Cary NC Real Estate >> Raleigh & Cary NC Real Estate Blog

Fellow agents & AR Members - I am truly humbled by my experience today at the Fonville Morisey Awards Banquet this morning.  I am honored that I grew my business substantially over last year, but I couldn't help but thinking that I haven't done enough.  The entire reason I got into this business is to help others and to give back to the community.  Other than my sales results, what have I done to give back to the community?

On the other hand, for selfish reasons, I was disappointed that I didn't reach my target.  When I set goals I achieve them.  This year the market wavered and I didn't quite reach my stretch goal.  Yes, I'm doing well by others standards, but not by mine.  Maybe I didn't work hard enough, accomplish enough.  I've certainly had my ups and downs in this business.  I'm no different than anyone else. 

Today, there is someone that stood out beyond all others and touched my heart in a very strong way-Phil Ficks.  I've worked a couple of deals with this gentleman and we connected instantly - I've been an avid bike rider and runner for many years.  However, the past couple of years have been challenging me with business, a teenage daughter, and other things going on in my life.  Phil has been such an inspiration - full of life, love, laughter, and dedication to the sport!! A pleasure to do business with.  However, as I understand it, Phil was in a terrible bicycle accident on 12/10/2007 and is now confined to a wheel chair.  A man, dedicated to sport and exercise, is now unable to be the kind of person he would want to be - who this person is - the person we all know and love. 

And yet, Phil came to the FM Awards ceremony in dignity and accepted the many awards he deserved for his success and love from the community.  I've had a terrific 2008 YTD and I dedicate my year to someone I admire and respect - That person is Phil Ficks of Fonville Morrisey, a tremendous athlete and example for others.

Beyond his great example, I pledge to lead by my example in my journey back to great levels of fitness and happiness with my love for running and cycling.

Don't listen to everything you read in the paper or hear on the news!! The Triangle Real Estate market is doing just fine ladies and gentleman.  Yes, I have a few clients that can't sell where they are coming from, but we still have a strong economy, job growth, and our sales last year were the 3rd best on record for Wake County. 

From a buyers perspective there are significant buying opportunities for several reasons:

1. The recent mortgage crisis has put pressure on the lenders and made buyers/sellers a bit nervous. Between the new legislation in NC to protect consumers in this state and the tightening of credit our market is bearing some of the brunt of this fallout.
2. We have a lot of new construction in the area and builders are wheeling and dealing to unload their existing inventory.
3. Overall housing inventory has increased from 13,000 to over 17,100 homes in February 2008 which gives buyers plenty of homes to choose from.

For those of you that look at the numbers, here is a summary for through year-end 2007:

-Average list/sales price ratio is at 97%
-House price appreciation in this area is superior to the average rate for housing located in Wake County.          
-Overall inventory is 4 months vs. 5 months for the Triangle
-Anything under $300k in Cary is experiencing a 2 months supply of inventory or less and is still a sellers market.
-Price categories with the largest inventory include the $1M+ price range with over 21 months of inventory.
-Closings were down 11% for 2007

Job Growth is still healthy but leveled off at the end of 2007 at 0.5%.  Although this may appear low these numbers are some of the best in the Country.

The biggest challenges for 2008 which reiterate the market conditions above are:

1. Instability of the housing market in general.
2. Consumer worries about the economy.
3. Changes in lending practices.
4. Families relocating to the area are having trouble selling their homes prior to relocating.

For more information on the area please visit my website at www.TriangleNCHomes4Sale.com or www.activerain.com/tsantrock for more information on the area.

Now that I've moved back to Cary I have no excuse for not bringing my dog to the doggie park in Cary.  An even greater reason - the doggie park is just around the corner about a mile a way.  I can even walk my dog to the park if I want. 

I have written about my goofie girl Maggie in previous posts.  Maggie is a 4 year old Labrador Retriever.  I'm convinced that Maggie has a double personality.  On the one hand Maggie is such a happy go lucky dog and always has something to give.  My new neighbor came over and brought her little 9 month old when she came to visit.  My Maggie brought her a ball so that they could "play" together.  On the other hand,  Maggie, like any other devious yellow lab, loves food and loves to contrive how to attain food.  My Maggie is also high strung and needs lots of exercise which is good for Maggie and good for me.   

Here's what I always tell my friends about Maggie and keeping her calm.  She's on the 2,4,6 rule. 

• If Maggie gets a 2 mile jog in she's down for a half an hour
• If Maggie getn in a 4 mile jog she's out for a couple of hours
• If Maggie gets in a 6 mile jog she's out for the evening

The only alternative is to take Maggie to Doggie Daycare at Town and Country or to the Dog Park in Cary. I have a listing presentation this afternoon so I thought I'd walk to Panera Bread for breakfast with my husband Mauro and then head over to the dog park so that Maggie could chat with her friends. 

We had such a wonderful time today.  The weather was a bit windy and chilly but that didn't stop our little social butterfly Maggie.  She met another cute male labrador, a boxer, and some other cute dogs while we were there. I thought I would also include a really cute video of the Cary Dog Park filmed by my friend of her dog Louie's trip to the Cary Dog Park too! Her dog Louie, like Maggie, gets pretty bored until she meets up with her buds.

One of the things I love about living on the East Coast is that I'm a short drive to the beach, the mountains, skiing, and lot of other activities. Yes, it's a drive, but it's nice to have all of the resources closeby.  After much hard work selling my previous home, buying a new home, and getting settled in, my family decided it was time for a break.  I'd actually made reservations back in August for a ski trip prior to realizing that we would be moving.  I'm also a big believer in working hard and playing hard too so it was time for a break!

Last weekend, instead of attending one of the many Super Bowl parties, my family headed off to Snowshoe, WVa.  A lot of people don't know that I was born in Charleston, West Virginia and spent 16 summers working for my dad at the Charleston Tennis Club as his "assistant".  So, I have a lot of fond memories of spending time with my family in West Virginia.  I think that is what drew me to the East Coast in the first place.  We only had one small glitch in the plan- and, yes, it had to do with real estate. 

Our plan to be on the slopes by Friday morning didn't quite go as planned.  On Thursday afternoon I showed a client my listing on 107 Lonesome Pine.  This home had been on the market for just about a week and a half and had a wonderful response but no offers.  I actually had seven showings on Thursday alone!! Homes in Cary priced in the low $200s are still flying off the shelf.  My client brought his mom along and I knew it was the perfect home for him.  Needless to say I spent time writing an offer on my listing and negotiating the deal well into Friday afternoon.  As a result, I had one happy client but I didn't make it to Snowshoe on Thursday as planned.   My family was a little bummed but that didn't stop us from heading out on Saturday. 

We hit the slopes on Saturday night at around 6pm.  The drive to Snoeshoe takes about six hours from Cary because you have to travel on several two lane, windy roads.  Even though we got a late start we had a great attitude about being on vacation.  No use in crying over spilled milk as they say.  We had a leisurely drive up to the slopes and even had to stop at the old timey Cass Railroad country store in Cass, West Virginia.  My parents had taken me there when I was a little girl.  So, we missed a day on the slopes because of my business, but I really didn't  care. I was just excited to be outdoors enjoying the fluffy snow.  

All in all it was a great trip enjoyed by myself, my husband Mauro, my daughter Jordan, and her friend Devin.  I'm hoping I'll get a break before the spring season and be able to go up again for a short weekend.  We'll see.  With business being as busy as it has been I won't hold out for another break in the action ;)

I wrote this post to remind myself and others that even though real estate can get hectic it is important to take time out for your family.  If it wasn't for the love and support of our families we wouldn't be able to do what we do - work the long hours and generate the level of business that we do. 

Cheers,

Hello Activerainers & Friends,

It's been a while since I've been actively commenting and posting on everyone's blogs.  I'd say I've been absent for about 6 weeks. That's a long time for me.  Don't get me wrong - I've been thinking about each and everyone of you here on this network that have given me hope and inspiration - I can't think of one person on this network that hasn't.  That said, my life has been pretty hectic and, to my surprise, my business flourishing. 

First of all, Mauro and I (my Aussie husband and I) decided to take the plunge and buy in a Buyer's Market.  Imagine That - A Realtor buying in a Buyers Market.  Oh, what fun we had.  We bought the model home in Glenkirk in Cary.  I think everyone in Cary, or at least everyone I know, has been through my new home.  That said, when I say the location can't be beat - I really mean that.  I'm close to Prestonwood Country Club, the YMCA, the Fresh Market, Trader Joes, great restaurants, my dentist, and even my office.  Jordan, my daughter, is even closer to Cary Academy.  She's really excited about that because she can sleep in and have  a prom party for her friends this Spring. 

As all couples do when they buy a home Mauro and I also compromised.  I originally wanted to buy a home in Preston.  Since we are members of Prestonwood Country Club and have been for some years - why not?  I didn't mind renovating an older house so we could walk to the Tennis Courts or Gym or even be on the golf course.  However, my husband has certain criteria that he has always wanted in a home - All brick, low maintenance,new, and no yard.   I think we found the best of both worlds here at Glenkirk - Everything my husband wanted plus the location & home I desired too. 

I've been in the business for years but I learned quite a bit about moving again after living in the same home for over eight years.   Time flies fast I must admit.  I've also learned that it is incredibly easy to accumulate a lot of things over an eight year period.  I grew up in a real estate family and I've been especially careful of getting rid of the clutter on a daily and monthly basis.  However, getting ready for the move and sale of my home was much more difficult than I expected.  I council my clients on a regular basis and I must admit I didn't realize how stressful it can be trying to hold down a full time job plus spend the after hours making repairs, fixing things up, boxing things up, repainting, staging, etc. 

I certainly hope my  new found empathy for my clients will help me be a better agent for my clients.  I truly love my job.  I have an opportunity to change peoples lives on a daily basis.  What a wonderful way to spend my days.  Yes, I may be a stickler with my clients about things they need to do to sell, but in the long run they will score the ultimate home of their dreams. 

Yours Truly,

Tracy