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Country Real
Estate Market Remains Strong
Despite Downturn of
Urban/Suburban Market
August 1, 2006 – KANSAS CITY,
Mo. – Country and micropolitan
real estate markets remain
strong despite the declining
numbers being reported in more
highly populated urban and
suburban areas of the nation
according to United Country Real
Estate, the only national real
estate franchise system
specializing in residential,
farm and ranch, commercial and
recreational properties located
in America’s small cities and
towns.
“The media reports of bursting
bubbles and blooms falling in
regard to the real estate market
simply don’t apply to what is
happening in rural America,”
says Lou Francis, president of
United Country. “Our sales
numbers year-to-date in 2006
show steady improvement over our
record-setting sales in 2005.”
Statistics released by Carl
Hopkins, chief financial officer
for United Country, indicate
that the second quarter of 2006
set several records for the
national franchise system.
Reports indicate that second
quarter sales volume was up 40
percent and average sale price
increased 19 percent over the
same quarter in 2005.
Additionally, April, May and
June all represented individual
record-setting months for United
Country with May 2006 recording
the largest sales figures in
company history.
“Whether you’re looking at unit
transactions, sales volume,
gross commissions or average
sale price, real estate activity
continues to be strong in rural
and micropolitan America,”
Francis states.
In terms of organizational
growth, United Country added 29
new franchise offices during the
second quarter of 2006, bringing
the total to 565 franchises in
36 states. This represents a 19
percent network growth in the
past 12 months.
With a heritage dating back to
1925, United Country Real Estate
offers a national database of
properties at
www.unitedcountry.com.
During the first six months of
2006, this award-winning website
averaged 771,000 visitor
sessions and 22 million page
views per month.
NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
2820 NW Barry Road, Kansas City,
MO 64154
816-420-6200
www.unitedcountry.com |