Hi! My name is Pandora. Wanna see my box?
November 20, 2006 | 2 Comments
Sellsius posted an interesting change to the REALTOR Code of Ethics that will go into effect 01/01/07. It has to do with a REALTOR’s responsibility to present an accurate picture in all of his advertising. The change is an apparent attempt to deal with the intricacies of internet advertising.
With just a cursory reading of the new requirements, it seems to me like it is far too ambiguous to do any real good at all. When a rule such as this hinges upon “misleading” conduct, it might be good to define what “misleading” means. I can think of all kinds of problems with interpreting this requirement. Internet advertising isn’t quite as simple as print advertising. Meta tags and keywords don’t have quite the same effect as the old “bait and switch.”
It seems to me that this rule could lead to a whole lot of confusion and frustration amongst REALTORS. I can only hope that NAR and the local associations of REALTORS are prepared to interpret such a broad regulation in some way that both makes sense and can be practically implemented.
I won’t be holding my breath. . .
[tags] real estate, realtor, charlottesville, virginia, NAR, ethics [/tags]
Here’s to You, Milton Friedman
November 17, 2006 | Leave a Comment
I read yesterday that Nobel-Prize Winning Economist Milton Friedman died. I had planned to write a much longer post in tribute to my favorite economist, but Johnathan Miller at The Matrix did a fine job already. The Inman Blog talked about Friedman as well.
Capitalism and Freedom has been one of the most influential books in my life. The ideas that Friedman spent his life promoting have been influential around the globe. I can only hope that, finally, Milton Friedman is finally able to enjoy a free lunch.
What the Heck is a Blarge? and How To Avoid It
November 17, 2006 | 2 Comments
On Wednesday evening, I was doing some work at home while watching the UNC vs. Winthrop game on ESPN. As always, I was watching the officials when something very rare and very unfortunate occurred during the game– a blarge.
I am sure that you are probably wondering what the heck a blarge is. I will try to answer without boring you with too much referee-speak: Simply put, a blarge is a situation in which one official calls a block, and another official calls a charge on the very same play. A block is a foul on the defensive player, and a charge is a foul on the offensive player. The blarge usually occurs on a play near the basket during which there is a collision between the two players. If you know anything about basketball, you are probably thinking to yourself, “how is the blarge possible? A foul should be either a block or a charge, how can it be both?” You are right. This is why the blarge is the scourge of officiating.
Blarges occur (thankfully) very rarely in basketball. They occur as a result in the breakdown of mechanics and communication between the officials on the court. Generally, the three officials on the floor work in a carefully choreographed effort to officiate the game. Each official has areas and players to watch at every moment during the game. Sometimes, there are gray areas, and they are handled with care. The blarge occurs when two officials are so intensely concentrating on the play in front of them, that they momentarily forget what their partners are doing. Then, when both officials call a foul on the play, they fail to communicate with each other, and they end up calling different fouls on the same play. This momentary lapse in concentration and communication creates big problems.
First, it just looks bad. A blarge makes a crew look disorganized, especially since when it happens, the entire crew usually has to get together on the court to discuss what to do. Second, at least one coach is going to HATE it. The blarge is enforced by charging a foul to each player and then determining possession by going back to the point of the foul. This means that either the offense is going to commit a foul and retain possession of the ball. The coach of the defensive team usually doesn’t like the fact that his opponent has committed a foul and going to be allowed to keep the ball. This coach is not going to be happy. The officials know that he isn’t going to be happy, and the officials know that they are going to have to live with the potential wrath. That is the price of making such mistakes. This is why officials work very hard to avoid the blarge.
While the blarge may sound unique to basketball officiating, the conditions that create one are certainly not, and can occur just as easily in real estate. Breakdowns in concentration and communication between REALTORS and their clients, or even between REALTORS representing different clients in a transaction, can lead to real estate blarges that have their own consequences.
One place that communication can break down is between REALTORS and their clients. Most REALTORS are extremely dedicated to fulfilling the desires of their client. Sometimes, a REALTOR can get so caught up in what he is doing, that he forgets to ask his client what she is doing. This usually happens with buyers. A REALTOR may be diligently searching for properties that meet the criteria of the client, but often, the client is still searching on her own. This means that the work is being needlessly doubled. It also means that their is a potential for confusion between the REALTOR and the client. Both parties could be headed for a blarge.
The blarge can be avoided by clearly establishing up front what the responsibilities of each party are going to be, and how they are going to communicate with one another. Officials cover this type of thing in a pre-game, but REALTORS and their clients should constantly communicate this. The REALTOR should not assume that just because there is a signed Buyer’s Agreement, the buyer is completely aware of her responsibilities all the time. The client must also understand that if things change, she should tell her REALTOR immediately, so that he can adjust accordingly. The same applies to listing clients. Constant, open communication between REALTOR and client can help avoid the blarge.
Breakdowns in communication between REALTORS of different clients in a transaction can also lead to the blarge. While each REALTOR has specific duties to his client, he also has duties to the other REALTOR that are just as important. A successful transaction is a collaborative effort, and cannot be achieved without open communication between both parties. Obviously, there are things that a REALTOR cannot or should not tell another REALTOR, but their are plenty of things that should be discussed. Every negotiation is an exercise in communication.
The problems that can arise during a transaction are also critical points of communication. If a REALTOR is representing a seller, and it looks like there is going to be a problem, it is important to let the buyer’s REALTOR know about it before it gets too late to do anything. This is especially true if it is the type of issue that a buyer or a buyer’s REALTOR might be able to help solve to the benefit of both parties. Generally speaking, people are amicable and willing to help each other when they can during the course of a transaction. Everyone can use this to their advantage, and avoid blarges by communicating as openly as possible with each other. A blarge can be particularly devastating to a transaction, so anything that can be done to avoid one is usually a good idea.
The blarge is the scourge of officiating for a good reason. One single blarge during the course of a game is, at the very least, embarrassing. At the very worst, it can chip away at the trust that exists between officials, and between officials and participants in a game. Blarges are usually the result of a breakdown in concentration and communication within the crew of officials. The blarge can be just as bad in real estate. At the very least, losing concentration and failing to effectively communicate in real estate can be embarrassing. Sometimes, it can destroy trust, relationships, and transactions. If, however, everyone works hard to concentrate and communicate, the scourge of the blarge can be eradicated from basketball and real estate.
[tags] real estate, realtor, charlottesville, virginia, basketball, officiating, communication, concentration, agency, UNC, Winthrop [/tags]
Sycamore Square Correction
November 17, 2006 | 1 Comment
It was brought to my attention that my previous post regarding Sycamore Square contained an error on my part. I wrote the post with the information that Sycamore Square was a “cluster subdivision” as prescribed by Fluvanna County. This is not correct. In fact, it would appear that Sycamore Square is actually planned according to the ordinances for R-3 development. While these ordinances require similar lot restrictions and open space, they are not the same as the cluster subdivision requirements, which apply to subdivisions built in areas zoned A-1 by the county. I apologize for the error.
The fact remains that Sycamore Square is unlike any subdivision built in Fluvanna County since the construction of Lake Monticello. It will be quite interesting to track its development in the future.
[tags] real estate, realtor, charlottesville, fluvanna, sycamore square, zoning, planning, construction, development [/tags]
Fluvanna Enters a New Frontier
November 15, 2006 | 3 Comments
For many years, Fluvanna County was one of the fastest growing counties in Virginia (per capita). During that time, most of that growth occurred in one neighborhood, Lake Monticello. Now, new construction growth at Lake Monticello has slowed due to the community getting closer and closer to build-out. Fluvanna has been trying to prepare for growth to move to other neighborhoods, many of which are brand-new. One way the county has decided to direct and restrict growth is through new planning and zoning regulations. One such regulation creates what are known as “cluster subdivisions.”
The purpose of cluster subdivisions is to allow for growth while still maintaining open space. Under the regulations, a new subdivision in Fluvanna County must remain at least 75% open space. This means that if a subdivision is a total of 100 acres, the homes in that subdivision must all be located on 25 acres, and the rest must remain undeveloped. This regulation is even more restrictive than a recently passed state-wide law regarding growth planning in the Commonwealth.
Since the passage of the cluster subdivision regulations, there has been much discussion in Fluvanna as to how this will affect growth in the county, and the physical appearance of the county. Until very recently, there has been no way to answer that question, as there haven’t been any cluster subdivisions built. Such is the case no more.
Enter Sycamore Square. Sycamore Square is a new-construction subdivision being developed in Fluvanna County right now. It has been easy for me to watch its progression, since it is located directly behind our office. Sycamore Square is remarkable for at least 2 major reasons reasons:
1) This is the first major cluster subdivision in the county. It consists of just over 100 building lots. Most of these are +/- .5 acres in size. The open space required by law is going to be used for walking trails, picnic areas, and other common areas. Being a cluster subdivision, the community will be planned in a way that is currently not found in Fluvanna. The community will have curbs, and it will have public water and sewer. Most subdivisions in Fluvanna are quite rural, and do not have these features.
2) The homes in Sycamore Square are being built by four different builders. Three of these builders have never built in Fluvanna in any significant way. Ryan Homes, Craig Builders, and R.D. Wade Homes have built all over the Charlottesville area, but building an entire subdivision in Fluvanna will be a first for all of them. The fourth builder, Southern Development, began building homes in Fluvanna a little over a year ago. All of these builders are known throughout the Charlottesville area for their construction. Having attended informational sessions with all of the builders, they seem very excited about this opportunity to build in Fluvanna.
For some people, the news of a new subdivision is no news at all. In Fluvanna, however, the development of Sycamore Square is something that will be watched very closely by not only the real estate community, but also the community at large. As of right now, most of the roads have been cut, and curbs have been started, and all of the builders have begun work on their first homes. I will try to keep everyone updated as more begins to develop at Sycamore Square.
[tags] real estate, realtor, fluvanna, charlottesville, virginia, sycamore square, development, zoning, planning, ryan homes, cluster subdivision [/tags]
The Zebra Makes Carnival Top 10
November 13, 2006 | 3 Comments
This week’s carnival of real estate is up at True Gotham. The Zebra manages to sneak into the top 10 posts (or 11, as the case may be). Great reading, as always.
[tags] real estate, realtor, carnival of real estate, charlottesville, virginia [/tags]
How ACC Football Can Improve Real Estate
November 12, 2006 | 3 Comments
There aren’t exactly a lot of articles written about sports officials in the popular media. There are even less articles that give a good, in-depth look at officiating. That is why I found this recent ESPN.com article a pleasant surprise. The article follows a crew of ACC football officials as they prepare to officiate a recent game between the University of Miami and Virginia Tech. If you like college football, you should read the article. If you are interested in what goes on behind the scenes with the zebras on the field, you should read the article. If you are involved in real estate, you should read the article. I want to take some passages from the article and illustrate how they can be applied to real estate:
How has the season gone so far? The 14-year Atlantic Coast Conference veteran closes his fist, finds a wooden strip on the back of a lobby chair and knocks it for good luck.”So far so good,” Cherry says with his trademark grin. “But you never know. We could all be raking leaves next Saturday.”
Officiating, like real estate, can be a fickle business. One minute you are on top, the next, you are in the doghouse.
The seven-man team — a dentist, a firefighter, a salesman, a realtor, an investor, a builder and a customer service manager — has a combined 100 years and more than 950 games of Division I-A experience between them. (emphasis added)
Who would have guessed that a D-I college football official would also be a REALTOR . . .?
“If you want pressure, you walk out onto the field with a coach who is in trouble,” says field judge Jim Coman. “Listen to all the people call him names, call for his head and you’ll realize real fast how important this all is. One bad call can determine the fate of his job, his assistants’ jobs as well as the lives of all their families. That’s pressure.”
Officials thrive on this type of pressure. The best officials are even able to raise their level of performance in this situations. Alternatively, the best REALTORS are able to deliver for their clients when the stakes are at their highest. How many times have you had a client who had a desperate need to sell or buy? How did you feel? Were you able to perform?
Those who don’t make the trip to the book store kill the afternoon by watching other games. But they don’t watch the players. They watch the officials.”Since I became an official, I never watched a game the same way again,” Allen said.
I know this experience first-hand. Whenever I watch a basketball game, I always spend more time watching the officials than I do the players. I always want to see what they are doing, how they are adjusting to plays and making calls. I want to learn as much as I can. The same is true in real estate. When I go through a home magazine or check out websites on the internet, I’m not looking at homes, I’m looking at agents. I want to see how they are doing things, and how what they are doing might help me in my business.
“Sixty minutes of complete concentration,” Cherry tells the crew. “That’s everything. Men, officiate as hard between plays as you do during plays and we’ll nail this son of a bitch tonight. Nothing else is acceptable.”
This goes back to being a pig (or a Zebra). Total commitment is what is required to do the job properly.
On the field, Safrit and Coman are studying players during pregame warm-ups. Coman makes a note of all the left-footed kickers and passers, information he will later pass on to Cherry so the referee will know where to position himself in the offensive backfield. On this night, both teams have left-footed punters. Safrit makes a note of players who have their knees exposed and warn them to lower their pants before the game.At the same time, Ryan, who is in charge of television timeouts, meets with a producer from ABC. And Samples gets with the chain gang and double checks the length of the chains while making sure everyone in the crew understands each of his signals.
Officials make every effort to make sure the game runs smoothly. Many of these efforts are made before the game even starts. In real estate, I try to do the same thing. I do as much of the work as I can before my client shows up to see homes, or before the home goes into the MLS. Clients appreciate it without even knowing about it, because it makes the process easier for them; and I appreciate it because it makes the process easier for them, and therefore, for me also. Just as the officiating crew must coordinate with the chain gang and the others who make the game work, agents and clients must work together and coordinate with the lenders, attorneys, title reps, and home inspectors that make the real estate transaction work. Every person is very important in their role, and coordination between everyone is required in order to make for a smooth transaction.
They know what’s at stake: futures, careers, livelihoods. And yet they block it all out.”We call it ‘painting houses,’” Cherry says. “Nobody ever notices who paints your house. They just know it looks beautiful when it’s finished. We just want to paint houses.”
If Ron Cherry and his crew just want to “paint houses,” then I just want to sell houses. What he says is very true about officiating, and also about real estate. A well-handled transaction that goes smoothly for all parties involved is something that may not garner a whole lot of talk, but it is always noticed and remembered. I want to help my clients in such a way that they never even really notice that they are buying or selling a home, or at least never have to think about it. That perfect transaction is always the goal.
It took nearly half the game, but that one toss of yellow fabric has put the crew in a position they know all too well: the enemy. The typically stoic Coker nearly pops a vein in the side of his forehead stomping out on the field to bark his displeasure. The Miami fans begin screaming and swearing. And on the ABC television broadcast, commentator David Norrie adds, “I haven’t seen a more ticky-tack call on a cornerback this year. Larry Coker has every right to be upset.”But the criticism is all part of the territory. Put on the black and white vertical-striped shirt and people are going to hate you.
Everybody loves you until something big happens, then all bets are off. I covered one aspect of this already, but it is something with which most REALTORS have some sort of experience. Things could be going along perfectly, and then something happens that either your client, or the other party doesn’t like, and that’s when things get sticky. As long as you have done your job ethically and correctly, there is nothing to fear, just a storm to be weathered. It all comes with the territory.
“That’s why we’re out there,” he says. “I was in total control. Miami was entitled to both of those downs. And if they would have scored there, they would have earned it. You have to officiate all the way until the very, very end.”
The REALTOR must always be in control. The REALTOR has the power to either escalate a potential situation, or take control of the situation and find a solution. REALTORS must also be fair to all parties involved. It is an ethical requirement that is sometimes overlooked, but it is extremely important. Granted, fairness doesn’t necessarily mean that all parties are going to agree with the solution to a problem, but fairness should always win out. This quote also goes back to being totally committed to something all the way through. This officiating crew had a job to perform, and they did it to the very, very end. REALTORS also have a job to do, and it is something that requires commitment and concentration until the very, very end (and sometimes beyond).
Sometime between now and Wednesday, technical advisor Ted Jackson will comb over the game film, evaluating each official’s performance. They’ll never see those grades and instead will see only their end-of-season ACC ranking by position. It is this ranking that determines bowl assignments and crew assignments for next season.
Officials are evaluated after every game. For REALTORS, their may not be anyone to evaluate them all the time, but that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be evaluating their own performance. After every transaction, successful or not, I always go over it and try to see what I did well, and what I might have been able to do better. Mistakes are going to happen, but it is important to learn something from them.
Hours after the game, while walking out of the hotel bar where Ryan, Laverty and others are grabbing a late-night snack, Cherry is asked to evaluate the weekend. He turns to a wooden table a few feet away and gives it a knock.”Another house painted,” he says.
The satisfaction of a job well-done is a beautiful feeling, for referees and for REALTORS.
If, by now, you haven’t actually read the entire ESPN.com article, do it. I picked some of my favorite passages, but the entire article is a great read. I will try to post things like this as I find them. Real estate and officiating really do relate to each other in many different ways, and this article is a great illustration of that. Maybe you can use some of the principles that Ron Cherry and his crew use in order to improve your next real estate transaction.
[tags] real estate, realtor, charlottesville, virginia, ACC, football, officiating, Ron Cherry, Miami, Virginia Tech [/tags]
Satisfaction is Not the Same as Complacency
November 11, 2006 | 1 Comment
This is one of my most favorite times of the year, the start of the college basketball season. For officials like myself, this time of year is filled with anticipation and expectation. That is because the start of the season means that officiating assignment schedules are being sent out. Most people don’t realize it, or even think about it, but officials are usually assigned to a game at the very beginning of a season, or month, in some cases. The conference supervisor of officials looks at the entire schedule of games and assigns officials accordingly.
Naturally, some games are thought to be better, or more important, than others. In the large Division I conferences like the ACC, Big East, and Pac-10, the general hierarchy of games from most to least desirable is:
1) Nationally Televised Games
2) Televised games
3) Rivalry Games
4) Conference Games
5) Non-conference Games
If you watch college basketball on television and take a look at the names of the officials that are working those games, you will begin to notice that the same names will start to crop up consistently. These officials represent the cream of the officiating crop. These are the same names that you will see working deep into the NCAA Tournament in March.
My point is that EVERY official, from top to bottom, has expectations before the assignments are handed out. Every official knows the games, and knows the ones that they want to work, or the ones that they think they should work, etc. For some, their expectations are high, sometimes too high. This leaves many unsatisfied officials during the days after the assignments are sent out. Not everyone is going to get the games they expected to get. Egos can be easily bruised during this time of year.
The best advice I have ever heard when it comes to handling these expectations came from Steve Welmer. Welmer is a member of the aforementioned cream of the officiating crop. I had the chance to attend an officiating camp at which Welmer gave a presentation on this very subject. I will never forget his words. He looked at a room full of aspiring Division I NCAA officials and said, “You know what, the only official in the country that is satisfied with his schedule at the end of the season is the one who gets be the referee and toss the ball for the National Championship Game.” He went on to explain that every other official feels that they could have done better, that they could have had better games, or done a better job on the games that they did work. What was his advice for handling the disappointment of not meeting one’s expectations? Work harder in the off-season and the next year. If you want a better schedule, than you need to do something about it. It was that simple.
Since I heard that speech, I adapted his words into something that I could use and remember. I always try to remember to be– satisfied, but not complacent. The applies to real estate in many different ways. From my perspective, it means that when I do everything that I can think of for a listing presentation, or to find a home for my buyers, and it doesn’t work out the way that I would like, that’s okay. I can handle that. What I can’t handle is not working harder to try get that next listing, or find a home for the next clients. I must be satisfied that I have done what I can do today, but not let complacency prevent me from working harder to do better tomorrow.
This philosophy applies not only to agents, but to clients as well. Many times, a selling client will go into the process with expectations that are difficult, if not impossible, to meet. A public open house is one event that is very good at failing to meet the expectations of a client. I don’t know about you, but if I sold a home based on its first open house as many times as they do on the TV shows, I would be running 2-3 every weekend. The reality is that the majority of time, an open house is not going to produce an offer, at least not right away. If the client is expecting to sell the home based solely on one public open house, they are probably going to be disappointed. Open house feedback can also be tough for a client to swallow. Many times, they expect everyone who walks through the house to fall in love with it, just as they have. The feedback that people give can often make sellers disappointed at the very least, and downright angry at the very worst.
What do we do about this? The best thing to do is to be encouraged by the fact that people were actually interested enough to come to the open house, and then deal accordingly and reasonably with the disappointing feedback. People may not like the home’s floor plan, which you can’t change; but you may be able to move or remove furniture so that it makes the floor plan more palatable. If people think the house is too dark, open blinds, or add lighting. Just because the feedback is a disappointment doesn’t mean that you are forced to live with it. Do something about it.
For buyers, maybe the prices or the features of the homes available to them on the market aren’t exactly what they are looking for. They may be moving from another area, and are disappointed by higher prices than they are used to, or lack of lot space, or whatever. That’s fine. What they can do is try to find a home that gives them as much as possible of what they want, and as little as possible of what they don’t. That may sound obvious, but a lot of people get so caught up in their disappointment that they let it cripple them and they fail to work harder to find a solution. Many times, it is the job of the agent to make sure that clients don’t wallow in disappointment. Hard work on the part of the agent can be contagious, and it can motivate clients to overcome their own disappointment.
Expectation can be a dangerous thing. When it is met, everyone is happy, and all is right with the world. When it isn’t met, the situation can go downhill fast. It is at this time that clients and agents are tested. They must decide if they will be satisfied with those unfulfilled expectations, and just quit; or will they turn their disappointment into motivation and refuse to be complacent, continually working harder to achieve goals and meet expectations?
I’ve made my choice, how about you?
[tags] real estate, realtor, agency, charlottesville, virginia, basketball, officiating, expectation, ACC, Big East, Pac-10, steve welmer, [/tags]
Zebras, and Pigs, and Chickens, Oh My!
November 9, 2006 | 2 Comments
Jeff Brown wrote a post that I found most inspiring. Jeff’s post is about commitment. This is a word that seems to be sounding more and more foreign in American culture. I agree with every word of his post, and wanted to add my own perspective.
One of the things that makes officiating basketball different from practicing real estate is the fact that, to use Jeff’s metaphor, I MUST be a “pig.” After the ball is tossed and the clock is started, there is no turning back. The three officials on the floor must be totally committed to the game at hand until that game is finished. It doesn’t matter if the game is an exciting back and forth barn-burner, or a 40-point blowout; the officials are committed to the game until it ends. They can’t just say, “eh, this game just isn’t working for us,” and walk off the floor. In the same respect, the participants in the game are committed as well.
The same level of commitment is not mandatory in the practice of real estate. There is a saying in the business that, “buyers are liars.” This saying has all sorts of applications, one of which is the fact that some people just aren’t committed to their agent, no matter how committed that agent is to them. I can speak from personal experience as far as that is concerned. That is one reason why admire Jeff’s commitment, as real estate investors can be notoriously non-committal when it comes to working with an agent.
I understand that there is a chance that no matter how committed I might be to helping my clients and prospective clients achieve their stated goals, they can contact the next agent and work with them just as easily, buyer’s agreement or not. I would like to believe that my level of commitment is always going to be reciprocated, but I know that isn’t always true. In the end, that’s okay, c’est la vie. Some people are chickens, and some are pigs. I would prefer to work exclusively with pigs, but sometimes it oinks once or twice, then lays an egg.
I am a Zebra. You can accuse a Zebra of a lot of things, but lack of commitment isn’t one of them.
[tags] real estate, realtor, charlottesville, virginia, zebra, officiating, basketball, commitment, representation [/tags]
Charlottesville Area Sales Continue Trend
November 8, 2006 | 3 Comments
Now that the first week of November is just about over, it is time to take a look at the October sales statistics for the Charlottesville area. Since my template seems to suffer from the same malady as the template over at Behind the Curtain, I am releasing the statistics in a little bit different format. I am using screen grabs from the MLS to show you the numbers, and then I have calculated everything else that the MLS does not. Enjoy!
October Sales by Area
2006
2005
Breakdown:
A look at these stats shows us that for October 2006, every locality showed sales below the level of last October 2005. Albemarle sales were 33% lower, Charlottesville was a whopping 63% lower, Fluvanna was 29% lower, Greene was 24% lower, and Nelson was 6% lower. It is safe to say that the boost that condo sales gave the Charlottesville area has now effectively ended.
2006 Year-to-Date
2005 Year-to-Date
Breakdown:
We all know that 2005 was a banner year for real estate. 2006 is good, but not that good. Charlottesville’s sales for the year have increased by 36% (due almost entirely to condos). Albemarle is down 17%, Fluvanna is down 18%, Greene is down 4% and Nelson is down 37%. The good news is that the median home price is increasing. In fact, the median home price has increased in every locality except for Charlottesville. Again, condo sales are probably responsible for that fact. For the area, the median home price has increased 6% in 2006.
As far as inventory is concerned, I don’t put much faith in the Days on Market (DOM) statistic that the MLS reports because there are too many ways that the statistic can be inaccurately reported. It is, however, the only measure of inventory available. As you can see from the charts above, the average DOM has increased across the area. The increase hasn’t been eye-popping, but when you combine an increase in DOM with an increase in listings and a decrease in overall sales, the inventory begins to pile up. According to the MLS, there is was 11.62 months of inventory on the market when November began.
Now that 2006 is almost over, one would think that most buyers and sellers, and all REALTORS, have discovered that the market of 2006 is not the market of 2005. Those that have not come to this conclusion, and therefore are not acting and preparing accordingly, are probably going to be in for a very long 2007.
[tags] real estate, realtor, charlottesville, albemarle, fluvanna, greene, nelson, housing, housing statistics, housing sales, real estate sales [/tags]
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Disclaimer
My name is Daniel Rothamel. I am a licensed real estate agent in the Commonwealth of Virginia and a member of the National Association of REALTORS. As such, I adhere to a strict code of ethics and all laws with regard to equal housing, which is reflected in the content of this blog. My broker is Strong Team REALTORS, 86 Joshua Lane, Palmyra, VA 22963; (434) 589-5800. My VA Real Estate License number is 0225 077325. All of the opinions in this blog are mine, unless otherwise noted.
