Embrace the Ugly

SO I got into a little funk lately... driving around Clovis and I see all of those pretty Keller Williams signs, pretty deep maroon with gorgeous pictures of the agents... flowing script lettering....and I got envious.

I mean, I can't join KW. I am an owner in a competing brokerage (Weichert Realtors- The 505 Group) even though I appreciate KW's values and customer-centric attitude towards house sales which is on the same plane with Weichert's God-Family-Work beliefs - we are good there. They have great advice, planning, transaction management, support, education, incentives.... I love my company I just hate their signs..

After hearing 10x ... your husband saying, "Boy, your signs are ugly, boy those other signs look good" you start to wonder... Maybe I can change my company's signs and I started doing research.

Weichert has had the same signs for a long time. We have approved signs and we cannot deviate from the plan. They are a proven marketing tool and, I think, can even be seen from space.  Our signs are bright yellow, not mustard, not buttercup, but a bright Lemon/school bus-ish Yellow. They say Weichert - Really Big and they are clear and very businesslike. No pretty here.

And I started to think... What is the point of the sign? Why is it there, anyway?
TO GET NOTICED! Not to blend harmoniously into it's surroundings, not to enhance the looks of a  neighborhood, but to say, "Hey! I'm for sale!  Buy Me!  LOOK! and after thinking about it... they do that. You cant drive down the street and ignore them, you don't drive down the street and say, ahhh.. you say Oh! Look at that! They are selling their house. You might even say wow, what an ugly sign but you noticed it.... and I guess that's the point.

So for the time being I guess I'll embrace the ugly and place my yellow signs around Clovis proudly. They announce to the world that this house is for sale by a professional and I guess I'm good with that. #Weichert #embracetheugly

Clovis Stats and Absorption rates... Number of homes sold in Clovis, NM recently.

Well its time to head back to school and back to work so I thought I would share 

what’s happening in the Real Estate market in Clovis NM this month. 

Things are pretty steady but its still a buyer’s market.

Some quick stats:

Active residential listings in Clovis as of 8/26/13: 363

Active res. listings in NE Clovis: 169

Homes that sold/closed in all of Clovis in the last month: 39

Homes that sold in NE Clovis in the last month: 25

Market Absorption Rate for all of Clovis: 9.3

That's the number of months it should take, based on current rates of sale, to sell all 363 residential listings IF no other properties came on the market in the meantime.

Market Absorption Rate for NE Clovis: 6.8

The conventional wisdom is that 3-4 months absorption rates indicate a sellers' market, 6 months indicates a fairly balanced market, and 9-12 months (or worse) is the sign of a true buyers' market.

So Clovis has a lot of homes on the market right now and it’s a great time to buy. Just to give you something to compare to back in late April of 2009 we had 275 homes on the market and they had just sold 55 homes the month before so a 5 month absorption rate.

Also if you are like me and wonder when a good time to buy or sell is, here are how many homes sold each month for the past 6 months in Clovis.

Jan –Feb  26 sold

Feb -Mar   42 sold

Mar -Apr   58 sold

Apr -May   57 sold

May-Jun   46 sold

Jun – July  45 sold

And to compare this year to last year…. 41 homes sold in the same July-August time frame that had 39 sold this year so not much change. 

Things to do Part 2!

Ok, So some more things to do IN Clovis and then a little about a trip out of town...

This weekend is the High Plains Junior Rodeo - Im a little late but here are a few things to do today and tomorrow :

SATURDAY: July 20, 2013
10:00 am – 3:00 pm
THE FINALE SHORT GO-ROUND & MEGA BOUNTY BUCK-OUT PERFORMANCE. Curry County Events Center – Main Arena. Open to the public. Admission: $5/non-competing person. Performance Theme for Grand Entry – “Red, White & Blue”

6:30 pm – 10:30 pm
HPJRA FAMILY NIGHT & GALA. Family, friends, food and entertainment cap off the week of finals rodeo competition. The evening will feature a chuck wagon meal, HPJRA annual auction, talent show, a showcase of HPJRA top contenders, and other entertainment. Talent show participants must pre-register and be members of the HPJRA or immediate family. Prizes will be awarded. Deadline for talent show entry is July 7, 2013 @ 5:00 pm (MT). Non-Member Admission: $10.00/person. This is a dress-up event presented by the Clovis Chamber of Commerce and the HPJRA.

SUNDAY: July 21, 2013
7:30 am – 10:30 am
BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS. The crowning of the 2013 HPJRA Champions, plus continental breakfast, church services and fellowship. HPJRA rules state that a member must be present in order to receive year-end awards. Non-Member Admission: $10/person

For more information on the HPJRA Finals, please contact the Chamber at 575-763-3435 or Event Chairman Karen McDaniel at 575-693-1023

On August 1 Clovis Municipal Schools is going to hold an open house from 2-6pm to show off the new Gattis Middle School for those of you who, like me, are curious.

If you go to the chamber of commerce on the corner of third and Main st they have a bunch of information about the area and the state - you can grab a free New Mexico Magazine and a state map and plan weekend adventures for years to come.
I almost don't want to put this up here but here is the link to local attractions, you know the places that you take relatives when they come to visit but then never go there again,....well all except for the zoo. I think the zoo is great. https://clovisnm.org/visitors/attractions.htm

So last weekend we headed out to just see if we could find a good different camping spot and ended up in Pagosa Springs 6 hours later. We headed up through Santa Fe and Espanola. I had never been through Espanola so that was an adventure. Its beautiful North of that and up to Chama.

The landscape changes so quickly here in New Mexico so head out at 7am and by lunchtime you can be picnicking by a stream or climbing mountains or 4 wheeling down a forest road, seeing a wolf on the side of the road or at least 50 elk like we did.

We came home by driving along the Cumbres and Toltec rail line North of Chama and over to Antonio in Colorado then headed straight South next to our hunting spot then past the crazy houses made out of bottles and tires and then across the Rio Grande Gorge Then my favorite shortcut through Sipapu, (Great burgers) Tres Ritos, Mora, Las Vegas, Santa Rosa, Ft Sumner and then Home.

What's there to do in Clovis, NM anyway?

Well it's Summer in Clovis and we have a lot of new people in town! It's PCS season and it looks like that will last through November from the inquiries I have been getting....
Once the newcomers get here,  undoubtedly the first question I get is, "what's there to do around here anyway?" so I thought I would share a few of my favorites.
We have some great parks, Ned Houk is just North of town on the road to Tucumcari and has a couple stocked ponds with some good fishing, some trees (yes, really) and some great trails for dirt bikes, horses or walking, not to mention some great photo opportunities to show your friends what the wild west really looks like.
Clovis's own fabulous photographer Cristy Cross shot this whimsical Elopement shoot in Ned Hauk, so you get an idea of what the pasture around it look like. http://www.weddingchicks.com/2013/07/08/whimsical-elopement-inspiration/ Be sure to watch the video by Jenna Richardson Pryor on Vimeo. Its amazing.

If you have a free weekend go check out Tres Ritos, NM - No cell service - but that's part of it's charm.

It has some good trout fishing and a little ski lodge the next town over in Sipapu that has a disc golf course. I like camping in Duran Canyon which has a forest road lined by camping spots along a swiftly moving creek. There are some challenging ATV trails too along with some family trails as well. If you really arent into the nature stuff just follow the road on to Taos and enjoy the culture of Northern New Mexico. Just North of Taos is the newly dedicated Rio Grande del Norte National Monument and the Rio Grande Gorge. (back to nature, sorry)

In Clovis there are classes to take at the Clovis Community College, antique shopping on Main Street and at Roden Smith, a fabulous drug store with some unique offerings. http://rodensmith.com/

Ill get on again soon and give you some more ideas...stay cool!