Jay Zenner's Durham Real Estate Blog
Fourth Quarter Report for 2007
The trend line in the last quarters of 2007 is not encouraging but not a cause for panic either. If you intend to put your home on the market in 2008, I strongly urge you to read the Home Seller as CEO in the Selling a Home category here on this blog. There is also a link to it at www.jayzenner.com.

Click here for a PDF version of the 4th Quarter Report that you can read here or download, save to your computer or print. Fourth Qtr Report 2007

As always you can contact me for more information at 919.819.6666 or at jay@jayzenner.com.  Please feel free to leave comments or suggest other topics. I am "moderating" the comments so that nothing unseemly appears on the site.

Sincerely,
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Posted by Jay Zenner at
1/22/2008 1:12 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Home Seller as CEO
Moving forward we can expect that for the near future it will be a buyers' market, that is, there are more sellers than buyers and the advantage tips to the buyers. They have more choices and that gives them more leverage negotiating.
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Posted by Jay Zenner at
10/25/2007 2:15 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Third Quarter 2007 - Slowdown Beginning?
The national real estate news continues to be mostly negative and the chatter among local real estate agents is that the market is slowing down. The numbers for the third quarter do indicate some slowing for the region and most of its components. So far, however, sales in Hope Valley Farms still seem to be doing OK. However there are indications that it will not continue to be immune from the problems the rest of the country is experiencing.
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Posted by Jay Zenner at
10/17/2007 1:26 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Home Searches in Hope Valley Farms
The blue box in the left column is what the techies call a "plug in." This is a small program that essentially lets you initiate a search of the Triangle Multiple Listing Service through a service I subscribe to called BestHomePro. For a potential seller in a neighborhood like Hope Valley Farms, it allows them to search for homes in their neighborhood to get a feel for what the current competition might be and the prices. The simplest way to do this is to plug in the zip code for HVF (27713) and click "Go." This will take you to a map on the BestHomePro website. The mapping software is a Microsoft product similar in look and feel to Google Maps. Using the tools provided you can expand or narrow the search area. An area that includes Roxboro St from Hope Valley Rd to the MLK Parkway will include all of HVF and include some of Hope Valley and some of Woodcroft. By further refining the search to include only homes similar in size to your home you can do a search that will show what your competition would be. As I write this, the search pulls up 24 detached homes between 1800 and 2750 square feet in size, 17 in HVF and 5 nearby.
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Posted by Jay Zenner at
7/30/2007 9:09 AM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Is Durham Bucking the Trend on Home Sales?
The national news yesterday was full of stories about the decline of home sales and the downward pressure on home prices. Some areas of the country are being hit harder than others. The Southeast is down but not as much as the Northeast. As gloomy as this sounds, it is important to remember that for a homeowner considering selling their home the only important market is the local market.
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Posted by Jay Zenner at
7/27/2007 6:47 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
2nd Quarter 2007 Hope Valley Farms Report
Looking at the first quarter data I was concerned that some of the problems with the national real estate market might have been working their way into Durham and Hope Valley Farms. The second quarter seems to have put that concern to rest for the immediate future. The quarter did see a change in the relative mix of large and small properties that did have an affect on average price and average price per square foot.
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Posted by Jay Zenner at
7/13/2007 10:21 AM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Stuff Happens - Beyond Marketing a Home
When a homeowner is contemplating the sale of their home the initial focus is finding an agent that they feel will do the best job of getting a good offer. However, the successful conclusion of a transactions usually also depends heavily on the agent to guide the homeowner through a thicket of technical and logistical issues.
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Posted by Jay Zenner at
6/15/2007 10:21 AM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Wither Goeth Real Estate Commissions
Whatever you might have heard, there is no such thing as a "standard" commission for the real estate industry. Theoretically, every commission is negotiable and there is nothing prohibiting flat fees for service in lieu of a commission. In fact, competing real estate brokers should not even discuss commissions among themselves to avoid any suspicion of illegal price fixing.
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Posted by Jay Zenner at
6/15/2007 9:14 AM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Is Your Real Estate Agent a Marketing Expert?
This is about the distinction between real estate agents marketing themselves and marketing homes.
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Posted by Jay Zenner at
6/14/2007 2:31 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Hope Valley Farms 1st Quarter 2007 Report
There is a little bit of ambiguity sneaking into the numbers in the last couple of quarters that bears some keeping an eye on.
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Posted by Jay Zenner at
4/5/2007 12:18 PM | View Comments (2) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
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