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An Xplosive amount of information!!!!!

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We recently went to the Xplodethis Conference – a quick hitting, action packed, content rich event that offered the latest in real estate technology and some of the best speakers in the industry.  Here are the notes that will be helpful to you and your business!

MRIS – 12,000 agents have not done a transaction in the last year, 13,000 have done fewer than 3 transactions – basically 40% of agents don’t do the business!  If real estate is your business, technology is your platform – you have to get on the technology bandwagon to be successful!

Mobile is where it’s at for the consumer AND agents – have data on demand in your hand!  We are still in a people business – technology only helps you communicate.  In the next 3-5 years, more searches will be done a mobile device than PC. 

Study of consumers:

  1. Last 10 years – #1 complaint is not enough or lack of communication
  2. This year – consumers feel they are MORE educated about the product than the agent

Top 5 uses of tablets

36 new tablets will be released this year in this market – top 2 – Ipad2 and Motorola Xoom

  1. Data on demand
  2. Real estate searches – Realtor.com has high res. photos
  3. Planning calendars/Contacts
  4. Presentations – shows content and value
  5. Video capability

Top 9 Apps

  1. Realtor.com – can draw a circle around where your clients want to live
  2. ReaddleDocs/PDF Expert –iPad – opens PDF files
  3. Sign my pad – iPad – signature application
  4. Karl Jeacie’s Mortgage calculator
  5. Evernote – voice audio now
  6. Dropbox
  7. Cam card
  8. Cam scanner
  9. Hootsuite – manages all posts to social media

Today’s consumer is multi-media, multi-taskers – find people who would not normally find you

  • Watch TV while surfing the we
  • Surf magazines and scan QR codes
  • On phone and laptop at same time
  • 85% of people find your website other than direct search
  • Your marketing shouldn’t cost you money, it should make you money
  • Check out Agents of Change

Let people know you are Realtor – direct FB, Twitter, Linkedin to your blog where you talk about real estate and incorporate 365 things to do in your area

Use video – neighborhood videos, personal videos of clients about neighborhoods, schools, etc.

Use location – 4square and learn how people are looking to find locations

Use Twitter – use as an educational tool to do your job better – research think tanks, follow experts, get information and share and use in your business.  Find answers for people

Blog – neighborhoods, business, and valuable content so you receive leads!!!  Work your butt off as it is not a magic pill be consistent, be persistent and don’t quit – don’t be afraid to have an opinion – find a unique place and unique vision.

Google –

  • Google.com/Picasa – group resizing, renaming, add to Google maps, collage, add to Facebook, post to Youtube movies
  • Google.com/Voice – transcribes voicemail, sends text message and you can call back
  • Google.com/Latitude – lets you see where someone is at all times with their permissions
  • Google.com/Sync –allows you to sync all mobile devices at one time to calendars
  • Goog.gl – URL shortened – similar to tiny URL – creates Analytics and QR codes automatically
  • Google.com Maps – you can send maps to their GPS or as an email look at Matt’s video on how to use this feature www.
  • Google.com/PowerMeter – monitors the power usage at your home but needs to be compliant with power companies
  • Google.com/Add URL – use for adding every post you put on internet
  • Google.com/Alerts – monitors information on what you want to follow and helps you monitor your online reputation – yourself, your listings & share with your clients, your company, your competition
  • Add where your listing is located – Vienna, Fairfax County, VA – in MRIS to get better mojo in Google
  • Google.com/Places – add your business address and you can get analytics from it as well

14% of people trust what you say about 91% believe what others say about you – peer recommendations are so important today – go to rate-an-agent on Google and see what happens.

Sites where agents can be rated – you are being rated so you better check out what people are saying about you

  • Homethinking
  • Incredibleagents
  • Ratemyagent
  • Mountainofagents

Need to have a plan to ask to recommend you – please go to www.blah/blah/blah.com and ask to recommend you there…Don’t take my word for it – see what others say!

Solution

  1. Compete.com – search to see which site is best
  2. Facefied.com – aggregates all of your reviews so you can put a badge on your email, website, etc. and have people look at and review you

People want sold data from your website

302 million people are considered mobile users – more texts are sent than phone calls being made

Mobile web is growing 8 times faster than traditional web did 10 years ago.  Incorporate mobile into your listing presentation and speak about your solution to this for your clients.  Lower bounce rates and higher capture rates with mobile website.

Video optimization – video=leads=$ – video houses, your profile, and testimonials.  It’s not about what you think – it’s about what they Google!  Become a local provider of content that national companies don’t have the capability to provide.

Universal SERPs Results – 84% Informational – 18% Navigational – 8% Buy from me sell with me – do “how to” videos.  Do “Town Tours” – restaurants, schools, politicians, shopping centers, new homes, etc. and tag them properly.

Most Googled term is “how to” – how to move, how to fix a plumbing issue, how to anything and

Clients want to see video 6 times to 1 over text.

84% of rankings on Google come from Youtube videos

Keep it short – under 2 minutes, use fluid head tripods – no Blair Witch production, make it slow when panning & tilting, don’t zoom in and out, always be in focus, have external microphones, lighting – use white balance/Iris, Rule of thirds – be off to one side or the other but not in the middle.  Rotate male and female voice overs if you are going to do voice overs.  Talk about benefits and features not the layout because they can see it in the video.  Always use studio lighting to hide shadows.  Make videos about what the consumer wants!!!

RPR is for Realtors only and provides tons of content for our clients – gotta see to believe!

Tips for a better website

  • Quick to load is important
  • Don’t want to have to scroll side to side to see all of the content
  • Upper right should be content information – your contact information is preferred here with a form to contact you
  • Don’t use stock photos on your site
  • Use video or professional photographer
  • Work for the client not the commission – don’t use these things (don’t use honest, integrity, etc.)
  • Don’t use featured listings
  • No one cares what you look like – photos of you shouldn’t highlight site
  • Website shouldn’t be built to appease sellers it is used to get new clients
  • Consumer wants to search – giant section and easy to find
  • Valuation models on site too
  • How’s the market?
  • Hyper local information on site.
  • Use Madlib example on your forms
  • Tribusgroup.com/shredder – thanks Eric

QR code on brochure box flyers should drop you into your mobile website

  • Have a personal website
  • Actively market your website
  • Get mobile
  • QR codes on fliers
  • Get social on your website

Use tools that work best for you – video, digital signatures, and mobile devices are extremely critical today for Realtors to use and understand – don’t forget to USE YOUR OWN BRAIN

iPad is a great tool for agents to learn AND use effectively

Marketing and prospecting in real estate – how we receive information today is different than in the past but people still want to be reached out and touched.

If you are a knucklehead in the office you are probably worse on line

Every form of marketing reaches a specific audience – know who you are trying to reach and why.

AVM’s are strictly a baseline and are still not quite there.  Let’s you know if you are in the ballpark but remember they have a huge margin of error.  Set expectations of everyone in the process that there is a margin of error.

Use RBIntel to help support your offer or make a better one!  The stats go back 5 years…

If I were starting today – where would I begin to build an online presence?

  • Make it easy to search for homes
  • Create community landing pages
  • IFrame search into your listing page
  • Need lead capture – don’t have outside links on your site
  • Get local – talk about the community
  • Create content want to share
  • Publish more
  • Measure your results
  • Do a self-audit of your website

Social Media is relational not transactional

  • Provide real time breaking news in their city
  • Things to do/events
  • Every deal in driving radius of their house
  • Automate your updates – maintenance free
  • Social commerce – groupon/living social $25 for $1,000 cash back at closing when buying or selling a house with RE/MAX Gateway
  • Social discovery – drives social commerce
  • Airbnb is the Groupon of 2011 and will create real estate liquidity – your room for rent, your basement for rent, etc.
  • Become a media star through automated messages
  • Become indispensible resource to your clients

Track your customers, leads, contacts through CRM

Leads are:

  • Bogus
  • Suspects
  • Or real prospects

CARMA – Client Acquisition Relational Management Acquisition

Initially set up as a forecasting tool for Fortune 500 companies to project earnings

Understand CRM

  • What
  • Why
  • And, then how

A good CRM system integrates MLS data and transaction data

Intangibles of success in real estate

  • Likability – can you control it?  Yes!
  • Be intentional about your actions – if your actions depended upon someone liking you or not and this determined whether or not you were able to feed your kids do you believe you control your actions
  • Perception is reality.  There is a perception of you in the marketplace and you can’t control it – craft your message you want others to believe and get the perception to the public.

Reason for success of top 100 companies

  • Speed of implementation of systems
  • Take action

CRM is a strategy for managing a company’s interactions and engagements with customers, prospects and clients.

Today we are dealing with Social CRM – advocacy, experience, service support, marketing, PR, sales on a relational basis.

Involves technology to create the best type of CRM

  1. Organize
  2. Automate
  3. Synchronize business practices

Success marketing – putting your plan on paper

How many lead sources do you need to be intentional and direct about growing your business – 4 to 6 – these include but are not limited to your sphere, niche market, online, networking, farming, etc.  Put them in groups and market to them differently.

What data should you collect – personal profiles, demographics, and conversations.  Why?  To build the relationship!

What do you send to whom and when.  Think about this seriously.

Stop drip campaigns and create or start a two way conversation.  Send valuable content, have a call to action, and the human interaction is critical.

Communicate to connect with people, don’t talk at them!

E+R=O

E=Events in your life

R=Response to those events

O=Outcomes

  • Events happen to everyone
  • It’s not the events that cause you to be or feel the way you do, it’s your choice of response
  • There are always at least two responses to every event

How do we learn how to react?  Parents influence is the number one way they respond.

Nobody makes do you anything – you choose your response.  An example is “he made me so mad” – he didn’t make you mad, you chose to be mad.

Everyone has an emotional checking account – think, is there a different way to respond to events?  Our account is full at the beginning of the day and the events we encounter make us write checks for each one we have.  Think before you write you check and don’t write a $5 check for a $.50 event.   

Don’t let self-help turn into shelf help – use what you learn!

Wrap-up – get yourself a mobile device.  By 2012, more people will use mobile devices instead of personal computers.  We are in a “freeware” environment but it will become “payware”.  Data is king – provide the right tools to get the right information out clients.

In today’s ever changing real estate market, you need to stay ahead of the curve.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Now, go sell something!

Our donation dollars at work!

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Our Visit to Children's Hospital 
There are times in your life when you feel fortunate and humbled at the same time.  Our visit to The National Children’s Hospital in Washington, DC was one of those occasions.  We are fortunate that our children are healthy and not undergoing treatments that many of the children at the hospital have to endure.  We are fortunate to have experienced the hospital as visitors and not as parents or friends of a patient staying at the hospital.  As a result of our contributions to the Children’s Miracle Network we were able to have a VIP tour of the hospital.  It is an amazing facility that provides unbelievable care to children for any reason regardless if they have insurance or not. 

What immediately struck me was the kindness of the staff from the valet parker to our tour guide Milton to our liaison, Kimberly Lane.  They all truly appear to love their job.  Next was the color scheme and design features of the floors we visited.  The design feature input was made by the families and children who had to have a stay at the hospital.  Bright colors, balloons, and vibrantly colored floors and walls highlighted each floor and gave the appearance of no other hospital. 

The art room is another aspect that helped bring a new appreciation of what the children who stay at the hospital have to endure make this facility a special one.  The children can do art projects  to help them escape their current situation and help aid them in their healing process.  In addition to the art room are the playrooms they make available to the children so they can seek solace and “get away” from the hospital staff in a fun environment.

The hospital rooms offer as much privacy as possible and are designed with three separate sections – medical, patient and family areas.  They are designed to make the stay more comfortable for all involved.  There are also separate “family” areas as well as laundry facilities available so parents can remain close to their children while allowing them to get some time out of the hospital room.

The wall of encouragement is what had the biggest impact on me.  The wall features photos of former patients that told their story, what impacted them most about their stay at the hospital, what the current patients can do stay positive and lastly, who is their inspiration and why.  It was a very moving experience to read how these children coped with their conditions and made their stay a success to help the others become success stories as well.

All in all, it was a great experience and one that I am proud to be a part of by contributing a portion of each sale to CMN and encouraging our agents to do the same.  We highly encourage doing all that you can by helping support us in this cause – one visit to the hospital will get you hooked.  As discussed at our Quarterly Meeting in December, all of our Chili Cook-off donations will go to support CMN as well.  As we expand offices, we will be doing soup cook-offs, barbeque cook-offs and other cooking competitions to support this cause so please let us know your thoughts on how we can make these events even better and well attended.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Now, go sell something – so you can make a contribution!

You’ve got to do more to get more!

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Sales is a tough job, no doubt about it, especially today in real estate.  You hear, read and talk about with others that in the real estate business, it is a numbers game.  If you want more results, you have to do more activities, talk with more people, hold more open houses, make more calls, and basically, just do more to get more business.  While this is true, it is only partially true. 

You need to have quality contacts to truly have an impact on your bottom line.  You need to provide value to those you speak with and earn the business or else your bottom line won’t change.  You must engage others buy asking about them, their families, their business, etc. and take an interest in them before you talk about you – basic relationship building. 

In addition, it is not just enough to say you are in real estate and business is unbelievable, you need to have an “elevator speech” about the services you provide, the information you share, and how you are different than others in the business.  If you don’t, why would your business increase?  Holding more open houses, knocking on doors, calling more FSBO’s or expired listings won’t get it done – you need to build relationships.  You need to add value to those you speak with to earn their trust and in turn, you will get the opportunity to grow your business through referrals. 

You need to know what is impacting our business and how that is impacting both buyers and sellers today.  Yes, today because the real estate market changes virtually daily.  How are property values and why is now a good time to buy and conversely, why it is a good time to sell.  How do the low rates effect payments at loan amounts of $250,000, $300,000 or $500,000 and what is the difference if rates go up 1%?  What are house values in your neighborhood, your town, and county for all categories of houses – condos, townhouses, and single family homes?  How many properties are for sale?  What are the month’s supply of houses and what does this mean?  Is it a buyer’s or seller’s market?   What price ranges are hot, who is buying in those price ranges and why?  How is the rental market locally?  How are their prices?  What is their month’s supply?  If you had the answers to these questions, do you believe you would be perceived as an expert by those you encountered and hence, obtain more business? 

You have to know the real estate business, the numbers and the trends.  Where is the market headed and why?  Give your opinion and be able to back it up with facts.  Watch videos, read blogs, read newsletters, network with others in our industry and absorb what they are saying and develop your conversation strategy based upon what you have learned to earn more business.

As previously mentioned, you need to increase your activities but you also need to improve the quality of your conversations.  You need to become an expert in the business.  If you only increase your activities or only gain knowledge and don’t share it with others, you won’t have the same business building results if you do them in concert with each other.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Now, go sell something!

Control your destiny or someone else will!

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You are in control of yourself, your life and all that you do in it.  How do you move past the current situation you are in today?  Get educated – learn all you can about your industry or one you want be a part of and become the expert.   It doesn’t take much.  Read for one hour per day in the field you wish to learn.  One hour per day turns into one book per week.  One book per week becomes 52 in one year.  You tell me if you read 52 books on one subject and can’t become an expert, I will tell you, you are wrong.  Most people don’t read one book in a year.  Learn what you have read and apply it to the real world situations you encounter.

Those who know and do more than others in any walk of life earn more respect, get more recognition and go further in their careers.  And, guess what?  They earn more money.  If you want to change where you are in life, you need to change your attitude and regain control of your thoughts, desires and where you want to be.  As the saying goes, “if it is to be, it is up to me”.   So become positive and optimistic.  There are so many negative people in the world and there is so much negative press on the television, in newspapers, etc. and they all want company.  My advice is to avoid these people.  Look at every opportunity as a learning experience and as an opportunity.  Not a problem.  Become solution oriented and you will get results and become even more optimistic and positive.  If you smile more – this too will help you so start with this simple task!  Hang around positive forward thinking people and learn how they handle situations and remain optimistic.  It is a learned skill – teach it to yourself.

Stop blaming others, the economy, the industry you are in, the government or any other excuse.  You determine where you end up in life.  There are countless numbers of people whom have come from every walk in life with every opportunity presented to them and it is the ones who take advantage of what is presented and makes the most of the experiences that gains the most from them.

Other people get tired of hearing negative responses to everything said or about everything that happens around them.  Take the time to figure it out for yourself.  Do something about your current situation.  Don’t be a victim and become a success story and share your story with others.  Life is a contact sport, become a part of it and direct yourself to where you want to go and reap the rewards.

Again, you control your destiny.  Make the most of your time – do what makes you the most productive, consistently and you will get results.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Now, go sell something!

What’s up with Gateway? News from our Quarterly Meeting

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The Lorton office is progressing quite nicely – we should be officially open the week of the 10th along with the help of the county.  Feel free to stop by anytime for a visit as we are getting settled in with the technology, and finishing touches.  Hope to see you there soon!  Since this time, we have received our Occupancy Permit – great job to Brett for seeing this difficult process all the way to fruition – it was extremely frustrating and tenuous.

We have a great opportunity to potentially sublease some of our space in Chantilly.  The landlord has a need for the space coupled with KHov’s desire to give up some space so if you see activity over the next month or so, you will know what is happening.  In addition to relinquishing some space, we will be extending our lease for an additional 10 years.

For those of you unfamiliar with the changes at RE/MAX, RE/MAX has changed their name to RE/MAX, LLC.  What does this mean to you?  It puts our Independent Contract Agreements out of date.  In addition, it refers to RSN which is now RE/MAX University, it references Web Roster which is now on Mainstreet and some other minor changes.  Therefore, we have a 3 page revised agreement that we need you to sign to bring us into compliance with the headquarter company.  Kate will be sending out the agreements for you to sign – please do so at your earliest convenience.  Thanks!

The free trip to Vegas is moving along nicely for some – not so much for others!  Joe Doman is in the point standings lead as he has participated in the most trainings, charity events, etc. so far.  You still have time to catch up as the contest doesn’t end until the end of the year.  For more details on how you can get to Vegas on us, please let me know!

Please remember to sign your paperwork on listings and buyer agreements!!  As is the case every quarter, we need to discuss paperwork.  Please be compliant so we don’t need to have this covered next meeting!

We are putting together bowling teams for RPAC for each of the offices.  Please let us know if you can make it out on the 16th of June to Bowl America at Fairfax Circle. We’d love to see you there!

Gary Plaag of Couragio Consulting helped us all tremendously with our presentations thanks to Kathy Worek giving Gary her listing presentation.  We were all amused and educated at the same time.  For more details on how Gary can help you get better results, call him at 703-858-6162.

Now, go sell something!

 

Who really knows if the price is right?

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Price 

If you follow real estate at all, you know that there are 3 pricing indexes that get quoted fairly regularly – S&P Case Shiller, FHFA, and Corelogic HPI.  Are they good for tracking home prices as a buyer or seller?  My belief is no – a professional Realtor is your best option.  All of these indices are flawed from what they track, to the timeframe in which they use to track data, to what their data sources encompass, to how much weight is given to price points and to what areas are used to gain their pricing policies.  Why is this important to know you may ask?  Well, it is where your clients, sphere, and potential clients hear in the media about housing prices.  You need to be able to speak intelligently about them and convey the true story about housing prices.  By doing so, you will position yourself as a trusted resource in real estate by providing value to those whom you know.  Now, let’s take a closer look at each pricing model so you can give the right advice when you are helping a client buy or sell a house.

Here is what you may not realize about the S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Index:

  • The index was developed for Wall Street to hedge the housing market, not as a monthly consumer metric
  • Based on a 3 month moving window of closed sales which washes out the annual seasons in housing
  • Lags contract signing dates by 5-7 months
    • Translation:  Q1 2011 report = Q3 2010 Contracts
    • Based on prices, not sales activity where sales activity may be trending
    • Comprised on single family sales only.  Excludes: condos, co-ops and new development sales
    • Only represents 20 cities nationwide
    • Washington DC covers a large area of which includes:
      • Calvert, MD
      • Charles, MD;
      • Frederick, MD
      • Clarke, VA
      • But these areas also included:
        • Warren, VA
        • Jefferson, WV

This is NOT what most readers of the Washington, DC data understand the coverage area to be.

The CSI reported with a two-month lag and is based on three months of data.

  • For example, data released in January 2011 was for the three months ended November 2010 (November, October, and September 2010).

 Understanding the FHFA HPI:

  • The House Price Index is based on transactions involving conforming, conventional mortgages purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac – only. All mortgage transactions on single-family properties are included – refinances included but no condos, coops or multifamily are considered.
  • Conventional mortgages are those that are neither insured nor guaranteed by the FHA, VA or other federal government entities.
  • The HPI is a weighted, repeat-sales index, meaning that it measures average price changes in repeat sales or refinancing on the same properties.
  • A full release is provided every three months – not exactly timely.
  • The HPI includes indexes for all nine Census Divisions, the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The best of the rest – CoreLogic.

The CoreLogic HPI provides a multi-tier market evaluation based on price, time between sales, property type, loan type (conforming vs. nonconforming), and distressed sales.  The CoreLogic HPI is a repeat-sales index that tracks increases and decreases in sales prices for the same homes over time, which provides a more accurate “constant-quality” view of pricing trends than basing analysis on all home sales. The CoreLogic HPI provides the most comprehensive set of a monthly home price indices and median sales prices available covering

  • 6,507 ZIP codes -  58 percent of total U.S. population
  • 611 Core Based Statistical Areas -  86 percent of total U.S. population
  • 1,119 counties -  83 percent of total U.S. population and
  • Located in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

 The CoreLogic HPI is published on approximately a 5 week lag from the end of the data collection period.

How does the FHFA HPI differ from the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price indexes?

  • The S&P/Case-Shiller indexes only use purchase prices in index calibration, while the all-transactions FHFA HPI also includes refinance appraisals.
  • FHFA’s valuation data are derived from conforming, conventional mortgages provided by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The S&P/Case-Shiller indexes use information obtained from county assessor and recorder offices.
  • The S&P/Case-Shiller indexes are value-weighted, meaning that price trends for more expensive homes have greater influence on estimated price changes than other homes. FHA’s index weights price trends equally for all properties.
  • The geographic coverage of the indexes differs. The S&P/Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, for example, does not have valuation data from 13 states. FHA’s U.S. index is calculated using data from all states.

As you can see, it is nowhere near how we value properties but it is where most of Americans get the idea of housing values.  We have more accurate, up-to-date information that we can provide clients.  Let your clients know why these indexes are made available – CSI, for Wall Street and hedge funds;  FHFA HPI, to track valuations on Freddie and Fannie products to assess risk;  and lastly, CoreLogic’s HPI, for banks to assess risk when lending money.  None of them are used to determine the value of a home when selling or buying – let others know the facts and become a source for valuable real estate information.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Now, go sell something!

Awesome Top Producer Panel

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**TOP PRODUCER PANEL**

Peter Knapp’s Comments

Subscribe to the 4 P’s

  • Persistence
  • Purpose
  • Perspective
  • Patience
  • Reminding yourself “why”
  • Why are you in the business?  Providing for family
  • The idea of “you signed up for it”
  • Available 24/7
  • It’s your job so do you best
  • Embracing the profession
  • Be responsive
  • Separating yourself from the transaction
  • Don’t be emotional – Be honest
  • Emotions
  • Separate yourself from the transaction – Don’t take personally
  • Creating quality of life
  • Servant mentality
  • serve all the time
  • Outworking people – some people are smarter but no one will outwork me
  • And common sense
  • Each transaction, you are working for more than one sale
  • By servicing everyone they will refer you.
  • Every client is the only client
  • Have people say  – I thought I was the only client you were helping
  • Do Charity events as client events
  • Address previous hurdles with clients in initial interview to minimize problems down the road

 **Tom Connor’s comments

Peter’s list was on target – he didn’t miss a beat!

It is important to block time off.

Spend majority of time on lead generation – Most Agents don’t do this.

Manage Team like a business – presentations, systems, and processes are important.

Website built with lead generation – on Back office – Real Pro Systems

Discuss business and an Agent’s productivity with buyers and sellers so they understand how hard you work and what your results are versus the “standard/average” agent.

Be responsive

Be communicative

Develop online biz but understand it is hard – lots of rejection – must be persistent

Read Book “Work for a Reason”

John Rumcik – ‘RUM’ –No Team – leverage company events with sphere to show you are involved in the community and give back to charities.

  • Hard work has no substitute
  • Work 100% by referral
  • BNI is great – members & clients are referring because of high level of service
  • Tons of referrals
  • Work outside the box
  • Don’t say “no” if it’s legal & ethical – yes, I will try for you is the right answer
  • Advertise on Craigslist to help military for free on rentals and your email will blow up.
  • Nothing is below me
    • BPOs and rentals pay RE/MAX expenses – no deal is to small or beneath me to provide my clients
    • BPOs help with knowing valuations
    • Sell clients for the future 

What are your motivations and how do you stay accountable?

Rum – Motivated by money

  • Has business plan
  • Has goals

Peter – Meets with Scott

  • His “why” of why he’s in the business

Tom – Incoming bills – money

  • Drive from within:  either you have it or you don’t.

Just a few more thoughts…

Do the little things and they will eventually add up to something big – rentals, BPOs, etc.

This job is mental →

Never be satisfied with success – always strive for more.

And we had the market update…

From DSNEWS.com  

Foreclosure Sales in Q1 = 158,434 – Altogether, third parties purchased a total of 158,434 bank-owned and short sale homes during the first three months of this year.  That’s down 16% from the previous quarter’s total and down 36% from the first quarter of 2010.

…REOs that sold in the first quarter had been repossessed by the bank an average of 176 days prior to the sale…

…Sales of bank-owned homes and those in some stage of foreclosure accounted for 28 percent of all U.S. residential sales in the first quarter of 2011 – in our area is was 30%, the highest percentage since the first quarter of 2010.”

…California and Arizona, foreclosure sales accounted for 45% of all residential home sales during the first quarter – in Vegas it was 53%.

…Residential home prices slipped 2.5% during the first quarter of this year when compared to the previous quarter…Our area sales prices are up 5.84% – an 8.24% difference.  We are lucky to be where we are today in regards to home sales and pricing!

From Builderonline.com

Foreclosures Continue to Take Toll on Pricing…only 20% of the 1.2 million homes in some stage of foreclosure have hit the markets – how is this going to affect prices?  In addition, over 4,000,000 are behind/in default on their mortgages.

From Realtor.org – Today’s REALTOR:  older and more experienced

Sales agents report $25k median net income in 2010. How much did you or your Realtor earn last year?  Experience=money – you better ask!

The typical REALTOR of today is older and has more experience than the typical REALTOR on year ago, according to the national Association of REALTORS’ 2011 Member Profile.  The average age is 56.

NAR had 1.01 million members.

Only 12% of REALTORS under 40, half are between 40 and 59, and 38% are age 60 or older. Only 6% of REALTORS said real estate was their first career. By comparison, homebuyers had a median age of 39 in 2010.  Get in tune with your buyers!

8% did not complete a single transaction in 2010, down from 12% in both 2009 and 2008.  I believe this number is very suspect…

Real estate was the sole occupation for 75% of REALTORS…

From DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS

 New-home sales see monthly rise in April

Sales of new, single-family homes saw a monthly rise in April, the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported today.

New Home Sales increased an estimated 7.3% in April compared with March and it is 29.2% above the rate in February, when such sales hit an all-time low.

The median sales price of a new homes rose 4.6% year-over-year in April, to $217,900.  Builder’s homes are priced right that is why they are selling and they are seeing price increase.

From WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL

 Rates fall for sixth straight week – what a great time to buy!  Rates are down and prices are up.  Time to get in now before both are too far out of reach!

 HOUSING DATA

Last May versus this May – week 4

                                                                2010                                                       2011

Active homes for sale                                7,428                                                     7,516

Month’s supply  of u/c                              2.1                                                          2.1

Settlements last 30 days                           3162                                                       2598

Month’s supply of solds last 30                  2.3                                                         2.9

Percent of market that is distress inventory      15.2

We are in a very similar situation to last May – pretty crazy!  As usual, we had a great training that shared a lot of information.  Be sure to see video footage at www.youtube.com/scottmacdonald5 to hear more!  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Now, go sell something!

Selling your home? Avoid these mistakes!

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Top 12 Seller Mistakes and how to avoid them if you are looking to sell your house:

  1. Selling on your own.  There have been so many changes in financing, contracts, and regulations that it is difficult to keep up with if you are not in the business learning and keeping up with these changes you can get burned at the last minute.  How will you navigate the process when things go wrong with no experience in how to handle the types of problems?  The business is changing exponentially virtually daily.
  2. Not hiring a true professional.  A true professional in the business is someone who is actively selling houses and participating in continuous training – not just someone with a license.  Nearly 40% of licensed Realtors did not sell a house in the last 12 months.  Be sure your agent is a true professional who is keeping up with the changes in the market, trends, contract changes and all other aspects of the business.
  3. Not listening to the advice of your professional.  Some owners will hire an active agent in the business, listen to their advice but then take over “the driving” of the listing by dictating the pricing, condition, showing details, negotiations, etc.
  4. Not hiring a stager.  Some sellers fancy themselves as decorators, interior designers, etc. saying they know how to put their property in the right condition to sell – well, it doesn’t help in most cases.  If your agent isn’t an Accredited Staging Professional – hire one and do all that they tell you to do to sell your house.
  5. Not doing what the stager or professional suggests.  Yes, some people will hire professionals and not take their advice or delay in making the changes suggested.
  6. Not following the advice of feedback presented by agents who show the property quickly or in a timely manner.  Agents who are actively previewing or showing properties have the best perspective on the market.  Their buyer’s feedback is the heart of the market and its conditions so their input should be carefully considered and followed – with the advice of your agent.
  7. Not maintaining the “right” condition of the property during the sale process.  Many times, especially as time goes on in the marketing process, sellers won’t make beds, load the dishwasher, keep the blinds open, etc. and that is when the property will be shown.  It is a difficult process but it must be followed because you don’t know when the next showing will occur.
  8. Pricing the house a little high for negotiations.  Pricing is extremely critical.  What happened last month, last year or when you bought your house doesn’t matter in today’s market.  Buyers are looking for houses that are priced right – which in many cases, is a little below what the last sale was in the neighborhood.  Pricing a little low may also generate multiple offers and allow you to attain a higher sales price.
  9. Not utilizing a lockbox to grant access – appointment only will hurt the number of showings and thereby extend the length of time the property is on the market which will lead to frustration on everyone’s part.
  10. Not leaving during the showing process – it is uncomfortable to the buyers and they won’t provide the best of feedback.
  11. Not negotiating contracts that come in – no matter how low.  Sometimes buyers or their agents will see how low they can go before they will agree at a reasonable price and terms.
  12. Not making the contract work and get to closing.  Often times both buyers and sellers will need to negotiate all the way to the closing – home inspection items, HOA violations, appraisal issues, title issues, and so many other things can become stumbling blocks.  Remember to keep your eye on the end goal of selling the house.

By avoiding these costly mistakes, you can get your house sold in virtually any market in a reasonable time.

Help! Don’t allow Congress to hinder housing recovery!

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The Northern Virginia Real Estate market continues on it strong pace but there is legislation that can bring this to an end – and fast.  The legislation is known as Qualified Residential Mortgages.  NAR believes Congress intended to create a broad QRM exemption. Evidence shows that responsible lending standards and ensuring a borrower’s ability to repay have the greatest impact on reducing lender risk, not high down payments. Proposals that require high down payments will drive more borrowers to FHA, increase costs for borrowers by raising interest rates and fees, and effectively price many eligible borrowers out of the housing market.

A provision in the Dodd-Frank Act requires that financial institutions retain 5% of the risk on loans they securitize. The purpose is to discourage excessive risk taking and create strong incentives for responsible lending and borrowing.

Congress came up with the QRM concept to ensure that banks were only putting up ‘safe’ loans for securitization. NAR supports this goal, but in practice, regulators have come up with draconian parameters for what constitutes a QRM.

NAR feels this will not only affect buyers, but would also affect the ability of home owners to sell their homes, since there would be fewer buyers who could qualify for home ownership.

NAR wants federal regulators to honor Congressional intent by crafting a QRM exemption that includes a wide variety of traditionally safe, well underwritten products such as 30-, 15-, and 10-year fixed-rate loans; 7-1 and 5-1 ARMs; and loans with down payments in the 5% to 20% range with PMI, where required, and with other features found in low-risk loans such as no prepayment penalties or balloon.  Implementing a new rule requiring a twenty percent or higher down-payments would stop the housing recovery in its tracks and we can’t have this happen to our fragile recovery in the housing sector.  Please contact your elected officials today and have them stop this in its tracks.  If you are interested in receiving a letter to forward on, please let me know.

 

I would like to thank NAR for allowing me to take their words and post this for you.

 

Now, go sell something!

A meeting of even greater minds…

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One agent says it is slowest quarter in 3 years but he also agrees that results he is achieving are a direct result of the activities he has participated in the previous 120 days.  We all know what we need to do – you just have to do it.  Others continue to stay busy.  Here is the office activity the last  few weeks:  36 sales 14 listing, 18 sales 10 listing, 30 sales 20 listings, and 20 sales 5 listings  – a little up and down don’t you think?

Houses have to be jazzed up – granite, stainless, hardwood floors but most importantly price.  Buyers want everything in the house with nothing to have to do to fix it up and at the lowest price.  Pricing is a fine line today…price it right, not a little high to getter done

Banks are negotiating cash or financing loans to offset the differences.  Joe negotiated a deal with bank, they were $250,000 upside down bank wanted $40,000 cash to close – he negotiated $30,000 loan for 10 years no interest or $15,000 cash at any time.

Inventory levels are up – where is the market?  Not completely crystalized on the next quarter and what it is going to bring us.  Rates need to bump up to get people off the fence – we keep saying they are going up but they are at the lowest point this year.  Only things selling are the “good” deals are selling.  If nothing grabs the buyer, it is not selling. 

New homes are doing really well.  Brambleton had a record year last year – 354 sales last year and through the end of April they had sold over 200.  Toll Brothers has sold 52 year to date in South Riding. – Broadlands is crushing it too.  Pulte at East Market is selling at a record pace because of price and location.  Stanley Martin is ahead of last year’s record pace.  And NV Homes sold 7 homes in Saranac versus 1 for Brookfield – not many other new homes for sale

Sellers dominate the landscape amongst the agents in Platinum Club.  If you need new buyers – hold open houses:  18 people went through one open house last week in Centreville, 47 people went through another one in Fairfax – Home Buying Seminars are working now too, one agent had 50 people attend – internet advertising is working too.  You have to be actively involved in the business to get business.  Buyers have so many avenues to find properties plus they have access to so much information that they feel they don’t need an agent.  You need to develop relationships, get referrals and build the bridge or else you won’t get them – best way is to have a face to face buyer presentation.  Therefore, the adage of listers last will ring true for years to come.

First time buyers are getting bumped out who are using FHA loans – cash, conventional and even LFMI loans are beating them out.  The first time market continues to be red hot.

You have to meet appraisers now more so than before to get the house to appraise.  Most are open to your feedback so show up and do your job to protect your sellers and your contract.

Google yourself and see what happens.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Now, go sell something!