Sonja Thompson

Are you looking for some great ideas for closing gifts. Have you ever tried Avon? Avon has very inexpensive home decor products that would make great closing gifts. You can shop online 24/7 and have the items delivered to your home or office. Give it a try go to Youravon.com/sonjathompson. My favorite closing gift items are the mini tool kits and the photo glitter globe. You want to pick something that your client will use or see frequently. Dinner certificates and plants are nice,but when the food is digested and the plant dies what are they going to remember by. Give them show and tell items, things that they will keep for awhile and that their guests will see. There is some free marketing for you. "That picture frame is so nice where did you get it" Oh, my realtor gave that to me as a closing gift"! Get it. Hope to see you on my website. AVON offers things for men and children too! Good luck and you might find some things for yourself too. Use this free shipping code FSANY.

With the media constantly telling all of our potential clients that the economy is horrible and house prices are falling, it is with great joy that I share with you how the Erie market is doing. According to Cyberhomes, an Irvine, California based company that publishes a database of real estate information. "Erie County ranked second out of 150 communities in the United State for having the strongest home appreciation year over year. So hopefully, some of your clients are thinking of relocating to Erie or buying some investment property here.

We need to work together to combat the news media's stories of doom and gloom. Do your research! Let the consumers in your community know what the true picture is. Good luck to all of you.

Hello fellow Real Estate professionals.

I wanted to share with all of you how things are going here in Erie,PA. Erie has a stable market house prices have actually increased. In the first 11 months of 2007 the Median residential house price in Erie county was $103,950 and in the first 11 months of 2008 it increased by 3.3% to $107,500. Looking at the same time frame in 2007 the average price of a residential property was $130,265 and in 2008 the average price of a residential property increased by 1.5% to $132,301. Also, here in Erie the banks are lending money and the rates are low. I Have heard that in some parts of the country buyers need 30% down no matter their credit score or income. That is not the case here in Erie. On a 30 year conventional your buyer could qualify for only 5% down with an interest rate of 5.75%, FHA/VA 3% down and 6.25% rate and PHFA is 3-5% down with a rate of 6.0%. Now you can understand why I get upset with the media putting a blanket on the market conditions. We as Realtors have a responsibility to let the consumer know that rates are good and houses are affordable and appreciating. What are the conditions like in your area.