In recent years the rise in technology and the competitive housing market has forced REALTORS® to work harder and longer hours. Driving from showing to showing, answering emails and phone calls at all hours of the night—it all takes a toll, and the stress can mount. Fortunately, there are ways to manage your stress that will not only improve your quality of life, but might also improve your sales as you become more efficient at your job.
The signs of stress
Do you feel chronically anxious or depressed? Are you irritable around family, friends, and coworkers? Have you lost interest in hobbies or work? Are you socially withdrawn or experiencing physical tension? Are you drinking too much? If you answered yes to any of these, you might be under excessive stress at work.
The decision to purchase a home requires a buyer to weigh a lot of options. Leaving the seemingly comfortable confines of renting and becoming a homeowner is, after all, a big leap. As your clients grapple with the decision to stop renting and move on to purchasing a home, you can give them a nudge by being an education resource and doing your best to offer even-handed advice and information on the issue of buying a home vs. renting. You clearly have a stake in this decision but help educate your clients as to WHY now more than ever buying a home trumps renting.
Interest rates are low… for now
Remind clients that rates are at levels we haven’t seen since the 1970s, and are predicted to remain relatively unchanged for another year. If your clients wait too long buy their home, they might lose out on low interest rates that are predicted to come to an end with 2012. We are at the bottom end of the interest rate cycle right now and as it begins to edge higher in the next few years, landing a low interest loan will become much more difficult. Continue reading »
The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo is just a week away (May 14-19) and we’re looking forward to an informative and entertaining gathering in Washington, D.C. Whether you’re able to join us in the nation’s capital or not, the events and activities surrounding Midyear should not be missed. With thousands of attendees, three hotels, six days of meetings and courses, and the much-anticipated Rally to Protect the American Dream, we’ve put together a guide on how to get the most out of Midyear 2012.
The Scout Motto
Be prepared. Target the meetings and courses you want to attend and don’t stretch yourself too thin – don’t forget – Midyear is spread over three separate hotels. Prepare lists of forums and gatherings you definitely like to attend as well as attendees who you know you’d like to meet. You can use the Event Planner to help create your own custom schedule or check the left sidebar for suggested schedules and a speaker directory. Continue reading »
Doesn’t it always feel like the first time every time you sell to a first-time homebuyer? In many respects your job is to shepherd them through the purchasing process and hold the door open to their new home. To take your first-time buyer from shopping to purchasing requires a lot of investment, a bit of armchair psychology, and a lot of research, and you absolutely must stay on your toes. To help REALTORS® make the sale, we put together 10 tips to help you close the deal with first-time buyers.
1. If they’re on the fence, push them off: The national average in cost of rent rose significantly from 2009 to 2011 and trends indicate that those rental prices will keep rising at least through 2013. The long-term cost of renting is much more expensive than the cost of buying home. Make sure your buyer is aware of cost-savings associated with buying and owning a home. Continue reading »
With the predominance of mobile technology and the ability to access any and all information from a mobile device or tablet, the office is at your fingertips 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Gone are the days when a REALTOR® found themselves at a listing needing a valuable piece of information that was on a computer in the office or scribbled on a piece of paper at home. Today’s technology allows REALTORS® to sync and streamline everything you need to keep your information in one place, accessible at all times.
Not only is the technology convenient, there are tangible results to embracing it. A recent survey concluded that real estate agents who spent more on technology earned the most – $100,000 or more per annum, whereas those who took less advantage of technology earned less. Investing in high-quality mobile technology is an investment in future earnings and will help keep REALTORS® ahead of the curve. Continue reading »
NAR launched a new and improved REALTOR.org website with a new emphasis on you, the member. We think you’ll find it easier to find the information you’re looking for, keep track of the topics that matter to you most and experience all that we have to offer on a beautiful, dynamic website.
8 Top Features of the New REALTOR.org
1. Built using Responsive Web Design, REALTOR.org responds to any device your using, no matter the brand, operating system or screen resolution. That means your REALTOR.org experience will be the same on your laptop or on your mobile device. Continue reading »
With more than 150 million users in more than 200 countries, LinkedIn is one of the most popular social media platforms, specifically with B2B and B2C brands and professionals. LinkedIn more than just an online resume – it can be a huge contributor to a REALTOR®’s lead generation efforts as well as taking your networking to the next level.
A recent study of over 5,000 businesses found that traffic from LinkedIn generated more visitor-to-lead conversions than Facebook or Twitter. Since more than 90% of home buyers use the internet as an information source and many of them use LinkedIn in their professional lives, building a strong presence on the social network could pay big dividends.
Create Your Profile
Create a complete profile on LinkedIn that provides all pertinent information about your background, expertise, specialties and awards. Continue reading »
The U.S. real estate market is rife with international buyers looking for high returns on investments, but who specifically are these buyers? The spectrum is broad but there is some key data, such as country of origin, buying power, and interests that can be extrapolated to help you better understand your market.
International buyers in the U.S. come from over 70 countries, and accounted for more than $41 billion worth of existing home purchases between 2010 and 2011. According to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® 2011 Profile of International Home Buying Activity, international purchases surged by $16 billion for the past year ending March 2011, fueled by low prices and plentiful inventory. With so many investors coming the U.S., the international demographic warrants careful consideration.
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The Realtors Property Resource® is an online real estate library exclusively for REALTORS®, providing valuable data on every property in the Unites States. Based on collaborative efforts between REALTORS® and the real estate community, the mission is to reinforce the REALTORS® value in the marketplace by keeping you ahead of the technology curve to be better able to serve today’s technology-empowered consumer.
To help familiarize yourself with the RPR™, here’s a guide to its features and how you can use it to help give you the best competitive edge possible.
Realtors Property Resource®
Key Features
- Records on more than 147 million parcels of property, including historical and current data.
- Mortgage refinance and lien data
- Zoning, permits, plat maps and property information.
- Neighborhood demographics and schools.
- The largest database of foreclosure information by county in the industry.
- Dynamic mapping including flood maps
- RPR™ can be used on iPads and mobile devices giving REALTORS® access to data and reports at any time, right in the palm of their hands.
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With the current economic conditions the number of foreclosures and short sale properties on the market is significant, making it an ongoing issue for many REALTORS® who may not be as experienced with the process and have the unenviable task of clearing these sales as efficiently as possible.
The federal government is trying to help the situation with the $25 billion National Mortgage Settlement designed to provide eligible homeowners with relief as well as implementing across-the-board servicing standards meant to improve borrower communication and servicing consistency. (For more information read: National Mortgage Settlement and REALTORS®: 5 Quick Takeaways.)
The challenges of buying foreclosures and short sales are numerous. Unresponsive lenders, lost documents that require multiple submissions, inaccurate or unrealistic home value assessments and long processing delays can cause buyers to walk away. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® offers Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource (SFR®) certification to provide professionals and clients with the training to manage these tricky transactions.
Here’s a list of tips to help REALTORS® navigate the space and offer the best possible services to their clients.
7 Tips When Buying Foreclosures and Short Sale Homes
Patience is a Virtue
Agents and sellers tend to establish a low asking price to attract buyers. Banks can be unaware of the asking price and since they have the last word on whether to accept or reject offers, and since properties with low initial asking prices can spark feeding frenzies, buyers need to remain patient throughout the process, which can take months.
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