When you’re in real estate, it seems that no matter where you go, people ask you “how’s the market?” I always try to have a couple of statistics in my head - like the total number of homes available in the areas we cover AND the number selling in a month. I think it’s much more professional and believable to say – “the market is actually great here, NOT like what you’ve been hearing on TV… as matter of fact, there are only 500 houses on the market in the Elmira/Horseheads/Corning areas, and we usually sell about 100 a month. That’s less than a 6 month supply, which the National Association of Realtors says is a balanced market. Do you happen to know of anyone who would like to sell or buy right now?”

Believe me, most people are very surprised! Last year, I think our numbers were down mostly due to the fact that folks thought that what they heard or read about real estate markets meant HERE. Recently, they’ve been getting the message (from us in our TV commercials, from other organizations, and from NAR ads perhaps), that real estate is VERY local. I’ve included copies of the full page ads run in USA Today by our parent company, Realogy; I thought they were very good!

As you’ll see from the pending charts, January was a very busy month here in the Southern Tier and we DID sell almost 100! These are great figures for this normally slow month, and we’re excited about the prospects for this year! Rates remain low, the employment picture is great here, we have that balanced market mentioned above, and things are looking good!

Next month begins a new series of national TV ads for Coldwell Banker; we’ve had the
privilege of a sneak peak, as well as all of the market research that says that they’re unique and memorable and that consumers in focus groups love them! The ads point out the proud 100 year old tradition of Coldwell Banker, our many online tools that today’s consumers want and even demand, and then reference the fact that the consumer still needs the help of an experienced real estate agent. Be watching; we think you’re going to love them! And as always, thank you for your trust in us and feel free to call with any questions, comments or suggestions.