Monthly Archives: December 2013

13 Ideas for Real Estate Agents to Fill a Snow Day

20 Friday Dec 2013

Posted by in Liberty, Real Estate Career Advice

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When the weather map looks more like this,

winter_weather_map

than it does all pretty and sunshine-y, you might consider how to keep yourself productive. Let’s face it, Midwest weather isn’t always fun, but turn that down time into something you can look forward to!

Here’s 13 things you can do to keep your real estate business moving forward on a snow day:

1. Take the time to update your database. Make some cocoa and call your friends to double check email addresses and mailing addresses.

2. Learn Evernote. Forewards, backwards and sideways. There’s nothing like this program to keep a busy real estate agent organized.

3. Work on your customer follow up program. Do you need to schedule gifts, set up a mailing campaign? Research it now and put it together so it’s effortless in your busy months.

4. Watch all the training videos you can find. There’s a ton on YouTube, including the famous Watercooler with Chris Smith and Jimmy Mackin. You can find presentation videos from Tom Ferry and all sorts of great stuff. (Our Better Homes & Gardens agents can log into the Greenhouse and find even more!) Turn off  Netflix…NOW.

5. Revamp your listing and buyer presentations for 2014. Include your 2013 successes and testimonials!

6. For those in Missouri, this will be a license renewal year—you COULD go ahead and get that out of the way right now….on your couch.

7. All our local association contract forms will be changing for 2014. Review the changes and get comfortable with the new pages and language now, before you write your next contract.

8. Set up your next neighborhood campaign. Take the time to research the market and see which neighborhood fits your criteria. Go ahead and schedule some dates to put mailings (contact) together and put it on your calendar.

9. Plan how you’re going to keep in touch with your Super COI this year. Lunches? Dinner party? Plan it, organize it, get it on the books!

10. I assume you’ve set your 2014 goals. No? Get it done now. What are they, how will you get there, do you need help?

11. Learn ALL about digital signatures. No matter what program you use, why not take this down time to get comfortable with it? Send yourself a couple of contracts in DotLoop, or invite a friend to figure it out with you and send things back and forth.

12. Check through your cell phone and get rid of apps you’re not using (to add space for those you’re going to learn about in #4) Make sure every contact in there is up to date and figure out shortcuts to make yourself more savvy on the go. YouTube can help with this as well.

13. Go out to the garage and clean your signs. No really. This is a great stay-at-home task. Get them ready for better weather!

Wishing you all a safe and productive holiday season!

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Real Estate Market Activity, November

18 Wednesday Dec 2013

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Real Estate Market Activity, November

Last month, we had some negative news to go along with some positive. To start off, you’ll see that sales went down throughout the entire region, though Clay County fared better than others. So, we are seeing a bit of a holiday slowdown. The positive news is that sales prices continue to climb while inventory has remained low. This has kept Clay County’s absorption rate at 5.38 months—giving the advantage to sellers. So, if you’re looking to list and sell quickly, I would take some time, enjoy the holidays, and start talking to a REALTOR in early January, before we see an influx of homes coming on the market for spring.

Clay/Ray Counties
Clay/Ray County sales were down for the month by 17.1% from 2012. Units were at 214 versus 258 last year. Year to date, unit sales are up 5.9%, with 3,901 units this year versus 3,685 last year.
The average sales price for the month was up 13.9% from last year, with an average price of $162,850. Year to date, the average price is up 9.2%. The average price is $159,452, versus $146,009 last year.
New listings were down 38 units to 336 or 10.2% from last year’s 374 units. Inventory is down 3.3% from last year and is running at 1,802 units. Inventory is down 62 units from last month.

Platte County
Platte County sales were down for the month by 40.3% from 2012. Units were at 74 versus 124 last year. Year to date, unit sales are up 3.2%, with 1,666 units this year versus 1,614 last year.
The average sales price for the month was up 13.5% from last year, with an average price of $213,078. Year to date, the average price is up 6.6% from last year. The average price is $203,655 versus $191,094 last year.
New listings in Platte County were up 7 units to 160 or 4.6% from the 153 units last year. Inventory decreased 2.6% from last year and is running at 798 units. Inventory is down 38 units from last month.

Heartland
Sales for the entire Heartland area were at 1,828, down for the month by 8.9%, or 179 units. The average price was up 9.1%, and averaging $187,830. Year to date, sales were up 7.4% or 2,051 units for a total of 29,761 for 2013. The average price for the year is running at $183,013, up 9.3% from 2012’s average of $167,475.

Posted by | Filed under Home Buyer Advice, Home Seller Advice, Kansas City Market Stats, Liberty, MO

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Christmas On The Plaza

13 Friday Dec 2013

Posted by in MO, Random Thoughts

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I have memories of my father’s gloved hand holding mine while walking in the snow on the plaza when I was six or so after dining at McDonald’s. All the store windows were dressed up for Christmas and the toy store was like a fairytale land. This memory is forever in my heart, especially during the holidays.
Few things have a hold on me like the Kansas City Plaza lights at Christmastime.
Last night, I was blessed with the opportunity to stop and take a look at the lights from an upper view that was as romantic as it was breathtaking. This city has always been my home, but at Christmastime it takes on this magical power that transports me back to my childhood and all things wonderful.

plaza lights

I was talking to a lady last night about the plaza and she asked, “what’s the big deal? Why does everyone refer to it as ‘on the Plaza?” You don’t ever hear people say “on Zona Rosa” like it’s a big deal.

You see The Country Club Plaza has long been revered as a place of affluence. Long ago, if you bought something on the plaza, it immediately took on more value, and so did you. While we took in the sights, I was doubly blessed to be wearing something that not only has Plaza history, but family history as well—my hubby’s late grandmother’s coat. Just look at this label!

coat
The plaza lighting ceremony dates all the way back to 1930. What used to be a single strand of lights over a doorway has become 15 blocks of beautiful lights, and a MUST SEE for anyone in KC during the winter. I’m sure there’s millions of people with similar stories about the plaza (and I’m sure many of you think of it as your special place), but it will forever be where my heart calls home.

A huge thanks to my hubby for going out of his way again to give me another magical Christmas memory.

Home Selling and The Holidays

09 Monday Dec 2013

Posted by in Home Buyer Advice, Home Seller Advice, Moving, Packing

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The music is starting to change in the stores and I’ve noticed lots of green, red and glitz showing up everywhere I look. The holidays are here.

I recently had a conversation with an agent about a frustrated seller that was going crazy keeping the house in showing condition and upset about not being able to decorate for the holidays. The regular thought process is to take the house off the market during the holidays and put it back on in early spring. My advice this year? Let them decorate and leave it on the market!

You see, this fall/winter season is proving to be much different than previous years. In most areas, the inventory is incredibly low and the interest rates are still low. Normally around the holidays, we’ll see a slow down in the ‘deal’ buyers and only see the buyers that absolutely HAVE to buy a home. This year, however, more buyers seem to be out looking at homes and ready to make a purchase. There’s a fear of higher interest rates and higher home prices after the beginning of 2014.

So, if you’re a winter seller and your home is still on the market, I’d like to offer a couple of quick tips to make you more comfortable selling during the holidays. First, for those ‘over the top’ decorators, make sure you take a step back this year and consider only putting up half of your decorations. Those decorations should be tasteful and fit in the space. You don’t want the buyer to think your home is too small for them to enjoy during the holidays. Buyers don’t mind a little decor, some even prefer it. Also, it’s better to stow away the wrapped presents. No matter how safe the area, crime is high during the holidays. There is no need to show off to strangers walking through your house. Having company? Call your agent to request the home not be shown while they’re around. And last but not least, lights are fine, but enough lights to land a plane—-too much. If you can’t resist the temptation to be creative, put some lights around your real estate sign.

Relax, enjoy your friends and family.

Overreact Much? #agentmatch

05 Thursday Dec 2013

Posted by in Home Buyer Advice

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I can’t really figure out what’s going on with the real estate agent community right now. The reactions to Realtor.com’s Agent Match are trending fast and furious across the web and some great points were made on last night’s Watercooler. For the record, I’m not leaning one direction or the other, just being reasonable.

I’ve been around this industry quite a while now and I completely understand the thoughts coming from both sides of the argument. I agree some adjustments should be made in order to present a true picture of ALL business. I also, personally, help coach and train brand new agents and can see where their production being published might hinder their ability to land a customer against someone more productive. (But, of course, it will only be those customers actually looking at and trusting this tool from Realtor.com.) I coach said agents on customer service, reputation, customer relationship management, negotiations, contracts, ethics and several other areas. I believe if they are great students that can convey what they’ve learned to potential customers, they have a hell of a chance of winning over customers regardless of their numbers. You see, part of success at sales has always been and always will be confidence in yourself.

Realtor.com has created and is testing consumer reaction to a tool. Just an FYI—consumers have a million tools they can use to research agents ahead of time. I wonder if the opposing side has checked lately. Are they as passionate about not being tagged in ‘crazy night out’ photos as they are about hiding their production? Are they equally upset about the reviews on Zillow, Yelp, Angie’s list, etc? And yes, I also understand the current numbers are being pulled from data found on the listing side.

But it’s NAR–how could they do this to us?

Let’s cool off a little and take a step back and really look at this from a mile-high view. At some point, is it possible a popular real estate website will get a hold of this data and publish it? Of course. Who would you rather have in charge? NAR or someone else? Could it possibly be NAR is trying to protect real estate agents by being the first to organize and publish this data?

Is it possible Realtor.com will find this tool isn’t useful for consumers and completely pull the plug on it? Yes. That’s why it’s being TESTED.

Do consumers solely rely on one tool to help make a decision? Not just no, but hell no.

Will this consumer tool trump your reputation as a fantastic agent in the industry? No.

Will your real estate friends and co-workers be sitting in the back room looking at how many houses you sold last year? Sure. We do that now anyway—this tool will just make it easier.

Will this consumer tool take away all the education you’ve had, all the knowledge you’ve gained, all the contacts you’ve made? Umm, that’s a no.

As you can see, I have 101 points I could make about this. But really, my point is this: give them a break! The lashing they’ve taken over this is out of hand. If you’re upset and you don’t like it, fine. Answer the questions they keep asking, “What data would YOU want to see for this tool? How would you change it?” There’s nothing wrong with letting them know you don’t like it and why, but stop and think before you do. Use your professionalism and negotiation skills. Present issues alongside solutions. Check into the advisory board and see if you think it’s a good panel of your peers representing you.

As long as real estate’s been around, there’s been consumer tools we haven’t liked. In small towns, a consumer tool could be that guy working at the bank whose car you hit on that icy morning 5 years ago that hasn’t liked you since. Totally out of your control, but I bet you’re still able to grow and thrive in spite of it.

Be attentive to developments and provide feedback as compelled, but don’t thrash about like this is the end of the world. It’s just not professional and this is a relationship business where your reputation matters.