Presented by the Fayette County Board of REALTORS
President, Patti Harris Ayers

I want to start this article with something very important to the Fayette County residents, and our Board of REALTORS. I want to thank everyone for a fabulous event we had last Saturday evening at our Annual Noel November. The turnout from the community was wonderful with the children’s choirs, crafting corner and activities during the day to the auction in the evening. We donated the net proceeds to the following local community organizations: Christian City Children’s Village, Fayette County Special Olympics, Fayette Family Y.M.C.A., Fayette Senior Services, Fayette Youth Protection Home, Joseph Sams School and Promise Place. We couldn’t have done it without the dedication of our committee, the REALTORS and the support of community businesses who made donations of auction items, their time, and also bid on things. (Look for further articles and pictures with more details later in the newspaper.)

Know your Market:
- Fayette County (Single Family homes as of October 31st), provided by GAMLS:

2007
Total listings - 1410
Average days on Market: 124
Median Price (sold): $ 240,465
Highest Price sold Home: $ 3,950,000

This is a banner year!
From the National Association of REALTORS statistics in 2007 so far: It is expected to be the fifth largest home sales year in the history of mankind! Yes, that is correct – fifth highest volume of sales, nationally, in history!

Just to clear up a few myths: The mortgage industry is NOT in trouble, and interest rates will continue to be low through 2007. Of all homes today, nationally, 35% of homeowners own their home free and clear of any mortgage. The country’s Prime Loan (or conventional loans) consisting of approximately 50% of all loans – they are just fine. FHA and VA loans total about 6% of the national loans which are backed by the government, so they are fine. The sub-prime loans (mostly loans given to people who had already demonstrated they should’ve never had a loan in the first place) are the ones causing the negative news media – and they are only 9% of the loans out there today. It’s not that bad. Now may be the best time to invest in a second home, or a reverse mortgage. Contact your REALTOR to help you decide your future.

This past year has been a changing market. It is no longer a seller’s market. It is a buyer’s market. What does that mean to you the consumer? A buyer has a greater choice of homes on the market today to choose from. From a seller’s seat – it might just take a little longer to sell your home, but it had better be in tip top condition to be competitive with all the others on the market. REALTORS learn to work within market conditions, which means that your house should be priced right after doing a competitive market analysis and your agent knows the process to help you, Mr. & Mrs. Seller get to a closed transaction.

When market conditions demand higher level of performance from an agent, the seller should consider a service-based presentation, which focuses on what the agent is willing do for a seller or buyer. These presentations should begin by helping sellers and buyers to understand what they need to do in order to achieve their goals in the market.

The Fayette County Board of REALTORS is one of nearly 1500 local boards and associations of REALTORS nationwide that comprise the National Association of REALTORS. As the nation's largest trade association, NAR is "The Voice for Real Estate," representing more than 1,300,000 members involved in all aspects of the real estate industry.

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