Hey gang!

I'm wondering what signs do I look at to determine if short sales are an effective spoke for my market. I'm in the Anchorage, AK market, and we currently sold 270 homes this July as opposed to the 284 of last year. Our average sales price is $331,000 as to the $315,00 as of last year. We have 1378 active listings as opposed the 1105 of last year. This equates to going from a 3.8 DOM to a 5.1 DOM which means that we are approaching or currenlty in a buyers market for our area. Our homes are still appreciating at a rate of 5% or so.

I've run an ad in the paper for two weeks now with no phone calls. I will have bandit signs by the end of the week. However, I am playing red light green light with my finances, and I cannot afford to spend additional funds trying to capture a market that may not exist here. On the other hand, I cannot afford not to if the market does exist. I know there are many who might be experiencing this same dilemma. The bandit signs with H-wire and the time needed to place them out will run me close to a $1000. Maybe I don't need 200 signs since my city is smaller. Maybe 50 will do. I have people who are depending on me to make the right decisions with the remainder of my finances. As an agent 1.5 years into my career, I need to minimize my risk by being educated about my market and about how I market. Is there anyone out there that can assist me with what to look for?

Regards,

Ray Jones
Keller Williams Realty - Alaska Group
Anchorage, AK
907-865-6562
rayjones@gci.net

As we have discussed consider your real estate business like a wheel. We do not want your wheel to have only one spoke. We teach our students to have many spokes, short sale, expireds, FSBO, center of influence, farming, buyers, referrals, relo, REO etc.

Do what will make the most money for you now. Then add spokes. Short Sales are going to be if not already a big way to generate money but do not put all your eggs in one basket, especially if time are tight.

Dan