Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, April 14, 1991                   TAG: 9104120218
SECTION: AMERICAN HOME WEEK                    PAGE: 2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GENNY ELIAS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

REALTORS SAY NOW IS TIME TO BUY

The American Home Week is one week during which REALTORS draw attention to their profession.

For this year's campaign, the association has rented valleywide billboards, printed campaign bumper stickers, planned open houses, had representatives speak on a local radio show and supplied full-page advertisements to contirbuting local publications.

In addition, some REALTORS will be placing yellow ribbons on open house signs as their way of welcoming home the troops from the Persian Gulf War, said Roanoke REALTOR Kathryn Bush.

The association has chosen to concentrate its efforts on open houses this year, said Bush, as a way to emphasize what a good time it is for people to buy a home.

"We are showing that now is the most affordable time to buy a house in the last about 15 years," said Bill Gearhart, an area broker in Southwest Roanoke County. "Interest rates are as low as they've been in a long time and there is a wide selection of homes on the market now."

Gearhart stressed that Roanoke is a good market to invest in because it has steady appreciation, even in a recession.

"Roanoke's been lucky. Our housing market appreciated last year, around two percent," he said. "Our housing market is strong compared to a lot of other areas. While they had double-digit appreciation in the '80s, we had a steady appreciation of 5 [percent] to 9 percent each year. So we haven't had any false appreciation. We've had real appreciation.

"Also, we haven't overbuilt our market."

All these factors make the Roanoke market an excellent investment for homeowners, he said. Of the campaign, Gearhart said, "We are doing everything we can to make the public aware that now is a good time to buy because of economic reasons."

American Home Week had its first organized involvement in 1956. Back then, it was called REALTOR Week, explained Bush, and the objective was to make the public aware of "the basic human right to own property." The week was also used to distinguish REALTORS from non-REALTORS.

In 1975, the name of the week was changed to Private Property Week, she said. During this week, REALTORS stressed "the basic human right to own, use and transfer property," Bush said.

In 1986, it became American Home Week. Bush said that since 1986, the emphasis has been on individuals' involvement in their communities. Usually the week is used to hold seminars, speak in schools and have essay contests on community involvement, she added.

However, this year, with the troops coming home from the Persian Gulf War, the economy's apparent upturn and the lower interest rates, the RVAR decided to shift its emphasis.

"This year for the theme of the American Home Week campaign we wanted to do something for our members since there has been so much negative national press on the market," said Laura Benjamin, executive officer of the RVAR. "The home market is not as bad here in Roanoke [as in other parts of the country], and we felt we needed to say that."

And Roanoke is not the only area with this theme, according to Walter Poff, president of RVAR. Communities in the Midwest and the New England states also have taken up the theme, said Poff.

Yet, even with the emphasis on the affordability of a home, REALTORS are using the week to distinguish the difference between themselves and non-REALTORS.

"We want the public to know that REALTORS are professionals, and we want to enhance our image in the Roanoke Valley," said Poff. "We want the public to see us as professionals who are there to help them."