I arose early this morning as normal; put the coffee on went out and grabbed the paper to see what was happening. I was hit with the normal onslaught of murder, crime and wrecks, and then in the Business Section I was hit again with the news of layoffs in the Mortgage industry, Real estate sales tumble. Real estate sales at all time low, Sub-prime loans going into foreclosure. I thought, “Man this looks terrible for everyone. Should I even go to work today?” But knowing what I do about our market I am going to dig in and find out how it really is here in Fayetteville.

So I looked for the areas our MLS covers Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Hope Mills, Spring Lake, and Raeford. Along with Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, and a few other counties and small towns. Keep in mind the MLS is not a know all, it is only as good as the information we as brokers and agents enter into it. I looked at sales data from September 13-September 13 for the years of 03-04, 04-05, 05-06, and 06-07. These are the numbers I found:

• 03-04 there were 6192 Residential properties closed
• 04-05 there were 7341 Residential properties closed
• 05-06 there were 8275 Residential properties closed
• 06-07 there were 7566 Residential properties closed

To me that shows steady growth except for this year, which is not that far behind considering everyone is deployed with the troop surge we have had and this years numbers are still above ‘03 and ‘04.

I don’t think we should be concerned with the home sales in Orlando or California because I think our glass is half full with BRAC (Base Re-Alignment Commission) and the hopefully soon safe return of our Troop/Hero’s home. Remember these are my opinions please feel free to add your own.

Everyone says the market is down, that it is a terrible time to buy, that it is a terrible time to sell, so I am going to add my two cents as someone in the industry day in and out. OUR MARKET IS FINE. We don’t see the big swings of appreciation that some of the other markets see, But we show steady appreciation. Homes are still selling in the price ranges where people qualify and quite well, as rates go up less people qualify in certain price ranges so those in a higher price range will sit on the market a little longer. We have a great amount of homes at $180k and above on the market because rates are a little higher and we also have about 12,000 troops deployed. Our Market is different from any other in the US except another one by a large military base so we shouldn’t be alarmed by the nay sayers on the national news. It’s not changed to a buyer’s or a seller’s market its a good market for us and we are doing just fine.