Better Than New

This better-than-new home is located in the Ravenwood subdivision in Fayetteville, NC. Ravenwood is a small community of single family homes situated on large lots. It is in Hoke County, and enjoys the lower tax rates, and is away from the hustle and clutter of the city. Convenient to post, the neighborhood is also close to major shopping areas.

This well-designed home was built in 2007.  It features 4 bedrooms and 3 full baths; upgraded paint, carpet, vinyl and tile; and professional landscaping that just can’t be found in any new construction home. It is in excellent condition and has been artfully finished by an interior designer. Click here to see the photo gallery.

There are so many impressive features in this home–huge greatroom with fireplace and vaulted ceiling; formal dining room with gleaming wood floors and arched window; roomy kitchen with eat in space; gorgeous master suite with trey ceiling, bath with double vanity and jetted tub, and full sized walk-in closet; split floor plan with large second, third and fourth bedrooms; plantation-style blinds throughout; screened porch with granite pebble floor; garage with warehouse epoxy floor; and beautiful landscaping including a stone walkway and patio, well tended and unique trees, shrubs and flowers, certified centipede sod, and strawberries and blackberry bushes already planted and established. The house is situated on a large corner lot. There are no homes built behind this one. The backyard is fully fenced.This home has been lovingly furnished and cared for. It is very clean and well-maintained and is a large step up from the builders grade construction and materials of newly constructed homes. Call your agent to schedule a showing!

118 Afton Lane – Home For Sale in Fayetteville (Hoke County), NC

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This is a great home for anyone looking for a new home that has more to offer than new construction, and that has the landscaping and improvements already completed. Call me for an appointment to see this home or for more information. (910) 644-0303.

This home is located in Summerfield East, a quiet subdivision located close to shopping, including the new Super WalMart currently under construction, and an easy drive to post. It is a 3 Br/2 Ba home, and is 1100-1200 sq.ft.  It has been very well maintained and features a freshly painted exterior. This home is situated on a huge lot, with so much room in the yard to gather and play. Check out this video and see more…

314 Buckeye Drive – Home For Sale in Fayetteville (Raeford), NC

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This is a great home for a starter home or for anyone looking for a cozy, comfortable and clean home that is affordably priced. Call me for an appointment or for more information. (910) 644-0303.

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This lot is 3.11 acres and has 361 feet of lake frontage.  It is ideally situated in a cul-de-sac in a community with gorgeous custom built, single family homes. Offering tons of room, this is where you can build the place to gather with friends and loved ones, have your horse, or finally make the retreat away from it all. Plenty of room to play, away from the noise and hustle, yet still convenient to work, post or shopping.

You only have to spend a little time here listening to the geese and ducks or feeling the constant breeze to know this is a great location to build a home.  Check it out and call me for a showing!

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This 3 Br/2.5 Ba ranch home is in one of the most desired neighborhoods and school districts (Terry Sanford) in the city.  It sits on a huge corner lot with a cul-de-sac at the rear.  Formal living room, formal dining room, den with wood burning fireplace and built-in bookshelves, eat-in kitchen with new vinyl and new counter tops and all new appliances (except refrigerator.)  It’s a great home and is affordably priced.

Check it out and call me for a showing!

So, here’s a Tuesday cup of joe and some mega-props to Mike Mueller and the Mueller Map mashup.

I first stumbled across Mike when he was doing mortgage stuff and when he won the My Tech Opinon Video Blog Contest.  I already followed him on Twitter and enjoyed his ideas for using video in creative ways.

Then one day he announced a contest on his own website to win a Mueller Map.

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When I checked it out, I knew I wanted one–even if I had to buy it (cheap at twice the price!)  His mashup was just what my husband and I had been planning for my website.  We’d seen on-line tutorials for building one, but being owners of 2 businesses, pretty basic hackers, and eight months pregnant, we knew we just wouldn’t get it done.  So, I entered Mike’s contest, and based on my raw talent and intelligence (I clicked the “Friend Me” button on his Facebook page) I won!  Mike created a Mueller Map for me, sent it to me, and waited patiently until I delivered my baby and finally made the time to add it to my website.

I love it!  Oh, I know I have so much more to do to get it right, but for a broker who is trying to transition from a template site to one that reflects me and who is intent on adding relevant content to my site, this map is ideal.  The finished product will be substantial–a map for my listings, a map to showcase neighborhoods, a map to highlight significant community features.  There’s no end of good ideas and ways to use this mashup!

So, thanks, Mike for a little piece of code that makes a real, practical difference to me as a real estate broker selling houses in Fayetteville, NC.  Now, I just have to find the time to get all those videos done!

P.S.  And, Speaking of My Tech Opinion… This site was the first one I added to my RSS reader.  I found that, more than almost any other site about real estate marketing, this one had usable, practical information that applied directly to me as an individual broker trying to build a business.  Lots of tips on using video, social media and my blog to market effectively without resorting to traditional pay-per-click or in our face marketing.  It also doesn’t hurt that Reggie and Nicole Nicolay write very well–their content is always engaging.  Lastly, I really appreciate that they avoid the hyperbole that many bloggers resort to when they’re writing about a product or service.  It’s nice to get the straight scoop, not ad copy.  So, thank to you, too, My Tech Opinion, for helping me figure it all out.

The Crisis of Credit Visualized – The Big Picture

I was browsing my Twitter account one day, and found this link to a video from one of my followers.  It is exceptionally well done and helps to explain what happened to our credit markets, and how it is related to you and your home.  Please check it out:

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo

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Certainly, there is more complexity involved than this video can portray, but it goes a long way towards explaining why we are where we are.  The uncertainty of the future, consumers burdened with excessive debt, and unsteady property values compound the effects, such that we should not wonder that banks are complaining that nobody wants to borrow money.  Unfortunately, in our country, in our time, we have built an economy based on buying with credit and living with debt.  Nationally, we have a very large problem.

So, What Does This Mean To Me and Buying or Selling a Home?

There’s good news, especially if you are looking to buy or sell a home in Fayetteville. The local economy is still relatively strong, and home values have increased in general.  In fact, according to Zillow, Fayetteville leads the nation in home price stability, showing an increase in overall home values of almost 7%, better than any of the other 160 markets that Zillow tracks.  Additionally, we expect growth of 20,000 more families between now and 2011 under the Defense Base Closure and Re-Alignment Commission (BRAC).  Lenders have money to lend, and VA and FHA loan programs are widely used and available.  The real estate market remains balanced for homes in many price ranges, and there are some great homes available at reasonable prices.  All of this bodes well for both buyers and sellers in the local area.

If you are considering selling your home or buying a new one here in Fayetteville, please be call me or email.  I would love to provide more information on specific houses or neighborhoods or help you find a reputable lender to get the process started.

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These tutorials are a mixture of video clips and screencasts.  You may have to view the screencasts using the full-screen mode to be able to see details.  We apologize; however, to not have compressed them would have made them too heavy to download.

An Introduction and Invitation to Join Us in Twitter

In this video introduction, Dana discusses why we use Twitter and explains the following 3 screencasts:

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What Twitter is About and How to Navigate Thru It

In this screencast, Dana shows the Twitter interface and what different menu items are. You should view this tutorial in the full-screen mode:

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How to Sign Up For Your Free Twitter Account

In this screencast, Dana walks you through creating your own Twitter account. This tutorial is best viewed in the full-screen mode:

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How to Find and Follow People in Twitter

In this final screencast, you will learn how to find people by their location or by interests using Julissa’s Twitter profile and Twitter search. Best viewed in full-screen mode:

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What is an absorption rate and why do I care?

In my page about the local market, I explain that the absorption rate is a number that reflects how many months it will take to sell all the houses currently on the market–basically, how fast the market can absorb the inventory.  Experts agree that if it takes 5 – 7 months to sell a house, that can be considered a balanced market.  Shorter than that is considered a sellers market and longer than 6 months is generally understood to be a buyers market (of course, these are general terms–don’t get too wrapped up about the exact number of months.)  The chart below shows the latest numbers, and they vary only slightly from last month’s numbers.

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So, just looking thru the data, houses listed for sale for less than $150,000 are still selling in under 6 months time.  That accounts for over 50% of the houses currently on the market.  Note, also, that houses listed for sale over $225,000 are taking over a year to be absorbed.

Now, here are the factors to consider about what all this means to you:

• Home Sellers – houses do not sell in the order in which they come on the market.  A fairly priced house that is in great condition and in a good location will sell much more quickly than the absorption rate implies;
• Home Buyers – the market is not terrible, but there are plenty of really great houses available and sellers may be willing to negotiate more;
• Investors – Fayetteville is a great market with a lot of affordable homes that still offers outstanding potential to build wealth through real estate.

Lastly, remember that absorption rates are a lagging indicator of the market.  The numbers are based on how quickly homes have sold over the past 12 months.  They don’t offer a prediction of what will happen in the future.  The future of the local market is controlled by population growth and economic/job growth.  These factors bode well for the Fayetteville market, which is tied very closely to Fort Bragg, and is expecting an substantial increase of higher level military and civilian postions as military bases are realigned under federal law (Base Closure and Realignment Commission – BRAC.)