This week is the time to plan for next week…

As we bid farewell to the market of 2010, I’m thrilled to see that things have stabilized and actually made a turn to the upside. Listing inventory is incredibly low for the first time in a couple of years, and most of my young resale listings have been selling almost instantly, and for top dollar.

With that behind us, we can begin anew in 2011 with an exciting and fresh approach, and with nothing but hope and optimism for what lies ahead. In recent weeks, I’ve had multiple clients reenter the marketpla ce. Their properties had been listed with other agents last year. So far, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to see many of those properties sell with multiple offers within the first week. When that happens, we know that we’re on the right track in terms of our marketing approach and pricing, and that the overall health of the market itself is vastly. We’re still seeing inventory shortages in many towns and ranges, so if you were on the market in the past, or even if you weren’t, now is the time we should be talking, not later. Once the crocuses are blooming, you’ll find yourself the last one to the party.

Working with people reentering the market is actually one of my favorite things. It’s sometimes a bit challenging because these homeowners usually feel as though their last agent let them down, and made promises they didn’t keep – and so naturally they are scared to trust anyone again. In the end, we need to look at each and every one of these as an individual situation and come up with the most decisive marketing strategy to get the job done. The one thing we know isn’t true was that “nothing was selling” last year. In fact, just in Shrewsbury, Northborough, Westborough and Grafton, nearly 1000 sales happened last year alone, so if yours wasn’t one of them, let’s find out why.

For new listings entering the market, I have seen some impressive results. Homes in outlying suburbs in which the market had been sluggish for over a year were coming on the market and selling in a week. Always in demand, those pristine younger colonials in great neighborhoods are still commanding bidding wars at the first open houses.

We all are aware that these are challenging times in the market, but they are not unique. After 25 years in the business, I’ve been through this type of environment three times, and know very well how to navigate it for maximum results. Just the other day, a homeowner and I were chatting about that, and talking about how when real estate is hot, everyone is a hero, but it’s at times like this that the true professionals show their colors.

As I do each winter, I’ve opened up the Homeowners Blend program again, in the hope that we can get 10 or 12 new listings on that program starting in January. That’s always been a huge hit with the local home sellers, in that it provides real estate fees as low as 2.5%, which is a huge difference when your equity position is low to begin with. We already have four people signed up, but still have room for about 6 more – so if you’re looking for a solution that will put a bit more money in your pocket, just give me a call at 508-735-4663 or email me at steve@stevelevine.com and I’ll save you a place in the program. Until then I hope you have a happy and healthy 2011.

Steve Levine is President of Steve Levine Inc., and an agent for REMAX First Choice. He has been ranked as the top REMAX Agent in the 6 state New England region 10 times, and can be reached online at www. stevelevine.com or by phone at 508 735-4663