We have seen the enemy, and the enemy is us.  If we sit back and wait for someone else to pull us out of this economic mess, I promise you it will last a long time.  Do you remember the days when we would catch the evening news at 6:00 PM and get all the news we needed, both local and national in about 20 minutes?  If we missed anything, we could catch it again at 10:00 PM before we went to bed.  Now we have an endless number of 24 hour news channels that are hashing the sames stories over and over and building fear because that's what we like to hear.  Stop it!!!  Tell everyone you know to STOP IT!!!!  The recovery starts with us; with our attitude, our faith in each other, in our families, and in our friends.  This country has been through tougher times than these.... Let's get over it.

Well, the first quarter of 2009 has come and gone, and its probably no surprise to you that real estate sales numbers are down.  However, the good news is that there are still buyers in the marketplace.  They are looking for good values and quality properties.... and they are finding them.  In analyzing the quarter's numbers, its obvious that the completed sales were reliant on one thing.... and that was pricing.  As an average, all of the residential sales completed in the city limits of Fredericksburg were closed at approximately 95% of their tax appraisal.  Some areas of the city were much lower.  This means that we should be expecting tax appraisals to be reduced in the coming months, and that the days of expecting buyers to pay excessive prices above tax appraisals are over... at least for a while.  If you want to sell your property, you still can.... however, your pricing has to be realistic.  Buyers just have so many properties from which to choose.

Today, Century 21 is announcing The Path to Your Dreams Sweepstakes.  The Sweepstakes starts 4/1/09 and concludes on 5/16/09.  The Grand Prize is $221,000 towards the purchase of a home.  You can enter the Sweepstakes two different ways.  You can visit www.century21.com/sweepstakes and complete the online entry form, or you can come by the Century 21 Sunset office at 408 W Main, Fredericksburg, Texas and complete an entry form.  Either way, take advantage of this opportunity to purchase a home.

I’m sure that many of you have seen the “IKEA” commercial where the lady is walking away from the check-out counter looking at her receipt.  She begins walking faster and faster as she reviews the receiptâ€Â¦. And by the time she reaches the exit, she begins yelling at her husband to “START THE CARâ€Â¦.START THE CAR”.  The message is that she feels that the price she has paid is too good to be true and she wants to get away from the store before someone catches on to it.  The commercial is funny, but it’s a strong message for our real estate market.

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It’s now time for us to start yelling “START THE CAR”.  This week mortgage rates hit a new low in the 4.5% range.  Property prices have steadily been decreasing over the past several months and there are more motivated sellers in our market than ever before.  If you have given any consideration to investing in real estate, or upgrading to a larger home, or purchasing your first home, now is the time to act.  It’s time to walk away from the closing table saying “START THE CAR”.

Welcome to my new website.  This has been an adventure for a less than expert computer tech.  I'm pleased with the product so far, and I'll be adding a lot of features in the near future, so please stay tuned.  Thanks, Robert