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Agents Having Tough Time Amid Real Estate Meltdown - 2009-04-05 |
Things are tough all over. I recently had lunch with one of Atlanta’s most experienced and successful residential brokers, and he said many of his agents were hanging on by their fingernails. His unit sales volume is down by two-thirds. To make matters worse, of his remaining sales, about half are foreclosure resales, famous for being less profitable and more difficult to close.
Those of us in the home-selling business who have been around for a while remember similar times in the late 1970's when interest rates were at 18 percent and unemployment was higher than today. Inflation was running up the price of everything, including houses. That was a tough time to sell real estate.
Here are some things that smart agents can do right now to boost their business and stand out from the crowd:
* Create a blog with a monthly e-mail newsletter, and let people sign up for it. Your job is to be the undisputed real estate expert in your community. Make the community the topic of the blog. If you are not familiar with the term blog, it is short for “web log.” Visit blogger.com and look at what other people are doing.
Offer free “price opinions” to every owner in your target neighborhood. In today’s environment of volatile price changes it is more important than ever for owners to keep up with neighborhood values and challenge high tax assessments. Your offer of timely information cements your position as the real estate expert.
* Sharpen your internet skills. Make sure that your listings are displayed not only on local multiple listing sites, but also realtor.com and alternative sites such as zillow.com. Create customized web sites for each listing such as 215OakStreet.com. Add at least 25 pictures of the inside and outside, so visitors can tour the home over the internet.
Also, learn to create and post video walk-throughs of your listings that you can post on YouTube.com and then include on the customized website for that property. This procedure is not difficult, and digital camcorders are getting cheaper on almost a daily basis. And even though I don’t understand why, YouTube is free.
* Learn Property Management skills. In this market, many homeowners have become reluctant landlords because they couldn’t sell. If you are the property manager, not only do you get monthly fees, but you are most likely to get the listing when the time comes.
Know that lease-purchase options are a realistic way to sell real estate today, allowing near-qualified prospects to become approved buyers over a period of time. It’s also a great way to get your tenants to take better care of your property, since they now intend to purchase it.
* Stay in touch with customers you have worked with in the past. It is much easier to keep a customer than to get a new one, yet most agents fail to maintain contact. Invite past customers to share testimonials on your new blog site, and add a picture of the happy family in front of their happy home.
* Be very accessible. If someone wants you, they want you right now, and they may not leave a message. Services like RingCentral.com and GoogleVoice allow calls to ring sequentially at various locations where you might be. Additionally, they allow one number to find you wherever you are. Aim for one number accessibility twenty four hours a day.
* Broaden your professional horizon. Know that bank-owned homes and “short sales” account for a much higher percentage of all real estate transactions today than they did just a few years ago. Seek out agents who have specialized in these areas and learn from them.
* Think about your own retirement. With prices this low and financing this attractive you might want to buy several bargain properties for yourself to hold for long term appreciation and income.
And along that same line, re-read “The Millionaire Next Door” by Thomas Stanley for a fresh perspective on wealth, and read “Building Wealth In Foreclosures” by John Schaub for insight into our current market.
* Finally, I would challenge all real estate professionals in the Atlanta area to become unabashed promoters of what is likely to be the best investment going forward - especially in our metro area - and that is residential real estate.
Each of us needs to know that the Atlanta Regional Commission projects that our area’s strong growth will continue through the year 2030. By then, Atlanta’s metro population will have increased by almost 40 percent, with two million new residents. Each one of those new residents will need a place to call home.
And it actually gets better than that. The forecasters at the ARC, who have been so right in the past, project that these new residents will need around one million housing units, and that about half of those don’t exist today.
This means we will need to get to work building these new housing units, if they are to be ready when they are needed.
All these ideas should help any real estate professional who wants to rise to the top of their profession.
Questions or comments?
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Upcoming Events
"EPA CERTIFIED RENOVATOR" TRAINING
Do You Work with Real Estate? You Must Be LEAD SAFE CERTIFIED as of April 22nd.
To all owners, realtors, investors, property managers, contractors, electricians, plumbers and painters. Do you ever engage in any level of renovation? If so, read this:
Any renovator, from owners to contractors, from plumbers to electricians to painters, who disturbs lead paint while working in a pre-1978 home, school or day care center, now must be Lead-Safe Certified. If you’re not, you can face tens of thousands of dollars in fines. Plus, you put the health of yourself, your workers and your customers at risk, which could result in lawsuits. One simple 8 hour class certifies you for five years. It’s that easy.
Since April 22, 2010, there are new Federal rules regarding how you perform any work that disturbs lead-based paint in homes, child-care facilities and schools built before 1978. You now must be EPA certified and follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination.
Failure to follow the new rules can result in federal fines of up to $32,500 per day or up to 5 years in federal prison, or both. Don’t take a chance - it’s not worth it.
How To Become an EPA Certified Renovator:
In just one day, John Adams will teach you how to meet all EPA requirements and become an “EPA Certified Renovator.”
Don’t wait - register now! Click on “Seminars” and choose your day!
- Friday, July 30th at Suburban Plaza, 2643 North Decatur Road and Church Street, Decatur , Lower Level, beneath Hancock Fabrics
8:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M.
- Friday, August 06th at Suburban Plaza, 2643 North Decatur Road and Church Street, Decatur , Lower Level, beneath Hancock Fabrics
8:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M.
- Friday, August 13th at Suburban Plaza, 2643 North Decatur Road and Church Street, Decatur , Lower Level, beneath Hancock Fabrics
8:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M.
- Friday, August 20th at Suburban Plaza, 2643 North Decatur Road
and Church Street, Decatur , Lower Level, beneath Hancock Fabrics
8:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M.
- Friday, August 27th at Suburban Plaza, 2643 North Decatur Road
and Church Street, Decatur , Lower Level, beneath Hancock Fabrics
8:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M.
Total Course Cost: $295, includes exam and EPA-HUD 400 page manual
Space is limited to 20 participants.
Training services provided by Seagull Environmental Management Co, Inc.
Courses are approved for purposed of certification under Section 402 of TSCA for the Certified Renovator.
This course has been approved by the Georgia Real Estate Commission for 7 hours of Real Estate Continuing Education
For more information, call toll-free 888-373-0029
Click above on the "Seminars" button to register
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John Adams Presents
“The MetroVestAtlanta.com REO Bus Tour”
Get on the bus for a tour of South DeKalb County’s “Real Estate Owned”
homes. Each house you visit will be available that day for purchase at
a giveaway price, regardless of current condition. Financing is
available!
Throughout the day, we will hear from mortgage providers, people in the
construction business and property managers all discussing today’s
situation with Bank Owned REO properties.
Who Should Attend: Investors, Realtors, Lenders, Prospective Buyers, and
anyone who might want to buy a super-bargain house and either do the
rehab themselves or have all the work performed by the pros.
You will see abandoned dumps and finished products, and everything
in between. And Snap will be there to answer all your questions and
explain the rehab and rental strategies.
Saturday, August 21st, 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM
Your $49 fee includes the bus tour and lunch. You must make reservations. No walk-ups.
There is limited seating and the seats are filling fast. ACT NOW before you miss the bus.
We will be meeting at Suburban Plaza, 2643 N. Decatur Road and Church Street, Lower Level, Decatur 30033 (beneath Hancock Fabrics, in the arcade.)
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