mdrealestateblog.com

Richard Iarossi, REALTOR®
Long and Foster® Real Estate, Inc.
Crofton, MD 21114
410-451-6255 Office
443-995-9595 Cell
Web: http://www.RichSellsHomes.com
eMail: Rich@RichSellsHomes.com

Annapolis MD Real Estate Specialist
Bowie MD Real Estate Specialist
Crofton MD Real Estate Specialist

©2009 - RichSellsHomes, All Rights Reserved

Some Active Rainers celebrate 10,000 points. Some a hundred posts or more. 

Of course there are the professional milestones with 100, 200, 500 thousand points and more.

Significant milestones all, and congratulations to those who accomplished their goals. 

Today, I achieved a rather weighty milestone of my own.

With this submission, I've achieved the number of posts that equal my weight. There has to be a prize for that. What do you suggest? No salads please.

Congratulations Rich, now step away from the buffet line.

Of course, I could have accomplished this sooner if I was a more prolific writer...or a less prolific eater.

Richard Iarossi, REALTOR®
Long and Foster® Real Estate, Inc.
Crofton, MD 21114
410-451-6255 Office
443-995-9595 Cell
Web: http://www.RichSellsHomes.com
eMail: Rich@RichSellsHomes.com

Annapolis MD Real Estate Specialist
Bowie MD Real Estate Specialist
Crofton MD Real Estate Specialist

©2009 - RichSellsHomes, All Rights Reserved

As agents we do tend to see a bit of the seamier side of life. Which agent hasn't shown a house where about half of the furniture is missing? Or maybe the closets seem too empty because only one gender of clothes is in there.

What's going on in the market right now is about as bad as I've ever seen. I've never been accused of being a sentimental kind of guy, but I did think about all the interruptions in people's lives while showing properties this weekend.

It's a new client and they wanted to see homes in Bowie, MD. Bowie resides in a county where the average family income is approaching $100K. Not too shabby.

I made six appointments to see homes that matched their needs and it turns out that all were foreclosures. Every single one.I could have made twenty appointments and they all would have been bank owned properties. This is in a pretty affluent community where the unemployment rate is lower than the national average.

They were all vacant. All in so-so shape. All had previous owners who's life has been interrupted.

Reputable agents don't intentionally traffic in other people's misery, but it's impossible in today's market not to become involved in foreclosures and short sales. 

It did make me wonder though, as we're going through pretty difficult economic times, how many people out there are just one medical illness away from being in the same position? One downsizing away from losing their home and having their lives interrupted. 

Of course I can't do anything about it, but it does make me re-commit to making sure I do everything I can to protect the interests of my buyers.

Richard Iarossi, REALTOR®
Long and Foster® Real Estate, Inc.
Crofton, MD 21114
410-451-6255 Office
443-995-9595 Cell
Web: http://www.RichSellsHomes.com
eMail: Rich@RichSellsHomes.com

Annapolis MD Real Estate Specialist
Bowie MD Real Estate Specialist
Crofton MD Real Estate Specialist

©2009 - RichSellsHomes, All Rights Reserved
©iStock Photo - Licensed for Use

The Anne Arundel County real estate market continued a sales decline when you compare January 2009 to January 2008. Although the decline in Total Volume this January was -28.94% 2009/2008, it was significantly better than the -41.7% experienced in January 2008/2007.

The data below shows sales volume percent increase/decrease in Anne Arundel County, MD for homes priced between $100K to $5M. Information is from Metropolitan Regional Information Systems and is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.

January 2006/January 2005   -7.74%
January 2007/January 2006   +8.24%
January 2008/January 2007   -41.7%
January 2009/January 2008   -28.94%

January 2008 had 3,981 active listings while January 2009 showed a decline in active listings to 3,791.

Days on the Market increased slightly to 142.

Richard Iarossi, REALTOR®
Long and Foster® Real Estate, Inc.
Crofton, MD 21114
410-451-6255 Office
443-995-9595 Cell
Web: http://www.RichSellsHomes.com
eMail: Rich@RichSellsHomes.com

Annapolis MD Real Estate Specialist
Bowie MD Real Estate Specialist
Crofton MD Real Estate Specialist

©2009 - RichSellsHomes, All Rights Reserved

Happy Valentine's Day and a wonderful day it's turning out to be. Chilly, but close to 50 degrees and partly sunny.

This morning I took a drive over to the City Dock in Annapolis to take a picture of the sun rising in the East coming in over the Cheasapeake Bay.

There were several of us congregated on the dock, including dog walkers, joggers, and other sunrise watchers.

I got some great shots and here is one of my favorites.

Richard Iarossi, REALTOR®
Long and Foster® Real Estate, Inc.
Crofton, MD 21114
410-451-6255 Office
443-995-9595 Cell
Web: http://www.RichSellsHomes.com
eMail: Rich@RichSellsHomes.com

Annapolis MD Real Estate Specialist
Bowie MD Real Estate Specialist
Crofton MD Real Estate Specialist

©2009 - RichSellsHomes, All Rights Reserved

There is no question that January 2009 was not a good sales month for Crofton, MD home sales. While December 2008 wasn't bad with about one home per business day going to settlement, January sales fell considerably, with only 5 homes going to settlement.

Average prices fell as well, but that data was easily skewed by the relatively low number of home sales.

It's not time to panic. Crofton is still one of the most sought after destinations in Anne Arundel County and will rebound from an unusual and really, unexplainable, January.

While the trend is clearly down from the superheated years of 2005 and 2006, January 2009 is impossible to explain with any degree of accuracy. Keep in mind that nothing catastrophic has happened in the Crofton MD Real Estate area to warrant such a drop. A couple of things might be happening though:

• Buyers were waiting for interest rates to drop even lower.
• Inventory in Anne Arundel County is still high making it more difficult for some buyers to make up their mind.
• Unemployment has crept up and people are afraid of making that large a decision if they think their jobs may be in jeopardy.
• Companies are cutting down on relocation.
• Things were put on hold during the change of administration in Washington, DC.
• The overall economic climate in the country is severly depressed.
• Crofton tends to be a move-up destination for buyers. Right now a lot of potential sellers who could sell and buy in Crofton are just staying put.

Crofton Total Units Sold:

Richard Iarossi, REALTOR®
Long and Foster® Real Estate, Inc.
Crofton, MD 21114
410-451-6255 Office
443-995-9595 Cell
Web: http://www.RichSellsHomes.com
eMail: Rich@RichSellsHomes.com

Annapolis MD Real Estate Specialist
Bowie MD Real Estate Specialist
Crofton MD Real Estate Specialist

©2009 - RichSellsHomes, All Rights Reserved

About two years ago it seems that agents email addresses in our area became readily available to companies who promote the distribution of email listings, or as they're sometimes called, E-Flyers. My inbox and junk mail folders have been inundated ever since.

It is a cheap way of sending out thousands of emails at a clip but I personally don't think its very effective.

I don't know of any agent who has received one of these and actually used it to show the house. Every E-Flyer I've ever received has less information than is in the MLS. They are cheap though,ranging anywhere from $10 - $15 per mailing. I guess thats why I've gotten them from as far away as California. Mostly though, they're from local agents.

From my perspective, its just a way for a listing agent to get an attaboy/attagirl from their sellers. Mr/Mrs Seller..."I just sent out five thousand emails advertising your listing." I wonder what they would do if the seller shot back, "so, how many offers did we get?"

I've tried unsubscribing but that doesn't work very well. I'm just accustomed to getting them pretty much every day and performing my inbox deletectomy. What a waste of bandwidth, but at least they are trying something to get the house sold.

I try not to take offense that the agent who sends me the email flyer must think I'm too stupid to actually find the listing in the MLS myself.

I'm sure that there is the one off success story but for the most part I see it as a waste of time.

Oh well, at least they're more eco-friendly than paper flyers. 

Richard Iarossi, REALTOR®
Long and Foster® Real Estate, Inc.
Crofton, MD 21114
410-451-6255 Office
443-995-9595 Cell
Web: http://www.RichSellsHomes.com
eMail: Rich@RichSellsHomes.com

Annapolis MD Real Estate Specialist
Bowie MD Real Estate Specialist
Crofton MD Real Estate Specialist

©2009 - RichSellsHomes, All Rights Reserved
©iStock Photo - Licensed for Use