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Each month, our print newsletter Real Estate Broker’s Insider provides in-depth information and ideas to help readers grow their businesses and increase their profits.
But we often have valuable background material, additional information, or related resources that we just can’t fit in the newsletter. Listed below are a wide range of documents that add further insight and understanding to the articles in Real Estate Broker’s Insider.
Learn more about Real Estate Broker’s Insider.
May 2012
Maybe buyers aren’t liars, perhaps you’re just not asking the right questions — Buyers are liars, or so goes the conventional wisdom among Realtors frustrated by home shoppers who can’t pull the trigger. But maybe the problem isn’t with the buyers. Maybe it’s with buyer agents who don’t ask the right questions and learn the needs and expectations of their clients. Try coach Carla Cross’s survey, which poses a variety of questions about the buyer’s expectations for the timing of the transaction and more.
Buyer’s Home Information Questionnaire.
April 2012
Social networking is crucial, but it takes discipline to spend a little time, not a lot — Real estate trainer Brad Hanks has been teaching agents and brokers to use social networking, and he sees real estate professionals making a number of mistakes. Click for Hanks’ Social Media Accountability Scorecard.
March 2012
As the battle rages over online listings, two big brokers pull properties from sites — For years, brokers have complained about lead aggregators such as Zillow and Trulia. And for years, brokers have set aside their concerns and continued to post listings on the sites. Now all that has changed. Click here to see why Jim Abbott, President of ARG Abbott Realty Group has pulled out and why Fred Glick of US Spaces has not.
Teach agents to raise their game to give consumers what they want — A tough market means customer satisfaction with agents has dropped. But coach and former broker Carla Cross says, “It’s not hard to actually satisfy consumers, if you know what they want.” And that means accurate information on market trends says Cross who recommends using this worksheet.
February 2012
Door-knocking push helps agents find short sale candidates — In typical times, trolling for clients by knocking on doors can feel like an exercise in futility. But in a difficult period that finds most homeowners in some neighborhoods underwater, door-to-door salesmanship makes more sense. That’s the theory behind Coldwell Banker Premier Realty’s Neighborhood Awareness Campaign. Once a week, agents at the Las Vegas brokerage venture out in search of clients. Materials that they distribute include a door hanger/invitation and a flier.
Realtor associations’ fight for members lands in federal court — In an unusual fight between Realtor groups, the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale filed suit in federal court against the Miami Association of Realtors. See one of the ads that sparked the suit.
December 2011
At Realtor associations, revenue falls but CEO pay rises — In the aftermath of the housing crash, brokers everywhere have been forced to do more with less. At the nation’s largest Realtor associations, however, CEO paychecks have risen despite falling revenues. See the analysis from Real Estate Broker’s Insider.
November 2011
Police officer-turned-broker urges consumers that now is the time to buy — When asked about the single most successful thing his company is doing now, Shaun Duggins, president of Carol Jones Realtors, doesn’t hesitate to mention his “Right Now” campaign. Click here to see four billboard ads.
Realogy’s revenue up, loss narrows — Realogy says its third-quarter revenue rose to $1.16 billion this year, up from $1.05 billion a year ago, and its loss narrowed to $30 million from $33 million a year ago. Click to see all the details.
October 2011
Brokers ramp up international marketing efforts, but some see malaise abroad, too — With American buyers reeling from a deep downturn, it only makes sense to approach bargain-hunting buyers from other parts of the world.
Read the National Association of Realtors’ Profile of International Home Buying Activity 2011.
August 2011
A ‘yearning’ for ownership means Latinos could drive housing recovery — Latino buyers are poised to play a major role in the nation’s housing recovery, The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals says. View their report State of Hispanic Homeownership.
July 2011
Relocation business picks up, but so do referral fees that cut into commissions — Ellie Sullivan of Weichert Relocation Resources Inc. is cautiously optimistic about the relocation market. “A slowly recovering economy, slightly improved employment picture and steadier housing markets have brought some much-needed stability to corporate relocation,” she says. Read Weichert Relocation Resources’ mobility survey here.
June 2011
Tips for making the most of QR code marketing — See examples of QR codes in real estate marketing and a short video from John Foley, president of marketing firm interlinkONE.
May 2011
Century 21 back on airwaves, plans Super Bowl ad — Only two years after calling television ads a waste of money, Century 21 is back on the air in a big way. See the new Century 21 ads here.
ERA arrangement means 5,000 yard signs in Louisiana — ERA’s arrangement with Latter & Blum is its first “ERA Powered” deal, which lets a local firm keep its name while receiving referrals and other services from the national system. Note the use of the ERA name on these yard signs.
March 2011
Economist’s study finds real estate competition alive and well — Jason Beck, professor of economics at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, GA, looked at 90 markets throughout the country. He studied the market share of each firm in each market in 2007 and 2009 and used the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, a commonly used measure of market concentration, to gauge how fiercely brokers fought for market share. Read the report Competition and Market Structure in Local Real Estate Markets.
Short sales, listing in Realtor.com create compensation confusion — Commission disputes always are a thorny issue, and two new trends — the increased frequency of short sales and the rise of the Internet as a source of consumer information — create areas of potential misunderstanding. Take a self-quiz and read case studies.
Nextage Realty, Casa Latino merge — Nextage Realty International has taken over most of the offices of the Casa Latino franchise, and its locations will take on the Nextage Realty brand. Click here to see Real Estate Broker’s Insider’s September 2010 profile of Nextage Realty.
February 2011
Canadian broker embraces paperless transactions, virtual office — Jessica Stoner, owner of RE/MAX Alpine Realty has dubbed her Calgary, Ontario office iREALTY, and has developed a suitable manifesto for the 15 home-based agents.
December 2010
Social networking’s keyword? Community — “There’s no denying that social networking has worked for some companies and been a flat-out flop for others,” says Barry Libert, author of Social Nation: How to Harness the Power of Social Media to Attract Customers, Motivate Employees, and Grow Your Business. “Most companies are confused about what social networking really is and about how to successfully leverage it.”
Read the first chapter of Social Nation here.
November 2010
National broker combines virtual model with residual income — Connect Realty has recruited 1,200 agents in two years by seizing on two hot trends — virtual offices and residual income streams.
See an example of a Connect Realty Connect Cafe.
Housing affordability is at a 41-year high — An average family would need only 16.9 percent of its income to pay the mortgage on a typical home, according to Beacon Economic’s new affordability index.
View Beacon Economics’ affordability index.
October 2010
Rebates, low overhead boost broker’s business — Steve deGuzman launched his brokerage only three years ago, and what an eventful three years they’ve been. In the early days of deGuzman’s Rehava Real Estate Store, he angered competing Realtors in Charleston, SC, with his buyer rebates and his “Break up with your agent” billboards.
See the billboard here.
Chicago housing discrimination case spurs $100 million suit — In a case that’s sure to raise the profile of housing discrimination claims, a prominent trial attorney has filed a $100 million discrimination suit on behalf of a black radio personality.
See the discrimination suit here.
September 2010
Broker uses emails to agents for recruiting, property marketing — Broker Kent Tunnell has sold homes and recruited agents as a result of his email blasts. Working with an email marketing service makes it possible for even the technologically challenged.
Read reviews of the top services from www.toptenreviews.com.
August 2010
Broker combines virtual office with lead machine — There’s nothing new about virtual brokerages, where agents work from home offices. And there’s nothing new about lead generation websites that persuade home shoppers to provide their contact information to agents. But combining both concepts in one business model? That is something new. Fred Doleac, broker-owner of Virtual Homes Real Estate in Amherst, NH, has been using just such a model for years.
Read his white paper on technology in the real estate industry.
July 2010
Smaller, sleeker offices are cheaper, more in line with agents’ needs — Flat-screen displays in the windows catch the attention of passers-by. There’s a living room-like area with couches, tables, and lamps. Art by local artists adorns one wall, and a history of 77-year-old Coldwell Banker Caine is displayed on the other wall.
See photos of the real estate office of the future.
May 2010
Broker’s ads stress emotions — Instead of stressing the bargains to be found, Edina Realty’s new ads focus on buyers’ emotional connections to their homes.
March 2010
Mobile Branding — See examples of [dot] Real Estate’s branded cars that cruise the streets of San Francisco.
Not so affordable? — See a contrarian report on affordability trends from the Center for Housing Policy.
February 2010
The inventory of existing homes doesn’t look so daunting — But add in the “shadow” inventory of bank-owned properties expected to flood the market, and the inventory numbers don’t look so cheerful, according to these charts by First American CoreLogic.
RESPA reform brings new good-faith estimates — Mortgage reforms that took effect January 1 will help consumers shop for the best mortgage deal, avoid harmful loan offers, and save the typical borrower $700 at the closing table, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says. Click here to see HUD’s sample Good Faith Estimate form.
January 2010
Top-quality brokerages stress constant improvement — Bob Bowes of Bowes, Pennell & Thompson uses a quality certification program plus customer-service training at weekly meetings to ensure customer satisfaction. Learn how three broker/owners are using quality-certification programs to market their agencies.
Internet buyers are no longer low-maintenance, but they are crucial to your business — Not too long ago, Internet buyers were far more satisfied with their agents than were traditional buyers. Data from the California Association of Realtors now shows that satisfaction rates for Internet and traditional buyers are the same and declining.
December 1, 2009
Keeping swine flu out of your company requires vigilance — and plenty of hand sanitizer — Brokers have responded to the swine-flu scare with a variety of reactions that range from a shrug to a detailed response. Disaster planning experts say most businesses aren’t ready for a severe outbreak. “Probably not a very high percentage of businesses are prepared,” says Bob Boyd, chief executive of Agility Recovery Solutions in Charlotte, NC. Click here for tips on preparing for a swine flu outbreak.
Novel scapegoat for housing bubble: Urban planners and their growth-management rules — Add another culprit to the list of housing bubble suspects: The boom was caused mainly by strict regulation of building in markets such as California and Florida, argues Randal O’Toole, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. Read O’Tool’s fascinating and controversial report here.
GMAC, Atlanta broker in lawsuit — A large Atlanta broker owes GMAC Real Estate $347,147, GMAC says in a federal lawsuit. GMAC filed a breach-of-contract claim against Metro Brokers Inc., Chief Executive Officer Kevin Levent, and Chief Financial Officer Clyde Carver. Here is a copy of GMAC’s suit.
November 1, 2009
Collapse over, but don’t expect a dramatic comeback, NAR says — The worst of the housing market’s collapse is over, and real estate is poised for a long, slow healing process, says Jed Smith, an economist for the National Association of Realtors.
Click here to see NAR’s U.S. Economic Outlook: September 2009.
Simple tips and tricks to help you connect with others — Whether you’re trying to win new clients or recruit and retain agents, the connections you make with others are crucial to your success. In The Connectors: How the World”s Most Successful Businesspeople Build Relationships and Win Clients for Life, marketer Maribeth Kuzmeski offers a wealth of tips for getting others to like you. We summarize her best ideas in the November issue of Real Estate Broker’s Insider and provide an insightful article she has written titled, “Nine No-Fail Ways to Boost Referrals for Your Business”.
October 1, 2009
Realtor.com top site, search phrase — Realtor.com not only is the most-visited real estate site on the Internet but also the most-entered search phrase, according to research by Hitwise. Realtor.com remained the No. 1 real estate site in August by a wide margin. Yahoo! Real Estate, Zillow, ZipRealty, and Rent.com rounded out the top five.
Popular search phrases after “realtor.com” included “real estate,” “Zillow” and “remax.”
To see Hitwise’s report for August, just click the link.
Florida broker uses book groups, Friday cookouts to build teamwork — To keep agents and staff motivated and happy, Jim and Sherry Davidson of Davidson Realty in St. Augustine, FL, try to create a family atmosphere. Every Friday at lunchtime, Jim grills burgers in the company’s ornate patio, which includes a stone fireplace. Meanwhile, Sherry has set up a series of study groups that look at useful books.
Over the years, REBI has asked readers about their favorite business books. Here are a dozen of their best suggestions.
September 15, 2009
It’s nearly official: Housing market hits bottom — Finally, it appears that the sickening freefall in the housing market is over. “It is real and it looks like a turn,” Karl Case, an economics professor at Wellesley College and co-creator of the S&P/Case- Shiller index, said in an interview. “It’s not going down any more and it’s beginning to come up. That’s very good for the future of this financial problem.”
The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index, which tracks 20 metropolitan areas, rose for three months in a row from April through June. And the index fell 15.4 percent in June from a year earlier, the smallest dip since April 2008.
Click for a spreadsheet showing the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index for the nation’s 20 largest metro areas. As always, raising numbers indicate rising housing prices, while falling numbers indicate falling prices.
September 1, 2009
In difficult year, customer satisfaction scores fall, reinforce importance of agents — Consumers grew less satisfied with real estate brokers in 2009, according to J.D. Power and Associates’ second annual Home Buyer/Seller Study. The average score in J.D. Power’s buyer survey fell to 791 out of 1,000 in 2009 from 811 last year. The average score in the seller survey remained the same, although two brokers that received below-average scores in last year’s survey weren’t included in this year’s numbers.
In addition to the data provided in the September 1 issue of Real Estate Broker’s Insider, J.D. Power and Associates provided the following two charts, which show customer satisfaction ratings for a range of key attributes:
August 15, 2009
“Print is dying,” study of real estate ads concludes — Real estate professionals are growing increasingly skeptical of the power of print ads, according to a new survey by Advanced Interactive Media Group.
Even so, its Real Estate Advertising 2009 report finds a number of contradictions in how Realtors feel and how they act.
Click here for the full ranking of the effectiveness of 18 methods of advertising.
July 15, 2009
Worst is over for housing market, says NAR economist — Falling prices and stable incomes mean buyers can afford houses again. A study by IHS Global Insight says that homes in most parts of the country are undervalued. Las Vegas homes, for example, were undervalued by 41 percent in the first quarter, while Houston houses were underpriced by 37 percent.
Click here to read IHS Global Insight’s study on home valuations and check values in your area.
Aiming to attract agents? Try staging your office — Staging is all the rage for sellers these days, but says Adam Lerman, Century 21’s national recruiting director and The Recruiting Network’s Recruiter of the Year for 2009 it may be time to stage your office.
Read Learman’s six tips for staging your office here.
June 15, 2009
Sluggish jumbo-mortgage market hampers recovery — Even as the low end of the market sets a blistering pace for sales, the high end of the housing market is languishing. The National Association of Realtors blames the “ongoing credit crunch in the jumbo-mortgage market.”
Even buyers with stellar credit scores and plenty of cash for a down payment face limited availability and unusually high interest rates for jumbo loans.
Click here to read NARs report on jumbo loans.
June 1, 2009
For aging boomers, 55-plus communities grow more tempting — Most baby boomers want to stay home and “age in place,” but a large and growing number — more than 1.2 million households — are moving to active-adult communities designed to meet their needs, according to a study by the National Association of Home Builders and the MetLife Mature Market Institute.
To see the full report, Housing for the 55+ Market: Trends and Insights on Boomers and Beyond, click here.
May 15, 2009
Broker goes independent, stresses foreclosures, market bottom — Low-priced sales are dominating the market right now, says Roger D. Chaussee, broker-owner of Trademark Realtors in Riverside, CA. “Homes under $200,000 that are well-priced are getting multiple offers.”
To underscore that point, Chaussee wrote up his findings in a one-page article that he distributed to agents and the local newspaper. In it, he argues that there will be no single market bottom but rather a series of bottoms for different price ranges and neighborhoods.
Read Chaussee’s article on the market bottom here.
May 1, 2009
Coldwell Banker debuts TV ads — Century 21 has stopped national TV advertising, but Coldwell Banker Real Estate continues to invest in the medium.
Coldwell Banker recently rolled out its 2009 campaign, which will appear on television and in print and online. One spot, “Iconic Homes,” features notable properties such as the White House. At the end of the ad, a tagline directs consumers to www.coldwellbanker.com for information on the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers. A second ad is narrated by company founders “Coldwell” and “Banker.” They banter about the firm’s new smart phone listing platform.
To see the commercials, click here.
April 15, 2009
Las Vegas broker’s foreclosure bus tours bring in buyers — Ever since early 2008, RE/MAX Central in Las Vegas has been hosting three tours a week of the city’s best real estate bargains. Usually about 20 bargain hunters board the brokerage’s 40-seat bus. During the three-hour trip, they see half a dozen listings in a variety of price ranges.
Conducting regular bus tours isn’t cheap. RE/MAX Central spent about $100,000 to buy a used coach, refurbish it, and emblazon it with the TourVegashomes.com web address. Then there’s the cost of the bus driver, diesel fuel and insurance for the bus, foreclosure booklets given to buyers, and refreshments served to the bargain hunters. And RE/MAX Central pays for print advertising, Internet marketing, and direct mail to promote the tours.
To see the attractively refurbished coach, click here.
April 1, 2009
Broker offers pricey fee-for-service and full-service — Louis Herrera markets fee-forservice offerings to clients, but don’t call him a discounter. Herrera, head of RT Brokerage Services in Seattle, charges as much as $235 an hour for his time.
To learn more about Herrera’s business model and fee schedule, click here.
Time to bolster marketing — Stephann Cotton, head of Florida real estate marketing firm Cotton & Co., predicts a significant turnaround in the near future.
“When the market changes, I think it’s going to change quickly,” Cotton says. “As soon as the market stabilizes with pricing and inventories, a lot of people who are seeing an opportunity in today’s environment are going to be jumping in.” Cotton & Co. recently surveyed 1,198 potential buyers and finds signs that they’re poised to buy, but only when they’re convinced the bottom has arrived.
Click here to read the entire Cotton & Co. report: A Snapshot of the 2009 Real Estate Market.
March 15, 2009
Affordability soars as prices fall — There’s a silver lining in the cloudy housing market: Housing affordability surged in the fourth quarter of 2008 to its highest level in at least five years.
That’s according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index. To view the trend in housing affordability over the past 16 years, click here.
March 1, 2009
Tell buyers what they should know about $7,500 tax credit — As the March 1 issue of Real Estate Broker’s Insider went to press, it was unclear whether Congress and the Obama administration would expand a tax credit for first-time buyers.
The National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) have been pushing to double the proposed tax credit for first-time home buyers and to remove the requirement that the money be repaid.
Learn more about the first-time homebuyer tax credit.
February 15, 2009
From poorly marketed listings to phantom “live chat” features, big broker sites must improve — When he started to study the sites of the 500 largest brokers, Marc Davison, co-founder of 1000watt Consulting, expected to crown the top 50 sites. Then he looked more closely. Davison found only nine sites that he thought deserved to be singled out for excellence. The February 15 issue of Real Estate Broker’s Insider looks at Davison’s study and finds some common errors that apply to sites of all sizes.
Read the full report, The Top Ten Real Estate Brokerage Websites in America.
February 1, 2009
Short sale proponent creates new designation for distressed property experts — Short sales are the transactions realtors love to hate — but with the market’s doldrums deepening, many agents might have little choice but to embrace these difficult deals.
That’s certainly the point of view espoused by Alex Charfen, cofounder of The Depressed Property Institute in Boca Raton, FL.
Click here for four reasons Charfen says you must list short sales.
Boost sales by creating client loyalty: Seven commandments — Want to stand out from the crowd? Create loyal customers. “Loyalty is the new business driver,” writes Beverly Koehn, a speaker and marketing expert, in her new book, Loyalty Is Love: How to Hold Clients Close for Life. But how do you create loyalty? in the February 1 issue of Real Estate Broker’s Insider Koehn offers her seven commandments.
Below she provides her Winning Unconditional Trust In Sales worksheet.
January 1, 2009
Ad copy for luxury listings should be long, detailed, and honest — In the January issue of Real Estate Broker’s Insider broker Stan Barron provides seven counterintuitive rules he says are guaranteed to produce results even in a challenging market.
Click here for more of Stan Barron’s marketing tips from Real Estate Broker’s Insider.
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