And throwing it away.

Forcing myself to take nearly ten days off of writing has been very productive. I’ve been writing, but not posting. By deliberately not posting, I’ve missed it – the writing, the posting, the commenting – I think I’ll try to do this every year going forward.

One note – I’m planning to use my sideblog category more this year – for quick, short stories that do not necessarily warrant full, front-page exposure. To ensure you don’t miss any of that content, I humbly ask for you to subscribe to the blog’s feed. If subscribing via email is your preference, please enter your email in the box in the sidebar.

Looking back at the end of the year Realtor stats for 2007:

Compare the start of 2009 with the start of 2008:

One of the most lamentable developments was the Daily Progress’ decision to get rid of their archives. There is hope for the DP; though they’d have to refocus their goals.

Thoughts going forward –

– I’m going to try to do more in-depth analyses of the local real estate market.

– There will be a few more self-serving posts that blatantly show that I am a Realtor representing buyers and sellers in the Charlottesville region.

– I’m going to look to build and highlight the search tool you see in the sidebar – I sincerely believe it is the best way to search for homes in the Charlottesville area.

– I’m looking to find a good Realtor to share the management of RealWaynesboroVA – a third blog is just a bit too much work, and to be truly successful, I need more content and time dedicated to building that site. Suggestions for authors are welcomed (and you don’t have to be a Realtor to write there).

– A focus here and on RealCrozetVA will be on the community – building, maintaining, helping … this year is one where community is going to play a much stronger role than it has in the past decade.

– I’m looking to maintain, build on and strengthen my relationships with the local media. We have worked well together over the past few years, and I look forward to a productive 2009.

– I’m going to renew my request for the Virginia Association of Realtors to look at agency – specifically Dual Agency. My belief remains that they are negligent and delinquent by continuing to refuse to study agency. Consumers and Realtors are demanding a change – and the status quo is no longer sufficient.

Upcoming stories –

– Realtor stats update – how many will drop out this year? (we need to lose at least 40%)

– Shadow Inventory – 7 January

– Charlottesville Foreclosure Study – 6 January

– Buyer recommendation/testimonial – 14 January

– Blog Confidentiality – 20 January

– Quite a few more than I’m not yet mentioning.

– Story suggestions and requests always welcomed – please contact me anytime.

Don’t get used to this type of planning; these posts are a result of the past ten days off.