What Will 2008 Bring?

I have never been as excited entering a new year!  I'm no economist, nor do I have the statistics to back me up, but I do have the right to be optimistic!  I have my own reasons for believing 2008 is going to be a great year for real estate, at least in Collin County.  Here's why ...

1. The Dallas Metroplex enjoys a very diverse and strong economy. 

2. This area offers a great quality of life and low cost of living.

3. The Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex is one of the most undervalued residential markets in the entire country!  Although we have never enjoyed the huge upswings in values like other parts of the country, we also don't suffer from severely depressed prices when the market slows.  With plenty of available, affordable land to develop, home prices are going to remain attractive.

4. Interest rates are still low.

5. There is still plenty of money out there for buyers with good credit. 

6. As long as I can remember, working both commercial and residential real estate, periods of slow activity were always followed by brisk years.  This is due to pent up demand by buyers and lenders needing to get their money out onto the street. 

7. The hits on our website are increasing significantly along with the Realtor.com hits on our homes.

8. This is an election year.  If the Republicans expect any chance of doing well, they are going to have to make some positive changes to the housing market nationwide.

9. We refuse to allow the negative press regarding real estate nationwide impact our business.

There is only one concession we will be making to a softer market.  We will be even more cautious in 2008 about the homes we list.  At $500 (our marketing hard costs) and 20 to 30 man hours per listing, we won't be taking any listings from sellers with unreasonable expectations of what this market will bear.  Other than that, we are open for business and ready for another great year!

And finally and certainly foremost, we sincerely appreciate the trust our clients have placed in us to sell their homes or allowing us to represent them in buying their homes.  They are the only reason we are here in the first place!

About 2007!

What a strange 2007 we had!  We started out strong, slowed down through the summer (which is normally our busiest time of the year), then picked up steam again in the 4th quarter.  Along the way, we somehow accomplished the following ...

• Tom finished the year as the top selling Lovejoy ISD Realtor for the 7th consecutive year!

• Even in a very tough market, we broke our prior year's sales volume for the tenth straight time. 

• We sold a total of 45 homes representing either buyers or sellers, with an average sale price of $563,273

• We closed on approximately $28 Million of home sales, land sales, and leases

• We sold thirteen homes priced between $700K all the way up to $1.5 Million.

• We are carrying almost $20 Million in listings into 2008!

Here's how we finished up 2008 in Lovejoy ISD ...

Please note: This table was copied directly from the MLS on the last day of the year.  The company in the number two position is only a clearing house for home builders who pay a nominal fee for mls exposure.  And finally, please note the average sale price of our homes along with total volume sold!

* Again, please note the total volume listed, number of listings, and average listed price!  The second place average is incorrect.  It is obviously the same home listed twice and never sold.

Tom Grisak Estate Homes Realtors, Inc - Texas License # 0329533

Your Realtors for Allentexas, Fairviewtexas, Lucastexas, McKinneytexas, Murphytexas, Parkertexas, and Prospertexas