Snow Country Real Estate still ahead of 2007 sales!

Reports from the Western Upper Peninsula MLS Board show total sales dollars for this year in our region is over $10.6 million with SCRE 3rd in sales volume. The region, as a whole, is ahead of 2007 by $3.1 million!

We have 3 agents in the firm in the TOP 10....and the file cabinet in the office which contains "to be closed" transactions is still looking very full.  

Spring is generally the season when people get serious about selling or buying, so I've talked to quite a number of people in the past month. The comment I hear most often is "the real estate market is really down" and fortunately, I've been able to honestly answer that our local market is stable and rising. I always give specific examples of what I'm working on or have just closed and also mention what's going on with the other agents in my office. Everyone reacts with surprise to that info, but are usually pleased. Real estate may be bad news in the national media, but "real estate is local" and the Ironwood, MI and Hurley, WI area is definitely holding its own!

We've only passed the 2nd month of 2008 and Snow Country Real Estate is up over 30% in sales during the 1st quarter of 2007! Our average per transaction is $119000 for '08 vs. $46000 for '07.

On top of that encouraging news, 4 out of our 6 agents are in the Top 10 for sales volume. Sad to say that I'm not one of those 4, but I do have several transactions "in the works" and I plan to join the ranks of my top producing associates as soon as possible!

A very positive piece of real estate news is that our entire Western Upper Peninsula MLS board has sold over $6 million dollars in the first 2 months of the year. Last year, the first 2 months saw only $2.5 million in sales. Some of the large increase can be attributed to commercial sales this year, which just means more jobs in our area and that brings the potential for more residential sales.

In talking to the various out of town buyers I've worked with in the past several months and in reading lots of publications and blogs, I understand that real estate does seem to be depressed in many areas of the country. However, Gogebic County, MI and Iron County, WI do seem to be holding their own, if not outright picking up speed.

I plan to analyze our sales statistics - for our company and for our entire board - on a monthly basis and will post what I find early each month.