Adam's Blog

Forbes.Com has just released an article on the The Best U.S. Cities for Jobs.  Now I know you think that all I ever do is talk about West Virginia . . . well, yes, because it's a great place.  In fact one West Virginia City actually made the list of Best Small Cities for Jobs.  I can't decide if I should spoil the article for you by telling you which city it was, so maybe I'll just give a small hint instead.  It is home to one of my favorite football teams and yes it is also a college city. 

This West Virginia town has seen a 2.6% growth in jobs from 2007 to 2008, and there's more good news.  It had an increase from the prior years of 1.8% growth and continues to remain strong as the recession gets worse.  If you happen to work in the hotel or tourism business, also known as the hospitality sector or leisure sector, this town has had 12.4% growth in 2008.  Forbes.com contributes this to the fact that twenty percent of the labor force in this town works in education and health. 

Now those of you who do keep up with the top ranking college football teams every year, will note that a certain college football team certainly gives a healthy boost to the local economy every fall.  Especially since they consistently rank (at least at the beginning of the season), in the top 10 in the BCS, and they haven't lost a bowl game in a few years.  Now if we can just get to the National Championship and beat a certain proud team of "Nuts" to the north.  Even better would be to see them beat a certain team of Wolverines in a National Championship, but they might not be making a bowl for a while.  According to the Detroit-Press the revenue at the Big House may suffer a little due to season ticket sales being down. 

At the risk of alienating all prospects from Michigan moving this way, here is a quote from an article in the NYTimes about the new Michigan coach, "He arrived on the tradition-rich Michigan campus last year and glumly kicked off his tenure with a 3-9 season. It represented the most losses in a season in the program’s 129-year history and the first year without a bowl game since 1974." 

Thank you for reading and I always appreciate your comments and feedback.  If you like college football, let me know and maybe we'll blog this fall about pigskin.  To keep up to date on what's happening in WV and real estate, don't forget to subscribe!

West Virginia is 51st again, but this time it is reason to be proud.  Now before you make a West Virginia joke about not knowing how many states there is in the USA, for the purposes of this data they included Washington, D.C. as a state.  The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation collected data from the Bureau of Labor, United States Department of Agriculture, and RealtyTrac to rank the states according to their "economic distress" by housing foreclosures, unemployment compensation, and food stamp participation. 

The nationwide average foreclosure rate is 1 in every 488 households, in WV it is 1 in every 25,817 households.  Nevada and Florida have the highest foreclosure rates with 1 in every 76 households in NV, and 1 in every 173 households.  Part of this reason could be that we have one of the highest number of households owned without a mortgage.  Bluefield, WV is actually the number one city for homes owned outright with no mortgage.

West Virginia had the smallest increase of monthly unemployment claims tied with Wyoming and North Dakota at three-tenths of a percent increase for December 2007 to December 2008.  Nevada is in the top 3 for unemployment increases preceded by Rhode Island and North Carolina.  West Virginia's economy relies largely on the coal industry, manufacturing, and tourism to sustain its economy.  Coal prices have been very good for the last few years and many people who visit WV decide to buy second homes here because of the beautiful mountains and our friendly Southern hospitality.

The last measure they used was the change in monthly Food Stamp participation in October 2007 to October 2008.  Texas had the largest increase at over 30% increase followed by Florida at almost a 26% increase.  West Virginia was tied with North Dakota at 44th place with a 4.2% increase. 

West Virginia's overall "economic distress" rank was dead last.  For once something to be proud of for finishing last. 

On a side note, Toyota built a manufacturing plant in WV several years ago in Buffalo, WV and it is consistently their most productive plant.  West Virginia is a great place to live, work, and play.  We consistently see home prices steadily increase and have had one of the best economies for several years and even during the 2002 recession.  

Thanks for reading and be sure to leave your comments and questions.

Well it seems my prediction of a real estate recovery early in 2009 is so far true.  That's the main reason I haven't blogged in a few days, (I've been busy).  The Mercer Tazewell Multiple Listing Service is up 50% in residential sales for the month of January compared to last January.  Overall sales are up about $800,000 dollars this month from last year.  What was interesting also was our median sold prices and average sold prices are both up.  Our average sold price went up 30% from January of last year to January of this year, although comparing the entire year of 2008 to 2007 the average price rose only about 1%.  Median sold price went up 60% from January to January, and if you compare the median sold price of January 2009 to the entire year of January 2008 it is up 9.6%. 

A prospective customer of mine was discussing a piece of property that he was interested and I mentioned how the market had picked up in Princeton, WV Real Estate, and he proceeded to tell me how horrible it was everywhere.  Well the numbers speak for themselves as a market we are up, as an office business is up, and I have been busy writing offers every week so far this year.  I hope 2009 stays like January all year and it will be a good year.

P.S. Here's a few more numbers if the first part didn't bore you to tears.  Residential property sales are up $1,118,349 from January of 2008 to January of 2009, and number of homes sold is up over 18%.

Many of you may recall the story of the Emperor's New Clothes where two smooth talking taylors sell the emperor a new suit, which is so fine it can only be seen by someone with exquisite taste.  Well I fear that the real estate bubble of 2008 was much like the Poor Emperor.  Real estate is like the weather, it's local.   You may have heard about it snowing in New Orleans, Miami, and Las Vegas all ready this winter, and just as the weather changes frequently so does real estate. 

There's no doubt we have experience a hiccup in our market with about a 10% drop in sales over the last year, but most of that was in this last quarter leading up to the elections and the Christmas season.  We had a 25% drop year to year in this last quarter, which accounts for much of our "bubble burst".  I've noticed since the new year 2009 has begun almost every agent in our office has been writing contracts and getting new listings.  I think what has happened is people know it is a good time to buy, (since we've been saying it for a year now), and investors were waiting for the holidays to finish before they made any purchases.

In this case the taylors could be replaced by much of the news reporting media that likes to have "experts" analyze and pontificate about what is happening in the economy.  Economists are very much like weatherman and accountants, two weatherman will never predict the weather the same and if you use two accountants one will tell say you owe money and the other you are owed.  So ignore the invisible clothing, which is the real estate bubble bursting and if you want to buy, interest rates are about the lowest they can get since the cost of money now for banks is between 0 and .25.  If you are selling, and your house is priced right, your house will likely sell quickly and could see multiple offers.  Which is why I am blogging next to the fax machine, waiting on an offer to come in any minute. 

Comments are appreciated and check back often for updates.

This is the time of the year when every non-profit in the world tries to squeeze last minute money out of all possible fundraising sources.  How do I know, besides the barrage of mail I have received from many of them this month?  One particular organization has sent me a letter almost every day of this month so far asking for an end-of-year donation.  An organization that we occassionally do support. 

I do have one non-profit that really hits close to home for me that we support annually.  I am a member of Spondylitis Association of America an organization that funds research for finding a cure for Ankylosing Spondylitis and finding genetic contributors to the disease.  Two years ago I was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) after suffering with crippling pain in spine and sacroiliac joints (SI joints) off and on for four years.

Now you may be thinking, What is AS and what does it do?  Most people have heard of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) or know a parent or grandparent that is afflicted with it.  Well AS is very similar, it is when the immune system starts attacking the joints of the body.  Spondylitis refers to inflammation in the spine and Ankylosing refers to the scarring that takes place in the spine and leaves it fused.  I was 21 years old when I first started having pain in my SI joints.  AS is genetic and can be passed on to children, so that is why I would like to see a cure very soon, so my kids won't have to go through what I am going through.  Medicine to treat the symptoms right now for me is over $5,000 dollars every six to eight weeks. 

If you're interested in contributing to the Spondylitis Association of America click this link to donate today.  In fact, I believe I'll do the same.  If you have a friend or loved one that has been diagnosed with AS, our prayers are with them.

Good news on the real estate front today.  The USA today came out with a study of the last US census in regards to homeowners who own their homes mortgage free.  There are over 120 areas in the country where more than 40 percent of homeowners own their home free and clear.  What does this mean for those specific markets.  These are markets that have not seen a "boom" in real estate, or an exaggerated inflation, which causes many markets to see a gravity like effect or a correction in the market. 

Two cities in West Virginia are listed as being in the top 5 for being mortgage-free.  West Virginia's 12th largest city, Bluefield, WV comes out on top with 57% of people owning their homes with no mortgage.  Bluefield, the air-conditioned city, also at one time had the distinction of being the highest elevation above sea level of any incorporated town east of Denver, Colorado, which I think has been taken over by a couple ski resort towns.

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Details

Residential Style: Contemporary Bedrooms: 8 Bathrooms "5 Full, 2 Half" Attached "4 stall garage and 2 car" Size: 9214 sq. ft. Lot Type: Rectangular Lot Size: 45.02 acres 

 Plenty of room in this luxury home with panoramic views of the valley. A heated pool and two hot tubs on a deck that overlooks the valley. Marble in Master bathroom with Jacuzzi, his and her sinks, shower with two jets, and a bidet. Stainless steel appliances and ceramic tile throughout kitchen, foyer, and wine room. Parquet flooring throughout home. Six car garage, in-law quarters, all on 45 acres.

Features Interior Features ▪ Alarm System ▪ Carpeted Floors ▪ Cathedral Ceiling ▪ Ceiling Fan ▪ Fireplace ▪ Hardwood Floors ▪ Hot Tub  ▪ Laundry Room ▪ Skylights ▪ Wine Storage  ▪ Heat Pump  ▪ Frame ▪ Wood ▪ Private ▪ Septic ▪ Well ▪ Asphalt Shingles

Lot Features ▪ Cul-de-sac ▪ Deck ▪ Front Porch ▪ Landscaped ▪ Swimming Pool View ▪ City Lights ▪ Downtown ▪ Mountain View ▪ Panoramic ▪ Valley ▪ Woods Extra Features ▪ Balcony ▪ Furnished ▪ Satellite Dish

Usually the last thing a person or family does when buying a home should be the first step.  This is what the average "Joe the Homebuyer" does to buy real estate.  A call comes in to Century 21 about a property we are advertising through a real estate magazine, internet, or a sign on the property.  Now if I take Joe to see the property and he wants to buy it we make a written offer to the seller of the property.  Now most of the time people don't have enough cash to purchase a property, which means purchasing that property will require the bank to take a mortgage on it. 

This advice is geared more towards first time homebuyers.  Most people that have all ready bought a house will either have some equity in their home, some cash, or at least know what to do to get financing.  First time homebuyers should start with a bank or a mortgage broker.  The biggest factor that will determine how much you can afford to buy is the interest rate, which is determined by a number of factors.  Credit score is a big factor, if you have collections or a bad credit score your interest rate may be too high for you to buy a house.  Another thing banks consider is your debt-to-income ratio, which is simply how much income do you have a month compared to how much debt you are paying out.  They can find some of this information from your credit score and some will come from your application.  This is where discrepancies will come to light.  When my wife and I went to apply for our first home loan we found out they had her student loans listed twice on her credit report.

Interest rate can make or break your monthly payment, which is why you should apply to more than one place for a loan.  Different lenders will give you different rates.  What happens many times is a person will look at several houses before they ever talk to a bank.  Some people may find out that they are not ready to buy a home after they have all ready got their heart set on a house.  So when your REALTOR ask you if you will be buying with cash or have talked to a bank.  Just smile and say, "Don't worry I've been reading Adam's BLOG!"

Today I got the dreaded call from a pollster.  Now usually I don't entertain those types of calls asking me very detailed questions about political views, income level, and other personal details, but . . . she told me it would only take three minutes.  Six minutes and fourty-two seconds later the survey was over. 

During the survey she asks me what I do for a living and I proudly tell her I'm a self-employed Real Estate Agent.  As she gets ready to hang up she says, "I hope this housing slump changes for you."  She caught me off guard and I didn't get a chance to tell her what I'm going to tell you.  Princeton, WV real estate is not in a housing slump. 

Now before all the naysayers out there fall out of their chairs, let me explain.  Have real estate sales slowed down?  Of course, but real estate is and always has been a local market.  Princeton, WV and West Virginia in general has not seen drastic appreciations in price except for two or three specific markets.  We generally see about 3-5% appreciation every year depending on the areas.  So when other areas of the country were seeing values drop by half their value, ours stayed pretty much the same. 

The same thing that makes West Virginia wild and wonderful, the beautiful mountains, rugged terrain, and winding country roads, is one of our biggest obstacles to economic growth.  Transportation to different areas in our state are very difficult due to the winding narrow roads, which is changing but slowly.  There are new interstates coming into our state that will help with economic growth and development and the transportation of goods.  An interstate going through the coal fields tied to Niagara Falls, NY on one end and Myrtle Beach, SC on the other end will bring an unprecedented amount of traffic and growth.  Canada will appreciate the better roads to the beach (hopefully without the current speed traps they now face). 

So, WV and real estate in many places in the country are in a very good position to stay strong in the near future.  I anticipate many people may start putting money back into tangibles like Real Estate due to the danger of putting in the DOW.  Let me know your thoughts and feel free to comment.

Here's what happened.  I went to list a small piece of property yesterday afternoon.  Usually I do a two part listing presentation.  I gather the information about the property, take pictures, and get measurements of rooms.  Then I prepare a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to get an idea where the property should be priced according to the market's demand.  My cell phone rings this morning, it's my customer that I'm preparing the CMA for.  She has a guy who wanted to buy the property before and didn't, but now is interested again.  She asks me what I think she should do. 

Now this brings up a very interesting discussion about ethics.  I always recommend to my customers out of fairness that I will exclude people from a listing agreement, if she wants to pursue it herself.  This question really drives at the heart of why we are REALTORS.  A Real Estate Agent should be the person who is qualifying prospects before showing a home, facilitating negotiations between parties, and working on closing people who are interested in a property.  Which is basically what I relayed to my customer.  I told her that since he hadn't made a commitment before to purchase, that I could help close him on purchasing and facilitate the negotiations if she preferred.  Which is what she decided to do. 

Anyone else have thoughts on the subject or an experience they would like to share.  Post your comments.