It's good to be #1

Well it sure was nice to be home this past weekend. After several weeks on the road I finally got to stay put and spend some time around Raleigh. It's nice living in a town so close to where I went to school, in only two nights I saw a lot of faces that I haven't seen in a while.

This past Saturday was our season ending Lawn Wranglers cookout. That's the softball team I was playing on for those wondering. At first I was pretty disappointed I couldn't be in attendance because of a day long open house. In a way that couldn't of worked out any better, I got the house sold on Friday and was back in control of my weekend.

Shannon had some mint growing in her garden so we drank mint juleps, cooked on the grill and played some yard games. We also surprised Lars with a gift the girls made him for coaching this season, a gold shiny cape. He will certainly be the only pitcher wearing one on the mound next year, but after this season it will be tough surprising any teams with our dress code. From BK Knights, to jean shorts & yellow jump suits, we may not have been the best team but it sure was fun.

Over at the office, a Triangle newspaper recently had it's readers vote Fonville Morisey as the #1 real estate company in the triangle. It was no surprise either that Kiplinger's has just rated Raleigh as the #2 place to Live, Work, & Play. Their rankings involve criteria like local economy & activities, but also what potential they see in a city. With all the downtown revitalization going on it is clear why it made the list. I was a little skeptical of it all when I saw Fayetteville at #7, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

I have seen our local market making some nice improvements over the last few months. The average home is selling in a weeks less time than when the year started. As other markets have battled depreciation and foreclosures since 2007, we have seen about a $6,000 increase in the average sale price. However, in May of last year about 1,000 more homes were sold, and in 10 fewer days. There is plenty of room for improvement and I see these changes starting to happen. I can say that I am open and ready for business, and glad to see it's coming in.

I wanted to say congratulations to good friends James & Brooke Kirkpatrick who were recently married. They had a splendid wedding & reception in the bride's hometown of Wilmington, Delaware. Best wishes to you both.

For those of you wondering where the koozies are, don't fret. They got off the press as of about an hour ago and should be arriving in you mailboxes in no time at all.