Steven Keefe

The following chart shows all single family home sales in Lake Arrowhead over $1,200,000 for the last 180 days as of September 21, 2008 according to the Rim Association of Realtors. Each company is listed that had a sale where they represented either a buyer or seller.

Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty has done more high end property sales than all other companies in our market place combined for this period.

I have heard many times recently that people just don't feel there are any buyers out there. We are carrying a lot of inventory...

A few days ago, a property was listed. It is a Bank Owned home. One of my agents got a call from one of their buyers that it looked interesting and wanted more information. The agent called the listing agent to get the information they needed.

When our agent got a hold of the listing agent, they were told that there were 12 offers pending on that particular property.

Well... I guess there are at least 12 buyers out there...

I picked up the LA Times yesterday morning and saw that they were reporting that in some markets in So. California bank owned properties represented 70 to 80% of their market.

I did some figures this morning to determine what percentage of our sales here on the mountain over the last 60 days were bank owned or REO properties. For the last 60 days from Crestline to Green Valley Lake according to Rim Association of Realtors, there were 147 properties that sold. 46 of those were bank owned or REO. That represents 31% of our total market.

In Lake Arrowhead, there were 57 sales of which 10 were bank owned. This represents 17%. I am hearing... the only thing that is selling is Bank Owned property... while that may be accurate in other markets, on the mountain, and particularly in Lake Arrowhead that is not the case.

What is selling is properties that are positioned correctly. Price is a key factor in this market. Values are selling. The reason so many bank owned properties are selling is the banks price them to move them.

If you are considering selling your property... don't be scared off by the media hype. We are making sales.

Steve Keefe, Broker/Owner of Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty announced today that long time resident and top producing real estate agent Susan Smart has joined Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty the number 1 real estate company in the San Bernardino Mountains.

"Susan brings with her over 22 years of experience and expertise in mountain real estate" said Keefe. Keefe went on to say, "I am extremely excited to have Susan join our team. She has a proven track record of high quality service, outstanding marketing expertise and solid knowledge of our marketplace."

Susan can be reached at the Coldwell Banker Office located in Blue Jay. Her contact information is:

Susan Smart
909.499.5720 Cell
909.336.7977 Office
agent99@ssmartmoveslakearrowhead.com

In an email to agents and staff members, Wednesday evening Owner/Broker Jim Grimes closed the Lake Arrowhead operation and notified them that he would be immediately moving to Indianapolis. He gave them instructions on what they needed to do to vacate their Lake Arrowhead Village Office.

My phone was ringing off the hook Thursday with agents looking to make a transition in an effort to take care of their clients. The signs were evident that Century 21 was on the verge of closing, but until it happens it is difficult to figure what impact it has on the market.

Century 21 High Country was established in 1978 and has been providing real estate related services to the mountian communities for 30 years. It has historically been the number 3 company in the marketplace behind Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty and Re/Max Lake Arrowhead.

The end result will be that the best agents will be absorbed into the existing companies and the customers will be serviced by those new companies. If you have worked in the past with Century 21 High Country and need real estate related services, please don't hesitate to contact our office at 909.336.2131 or on the world wide web at www.cbskyridge.com