Tom McClaren, Realtor, ABR, GREEN

Living in northeastern, NC, a.ka. the "half-back" state as it is located half way between Florida and New York, I feel like I am truly living in the south. The accents, the barbecue - pork of course!, close proximity to the outer banks and the mild weather are all stereotypical"southern" peculiarities. And being from the north, yes, I'm a Yankee, I love all these things.

However, last weekend when we received four inches of snow I had to check my geography to see if I was still in the south. It was more like my home in northeast Ohio. Since moving to Edenton in 2005,the annual snow fall is typically a heavy dusting, barely enough to make a good snow angel and certainly not enough to break out the sled. In fact, my furniture gets a heavier layer of dust than the ground gets snow. So this last weekend brought an unexpected turn of events.

So what do you do in North Carolina when it snows (my phone wasn't ringing off the hook to view real estate!)? You drive into town and borrow your friend's snow discs. So much for the days of sleds! Instead of stretching out on a sled you fold your legs up yoga like and sit on a round circular plastic disc to slide down the hill.

However, after borrowing the discs we had to find a hill. If you didn't know, the eastern side of NC is fairly flat, hence, finding a worthy hill was challenging. So we followed the crowd and ended on the freeway overpass where you "disc" your way down the hill!! For the next hour my son and I had a blast blazing our way to the bottom of the freeway hill.

The funny thing about real estate when it snows is that it all looks the same - beautiful! If you find yourself in northeastern, NC the next time it snows look me up and I'll take you to the freeway overpass to try your had at disc-ing, then we'll go to my house and have some vinegar based barbecue for lunch!

If you were to catch me at the Edenton Coffee shop one morning ordering my customary cup of Joe and were to ask what the real estate market was like in 2009 I would ask if you were buying my coffee? After you said, "Yes," I'd sit down with you and share the numbers below.

Total Residential Sales = 148 Average Sold Price = $183,063

Foreclosure Sales = 26 Short Sale sales = 4

The top 3 most active price points for 2009 were: $160,000 - $180,000; $200,000 - $250,000; and $120,000 - $140,000.

After hearing these numbers you might be inclined to think, "Hmmm, it sounds as if the market is doing a little better." Then I would share this: While we had a total sales of 148 properties we also had 439 new listings in 09'

At the current sales rate this means there is a 35.5 month supply of real estate!! You would say, "Hmph!Sounds like a buyers market to me!!" And I would say, "Let me buy you a cup of coffee!"

From my perspective, the early 2010 real estate forecast looks like this - there are currently 7 million (yes "million") people 90 days late or more on their mortgages with 1.7 million foreclosures already in the pipeline. This translates into a super duper highly saturated real estate market.

On the other hand, the government will discontinue buying mortgage backed securities from Fannie and Freddie at the end of March quite possibly triggering a rise in interest rates. So while home prices may be driven down by the new foreclosures the cost of buying a house will increase.

Bottom Line:

If you are a seller - get your house on the market ASAP and price it right the first time! If you are a buyer - buy before the end of March if at all possible or you will be paying a higher interest rate which means less house for the money.

I'm not a big fan of self promotion or tooting my own horn but there is a time and place fo everything. So if you will allow me to self promote for the next few minutes I will introduce myself a little and share why you should contact me if you want to buy or sell in northeastern, NC.

First, about me - it's always about me! HA! I am a husband and father of two. I have a son who is 5 years old and started kindergarten this past fall. I love this boy. He has a ton of energy and loves hot wheels, TV, playing checkers, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and milk. He also loves to talk (boy does he ever) and anything that has to do with the computer and/or digital cameras.

My little girl is two years old and she is the apple of my eye. Her favorite color is pink and she enjoys hanging out with her brother or playing quietly by herself. She will eat almost anything but despies milk. Like her dad, she likes to be outside and helps with weeding, car washing or whatever mom and dad are doing.

My wife is a mortgage originator and regional sales manager for the bank she works at. As you can imagine, her knowledge and experience has been invaluable to me in my line of work.

When not blogging or working my business I like to be active outdoors. This means yard work, keeping the cars clean, home projects and cycling. In 2007 I joined up with Cycle North Carolina and did their fall "Mountains to the coast" tour. It was a 7 day ride that covered about 600 miles. I've never had so much fun! In the near future I would love to buy a small sailboat and learn to sail. The town of Edenton offers father / son sailing lessons so I'm thinking in another year or so that would be a great adventure.

This will be my fifth year in real estate and I love it. From listing property to finding buyers to negiotating deals to home inspections I enjoy and do it all. I have earned my ABR and Green designation and believe in the value of continual education. I am an expert in my local real estate market.

My goal is make each transaction as hassle free and smooth as possible. Buying/ selling a home while often nerve racking, should also be enjoyable and adventuresome. I am experienced enough to know the ins and outs of the "business" and see it as a part of my job to educate buyers and sellers.

My business is about people and building relationships. My past clients have become friends. I've gone to their weddings, had them over for dinner, been to their homes to watch Superbowls, celebrated their birthdays, etc.

Plus, I can email, scan, text, skype, own a Blackberry (sorry Iphone users - it's nothing personal!) and actually enjoy technology!!

Okay, enough about me. Feel free to contact me with YOUR real estate needs so we can get started.

As I sit in my office compiling stats for my end of the year market report it is interesting to note which subdivision has been the hot spotof activity this past year. Here in the town of Historic Edenton, a town of 5000 residents with a land area of 5 miles, 3 golf courses within 25 minutes and water on just about all sides, the subdivision seeing the most consistent sales activity in 2009 is the Mill Village.

The Mill Village is comprised of some 56-60 properties nestled in amongst some six streets well within walking distance of downtown Edenton and Edenton Bay. As you enter the village the mood generated is one of warmth and charm. The streets are lined with trees leading into neat well kept yards showcasing charming homes painted a variety of pastel colors.

Historically, Edenton Cotton Mill and its affiliate mill village were established in 1898-1899 by nineteen local businessmen and occupied by workers of the Cotton Mill. Houses were actively constructed until 1920. Most of the village homes are single-story, gable-sided frame structures with front porches and rear ells with square footage ranging anywhere from 900-1500 sq. ft. Many have two front entrances (see above picture) which allowed them to function as duplexes early in their history.

In addition, the Mill Village was named one of Top Ten Cottage Communities in the nation by Cottage Living magazine in 2007.

Five properties were sold in 2009 at an average sales price of $175K. Not bad for the South's Prettiest Town.

Okay here's my dilemma, I read an article telling me I need to increase my sales tactics in this "down" market. The reason I am not closing more deals is that I don't know how to sell and if I do X, Y, and Z to hone my sales skills, my business will get better and I'll be able to convert those cold or medium warm leads into done deals. In fact, not all that long ago I was at a small social gathering where people were standing around talking about real estate. Imagine that! Anyway, one of those in attendance came right out and said that as far as he was concerned"most real estate agents did not know how to sell." Hmmmm.

On the other hand, I've read articles stating that most agents do not know how to market. They don't take enough pictures or the right pictures (need that right side photo to hit the feng shui crowd), the write up on the property is just generic and not something warm and inspiring, the proper websites are not being used, agents are not blogging enough, using social media enough and have not mastered their smart phones. Maybe a new TV show should be created. It could be titled: are you smarter than your smart phone!

So in my tiny little pea brain I'm thinking, "Gosh, do I need to become a better salesman or take some webinars on how to market my listings and maximize my choice of social media?"

The result of my coin flipping ended up being - neither! Yes, the above is important, especially marketing and agents have to do that effectively, but I see myself as an adviser. I am not a salesman (and hate being called a salesman - always have) or a marketing guru, although I use ideas and principles from both. First and foremost I am an adviser who needs to have up to date real estate and market knowledge. Then I need to have the wisdom born from failure and success and just a bit of intuition to know how to apply that knowledge.

If I possess the above I can offer solid advice to my clients (sellers and buyers) helping them to make the right decision at the right time and ultimately increasing my bottom line.

Okay, give me some feedback - what do you think do you agree or disagree???