Old Turkish Proverb that applies to Real Estate

Thank you for stopping by my Blog today. Are you thinking about your Raleigh real estate holdings in light of all the negative press the mortgage industry has been getting as of late? If so, you are not alone. At the root of it all seems to point to the fall of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
There is an old Turkish proverb that applies. “No matter how long you are traveling down the wrong road, when you figure it out, turn around”. That is really some good advice. Or maybe we would say here in America that “Two wrongs don’t make a right”. At the bottom of it all – is bad accounting practices. And isn’t bad accounting just a more sophisticated verb for lying to the American people?
I do sell real estate so I will struggle not to get too political about it. Here is what I know for sure. “Let not your heart be troubled”, we’ve been through tougher times in the last 30 years, i.e. Recessions, RTC and the Savings and Loan woes, and gas lines. So we will come out just fine.
Here are my updated rules for selling your home in our current challenging market.
#1. If you don’t really have to sell – take your home off the market quickly
#2. If you do really have to sell – prepare yourself to deal with the market as it “is” not as you wish it would be.
#3. Understand that today’s home buyers respond to perceived and tangible value when they buy a home. Perceived value is as important as tangible value in today’s market. A great real estate agent can help create perceived value by property marketing, adding benefits and competitive pricing of the home.
#4. Anther rule is that when you are selling a home – “time is NOT a cure”. The “I will just wait it out until I get my price” attitude does not take into consideration that new homes come on the market everyday and many out price standing inventory homes by a wide margin. Do not put yourself in the position of running after the market. Cut to the chase and price your home at the market pulse. You should be getting an offer after approximately 12 showings.
#5. Strategic positioning is the art of placing a produce or commodity in the market place so that it is noticed and creates urgency and excites buyers. When selling your home, your initial market position may not be the best CMP Current Market position. Respond accordingly and quickly. Do not allow your home to become a dated listing.

These are 5 rules to help sell your home in today’s competitive. I hope you will give them your consideration and be ready for the next wave of home buyers. We are still selling on average 30 homes a month. Yes, it’s down from last year – but we are doing the right things to serve our sellers and buyer in today’s market.
I’d love to hear from you. Call or e-mail soon. God Bless. Marti

Good News about Raleigh Real Estate?

Good morning Bloggers, thanks for stopping by today. I am a little more than “miffed” that the headlines make a huge mountain out of negative news and rarely do the headlines reflect all the good news that continues to bolster our area’s housing market. There is plenty of good news.

Here is an example. Two Triangle towns, Raleigh and Durham BOTH ranked on the Top 10 list for “America’s 10 Hottest Labor Markets”. Folks, this is impressive for our local economy and will make your real estate investments prosper. Our area has created nearly 1 MILLION new jobs in the last 5 years. We are so grateful!
Please enjoy the attached articles. As always, thanks for stopping by and God Bless. Marti

Duke launches $500 million expansion plan

Raleigh ranked #4 in America's Top 10 Labor Markets

Durham ranked #9 in America's Top 10 Labor Markets

This is NOT your Fathers FHA loan!

Hello blogger's - thank you for stopping by. Today's I've renewed my interest in FHA loans. In the most recent years there were so many loans available with little or "NO" money down options, dependable FHA mortgages were put on the back shelf. Not so in today's competitive mortgage loan market. FHA loans are available currently @ 3% down payment (soon to go to 3.5% in Jan 09). These loans are also available with no credit or little credit established. The down payment can be a "gift" funds and best of all the seller can give up to 6% of the purchase price towards the buyers closing costs.

Our local Raleigh real estate market can use this good news loan. FHA loans are available in Wake County for homes priced up to $295. Do not miss this opportunity buy a home at today's bargain prices. I've been stating for a while now that we are edging ever so slightly upward from our 18 month long buyers market. When you begin to read that the buyers market is "over" or "near the bottom", it will be too late!

Enjoy this power point presentation about FHA loans and contact our friends at Starkey @ 919-612-0078. Click this link to download Powerpoint presentation.

Stop by again soon. As always, God Bless! Marti

Top 200 list for America's Top Performing Real Estate Professionals

Hello - thanks for stopping by my blog today. The Wall Street Journal just gave us notice that we've ranked among the 2008 Top 200 list for America's Top Performing Real Estate Professionals. We've been honored to be included in this list since inception. In addition, last year, www.MartiHampton.com won the honor of being named the Top Web Site of the Top 200 Real Estate Professionals.

The Internet is where America shops for homes. A comprehensive plan for promoting my listings is the foundation of my business. My promise to my sellers is to give their home the top web presentation & marketing presence available anywhere.

Yes, anywhere! Call me today if you are selling your home. God Bless and please stop by again soon.

Cary Real Estate ranks among the Nation’s Top 20

Hello and thanks for stopping by my blog today. Good news and congratulations to those of you that own Cary real estate. Cary, North Carolina has ranked #20 on the list of America’s wealthiest cities. The very wealthiest cities tend to be small and exclusive. Cary fits the description well.

The list ranks 261 American cities. The highest ranking of “wealthiest cities” is Arlington, Virginia. Arlington holds the top spot at $53,543 per capita and per household income. Cary, by comparison has income per hold house of $38,406. Arlington has nearly 2 times the population and 13,5% of their households have income in excess of $200,000. Cary is not far behind with 9.9% of our households incomes of $200,000 or more.

Positive news rarely gets reported. It certainly does not have the “shelf life” of the negative variety. This is one small example of the multitude of positive news for Cary real estate and Raleigh real estate owners and “would be” owners. Bottom line? There has never been a better time to buy real estate in the Triangle.

The links offered below will show you part of a presentation we offer to help our buyers make very smart home buying choices. If you want to learn more – fill out a request for the entire presentation. Thanks for stopping by – as always, God Bless. Remember, this is a great time to buy real estate – but you still need the very best agent and representation - May I recommend the #1 real estate sales team in the Carolinas – The Marti Hampton Team.

Click HERE to link to related article.