Thursday, December 22, 2005

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.

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

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.

Thursday, December 15, 2005

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.

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

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.

Saturday, December 03, 2005

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!!!

Thursday, December 01, 2005

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.