The April Edition of TalkToTerry focuses on the changing environment around the North Atlanta Real Estate Market. Is the bottom forming? Is now the time to buy? Only time will tell, but watch for the clues!
Visit http://www.talktoterry.com/ to see this months (and any previous months) video!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Results Has Great News to Share…First Quarter 2009 Stats are in!!
Bigger is not better…BETTER is better!!
Results is a family owned and operated company that has been in the Real Estate Business for 11 years. We are proud of our rankings as our position in the market place only improves while others are falling.
The Company was formed by the Mother and Son Team of Sarah and Terry Swanson, and is managed by Terry as the Qualifying Broker.
Results approach to Real Estate focuses on Determination, Drive, Passion, and Performance. The first Quarter of 2009 shows that we GET RESULTS!
***The important component to being #2 is that we did over 50% of the production Solid Source which has 2,100 agents!!! Our average agent production blows them away! We would rather have a smaller number of agents that are successful, vs. having any agent as a number for the company size.
**We have 6 of the top 100 agents for dollar volume sold in the North Atlanta Market!
Results is a family owned and operated company that has been in the Real Estate Business for 11 years. We are proud of our rankings as our position in the market place only improves while others are falling.
The Company was formed by the Mother and Son Team of Sarah and Terry Swanson, and is managed by Terry as the Qualifying Broker.
Results approach to Real Estate focuses on Determination, Drive, Passion, and Performance. The first Quarter of 2009 shows that we GET RESULTS!
**Results had SEVEN of the top 50 Agents for Forsyth!
**Results was #2 of all production for office category for Area North Fulton, Forsyth, and Gwinnett
***The important component to being #2 is that we did over 50% of the production Solid Source which has 2,100 agents!!! Our average agent production blows them away! We would rather have a smaller number of agents that are successful, vs. having any agent as a number for the company size.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Scared Stiff to Intrigued and Interested
I began my career in Real Estate in 1992. The Country was just coming out of the last big housing downturn from the Savings and Loan debacle.
I did not know anything about the realities of where we were with the economy or housing situation…I was fresh out of College and Bartending, so I thought I had hit the jackpot of a job!
Seventeen years have passed, and looking back, I realize I did not hit the jackpot of a job…I hit the jackpot of a CAREER! I have had ups, and downs. I have made more money, at times, than I ever dreamed possible, and lost more than that in the same breath. In every situation, I enjoyed the experiences of being in the Real Estate business. I have never been as Intrigued and Interested in Real Estate as I am today.
If you don’t feel passionate about Real Estate, you should go and get passionate about something else…I suggest you get passionate about Real Estate!
Today, I look around and see three types of people in the business:
1. The Scared Stiff
2. The Scared Silly
3. The Intrigued and Interested
The Scared Stiff are simply shell shocked by how challenging the environment has become and have not made one single adjustment to their games. At the sales meetings, they have glazed looks in their eyes.
They have become walking Zombies.
Money is going out the door to stay in the business, but nothing is coming in, and they are doing nothing to improve their opportunities. They do not realize that by doing nothing, they are going to receive the same monetary measure in their bank account.
The Scared Stiff sit back and think that nobody is buying, so why try to do anything that would require effort when the result is going to yield nothing.
The Scared Stiff will view everything as the “market’s fault”, and simply see themselves waiting for when the market returns, and their business will do the same. They also believe that those that are making money are simply lucky, or have found the magic pill and are the exception, not the possibility.
Give them an educational article about what is going on, and they are not able to understand anything. This is okay, but they will not feel compelled to ask questions to try and understand…and that is not okay.
The problem with this group is that they are part of the problem with the time frame of the correction. We all know the market is going to change for the better, but nobody truly knows when. Part of when the change happens is going to be the educational process that Realtors take with the general public. In this, only the most talented, and professional Realtors will be able to truly see the signs, and relay them in a professional matter to those on the fence…
This group has two options:
1. Make changes to your game; stop being scared; start moving forward with passion
2. Make changes to your choice of careers
The Scared Silly are going about their game thinking that the only way to make it is to manipulate people and truths…twice as much as they did before the downturn started.
The problem with this group is that they are manipulating things to try and get people to use them in either buying or selling. They will eventually turn off the people they are trying to work with as this type of rhetoric always shines through; and someone that could have been a great prospect decides to do nothing because of the experience they just had with the Realtor.
They believe that nobody really wants to buy or sell today, so their job is to pressure people into doing the action they really don’t want to do.
What this group forgets is that we don’t sell homes, we sell a service, and that is an unspoken sale.
If this group goes to a sales meeting, they believe they know more than the others do, and are not willing to listen for a better way. Their way is the best way, and they will go down trying to prove it.
The Scared Silly are willing to work…they usually work too hard doing things the way they have always done it…only twice as hard! That begins to wear them down, and eventually being broke and burned out will have them leaving the business of real estate.
This group has two options:
1. Relax; change your approach; educate the public once you have educated yourself…STOP trying to think of sales as manipulating someone into doing something they don’t want to do…try it with passion vs. fear based
2. Make changes to your choice of careers
The Intrigued and Interested have distanced themselves further and further from the rest of the pack. They realize it is a game…and the only way you win in a game is to get into it and play with intensity and passion!
This group is amazed at what we are going through as an industry and Country, but are enjoying the game vs. fighting against it.
This group will study the trends of the marketplace and know more about the financing world than they ever knew before. They will read articles. They will look for improvements. They will look for new techniques to add to their performance.
They do not blame things on the market; they study what they need to do, or what new niches to fill…and fill them!
They are willing to participate and help others. They greet each challenge with a view of opportunity.
They educate the clients they work with, and allow the clients to make their mind up after a careful presentation of facts. The clients feel more secure in making a decision today, because they know they are in the right hands. There is no pressure…things just make more sense for the clients.
This group has two options:
1. Keep doing what they are doing, and make a nice living while others are struggling
2. Keep improving every day and crush the competition that is Scared
Someone told me the other day “Change does not cause stress…Resistance to change causes stress!”
In Atlanta, we sold as many homes in 2008 as we did in 2001…not bad! The problem is that we have 40% more agents than we did at that time…the correction of number of agents is happening…only the strongest shall survive!
The great news is that no matter what category you may fall under, you can make the decision to change! It is a market that is going to re-vamp the Real Estate Arena…for the better!
I did not know anything about the realities of where we were with the economy or housing situation…I was fresh out of College and Bartending, so I thought I had hit the jackpot of a job!
Seventeen years have passed, and looking back, I realize I did not hit the jackpot of a job…I hit the jackpot of a CAREER! I have had ups, and downs. I have made more money, at times, than I ever dreamed possible, and lost more than that in the same breath. In every situation, I enjoyed the experiences of being in the Real Estate business. I have never been as Intrigued and Interested in Real Estate as I am today.
If you don’t feel passionate about Real Estate, you should go and get passionate about something else…I suggest you get passionate about Real Estate!
Today, I look around and see three types of people in the business:
1. The Scared Stiff
2. The Scared Silly
3. The Intrigued and Interested
The Scared Stiff are simply shell shocked by how challenging the environment has become and have not made one single adjustment to their games. At the sales meetings, they have glazed looks in their eyes.
They have become walking Zombies.
Money is going out the door to stay in the business, but nothing is coming in, and they are doing nothing to improve their opportunities. They do not realize that by doing nothing, they are going to receive the same monetary measure in their bank account.
The Scared Stiff sit back and think that nobody is buying, so why try to do anything that would require effort when the result is going to yield nothing.
The Scared Stiff will view everything as the “market’s fault”, and simply see themselves waiting for when the market returns, and their business will do the same. They also believe that those that are making money are simply lucky, or have found the magic pill and are the exception, not the possibility.
Give them an educational article about what is going on, and they are not able to understand anything. This is okay, but they will not feel compelled to ask questions to try and understand…and that is not okay.
The problem with this group is that they are part of the problem with the time frame of the correction. We all know the market is going to change for the better, but nobody truly knows when. Part of when the change happens is going to be the educational process that Realtors take with the general public. In this, only the most talented, and professional Realtors will be able to truly see the signs, and relay them in a professional matter to those on the fence…
This group has two options:
1. Make changes to your game; stop being scared; start moving forward with passion
2. Make changes to your choice of careers
The Scared Silly are going about their game thinking that the only way to make it is to manipulate people and truths…twice as much as they did before the downturn started.
The problem with this group is that they are manipulating things to try and get people to use them in either buying or selling. They will eventually turn off the people they are trying to work with as this type of rhetoric always shines through; and someone that could have been a great prospect decides to do nothing because of the experience they just had with the Realtor.
They believe that nobody really wants to buy or sell today, so their job is to pressure people into doing the action they really don’t want to do.
What this group forgets is that we don’t sell homes, we sell a service, and that is an unspoken sale.
If this group goes to a sales meeting, they believe they know more than the others do, and are not willing to listen for a better way. Their way is the best way, and they will go down trying to prove it.
The Scared Silly are willing to work…they usually work too hard doing things the way they have always done it…only twice as hard! That begins to wear them down, and eventually being broke and burned out will have them leaving the business of real estate.
This group has two options:
1. Relax; change your approach; educate the public once you have educated yourself…STOP trying to think of sales as manipulating someone into doing something they don’t want to do…try it with passion vs. fear based
2. Make changes to your choice of careers
The Intrigued and Interested have distanced themselves further and further from the rest of the pack. They realize it is a game…and the only way you win in a game is to get into it and play with intensity and passion!
This group is amazed at what we are going through as an industry and Country, but are enjoying the game vs. fighting against it.
This group will study the trends of the marketplace and know more about the financing world than they ever knew before. They will read articles. They will look for improvements. They will look for new techniques to add to their performance.
They do not blame things on the market; they study what they need to do, or what new niches to fill…and fill them!
They are willing to participate and help others. They greet each challenge with a view of opportunity.
They educate the clients they work with, and allow the clients to make their mind up after a careful presentation of facts. The clients feel more secure in making a decision today, because they know they are in the right hands. There is no pressure…things just make more sense for the clients.
This group has two options:
1. Keep doing what they are doing, and make a nice living while others are struggling
2. Keep improving every day and crush the competition that is Scared
Someone told me the other day “Change does not cause stress…Resistance to change causes stress!”
In Atlanta, we sold as many homes in 2008 as we did in 2001…not bad! The problem is that we have 40% more agents than we did at that time…the correction of number of agents is happening…only the strongest shall survive!
The great news is that no matter what category you may fall under, you can make the decision to change! It is a market that is going to re-vamp the Real Estate Arena…for the better!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
A Wealth of Funding for First-Timers
It is no secret that Washington area housing is some of the most expensive in the country, but there's an array of programs designed to assist first-time home buyers.
First-time buyers should get themselves on every list they qualify for, Doug Myrick, the Arlington County homeownership coordinator, said at a recent panel discussion on affordability programs hosted by First Horizon National Corp., a lender.
These plans aren't reserved just for the poorest people. In recent years, the lack of "workforce" housing has propelled many jurisdictions to create programs to assist those with moderate incomes as well as county or city government employees, including teachers and police officers. For example, , a state program in Arlington County could help a single person making up to $86,500 a year buy a residence priced as high as $408,100. Income restrictions vary among jurisdictions and programs.
And there are many programs to help people with low to moderate incomes. The Virginia Housing Development Authority makes annual allocations to local jurisdictions for its Sponsoring Partnerships and Revitalizing Communities (SPARC) loans and HomeStride loans.
Jurisdictions tailor the programs to meet local needs and housing prices. In some Virginia jurisdictions, a purchaser could couple a SPARC loan with a HomeStride loan, which is a deferred payment second mortgage of up to $25,000. Other localities, such as Manassas, don't allow programs to be combined. Many places have additional programs; Alexandria has at least three others. In Maryland, residents apply for loans through approved lenders who then in essence sell the loans to the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development.
Montgomery County has programs parallel to the state's. Frederick County is working toward implementing several programs aimed at expanding affordable housing, , said Jenny Short, the county's director for Housing and Community Development.
The District has a few programs. One is aimed specifically toward government employees; another is for police officers. First-time buyers in the District who meet income requirements are also eligible for a federal tax credit of up to $5,000.
Other jurisdictions also offer special programs for local government employees such as teachers, police officers and firefighters, as well as to those who work for participating employers. For instance, Maryland's "House Keys 4 Employees" plan matches up to $5,000 where the participating employer and employee would chip in $5,000 each. Arlington County is also partnering with seven local employers for a similar program.
The would-be buyer must follow the jurisdiction's process, which often includes a prescreening followed by several steps. In many cases, the purchaser must take an accredited home buying class. These are given by the government or by approved companies and nonprofit groups.
The federal government defines a first-time buyer as someone who has not owned a home within three years. All the programs require that participants live in the house as their primary residence.
Washington Post
By Sarah Abruzzese
---------------------
I'll keep posting relevant articles that will help keep you in the know!
First-time buyers should get themselves on every list they qualify for, Doug Myrick, the Arlington County homeownership coordinator, said at a recent panel discussion on affordability programs hosted by First Horizon National Corp., a lender.
These plans aren't reserved just for the poorest people. In recent years, the lack of "workforce" housing has propelled many jurisdictions to create programs to assist those with moderate incomes as well as county or city government employees, including teachers and police officers. For example, , a state program in Arlington County could help a single person making up to $86,500 a year buy a residence priced as high as $408,100. Income restrictions vary among jurisdictions and programs.
And there are many programs to help people with low to moderate incomes. The Virginia Housing Development Authority makes annual allocations to local jurisdictions for its Sponsoring Partnerships and Revitalizing Communities (SPARC) loans and HomeStride loans.
Jurisdictions tailor the programs to meet local needs and housing prices. In some Virginia jurisdictions, a purchaser could couple a SPARC loan with a HomeStride loan, which is a deferred payment second mortgage of up to $25,000. Other localities, such as Manassas, don't allow programs to be combined. Many places have additional programs; Alexandria has at least three others. In Maryland, residents apply for loans through approved lenders who then in essence sell the loans to the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development.
Montgomery County has programs parallel to the state's. Frederick County is working toward implementing several programs aimed at expanding affordable housing, , said Jenny Short, the county's director for Housing and Community Development.
The District has a few programs. One is aimed specifically toward government employees; another is for police officers. First-time buyers in the District who meet income requirements are also eligible for a federal tax credit of up to $5,000.
Other jurisdictions also offer special programs for local government employees such as teachers, police officers and firefighters, as well as to those who work for participating employers. For instance, Maryland's "House Keys 4 Employees" plan matches up to $5,000 where the participating employer and employee would chip in $5,000 each. Arlington County is also partnering with seven local employers for a similar program.
The would-be buyer must follow the jurisdiction's process, which often includes a prescreening followed by several steps. In many cases, the purchaser must take an accredited home buying class. These are given by the government or by approved companies and nonprofit groups.
The federal government defines a first-time buyer as someone who has not owned a home within three years. All the programs require that participants live in the house as their primary residence.
Washington Post
By Sarah Abruzzese
---------------------
I'll keep posting relevant articles that will help keep you in the know!
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