Rob Reuter
By Rob Reuter, YPN Manager
It’s official: 2012 has kicked into full gear. If you haven’t already, now is the time to start your business planning. Elizabeth Mendenhall, 2012 chair of NAR’s Strategic Planning Committee, recently asked YPN members what kind of statistics they consider when forming their annual business plan. From my former selling days, I focused mainly on two statistics:
- Absorption Rate: Focus marketing in areas/neighborhoods/price ranges that have high turnover rates and low time on the market.
- Frequency of Income-Producing Activities: Where does my business come from and how much time/energy do I put in these areas?
Several other YPN members have great ideas as well:
Dollars/Hour Earned (Brian Copeland): How much are you earning per hour? Take your gross annual income and divide it by the number of hours you worked. Increasing this number means you are making more and working less!
Months Supply/Inventory (Nobu Hata): Communicating this information to the consumer effectively will help ensure more accurate pricing.
80/20 Rule (Tiffany Curry & Kate Koplinka): Are you part of the minority doing the majority of the business?
Market Share (Lena Williams): Increase the percentage of your market share if geographical farming is part of your plan.
Average Sales Price (Kenny Parcell): Continue reading »
Dave Robison
By Dave Robison
A few years ago, I was talking with an agent in my office, we will call him Jack. I said to Jack, “Jack, what happened last week? You didn’t make any new calls.” In our office, we report how many calls we make each week to hold each other accountable. Jack said, “The Smiths deal is taking up my time…it’s just all I work on. The other agent is so difficult to work with, too.”
At this point I could have said, “Okay good luck, keep up the good work.” But if I want him to succeed, I have to go deeper:
Me: “Okay, lets talk about that. Yesterday, how many times did you call him?”
Jack: “Once.”
Me: “How long was that phone call?”
Jack: “10 minutes.”
Me: “Okay, so what happened with the other 8 hours of the day?”
He became frustrated with the statistics and was at a loss of words. He realized that his emotions surrounding the deal were consuming him. He had anxiety about the deal going through. A sign that you might be stuck in this same mode is if you have closings one month and none the next. Or, if you didn’t have any time to call new leads yesterday you might be in this mode, too. The top REALTORS® all share something in common: They have emotional resilience. They learn how to get closings every month. Here are some steps to overcome the consumed state of mind and make yourself consistent with closings.
1. Keep statistics: By keeping statistics of your BIG ROCKS, as Stephen Covey suggests, you can ensure you get the most important things done. We keep stats on the number of calls we make. Continue reading »
Kelly Reark
By Kelly Reark
OK, I’m ready. Elections are over. The holidays are around the corner. Bring on the buyers.
Here in Florida, our season is just about to start. What are people expecting, and what are you going to do about it?
My advice is to study your market, and practice how you will handle objections from buyers and sellers. In our market, it’s not new news that some sellers still aren’t pricing realistically and that some buyers expect to get a million dollar listing for $200,000. You have to be able to stop them with black and white facts and statistics. Numbers are harder to argue with than your opinion of the market.
Let’s say someone asks you, “So, how’s the market right now?” You could answer, “Well, it is better than it was!” OR, you could answer, “MLS data shows that Neighborhood X has sold four times more properties than last year, so you tell me.”
There is a major bonus in showing data and asking the questioner to interpret it. With their own mouths, they will have to admit that the numbers show signs of positive market movement. Once they say it themselves, they will believe it!
The goal is to stop telling people what to expect and start asking them. They will persuade themselves if you learn to ask the right questions. Try it!
Kelly Reark is a native Floridian and e-PRO® with Gasparilla Properties, Inc. in Boca Grande, Southwest Florida. Visit her online at www.WaterfrontKelly.com or www.BocaGrandeRealEstateNews.com.
Kelly Reark
By Kelly Reark
This week, I thought I would share some striking real estate statistics from my small local market area. Gasparilla Island is only a snapshot of what is happening locally, and hopefully what is or will be happening across our state and country.
In the first quarter of 2009, only two contracts closed on Gasparilla Island. The second quarter brought 14 closings, third quarter had nine, and the fourth quarter closed out with seven, for a total of 35 closed properties in 2009. This was down from the 2008 total of 41 properties closed.
Since the New Year, showing activity has picked up. Already this year, eight contracts have closed and 11 sales are pending on our island. Total dollar volume for the under contract and closed contract listings already tops 75 percent of what the total was for 2009. Many of what I considered to be our “best deals” have gone under contract. With a market area as small as mine, it only takes a few sales to drive up competition once again.
I encourage each of you to find statistics like these for your local market area. When I get a walk-in to our office with the familiar question, “So how’s real estate been lately?” I can answer with facts that will really grab their attention. It lets them know that the sky is not falling and quiets the Chicken Little response they were expecting. A response like this gives me credibility, puts the focus on my knowledge of my market, and puts them on track to look at property with the mindset that I want them to have.
Kelly Reark is a native Floridian and e-PRO REALTOR® with Gasparilla Properties, Inc. in Boca Grande, Southwest Florida. Visit her blog: www.BocaGrandeRealEstateNews.com.
Dave Robison
By Dave Robison
How many times have your clients or friends asked you about your crystal ball? My clients ask me all the time. It’s almost daily you hear, “If I buy this house, how much do you think it will appreciate in the next 2 years, or 5 years?” or “How much more money will I make on my house if I wait a year to sell it?” Practitioners need a new core course to renew our licenses titled, “Gypsy 101,” or “Palm Reading 201.” Or you can just read this blog entry and you can become pretty good at being psychic. There are two parts in being psychic right now to know what is happening with the market: know how to price listings, and to know what to tell your clients.
First, you must follow the rules. In 2006 when the market was booming in Utah, there were numerous people that came to me and asked, “Should I buy this home? All I have to do is use my credit and flip it the next day.”
Many of you now are thinking, that’s common sense. But then it wasn’t. It was very enticing, someone’s friend just made $100,000 doing one flip supposedly. I asked 2 questions. Continue reading »
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