With Memorial Day this weekend, the perfect storm is setting in for the summer home buying season. Riding the tails of a 7.6% increase in sales of existing homes in April, agents need to take advantage of the season and help sellers spruce up their outdoor areas and to communicate with buyers on Continue Reading
May
27
2010
Do You Lead or Manage?
by 2
A few weeks ago, Wendy Forsythe published a post, The Attributes of Great Real Estate Companies. The number one attribute listed was “Strong Leadership,” a worthy attribute indeed. Leadership and management have often been used interchangeably, and though there are many times when leaders and Continue Reading
May
21
2010
Week in Review: Things We Liked from the Week That Was
by 2
This week, we are starting to see the first inklings of what a post-tax credit real estate market looks like. Numbers out this week show that mortgage rates fell to the lowest level in months, mortgage applications fell to the lowest level in 13 years and new building permits were down 11.5 percent. Continue Reading
May
20
2010
What’s Happening with Rates?
by 1
I spend a lot of time with our franchisees discussing both macro and micro economic trends in various parts around our great country. During a recent conversation regarding home affordability, a sales associate asked what causes mortgage rates to change so quickly. This particular sales Continue Reading
May
19
2010
Lease Renewal Analysis
by 1
How much square footage do you really need? How many walk-ins do you get anymore? The old math dictated that we allow 100 square feet per agent, but this has become less and less relevant and less and less practicable. To the extent that you are running a “traditional office” with desks, Continue Reading
May
18
2010
The REport
by 3
Although new numbers out his week show that Twitter lags behind sites like Facebook in use, Tweeters are much more engaged with brands. I cannot say it enough: the site is a great opportunity for real estate brokers and agents to communicate directly with consumers! In an effort to reach this active Continue Reading
May
17
2010
Interview with Foursquare Founder and CEO, Dennis Crowley
by 2
In this business, I have my ear to the ground all the time. I make a point of talking to people, and most importantly, asking questions and listening. I never know when a new technology I come across will have a profound impact on the way we structure the real estate brokerage model. Back in Continue Reading
May
14
2010
Week in Review: Things We Liked from the Week That Was
by 1
This week offered a mixed bag of good and bad news. On the positive front, the rate of late mortgage payments dropped in the first quarter of 2010 and RealtyTrac reported that foreclosures were down 9 percent in April from the previous month and down 2 percent from April of 2009. Foreclosures of Continue Reading
May
12
2010
Attributes of Great Real Estate Firms
by 7
Last week, Steve Murray and Nicolai Kolding closed out the REAL Trends Gathering of Eagles conference in Dallas, TX with a presentation highlighting, in their opinions, the key attributes of great real estate firms. The audience, which consisted mainly of some of the largest and most productive Continue Reading
May
11
2010
The REport
by 1
I am happy to report that our industry can now (sort of) claim that Google is following our lead, as it adds visual search results to its site. This is something we in the real estate industry have been doing for years. It will be interesting to see how this search will succeed in the mainstream. Continue Reading
The REport
What do the Ukraine, Generation-X and the iPad have in common? The number 46 million. Ukraine’s population is just under 46 million, 46 million Americans were born between 1965 and 1980 and, by 2014, 46 million people will have an iPad or other tablet device. Wow! It also turns out Continue Reading