Keep working on it, until you make it work!
I think this will be my new mantra...in real estate, and in real life!
This morning I was updating a
CMA for an upcoming listing. I researched and tweaked...adding this...taking out that...until I came up with numbers that made sense to me. And that I'm pretty sure will make sense to my sellers tomorrow evening! This is a very cool house (watch my blog for photos later in the week), and I am SO EXCITED about listing it!!
Just then, one of my cats jumped up on my lap. I looked down at Jasmine and said, "Keep working on it, until you make it work!"
She looked up at me, blinked, purred her approval, and made herself comfy. She totally understood, because she'd been trying to climb on my lap all morning and I kept scooting her off. 
Persistence...it's what we need in life. And what we need in this business. Not to the extent that we're annoying our family, friends, clients and strangers. But until we've realized that all options have been considered, all the bases covered...and in the case of my cat, all warm laps jumped on.
Only then can we step back and say we did our very best...no matter what the outcome!
North Olmsted, OH Real Estate Sales 2010 vs 2009
Well, 2010 sure did fly by! Meaning it's time for some some interesting statistics on North Olmsted, OH Real Estate sales! Yes, you read right...I did say "interesting". Don't worry, I'll keep it short and sweet...no charts or graphs. Just a few highlights:

What does it all mean? I'd say it looks like the market is stabalizing a bit; however, we still have another year or so before we're out of the woods. How's that for non-committal? Sorry...I wish I had my given my crystal ball a tune-up along with my furnace (the HVAC-guy is in my basement as I type). Personally, 2010 was a pretty good year. Much better than 2009. And I'm hoping 2011 continues the trend...for all of us!
Happy New Year everyone, and remember...
The Golden Rule...it's that simple!
Facebook has put me in touch with out of town relatives, keeps me in touch with my kids (even when they're in the same house!) and most recently, brought me a new client. Who also happened to
be my high school sweetheart, once upon a time!
"Fred" and I met when we worked at the same store. We dated, grew up and grew apart. He eventually married "Marge", who also worked at the store, and I eventually married "Raymond". We'd all run into each other throughout the years, the last time being in 1993, when my son was still in a stroller.
Fast forward to this past summer. That same son (who is now visiting colleges...yikes!) was asking about my first job. We started talking about Fred, and I decided to look him up on Facebook. Fred wasn't there, but Marge was! My son said, "Add her as a Friend, Mom!" At first I hesitated, but I really wanted to know how they were doing after all these years. So I did it.
I hit the "Friend" button!
A few days later, she accepted my "friend invitation" and we started chatting. And she's a wonderful girl woman. Fred couldn't have picked a better wife!!
Then last month, she wrote and said they were thinking about moving, and asked if I could show them a house they were interested in. As soon as I calmed down about seeing my old boyfriend again after all these years, I got excited about having my very first Facebook client!
So we looked at the house, they fell in love with it...and it closed today!
Thank you Facebook, thank you to my son, and a HUGE THANK YOU to Fred & Marge!!
Enjoy many, many years in your new home!

It's time for the North Olmsted, OH Real Estate Housing Market Activity ~ 1st Quarter 2010 vs 1st Quarter 2009 sales stats.
As you can see, we had 5 more homes SOLD in the first quarter of 2010, versus January-March of 2009. The average days on the market were up about 3 1/2 weeks, but the average SOLD price was also up about 1/2 percent. That's not a huge amount, of course, but it's going in the right direction! And sellers are receiving a steady 95% of their asking price.

What's the bottom line, you might ask? The way I see it, housing in North Olmsted, OH is stabilizing. I'm very encouraged and am thrilled to be a REALTOR® living and working in one of the greatest suburbs of Cleveland!
Our real estate market is on the upswing, and I can hardly wait to post the stats for the first quarter of 2010 vs 2011! Ok, so let's not rush it! We finally made it out of winter. Enjoy this beautiful spring weather and our upcoming summer! We'll be celebrating the 4th of July the next time I post North Olmsted Real Estate Sales Statistics.

North Olmsted, OH Real Estate Housing Market Activity ~ 4th Quarter 2009
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! For me, December began with vacationing in Florida with my dear friend and mentor Jennifer Allan, and ended with celebrating the 8th year in my house! New Year's Eve took on a whole new meaning for me on December 31, 2001 when I was handed the keys to MY new home! Well, not exactly new (built in 1955), but it was new to me!
So when people ask, "Do houses really sell in the winter in Cleveland?", I can say emphatically, "Yes, they do!!"
And to prove it wasn't a fluke 8 years ago, 19 other folks were handed the keys to their new house in December 2009:

Yes, it was down a bit from November, but the inventory is moving:

I've also decided to include a comparison of the 4th quarter 2009 vs 2008. This is when I got really excited!

For the months of October, November & December 2009, 30 more homes sold in North Olmsted than in the 4th quarter of 2008! The average LIST price was up slightly, as was the average SOLD price and sellers in North Olmsted received 3% more of their asking price than they did at the end of 2008!
Are these huge increases? No, not huge. But they are increases!! At least we're going in the right direction!
Stay warm & dry everyone, and I'll see you next month.
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