One down, three to go ….

With the first quarter of 2009 just past …

…. it’s a great time for Realtors to take a moment and review their local area sales results and activities.

The MLS is a great place to begin this research –

- MLS content is believed to be one of the most valuable databases in modern day, yet Realtors don’t really seem to use it for research. The accompanying video on the right will give you some insight too (open full post if the video is not visible)

My company is primarily focused on the San Diego Metro area so I ran a quick MLS report to see how the area activity was.  In the first quarter there were 395 closed escrows, approximately a third of which were bank owned.

More than 1100 new listings put on the market while 417 properties went into escrow during the first quarter of this year.  One reason I find it important to monitor the MLS is to keep agents motivated on what’s actually happening in their target market vs. listening to the media and all the nasty negative voices surrounding them.

Below is a quick snapshot of the market activity within a 5 mile radius of my target area, Metro SD, for year-to-date.  You can clearly see the hottest market is under $300K.  Going into the second quarter you have a good indication of where you should be spending your efforts.

That’s right ….

… you should be spending time going after buyers and investors looking to purchase the lower priced homes. Read this article on how to find and establish your own real estate niche market.

Potential clients are looking for this sort of information.

Now that you have the stats and charts share them, together with your insights, with consumers on your blog!

For more information on how to use your local MLS to identify the hottest markets, click over and read this page

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