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Words matter in real estate listings

Study offers advice on what to say — and what not to say.
By Ann Brenoff
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Sunday, December 17, 2006

Words matter. Wars have started over them. Civilizations have collapsed because of them. And it would appear that the speed with which a house sells might be determined by them.

As listings grow old on the vine and frustrated sellers grapple for the slightest edge, the findings of several academics might offer some guidance.

For example, a Canadian professor, as part of a broader study on real estate sales patterns, found that homes where the seller was "motivated" actually took 15 percent longer to sell, while houses listed as "handyman specials" flew off the market in half the average time.

"It surprised even me," said researcher Paul Anglin, who teaches real estate and housing trends at the University of Guelph in Ontario. The study dissected the wording of more than 20,000 Canadian home listings from 1997 to 2000.

What surprised him most was how the buying public put style over substance. Words that denoted "curb appeal" or general attractiveness helped a property sell faster than those that spoke of "value" and "price."

Homes described as "beautiful" moved 15 percent faster and for 5 percent more in price than the benchmark. "Good-value" homes sold for 5 percent less than average.

Another finding in Anglin's study was that the plea of "must see!" was received about as enthusiastically as a dinner-time telemarketing call. Homes with listings using the words "must see" had a statistically insignificant impact on the number of days they took to sell.

Listings where the word "landscaping" was heralded sold 20 percent faster, and homes in "move-in condition" took 12 percent less time to sell than the benchmark, although the study showed "move-in condition" had an insignificant impact on the sales price.

Owners use listing language to convey how serious they are about selling. Some words work better than others, Anglin's study found. Listings in which the seller said he or she was "moving" sold for 1 percent less in price compared with 8 percent less when the seller was "motivated."

Real estate listings, not unlike personal ads, are crafted to minimize blemishes and maxi- mize perceived selling points. So if "enjoys moonlight walks on the beach and cooking together" means "I'm unemployed and am looking for someone who won't always expect to eat out," then

"needs TLC" might mean "this house will have you on a first-name basis with the clerks at the local hardware store."

Anglin's study isn't alone in efforts to determine what language moves the market.

Last year, the impact of listing language was covered in a National Bureau of Economic Research study that looked at whether real estate agents selling their own homes hold out for a higher price. (They do; the study found they take longer to sell but fetch a higher price.)

Descriptions of houses that indicated an obvious problem — such as "foreclosure," "as-is" and "handyman special" — drew substantially lower sales prices.

Words that suggested desirable attributes — "granite," "maple," "gourmet" — translated into a higher sale price, the study found.

One problem discovered was that "superficially positive" words that, in effect, condemn with faint praise — such as "clean" or "quiet" — had zero or even a negative correlation with prices.

Those findings echo those made in a 2000 paper called "Real Estate Agent Remarks: Help or Hype?" researched by University of Texas-San Antonio finance and real estate professor
Ronald C. Rutherford.

Rutherford found, among other things, that buyers read between the lines. If you can't find anything better to say than "new paint," perhaps it's best to say nothing at all.

Positive and factually verifiable comments such as "golf" or "lake" drew increased sales prices; other presumably positive comments regarding new paint or new carpet brought lower ones.

"What you say needs to be extravagant," Rutherford said, "or the signal that is received by buyers is that it's not worth talking about."

But what do sellers know? "New paint" appeared on 15 percent of the listings and was the most commonly listed comment.

Rutherford said sellers would be best served by a listing with "just the facts, ma'am."

"In today's market," he said, "if it's a good deal, you need to convey it with factually verifiable language."

An example: "Needs repairs," he said.

Of the information from his study, conducted between 1994 and 1997 of almost 60,000 closed residential transactions in Tarrant County, what surprised him most?

That homes with "motivated" sellers stayed on the market 15 percent longer than average and sold for 4 percent less.

His theory: "They overpriced the house to start with and eventually had to lower it. That explains the length of time on the market and the lower sales price."

Does he have any advice for today's sellers?

"Yes," he said, "avoid the word 'motivated.' "

Killing Deals? Try a new spin

In 20 years of real estate I've seen alot of real estate trainers and motivational gurus. By gummit one of the best is Mr. Howard Brinton. Enough flattery. This article is fromm Howard is pure Gold.


7 Phrases to Avoid with Clients

Change your words and you’ll change your results. Here’s a list of weak phrases to stay away from, along with more powerful alternatives.

BY HOWARD BRINTON

Words are powerful things. When speaking with prospects, clients, and colleagues, your choice of words and phrases shapes their perception of you; it tells them if you're can get the job done effectively and responsibly.

However, many people don’t realize they have a habit of using weak phrases that undermine their professional image.

These phrases imply that you’re giving up control and accountability and are placing it on someone or something else. Consider using these more powerful phrases instead: “I am,” “I choose to,” “I can,” “I will find out,” and “I’ll create.” A subtle change in word choice puts you back in control and allows you to regain ownership of the outcome.

The next time you’re talking to a client, pause for a moment to listen to the language you’re using — are you subconsciously putting a negative spin on the situation and giving them a reason to doubt you? Or are you demonstrating that you can get the job done professionally and effectively?

Here are seven phrases that that can negatively affect the outcome of your conversations, along with some better alternatives. By paying close attention to the words you choose, you're taking control of your relationship with clients.

Phrase 1: “Here’s the Problem”

Your clients don’t want to hear about a problem associated with selling or buying their home; they’d rather know what you’re going to do to solve it. Instead, use words like challenge or opportunity. These words imply action, as in “Here’s our challenge — we need to fix up this house on a small budget! Let’s talk about where to start.”

Phrase 2: “I’ll Try”

This phrase is laden with doubt. It gives the impression that you’ve already concluded that you will not be able to help them. Instead, consider using I will. If you aren’t positive that you can deliver on the promise, explain what you’ll do to achieve the goal. Then provide a few paths you will take as an alternative approach, if necessary.

Phrase 3: “But”

This word is often an “I can’t” in disguise. For instance: “We’ll market your property at this price but I can’t guarantee it will sell.” Instead, use the word and, as in “I will market your property at this price for four weeks and if we don’t receive any offers, I’m going to ask you for a price adjustment.”

Phrase 4: “You Should”

This phrase kills marriages as well as sales. Down deep, you may want to say, “You should paint the exterior and remove all of these dead shrubs,” but instead consider ways to rephrase it so that you're creating a sense of empowerment. This is a better way to phrase it: “If we paint the exterior of the house and work a bit on the landscaping, we'll be in a better position to increase the asking price.”

Phrase 5: “You Have To”

As in, “You have to list at this price if you want to get any activity." Phrases such as this one often make people mad simply because it takes away their sense of control. Instead, say “You can position this property anywhere in the market that fits your needs, remembering that homes sell faster at one price compared with another.”

Phrase 6: “It’s Not My Fault”

This phrase is a quiet killer. Odds are good that you don’t say it out loud to your clients, but even when you think it they can hear you. If something goes wrong, forget whose fault it is. Instead, focus on a solution by affirming “I am in complete control of the outcome and responsible for what I do next.”

Phrase 7: “No Problem”

Sounds harmless, right? Not so fast. I’ve always believed that you should never answer someone’s request with “no problem.” It implies that the request could have been a problem, or that it was almost a problem. Indirectly, the phrase can evoke negative emotions, whether you meant it or not. Instead, try answering with a simple It’s my pleasure.

Simple But True

Some of these ideas may seem rather simple. The good news is, they are! It's really just a matter of understanding that the subtlest changes in your choice of words can produce the biggest wins. With a little practice, I'm confident that you will begin to see how a few subtle word changes can have a remarkable impact on your success.

Holiday Ettiquette

Most of us know some of the basic do's and don't but its never a bad idea to review them. I saw this article from Realtor online magazine and just had to share it with you. I hope it helps. The author also gave some excellent websites to search for additional ideas and information on ettiquette that I have included at the bottom.

Mind your manners
Business Etiquette for the Holidays

Holiday cheer comes once a year, but good impressions can last a lifetime.

BY DINAH ENG

This festive time of year offers no shortage of opportunities to network, celebrate with colleagues, and show your appreciation to clients with holiday cards and gifts. Yet with all of these cheery occasions comes the potential for etiquette mishaps. Here, manners experts and real estate pros answer some common questions and provide tips that will help you make a great impression this holiday season.

Sending Cards: Is E-mail Acceptable?

It seems everyone in the real estate business is connected to their computers. So it would certainly be convenient — and affordable — to send electronic holiday cards to clients and colleagues. But is that acceptable?

“E-mail cards are being done a lot,” says Beverly Langford, author of “The Etiquette Edge: The Unspoken Rules for Business Success” and a principal of LMA Communication in Atlanta. “But there are people who would think that’s the easy way out, so it depends on your audience. I wouldn’t send e-cards to everybody. But something is better than nothing, and sooner is better than later.”

Charles Price, a broker with Coldwell Banker Mountain West Real Estate in Salem, Ore., says it’s always better to do cards the old-fashioned way. People love getting mail during the holidays, and it will make your message more cherished. “Handwritten notes are like gold,” he says. “It’s one of the best things you can do. You need to stay in contact with people at every opportunity, and the holidays are a season where you can market yourself with cards and gifts.”

Gift-Giving Dilemmas: What to Buy?

Shopping for your valued clients and most trusted colleagues can be tough. You know them on a professional level, but do you really know what they’d enjoy as a gift? Luckily, there are plenty of options that will please just about anyone. (Check out REALTOR® Magazine’s holiday gift guide for ideas.)

Edible gifts are always a safe bet, Price says. “Food or wine — if the client drinks — make appropriate gifts during the holidays because there’s a lot of entertaining going on,” he says. But any thoughtful present will do.

“A doctor and his wife recently closed on a house, coming here from Southern California in the middle of our rainy season. So I gave them two automatic umbrellas from Nordstrom, and a $50 bottle of wine to the doctor who referred them to me. It’s good to show your gratitude.”

If shopping for clients who just bought or sold a house, use the price of the listing as a guide, Langford suggests. “If you’ve just sold a $3 million house, you might want to do something like a lavish gift basket from Godiva.”

When it comes to your broker, what gift is best? Peggy Post of the Emily Post Institute Inc. in Burlington, Vt., says it’s not necessary to give gifts to bosses, in general. “You don’t want to look like you’re currying favor,” she says. “But if you feel like you really want to do something, you can bake something or buy something very simple. Another way to handle it is to get several people to pitch in for something.”

If a colleague buys you a gift, but you didn’t buy him one, don’t fret. Just graciously thank him for it, Langford says. It’s not necessary to reciprocate, but you may want to make a note to yourself to get something for that person next year.

Going to the Party: What to Wear, Bring?

So, you’ve received an invitation to a holiday party. Now comes the tough decision — what to wear. Don’t make assumptions, especially if you’ve never been to that party before. “If the invitation doesn’t state the attire, call and ask,” Langford says. You don’t want to show up underdressed to a black-tie event. Likewise, “If it’s strictly a professional party, don’t go in sparkling like a Christmas tree.”

To arrive to a party at someone’s home in style, there’s one accessory you can’t forget: a gift for the host. Post recommends a small box of high-quality chocolates. “Or, you could bring something you’ve made, like muffins for the hostess’ breakfast the next morning, a decoration for the tree, or bulbs if they’re gardeners,” she says. “Just something simple to denote your gratefulness for the invitation.”

One thing to avoid bringing: cut flowers, Langford says. The flowers may be pretty and smell great, but the host will have to abandon her guests in order to arrange the flowers into a vase. After the party, a thank you note to the host will be well appreciated.

Conversation Starters: What’s Off Limits?

As a real estate practitioner, you probably have no problem striking up conversation in social situations. However, at a work-related party, you should make an effort to veer away from “shop talk” and include spouses in the conversation. “Talk about noncontroversial current events, holiday plans, or people’s families,” Langford suggests. “Ask open-door questions that let the other person talk.”

To be on the safe side, avoid talking about issues that may lead to heated debates or get too personal. If you plan to broach more touchy topics, such as politics or religion, “know who you’re talking to and whether they’ll enjoy a spirited conversation,” Price says. “You need to be careful not to get into an argument that leads to hurt feelings.”

Price also adds that you should keep the conversation positive, and never gossipy. “You should never say anything negative about other colleagues in a public situation,” Price says.

Making a Toast: What Should I Say?
Whether you’re moved to make a toast at a friend’s party or you’re hosting a gala and would like to say a few words, keep a few pointers in mind.

For example, the host or hostess offers the first toast at a formal occasion such as a dinner party. Around a dinner table with friends, a guest can propose the first toast and often does so to thank the host for bringing everyone together, according to the Emily Post Institute.

Keep it short and to the point, focusing your remarks on the event being celebrated. A joke or short story is OK, as long as it’s clean. For a boost of confidence, write out what you wish to say and then practice it ahead of time, the Institute recommends.

Too Many Places to Be: How to Decide?

As party invitations start rolling in, you realize just how popular you are. Unfortunately, the season is short and parties inevitably will conflict with one another. If invited to several occasions on the same day, what should you do?

“Go to all three,” Langford says. “People understand during the holidays that you’ll have many commitments. I’d much rather guests come by for 30 minutes and leave than say you can’t come because you’ve got to go to another party.”

Post, on the other hand, says you may decline two of the invitations by simply saying, “Sorry, I can’t make it.” No explanation is necessary. What’s key, she says, is that if you say yes to one person, you honor that commitment even if a more desirable invitation arrives later.

“You could try to attend two of the parties,” Post adds. “But if the invitation is to a sit-down dinner, you need to sit and stay.”

Regardless of whether you go or not, you absolutely must RSVP. If you’ve ever planned a party before, you know how frustrating it is to be in the dark about who is coming.

Stating the Obvious: Watch What You Drink

Among all holiday etiquette faux pas, having too much alcohol to drink always tops the list, experts say. Your professional reputation and your friendships are at stake.

“I had a cocktail party one afternoon, and somebody broke a Waterford flute and didn’t bother to tell me,” Langford recalls. “I found it stuck in a corner afterwards. I was really surprised, given the people who were invited.”

To avoid embarrassing situations, either don’t drink alcohol or limit your intake. The days of work parties where coworkers let down their hair, got drunk, and ended up wearing lampshades on their heads are out of style, the Emily Post Institute says.


Holiday Gifting Etiquette: 1-800-Flowers.com

Business Greeting Card Etiquette: About.com

Holiday Etiquette: Emily Post Institute

Holiday Etiquette: ETICON Inc. Etiquette Consultant

Hilarious but true

Love this websites message

I wish the Canadian Real Estate Association could be so informative. This real estate company in Florida has published the 10 things you should never do yourself. Of course number 1 is, "Never Sell your own home". Kind of funny but its true.

http://www.dontityourself.com/

A must read for any sales professional

I came across this blog and while I was impressed with the relevant information and the delivery of the messages, I was blown away by this article maybe because it mirrors alot of the things that have helped me be successful. You may have to scroll down to the Article called "Manifesto Redux" which he posted on Oct 3 2006. http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/

Real-Estate War Traps Consumers in the Middle

Found this article this morning. The points I found important - the percentage of consumers using discount brokerages has increased from 2% to 11% in just a few years. That the new trend of buyer discount firms that offer to just do the paperwork and don't actually show you any houses (the listing agent shows the home) has a major flaw. But most importantly, the dispute between the discounters and the full service companies puts our industry in a bad light in the eyes of the media, and consumers...

Real-Estate War Traps Consumers in the Middle
The Wall Street Journal Online
By James R. Hagerty

Full-Service Brokers' Tactics To Rebuff Discount Rivals Sometimes Hurt the Customer

In the fight between traditional real-estate brokers and their discount rivals, some consumers are getting caught in the crossfire.

With house prices surging in recent years, a number of people are seeking ways to cut commission costs, which are based on a percentage of a home's selling price. More home buyers are turning to discount brokers that offer to rebate a portion of the commission if you are willing to do much of the work in finding a home. And sellers are hiring discounters who, for a flat fee of a few hundred dollars, will include your home in a multiple-listing service, a database on houses for sale used by agents.

About 11% of home sellers last year used "alternative" brokers (ones offering flat fees or other forms of discounting), up from less than 2% in 2002, according to surveys by Real Trends, a publishing and consulting firm.

The competition from discounters has prompted some traditional brokers to use a variety of tactics to fight back, and this can end up hurting consumers. The controversy will get a public airing Monday when the Consumer Federation of America, a nonprofit research and advocacy group, releases a report on "how the real estate brokerage industry functions as a price-setting cartel."

The stakes are high. People selling homes typically pay commissions of 4% to 6% of the price, which is split between brokers representing the buyer and seller. Residential real-estate sales generate more than $60 billion a year in commissions. Full-service brokers say that in exchange for the commissions they provide expertise and an array of services that help consumers navigate the housing market.

For consumers, the clash among brokers underlines a need to be wary. Buyers hoping to get a cash rebate from the commission earned by their agent need to be aware that they might meet resistance from agents representing sellers. They should check whether there are any conditions attached to the rebate offer and make clear when viewing homes that they are represented by an agent. And sellers using flat-fee listing services sometimes find that agents for buyers shun their homes.

Most real-estate agents are ethical, says Albert Hepp, the owner of BuySelf Realty, Bloomington, Minn., who helped create a new national association of brokers that charge home sellers a flat fee for a limited range of services. But some full-service brokers step out of line, putting their interests ahead of consumers, he says, adding: "The best analogy I can use is a high-school classroom when the teacher walks out of the room."

One area likely to stir up more disputes involves the discount firms that offer rebates to buyers. The practice got a boost this year with the launch of two ambitious companies, BuySide Realty Inc. and Redfin Corp., which are promoting this concept heavily as they try to build national brands. Both encourage buyers to do part of the work in finding a home; they don't offer the free car rides from house to house provided by most traditional agents.

Andrew Calloway, a financial analyst in St. Louis, decided to use BuySide because that firm rebates 75% of the commissions it receives to the buyer. He recently agreed to pay $200,000 for a three-bedroom home in Glen Carbon, Ill. He expected a rebate of $4,500.

But Mr. Calloway says Karen Malench, an agent for Coldwell Banker Brown who represents the sellers, tried to dissuade him from using BuySide. He says she offered a rebate of $2,000 to him if he dropped BuySide and used her firm instead. He declined and went ahead last month with his offer through BuySide. Then he learned that Coldwell plans to refuse to give BuySide a share of the commission on the ground that Coldwell, not BuySide, showed Mr. Calloway and his fiancee, Rebecca Collins, the house and made the deal happen. If BuySide doesn't get a slice of the commission, it isn't obligated to pay a rebate to Mr. Calloway.

"The thing that really upsets me is that the listing agent smiles to your face and puts a knife in your back," says Mr. Calloway.

Ms. Malench, the listing agent, declined to comment. Gerry Schuetzenhofer, president of Coldwell Banker Brown, a franchisee of the national Coldwell brand, says that Ms. Malench denies having offered him $2,000 to drop BuySide. Mr. Schuetzenhofer says Mr. Calloway and his fiancee didn't make clear that they were working with another broker when they first viewed the home. Mr. Calloway says he did make that clear.

Joseph Fox, BuySide's chief executive, says this is the first time his young company has encountered such a commission dispute. He says he is trying to work out a solution with Mr. Schuetzenhofer. The latter says Mr. Fox tried "to intimidate me into accepting his demands. I don't believe he would have done that if he was on sound footing." Mr. Fox retorts: "He'd rather think about his pocketbook and not the best interests of the client." One option for the parties is to seek mediation or arbitration through a local arm of the National Association of Realtors, a trade group.

BuySide currently has operations in California, Florida, Illinois and Georgia. The company plans to cover 39 states by the end of 2008.

Cem Sibay, a business-development manager at an Internet company in Seattle, sought a rebate through Redfin. Mr. Sibay says he and his fiancee, Tam Pham, arranged to see a condo about six months ago. The agent representing the seller, Ron Waxman of Coldwell Banker Bain, was initially friendly and helpful, Mr. Sibay says. But Mr. Sibay says Mr. Waxman's attitude changed when Mr. Sibay mentioned that he planned to use Redfin as his agent. Mr. Sibay says Mr. Waxman then refused to show the condo to the couple again and said he would advise his client not to consider any offer they made.

Mr. Sibay and Ms. Pham gave up on the idea of bidding for the condo.

When reached for comment Wednesday, Mr. Waxman said, "I don't remember that at all." He said he stopped working as an agent last year; then, a few minutes later, Mr. Waxman acknowledged that he was still working as an agent and declined to comment further.

Bill Riss, the owner of Coldwell Banker Bain, says his agents sometimes "push back" against discounters like Redfin because they believe such firms don't do their share of the work. But he adds that his firm's policy is to work with any member of the local multiple-listing service, including Redfin.

Mr. Sibay kept working with Redfin and last month agreed to buy a different home in Seattle. He expects to receive a rebate of about $10,000 when the transaction is completed.

Glenn Kelman, chief executive officer of Redfin, says resistance from traditional agents will abate as his company completes more deals and becomes more established in the market. The company began operating in Seattle in February, recently opened up offices in the San Francisco Bay Area, and plans to expand to San Diego and Los Angeles and perhaps Washington and Boston by year end. In what Mr. Kelman calls a "charm offensive," Redfin recently began sending $100 gift cards to the listing agents when a Redfin buyer completes a purchase. "We need to turn these agents around one at a time," he says.

Discounters representing sellers also are meeting resistance. Jeff Kermath, who owns Amerisell Realty, a flat-fee broker in Saline, Mich., says one of the multiple-listing services he works with, Realcomp II Ltd., in the Detroit area, discriminates against firms offering discounts for limited service. For instance, Realcomp, owned by local Realtor groups, doesn't send limited-service listings to popular home-search sites like Realtor.com. And the default search setting for agents using Realcomp excludes limited-service listings, meaning fewer potential buyers hear of them.

Raising the bar or are we to be the scape goats?

Recent rule changes in Alberta have increased the threshold of agent responsibility. With the RECA'S code of conduct serving as a guideline for industry members the plan is to incorporate this code into the rules which are legislated and thereby making the code a rallying point for litigation. With the code having its own definitions on such items as "Material Latent Defect", terms that sometimes have different legal definitions become included in the rules creating an onus on agents that may find themselves in double or triple jeopardy. There is also an increased obligation on agents to ivestigate and discover defects (now if you ask me this is opening a whole can of "whoop ass") where the obligation is to currently "disclose" facts the obligation will be to "discover". This inidicates a willingness by the council to undertake what negligence is an aspect currently determined in the civil courts.

I am as of now not certain how or how much these changes will impact us as an industry. Stayed tuned and if you see or hear of any interesting changes coming do us a favor and let us all know.

Breaking up is hard to do

At least that is if you're the giant Cendant. Apparently there are meetings underway to determine how to break up. For more on this just visit this link for more information.

http://www.rismedia.com/index.php/article/view/14726/

Network News Update

Hello everybody. Just in case you were wondering what we were up to we are still here and caught up in one of the craziest housing markets I've ever seen.

Not only is the market booming but we are simply beyond capacity to deal with Sara's lead generation abilities. Her consulting business continues to grow and we are in the process of getting our next jam packed issue out.

The search engine marketing does work with proper lead management and capture systems in place, but this is quite frankly beyond the realm of the average agent and if you are not properly set up you will quite frankly turn yourself inside out trying to figure this stuff out. So keep it simple.

See you soon ;)

www.edmonton-homes.ca

Realtors using more technology: Nar Survey

Well, the good new is as an industry we are adapting. According to this most recent survey from NAR the number of people using technology in their business has drastically increased, but in my opinion, still pretty low.

NAR Technology Survey Reveals Heavy Tech Investment By Realtors®
CHICAGO (May 11, 2006) – The number of Realtors® with Web sites has increased 129 percent over the past five years, and many of the sites display property listings, according to a new survey by the National Association of Realtors®.

The 2006 Realtor® Technology Survey, conducted by NAR’s Center for REALTOR® Technology, reveals that the Internet ranks third in generating leads, behind referrals and repeat clients, and ahead of community involvement. The survey also shows that there is a clear connection between technology spending and Internet-generated leads, and that getting leads from the Internet continues to grow.

Realtors® have invested heavily in Internet technology and security, through Multiple Listing Systems and individually, in the past several years. For example, the survey showed that thus far in 2006, 56 percent of agents spent more than $1,000 apiece on technology and that 30 percent spent $2,000 or more. In addition, 16 percent of agents and 28 percent of brokers are now spending more than $1,000 annually on their Web sites. Realtors® with personal business Web sites – not including an area on a broker’s site – was 71 percent in 2006, compared to 31 percent in 2002, showing a jump of 129 percent.

“Consumers are able to use information portals to look for homes to buy because Realtors® have invested huge amounts of resources in technology to make accurate information available on secure sites, thus bringing added value to the transaction. All this information is available to consumers, free of charge, 24 hours a day,” said Thomas M. Stevens, 2006 NAR president and senior vice president of NRT Inc., from Vienna, Va.

The survey also showed that the amount of investment in Web sites has a direct relationship to the number of leads coming from the Internet. Thus, 40 percent of those who spent more than $5,000 on their Web site showed that more than 60 percent of their leads come from the Internet.

Realtors® are also reacting more quickly to online inquiries. In a surprising change from past surveys and findings, over half the survey respondents indicated that it takes them less than two hours to respond to an Internet inquiry, and only 2 percent indicated that it took them more than a day to respond. That compares with a 2004 survey showing that only 27 percent of practitioners responded within eight hours to an online inquiry and 46 percent of inquiries received no responses.

“While the survey indicates that the vast majority of Realtors® take steps to protect themselves and the listing information provided by their clients and customers, more work remains to be done,” said Mark Lesswing, NAR vice president and director of CRT. “Less than a third of respondents have received information security education from their MLS or brokerage. Only one-third are aware of written security policies that they must follow and less than half have a written privacy policy. Programs like CRT’s REALTOR® Secure can definitely play a role here.”

The survey shows that use of automated transaction management systems, used to electronically monitor each step of the real estate process, continues to rise, moving from 13 percent in 2005 to 26 percent in 2006, with 70 percent of users saying they are satisfied with their applications.

The survey was based on data from field research conducted in April of this year. CRT e-mailed the survey to 20,000 NAR members, including agents and brokers and generated 719 usable responses. The 2006 study is available at http://www.realtor.org/crtweb.nsf/pages/CRTsurvey?OpenDocument.

NAR’s Center for REALTOR® Technology was established to provide technology leadership, guidance and assistance for NAR members; CRT makes available informed industry insight, research and open-source applications through its mission of implementation, advocacy and information. Information about CRT is available at http://www.realtor.org/crt.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America's largest trade association, representing more than 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

How to Attract the Type of Customers You Want

Another good article from Bernice Ross of Inman news... The premise here is that people are naturally attracted to people like themselves. So if you want friendly clients, you should be friendly, if you want funny clients... well I think you get the idea....take the quiz!

One of the most powerful strategies from professional coaching is the principle of attraction. Attraction refers to the fact that people "attract who they are." In other words, those we attract normally are like us in one or more ways. No matter what price range you work with, the clients who gravitate to you will probably share a number of the same characteristics that you have. If you want high-quality clients who tell the truth, do what they say they will do and are a pleasure to work with, you must be the same way. On the other hand, if your life is always in chaos, if you lie, or are undependable, you will attract people who behave in the same way. Consequently, one of the primary ways to attract a better quality clientele is to raise your own personal standards. To determine your "attraction quotient," take the quiz below:

1.) Do you always tell the truth, even when it is unpleasant?

2.) Are you always on time for appointments?

3.) When things go wrong, are you the one who stays calm and solves the problem?

4.) When you take a listing, do you deliver all the services that you promised the sellers?

5.) Do you stay in constant contact with the sellers keeping them updated on the showings and the responses to your advertising?

6.) Does your print advertising fall into the category of "understated elegance?"

7.) Do the people who have visited your Web site tell you that your site is "very professional?"

8.) Do you avoid using profanity when you are with clients, no matter how bad the circumstance is?

9) Do you avoid telling off-color jokes or making remarks that may make others uncomfortable?

10.) Is your car clean and well-maintained?

11.) Do you go out of your way to make sure that your buyers have water, snacks, and something to keep their children occupied if you are taking them out to look at property?

12.) When you lose business to a competitor, are you gracious to the buyer or seller when they tell you?

13.) Are your marketing materials "top drawer?"

14.) When someone becomes angry with you, do you make peace rather than escalating the argument?

15.) Do you (or your assistant) respond to your telephone, e-mail, and Web inquiries at least once daily?

16.) Are you relaxed and calm when you are with clients rather than hurried, frazzled, and stressed out?

17.) When you hold an open house or have a client meeting, do you always dress professionally?

18.) Do your past clients consistently refer new business to you?

Scoring:

Each "No," represents an area where you can begin working to raise your standards. It makes no difference where you start. The goal is to take a number of simple steps over time. Begin with whatever is easiest on this list to fix. The more items you clear off the list, the more attractive you will become to a wide range of clients.

The key to becoming more attractive to the best possible clients is to always maintain a client-centric focus. When you are client focused, people are attracted to you. They are also more likely to refer you business. On the other hand, if your focus is on making the deal rather than providing the best possible service to the client, your desperation may cause some clients to go elsewhere. Remember to always put your clients' needs first no matter how desperate you are for money.

Being more attractive to better clients also means being willing to say "no" to clients who are dishonest, unethical, or who make your life miserable. Saying "no" reduces your stress. It also helps you avoid problems that can pull you off focus and cost you money. More importantly, if you hang on to buyers or sellers who consistently fail to perform, you actually block better business from coming into your life. Eliminating them creates the space that attracts new business. Before you question the validity of this claim, ask any veteran real estate agent what happens every time he or she plans a vacation. Business always picks up. Thus, raising your standards by eliminating non-performing clients opens the door for new and better business.

If you want to raise your personal attraction quotient, continually work on upgrading your professional image, market with top drawer materials, maintain a client-centric focus, and be willing to say "no" to people who are not a good fit for your business.

HFS, Cendant, Realogy...

The names may change but the game remains the same from their prospective. Be the dominant player and grow bigger and bigger and bigger. Just how big is big enough? Who knows only time will tell and maybe some day there will be a reverse of this process. The interesting thing in the article on Inman news is the focus on Coldwell Banker as the major force behind these companies. Not C21, Not ERA or Sotheby's.

Just over 10 years after Cendant's predecessor began a buying spree that included real estate brands Century 21, ERA, PHH and Coldwell Banker, the company's impact on the industry is undeniable. With about 25 percent of all Realtors in the nation affiliated with the corporation, the story of the largest real estate brokerage and franchise company in the nation is still unfolding.



This story is packed with elements of mystery and intrigue, twists and turns, massive-scale acquisitions and consolidations, deception and scandal, courtroom drama, financial fallout and recovery, a restructuring of management, a rapid rise to power and prominence, and a carefully calculated breakup and re-branding. The cast is thick with power brokers and industry luminaries.



Cendant Corp. grew its real estate operations with hurricane force, building upon the buying spree of predecessor HFS, a hotel franchisor.



Tracing back 11 years, Cendant's real estate roots were planted with the acquisition of Century 21 by predecessor HFS in 1995. From 1995-97 HFS acquired Century 21, ERA, PHH and Coldwell Banker, and Cendant was formed through a merger of HFS Inc. and CUC International Inc., a direct marketing and member services company, in December 1997.



Since inception, the company has been a cash cow for real estate company owners seeking an exit strategy, and has driven an unprecedented surge in industry consolidation.



Not even a decade old, the company has amassed a collection of reputable brands, with such company-owned and franchise affiliates as Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA and Sotheby's, and about 313,500 sales associates are affiliated with Cendant's major company-owned and franchise real estate brands. There are about 15,000 residential and commercial real estate offices affiliated with Cendant's Real Estate Franchise Group.



NRT Inc., a Cendant subsidiary that oversees company-owned real estate offices, acquired 31 companies last year and has acquired about 320 companies since its creation. NRT has about 1,000 offices and 64,000 sales associates and operates in about 35 major metropolitan markets across the country.



Revenue for Cendant's real estate services division in fourth-quarter 2005 reached $1.62 billion, which represents about 38 percent of the company's total revenue for that quarter. In addition to its real estate business, the company also has operations in the hospitality services, timeshare resorts, vehicle rental and travel distribution services industries.



Focus on business and consolidation



Larry Knapp, president of Saratoga, Calif.-based Alain Pinel Realtors and a former NRT executive, said Cendant has brought a more intense business focus to the real estate brokerage industry. "The creation of what is today known as Cendant has forced the rest of the industry to operate at a higher level, which it has done. I think that the real estate industry before this (Cendant) consolidation play came along was run less like a business and more by the seat of somebody's pants."



Knapp, who began his real estate career in 1969 as a real estate agent in Sacramento, Calif., served as president for Coldwell Banker Northern California from 1985-97 and later served as senior vice president for NRT Inc.'s Western Region. NRT was initially established in 1996 as a real estate trust and grew through acquisitions to become a dominant real estate brokerage company. NRT Inc. began as a joint venture with Apollo Management, an investment group, and in 2002 Cendant bought out Apollo for about $230 million worth of stock and the assumption of about $300 million in net debt.



Cendant predecessor HFS was known for its franchising success, so real estate franchise operations were a good fit, but company-owned real estate operations posed a new challenge, Knapp said. It would have been easy for Cendant to simply be the "gorilla franchising business" based on the brands it had acquired from predecessor HFS, Knapp noted, but the company was not content with a singular role as real estate franchisor.



"The impact of Cendant and HFS on the industry was more from the consolidation play on the company-owned side than it was on the franchise side. That's where they left their core business of franchising. There was a learning curve," he said. "The company-owned operations created a dilemma for them. They were in competition with their franchisees. Early on (Cendant was) very aggressive in selling franchises. They started selling franchises in the middle of company-owned operations. There was an adjustment period where the franchise side of the business and the company-owned side of the business had to kind of agree on the rules and regulations of expansion. The message got over to the franchise side: sell outside the perimeters of company-owned (offices)," Knapp said.



Cendant Chairman and CEO Henry Silverman had told real estate managers that he believed the real estate industry was ripe for consolidation on a large scale. That movement had already begun prior to the arrival of HFS and Cendant to the real estate scene – companies like Coldwell Banker and Merrill Lynch had been active in consolidation efforts in years prior.



Cendant had an acquisition strategy that focused on gaining market share within a particular market area, he said. "Most of the consolidation they did was in the markets where they already had a presence ... merging them into existing operations, closing unneeded offices, reducing redundant costs and in some cases eliminating duplicate advertising costs. While some of these acquisitions put them into new markets, most of them were consolidations right in markets where there already were (existing company-owned offices)," he said.



The company-owned operations became a good channel to purchase the operations of Cendant franchise businesses that were for sale, Knapp said.



Though Cendant has established a reputation as a major consolidator, Knapp said the company did not make a name for itself in the early years as a trailblazer in technology or business innovation, for example.



It was a challenge, he said, to combine all of the legacy technology systems for all of the companies that it had acquired. "It would've taken a rocket scientists to get it all together. I think it took them a long time back in New Jersey to realize how important the technology play was going to be and do it on a large scale. They worked hard to present a good technology system like all the rest of us." It was also a tall order for NRT to streamline the bits and pieces of many real estate-related services, such as mortgage and settlement services, from its various acquisitions and turn that into a functional business, he said.



Cendant has at times been a trendsetter in the adoption of new technologies, and took a big technological step in November 2004 when it announced the launch of LeadRouter, a lead management system that quickly feeds leads to real estate agents via telephone or e-mail from a variety of sources.



The company last year launched a tool called SearchRouter, which allows consumers to navigate from the main Web sites of its national brands to a large inventory of property listings in a local market area.



Also, NRT Inc. this year extended a marketing agreement for enhanced property advertisements at the popular home-search site Realtor.com. NRT first announced a marketing agreement with Realtor.com's parent company, Homestore, in Feb. 22 for the enhanced display of all NRT-affiliated listings at the Web site. The company's actions speak volumes about an increasing shift in real estate advertising to online venues.



Cendant announced a plan to spinoff its real estate segment in June this year as a separate company called Realogy. As proposed, the new company will have its stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "H." Cendant also plans to launch separate companies from three other operating segments.



Bob Moles, chairman of Cupertino, Calif.-based Intero Real Estate and former president and CEO for Cendant's Real Estate Franchise Group, was president of Contempo Realty when that company was bought by NRT in 1997.



When HFS acquired Century 21 and ERA, the industry was still trying to figure out whether the company would become a major figure in the industry, Moles said. The acquisition of Coldwell Banker and then PHH, which included mortgage services and relocation services, made it clear that Cendant was sincere.



"The acquisition of Century 21 sent a signal, and ERA sent a signal. People (said), 'Wow, what is this?' The acquisition of Coldwell Banker was big. After Coldwell Banker and after PHH, people thought this was a very serious company," he said.



After Cendant formed, the company set its sights on acquiring regional independent brokerage companies, and it was not uncommon for the company to rattle off several new acquisition deals in a single week.



Among the major deals: Jon Douglas Co. in Southern California, Arvida Realty Services in Florida, Burnet Financial Group in Minnesota and Chicago, The DeWolfe Cos. in New England, and Fred Sands Realtors in Southern California. All of these companies had an annual sales volume in the billions. Other major acquisitions included Hunneman Real Estate Corp. in Boston, Gundaker Realtors in St. Louis, Cornish & Carey Residential Real Estate in Northern California, Coldwell Banker Stevens in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, O'Conor, Piper & Flynn in the Northeast, Contempo Realty in Northern California, Northside Realty in Atlanta, and The Corcoran Group in New York.



Cendant definitely escalated industry consolidations, said Moles, who was named president and CEO of Century 21 Real Estate Corp. in 1997 and later oversaw franchise operations for all of Cendant's real estate brands until he returned to California in 2004 to join Intero.



"I wouldn't have traded the experience," he said of his time at Cendant. "Those first three or four years were pretty exciting years and it was really unique to be a part of that. This is a very entrepreneurial business. There were times when people were having to move very fast." When he arrived at the company there were about 1,700 employees and when he left there were about 92,000, he said.



Cendant brought lots of capital into play in the real estate industry, which had never been done before in such a big way. And the timing was right for HFS and Cendant to make a move, he said. "Clearly in the seven years I was out there we really had the wind at our backs in terms of property appreciation and (sales)."



Knapp agreed, "The timing of the creation of NRT was pretty perfect. From 1997 until now has been probably the best nine years in the history of real estate. The market is not likely to continue to grow."



Cendant officials are well aware of changing sales market conditions this year. In February, the company announced it would consolidate local offices to quickly cut about $50 million in costs.



The real estate market turned rapidly in December 2005 in some markets, and the company saw a cancellation rate on sales transactions spike about 30 percent that month, perhaps because speculators were fleeing. Also, the volume of real estate transactions at NRT companies dropped about 19 percent in New England, California and Florida in fourth-quarter 2005, the company reported, while transaction volume in other market areas increased about 4 percent during the quarter.



Small and mid-sized companies face an increasingly competitive real estate environment, Moles said, and there are challenges for large national companies, too. Massive size can be a ''two-edge sword," he said. "Sometimes when you're real big the ability to move quickly ... is hampered. I think (size) can be both a blessing and a curse." But Cendant has effectively used its size as an asset in consolidating the industry.



Also, it can be difficult to manage real estate operations within a publicly traded company, Moles said, as "you've got to manage to shareholder expectations – sometimes it's difficult to take a long-term perspective."



With the real estate segment as a separate company, the national scope of Cendant's real estate operations and its franchise royalties should provide some balance to market fluctuations in specific geographic areas, Moles said. "Its revenue streams are diversified across major metro areas."



Early days



Before today's successes, the corporate marriage of HFS and CUC proved disastrous in its early stages. Cendant in 1998 restated its earnings for 1995-97, revealing that "a 'widespread and systemic' fraud had occurred at CUC and the merged company that included improperly recognizing fictitious revenues, falsely coding services sold to customers and fraudulently manipulating merger reserves," according to court documents. A report adopted by Cendant's Board of Directors found that CUC's operating income was inflated by about $500 million during a period from May 1995 to August 1998, the court documents reveal.



In financial filings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 1998, Cendant reported that earnings had been overstated by about $300 million, or 24 percent, during that three-year period, and earnings per share were overstated by about 130 percent.



Cendant officials did not offer any comment for this article due to "vacation schedules," Kevin Doell, a spokesperson for Cendant's Real Estate Services Division, said.



Cendant's stock price plummeted with the news of the accounting fraud. In one day following the company's initial disclosure in April 1998 about the problems, Cendant's stock dropped 47 percent per share and its market capitalization sunk $14.2 billion. With later announcements in July and August the company's market capitalization dropped further – for a total of $20.5 billion, or 67 percent, court documents state.



Several company officials made millions by selling shares of stock before the radical drop in stock price. Chairman and CEO Silverman in February 1998 sold 1.7 million shares of Cendant common stock – his entire holding in the company – and received $61.4 million, according to court documents.



Heads rolled. Walter A. Forbes, the former CUC chairman, CEO and president who served as chairman of Cendant's board of Directors following the merger, was forced to resign in July 1998. Forbes sold about $38.5 million worth of CUC and Cendant common stock, court documents state. E. Kirk Shelton, vice chairman for Cendant and former CUC president, was terminated in August 1998. Shelton earned about $23 million in Cendant and CUC stock proceeds. A group of other former CUC officials also resigned as the scandal unfolded.

Happy Easter Weekend

We've just returned from a great trip in the Rockies. From our condo in Fairmont to our friends and family in Cranbrook returning via the scenic Crows nest pass. Not to mention the beautiful drive down the David Thompson highway to the Jasper Banff Parkway. Awesome. Just Awesome. We hope everyone had a safe and happy Easter weekend.

Measuring your performance

At the end of the day what matters. To me customer and job satisfaction is key. How to make sense of it all really can be a challenge. Do I measure how many leads I get, phone calls, appointments, appointment times, calls of specific ads, expenses vs revenues and so on and so on. In the end there is a measurement for everything. You could measure your clients heart rate in relation to yours to correlate your prospective chances of getting the business.

In our business it is important at least in my mind it is to keep it simple stupid. Bet you've never heard that before. I will say this though that I do track things differently for my online lead generated business vs my conventionally driven business. Why you might ask. Call it instinct but really that's where Sara really takes things to a whole new level for me. Its not that tracking things is bad its how much energy do you devote to tracking vs doing. Hopefully you're more focused on the getting it done aspect. However when it comes to online leads there is just so much information at your finger tips by just clicking a mouse that it’s criminal not to consider that information for your continued marketing efforts.

Tracking my conventional business is much simpler. I do keep track of the number of appointments in relation to am I slacking this week or am I grooving. Even when you're grooving in a market like this your sales may not be up of they may be up significantly. Here's a stat for you. I have been involved in 13, yes count em, 13 multiple offer situations where my client has offered list price or better and they have not succeeded. Now eventually some people learn from their follies and decide not to get so sticky on their price in a market like this but if I was tracking number of offers written, I'd be having a phenomenal year. I guess my long winded point is, ‘what is your goal’. The measurements you make should reflect or measure your progress towards those goals.

Working Quotes for a Monday Morning

Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?
- Edgar Bergen (1903 - 1978), (Charlie McCarthy)

All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind.
- Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)

Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.
- Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)

One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important.
- Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970), Conquest of Happiness (1930) ch. 5

It has been my experience that one cannot, in any shape or form, depend on human relations for lasting reward. It is only work that truly satisfies.
- Bette Davis (1908 - 1989), The Lonely Life, 1962

Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love.
- David McCullough (1933 - )

When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him: 'Whose?'
- Don Marquis (1878 - 1937)

A human being must have occupation if he or she is not to become a nuisance to the world.
- Dorothy L. Sayers (1893 - 1957)

Get happiness out of your work or you may never know what happiness is.
- Elbert Hubbard (1856 - 1915)

Typical Marketing or wasted money

Typical real estate marketing is unimaginative. Pens, note pads and others. As a victim of this senseless marketing, I too can't believe what I have convinced myself is a good idea. I say victim because there are plenty of influences marketing us. Marketing companies, our own "approved suppliers" hunt us like seals in the spring time. The follow is an excerpt from a blog I read regularly that made me think its a good idea to get an outside opinion the next time I have an idea to revolutionize the real estate magnet industry. In fact at a recent board meeting, I was talking to an old pro, who recently won a contest at their office for the oldest magnet.

I actually remember seeing one of his magnets when I listed a property. Actually when I think about it just about every property I have ever listed has a magnet from somebody on the fridge. Lol...My own fridge has a collage of magnets that I've collected like trophies...So I guess I agree with Frank, spend your money on effective marketing. Article taken from the never cold call blog.

How can this work?

I just checked my mail and found a nice pad with a photo and telephone number for a local realtor on it. I like that realtors are typically more marketing-savvy than other types of salespeople, and know better than to waste time cold calling, but how can this possibly work?

Blindly mailing out pads with your name and number on them isn't effective, and I'm guessing it's also very expensive. If I'm looking for a realtor, I'll ask friends for referrals or search online. I would do so even with this realtor's pad sitting on my desk and his smiling face looking at me.

Remember, cold calling may be a waste of time, but ineffective interruption marketing is a waste of money. Salespeople need to stick with self-marketing that works, not a shotgun approach that is just as random as cold calling.

Welcome Coldwell Banker Chinook city

Coldwell Banker Kalwest (25 agents approx) merged with Realty Executive Chinook city (50 agents) officially today. Its been great catching up with some old friends who are there and some current friends who are excited about their new company. I guess the difibrulator can go back on the cart and hopefully this will start a new and exciting trend towards growing the brand in the west.

Network news welcomes you all.

Creating Customers for Life

A lot of this we've all read before, but it's nice to take a minute and refocus. The point of this article is that to build customers for life, you need to focus on the client, not the end result...

RISMEDIA, March 22, 2006—Fostering a client for life goes far beyond marketing plans, print ads, or postcard drip campaigns. Like any long-term relationship, a basis for mutual respect, trust, and honesty must be formed through repeated demonstrations of goodwill and promises kept. iSucceed Mentor and client retention expert Diana Ivas, of Hinsdale, IL, has managed hundreds of repeat clients for decades, some of whom she’s helped buy and sell over ten homes a piece.

Creating a lifetime client from the very first day always begins with a meaningful first impression. Diana’s years of experience have taught her that buyers and sellers are especially sensitive to canned dialogues or disingenuous presentations, and she offers a few tips here, “Dig deep with questions. Find the motivations and commonalities. Be genuine, upfront, and honest; and learn how to entertain your clients without coming off as a phony.” It’s a tightrope walk, finding just the right balance between objective counselor and controlling party, but the level of detail Diana is able to unearth from her prospective customers

The long-term relationship is the ultimate goal, but Diana makes a conscious choice not to dwell too much on the end result of her daily activities. She’s made a clear commitment to remain focused on the client of the moment, especially when the time comes to negotiate price. She remarks, “Most Realtors I know would admit that when it comes to negotiating the deal, they just want it done. And while that may be the gut reaction, I choose to focus on the process rather than the results.” That focus has also allowed Diana to keep a mindset of service in lieu of profit. She explains, “Excellent service generates repeat business – that’s the first thing. The second goal with client retention is to dominate mindshare: when people in your market are thinking about buying or selling a home, yours must be the first name that comes to mind.” Building and maintaining that reputation for quality, enjoyable service keeps Diana motivated from sunup to sundown.

The real challenge for Diana is to effectively communicate on a regular basis with her repeat customers in such a way that doesn’t come off as hokey or contrived. “I really pride myself on the depth of relationship I try to create with each and every one of my clients,” Diana explains. “You must be sympathetic to people’s needs. With a big database, this can be a challenge, but with the right systems in place, you can do it in a meaningful, personal way.” Diana’s personal touch is nearly legendary in her market – from letter-writing campaigns to personalized closing gifts to special events and impromptu visits to her clients’ homes comes an annual sales volume of more than $40 million.

Twenty-year real estate sales veteran Diana Ivas of Hinsdale, IL, has served the suburbs west of metro Chicago since 1986, averaging annual sales in excess of $40 million plus, due in large part to a balanced partnership with her husband, Chuck. When it comes to client retention, no other local Realtor tops the Ivas team – over 60% of their business comes from repeat clients and their referrals. They each play to each other’s strengths, with Diana handling the marketing and buyer’s agent management, and Chuck focusing on the financial and administrative tasks. Diana has been the recipient of a bevy of RE/MAX awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, Hall of Fame, Platinum Club, Chairman's Club and Northern Illinois Top 10.

News from RECA

It is official Charlotte Sutherland from CB in Canmore is no longer with the Real Estate Council of Alberta after a long and in my opinion successful 6 year tenure. Charlotte represented members not belonging to organized real estate.

Having been involved with RECA for the past 8 years in many capacities I can say she brought a big voice to those members. She certainly was not easily snowed and was often a voice of reason in what could be at times trying and difficult meetings.

I for one, Thank you Charlotte. Your sacrafices and hard work are appreciated. Far from being retired though Charlotte continues rockin in the rockies in Canmore.

Sizzle to Cool

This just in from CBC news online. A bit of a cooling off period at least here in the west could only be a good thing from the perspective of the market here in Edmonton.

TD PREDICTS U.S. ECONOMY WILL COOL IN 2006, CHILLING CANADA WebPosted Wed Mar 22 11:17:13 2006

---The U.S. economy is likely headed for a slowdown later in the year that will spill over into Canada, economists at TD Bank said Wednesday.

In a quarterly forecast, TD economists said U.S. economic growth is expected to slow to an average annual rate of 2.3 per cent in the last half of 2006 and the first half of 2007.

It is about one percentage point below the U.S. economy's long-term potential pace, they said.

The Canadian economy is expected to "marginally slip" below its longer- term trend rate of 2.8 per cent, the forecast said.

"Last summer, we noted that housing market strength and household indebtedness in the U.S. was simply unsustainable, and that it would give way to an economic slowdown in the second half of 2006," said Don Drummond, a senior vice president and chief economist at the bank.

"Evidence is mounting in support of this view."

Slowing sales of new and resale houses will eventually dampen construction and consumer spending in the United States, TD said its forecast.

"There is no two ways about it, the U.S. slowdown will be a drag on economic growth north of the 49th parallel," said Drummond. "But, since Canada has neither the same degree of housing imbalances, nor as much tightness in monetary settings, it should fare slightly better than its U.S. counterpart."

Any slowdown in the United States is expected to be mild and short-lived, the economists said.

But they warned there is a chance the U.S. economy could be in for a longer, sharper slowdown that could have a greater impact on Canada.

In the shorter term, the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada are both expected to go through one more round of tightening interest rates.

The hikes will boost rates to 4.75 per cent in the United States and four per cent in Canada, TD forecast.

Realogy on track

What's in a name. More importantly how do you pronounce it. You know you've got a marketing genius screwing things up somewhere when a very senior executive of one Cendant's biggest assests isn't sure how to pronounce the name. Enough of my side bar.

Cendant spinoff on track, CEO says
Cendant real estate services division to become Realogy or (reel-o-gee)

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Cendant Corp. remains on track to spin off its four businesses into independent publicly traded entities during the second and third quarters of this year, the company's chairman and chief executive, Henry Silverman, said Tuesday, according to reports.

During the company's investor day conference, Silverman said he doesn't anticipate any delays or roadblocks, barring some unforeseen external event, CBS MarketWatch reported.

"Obviously if the market shuts down for, say, bird flu or the SEC review process is elongated, hypothetically we could be delayed, but we don't expect either of these," Silverman said, according to reports.

Silverman said the company has analyzed thousands of contracts, relationships, systems and people to make sure the new companies will be fully functional on the day they're spun off, reports said.

The company's real estate company, Realogy, and its hotel company, Wyndham Worldwide, which represent about two-thirds of Cendant's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, will be spun off in the second quarter. The company had announced this move in February.

Silverman reiterated his belief that the spinoffs are in the best interest of shareholders, reports said. He said Cendant considered selling itself but found that "it was too big for financial buyers and too diverse for strategic buyers," according to reports.

However, Silverman doesn't rule out the individual companies being sold after they're spun off, reports said.

"After the spinoff, each of the four companies will be an independent company and will be free to evaluate any potential transaction that is presented to it on the merits of that transaction." he said, according to MarketWatch.

Is that a hint Mr. Silverman. Is there a buyer in the wing for one of these spinoffs. Time will tell.

The bottom line

Office politics, economics and social hiearchy affects your bottom line. You can get sucked into like a fart in a wind storm or you can rise above it, separate yourself from the fray and maintain your sanity and profitability.

Maintining your direction is key to keeping distractions to a minimum. As my favorite agents fromCalifornia with Coldwell Banker, Tim and Anne Wiens say "We can't direct the wind but we can adjust our sails. Indeed the attitude we chose determines much about our success.

The bottom line is this: A lot of nonsense goes on in sales offices other than selling. If salespeople would just sell, they'd be so much more successful than most are!

Red Deer Broker meeting

What's to say except sorry for the delay. Busy, busy days when we got back from Red Deer prevented us from getting this out sooner.

The new Coldwell Banker website is promised for launch on March 31st.
The marketing strategy this year will hinge in large part on international open house month (which is April). On April 9th Coldwell Banker will own the MSN home page. So its a great time to get your open houses scheduled and take advantage of the media blitz.

Hopefully the website launch will go as planned on March 31st (I'm not holding my breath here) so that the increased traffic from MSN can be driven to a website designed to capture leads.

An office merger is scheduled to take place in Calgary on Tuesday which should double the number of agents in Calgary from 35 to 70. This long overdue move is most welcome news in the west where hopefully it will be a sign of things to come.

Efast start continues to grow and BOOST a course designed for experienced agents who have plateau'd is schedule to come online later this year.

Listings are in the process of being uploaded www.coldwellbanker.com and for upper end luxury homes they are in the process of being loaded to www.coldwellbankerpreviews.com
This is a huge marketing plus for Coldwell Banker agents. There is one drawback from my perspective in that your name doesn't appear on your listing. Before mentioning this new plus to your potential sellers make sure your listings are there. At present only half are there. We'll check regularly. About a month ago it was estimated this would take a week.

There will be $5000. contest coming on the website. Not sure on the exact details so stay tuned.

Online advertising is be heralded as the next big thing. While it may not be the next best thing it is becoming more and more crucial. In our last issue of network news we gave you our business case and we even showed you how to do this in a step by step manner. Remember you need two other components in place if you want leads from the traffic you drive to your site. See network news for more on marketing online or continue to wait for the online train to hit you.

Still no word on the Canadian conference except that 2007 will be at Kanaskis. The 2006 Canadian conference is still up in the air. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. Gary Hockey did indicate they were considering Mexico in November. Opinions seem to vary on this and even I'll conceed that you can't please everyone.

New rules for team awards are coming. Basically 2 or more agents will be considered a team. This has been long anticipated from many brokers hoping to give those agents who are individuals an opportunity to be recognized for their extraordinary achievements.

Think Search Marketing is New for Real Estate Agents? Think Again

A recent report shows that almost half of local keywords purchased online are purchased by real estate agents. The fact is, advertising online works, and thousands of agents are doing it. Here are some exerpts from a report on Inman News today:

Complying with the dictum, "Follow the money" (or at least the consumers), real estate advertising now comprises half of the local advertising on search engines, according to a report released this month.

Paid search ads for individual local real estate agents account for 49.6 percent of listings on keyword searches for local business segments across 10 different cities, up from 17.5 percent of local search ads 18 months ago, according to Borrell Associates' "2006 Local Search Advertising" report.

Local advertisers now occupy a third of sponsored links in search-engine results, according to the report, and many on city-related keywords.

The Borrell report predicts that paid search advertising by local advertisers will more than double this year to $987 million, and nearly double again in 2007.

Local agents' search ads jumped from 17.5 percent of all local search ads 18 months ago, to 23.9 percent a year later, the report said.

Search ads for the keyword "mortgage" comprised 25.1 percent of listings on keyword searches, the report said. According to the report, the highest bids in terms of amount paid per click were for DUI attorneys, mortgages and real estate.

According to the March 2005 report, local agents occupy almost half of all search advertisements, and not just in big cities, either. "In Des Moines, half of the advertisements on the Google and Yahoo results pages for 'Des Moines real estate' are being placed by local agents bidding as much as $3 per click," the report said.

Matt Shaw, an agent with Coldwell Banker Mid-America Group in Des Moines, told researchers he estimates as much as half of his total advertising budget is spent on search-engine advertising, and an additional 20 percent on other forms of online marketing. "It's paid off," Shaw said, according to the study.

The report tracked more than 2,000 online search ads on Yahoo! and Google and also compiled the predictions of 400 so-called ad experts. One of the reports' more interesting predictions: "More than three-fourths of the Borrell panel agrees that within the next five years, yellow pages books will evolve into directories of local Web site addresses. Eighty-five percent of respondents think this will happen within five years."

6 rules for smart home buyers

While this new book contains some real lame and generic stuff it is organized in such a way as to make it a good flip through for ideas for your own best buyer practises and recommendations.

March 17, 2006) -- Elizabeth Razzi, author of The Fearless Home Buyer, offers these rules worth sharing with first-time (and even repeat) home buyers.

• Don’t reject a home because of outdated appliances. Buying all new ones costs a few thousand dollars — a drop in the bucket compared to the total cost of the home.
  
  
• Give the commute a try. Early one morning — in the rain if possible — drive to the neighborhood and then to work. How long does it take? How awful is the traffic?
  
  
• Give your real estate professional enough time to present the offer in person. It’s hard to say no to an enthusiastic practitioner when she’s looking you in the eye.
  
  
• Put everything that you really want in the purchase offer, including light fixtures, play sets, appliances.
  
  
• Build escape hatches into the offer, including contingencies for home inspections, appraisals, and financing that give you an out.
  
  
• Don’t rush the lock-in date. Schedule closing for several days before your interest rate lock expires. If the closing is delayed, you won’t be facing a higher interest rate.

Source: St. Petersburg Times (03/11/06)

E mail marketing. Is it worth it?

As many of you know. Network news is a e newsletter dedicated to giving you something of value to improve your business. It is designed to be visually stimulating and profile interesting industry members. One of its background goals was to keep top of mind awareness for referrals for our company. Origionally constructed for Coldwell Banker agents in Canada we have subscribers from all over North America and from various different real estate companies.

Has this impacted our business. Certainly. We have reached our goals and well honestly exceeded them. One thing we didn't count on is the tremendous feedback we have received from brokers and agents alike. We thank everybody for their feedback and encouragement. Some of the responses have been truly amazing and definitely uplifting. So from our perspective e mail marketing does work. Below is a link to a survey that breaks down email marketing statistically.

One last comment though

• you must add something of value to the reciepeint or you will likely be deleted.
  
• you must respect their privacy
• make it entertaining and if its not successful at least you'll have a laugh
  

A recent survey found that Canadian delivery rates were nearly 93%, open rates 55% and click-through rates over 8%.

By American standards, already not bad, that’s stellar. If the average click-through to purchase ratio is in Canada what it is in the US, someone is making a lot of money there via email marketing.

This is particularly interesting since the Canadians have long been wary of online shopping, according to many sources.

Fortunately, no one need move to Canada to take advantage of this phenomenon. (Though that wouldn’t be bad, Canada is a great country.) Developing a list of Canadian subscribers is no more difficult (and no easier) than any other. And the language and cultural barrier is even lower than for some other countries.

See… email marketing is alive and well. Some of it just moved.

Shorts

The following are snippets of various articles that are pertinent to anyone in marketing and sales.

• Consider this: 97% of what someone perceives about you comes from non-verbal items. It is a proven fact. Now that you know this, how important is the way you carry yourself? It's hugely important!

• Most people don't really care about price

  Of course, you've heard the objection. "It just costs too much."

  Today's Times reports that 411 accounts for more than a billion calls a year--at just one provider. That's more than a billion dollars a year being spent for a service that is truly a commodity--you want the number, here it is, bye.

  And yet, Easy411 provides precisely the same service to callers for half the price. Why doesn't everyone use them? Because it's not just the price. It's the hassle and the set up and the "I didn't get around to it" nature of saving a few bucks.

  Example 2: check out the parking lot at Costco. Lots of $40,000 or more cars and SUVs in the lot, people who wasted a few shekels worth of gas to drive out of their way to invest an hour of time to save a dollar on a big jar of pickles. These are the same people who will spend an extra $100 on an airplane ticket to save a few minutes in getting home after a meeting.

  My point, and I do have one, is that price is a signal, a story, a situational decision that is never absolute. It's just part of what goes into making a decision, no matter what we're buying. Seth Godins blog

• Ability is sexless. Author: Christabel Pankhurst

• No letters after your name are ever going to be a total guarantee of competence any more than they are a guarantee against fraud. Improving competence involves continuing professional development ... That is the really crucial thing, not just passing an examination. Author: Colette Bowe American Business Executive

Is Another Commission Lost?

This is a recent article that I received from a lawyer. This has application to all real estate agents.
Read it or weep.

Is Another Commission Lost?

In a recent Ontario case (how come they get all the good, newsworthy cases?), an Appeal Court ordered that a seller could refuse to complete a sale even when the purchaser offered the full asking price.

In this case, the Listing Agreement specified an asking price of $123,900.00 and obligated the seller to sell "upon such terms particularly set out herein". The realtor obtained on offer for the full price of $123,900.00. The seller refused to accept the offer. The realtor sued for lost commissions. After all, the realtor had done what the listing agreement required: bring an offer to the table for the full list price.

While the Court agreed the monetary portion of the listing agreement had been fulfilled, the Court went further. The main issues considered by the Court were two conditions. As the property was an acreage, the buyer's offer required the vendor to warrant the water was potable and the septic system was free from problems. The seller was not prepared to provide these warranties and had not agreed to provide these warranties in the Listing Agreement. The Court found there was evidence the seller was not aware of the status of the water and septic systems and was not prepared to provide a warranty.

After the offer was refused, the seller realized appropriate water tests were required. The tests were obtained and showed a problem. A fix was made quite easily and the house was later sold for the same price with the same conditions as contained in the refused offer. However, these conditions were not disclosed in the initial Listing Agreement and were not part of the "terms particularly set out herein". The realtor who obtained the initial offer for the full asking price was not entitled to receive any commissions.

In this case, the realtor lost:

1. All commissions

2. Court costs

3. Interest

4. Legal fees for a trial

5. The time, aggravation and stress of going to trial.

The lessons we can learn from this experience:

1. If there are standard conditions you would expect a seller to accept put them in the listing agreement.

2. Make sure any offer is in complete accord with the listing agreement before you demand the seller accept it and close.

3. Avoid litigation. It is a process fraught with expense, stress and uncertainty. Mark Twain put it best when he said: "There were only two times I went broke in my life: once when I lost a lawsuit and once when I won a lawsuit."

Great article on sales style

Ris media is a great place to get information on real estate. Second only to Network News (biased opinion of course). The following is a great article on sales style. Worth a read if you're new and trying to figure ut where you fit in.

By Brian Buffini

RISMEDIA, March 6 — Anyone working in sales knows how difficult it can be to connect with a client. Perhaps you find yourself frustrated by how long it takes for a decision to be made, or maybe you feel a particular client is trying to move things along too quickly. What you are in fact dealing with is your natural “Work Style.” One of the first things we provide to those who join our business Coaching program is an in-depth personality assessment called the Heritage Profile™.

Work Style is one of the areas we examine, and through our research we’ve discovered something interesting: most people fall into one of just two categories—Motivator or Facilitator.

Motivators are quick to share their opinions. Because they are focused on momentum, their natural ability is to encourage and lead. To effectively manage this gift, you must remember to ask lots of questions before attempting to lead your client so you don’t come across as being too pushy.

More....

Coldwell Banker Canada update - Toronto broker meeting

The Toronto awards and broker meeting were held yesterday.

At this time there is no definite plan to have a Canadian conference. It's tenatively scheduled to have the Canadian conference tag along with the IBC in Las Vegas in 2007. What ever your opinion let them know. From our perspective it was a fantastic time in San Francisco but Sara and I had to work hard to make arrangements to spend time with our good friends, and there was little opportunity to network and make new friends. The educational sessions were average, a few of them stood out as outstanding. It is just very difficult to network with our Canadian friends at an event this large. Make no mistake IBC is an event to be taken in. Whatever you think, let the people at head office know or you'll get what you get if you know what I mean.

The broker meeting reviewed and discussed the benefits of advertising with GOOGLE.
Diane Boucher's office was used as a case study as Head office set up a beta test. I won't get into their results but I'll outline our experience so far. This is legitimate business that is the result of our online marketing:

• almost 3 months
• cost approx $900.
• Over 300 leads captured
• 4 deals closed
• 3 referrals (2 from agents outside the Coldwell Banker, and 1 from the Coldwell Banker)
• 2 listings taken
• and some serious prospects in the pipeline
• every lead is on a lead management contact program

Using Sara's technology experience and background in combination with my 17 years of experience has enabled us to construct a program that is not only cutting edge, but is practical to the real estate practioner and consumer. Contact Sara for assistance in setting up your program or office training today.

April will be Open House month with more details to come from your broker.

Great news. It was announced that in the next couple of weeks their will be a major announcement for a new large company joining the network. Rumour has it, its out west. yahoo!

www.coldwellbanker.ca will be relaunched in mirror of it sister u.s. site www.coldwellbanker.com. The architecture will be significantly less than the dot com version as the U.S. spent millions doing their site, but the improvements will be very good.

Andrew Zsolt with Terequity announced a training initative that deals exclusively with getting listings. An excellent investment if you ask me. If you want to be successful in this business you have to be able to get inventory. contact Mary Scannell for more info

Last year's award winner for most memorable line was Pete Benninger of Peter
Benninger realty, for "you got dick" in a discussion about radio advertising and results.

This year is a tie between Pete Benninger with "You're living the dream" in his comments to address his approval to the head office for the change in awards with regards to teams and their new found empathy of broker issues. Hopefully more info will be forthcoming soon, but basically they will be splitting the top 10 and designation levels in to individual awards and team awards. A team is defined as any combination of licensed agents working together (ie if you have a licensed assistant you are considered a team).

The other memorable sound bite came from the GOOGLE ad executive in describing how search engine marketing works...."It's like advertising on crack."

After the meeting Sara and I had numerous conversations with people regarding how to properly set up a search engine marketing program in conjunction with some other critical elements for your search engine marketing to be successful.

Expect better, you deserve the best ;)

Canadian Real Estate forum

A must to book mark this is a forum for anyone interested or who has a Canadian real estate industry related question. Canadian Real Estate issues

60 Days Into 2006 - How is Your Business Plan Working?

This article is written by Allen Wright, who is a Business Planner. It has some excellent points on checking in on your business, to see how you are doing so far, compared to where you intended to be. He talks about what points are important to keep track of frequently, and what things to be wary of micromanaging.

RISMEDIA, March 1 — As an ongoing process, business planning has many stages and focuses and the most important remains to continuously monitor your results. Sixty days into your 2006 business plan is a good time to see what needs adjusting. There are many purposes for doing this review such as checking accuracy, noting changes, developing habits and evaluating progress.

Check your plan for accuracy. There are two major areas that you need to check for the accuracy of actual activities and expenses. Since you have completed your first two months did you forget to account for anything in your budget? You should be recording all the activities you complete as you move towards your goal. Have you accounted for all the sources of business and business producing activities? Have you have forgotten an activity? Make sure you go back into your plan and add the item and any associated expenses in your plan/budget section as well as the business development section if appropriate.

An example of this might be a postcard you send out to all of your past clients, personal sphere and farm that lists the “Top Five in “05”. This postcard would have the best five homes you participated in closing for the year. If you do this type of marketing did you account for it in your marketing budget?

Another example would be expenses. Since several real estate overhead expenses are paid at the beginning of the year be sure to periodically review then throughout the year. You should be recording these expenses in your business plan or accounting software. Take a look at your business plan … did you forget any of these expenses? If so, go back to your plan and add them to this year’s business plan. In the process don’t forget that changes to your business plan will affect other areas. Make sure that after you make a change that you check and see what effects that change has had on your total plan and business development. It is recommended to make minor adjustments to your plan throughout the year as a quick check to see if you have accounted for everything.

One secret to success is establishing success oriented habits. These habits include recording your activities and appointments from all sources of business. Additionally, you should be recording each transaction and the associated transaction expenses as well as the normal expenses you incur throughout the year. Remember the golden rule of sales management, “If you cannot measure it you cannot manage it.”

Finally, check your progress. Although you are only two months into this year you should make sure you are laying the proper foundation for future success. We have all heard the “pipeline philosophy” time and time again … keep the pipeline full. A good tip for doing that is to examine your production and activity results as follows:

• Record and Check Activities Weekly
• Check Expenses Monthly
• Examine Revenue Every Other Month

The reason for this is simple. Activities are the lifeblood of any sales oriented business and therefore should be examined frequently. As time progresses you will forget some activities and appointments that you completed, so by recording them each week you will be able to quickly recall what you have completed.

Expenses can often creep-up and get out of control. Examining your expenses on a monthly basis will keep you on top of your budget and prevent an “out-of-control” scenario. You should be recording your expenses each week but don’t micromanage your business by examining them that often; monthly is sufficient.

Revenue is more unpredictable than the other parts of your business. Revenue may shift from month to month because of delayed closings resulting from things outside your control. With that being said, examine your revenue at least every other month. Once again, don’t micromanage your business and over analyze your revenue. As long as you are completing revenue producing activities things will naturally fall into place.

If you are struggling to manage or monitor all these activities manually, consider using an online real estate business planning and weekly accountability system that can do all this for you automatically. Visit CreateAPlan (www.createaplan.com) and keep your business moving on the right path.

What's in a name?

Cendant and the brain trusts that be are in the process of reorganizing and renaming the individual units. Like this will make a difference, well at least not to those of us in the trenches.

It hopefully won't mean extra overhead in corporate salaries. Keep your costs down boys and girls.

The Cendant Real Estate Services Division, which is spinning off from Cendant Corp., will operate as a standalone company under the name Realogy Corp., the publicly traded company said today.

The name change will take effect upon the completion of its spin-off from Cendant Corp., anticipated during the second quarter of 2006.

"The name Realogy communicates our rigorous approach to the real estate business," said Richard A. Smith, chairman and CEO of the Cendant Real Estate Services Division, who will serve as vice chairman and president of Realogy Corp.

Since the Cendant name will ultimately be retired, two subsidiaries of the Real Estate Services Division are also changing their corporate identities in association with the spin-off, the company said.

Cendant Mobility, a major global relocation services company, will become known as Cartus. Cartus has more than 1,300 active clients worldwide, including more than 60 percent of the Fortune 50 and numerous government agencies and affinity organizations.

Cendant Settlement Services Group, a national leader in title and settlement services, will become known as Title Resource Group (TRG). TRG is comprised of 21 title and settlement services companies with 500 offices in 33 states across the United States.

"Title Resource Group is a name that defines our national network of title and settlement services companies," said Cendant Settlement Services Group President and CEO Don Casey, who will serve as TRG's president and CEO. "TRG comprises many companies operating in a host of local markets, all united under one vision."

No other name changes are planned within the Real Estate Services Division.

NRT Inc., the real estate franchise group, and its leading brands -- Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Coldwell Banker Commercial, ERA and Sotheby's International Realty -- all will keep their existing names.

Good times at Coldwell Banker IBC 2006

We had a great time in San Francisco connecting with old friends and meeting new ones. The educational courses were light in most cases but a few stood out as excellent. We thank everyone who had positive comments about Network News and for those of you who requested to be signed up you will receive the next issue. As Network News has grown to numerous other companies we will be looking for ways to expand on our committment to bring you a news letter and blog with real value in a timely manner.

Click to see a photos from our Valentines dinner and cruise to Alcatraz with, Sheldon Johnston and Sara Maclennan Coldwell Banker Johnston real estate, Edmonton, Alberta aka the Network News crew.

Click here to see photos from the Canada day cruise eh!

Rookie Realtors, Will They Succeed? (Part 3)

This is the last of a three part series by Bernice Rossof Inman News. Here are parts 1 and 2. In it she talks about different personality tests and character traits that might predict a new agent's success or failure in the business. It's certainly an interesting read for recruiters, new agents and those considering entering the business. As usual I've shortened it a bit to cut down your reading time.

Last week we looked at the demographic results of a new study examining the relationship between various factors and real estate success during agents' first two years in the business. Because the Real Estate Simulator was standardized using the profiles of agents who make over $150,000 per year in real estate, it is currently the best instrument available for predicting whether an experienced agent will become a top producer. The DISC Behavioral Assessment and the PIAV (Personal Interests, Attitudes, and Values) Assessment from Target Training International are used in other industries to identify top sales performers and to help them better understand what motivates their behaviors. Do these three assessments accurately predict new agent success as well?

Based upon the results of this study, managers can feel comfortable hiring men or women from any age group. What they should look for is the following "ideal new agent profile."

1. High score on the Real Estate Simulator, especially in the areas of closing and assertiveness. The overall Simulator score was highly predictive of Rookie Realtor success during the first year an agent is in real estate.

2. High score on the "D" (Dominance) factor on the DISC.

3. High score on the "Traditional" factor on the PIAV.

4. Agents who are prepared to work 35 or more hours per week in real estate.

Based upon the results of this study, personality and behavioral style factors influence an agent's success during the early stages of their career. The different assessments correlate with Rookie Realtor performance to various degrees. What these results reflect, however, is that agents who are confident, assertive, energetic, and to some extent forceful rather than self-centered or arrogant, are more likely to experience early career success.

The research findings further suggest that during the early stages of an agent's career, personality and behavioral style may be critical to determining whether an agent will experience early success. For new agents, having the "right" personality, (e.g., assertiveness), can be more important than having strong selling skills. Selling skills certainly enhance performance for those with assertive personalities, but may not be sufficiently strong to compensate for having the "wrong" personality (e.g., indecisiveness). Previous studies using the Real Estate Simulator demonstrate that over time, selling skills become increasingly important in determining an agent's long-term success.

In a slowing market, managers should be especially wary of hiring new agents who score high on the "S" (systems or steadiness) and "C" (compliance) factors unless these scores are supported with a "D" score that is above the 50th percentile. People who score high on the "S" and "C" factors often make excellent assistants or transaction coordinators, but lack the drive necessary to generate high levels of business during their first year. Successful experienced agents who have high "S" or "C" scores generally report that they built their businesses systematically over a long period of time. Unless these new agents have considerable financial backing, most will be unable stay in the business long enough for their systems to produce sustainable results.

Since there was no difference in the performance of agents who work for brokerages that offer in-house training and those who do not offer training, this finding highlights the importance of selecting the right people. Training speeds up production for those who have the right behavioral profile, but it is not a substitute for proper assessment and selection. Putting it a little differently, the right hires will succeed whether or not you train them. The wrong hire will not succeed, no matter how much train them. Ultimately, training works for people who are capable of benefiting from it.

The Real Estate Simulator and the DISC are two instruments that can assist both agents and brokers in determining whether real estate is the right career for a given new agent. Recognizing when someone is not a fit can help these individuals to avoid the heartbreak of a failed business as well as a substantial loss of money for both the agent and broker as well.

San Francisco IBC uppdate

Greetings from San Francisco. As you know Sara and I and about 350 other Canadians are down in Fran to partake in Coldwell Banker's international business conference and 100th birthday celebrations.

The weather has been great so far but that is expected to change today. It was certainly warmer during the day yesterday than any other day we had when we were here in July.

A few of us who were down early partook in a lovely Valentine's dinner at First Crush. While the food and wine were nothing short of fantastic. The service was the worst any of us have ever encountered.

The next day a large group of us decided t do a group tour of Alcatraz. I was really surprised at how informative that tour was and how really small the facility and the cells were.

Yesterday was Canada day however and it was a very nice evening. Bev MacMillan from head office did a great job organizing this event. Although chilly the sky was clear and the networking was excellent.

Sara and I just want to thank all of you who came up and thanked us for our newsletter. We really appreciated the feed back.

We'll keep you posted. Have a great day.

Managing Real Estate Relationships

Another good article from Inman News... this time talking about CRM or customer relationship management, specifically dealing with online leads. This aspect of our business is becoming crucial, as more leads are generated, and these people are 12-18 months away from a transaction. If you don't stay in touch with leads, someone else will...Here are some excerpts (the article is a bit of a sales pitch for a few products, but it still has a lot of good points):

"First, fast and frequent" might sound like a recipe for a very different kind of relationship, but it's one real estate marketing company's rule for customer relationship management.

"You want to be the first agent in contact with the home buyer or seller," said Matt Heinz, senior director of marketing for HouseValues. "You want to follow up quickly. And you want to stay in touch – frequently.

"We've found over the last seven years that leads aren't enough," said Heinz. "It's almost as important to have a system in place to cultivate relationships with people as it is to get the leads."

"If they (the prospect) are not buying for many months, they still want to hear from you," Heinz said.

One of the best practices his company teaches is to send useful information, not sales pitches, to prospects, echoing comments made by many real estate agents.

However, Heinz cautioned, it's important not to be intrusive. Another best practice: Let the consumer stay in control.

"Let them drive the timeline," Heinz said. As prospects do their research and amass the information they need to make decisions, they will decide when it's time for action.

Another best practice: "Make yourself an expert on the neighborhood," Heinz said. Advice about local businesses, local vendors, schools, nightlife, weather and any number of things can make an agent stand out, he said.

Linda Howard, president of network services for Prudential California, Nevada and Texas, agrees with Heinz that speed of response is a very important best practice. It's also important to separate those who are interested in buying in the next three months from those who are more long-term, Howard said.

"We get them in the loop with an agent if they are going to buy pretty soon," Howard said. Otherwise, "we put them in our LeadTrax."

"We call it an incubation process. We nurture that consumer and supply them with information they need during that period of time and when they are ready to start their search we assign them out to an agent," Howard said.

The system sends prospects e-mails on a regular basis, "giving them bits of information about mortgage rates, special insurance programs, anything related to the home purchase process," Howard said.

Howard agreed with Heinz' suggestions on best practices.

"Consumers these days are savvy. They will see right through a sales pitch," she said. "What they want is mortgage rates, insurance information, information about the area they are moving to. We try to make whatever we sent them valuable information."

Pru California is unusual in having a comprehensive CRM product available to its agents, according to Bob Woehrle, CEO of PropertySource. PropertySource is a customer relationship management technology firm that works with large brokerages including Baird & Warner in Chicago, Hunt Real Estate in New York State, Realty South in Alabama and Edina Realty in Minnesota.

Regarding CRM, Woehrle said, "You are 40 times more likely to generate business from someone you know than a random relationship."

As a best practice, his company recommends that agents establish and identify groups– former clients, friends, relatives, PTA, church members – and get them into a list. "We provide an electronic tool to do this with every contact they have," Woehrle said.

Another PropertySource best practice: "Surprise and delight," the CEO said.

"Our software allows agents to send out automatic e-greetings on birthdays, anniversary, the changing of the clocks twice a year. Remembering customers at times they would not expect you to remember them has a strong emotional appeal," Woehrle said.

Woehrle joined the chorus recommending that agents send useful information to prospects. His company offers newsletters that agent customers can send out, tailored to buyers and sellers who are actively engaged, and to homeowners.

"We also recommend building a target group of preferred customers. The two easiest ways to make money are repeat sales and referrals. We want to target them and give them a special dose of attention," Woehrle said. This is known as the 100 List, the group of an agent's 100 most likely contacts to provide a referral.

With postage rates going up, "with our agents across the country we unrolled a promotion. For their 100 list, we sent them 100 cards that welcomed the new year and the new postage rate and in the cards we included a sheet of two-cent stamps," the CEO said.

The most important best practice: "Segment them (prospects) according to their needs and speak intelligently to those needs," Woehrle said.

Rookie Realtors, Will They Succeed? (Part 2)

The long awaited second installment of this three part series on predicting a rookie's success in this business (read part 1 here). This article, again by Bernice Ross of Inman News looks to see if demographic information can predict a newbie's success in the biz...I've shortened it a bit for your reading enjoyment :)

Study participants

In the summer of 2005, 175 agents from different companies and geographical regions in the U.S. participated in the study. Each agent was asked to take the Real Estate Simulator, the DISC and the PIAV. Participants also completed a survey that included information on age, sex, length of time in the business, number of listings taken, number of listings closed, number of closed transactions, commissions earned, hours worked per week, and whether the agent's company offered an in-house new agent training program.

Demographic Results

Age

Fifteen percent of the participants were ages 20-30; 28 percent were 30 to 40; 22 percent were 50 to 60; and 7 percent were 60 or older (N = 160). In terms of this study, age has no effect on performance. Older and younger people do equally well during the first year in real estate.

Gender

Thirty-five percent of the respondents were male and 65 percent were female. In terms of this study, gender also has no effect on performance. Men were no more or no less successful than women were.

Work Experience

In terms of the sample, 18 percent of the agents had less than six months of experience and another 42 percent had from six months to one year of experience. (Sixty percent of the respondents had one or less year of experience.) Twenty-three percent had one to three years of experience and 17 percent had more than three years. Not surprisingly, real estate experience was highly correlated with closed sales, commissions earned, and listings taken (correlation coefficients ranged from .46 to .67). In other words, the more experience an agent had, the more transactions they closed and the more money they earned.

Part-time vs. Full-time

In terms of the number of hours worked, there were no differences based upon age or gender. In terms of this study, 60 percent of the respondents worked at least 35 hours per week in the business. Twenty-five percent worked 21 to 35 hours per week and 15 percent worked 20 or less. This research supports the conclusion that working full time in real estate is directly related to earnings. Chi square analysis revealed that agents who worked 35 hours or more per week earned significantly more commissions, closed more sales, and took more listings. (p < .002). Many agents mistakenly believe they can be successful by working part time in real estate. This study suggests that working part time or hiring part-timers is not conducive to real estate success during an agent's first year in the business.

Training

Sixty-eight percent of the agents reported that their company offered an in-house training program. Thirty-two percent reported that they did not have an in-house training program. Surprisingly, agents who had in-house training scored no better than those who lacked access to an in-house training program. The presence of an in-house training program had no significant relationship to the commissions earned, the number of closed sales, the number of transactions placed under contract, listings taken, or to overall performance. What the study did not address was the nature of the training offered. Some companies provide contract training without sales training. Others may rely on video or online training as opposed to live training. Additional research is needed to determine whether sales training and/or training provided concurrently with coaching influences performance during the first two years of an agent's career.

Selection Process

If age, gender and training do not predict real estate success, the question is what does? The study results show that assessments are solid predictors of a rookie agent's success during their first year in the business. To learn more about this study, see next week's column.

Zillow Launches!

Surprise! It's live!

There's been a lot of talk about Zillow.com in this industry in recent months. Some people have actually feared it's launch, thinking it would do to real estate what Expedia did to the travel industry (Richard Barton is the founder of both companies). Well, it's live, and it's pretty cool, but I don't think we have too much to worry about just yet.

For starters, it only works in the US so our Canadian readers need not fear. But just so you have an idea of what it does, it allows visitors to the site to get an estimate on the value of their home. They don't have to provide any contact info, and they don't have to wait for an agent to get back to them with an estimate.

My guess is this will have a much greater impact on HouseValues.com than agents and brokers.

They have 2 terrebytes of data on 60 million homes in the use. Their statisticians have created an algorithm that is accurate withing 7.2% according to Zillow. According to some posts I've read on Agents Online, it doesn't sound quite that accurate.

Either way, the info that Zillow provides will be of information to consumers. It's accuracy is certainly questionable, but cool none the less. One feature I like is the ability to see how your home's value has increased compared to homes in other areas of the country.

Oh, one last thing, Zillow is not selling leads, they are selling ad space. You can have a banner ad on their site targeted to people looking only in the areas you service. Which could generate some business for those who like to advertise online with banners.

Get your own free, accurate, online market evaluation in the Edmonton area.

The Perfect Media Interview

So you've done something newsworthy! Congratulations! Now the media is calling and wants to do an interview. These 7 steps from Duct Tape Marketing will help you ensure the interview goes well.

7 Steps to the Perfect Media Interview

So, what happens when all of your PR activity actually prompts a reporter to call for an interview? Getting the interview is only one-half of the deal. Follow the steps below, and you are more likely to turn your interview into a powerful marketing tool.

Set Goals for the Interview

When a reporter calls to schedule an interview, either by phone or in person, ask a couple of innocent questions. Find out the nature of the story, who is the audience, when it is expected to run. The answers to these questions will help you better prepare your responses.

Never Wing It

The primary point of almost any interview you will be asked to give is to get your company's core message communicated in a compelling manner.

To do this in the context of an interview, you should script very quotable core message sound bites, no more than 20 seconds or so in length, and be prepared to deliver them word for word at the appropriate time.

Break the Ice

When a reporter that you may not know calls to interview you, there is often a bit of a control issue. The reporter is asking all the questions, so he/she is in control. You actually want to wrestle some of this away right up front. Think about this like you would a sales call. In order for you to get your message told, you may need to interject it into the discussion.

I find that asking a couple of ice-breaking questions can be a great way to settle your nerves and open up the reporter. My favorite questions are to ask the reporter where they are from or what brought them to this specific publication. Establishing a little personal ground seems to make everyone a little more relaxed.

Redirect

Sometimes a reporter just won't get what you are trying to communicate. Or worse, he/she seems to want to talk about everything but the key points you are trying to communicate. It's not that the reporter is intentionally being difficult, most of the time it is because he/she may not really know much about your industry. In these cases you need to have a few redirecting phrases that allow you to answer his/her questions with your answers.

Here are a few phrases that work wonders:
~ What's important to consider in this case, though . . .
~ Let me make that more relevant for your readers . . .
~ What we can take from that point is . . .
~ That's a good example, but I think you'd also be interested in knowing . . .

The key to redirecting a question from a journalist, of course, is to have a plan and preset answers. Then all you have to do is be alert for the proper way to direct the journalist to your message.

Don't Panic

Sometimes you will get a question for which you don't have an answer. Don't panic and don't make up an answer. Simply tell the journalist that you don't know the answer, but promise to get it. This can give you a great excuse to follow up with a reporter. Oftentimes you remember some other point you wished you had made and you can add during a follow-up call.

One Last Thing

I find that it's good to get the last word. Many journalists have been schooled to finish an interview with an open-ended question like, "is there anything else you would like our readers to know about . . ."

This is a great sound bite opportunity, and you should always have a prepared comment that is very powerful.

Even if the reporter doesn't ask, you should interject your last statement, "You know, there's one more thing I'd like to point out."

Prepare a Takeaway

Make it as easy as you can for the journalist to get the facts and figures right. Prepare some sort of takeaway that will help your story and make sure that all your contact information, including web sites and other places to find more information, is included. If the interview is via phone, you can email or fax the takeaway.

National Real Estate Convention - Free Registration

Can't make it to IBC? Well here's a convention you can attend without leaving your home. It's totally online and it's totally free!

Allan Dalton to Keynote Fifth Annual National Real Estate On-Line Convention & Exposition In Cyberspace February 20 - 26, 2006

The Fifth Annual National Real Estate On-Line Convention and Exposition, is expected to attract over 50,000 real estate professionals over the seven days event dates from February 20 - 26, 2006 making it the largest industry gathering of real estate professionals. There is no charge for real estate professionals to attend this virtual event which is open to the entire real estate community worldwide.
Complimentary convention passes along with convention scheduling information are at: www.REcyber.com/preconvention

The convention will feature a major keynote address, plus over 30 Nationally recognized real estate trainers, authors and industry experts in three educational tracks: Top Real Estate Trainers; Top Agent Tips and Tricks; and Top Industry Prognosticators.

The Convention Keynoter Allan Dalton is President and Chief Executive Officer of REALTOR.com®, the consumer website and the official Internet site of the National Association of REALTORS®. He will bring a well informed overview to attendees when he presents the Convention Keynote: "More Marketing Now - Now More Than Ever!" The Keynote will feature audience questions and feedback. Attendees will be able to meet the Keynoter immediately following the keynote address.

The Exposition at the 2006 Convention will feature over 300 booths open 24 hours a day during the event with the latest products and services of interest to today's real estate professionals. In addition to checking out new products and services at the booths attendees can win door prizes, hear presentations, view video presentations and discuss the vendors wares.

Over 200 real estate associations and organizations worldwide have joined to sponsor this unique virtual event which is produced by the Real Estate CyberSpace Society www.REcyber.com with over 9000 real estate professional members from 28 countries. Many prominent real estate organizations and real estate media sources have pulled together to make the Fifth Annual production of this event cost free to attendees.

The Major Industry Partner for the 2006 event is Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions. Major Media Partners include RisMedia, and the National Real Estate & Relocation Magazine. The Major Technology Partner is The Tech Hotline. Official Sponsors include e-Agent, The Real Estate Apprentice, iSucceed, and The Warren Group

Society Executive Director, John M. Peckham III said "Like the four previous annual events which have grown steadily from 20,800 to 40,136 attendees and have featured over 120 national speakers, the 2006 On-line Convention brings real estate professionals all of the excitement and features of a "hard floor" convention. This year, in addition to Keynoter Dalton, attendees will learn from over 30 top-notch nationally recognized trainer/speakers such as: Allen Hainge, Dan Gooder Richard, Michael Russer - Mr. Internet, and Terry Watson; from top notch agents including: Dr. H. Nathan Booth, Mal Duane, Rob Levy, Judy McCutchin and Zahara Mossman. and Real Estate Prognosticators: John Tuccillo and Jim Sherry.

"This years event features networking centers including an array of discussion rooms at selected Expo Booths, a "Rap with the Speakers" Section and a 24 hour "Ticker Tape" featuring special announcements regarding events, exhibitor chat room openings, special drawings and speaker chat times."

"What was considered a curiosity five years ago has now blossomed into the largest real estate event of the year.". Peckham concluded, "All of the elements of a 'hard floor convention' will be there in February.. As always at the On-Line Convention, the only thing missing will be out of pocket costs for airfare, hotel bills, lost shoe leather, aching muscles, travel hassle, registration fees - and time away from home!"

Registration is now open and agents may now obtain a Complimentary pass to The Fifth Annual National Real Estate On-Line Convention and Exposition.

Changing Perceptions on the Housing Bubble

Do you have clients who are concerned about the housing bubble? Here are some tips from RISMEDIA to help you address their fears.

RISMEDIA, Feb. 8 — No matter where you stand on the “bubble” debate, there is little doubt that there are many folks wringing their hands over what they believe to be the end of the “wild ride” that has accompanied the soaring real estate market. The truth is that every market has its distinct advantages.

If you want to be successful, this is one of the best times to do just that. Consider the following:

- Buyers are still out there, and they need our guidance more than ever. With all the market misinformation floating around on the airways and in the press, it is a minefield for an uneducated consumer. Without the guidance of a real estate sales professional, buyers will miss out on finding the home of their dreams. Underbidding, waiting for prices to come down, refusing to make a “fair” offer going in and refusing to work with your agent as his/her buyer-client are among the most troubling possibilities.

- No matter where the mortgage rates go, people need to move. The harder it is to qualify for a mortgage, the tougher the market becomes. The upside is that there are going to be fewer unskilled agents gumming up the works. Only consummate sales professionals are going to be able to tackle the challenges of getting listings and finding motivated, qualified prospects. Sellers, who may have been sitting on the fence or waiting for next year to make a decision, are going to come out of the woodwork. While they may not be willing to acknowledge openly that they probably won’t get the same amount of money their neighbor got a year ago, they are fearful that that is what is going to happen.

- How good are your pricing-right techniques? Become the most compelling marketing guru when it comes to making the right pricing decisions. Stick to your guns with your prospects and refuse to contribute to the problem of a growing inventory, expanded absorption rates and the inevitable expireds.

- Add new sources of income to your book of business. The mortgage industry is telling us that foreclosures are up and predicted to continue to climb. Do you know how to go after the foreclosure business in your marketplace? Approach the smaller banks that will not have departments set up to handle that business in a cohesive way. How about the inventory properties of corporate clients…are you prospecting the smaller corporate accounts that perhaps move five to eight people yearly? Those clients are not usually linked to a large relocation company and could use some solid professional assistance.

No matter what you decide to do to position yourself for the year ahead, do something new. Something is always going to work—doing nothing ever will.

Rookie Realtors - Will They Succeed?

The following is taken from an article By Bernice Ross of Inman News. A study was recently conducted to determine if there are certain traits a young agent possesses that will determine whether or not they will success in this business. In the states there are 25,000 new agents joining the industry every month, while NAR predicts their membership will actually drop from 1.2 million to 800,000 this year. If the market slows, the cost of hiring the wrong agent will increase for brokerages, and it will become tougher for new agents to succeed. Today's article talks about the different tests used, later this week the continuation will talk about whether they predict a rookie's success. Here are exerpts from the Inman article:

In summer of 2005, isucceed.com, RealEstateCoach.com and RealEstateSimulator.com conducted a study to identify the correlates of real estate success for rookie agents. The study evaluated agent production as measured by number of listings taken, number of transactions closed, and GCI (Gross Commission Income). It also examined agent performance using three different assessments:

1. The Real Estate Simulator

This assessment contains three online video sales simulations, a quick IQ test, and an analysis of key behavioral factors related to real estate sales success. The Real Estate Simulator provides feedback on 12 different scales and compares the agent profile against those of agents who earn a minimum of $150,000 per year. Validation studies show that the simulator is a highly accurate predictor of real estate sales success for experienced agents. This is the first study to examine whether the same holds true for rookie agents.

2. The DISC (Target Training International online version)

The DISC assesses the agent's behavioral style. Agents who score high on the "D" factor (drive, dominance, i.e. the "get-it-done" factor) traditionally do well in sales. So do agents who score high on the "I" factor. These agents are "people-people." The most successful agents (approximately 5 percent of the population) score above the 50th percentile on these two factors. Agents who score high on the "S," or steadiness, factor succeed best when they rely on systems. Those who score high on the "C," or compliance, factor are detail-oriented and often make excellent assistants or transaction coordinators. The challenge for "S" and "C" agents is that their behavioral style makes prospecting and converting leads more difficult than those agents who score high on the "D" and "I" factors. The DISC profile accurately predicts sales success not only in real estate, but in numerous other sales professions as well. The question is whether it is predictive of sales success for new agents.

3. The PIAV (Target Training International online version)

The Personal Interests, Attitudes, and Values assessment examines six key motivators underlying behavior. The six categories of motivators that drive behavior are:

Aesthetic
People who score high on the Aesthetic factor of the PIAV have an appreciation of form, beauty, art, and design.

Individualistic
These individuals often seek to be a leader or influencer in their chosen profession. They are normally independent and may have trouble taking direction from others.

Social
Those who score high on the social factor love people. They enjoy being around others and will actively seek out social interactions.

Theoretical
Their primary focus is seeking truth through observation and logic. These people tend to be intellectual and seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge.

Traditional
Traditional individuals prefer systems with defined rules and regulations. They are often politically conservative and place a high value on religion and authority.

Utilitarian
People who score high on the Utilitarian factor are motivated by money and security. They tend to be practical, entrepreneurial, and business-focused. Accumulating wealth is important to them, not only for themselves, but for their family as well.

Target Training's cross-cultural validity studies based upon sales leaders from 178 companies show that the most successful salespeople in America (72 percent) and Germany (71 percent) score high on a single factor. Regardless of their DISC profile, "when it comes to what is on the inside of top performing salespeople, both United States studies as well as the German study confirm it is hands-down, a Utilitarian attitude (i.e. a focus on practicality, efficiency, or economics)." Target Training International's research demonstrates that behavioral style is secondary to sales success. An agent with any behavioral style can succeed, provided their behavioral style is coupled with a high Utilitarian score on the PIAV. Does having a high score on the Utilitarian factor on the PIAV predict early real estate success or are other factors more predictive in new agents?

Read part 2 here.

Coldwell Banker Centennial Society

Congratulations to Coldwell Banker Peter Benninger Realty for being named to the Centennial Society! This group of 75 companies is participating in the 100 homes by our 100th anniversary campaign, and Peter Benninger's company is the only Canadian company to be included, in fact, they're the only company outside of the US!!! The 75 companies will raise 5 million dollars by the end of the year to sponsor local Habitat for Humanity homes.In a recent interview Jim Gillespie, President of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation, said of the Centennial Society: "To raise this much money and help 114 families so far gain a home is astounding... They have made such a major commitment and spent hours and hours on fundraising projects, as well as the actual home build. This Centennial group is special to me and I'm certain the entire Coldwell Banker System as well."

Way to go!!!

Tracking Your Online Spend

Inman news has been agressively reporting on the importance of tracking and managing online leads lately. The following exerpts are taken from an Inman article published today entitled "Tracking Real Estate Dollars on the Web."

Some consumers are not quick to commit to real estate services online, and it may take several months and even more than a year before they make a serious inquiry about buying or selling a home.

Kim Gorsuch-Bradbury, senior vice president for strategy and corporate development at LendingTree, said a company study found that about 25 percent of the Internet leads it provided to real estate professionals in its network led to closed transactions, and the bulk of those closed within six months while about 35 percent closed after that period.

But when it comes to lead response time, "speed matters," she said. "What matters is that the broker and their agent picks up the lead very quickly and then calls the consumer."

As for tracking costs per lead, she said it can be as simple as creating a spreadsheet that includes such variables as the amount of spending for each type of online marketing and the total closings and revenues related to leads from those online marketing efforts.

Gorsuch-Bradbury said that real estate professionals can help their cause in online marketing by providing lots of ways for consumers to reach them, including a prominently displayed phone number. "Consumers definitely vary in their behavior. Give consumers a choice. Some will go with a Web form and some of them will call you," she said. Those brokers who arrange face-to-face meetings with prospective clients have a higher success rate in converting leads than those who do not, she said.

Tina Bean, sales and marketing director for VisiStat, a Web analytics and statistics company, said "web sites are no longer considered an optional marketing tool for real estate professionals. In the past, the argument has been that you need to get a Web site. Now it's taken for granted. People understand that's a part of the business model." Now, she said, the key is to understand the value of online marketing efforts.

Online marketing is not "a dart on a dartboard," she said. "It is a systematic way of marketing and tracking exactly where those dollars are spent." Technology now makes it possible to measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns in real-time, she said, so that advertising dollars can be immediately adjusted.

"Not only are there applications out there than can tell them the amount of traffic your Web site has, but how did that traffic find you." Bean said that one of her company's clients, a real estate team operating in the Tampa, Fla., area, spends about $10,000 a month advertising at the Realtor.com home-search site, which they consider to be the premier source for attracting new business.

Joel MacIntosh, WolfNet Technologies

Joel Macintosh, CEO at WolfNet Technologies, a real estate technology company, said quality of Internet-based leads can be more important than quantity. WolfNet offers Web metrics that track users' history of visits to a Web site, and these analytics can prove useful in reviewing the effectiveness of online marketing, he said.

"When a lead comes in, wouldn't it be nice to know that the person had originally visited that site 45 days ago, was the result of Google AdWords, and the phrase that got them there was 'X,'" he said.

WolfNet has found that between 1-in-130 and 1-in-150 Web site visitors will make an inquiry, while about 1-in-60 to 1-in-100 site visitors will make a telephone call. Most people searching for real estate information on the Internet are not ready to commit to a real estate transaction, he said.

Converting Online Leads

Inman News is doing a series on converting and tracking online leads. Today's article gave a brief overview of what some of the top companies are doing, but all I really got out of it was that the top companies are generating a ton of online leads, and now realize they need to track the conversion.

One point I found interesting was that about 6% of online leads convert (ie actually turn into a deal). Now we know that online leads take about 6-12 months to buy or sell, so the importance of staying in touch is even greater.

If your website generates 100 leads a month now, in about 6-12 months you should be pretty busy! Contact me if your site isn't performing the way you'd like.

Search Engine Ranking Tool

Ever wanted to know how your site ranks on the top search engines? I just found this cool tool.... click the link below, scroll part way down the page and enter your web address in the submission form, and the keyword you want to check. In about 30 second it will show you how you score on the major engines...

Search Engine Rankings - Instant, online reports of web site rankings in 7 top search engines, including Google, Yahoo! Search, MSN, AOL, Teoma (Ask Jeeves), AltaVista, AllTheWeb, and the top 3 web directories; Yahoo! Directory, Open Directory (Dmoz), and LookSmart - FREE!

Real Estate Agents Lose Their Blackberries?

NTP is suing RIM for patent infringements. How on earth does that matter to real estate professionals? Well.... RIM is the company from Waterloo, Ontario, that makes Blackberries, which have become very popular among Realtors. NTP owns some patents, and claims that RIM has been using these patents in their technology. The case has been in the courts for quite a while - RIM denies the charges - and on Monday the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear RIM's appeal. NTP can now seek an injunction forces RIM to stop using the technology, which would pretty much end service for Blackberry users. Of course, RIM could settle with NTP and avoid the situation, but it might be best to prepare just in case.

Real Estate Career quiz

I'm not sure how great these quizzes are but if you're interested this seems to be a neat quiz about a career in real estate.

http://www.ebby.com/careers/irefy.shtml?section=careers

you can follow this up with an online personality test. Note. You do have to create a profile and it can be bogus. I used 90210 as my zip code.

New Online Real Estate Bookstore

www.realestatebooks.org is a new online bookstore that sells only books related to real estate. Excerpts and reviews are available for the books which are broken into different categories such as sales strategies, marketing and technology. The bookstore's goald is to make it easier to find books relevant to real estate professionals, as most bookstores carry only real estate books that are relevant to the consumer. Check it out!

More Reliance on Agents, More Internet Use - NAR

NAR does a survey of homebuyers and sellers every year that gives insights into how the industry is changing. Although NAR is out of the US, CREA does not do a similar survey (as far as I am aware) so we have to go with the American stats. When it comes to technology, Canada generally has a faster adoption rate than the US, so we can assume our stats are similar, if not slightly higher. I did read a survey from Ipsos Reid last year that showed exactly that.

This year's NAR survey shows an increase in internet usage when searching for a home from 2% in 1995, to 77% in 2005 (it was 74% in 2004). How a decade can change an industry! 24% of buyers said the first learned about the home they ended up purchasing on the internet, up from 15% last year.

“Buyers who use the Internet in searching for a home are more likely to use a real estate agent than non-Internet users, and consumers rely on professionals to provide context, negotiate the transaction and help with the paperwork,” said Stevens, senior vice president of NRT Inc.

In fact, 81% of buyers who used the internet as part of their search, purchased their home through a real estate agent, as compared to 63% on non-internet searchers.

“We find that the level of for-sale-by-owners is on a sustained decline and is now at a record low. In addition, a growing share of FSBO properties are not placed on the open market – they’re private transactions,” Stevens said.

Only 13% of sellers sold on their own (of which 39% were between parties who knew each other in advance), down from a cyclical high in 1997 of 18%. The median price of homes sold with the help of an agent was 16% higher than those sold FSBO.

When it comes to choosing and agent, most people were referred by a friend or family member, and the most important factor in deciding on who to use was reputation. 85% of buyers and 82% of sellers said they were likely to use the same agent again.

The complete survey results are available here, and include other stats mostly to do with demographics of home buyers and sellers.

Master Your Real Estate Business

I previously did a post on sites that all real estate professionals should bookmark, well, I missed one. www.brokeragentnews.com is loaded with good articles on this business.

One article in particular, titled "In pursuit of real estate mastery" outlines the reasons why as a real estate professional you should choose to become a "master of real estate competencies" and how it can help you succeed in your business and life.

He talks about the three roads we all have to choose from in this business:

1. You can choose to become a master of the competencies and have your value speak for itself.
2. You can take the road of prospecting, lead generating, selling and closing, which requires you to become a master of persuasion.
3. Or concede your lack of value, become master of nothing and make working for less your value proposition.

I particularily identified with these paragraphs:

Many extremely ambitious people fail in real estate. Hard work isn't the answer. You can't prospect harder. You cannot hold an open house harder. The key is to make it easier, not harder.

To make it effortless, it has to be fun. If it doesn't provide you with satisfaction, you cannot succeed. Note that athletes and performers are among the best compensated people in our society. And, they are doing what they love to do. The love of an activity and a high level of proficiency go hand in hand. How can anyone achieve their full potential doing things they don't enjoy?

Consider the words of author James Michener:
"The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him, he's always doing both."

The complete article is available here, I highly recommend giving it a read.

Real Estate Agents - the way of the Dodo?

It has been prophesized that the computer and online real estate companies would put real estate agents out of business once all the listing information was on the internet. Alas that is not the case. While parasitic online companies with no marketing morals have proliferated the internet like the winged carrion from an Edgar Allan Poe poem, real estate agents have increased in market share.

I believe the success of these companies is due in part to increased regulation facing the regulated real estate industry. They have been able to market hard without substantiating a good part of their claims about the real estate industry. I believe that if most people sit down with and research the sale of their most important investment and knew the questions to ask these unregulated marketing companies they may reconsider their choice and in fact trust a real estate professional to represent them.

The following is an article from "Science Blog" that looks a little further into this issue.

Computers and the Internet have been billed as enabling new ways of doing business, but in the residential real estate industry, people's expanded access to information hasn't rendered the real estate agent a relic, says a Penn State researcher. "The expectation was that real estate agents would go away once consumers could see all the home listing information, but the number of real estate agents has increased, not decreased, in the last 10 years," says Steve Sawyer, associate professor in the School of Information Sciences and Technology (IST).

So has the number of people involved in real-estate transactions--contrary to the assumption that information technologies would streamline and simplify the transaction process. Instead, the amount of relevant information about real estate has exploded, requiring more people and more specialized professionals to be involved in supporting, understanding and processing that information.

Those insights into the changes in the real estate industry due to the use of computing are discussed in a research article, "Redefining Access: Uses and Roles of Information and Communication Technologies in the U.S. Residential Real Estate Industry from 1995 to 2005," published recently in the Journal of Information Technology.

Sawyer, lead author, also discussed the findings at the American Antitrust Institute's Symposium on Competition in Residential Real Estate Brokerage Industry in November in Washington, D.C.

The other authors are Rolf T. Wigand, the Maulden-Entergy Chair and Distinguished Professor of Information Science and Management at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, and Kevin Crowston, associate professor in the School of Information Studies, Syracuse University.

The researchers' intent was to determine whether computing could transform industries as claimed in the rhetoric surrounding the information revolution. They chose to examine the effects of information technologies on the residential real estate industry for two reasons: 1) because the rate of IT adoption by real estate agents was exponential between 1995 and 2005 with only 2 percent using computers in 1995 and 97 percent using IT in 2005; and 2) because the housing industry is both a fundamental part of and one of the fastest-growing sectors in the national economy.

Drawing on interviews, surveys, data from agencies including the federal government and the National Association of Realtors and academic work, the researchers analyzed what real estate agents do; how computing has changed what they do; and how legal, political and economic forces are influencing the new processes.

According to the researchers, the introduction and adoption of information and communication technologies (ICT) clearly has provided access to information--such as listings, mortgage rates, fees and neighborhood demographics--previously unavailable to consumers. That increase in the quantity of available information has led to better quality information which, in turn, has led to better-informed consumers. Armed with more information, consumers have demanded more specialized services as well as better service from real estate agents, Sawyer said.

But these are evolutionary -- not revolutionary-changes, he said.

"The transformative nature of technology is not from increases in efficiency or effectiveness," Sawyer said. "The transformations are embedded in second-level effects--that is, the unimagined and unintended innovations that give rise to changes in organizations, markets and social interactions."

In the real estate industry, these innovations include the use of virtual tours of homes and neighborhoods which may make obsolete actual visits to properties, and online bidding or online transactions between sellers and buyers. Neither of these was foreseen when real estate agents took up using computers and the Internet, but they are resulting in additional specializations for real estate professionals as well as creating new business models for transactions.

The availability of additional information on a nationwide rather than just a local basis also has resulted in savings for consumers. Not only has the transparency of information and data enabled consumers to find and take advantage of lower interest rates, but national competition has reduced real estate agent commissions, the researchers said.

While the researchers argue such second-level effects occur in any industry that adopts computing and Internet technology, they have no crystal ball to predict the changes.

"At this time, all we have are hints of the innovations," Sawyer said. "Agents and consumers are experimenting with new ways of engaging one another, consummating the transaction and sharing information."

From Penn State

Posted in business & economy



We welcome your thoughts on this matter....
visit us at www.edmonton-homes.ca
or our edmonton real estate blog http://edmonton-homes.blogspot.com/

Zillow.com - Aiming to put Brokers out of the biz?

I found this article on the Business Week Online Blog called Hot Property. Zillow.com is the latest idea from Richard Barton, who founded Expedia.com and changed the way we travel. He spoke at the Inman News conference in New York City yesterday, and apparently let very little out about what Zillow.com would actually be. It is supposed to launch in the next 6 months, and Richard assures he is not out to "wipe out the jobs of real estate agents and brokers." There was very little information given about what Zillow.com would actually be, but he did say it is going to be an advertising vehicle for brokers and agents, and the users of the site will provide much of the information.

More details...

Fingerprints - is that the next big thing?

In November, Colorado passed a law requiring all their agents to be finger printed. This story was posted on Inman news yesterday. Sounds out of this world - big Brother type of stuff.

Alberta has also proposed in its rule changes that agents and brokers be fingerprinted. Just for identification purposes they say. In case there is a problem they say. I'd like to know what in the world kind of problems we are having, when we are one of the most heavily regulated real estate environments anywhere, that require thousands of innocent people to be finger printed. I see a complaint to the privacy commission on this one. If you are from Alberta you have till February 28 to submit a postion on the proposed rule changes. What will be next? Will they need some DNA since that is far more accurate than fingerprinting? Real Estate has come along way and the regulators here and elsewhere have done an exceptional job until now. This is simply overreaching their authority and it is beyond any reasonable grounds for them to collect this information. And now the inman story.

In order to renew her real estate license last November, Nancy Brauer, a Colorado Realtor with 27 years' experience, had to pay $60 more than in past years and drive 45 minutes to be fingerprinted, thanks to a new state law.

Compared to some folks, Brauer was lucky. Thousands of Colorado real estate brokers missed the Dec. 31 deadline to comply with the new law mandating that brokers submit fingerprints and fees for background checks to state and federal law enforcement officials.

Technically, this means they can't do business at all – though an emergency measure enacted by the Colorado Real Estate Commission extended the processing deadline to Jan. 31, according to Commission Director Debbie Campagnola.

Though one-third of the state's approximately 46,000 agents were notified of the requirement, Campagnola said only about 8,000 submitted ink-rolled or digital fingerprints by deadline to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, which does the checks and then forwards the information to the Commission.

"We are swamped," Campagnola said. "There are days I've been doing data entry. About 13,600 brokers have paid for renewal so far."

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation has processed about 12,000 fingerprints since July 2005 when the law went into effect, according to Karl Wilmes, the bureau's division director.

Depending on when their licenses expire, the remaining two-thirds of Colorado's active brokers must submit fingerprints and fees in 2006 or 2007, depending on when their licenses expire.

"(The fingerprinting) was a fairly large pain in the neck for a lot of our members," said Michael Labout, 2006 president of the Colorado Association of Realtors.

"Some of the places the Real Estate Commission said would do the fingerprinting didn't do it. The electronic prints are more accurate than the ink prints, but outlets providing electronic prints weren't as available, and were often out of the way," he said.

Many of his association's members felt they had been singled out and treated like criminals, Labout added.

While real estate agents in Colorado are licensed and now must provide fingerprints to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation under the new law, mortgage brokers are not licensed by the state and have no fingerprinting requirements.

"I think a lot of our members, a lot of licensees, felt like this law was enacted based on a couple of bad apples," said Labout. "The majority of Realtors are honest, ethical, law-abiding people doing a very important job and offering an important service."

The initial impetus for the law, according to Labout and Campagnola, was a television investigative report identifying some real estate licensees with active licenses who had been convicted of felonies.

"That was the reason they instituted the requirements for agents to get fingerprinting," Labout said. "It's a good idea, but the problem is (in) the mechanics."

Other industry professionals agreed with his assessment, including Gerry Fitzpatrick, broker/owner of RE/MAX Southeast in Colorado.

"I think it's a good thing they are doing this to check renewals and weed out the undesirables. But this has created a big bottleneck," Fitzpatrick said.

Because officials are dealing with the renewal backlog, "some of the newer agents we have hired out of license school will have to wait six to eight weeks to get their licenses, the Commission told us," Fitzpatrick said. Campagnola's most up-to-date estimate was 12 weeks.

"A year ago, it only took 10 days," Fitzpatrick said.

New Colorado agents have had to supply fingerprints for decades. This law marks the first time renewing agents have had to do so, and is unique in the country as far as Campagnola knows.

The Commission tried to avoid the problem by notifying agents in advance via letters, and the Colorado Association of Realtors gave educational sessions.

"A lot of agents delayed and delayed," said Larry Duncan, an owner of Denver's RE/MAX 3000. "I have 60 agents, and I notified my agents. Our people are independent contractors; it's tough to supervise them, but we remind them they can't do business unless they're fingerprinted."

He characterized agents' initial reactions as, "'Jeez, it's more government in our lives,'" adding, "most of us understand the need for it (the law)."

Leif Riley, a Realtor with RealEstateColorado.com, said, "I do think it's like we're being singled out. If we have to do it, (mortgage brokers) should too," referring to the fingerprinting.

Riley isn't alone in his belief that the mortgage industry could use some regulation. The Colorado Association of Mortgage Brokers has been lobbying for background checks and registration of the state's mortgage brokers for three years, said Bart Bartholomew, the association's past president.

Told that some real estate agents feel they have been singled out, Bartholomew said, "No argument from me. Colorado is one of the few states that has no type of regulation or registration on a state level for mortgage brokers." He is hopeful that the group's quest will be successful at the next legislative session.

Though the fingerprinting process has been a huge headache so far, Campagnola had some good news for the future.

"This law only exists for three years," she said. The law was instituted so the Commission could get existing agents' fingerprints into the database, and that goal will be accomplished by the end of 2007, she said.

Realtor Brauer, who had to drive for 45 minutes to get fingerprinted, said it was worth the time.

"Quite frankly, I think it's a good idea," Brauer said. "I've had a couple of instances in the last year where Realtors who were slightly suspicious have shown listings of mine. Nothing came of it, but it's just one of those things. There are certainly instances in business when it's prudent to check on people."

Real Estate Blogger Makes It Big

Inman News published a story today about a mortgage broker in Minneapolis who credits his blogging to bringing in $4 million in mortgage originations, a new job and a radio show. His blog, Behind The Mortgage, broke the story of a 2005 FBI investigation into local mortgage fraud gaining a lot of attention from the local media, and consequently consumers in his marketplace. Inman reports:
The blog has been a marketing boon to Alex Stenback, who created the site in October 2004 "out of my own frustration," Stenback said. "There was no good spot to find out what local people were talking about regarding local real estate and mortgages."

The local newspapers carried such news, as did other sources, "but to find all the content was hard, because you had to go to so many resources. I tried to aggregate the information and pick up things that were interesting and start conversations about them," Stenback said.

Stenback's approach to the fraud story is classical for blogs: He posted the letter with a comment that sources reported the FBI was investigating mortgage fraud in the Twin Cities, saying, "Though we've yet to corroborate these reports, and no specific companies were named, we thought we'd throw this out here (we check our facts in real-time here in blogland). Anyone heard anything?"

"The victims of this thing (mortgage fraud) are the public," Stenback said. "Why not let them know what's going on, rather than making it secret?"

"Blogs are a great way to get business directed to you," the broker said. He bases his estimate of business attracted by the blog on e-mails from people who tell him they heard of him through Behind The Mortgage.

"The advertising on my blog is very low-level," said Stenback. "I don't use the blog as a promotion of my business. People appreciate it as a resource, and they reach out to me.

"If you have a blog or a radio show, you don’t want to turn it into a commercial. Answer people's questions, give the information, and the business will come," Stenback said.

In Stenback's case, not only new business but a new job and a radio show grew out of his blog.

After learning about the broker through the blog, CTX Mortgage Corp. offered him a job as a senior loan officer/sales manager. Part of his duties involve contributing to a weekly radio show the company sponsors and hosts by providing content.

"We thought it (the blog) was a great warehouse of information we could use in order to provide content for the radio broadcast. It certainly helped that Alex is articulate and understands the market and we could play off that," Velasco said.

Carol Clark update

As a general rule I interview the people profiled in Network News before putting their story in the newletter.

(see archive here)

In Carol's case I knew she would be too shy to cooperate so I went with what I knew and ran with it. She found out about the story when she received a call from an agent in Ontario who let's just say is going through a tough time.

When I called Carol to see what she thought about the story she told me this story. Her only thought was hopefully I can help her or anyone else like her to not give up. So if there is one thing I would have like to put in the article, because honestly I left a lot of the adversity out, is how willing she is to help anyone, not just her family and her office.

Another reminder to be careful out there!

We are all vulnerable to this type of violence. Male or female. This is something that I don't think people who sell on their own realize. This type of crime is about opportunity.

Real Estate Agent Raped While Showing Off House
Brandon Bradshaw Accused Of Assault
POSTED: 10:42 am MST January 9, 2006
UPDATED: 6:56 pm MST January 9, 2006

Click here for the full story.

Links Every Agent Should Have Bookmarked

Here's a list of sites I visit all the time...I highly recommend you check them out:

www.inman.com - ok, if you don't already get their daily updates on the industry, it's time

www.rismedia.com - has a good mix of press releases and advice articles, all to do with real estate

www.businessknowhow.com - tons of articles on running a business, stuff like advertising on a small budget, business planning etc.

www.agentsonline.net - an online discussion board for the real estate industry, agents and brokers post questions and offer advice to eachother. This site also drives a ton of traffic to your site if you post frequently.

http://overvalued.blogspot.com/ - interesting blog that is tracking the actual values of homes in major US cities compared to the trend over the last 30 or so years.

http://edmonton-homes.blogspot.com - shameless plug for our other blog...

www.edmonton-homes.ca - shameless plug for our web site.

Thats all for today, I'll add more soon :)

Real Estate Career in Edmonton Alberta - 1 opening only

If you are considerining a career in the Real Estate industry we have an opening for one candidate who must aspire to be successful in many facets. Solid support will be given to this candidate as a member of a top performing team.

Requirements are that the successful candidates must be computer literate, including the use of windows, email, powerpoint and other applied real estate technologies. Candidates don't require a real estate background as we will provide full training. See our website for our credentials.

This high energy office will kick start your career immediately even if you don't have a background in selling homes in the Edmonton area.

If you do have a real estate background you may find your learning curve for sales will be shorter. Preference however will be given to technically competent professionals who are reliable and able to learn new concepts.

All inquiries will be handled in confidence. Willingness and abliity to learn are also key factors.

Our goal is that you will succeed.

email myself at http://www.edmonton-homes.ca/Contact_Us/page_1120710.html

Agents blog for success

When you think of blogging, you think of an online journal - people writing about vacations, posting family photos, politicians getting in trouble for inappropriate comments... But now blogs are starting to earn a purpose for business, and the real estate industry has jumped on board. Companies and individual agents are starting blogs left right and centre, something you should consider or risk missing the boat.

An article I read in the National Post recently reported that 70,000 new blogs are started everyday. The two blogs that our humble little company produce deliver enough traffic to our website to bring as many leads as our paid search campaign brought in. In fact, we put our paid search placements on hold over Christmas, hoping to cool the site down so we could take a break from the leads, but our Edmonton Real Estate blog more than picked up the pace and we spent much of our time of dealing with leads.

The real estate industry has embraced blogging. It is easy to do, requires very little technical skill (if you can send an e-mail you can start a blog), and it gives us professionals a place to demonstrate how much we really do know about selling real estate. If you're sitting there thinking, I barely know what a blog is, and I don't know any agents who've started one, this girl is crazy....think again. I just did a quick search on Google's blogsearch and found 2.5 million blog entries to do with real estate. (Oh, and in case you haven't read any of my previous articles, search engines LOVE blogs....)

A recent article from RISMEDIA talks about a company in the states that started a blog in late October (just after yours truly). Their blog is a place where they write about the houses they are selling, their city's quality of life, give advice on how to obtain a home loan and list the area's accolades, such as its ranking as a top place to retire. They got the idea for the blog after reading an article about real estate blogging in the Wall Street Journal. They once thought blogs were a fad until they discovered Really Simple Syndication, a program that feeds Web sites that consumers choose to them every day.

Their blog hasn't yet resulted directly in the sale of a home, but the agents believe the new tool is getting the word out about their company and them. "Anytime we can get our name out is a good thing." Some weeks there are daily entries while other weeks, submissions might pop up several times. The agents blog as much and as often as they want. Of the office's 70 agents, about 30 are blogging. Visit the Long & Foster Daleville office's blog at roanokerealestate.blogspot.com.

Real estate blogs alone don't necessarily drive buyers to purchase a certain house. They often are the first step to connect a person to a real estate company's Web site where they might find other home listings and information. Most firms link to their own home pages from their blog sites.

Back to Business

September is all about back to school. January is all about back to business. After a well deserved break with Sara passing her real estate licensing exam, a trip to Ontario followed by a trip to BC with some skiing at Panorama.

BTW stay tuned for a no holds barred issue of Network News. Loaded with new information to help us all learn and improve our businesses.

Fourth Highest MLS Month on Record in November

Looks like November was another banner month, if you haven't seen the press release from CREA yet... here it is.

National MLS® home sales climb in November
Higher activity in Alberta and Ontario

National existing home sales via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) rose to their fourth highest seasonally adjusted monthly level on record in November 2005, according to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association.

Activity also remains on track to set a new annual record in 2005. Transactions for the first 11 months of 2005 were just half a percentage point lower than total MLS® home sales recorded in 2004.

A seasonally adjusted total of 41,724 homes traded hands in November, representing a gain of 1.6 per cent compared to the previous month. Higher activity in Alberta and Ontario more than offset fewer sales in British Columbia and Quebec. Year-to-date, transactions were running 4.9 per cent ahead of levels recorded during the first 11 months of last year.

Sales activity reached its highest monthly level on record in Alberta and New Brunswick, and set new records for the month of November on a national basis and in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Year-to-date, actual (unadjusted) sales increased compared to the same period in 2004 in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

Seasonally adjusted MLS® residential new listings totaled 64,621 units in November, a decline of 0.8 per cent from October. The decline in new listings and an increase in sales caused the national resale housing market to tighten in November compared to the previous month.

Seasonally adjusted dollar volume totaled $10.6 billion in November – the third highest monthly level on record. Dollar volume set a new monthly record in Alberta, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and reached its highest level ever for the month of November in every other province except Prince Edward Island.

The national MLS® residential average price hit $256,126 in November, shattering all previous monthly records. Average price rose 11.0 per cent compared to the same month in 2004.

November was also the sixth consecutive month in which year-over-year price growth exceeded 10 per cent. MLS® residential average price reached its highest monthly level on record in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, and set new records for the month of November in every other province except Newfoundland.

“Continuing growth in full-time employment and rebounding consumer confidence in November mean that economic fundamentals will continue to support strong housing activity in the coming months,” said CREA Chief Economist Gregory Klump.

“The small increase in mortgage rates in November may have prompted many prospective homebuyers to jump into market in order to take advantage of pre-approved mortgage rates.

With the Bank rate hike in December and more increases expected next year, resale housing activity is expected to gradually drift lower in 2006 as homes prices continue to rise,” Klump added.

CREA cautions that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighborhoods or account for price differential between geographic areas. Statistical information contained in this report includes all housing types.

This report is published by the Communications Department of The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Further information can be found at http://www.crea.ca/.
For more information:
Gregory Klump, Chief Economist
(613) 237-7111
gklump@crea.ca

Search All Edmonton and Area MLS listings at www.edmonton-homes.ca.

Big Advertising on a Small Budget

Found a new website today called "Business Know-How" that has a ton of great articles about running a business. This article talks about getting the most bang for your marketing buck, and has a true-story about trying to sell a home using the agent whose "name was everywhere in my town" and is having a terrible experience.

Big Advertising Strategies on a Small Business Budget
by Anne M. Obarski

I am always amazed by business owners who say that they can't spend any money on advertising. Many of them validate that idea by saying, "Besides, most of my business is by referral." Building a business based on repeat and referral business is admirable. It simply means that clients are so pleased with the value of the product or service they receive on a consistent basis, that they become "cheerleaders" for that company. Consistency is the key word.

If a company combines a strong, branded advertising campaign to an already strong marketing and service program, that becomes the foundation for a successful business. I use the example of a three legged stool. One leg is your product or service, the second leg is your marketing and advertising and the third is the customer service you or your employees offer, all on a consistent basis. If any one of the legs has a "weakness," the stool is going to wobble.

Have you ever had a wobbly table or stool in your home? You probably tried to fix it by putting something under it to stabilize it. It was just a "band-aid" and not a true correction. It fixes the problem for a while, but sooner or later it will start to wobble again and at that point you probably say it is time to replace it.

Customers will be happy to be a cheerleader for you if you are consistent in how you run your business. After all, their reputation of referring a good company is on the line. Each of us has the ability to recommend or discredit a company based on past experiences. What is more important is that we have a circle of contacts that could either become a referral stream or a business choker.

Companies would be smart to study the three following statements and focus on how that could affect your "word of mouth advertising."

1. You don't know who I know!
I am in the midst of selling a home. I think I would rather have brain surgery than go through this again. I have bought and sold 5 houses in my life and this has been the worst. I firmly believe that the job of a real estate person is to make the job of "selling" the house as easy as possible. That is, if they are willing to do the work to make things happen seamlessly.

I chose my real estate person because her name was everywhere in my town; mistake number one. Mistake number two was that I didn't interview at least three potential agents to find out what their plans would be to sell my home in the shortest amount of time. Her focus is on how many houses she can list and not the service she could offer in order to make me a happy customer. I have told everyone I know that I would never use her if I had to do it all over again.

Unhappy customers like to tell other people and that is a fact. 95% of unhappy customers leave a business because of uncaring employees. Unfortunately, I have a binding contract and I am stuck. I have a reputation of being the person to call when you need just about anything because everyone knows what I do for a living. You can imagine how many people I can influence with just one sentence. Now the question is, what will that sentence sound like?

Do your employees realize the importance of treating each and ever customer like they have a golden tongue? They can build your reputation or ruin it with the words, "I wouldn't use anyone else but..." The question is, "Is your name the one that follows the word "but"?


2. I don't know who YOU know!
Every business owner loves to hear a client say that they were referred by another happy customer! Day after day you probably have new customers walking through your doors who were referred and you didn't know it!

So how can we increase that number? One simple word, "ask"! A basic sales class will teach you that if you don't ask for the sale you won't get it. So why don't we ask for referrals? We are scared of the answer "I don't know anyone." That is like asking a person the age old question "May I help you?" You know the answer is going to be "No, I'm just looking."

I recommend changing the request to: "Mrs. Smith, I know you have shopped here a long time. I hope that you will mention our name when one of your friends is looking for ..." Better yet, tell Mrs. Smith that for every third person she refers who come in and actually buy, you will give her 25% off her next purchase!

Everyone knows someone who can use what you offer at some time. The point is to use your own mouth and become a shameless self promoter! Just ask!


3. Have a "Super Bowl" commercial!
Do you remember what kind of hype occurs just before the Super Bowl? Football, yes; but the biggest hype is about the commercials during the game. There are teasers before the game and then there are "arm chair quarterbacks" critiquing the commercials on the early news channels on Monday morning. So what makes them so important? They are memorable and they are repeatable.

That's where big business and small business owners differ. Big businesses realize that if you are out of sight you are out of mind. They spend billions on advertising to make sure you don't forget. If I said the words, Target, Dell, Wal-Mart, McDonald's and gave you crayons and asked you to draw their logos, you probably could without even having an artistic background. Those logos are embedded in our brains. Strategically executed like a well run battle plan!

However, you may be saying; "I'm not one of the 'big guns' and I could never begin to develop an advertising plan like that." You probably can't. But what you can do is create a 30-second commercial that perfectly describes what you do so that your "cheerleaders" can repeat it to everyone they know.

Here is an example. I have a favorite restaurant in my town that I love to recommend. When anyone asks where I think they should go to eat, I become the biggest cheerleader for this family owned restaurant. I say, "You have to go to _____because they have the best cold salmon salad that will ever pass through your lips and the atmosphere and service are unbeatable." If you just screwed up your nose when I said salmon, then how about the hot apple pie and cinnamon ice cream dessert that is to die for.

Each and every one of us has done commercials for businesses that we like to do business with. What do you do that is unique or different that makes you and your business memorable. If you could eavesdrop on a conversation between one of your satisfied customers and a potential client, how would they describe you and what you do?

You'd be surprised the different ways people would describe your business. The question is, are they pin-pointing what you want to be known for? If not, then maybe your "Super Bowl" commercial isn't memorable enough. Work on a sentence that describes you or your business and practice saying it whenever you meet someone who asks; "so tell me about your business." I once worked with a financial planner who said that people walked the other way when he told them what he did. I said, "Why don't you tell people that you help them sleep better at night." He really looked puzzled, but the end result of managing your finances well is that you probably will sleep better at night. It also was a definite conversation starter!

You may not have the million dollar advertising budget, but you could have word of mouth advertising that affects millions.

Real Estate Law

I am no lawyer and am not giving you legal advise. If you need legal advice get it from a legal professional. I found this very interesting article on Real Estate Contracts from the commercial law blog



Time Really is of the Essence

Many agreements for the sale of property include provisions that “time is of the essence”. This means that the time set for the performance of the various obligations of the parties under the contract is an essential term of the contract. However, what happens when a party to a contract which includes a time is of the essence provision fails to fulfill one of its obligations in the time period specified? Is this a ‘fundamental’ breach which the non-defaulting party can rely on to terminate the contract, regardless of whether the breach was subsequently rectified?

In the recent decision in 1473587 Ontario Inc. v. Jackson (74 O.R. (3d) Part 7, 539-550; appeal dismissed by the Ontario Court of Appeal, 75 O.R. (3d) 484) the Ontario Superior Court of Justice considered the following scenario: a major grocery store operator entered into an agreement of purchase and sale which provided that a deposit was to be paid within five days of acceptance of the agreement. However, through oversight on the part of the purchaser, the deposit was paid a few days later than stipulated. The purchase agreement included a time is of the essence provision, and the vendor took the failure of the purchaser to deliver the deposit on time to mean that the agreement was at an end and entered into an agreement to sell the property to another purchaser. The original purchaser sought a summary judgment for specific performance.

In deciding whether to require specific performance, the court considered, among other things, whether the intention of the parties was to be able to rely on strict compliance with the terms of the agreement. The applicable provisions read as follows:

21. This offer, when accepted, shall constitute a bind contract of purchase and sale, and time in all respects shall be of the essence of this Agreement.
22. Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement, but no extension of time for the making of any payment or the doing of any acts hereunder shall be deemed to be a waiver or modification of or affect this provision.

The Court found that these provisions clearly required that any breach of any of the obligations set out in the agreement requiring performance at a particular time amounted to the breach of an essential element of a contract. The failure of the purchaser to deliver its deposit at the specified time period amounted to the breach of an essential term of the contract which the vendor did not waive and which it was entitled to treat as ending the agreement regardless of the fact that the purchaser displayed every intention to complete the contract and in fact cured the breach shortly thereafter.
In light of the foregoing, all time-sensitive obligations in contracts which include time is of
the essence provisions should be strictly complied

Bronwyn Atkinson

Is real estate static?

Of course it isn't, but you certainly don't want it around your computers. Here are a few tips for protecting your investment in technology.

KEEP YOUR OFFICE STATIC FREE There are three basic ways to control static in your office: 1. You could add a room humidifier to moderate the humidity to higher levels. This is the most expensive option, but may have other (better breathing air) benefits. More humidity (but not lots) diminishes static naturally; 2. You can use a carpet spray - usually found at Staples or Office Max - that is "anti static" in each of your seating areas. That frequently helps and the spray should not discolor your rug in any way. Likewise, there are "anti static" Chair Mats you can get for under each seating area and even for walkways you travel down halls; 3. You can get an Antistatic wrist wrest and mouse pad; they are moderately effective at catching last minute static, too. Keep in mind that today's computer equipment is MUCH more rugged that in days past; the average little static zap is not as harmful as they used to be. That being said, a few simple precautions to lower static zap frequency might be all you need.

And you thought all you needed was a web site

Do you target first time home buyers? This article gives some tips on what you'll need to be up to date on when the "echo boomers" start buying real estate.

RISMEDIA, Dec. 16—“Echo boomers, also known as Generation Y, will drive home sales into higher price points over the next five years,” according to Pamela O’Connor, CEO and president of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World™ (http://www.leadingre.com/), the largest network of independent residential real estate firms in the world.

“There are nearly 80 million of this new generation and they’re already having a significant impact on the economy.” Born between 1982 and 1995, Echo Boomers, so called because they are the demographic echo of their Baby Boomer parents, make up nearly a third of the U.S. population and already spend $170 billion a year of their own and their parents' money.

O’Connor suggests some possible ways to prepare for these up-and-coming buyers: Become Media/Tech Savvy – Since Echo Boomers are the most sophisticated media generation ever, creating their own Web sites and making their own CDs and DVDs, real estate agents need to ensure they’re proficient in the use of developing technologies.

Familiarize Yourself with Pop Culture Trends – Since Echo Boomers determine and affect pop culture, Realtors should be aware of trends in music, entertainment, celebrities and fashion.

Familiarize Yourself with Popular Brands – Hoping to drive future home sales, many products and designers are partnering with residential developments to create appealing brands.

Don’t Forget Their Parents –Many wealthy retiring Baby Boomers are likely to invest in homes for their children.

Real Estate Humor - A history of real estate

This was posted on 'agents online' from an agent in Montgomery, Md. While a few of the facts are scant I can see scholars everywhere rethinking their positions on Agents. I didn't even know we've been helping build communities since before time began. Enjoy its a good laugh.

A Brief History Of Real Estate Agents

6 MILLION BC: God searches for a planet to establish life. Encounters real estate agent from "Lucifer's Planets & Gardens" who says "I've got a great deal on a fixer-upper just 90 million miles from the Sun."

5.9 MILLION BC: God buys the Earth and, after the closing, discovers it is a mass of molten goo. Angry, God confronts the agent and banishes him to spend eternity wearing polyester suits.

4 MILLION BC: God creates the ocean and the seas. By accident, a pool of pond scum transforms itself into the National Association of Realtors.

3.5 MILLION BC: God creates Florida.

3.49 MILLION BC: Thousands of real estate agents crawl out of the ocean to scout good condo locations. Market immediately crashes when agents realize that "snow birds" won't be invented for another 2 million years.

3 MILLION BC: A meteor crashes into Earth. The resulting crater creates a giant black hole filled with green ooze. The Multiple Listing Service is born.

2.45 MILLION BC: God makes Adam and Eve. However, delays in constructing Garden of Eden force Adam and Eve to live in an apartment eight months.

244 MILLION BC: Shopping for a move-up garden, Eve visits an Open Garden and encounters a fork-tongued real estate agent who tells her, "Garden, why would you want another one of those? I've got an entire apple orchard you can have real cheap."

243 MILLION BC: Adam and Eve become the first humans to truly understand what it means to buy from a real estate agent.

550 BC: Jealous of rising property values, real estate brokers in Greece devise a way to attack Troy by using a Trojan Horse.

42 BC: Cleopatra decides to build the Pyramids. Real estate agent and builder try to convince her that Squares would be much cheaper.

30 BC: Rome touted as "the hottest housing market in Europe" Thousands of buyers flock in to make deals with real estate agents.

29 BC: Rome real estate crashes. Julius Caesar calls a meeting of his advisors to see what can be done. Chief real estate broker Brutus suggests Caesar tours Rome to inspire consumer confidence. "Just lead the way," Brutus says, "I'll be right behind you."

500 AD: Middle ages bring major real estate slowdown. Agents are forced to take second jobs as undertakers. Scandal breaks out when agents are discovered to be removing gold fillings from dead people.

1308 AD: Real estate agent list a tower in Pisa, Italy as a "one of a kind property. Solid building guaranteed not to lean."

1492 AD: Christopher Columbus lands in America. However, he mistakenly believes he's in India, thanks to a bogus land survey provided by a Spanish real estate broker.

1620 AD: Pilgrims land on Plymouth Rock. First colonial real estate agent promises Pilgrims that Massachusetts is "always sunny and warm. Never drops below 70 I swear."

1621 AD: Giant blizzard nearly wipes out Pilgrims. Real estate agent is banished to New Jersey.

1626 AD: Manhattan bought for 100 beads and trinkets from the Indians. The Indians' real estate agent takes 6 beads as a commission.

l803 AD: Napoleon shocks and angers French real estate agents when he sells Louisiana to United States without an agent. At 515 million, sets record for largest "FSBO" (for sale by owner) sale in history.

1867 AD: United States purchases Alaska from Russia for 2 an acre, after Russian Czar is given advice by real estate agent that Alaska is "utterly useless" land with no value at all.

- The above was from Kelly's Bar Jokes at Kellys.com

Sorry just a few of my own additions

1991 AD: Multiple offers on Kuwait, by the U.S. and Iraq. Poor advice from Iraqi agent leads to foreclosure. Several years later the United States Savings and Loans steps in with a Billion dollar offer. First offer rejected. Negotiations ongoing. Agent received all kinds of precious art work for services rendered prior to closing.

Realtors Need a Paradigm Shift

This article gives further evidence that when you offer consumers something of value on your site they will return, but force them to register to view listings and they will just find another site...

RISMEDIA, Dec. 13, John Boudreau, www.ionmarketinggroup.com — According to a recent article in Entrepreneur Magazine, more that 70% of consumers say that they are unlikely to purchase from or return to a site after encountering “register for more information” log-on pages that block access to promised content.

Let’s apply that statistic to real estate Web sites. Often, Realtors require their potential customers to login in to get access to MLS listings and “free” information. At Ion we’re finding that a huge percentage of Web site visitors are just not ready to buy or sell a home right now. Asking them to login just drives them away. The key is to afford them access to information until their ready.

Think about it. If you had a retail store that sold expensive cameras, would you stop your potential customers at the door and ask for their name, phone and e-mail? If you did, pretty soon you wouldn’t have any customers. The “I don’t want to talk to you unless you’re serious” attitude needs to stop if real estate professional hope to truly service this growing market.

According to Tiffany Shlain, founder of the Webby Awards in San Francisco, “Before, the goal was just to get people onto their site. Now the goal is to offer them information, links and services that can help them.”

Realtors must go through a paradigm shift. A paradigm is “a set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality”, according to dictionary.com. Reality had changed. Realtors must re-evaluate the tone of their Web sites. The content and information should project the idea that “we care about you, even if you’re not ready to buy right now.” In doing so, Realtors will set themselves up for a steady flow of new customers who are ready to buy or sell now.

Cendant Splits - Silverman to lead

Real estate franchise giant Cendant said today that it's plan to separate into four independent companies is on track, with the spin-off of the new Real Estate Services company expected in the spring of 2006.

Cendant's Chairman and CEO Henry Silverman will become chairman and CEO of the new Real Estate Services company when the spin-off is complete, and Richard Smith, who initially was to be the CEO of the new real estate company, will serve as vice chairman and president of that company, according to a company statement this morning.

"The Board, my colleagues, our advisors and our lenders felt it was important for me to remain involved as CEO of one of the new companies, and Richard Smith and I agreed that I could provide the greatest benefit at the Real Estate Services company," Silverman said in a statement today.

Silverman will remain chairman and CEO of Cendant until the corporation has separated into four public companies. The company also noted that Silverman would not receive any compensation as an executive of any of the new companies.

In addition to real estate, Cendant has holdings in the travel distribution, hospitality and automobile rental businesses, each of which will be spun off in 2006 as individual public companies. The Hospitality company is expected to spin off next summer and the new Travel Distribution Services company in early October.

In announcing the progress and executive changes today, Cendant also revised its fourth-quarter financial projections due to challenges within its travel distribution division. The company now projects fourth-quarter earnings per share of 23 cents a share, at the low end range of its previous projection between 23 cents and 26 cents.

Cendant also announced, for the first quarter of 2006, estimates for its year-over-year growth in revenue and EBITDA, excluding the company's former mortgage business, of approximately 8-10 percent. Earnings per share from continuing operations (before separation costs) is expected to be 18-20 cents per share.

The first quarter of 2006 is anticipated to be the last quarter that Cendant reports consolidated results.

Cendant primarily provides travel and residential real estate services. The company's real estate brands include Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Coldwell Banker Commercial, ERA and Sotheby's International Real Estate.

posted on innman news today
www.teamjohnston.com

Website Award: 5 out 5

Website Award: 5 out 5
I believe the proof is in the pudding. If it tastes great then its great. From a marketing perspective I'm very proud of what Sara has done to our pudding. As our director marketing and technology, she has designed one of the best, most user friendly websites anywhere. I mean it. Just compare for yourself. Simple to use. Professional looking and very functional for our customers.
Recently Results net awarded us 5 out 5 stars for the very things I just mentioned. When I compared our site to other recipients I was absolutely beaming with pride. We believe in a quality presentation and quality service. The face we put out onto the web reflects our clients to. Just take a look at some of the websites out there even the other award winners and I think you'll agree with the people at results net.

More about results net:The Results-net Web Site Awards are awarded to those real estate related web sites that demonstrate excellence in design, usability and effectiveness, and show a commitment to using the Internet as a means of delivering information and providing service.

There are three awards that are given.

The Five Star Award is representative of the Top 1% of Web Sites
The Four Star Award is representative of the Top 5% of Web Sites
The Three Star Award is representative of the Top 10% of Web Sites

Visitors to award winning sites can be assured that they are experiencing the best sites the Internet has to offer.

Happy 42nd anniversary - dad

Yesterday marks 42 years of real estate for Ken Johnston. Happy Anniversary Mr J. Thanks for being such a great mentor, friend and father. There is so much for us to be proud of and thanks for all your sacrifices. I have learned first hand how difficult it must have been to coach all 3 of us boys in hockey, be the 7th member of the million dollar club and go on all those family vacations. The amazing thing is you're still going strong. I'm proud to be your partner.

Here's looking at you kid!

Marketing 101

You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say, "I'm fantastic in bed."

That's Direct Marketing.

You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous girl. One of your friends goes up to her, and pointing at you says, "He's fantastic in bed."

That's Advertising.

You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and get her telephone number. The next day you call and say, "Hi, I'm fantastic in bed."

That's Telemarketing.

You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl. You get up and straighten your tie, walk up to her and pour her a drink. You open the door for her, pick up her bag after she drops it, offer her a ride, and then say, "By the way, I'm fantastic in bed."

That's Public Relations.

You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl. She walks up to you and says, "I hear you're fantastic in bed."

That's Brand Recognition.

(From the agents online forum - posted by Benjamin R. Sovacool Realtor®Century 21Mike Miller Realty, Inc.)

Ladies - all I have to say is, we all know it's all FALSE ADVERTISING!!!

Create Your Own Free Real Estate Website

Network News and Coldwell Banker Johnston Real Estate invite you to create your Point2Agent site today, for free.

Key reasons you might want to consider a Point2 Agent site:

• Search Engine Optimization – a Point2 site allows you to optimize for the search engines like no other. It’s easy to see the results, just go to Yahoo, search for real estate in your area, click on the top sites and chances are they will be Point2 Sites (just look for the Powered by Point2 logo at the bottom of the homepage).
• Statistics – tracking activity on your site is as important as getting people to visit your site; it tells you what parts of your site and which marketing efforts are working best. The Point2 system gives very detailed reports on the traffic coming to your site.
• Customization – With Point2 you can customize everything, including uploading your own templates and customizing navigation buttons.
• It’s free – you can create a complete site, for free, and have it for as long as you’d like. Then, once you’re ready you can upgrade your site and take advantage of all the features Point2 has to offer. Start building your free site now.

Embroidered Logo

Does anyone have a version of the Coldwell Banker logo for embroidery? There is a specific file format required to embroider a logo on fabric, and if anyone out there has the digital file (should end in .exp or .dst) then we could post it here on the blog for all to use. It's not available from head office.

Designing Top-Notch Real Estate Sites

I found this article and was pleased to see that I'm not the only person who thinks that forcing people to sign into your site to view listings is a bad idea. The article outlines some of the things a real estate web site should have, as well as some of the pitfalls to avoid:
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art23726.asp

More information on what to avoid in your website is available here:
http://www.blitzdevelopment.com/real-estate-marketing-06.php

It seems many people feel that the best way to generate leads on a real estate website is to force people to register for just about everything. We're generating 1-2 leads a day from our website, where visitors can search all Edmonton MLS listings without having to register.

According to Point2Agent "Requiring registration is a way to capture prospects. However, it is generally recommended to make listings public because only a small percentage of visitors will register, especially with listings available on large, well known websites such as national listings portals. Publicly visible listings will keep visitors on your website longer, increase return visits and the number of leads from listing inquiries."

I've mentioned it before... the three keys to generating business from your website are:

1. Drive traffic to your site
2. Give people what they want so they contact you for more (generate leads)
3. Stay in touch with the leads and convert to transactions

Check out our new site at www.alledmontonhomes.ca.

New in real estate

Q. It's been a long time since we've chatted. I was wondering if you could give me some advice about starting out as a new realtor, or if you could recommend some good books. I wanted you to know that I am working for Coldwell Banker in Knoxville. I thought you'd be happy to hear that it was cause of you why I really decided to join the Coldwell Banker Team. Anyway, we use Rick Deluca "Four Weeks to Success" for training purposes. They're great tapes with good messages. I like them pretty well. J.K.

A. Rick's ok...Been around along time. Pretty basic old fashioned stuff but its sound in principle. Customers today are pretty savy to that type of persuasion and sales tactics. Howard Brinton is not a trainer per se, he is a moderator who interviews the top agents and picks their brains. There are so many great ideas, and the good thing is you can tailor them to your personality and business strategy. So do the Rick thing and be like everyone else trained like that, or stretch out a bit and create your own selling style.

New Words Every Agent Should Know

Just for fun today...Ok, so I stole these from one of those e-mails that circulate the web...but they're pretty funny. I've pulled out the top 10:

1. Cashtration (n.):The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.

2. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an a$$hole.

3. Intaxication:Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

4. Bozone (n.):The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

5. Foreploy:Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.

6. Sarchasm:The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

7. Inoculatte:To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

8. Osteopornosis:A degenerate disease.

9. Decafalon (n.):The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

10. Dopeler effect:The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

Inspection Question

Just a quick question...on a few recent inspections, some of our vendors have remarked that they feel it is not common practice to have the purchasers present at the inspection. Is common? Do the purchasers normally attend the inspections? Can the vendors prohibit them from doing so? Later dude

Dear later dude

Buyers are, and in my opinion should be, encouraged to attend. If the seller does not want the buyer to be present, thereby potentially preventing the buyer from discovering something vital about the property, this could come back to haunt the sellers and you. Would the sellers feel comfortable proceeding on a property if they were barred from it? What is the purpose of denying the buyers access? Why would a buyer proceed if they are denied the the opportunity to discover the property in a reasonable fashion? It also places you in a bad predicament if the buyer has a problem with the property later and comes after you and the seller for denying them access. If your seller is adamant you should get this instruction in writing and place it in the file. My last thought on this is simply, what is the seller trying to hide?

http://edmonton-homes.ca the Edmonton home dude

The truth about market share

Year after year agents with nothing to say about themselves boast about their companies market share. Not to pick on a certain company full of hot air, but they lead the way in advertising this form of bluff.

The truth is that there are agents with all kinds of companies that are competent, professional and worthy of your business. The people not worthy of your business are the people who feel that somehow the achievements of others directly affect their competency. This is not the case. I’m not going to say this attracts a certain ego manical element, I’ll let you judge that for yourself.

The reality is the there are some benefits from my perspective to being associated with a strong brand. At least that’s why I took our successfully independent company and joined Coldwell Banker in March of 1993.

After spending 18 winters in Hawaii and seeing the strength of this company I started to investigate them and immediately liked what I was seeing.

Founded on the principle of exceptional customer service 100 years ago. It is the oldest of the international real estate brands. The best way to describe the company is to let a third party describe it in it’s annual ranking of the worlds top franchises.

This too means nothing to you if you aren’t satisfied. That’s where the ego meets the road. No other real estate company in Canada that I’m aware of does an independently monitored customer service survey for completed transactions. Now that’s worth keeping track of. That’s worth your business. I’m not saying we are the only option out there. We are definitely one of the few that focus on your satisfaction as our measurement. The meat of the matter is that market share means nothing in selling your home if your agent is only driven on serving themselves, their ego, and making sure you help pay for their advertising budget. A professional negotiator, marketer, and someone with the ability to service the sale or purchase of your home is what you really need. The brand can offer that agent tools and technology to do this in the most professional manner possible. Tools that smaller independant companies can't develop on their own.

If you’re not sure if I'm right, just have us in and compare us to the competition. Its your money so you be the judge. What have you got to lose. I believe you will be impressed with the differences that we offer and the results you'll get.

Mancini's Moves

In our most recent issue of Network News we featured Harry Mancini and his 16-minute workout. For those of you who want more info, you can download his workout by clicking here.
It's an Excel SpreadSheet, so you'll need MS Excel to view it.

Debunking the do it your self myth con't

In Answer to some of the questions I've received, I hope this helps. If you have any ideas or thoughts to add to this I'd love to hear them (this is in continuation of my original "debunking" article):

• You know that sellers who sell themselves have as high or higher risk of liabilty. Of course they don't consider this. Hower it is a reality in this litigious soceity and should be something they should consider. There are people who will prey on people who do it themselves, only to run them through the wringer and courts afterwards, just to get more out of them because they know they can.
• If you see a FSBO or a do it "yourself" company take a picture of the sign. Keep an eye on it and take a picture of the house once it has a Realtor's sign out front. Create a "before and after" type brochure, track how many go with an agent afterwards. An amazing amount of money, time and effort is wasted that the seller does not get back. It's as if they are selling their home for 7-9% commission rate in the end, because of their marketing costs.
• Do they want a buyers agent to get access to the 95% of the properties that aren't selling on their own. I wonder if they ever think about missing out on the majority of buyers who don't notice their sign or their little ad?
• If they do sell it on their own, do a CMA on it and see how they did in terms of actual market value. They likely sold under it. If you can put a few examples of this together for the next seller you sit down with, they may see the logic in dealing with you.
• Don't be discouraged if they aren't smart enough to realize the net effect is less money to them and increased risk to their equity.
• If you compare MLS inventory levels with MLS sales to do it your self inventories and sales on a monthly basis. You'll be suprised to find that in Edmonton the MLS inventory is 2.5months, and the do it yourself inventory is about 5 months

Edmonton Blog

Check out our real estate blog for Edmonton at http://edmonton-homes.blogspot.com/ its part of our online strategy. The purpose is to give the consumer what they need as opposed to going somewhere else to get information. Its new and growing. Comments appreciated.

No New Posts...

Due to excellent ski conditions at Banff...be back in a day or two :)

Get to Know: Point2 Technologies Inc.

Once upon a time (1996 to be precise), two brothers made software that made reselling heavy equipment easier, faster, better, and more profitable by using the Internet’s full potential. This software attracted a lot of attention from major companies like Microsoft and Caterpillar, and built Point2 Technologies into a successful international company.

Five years later, Point2 realized that there was something else out there that needed help – something else that is big, expensive, complicated to sell, and difficult to move – real estate. Point2 realized that its software, that revolutionized the heavy equipment industry, could help Realtors® as well. Point2 Agent was born.

Point2 Agent gives Realtors® their own web marketing and advertising software package that includes a very cool website. Far more than just a web solution though, Point2 Agent is set to change how real estate is bought and sold online – very much for the better.

Point2 Agent is beginner-friendly – because it’s very easy to set up your website, but also because it’s free! The trial version of Point2 Agent doesn’t cost anything, and doesn’t expire, allowing members to upgrade to the pay version when their business growth requires it.

With the upgraded version of Point2 Agent, a heap of listing advertising is included. Through Agent Handshake™ you can set up your own private MLS for your brokerage, and all of your listings are automatically advertised on Point2 Homes. These options do not cost extra, and are not available anywhere else, from any other company.

You may know how well Point2 Agent sites do in search engines, but if you want to see for yourself just do a search for homes for sale in your area and take a note of how many of the top Realtor® sites are Point2 Agent sites. This alone is plenty of proof that big results don’t always take big bucks.

All of these advantages drive traffic to Point2 Agent sites, but in the end, as you know, better listings move homes faster. This is why brokers can set up their office on Point2 Agent, establish a brokerage MLS, and create incredible listings that include things like automatic listing brochures, Google™ Earth satellite mapping, audio attachments, and dozens of high-quality photos. Buyers are wowed by Point2 Agent listings, especially compared to the alternatives.

Point2 knows how to get inventory sold online, a fact to which its over 66,000 members can attest. In fact, Point2 is so confident about Point2 Agent, they’re willing to give it away free and help you establish a solid, profitable online presence without risking anything. Hard to argue against that.

See www.Point2Agent.com for further details.
Coldwell Banker Johnston invites you to sign up for a free Point2 Agent site today.

Are you ready?

I love listening to people tell me “Real Estate is doing great, you must be making a killing” and on the other hand, I love hearing from people who don’t sell real estate say “if you do this and that and this, and use this, you’ll increase your profits.” Not that I’m skeptical or anything, but…come on. In today’s market where everything is moving at mach 3, how many of us have the ability to make substantial changes to our business model? The truth of it is though, we all must evolve.

We must evolve our way of business, our way of thinking, our way of looking at things. Some of you can make those substantial shifts quickly, some of us move like Boeing 747’s making long loop turns to more our business to a different paradigm.

All of us however can recognize the basic fundamentals. The basic building blocks required to succeed and survive in an extremely competitive environment. In most cases I would suspect that if you hone your fundamentals, you’ll make faster gains than if you go outside your abilities and expertise.

Take for instance a child learning to swim. She’s there for her first lesson and she listens to the instructor talk about the proper stroke, breathing and kick rate. This all sounds good to the little girl. The instructor gives the necessary rah rah you can do it and cheers her onto the edge of the pool, where the student smiles with eager trepidation at getting going. The instructor blows the whistle and then she’s off into the deep end.

Now picture this. Survival kicks in and the panic buttons are flying, the girl is flailing like mad, and the instructor is still shouting encouragement. Meanwhile the little swimmer is not thinking about stroke, breathing or kicking. She’d like to breath without drinking a mouth full of water, and kick the instructors ass for making her get in the deep end.

Instead of learning to swim by building her confidence she was immersed in the deep end. Now that’s the real estate business. How many great ideas have I seen over the almost two decades I’ve been in the business? Watching agents jump right in only to thrash and flail to get back to the side, only to curse at the mere idea, saying “It doesn’t work, I’ve tried it.”

Search engine marketing is just such a thing. Dip your toe in, then pull back and re-evaluate. Discuss the results with others and what they did and didn’t do. The child who learns properly goes on to be a competitive, confident swimmer, whereas the other child will fear the water. Don’t fear the future, embrace it. Say it with me, “Search Engine Marketing.” See it wasn’t that bad. Go a step further and investigate it, and eventually, just maybe, you will swim the English Channel, or you’ll reach a new client there.

The Paperless Office

When I worked at the Coldwell Banker Canada head office, I was always amazed at how brokers and agents wanted to print everything - CB Weekly, Virtual Assistant client lists, listing reports, articles etc. etc. etc. My thinking was - it's on your computer, why do you want a paper copy that you now have to store, throw out, or carry with you? People handed me paper all the time and I'd turn around and ask for the digital version, because I had no files to put it in. My computer is much more organized than I am and the Google Desktop allows me to search this hard drive in seconds and find what I need. Perhaps it comes from my background in Ecology, perhaps because I've grown up with computers, whatever it is I don't see a need for so much paper in this world. When personal computers made their way to the workplace, "the experts" thought our paper usage would drop, but in fact paper consumption drastically increased because of the ease of printing. This article from today's Inman News gives a great reason for offices to consider going paperless...

Mississippi real estate firm learns value of paperless office
Katrina shreds paper documents, spares electronic data
Friday, November 04, 2005
By Janis MaraInman News

Hurricane Katrina tore the roof off Sawyer Real Estate's Gulfport, Miss., office, threw giant filing cabinets across the room and shredded all of the 104-year-old brokerage firm's paper documents.

A tidal wave buried the firm's 10 hard computer drives under 6 feet of water. But, to co-owner Lenwood "Lenny" Sawyer Jr.'s amazement, all the data on nine of the hard drives was recovered – including some 6,000 scanned-in documents.

"We are now firm believers in the paperless transaction," said Sawyer, whose grandfather Roy Anderson founded the business in 1901. "We've learned our lesson."

Sawyer Real Estate, one of the major commercial real estate brokerages in the area, has 16 agents and boasts many local casinos, banks and retail stores such as Wal-Mart and Kmart among its clients. It survived the Great Depression, the 17-to-20-percent interest rates of the 1980s and Hurricane Camille. But Katrina was quite another matter.

"When I first saw the building (after Katrina), I couldn't believe my eyes," said Sawyer, who inherited the family business from his father Lenwood Sawyer Sr. in 1986. "The windows and doors are gone, the ceiling was blown out, all our cubicles were blown apart."

But Sawyer, who runs the company with his son, Lenwood "Lenny" Sawyer III, was able to salvage from the hard drives the software from Sawyer's property management division – "the software that keeps up with the rent rolls, tenants, billing and accounting data was on there," he said. His e-mail, his personal records and the data of nine other agents in the office was also saved.

"We Federal Expressed the hard drives to a company in California and within two days they were able to save the information," Lenny Sawyer Jr., said.

"Whereas the paper records we had in the vault are gone," he said. "Some of them were completely washed away. The ones remaining in the building were shredded into tiny pieces.

"If we had had a paperless office, we would have been able to save the plats, records, contracts, history on old properties that we had," Lenny Sawyer Jr., said.

The company set to work immediately to get the office back up and running, according to Lenny Sawyer III, the "son" half of the father-and-son team.

"We were lucky enough to find a company that handles construction trailers and they got us one within a couple weeks after the storm," Lenny Sawyer III said.

"The power company was very responsive. The day we called them, they were out here that afternoon to turn the power on. The telephone company, too. They had us back up and running with phones and fax within a few days after we tog the trailer delivered," Lenny Sawyer III said.

Almost the instant the phones were connected, they began ringing off the hook, Lenny Sawyer III said.

"We do mostly commercial real estate and companies were looking for warehouses for items they had been able to salvage, and also people were looking for undamaged office space," he said.

"In the last month, companies coming in to build have been looking for warehouse and office space. The construction companies are looking for pieces of property called 'construction yards,' staging areas for the workers and their materials," Lenny Sawyer III said.

At first, the company and its 16 agents, all of whom survived the storm, did things "the old-fashioned way: hit the road, look for it, depend on word of mouth, call property owners," Lenny Sawyer III said. Now, he said, the MLS is back up and running and the company is able to access it to see what other agents have available.

The storm hit Sawyer Real Estate's building around 10 a.m., Sept. 29. Now, less than two months later, "as far as systems and processes go, we are probably back to close to where we were before the storm," Lenny Sawyer III said. "We now have two trailers onsite for our agents to work from."

The brokerage has a tough row to hoe, with major clients such as Grand Casinos and Casino Magic suffering hurricane damage. "The storm wiped out the whole Mississippi Gulf Coast," said Lenny Sawyer Jr. "It's like you take a big iron rake and go 2,000 miles back from the beach. It flattened everything."

The company is not yet up to its former volume, Lenny Sawyer III noted.

"We don’t have the population back to do the amount of volume we did before Katrina, but it is slowly coming back," he said. "A lot of people left because the schools were closed, but we are seeing people come back gradually as the schools reopen.

"We are going to make it. We'll get there for sure."

www.edmonton-homes.ca

Times Have Changed for Real Estate

This article is from Inman News. It is written by an agent from Coldwell Banker Bain Associates in Seattle. The article is in response to the anti-trust hearings currently going on the US about competition and commission rates in the industry. (See article below). She has an interesting take on the task force's comparison of the airline and real estate industries...

Increasingly difficult to protect consumers from unintended outcomes
By, Joy Canova

Times have changed for the real estate market; it has become increasingly difficult to protect clients from unintended consequences of a real estate transaction. If changes to commissions are overdue, it is to increase rates, not lower them.

In real estate transactions, one needs only to look at the volume of pages in a typical purchase and sale agreement to see the changes in the industry. As greater protections are needed for clients, full-service brokerages have sought the assistance of their attorneys to design contract addendums to close risky loopholes. Full-service sales agents have the skill and knowledge to put these protections in place when and where it is appropriate.

While it is true that every real estate transaction does not require the full spectrum of abilities that full-service agents and their companies provide, the consumer will not have the expertise to determine when his or her personal situation calls for it. It is better to depend on an agent who will know when such conditions arise and employ necessary actions on the consumer's behalf.

The comparison of the real estate industry to airline competition is an interesting choice since so many airline companies are struggling to stay in business. Some may wish to blame all the woes on events after Sept. 11, but the trouble started long before that. Consumers of airlines are suffering as services and routes are cut in an effort to stay in business. A cheap ticket to nowhere is hardly a bargain.

If the federal antitrust agencies' intent is to break the real estate industry to pieces in the same manner as the airline industry, real estate consumers will suffer as well. Agent expertise will leave the industry when consumers need an advocate most desperately.

Home buyers today are faced with affordability issues and predatory lending practices. Home sellers in the marketplace are falling prey to selling-schemes that provide no assistance in negotiations and pricing suggestions that cost money as properties linger on the market.

With personal savings down and debt up for many Americans, homes are often the greatest savings a family has. To shortcut protections for consumers with this critical financial asset is unconscionable. Lowering costs without considering value is the poorest form of business in America today.

Halloween News Flash

Due to the psycho kinetic activity associated with All Hallows eve we have been able to arrange an exclusive interview with Colbert Coldwell and Benjiman Banker, through our medium Madame Bal Shat.

We are at Madame B.S.’s tent parlor surrounding the crystal ball, as she gazes intensely into what she describes as swirling mist, or the past friends and relatives network. Madame B.S. begins to murmur a chant and then tells us we can begin the interview. I must tell you we were certainly skeptical but when we saw the images of Mr. Coldwell and Mr. Banker we thought we might as well give it a try.

Well I may have been skeptical, but I am now a confirmed believer in B.S., er I mean Madame Bal Shat. The following is the resulting interview with the founders of Coldwell Banker.

Network News (NN): Good evening, we’d just like to thank you guys for taking the time to talk to us. Do you guys get Network News and what do you think of it?

CC: Very cool. Never miss it. Really hip. Totally cool.

BB: Got my first issue last week, had to go back and read all the previous issues.

NN: Thank you. So the company you founded is almost 100 years old, and is one of the largest real estate companies in the world. Any thoughts on that?

BB: I told Colby that the automobile would revolutionize the business. Gotta say I’m proud of what our little company has accomplished.

CC: I’m pumped about the party in San Francisco. I loved the Network News recommendations. We’ve even talked about Haunting the event but there’s a lot of regulatory hurdles to overcome.
NN: What do you guys see as pivotal in the future?

CC: Gotta put my money on traveling real estate companies that move from disaster to disaster.
BB: You’re nuts! Everybody knows that instant housing is going to be the thing. Everybody is going to live in these little boxes but when you get in you’ll think its another world. Really cool stuff.

NN: Whats been happening latetly with you guys?

BB: I’m managing Elvis on the road. I thought he was a bit extravagant in his day but he’s a really cool kid.

CC: I like recruiting the newcomers. We do all kinds of stuff, leisure activities, watch Survivor - my favorite was the Colbster, and stuff like that.

NN: Before I let you guys go, some people still think they can make bank deposits at Coldwell Banker...

CC: (laughing) Well it worked pretty good in the day to have people think that. My other choice for partner was Hershey Hearst. I thought CB worked better than CH, I also thought it was better to have people looking to make deposits than coming to us for their funeral arrangements.

BB: You were thinking of Hershel…You never told me that.

NN: Thanks guys and hopefully see you in San Francisco!

Antitrust Hearing on Competition in the Industry

Questions over competition within the real estate industry have prompted Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission officials to take action on a range of matters this year, including suing the National Association of Realtors trade group over its policies for sharing and displaying property information on the Internet and investigating state laws that effectively ban real estate rebates for consumers.

Yesterday the Federal Trade Commission (in the US) held a workshop called "Competition Policy and the Real Estate Industry" in Washington. According to Inman News, the trade commission used an interesting parallel between the travel and real estate industries:

Airline ticket prices have generally dropped in price over the years, thanks to greater price competition in that industry. And it's no accident, said Michael A. Salinger, director of the Bureau of Economics for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

"Prices were particularly high on long distance routes," he said, though, "We deregulated prices and eliminated restrictions on entry and prices came down dramatically."

Salinger said that while some travelers may say that aspects of quality have dropped, such as the quality of food on some discount airlines, "economists who have looked at this have concluded that we are by far better off with the lower prices than we were with the higher service levels designed to attract the higher prices."

Industry leaders rebutted the charges, saying the real estate market is highly competitive, with many new people entering the field. They said average real estate commissions have dipped, to a bit above 5 percent nationally, because of new kinds of brokerage services and price negotiation.


More on this from the Washington Post.


Overview of the workshop from the D.O.J. website.

Google Sitemaps

There is a new tool from Google that you should be aware of if you are trying to naturally optimize your website for the search engines. (If all of that was Greek to you then talk to your webmaster or get one ;). It is called Google Sitemaps.

According to Google it "is an easy way for you to help improve your coverage in the Google index. It's a collaborative crawling system that enables you to communicate directly with Google to keep us informed of all your web pages, and when you make changes to these pages. "

Basically, instead of waiting for Google to "crawl" your site when you make changes, using Sitemaps you let Google know of any changes directly.

It's free, and my guess is if you don't start using it, your competition will, and you will fall behind.

More info: http://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/docs/en/about.html

Visit the Network News Archive to read the articles you've missed.

Cendant Splits Up

The owners of Coldwell Banker, Century 21, Coldwell Banker Commercial, ERA and Sootheby's International realty are splitting their company into four publicly independant traded parts.

The company will be split into Real Estate, Travel, Hospitality, and Car Rentals and the Cendant name will retire. This move is expected to increase shareholder value and should be of no consequence to day to day operations of the company.

http://www.edmonton-homes.ca

Thanks Terrequity...Advanced Search Engine Marketing

Sara and I presented our new real estate course to Coldwell Banker Terrequity at the main office in North Toronto. "The Introduction to Advanced Real Estate Search Engine Marketing" was by all accounts very well received. We want to thank those participants who were there and provided their evaluations to us. We also want to thank everybody for the Link exchange which will only improve our chances to be searched and found by Google.

"This was very informative and useful"

"The best seminar I have attended which will have the most direct impact on the way I plan and do business"

"This was a terrific presentation - this is an essential tool that will only gain in importance in the years ahead"

Thanks again and we look forward to seeing everyone on the top of their search very soon.

For more information on educational opportunities for your office contact us through

http://www.teamjohnston.com

Image improvement

It seems that things are getting better for our kind at least in the states. I don't know where they do their polling but I suspect that the numbers may actually be a little better here in Canada.

Realtors are improving their image, according to the latest National Association of Realtors' annual survey that gauges public opinion.

The survey's composite image score of 19 beliefs, opinions and attitudes about Realtors rose from 56 percent in 2004 to 59 percent this year – up 11 points since 2002, the group announced today. The survey also found that the likelihood of real estate consumers to use a Realtor over a real estate licensee who is not a Realtor rose four points to 64 percent this year.

Some of the consumer beliefs and opinions that improved most over the past 12 months are: “Realtors bring the latest technology to buying and selling a home" (up six points to 63 percent); “Realtors have the expertise to help sellers price their home fairly" (up four points to 64 percent); “Realtors earn their commission" (up six points to 50 percent) and “Realtors advocate private property rights of homeowners" (up 12 points to 54 percent).

Beliefs about Realtors that improved the most this year were: that they have the best network of sources to help buyers and sellers (79 percent, up six points over year ago); that they are best qualified to promote the sale of a home (73 percent, up 12 points); that they are professional (70 percent, up 13 points); that they conduct business with ethics and integrity (69 percent, up 11 points); and that they get the job done properly (68 percent, up 10 points).
Buyers who purchased a home in the past 12 months reported a jump from 39 percent to 56 percent in agents identifying themselves as Realtors, while sellers reported an even more dramatic 23 percentage point gain, from 41 percent to 64 percent, the group reported.

Realtor support for the advertising campaign continues at levels similar to those last year, according to a survey of NAR members conducted in concert with the consumer survey. Ninety-eight percent of all NAR members favor the ad program, 94 percent would like to see more advertising, and 78 percent rate the advertising effectiveness as excellent/very good (up four points). Sixty-seven percent of members cite NAR's advertising as an important reason for joining the association, according to the announcement.

Toronto Broker Meeting

Hello from the big smoke. Yesterday's broker meeting was a snoozer. The hilite of discussion was how to promote the 100th anniversary of Coldwell Banker. The head cheeses feel happy with 3 new offices in a year but really didn't look that prepared as far as broker meetings go.

Something else out of the broker meeting. John Waite with Confidence Realty in Orillia Ont pointed out that there is no home page search function on the Hit web sites. This would allow for a search of all properties. An example would be our web site at www.edmonton-homes.ca where you can search for all of Alberta's MLS listing through our site.

Going forward this functionality is crucial if you don't have it. Somebody else is picking off your clients. How do I know? Because I'm picking off clients off other agents who don't have it. When asked when this function will be available to Coldwell Banker agents in Canada, one of the head cheeses stated "We'll see". I'm not sure if this means, we'll see if we ever get it, or we'll see it when we get it. In any case I don't think it will be anytime soon.

Sara has figured out a way to do this function by doing some creative linking. Look for her to post instructions on our blog shortly.

Debunking the do-it-yourself myth

This is for everyone who asked for more information about educating sellers on the risks and perils of selling on their own. If you have a company who is strong in marketing your area with FSBO material, compare their sale values to sellers, and show them that these companies are not saving these people money. I've written this in a tongue and cheek format as if the seller is my friend, and he's my hero, so I applaud his genius. Let me know what you think, and if you have any ideas that work for you.

You go girl!

Wow you're going to sell it on your own…Congratulations! You are on the verge of being a do it yourselfer. I mean how hard can it really be? You’ve pulled your own children’s teeth, you don’t need to take them to the doctor when their sick because you’ve made a home remedy, for them and you do all your own investing and research online. You’re definitely ready. Don’t let those agents tell you how expensive it is, they’re just trying to trick you. Trust those web companies that say you can save thousands. Why trust them - just because they’re unregulated, and they say they have professional service, doesn't mean they won't mislead you does it? And who needs errors and omissions insurance anyways? Its not like you’re going to get sued are you? I mean honestly, that’s what a lot of buyers are afraid of but you’re not one of those sellers selling on their own because you have something to hide, that’s not why you’re using one of those so called pesky agents because they ask some tough questions, and besides, you are perfectly capable of handling the family nest egg. You are brave beecause that's a lot of money but you invest that much with out the aid of a financial advisor don't you?

So back to trusting these web companies… I mean they have great ads, and the costs look reasonable, don’t they? They may even help you price your home, and that’s the best idea I’ve ever heard, how do they do that? These guys really know what they are doing, don't they? So you pay them a fee before you sell, and if you pay some extra fees, you get some extra services. They’ll even recommend you to a professional or two that can assist in the transaction. This is so great it’s the next best thing to sliced bread isn't it? Sounds too good to be true, tell me more.

Forget those goofy rumours that you will sell under market value. You can afford to, right? Besides, you’re not using an agent so you can undercut the market becasue you're not paying an agent. Perfect you’re set. Oh yeah…forgot the marketing, it may take more than the sign on the lawn and their internet ad which looks great (sort of) but that’s ok, 95% of the buyers buy MLS listings so you’re only going after 5% of the buyers anyway, so that shouldn’t cost too much to market to that small group. Maybe you should pay for some of that extra marketing the nice person at the do-it-yourself place said they had available just to cement the deal.

Ok, so what now? Oh yeah, you negotiate with your kids every day, negotiating with the buyers of your house should be no problem. Knowing what to say and when to say it can’t be that big of a deal. Besides, everything they tell you will be accurate, and they won’t string you along or go for last minute concessions or anything like that. It’s probable they won’t even have an inspection or have any problems with the inspection.

Alright you’ve negotiated the offer but the price is a problem. You’re saving the commission so the buyers don’t want to pay you the commission. Split the difference - that’s a great idea, seems fair. That way, you save half the commission you would have paid one of those pesky agents. Oh yeah, you have the time you spent marketing, showing and negotiating and the learning the ropes, the costs of the marketing you paid the do-it-yourself company - you’re ahead right? Well you priced below market to get activity from buyers, the negotiating didn’t go exactly the way you wanted it to, and you have the costs and your time. What do you mean you might not have saved any money? You didn’t lose money did you? Well $1200 is better than nothing. You did lose all that family time and the extra stress, but you at least didn’t have to hire an agent. You’re my hero but I’m not as smart as you, I’ll probably have to use an agent.

Bottom line

• There are costs to every transaction
• The market is more complicated than just a sign and an ad
• Negotiations can be complex and ongoing, and mistakes can be expensive
• Your time is money
• The buyers are looking to save the commission too
• The more exposure you have, the more likely you’ll get more money - that is an economic reality
• Lawsuits are a major reality for sellers, just look at all the court cases of sellers being sued for saying something or not say something. This in the end will be your undoing

Top 5 Real Estate Blogs

Thanks for reading! Because of the traffic the blog has received we are now ranked the 5th real estate related blog in North America! This ranking changes on a daily basis so I'm sure it won't last long, but I'm glad to see you're enjoying!

Hot of the press! Broker meeting update #2

The broker meeting consisted of really two main parts.

• The marketing campaign for 2006
• Training

Honestly the rest was fluff some more meaningful than others.

The general concensus from the majority of brokers is that the current marketing fund strategy and funding is broken.

The training platform is cutting edge but the amount available is lacking to date. It will take some time to make the liabray grow but it is a must for major franchises to offer that to its brokers and agents.

It was definitely a lively meeting with the brokers looking to grow the brand and provide more value to their agents.

Maybe more on this later...Otherwise have a great night.

Broker Meeting Update #1

I'm here, sitting in the Calgary broker meeting right now. Thank God for wireless Internet or I'd have fallen asleep an hour ago. Looks like this one is going to go into overtime...we'll post our thoughts on the meeting a bit later today.

Don't leave home without it!

I've just added a must read to my collection...and btw for those of you who didn't think I could read, touche. If you are serious about this business and if you are serious about learning how to do things better than take a visit to http://www.realtyfreak.com/ you won't regret. OH! so you want a gaurantee that you'll love it eh? (very Canadian, as this is after all on the world wide web and if we are to take over the world some day, every citizen of the world must learn it. That's why I use it so subtley.) Back to the gaurantee if you don't love it in 120 days I will personally see you get a Celine Dion autograph. That's how sure I am you'll enjoy the info here. Happy reading. btw the disclaimer that's too small to read below really says that no matter what happens you won't get an autograph.

btw check out the new website design Sara did...Great job girl...Love ya!

HouseValues launches new national Web site

HomePages maps real estate listings, neighborhood amenities
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
By Glenn Roberts Jr.
Inman News

You think you've found your dream home online. The photo on the Web site looks great – it has the proper amount of bedrooms and bathrooms, and the price is right.

But how close is it to the local pizza place, the city library, the post office, a cocktail lounge or a high-performing elementary school?

Mixing mapping with detailed property, neighborhood and community data, HouseValues has launched HomePages, a Web site that is designed to drum up more business for agents while supplying consumers with new house-hunting tools.

HouseValues is well known in the industry for its lead-generation and lead-management systems for real estate agents and brokers. The HomePages site will supply a huge database of online property listings through the company's network of agents while seeking to supply a new stream of leads to these agents.

Prospective buyers and sellers can search for-sale homes by city and state, address, intersection, ZIP code, school district, and neighborhood features. Information for recently sold homes also will be accessible.

When consumers want more information related to buying or selling a home, they are connected to a HomePages agent in their market area. Agents pay to have the HomePages site personally branded when site users enter search parameters in their market area. Consumers can choose to receive e-mail updates on new property listings.

Participating agents' listings are also featured more prominently than other listings displayed in consumers' searches.

The site's maps will allow views of school district boundaries, and users can find detailed information about schools, including test scores, student-to-teacher ratio and graduation rates.
"It's built around peoples' lifestyles," said Ian Morris, HouseValues CEO. "It is totally integrated, with thousands of data points – I think this is the site that consumers want delivered on behalf of real estate agents."

Assorted map icons help users to differentiate between various points of interest, and users can customize the map displays.

Morris, during a demonstration of the HomePages mapping technology, said the site engineers enjoyed creating a flyover map display that zooms out, scrolls the map and then zooms back in when users switch their search location.

Matt Heinz, senior director of marketing for HouseValues, said that most major markets are covered by HomePages, and consumers will have access to about two-thirds of all property listings nationwide. Most property listing sources will be updated twice daily.

Other real estate industry players, too, have embraced the "more is better" approach to supplying online property listings to consumers. Help-U-Sell, RE/MAX and Cendant Corp. are among the major real estate companies that are pooling national listings to give consumers access to a larger sample of online property listings.

Visual displays of property listings – in the form of rich, interactive maps, also are catching on like wildfire on the Web. Some of the new innovations in online real estate mapping are based on the popularity of mapping platforms launched by Google, Mapquest and other online mapping specialists.

HouseValues officials point to industry research that shows increasing consumer interest in online real estate tools, including interactive maps. And there is momentum building in online advertising. The Borrell Associates research firm has said that online media should become the main advertising expenditure for the real estate industry before 2009.

Also, there is a long window of opportunity to reach real estate consumers before they enter into a transaction, say HouseValues executives.

Agents who subscribe to HomePages can purchase marketing packages that will feature lawn signs and other marketing materials carrying the HomePages logo, and each for-sale home featured by a HomePages subscriber is assigned a unique number to ease online lookup. Heinz said HomePages helps agents build their own personal brand while guiding consumers to the information they are seeking.

HomePages relies on aerial imagery snapped by airplanes rather than satellites. Morris said the end result is higher resolution map images – you can see cars in driveways and greenbelts rather than blurry neighborhood images, he said.

HouseValues has an extensive ad campaign planned to support the launch of the HomePages destination. Morris said, "We think that HomePages is going to be the killer (application) in this space."

Lisa Lundt, a real estate agent since February 2004, was among the first group of HouseValues agents to sign up for HomePages. Lundt, a Realtor for Custom Realty and Marketing in Henderson, Nev., said she has built her business around leads from HouseValues, and she was drawn to the potential for new leads from the HomePages site. "The simplicity, the clean design, the actual visual mapping – I think it is just going to be extremely appealing," she said.

Information on schools and neighborhood amenities should be useful in drawing consumers to view the HomePages site, she added. "I think they're going to be amazed by the amount of information they can get in one place."

And Maureen Morell, a Realtor for RE/MAX 200 Realty's Winter Park office in Florida who is also an early adopter of HomePages, said she hopes the new Web service will increase the number of property listings she handles while driving more buyers to work with her directly. By working with both sellers and buyers directly, she can reduce her listing commission while saving money for buyers, too, she said.

"There are a lot more buyers floating around now who are not interested in representation. I see HomePages as increases more direct buyer contact and another way to reach them," she said. Also, Morell said that any tool that can add value to her services – and drive more traffic to her listings – is important.

"Sellers these days are pretty sophisticated. The only thing they want to know is how I bring buyers to my listings," she said. "I see this as an opportunity to demonstrate more service to listings. Having a strong online presence for me is also a marketable advantage."

There are a lot of out-of-town buyers in the local real estate market, Morell also said, and HomePages provides tools for prospective buyers that can save her and her clients a lot of time.

"When they are only here for a couple of days I don't have time to drive them in my car, getting them familiar with neighborhoods. HomePages, she said, should get prospective buyers comfortable with neighborhoods even before they can visit them in person.

"They get a good feel for the neighborhood without leaving their desktop," she said.

Best Ways to Market Your Real Estate Biz

If you don't subscribe to the Inman News daily newsletter....you should. It is sent by email daily and includes news and articles about the real estate industry. (It's a far cry from the quality content you get in Network News, but it's still worth checking out.) Here is an article from today's newsletter that I thought was a good read:

Best ways to market your real estate biz
A little creativity goes a long way
Friday, October 07, 2005
By Bernice Ross
Inman News
Word-of-mouth marketing is a powerful tool to spread the word about your real estate business.
According to the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, WOMMA.org, there are 11 primary ways to spread the word about your business. How many of these strategies are you using in your business?

1. Buzz marketing
According to WOMMA.org, buzz marketing refers to "using high-profile entertainment or news to get people to talk about your brand." The Prudential agent who had the listing on convicted murderer Scott Peterson's house in Modesto, Calif., found a knife in the backyard. Is this knife the murder weapon that killed Lacy? This created a huge, national buzz. To create a positive buzz about your business, host a special event for people in your referral database. Rent a bus and take your guests to the most important away game for your local high school or college. Provide plenty of food, ice cream, souvenirs and other goodies. Arrange for a photographer and post the pictures to your Web site. Send out the link to everyone who attended as well as to any alumni you happen to know. Whether your team wins or loses, hopefully everyone will be "buzzing" about the great time they had.

2. Viral Marketing
Viral marketing is "creating entertaining or informative messages that are designed to be passed along in an exponential fashion, often electronically or by e-mail." For marketing to be considered "viral," it must motivate receivers of the marketing piece to tell other people about it. For example, if you sign up for a Realtor's newsletter that has money-saving tips, e-coupons, and how-to-avoid-scams tips, and you like the newsletter so well that you encourage your friends to sign up, this is viral marketing.

3. Community Marketing
According to WOMMA.org, community marketing is based upon "creating niche communities that are likely to share interests about the brand." It also references "providing tools, content and information to support those communities." One agent created a community Web site for his homeowner's association. On the site, the association can announce upcoming events, post election information, provide warnings for neighborhood watch groups, etc. He also lets the association use his toll-free 800 number. Visitors to the community who may have real estate questions can leave a message, and he returns the call. Since he hosts the site at no charge to the association, he is now perceived as "our Realtor."

4. Grassroots Marketing
WOMMA defines grassroots marketing as "organizing and motivating volunteers to engage in personal or local outreach." This can take a number of different forms. For example, if you hold a charity fundraiser where you go to the community to collect items for needy families, you are using a grassroots marketing approach. By being of service, you are simultaneously marketing your services.

5. Evangelist Marketing
This is the term that references working with referrals. Your goal is to develop a group of angels who will actively spread the word about the services you provide. An angel is anyone who sends you two or more referrals per year.

6. Product Seeding
Product seeding refers to placing the right product into the right hands at the right time, or providing information or samples to influential individuals. Clearly, you can't give out samples of houses. What you can do, however, is to prospect by letting people experience your level of service. For example, if property owners in your area can qualify for a property tax reduction, you can offer them information on how to lower their taxes.

7. Influencer Marketing
According to WOMMA, influencer marketing refers to having key opinion leaders talk about your services. This is slightly different from the "angel" approach referenced in evangelist marketing. A good example would be representing the mayor of your city on the sale of his or her home and receiving a strong testimonial from them about how well you handled the transaction.

8. Cause Marketing
Many real estate agents are actively involved in supporting Habitat for Humanity, women's shelters, medical research, and a host of other important causes. Being involved in a cause is an important way to give back to your community. It also attracts higher quality of clients as well.

9. Conversation Creation
In the fall of 2005, the Inventables began distributing "squishy magnets." These magnets feel like a piece of foam rubber and can be used to close doors without the doors slamming. Distributing these to your geographical farm or on your open houses will make a great conversation starter. According to WOMMA, you can stimulate conversation creation through fun advertising, e-mails, catch phrases, entertainment or promotions.

10. Referral programs
Many agents use the term "referral program" to reference that they ask people to refer leads to them. A full-blown referral program does more than just asking for leads. Instead, it uses a systematic approach that allows satisfied customers to refer their friends. The best programs usually offer some sort of reward for participating in the program. For example, if you contribute $20 to a client's favorite charity when they make a referral to you, they are much more likely to send you business than if you did not.

11. Blogging
Blogs are one of the hottest trends for the real estate industry. A blog is a series of quick observations that the blogger posts to a Web site. The primary goal of blogging is to share fun and useful information with the blogger's readers. For a great example, See Brad Inman's blog at http://www.inman.com/blogger/bradinman.aspx.

Want to know more? See next week's column, "Unleashing the Power of Testimonials."

Vancouver Island Manager Needed

Selling/Managing Broker wanted for Coldwell Banker Comox Valley office. This is a great opportunity to live in a year round playground and work in one of B.C.'s fastest growing communities. Please reply with your enquiries to wayne@dumbrell.ca.

MLX Change & MLX Professional Sold!

Many of us use MLX change and or professional on a daily basis. We thought this article in yesterdays National Post may be of interest to you.


http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=9196fcb1-7911-4a40-b5d9-13c2b01b82f4&rfp=dta

No Bubble in Calgary

Duane Page of Coldwell Banker Lifestyle Realty in Calgary, AB sent me this article he wrote about the housing bubble in Calgary (or lack thereof):

In Calgary, house prices have gone up by an average of about 6% - each year - for the last ten years, almost doubling in price since 1995. This is great news, especially if you bought a home back in 1995. However, some people start to get nervous when they see prices increase steadily; they assume ‘what goes up must come down’ and therefore, the real estate ‘bubble is going to burst’. To find out if house prices are going to go down, you have to figure out why are house prices going up.

The simplest reason is that everything goes up; it is called ‘inflation’. In Canada, the inflation rate has been at around 2% over the last ten years. House prices in Calgary have tripled this amount. Inflation can’t be the only reason.

Supply and demand is always a factor. According to CMHC, demand is high when the number of places sold is 60% or more than the number of places for sale. This percentage, or what is called the ‘sales to listing ratio’, has averaged around 0.65 for the last 10 years in Calgary indicating that demand has been high. But what is the cause for the high demand? The economy; factoring in taxes and wages, Calgary has the second most affordable houses for all the major cities in Canada (Edmonton is first). There are also plenty of jobs here. Calgary has one of the lowest employment rates in the country.

Another factor is affordability. Interest rates are still lower than they have been for over 40 years. But this tends to scare people too – we know rates are going to go up and when they do, what will happen to those that bought with little or nothing down? If rates go up only 2%, your payments could go up by 22%. A lot of people remember the early 80s when rates went way up, and people were walking away from their mortgages and selling their houses for a dollar – yes a dollar! But remember; only about half of us in Alberta have a mortgage these days. And those that are getting mortgages are still using 5 year terms, and at fixed rates, and those that use variable rates still have to qualify at a 3 year fixed rate.

You also have to look at who is buying these places. Older people still buy houses. In fact, the 65 to 74 year old age group is showing one of the fastest growth in homeownership. They are buying secondary homes, more expensive homes, and recreational properties. And if things do go wrong, older buyers tend to have more disposable income and liquid assets to help ride out any hard times, if they occur. Also we are seeing fewer investors buying houses and more homeowners buying, revealing that it is not mere speculation that is behind the increase in house prices. Another concern is that the number of fist time buyers is declining as the population ages. Although this is true, there are still a lot of people in the 25 to 39 age range buying homes.

There will always be those that believe real estate in a risky investment because they are afraid that house prices will crash because of a bubble. The truth is that there is no bubble. Houses are not stocks. You don’t wake up one morning to find out that your house is worthless; real estate always has value. Shelter is a necessecity. Historically, on the average, house prices have actually never gone down except for the depression in the 30s when unemployment was over 25%. The pace in Calgary may level out, and there may even be correction or two in the coming years.

In the long term, the worst that should happen is that house prices will continue to increase at about 1% above inflation –as they have historically done – meaning that if the Bank of Canada is right and inflation should run at about 2% in the upcoming years – then the average return should be 3%. The good news is that if prices do go down, you will hear a ‘hissing’ sound if the bubble leaks not a bang because the bubble can’t burst.

By Duane Page,
www.duanepage.com,
duane-page@coldwellbanker.ca.

Great Signage

This photo was sent in from one of the newest Coldwell Banker offices. Coldwell Banker Vancouver Island Realty now has an office in Nanaimo and did they ever do a great job with signage! More info on Wayne Dumbrell and the crew on the island coming soon.

Company Spirit

We recently visited Carol Clark's office - Coldwell Banker ONTRACK Realty - in Red Deer Alberta. I've visited a lot of offices since I've worked with Coldwell Banker and Carol's office definitely has a sense of energy about it when you walk in. Everyone is very excited to see you and happy to be there; they all genuinely like working there.

They sent me some photos of a recent event they participated in and you can see from the pictures they do know how to have a good time in Red Deer. Here are their comments:

On July 20/05, the annual Red Deer Parade took place. For the past six years Coldwell Banker Ontrack (Carol Clark) has entered a float and in the past 2 years we have received an "Honorable Mention for Commercial Floats." Everyone in the office participates with this event. Kelvin Kloss is our ring leader. He gets everyone motivated about a month before. We build, fluff flowers, paint (drink a few beers), & have lots of laughs. The theme for our fair is "Old time county fair" so we put our thinking caps on & try & decorate the float following that them. This year being Alberta's 100 birthday we put a cake on the float. One of our administration staff contacted a square dancing group and they danced & sang the entire time. In our kissing booth we placed our "Queen" Carol Clark where she puckered up for a big smooch. Coaching her on is Sheralyn. (Please ignore the Remax balloon behind us)!! We have a great time, as we go though the streets of Red Deer, waving, and clapping our hands to the music; friends & clients give us a big cheer when we pass them. Without Kelvin none of this would take place as he works steady until the job is done.

Save the commission?

From the Inman news service Sept. 23/2005:

Some folks are promoting the idea of dumping the real estate agent to make more money by selling their homes themselves. You can do that, but I didn't and wouldn't. Last winter, I sold my home with the help of a Realtor. She helped me find people to sort through 15 years of accumulated stuff, put the distracting stuff in storage, stage the house, and landscape for that all-important first impression and curb appeal. At the time, the average Tucson, Ariz., home was on the market 55 days before it sold. Caroline enlisted the father of one of her teacher husband's students, her husband, her brother and his wife -- even her mother offered to help. She had helped her own mother downsize from a long-owned residence the year before. Personally, I think Caroline has a potential career specialty in sensitively helping folks like me downsize. As we neared sale, Caroline staged sneak previews. The second person to view my home bought it. My Realtor earned every penny of her commission and definitely helped my house sell for more than it would have without her help. So, dump the agent? -- never.
--Christina B. Farnsworth

Not the greatest reason out there, but a reason none the less. At a recent training session Sara and I showed several agents a fairly simple formula that deflates the myth that sellers get more by going FSBO. This formula is just a part of a highly skill based course we have constructed. If you'd like more information about the course a drop us a line.

Moe Ahead, Make My Day

The response to the first issue of Network News has been nothing short of phenomenal. Thanks to everyone who has written in.

REFERRALS are the name of the game, and we are happy to report that Moe Noormohammed who was featured in the "Where are they now?" article in the last issue has received a referral as a result from Nancy Perrin of Coldwell Banker Pinnacle Real Estate in Toronto, ON.


Can you tell the difference?


Moe will be keeping us up to date on what he's up to here on the blog, just watch for "Moe's Moments".

Post a Comment, Improve Search Performance

Before you read this post, read the one below about search engine marketing.

Ok, now that you've done that you know that linking your site to other websites can help your search engine performance. Posting a comment on this blog that includes your website address has the same effect. AND since this blog is hosted by Google it's a pretty good place to have your website listed.

That's all for today ;)
Sara.

Wanted Edmonton Buyer Agent

Need something badly? I do. If you can think about business for a second I'll tell you what it is.

We are expanding. We are going to need a buyers agent or another agent who needs help building their career. Strong training and support provided. All inquiries will be handled confidentially. Call Sheldon or Ken at 780 486 8655 or fax resume's to 780 486 8654 or email to sheldon@teamjohnston.com

p.s. If you have something you're looking for. Maybe a listing, a contact, a contractor, a contact with a certain company, a manager or vacation idea, post it here.

IDX and lead capture

Knock, knock. This room sounds hollow. It probably is but I'll just leave this little note on the table to see if anyone comes in and has a thought. Sara and I have been going like gangbusters developing a business model and growth plan. We have done some extensive tinkering with the website www.teamjohnston.com . Funny how one small little office can have a nicer website than a national franchise. ..poke, poke. No names mentioned here of course.

We are developing a search engine marketing plan and have strategically selected some areas where we want to be in a stronger position with certain keywords. In certain places we score very well and in others lets just say improvement is needed. With certain words we come up 8th or 9th on Yahoo and 71st with Google. We'll keep everyone posted on our progress as it will serve as a testament and a blue print for others.

Oh yeah the point of this. If anyone out there has any experience they like to share with us regarding their search engine marketing, linking your site to IDX in order to get all the mls listings on your site or any lead capture tools that work for you let us all know. Are you using Top Producer 7i, MLXchange professional or Point2Agent? How are they working out? That's it for now, other than the more we can share with each other the more we can help each other.

Search Engine Marketing

If you have a website there is no doubt you'd like to generate some business from it. How do you do that? There are three key steps:

1. Get people to come to your website.
2. Give them what they want so they spend some time on your site and eventually contact you.
3. Respond to them immediately and turn that lead into a deal.

If there is one thing that being part of a network can help you with, it's generating business from other parts of the country. Why don't we all help each other help ourselves and get more traffic coming to our websites? We can help each other with Step 1 and get more people coming to our websites. (Steps 2&3 are up to you.)

How do we do that?
Link to each other! The number one way that websurfers find websites is through the search engines. The search engines need to find your website if anyone will be able to find you through the search engines. The more websites that link to your site, the easier it is for the search engines to find you and therefore the higher your rank will be on the search engines.

So... add a link to http://www.edmonton-homes.ca on your website and email us when you've done this with your website address, and we'll add it to our website.

Share Your Funny Stories and Win

Over the years we've heard a lot of funny things that have happened when out showing or listing properties:

• showing a show home to a family...the kid disappears upstairs and no one thinks anything of it. Turns out he had to use the washroom and as it was a show home the plumbing was not hooked up. While pointing out the features of the kitchen...holy crap! Little nuggets started falling from the kitchen ceiling, almost hitting the agent and family in the process.

• taking an agent caravan to the wrong home and not realizing the mistake until you find the owner of the home in bed and she has no idea why there are 20 real estate agents in her house!
• unknowingly showing a grow house to an RCMP officer.
• walking in on a couple having sex who don't miss a beat so you just continue with the showing.
• walking in on a homeowner in the shower...

Share your funny story (click the "comments" link below) and the author of the best story will win a Mr. Housing Bubble t-shirt!

San Francisco Recommendations

Hello from Sunny Edmonton!
When Sara and I were in San Francisco last month we took a test run of the events for the "Canada day" at IBC. Busy Bev McMillan has been working tirelessly at ironing out the details for the 200++ Canadians that will be attending. Here are some firsthand suggestions for those of you who will be attending.

While this will not be a Caribbean cruise, the scenery, restaurant and atmosphere are going to be unforgettable so bring your camera. I'd be surprised if this is not one of the most memorable if not romantic evenings you’ll ever experience at a conference. A cruise around the bay, featuring Alcatraz, the golden gate bridge and the San Fran skyline is a perfect way to kick off the 100th birthday celebration of Coldwell Banker.

A little restaurant in Sausalito which has great views of the bay and skyline (assuming weather cooperates) is booked entirely for us. Seating will most likely be in groups of 8 on a first come first serve basis.

Anyway enough rambling...Our recommendations are quite simple

• If you don't register for IBC at least come to San Francisco for "Canada Day" on Feb. 15, 2006 and make a holiday of it by visiting Napa Valley or the hidden treasure of Los Gatos (you'll have to ask me about this to know what I'm talking about).
• Book a limo with some buds for transport to and from the pier...it will be cheaper than cabbing it...cab availability may be great or non existent.
• Bring cash - if you join us after the event at a local bar most don't take credit cards (most cabs don't take credit cards either). We will most likely end up at the Hard Rock Café at the pier.
• Dress appropriately...might not be a bad idea to have a jacket and umbrella in case weather does not cooperate as we will be outside part of the time...(Its about a 5min walk outside from the boat to the restaurant).
• The Westin is within walking distance of the conference so bring some walking shoes for the conference.
• If you are going to visit Alcatraz you will have to book ahead with Blue and Gold fleet or you will be disappointed http://www.blueandgoldfleet.com
• Recommended close dinner spots.
  R & G lounge – Easy on the budget, Chinese food in China Town…great food but they pack you in and get you out quick. Reservation recommended.
  First Crush - A little expensive but definitely worth it…Fantastic food, amazing wine menu, take your time and dine. Reservation recommended.
  Book dining reservations online at http://opentable.com/