan thinks this is the year (or maybe next) it will all turn around! It's going to happen. I Believe!

Another local real estate company has picked up a new slogan titled "A Sign of Things to Come". Although they have been around for over 100 years, their sign is nothing new.

Now, if you want to see a REAL Sign of Things to Come, here it is:

It is proclaimed that EXIT Realty is the FASTEST GROWING real estate company in HISTORY, growing 6 times faster than Re/Max ever did, and this simply cannot be discounted. If you haven't already checked it all out, visit www.ExitRealty.com , and at a minimum, watch the videos. It will simply amaze you how a simple thing like residuals can revolutionize an entire industry!

Want to sell you home? Our creative technology based marketing solutions are second to none. We have a solution for you.

Buying in the Tupelo Mississippi area? Our agents have the experience you need. Check out www.ExitPreview.com and seach all the homes for sale in our area.

Agents: Want more from your career? Call or email me and I'll send you an informations package. (Indicate Audio or Video CD, or both)

I know that this is not the right venue in which to make my favorite team known, but I don't care! It's been 100 years, and while it may come as no supprise to many, it comes as a fever to many others! As a life long Cubbie Fan, I am almost at that point where I don't know what I will be rooting more for, a RE sale or a world series victory come October. Obviously, I would like to make that next sale, it's just that when you have been spoiled by years of dissapointment, how is one suppose to act when the curse could actually end this year? What will us Cub fans have to look forward to if they do win the series? Maybe another 100 years! Thank goodness none of us will ever have to go through it again. Same goes for real estate. Some of us will probably never go through it again, although others will. Thank goodness re droughts don't last that long or we would all be working for Walmart.

100 Years since the CUBS have won a World Series! It's gonna happen...I believe!

For information purposes, I felt the need to assist the community in the understanding of the Residential Finance Specialist designation "RFS". ALthough rarely seen amongst REALTORS, The Residential Financing Council for years has been offering instruction to the financing community and also the REALTOR community, and offered the original "Certified Finance Specialist" (CFS) designation to those REALTOR's who successfully took the course and passed the exam. Over the years, the CFS designation was claimed to belong to the Certified Financial Planning community and after several years of legal wrangling, the Residential Financing Council decided to end their defensive fight and change the designation to RFS. To me, it's more appropriate as the CFS designation was rather ambiguous. I have always encouraged my agents to get educated about the mortgage financing process to make them more knowledgable and successful in buyer representation.

Although the RFS designation is not officially yet recognized by NAR, it is becoming a powerful tool and if successfully utilized, provides a great value added service to the clients that one serves. For more information about the Residential Financing Council and the RFS designation, visit www.rfcouncil.com or www.rfsweb.net .

I recently picked up a copy of a magazine titled "Greater Tupelo" which is labled as a lifestyle magazine for Northeast Mississippi. A really nice, quality printed publication printed on a bi-monthly basis. The May/June edition (2008) is the issue I am commenting on. An article titled "Luxury Homes Stay HOT In soft Real Estate Market" has some of us in our profession steaming because of the ongoing mis-information that some Realtors and agencies continue to tout to the public. Since the downturn of the national real estate market, our market also has felt the pinch and I will be the first to admit that our market here has softened, but NOT to the extreme that somes areas have been hit. I will go on record and state that our market is "soft but stable." Yes, we have been hurt by the shortage of mortgage products available as compared to the past. The numbers of buyers we have enjoyed in the past just aren't there.

The aforementioned article that will undoubtedly create confusion among the consumer and anger amongst the hard working Realtors starts out by saying that upper end homes in our market were showing and selling. One Realtor was quoted as saying interest rates wer dropping. On the contrary, rates have steadily climbed over the spring, albeit not by much, but they are on the upswing. Here are the facts: Our MLS as of 6/30/08 lists 52 homes active on market with price tags over $500,000. During the last year, over 60 homes in this range have gone expired, withdrawn, cancelled, etc. There have only been 4 (four) sales of homes in this price range since 1/1/2008 and these sales took place over a 25 mile radius of Tupelo. Now, call me ignorant, but my math is not that bad. When you take the number of homes in this price range that have gone off market and then look at average days on market of the current listings, anyone would be a fool to believe that one could call this "Hot" and get away with it.

The bad information that is being disseminated is designed to be a feel-good to the consumer and causes problems for most Realtors. The ones that are using this tactic are doing so for personal gain at the expense of their peers and, in the long run, their company. Discussions with other Realtors haved concluded that we have been placed in a positon of damage control with our clients, almost on an ongoing basis. Clients read all this "good press" and want to know why their listings are not showing or selling. Thank goodness I inform my seller clients upfront that they must think more long-term (normal) vs short-term (lucky). Other agents are involved in an ongoing customer service exercise that involves this ongoing damage control effort and it is getting old.

This especially is hard to swallow at a time when one could be easily fooled into believing that they could list their home and get it sold in short order. "Listing Trickery" is what I call it! In all my years, I have learned to be informed. I level with my clients and tell it like it is, and I have always informed my clients of the exactness of it all. By the way, that would be considered in their best interest, wouldn't it?

Tricking the public into a false sense of security may get you listings, but the statistics don't lie...you won't get the sales!