Edmond/NW OKC Real Estate

I got a call today from a gentleman who lives in Cedar Pointe and is thinking about selling his home. I figured while I'm researching the most recent comps in the neighborhood, now would be a good time for my monthly report on what’s selling, what’s not, and what’s new on the market in Cedar Pointe.

You’d be amazed at how often I get asked “What did that house around the corner sell for” or “How much is that house on X street listed for?” Especially since I live in the neighborhood. So, this report is designed to keep you up-to-date on inventory levels, then quarterly I’ll break down overall neighborhood pricing and compare it to the previous year. This combination gives us all a real pulse on the health of the Cedar Pointe real estate market. Hopefully, it will be a useful resource for all of the current home owners, and those thinking about moving here.

I'm constantly tweaking the format of this type of report, so please bear with me as I work through the logistics, and if there’s something you’d like me to include in these posts that would make them more useful, please email me. Here are the Cedar Pointe homes that closed within the past 60 days:

And here are the homes currently on the market in Cedar Pointe (Active & Pending):

**All statistical and listing information provided to and compiled by MLSGateway.com, Inc. covering a period (1/19/08) through (3/19/08). MLSGateway.com, Inc. does not guarantee or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Listing information is deemed reliable at the time of this posting, but subject to change without notification, and should be verified through a licensed agent for accuracy.

For more information about a specific home, or to find out how to get yours sold for the most in the shortest time, call or email me.

**THIS WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED ON MY EDMOND REAL ESTATE BLOG ON 3/20/08

For the faithful, it puts in perspective what He did for us, and what he continues to do for us each and every day! For anyone out there who may be struggling with demons and battles of any sort, it serves as a reminder that He is ALWAYS there for us, no matter our past or present shortcomings. As I experienced church this morning, I was overwhelmed with the reminders that He is love, and He is there! Happy Easter to all of you!

• Trim bushes so they don’t block windows and cut down on light.

• Buy a new doormat.

• Put a pot of bright flowers (or a small evergreen in winter) on your porch.

• Put new doorknobs on your doors.

• Put a fresh coating on your driveway.

• Edge the grass around walks and trees.

• Keep your garden tools out of site.

• Be sure kids put away their toys.

• Buy a new mailbox.

• Upgrade the outside lighting.

• Use warm, incandescent light bulbs for a homey feel.

• Polish or replace your house numbers.

• Clean your gutters.

• Put out potpourri or burn scented candles.

• Buy new pillows for the sofa.

• Buy a flowering plant and put it in a window you pass by frequently.

• Make a centerpiece for your table with fruit or artificial flowers.

• Replace heavy curtains with sheer ones that let in more light.

• Buy new towels.

• Put a seasonal wreath on your door.

As we all know, and I continuously state here, it's vitally important to the sale of your home to take care of the 'little things.' What may seem small and trivial to you and me may just be the one thing that the buyer walking through your door has a pet peave about. I live by the 'EVERYTHING MATTERS' credo when it comes to marketing a home.

I'm curious, what other 'little things' make a difference in the way a home appeals to you?

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON MY BLOG ON 3/17/08

Sometimes it's a challenge to make statistics fun or interesting, but either way, they're useful. Knowledge is power, and knowing the truth about what's going on in our local market will arm you, the consumer, with the tools you need when making a move on your own real estate goals.

With that in mind, here are the year-end stats for 2007, for the Oklahoma City metro area market. This includes all the surrounding suburbs, such as Edmond, Deer Creek, Yukon, Moore, Norman, etc.

As you can see, we have a lot to be optimistic about here in Central Oklahoma. I've highlighted the potential positives in green, and the potential negatives in yellow.

While the overall number of homes did see a decrease in 2007, as compared to 2006, the overall $ volume and the property values, both average and median, saw a respectable increase, in spite of this supposed 'down market.' We also saw a nice decrease in interest rates for the year.

With many markets across the country experiencing actual depreciating home values, a 5% increase certainly helps with local consumer confidence.

**Based on information provided to and compiled by MLSGateway.com, Inc. covering a period (1/01/06) through (12/31/07). MLSGateway.com, Inc. does not guarantee or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Listing information is deemed reliable at the time of this posting, but subject to change without notification, and should be verified through a licensed agent for accuracy.

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON MY BLOG ON 3/16/08

OK, so I posted yesterday about RSSHugger.com, a new blog directory.  You never know when you post up on one of these directories if you're really going to see any noticable traffic as a result.  Will it be found?  Will it really help you with backlinks, etc?

Well, I checked in on the website this morning and, to my surprise, my blog made it into the Top 100 already.  That's simply as a result of people clicking over from my first blog about RSS Hugger.  But what's happened is that now my blog is listed in the Top 100, which is creating a little more traffic flow to my blog.

I'll continue to post here in the coming weeks as to whether or not I see a consistent amount of traffic from RSS Hugger, but so far I'm happy to see any effect at all.  In the meantime, be sure to get your blog listed in the directory. All you have to do is click the link above or the logo to the right, and register your blog.  It's free if you write a review of the site.  Good luck!

As bloggers, we're always looking for that next avenue of exposure. More exposure equates to more traffic. Ultimately, more traffic should mean we're helping more people in our area of expertise.

Today I stumbled across Laurie Manny's post about RSS Hugger, which is a new blog directory that "aims to bring bloggers and readers together" through RSS syndication.

To me, RSS Hugger seems to be a great concept that could potentially bring tons of added exposure to many many bloggers around the world, but more importantly a great place to find more interesting blogs to read.  I've already added my Edmond Real Estate blog.  So, GO ADD YOUR RSS FEED to RSS Hugger NOW!

It’s time for my monthly report on what’s selling, what’s not, and what’s new on the market in Fairview Farms.

You’d be amazed at how often I get asked “What did that house around the corner sell for” or “How much is that house on X street listed for?” This report is designed to keep you up-to-date on inventory levels, then quarterly I’ll break down overall neighborhood pricing and compare it to the previous year. This combination gives us all a real pulse on the health of the Fairview Farms real estate market. Hopefully, it will be a useful resource for all of the current home owners, and those thinking about moving here.

Please bear with me as I work through the logistics of making this a great monthly resource for you, and if there’s something you’d like me to include in these posts that would make them more useful, please email me.

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After reading an article on MarketWatch earlier today, I'm starting to wonder if maybe people are beginning to 'get it.'

I know they are locally. Over the past month or so, I've found that I'm just validating people's thoughts about the market, rather than having to convince them like I've had to do over the past 6 or 8 months. It was an uphill battle previously, mostly because of all the negative national press, but lately my fellow Okies are hearing the positives in more places than just my blog or newsletter, so they're beginning to gain confidence again.

But nationally, the problem has been that almost every 'expert' has a habit of reporting the negatives in the real estate world as a nation-wide problem, rather than emphasizing that each and every market is different, and that while some markets are hurting badly, others are still thriving.

So, imagine my surprise when I read in this statement today in MarketWatch:

"For every Raleigh, there's a Ft. Wayne, Ind., where prices were down 10.5% in the fourth quarter, year over year. And for every Los Angeles, where prices were down 13.1% in the fourth quarter, there's a San Jose, where prices were up 11.2% in the fourth quarter."

Yes! Maybe, just maybe, this will catch on with more of the legit (truthful, ethical) reporters, and begin to be reported on a wider level. It sure would keep me from sounding like a broken record :)

This was originally posted on my Edmond Real Estate blog, on 3/9/08

It’s time for the March 2008 edition of my monthly report on what’s selling, what’s not, and what’s new on the market in Cheyenne Crossing.

You’d be amazed at how often I get asked “What did that house around the corner sell for” or “How much is that house on X street listed for?” Especially since I have several friends and clients who live in Cheyenne Crossing, who seem to be particularly interested in what's going on in their neighborhood.

This report is designed to keep you up-to-date on inventory levels, then each quarter I’ll break down overall neighborhood pricing and compare it to the previous year. This combination gives us all a real pulse on the health of the Cheyenne Crossing real estate market. Hopefully, it will be a useful resource for all of the Cheyenne Crossing home owners, and those thinking about moving here.

If you’re one of those who are thinking about buying a home in Cheyenne Crossing, be sure to check out the page I'm building specifically for Cheyenne Crossing. It will provide more specific details about the community, the schools, and it’s surroundings. Also, feel free to contact me with your specific questions, or to schedule your private showing of any of these homes.

Please bear with me as I work through the logistics of making this a great monthly resource for you, and if there’s something you’d like me to include in these posts that would make them more useful, please email me.

Now, normally I'd have a chart here showing the homes that have sold in Cheyenne Crossing during the past 60 days, but I can't do that this month, simply because the last home closed in the neighborhood was in December. So, this month, I'm only posting the homes currently listed in Cheyenne Crossing (Active & Pending):

**Based on information provided to and compiled by MLSGateway.com, Inc. covering a period (1/8/2008) through (3/9/2008). MLSGateway.com, Inc. does not guarantee or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Listing information is deemed reliable at the time of this posting, but subject to change without notification, and should be verified through a licensed agent for accuracy.

This report was originally posted on my Edmond Real Estate blog, on 3/8/08

You know me, I'm always looking for new ways to explain the whys & why-nots of real estate, and at times it gets just plain tiring.  Sometimes, the tiring part comes from trying to put together an illustration that's easy to understand and makes sense.  Other times it comes from watching folks trying so hard to time the market, and missing out on a golden opportunity instead.

I recently read a great article in TIME Magazine (Ignore the Headlines) about stocks, housing, and the overall strategy that many miss out on.  Not only do I love the headline, there are some real nuggets of wisdom included here, so if you haven't read it yet, please do.  Otherwise, the rest of this won't mean much to you.

I couldn't have possibly explained the pitfalls of timing the market any better than this article did, but I have a couple of things to add...

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