April 20, 2011, 2:02 pm
I strongly encourage leaders in real estate to challenge the traditional concept called “the 80/20 rule”, which states that 80% of the sales are transacted by 20% of the agents. With proper measurement, coaching and support, I believe that a far higher percentage of the sales agent population could become successful and profitable both to themselves and to the company. Below are three key ideas that you may find helpful in accomplishing this goal.
1. Monitor Positive Sales Base (PSB)
PSB simply measures the percentage of the total sales population that closed one transaction or more over a given period of time. This can be measured over the past month, quarter, year-to-date (YTD), and/or trailing twelve-month period (LTM), as well as the corresponding periods for the previous year. This
Continue reading post…
April 20, 2011, 1:47 am
Investors lifted U.S. home sales last month, plunking down cash to grab cheap homes at risk of foreclosure. But purchases made by first-time homebuyers fell, a troubling sign for the weak housing market.
Sales of previously occupied homes rose in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.1 million, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. That’s a 3.7 percent increase from the February pace, but far below the 6 million homes a year that economists say represents a healthy market.
Foreclosures or short sales — when the lender agrees to accept less than what is owed on the mortgage — rose to make up 40 percent of all purchases. And deals paid for entirely in cash accounted for 35 percent of all resold homes. The R
Continue reading post…
April 19, 2011, 6:09 pm
Could it be true … that we are now entering into a seller’s market! I know this sounds ridiculous given the large amount of foreclosures and short sales, but I ask you? How do you define a Seller’s Market?
Let me share with you my description of a Seller’s Market. When buyer’s are competing with multiple offers and seller’s are receiving offers above listing price, would that define a seller’s market?
In Arizona this scenario is unfolding today. If you are buying a home under $250,000 you may be experiencing what feels like a seller’s market.
With record low interest rates combined with the large decrease in values who would even think it could be a seller’s market, but all the indicators are there. I can hear it now
Continue reading post…
April 18, 2011, 1:35 am
A gain in March housing starts failed to make up for ground lost the prior month, as U.S. homebuilders continue to struggle almost two years into the economic recovery.
Work began on 549,000 houses at an annual pace, up 7.2 percent from the prior month and exceeding the 520,000 median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, figures from the Commerce Department showed Tuesday in Washington. Starts fell 19 percent in February to the lowest level in almost two years.
Housing, which pushed the economy into the recession, remains the weak link in the recovery and continues to weigh on consumer spending as home prices fall.
Continue reading post…
April 17, 2011, 2:53 pm
Over the span of my real estate career I have had numerous Senior clients move to Seal Beach’s Leisure World (and if you’re curious, they love it there). One of my clients is planning on moving next year and was curious what her Glendale condo would sell for. While running comps (comparables) I came across some amusing MLS photos.
My home stager and friend Charis will be horrified over these….
Note the boxes stacked up in the first photo (living room). Nothing says anxious seller more than boxes in the living room. Umbrellas Continue reading post…