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Health & Fitness

Merry Christmas from the North Fork 2014 Sales Projections Show Active Market on the East End

In the words of John Lennon, so this is Christmas! One year is over and another’s just begun.

Agents were out in force showing houses just four days before   Christmas on an unseasonably warm Saturday on the North Fork.Meanwhile Hamptons brokers are logging record breaking sales on posh oceanfront estates. In fact, sales figures are on the rise in all price ranges on the East End. As usual, if you price it right they will come. Properly priced listings are going into contract and closing within ten to 45 days.Many of these deals are all cash.

We are getting phone calls from buyers who are ready to hit the market now with cash or financing already in hand. Now is a great time to list.

We always hope the weather will hold as we enter winter officially this week. If you are selling think ahead about snow plowing, the driveway should be kept clear with ample parking and turn around areas. Get a good back saver snow shovel if you do not have one. All sidewalks, walkways and paths should be kept clear and ice free. That includes the front porch, the rear deck and all the stairs leading into the house. Beware of black ice at all times. If you are not here call us. We will take care of snow removal for you. We have a list, we have a guy! I also have a brand new back saver snow shovel and a broom in the trunk of my car along with a hot chocolate fund!

The lights are on and the halls are decked making it a pleasure to drive around when it starts to get dark and the lights come on. I was just telling a friend and fellow real estate broker how much I enjoy this time of year. I told her it was a festival of lights. In that spirit, I encourage you all to keep your lights on and shinning as long as you can this winter.A simple string of white lights on a bare bush or tree looks great in the deep dark dead of winter, and it calls attention to your house on the market.

Be prepared to show and sell your house this week despite all the holiday festivities which do slow down business a bit this week. Remember, people are on vacation from Christmas to New Year’s Day and they are out here with money and spare time to look for a house.

Not everyone is taking off for the Islands in the blue Caribbean Sea.

If you want to list please call us for an up to date market analysis and listing price on your property. We will be here and we are working.

We are seeing renewed interest in commercial real estate as well so don’t hesitate to call us and let us help you re-think your market strategy.

There are two main reasons a listing does not sell, namely price and promotion.
If you have been trying to sell your house yourself unsuccessfully and are getting discouraged, fed up and turned off by potential buyers who give you the third degree and then leave, call us. We will commiserate with you! Welcome to the world of real estate where you have to have patience and perserverance.
An old timer once said it best when she said “you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you get the right buyer”. So true!

We have made it through 2013 with deals closing and others in the works. New listings are coming in. The news media, which we always take with a grain of sale in our office, is predicting an upswing in the economy. Interest rates are still favorable and unemployment figures seem to be going down. New jobs are being created depending on what you read however we are not back yet.

We have to understand that the global economy is in transition and all our lives are changing as the world changes. The high end of the market is booming at record highs in a market that leaves us with a sense of shock and awe in this business. It also gives us reason to pause.

We have seen a record number of foreclosures and short sales that are now common place in this business. They are a daily event. When I started selling real estate in 1996 they were a totally oddity. 

As brokers we are acutely aware of what homeownership means to our clients and customers. It is heart breaking to see people forced to sell because they can no longer make their mortgage payments. The term underwater is used in the business to describe these deals and yes, people are drowning in debt. 

We are moving forward in 2014 sadder but wiser having learned lessons in patience, humility and gratitude while we remain hopeful that the future will be bright and things are not that bad.So, have yourself a merry little Christmas now. Some chestnuts roasting on an open fire and a some North Fork wine goes a long way!!Good food and the company of our friends and family make the holiday season. 

Lucky and happy to be alive I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Andrea AurichioBrokerAurichioSmith Real Estate
631-765-8123
AndreaAurichio@optonline.net
www.aurichiosmith.com 

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