Welcome to RealClues The Weekly Newsletter for Real Estate Professionals www.RealEstateCoach.com–The Place You Go to Make Real Estate Dough(tm) Thursday, February 26, 2009 No. 363

Copyright (c) 1996-2009 www.RealEstateCoach.com and Teleclass4U.com, LLC. All rights in all media reserved. We have a no SPAM policy. If you received this newsletter and did not subscribe to it, visit www.RealEstateCoach.com to unsubscribe.

A Special Invitation: Our Third Annual Really Awesome Women in Real Estate Conference will be held in Savannah, Georgia from March 25-27, 2009. If you are a woman who holds a leadership position in CRS, Women’s Council, or if you hold an executive or management position at your Board, Association, or company, and would like to know more about this conference, go to http://www.RealEstateCoach.com/afire or email me at Bernice@RealEstateCoach.com. At last year’s conference, 24 of the 100 most influential women in the industry were in attendance. We wanted to make it available to those of you who support our efforts here at RealEstateCoach. Don’t wait–we only have a few slots left.

Table of Contents 1. CoachingClues: What Today’s Buyers and Sellers Really Want 2. Welcome Notes: Real Estate–Still the Best Shelter 3. Reprise: More Short Sale Strategies 4. Create a Better Life: Are You In or Out of Control? 5. New audio broadcasts this month in our Listen and Learn Real Estate Program: *Six Ways to Use Sliver Marketing to Dominate Your Real Estate Market *How to Use LinkedIn to Build Your Referral Business *Five Ways to Combat the Flood of Negative News *Six Secrets to “Sell that Ugly House” 6. This Week at www.LuxuryClues.com: *A Simple Strategy to Stop or Delay Foreclosure *Are You In or Out of Control? *Hot new real estate marketing tip that costs absolutely nothing 7. Featured Products: ActiveRain Review of Real Estate Dough by Barb Van Stensel 8. Increase Your Production with Personal Coaching 9. Give Us Your Feedback on this Newsletter 10. How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe

1. CoachingClues: What Today’s Buyers and Sellers Really Want (Part 1 of 2) The NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers for 2008 reveals some important secrets REALTORS(reg) can’t afford to ignore. Here’s the inside scoop.

1. Gen X and Gen Y Rule the Buyer Market If you’re working with buyers, you can no longer ignore the fact that 60 percent of today’s buyers were born after 1964 (i.e. are members of Gen X and Gen Y). In fact, 54 percent of first time buyers are in the 25 to 34 age group. For Gen X and Gen Y, the primary motivations for buying was their desire to own a home, a job-related relocation or move, the desire for a larger home, or a change in their family situation.

Opportunity: Since 75 percent of all first-time buyers are currently renting an apartment, consider marketing to tenants in high-end rentals. For buyers ages 18-24, 62 percent used social networking sites several times per week. That number drops to only 33 percent for buyers ages 25 to 44. To earn the right to do business with this growing group of young buyers, become an active part of the online conversation. This does not mean promoting your services. Instead, consider sites such as Facebook and Twitter to be similar to a social gathering where you meet others who share common interests. Gen X and Gen Y want to get to know you in a social environment prior to doing business with you. Dump the vanity marketing that focuses on you and your accomplishments. Instead, show up as an interesting, fun person who also happens to be a competent and likeable real estate professional.

2. Empty nests Sixty-two percent of all buyers have no children living at home. Among this group, nearly twice as many single females (24 percent) purchased homes as compared to single males (12 percent). Married couples overwhelmingly preferred single family residences (86 percent) as compared to 63 percent of single females and 65 percent of single males. In terms of preferring townhouse or apartment style condominiums, only 10 percent of married couples preferred this type of property as compared with 31 percent of single females and 30 percent of single males.

Opportunity: Niche your marketing efforts to fit the type of property you are selling. For example, Gen X (born 1965 to 1976) appears to be putting off marriage and having a family as opposed to Gen Y moms (born 1977 to 1994) who have an average of 2.3 children. Thus, Gen X buyers may be better candidates for condominiums or townhouses while Gen Y couples may be better candidates for single family homes. In terms of marketing to Gen X and Gen Y, these two groups dislike newspapers. They do read magazines, especially those focused on lifestyle. When marketing to both Gen X and Gen Y, show pictures of their age group enjoying the good things about living in your area, especially pictures of singles and/or families who are having fun. For older buyers, focus on couples downsizing or buying second homes.

3. “Location, location, location” is still true While people may debate what really matters most to homeowners, NAR’s research shows that the number one concern for all buyers (62 percent) is quality of the neighborhood. Convenience to work was second (51 percent) while overall affordability of homes, convenience to friends and family, and quality of the school district rounded out the top five. Given the high price of gas during the time the survey was conducted, it’s not surprising the 41 percent of all buyers said that commuting costs were very important and another 39 percent said they were somewhat important.

Opportunity: When working with buyers, be sure to explore what constitutes a “quality” neighborhood as well as potential commute times. Gen X and Gen Y place more emphasis on time spent with family and friends. Be sure to discuss these important issues prior to showing them property.

4. Age influences how long the buyer will live in their home The median time that buyers between the ages of 18 to 24 expected to stay in their homes was 6 years as compared to 10 years for those between the ages of 25 to 44 and 15 years for those over the age of 45.

Opportunity: Younger homeowners, who have been in their homes four to five years, are over three times more likely to put their property on the market as compared to older homeowners. While 21 percent of the 18-24 year olds plan to sell in 4 to 5 years, only 17 percent of those between the ages of 25 to 44 planned to sell. For those 45 to 64, only six percent planned to sell that quickly and only three percent for those 65 and older. On the other hand, the prime time for buyers to purchase a second or retirement home is between the ages of 50 and 60.

Do you need more help with today’s buyers and sellers? If so, look for more tips in Part 2 next week.

2. Welcome Notes Welcome to our new subscribers this week. Each week RealClues provides you with great strategies to improve both your business and your life. If you find this issue of RealClues helpful, take a moment to hit the “forward” button and send it to another friend in the business.

I was talking to my long time friend Marilyn Naylor and she likened the real estate market to a roller coaster. When you are on your way up, you keep looking up to the sky. When you hit the top, the precipitous drop takes you by surprise, even when you see it coming. It’s been one tough downhill ride.

Now is the time to start building your listing inventory. When the market turns, it may happen more quickly than you possibly can imagine. To give you an example, in the early 1990s, Los Angeles lost 35 percent of its value in just 18 months. At the time the market turned, I had 15 listings. They all sold within six weeks. Listings have always been the name of the game regardless of what the market is doing. Well priced properties sell. The key is to watch what the market is doing and then position yourself to be active in the places where buyers are most likely to purchase.

Right now, the number one thing you can do to help your business is to tell people, “Real Estate is still the best shelter.” Rates have pretty much bottomed out, there is huge selection of inventory, Gen Y is moving into their peak buying time, and, most of the air has been drained from the pricing bubble. The stock market is in a shambles and there’s virtually no return on bank deposits. Even if the market declines more, the roller coaster (the increased inflation numbers and increasing population will drive this), will once again cause property values to increase.

If you are an agent and you have not ordered your copy of my new book Real Estate Dough(tm), you are missing the one book that can turn your business around right now and make you profitable for years to come. The strategies work regardless of what the market does. If you’re ready to make more dough in your business, don’t wait–order now. http://budurl.com/ajk3

Have a great week!

Bernice Ross and Byron Van Arsdale, Chief Dough Makers www.RealEstateCoach.com, www.RealEstateDough.com, www.LuxuryClues.com, www.RossdalePress.com, www.ConferenceCallTraining.com, and www.TeleconferenceLine.com

3. Reprise: More Short Sale Strategies I wrote this article back in 2006 when Michigan was already facing what most of the country faces today. The strategies outlined in this article came from a talented group of agents who were surviving, despite the worst market conditions in the country. Their suggestions about what’s working for them can help you with your business as well.

http://budurl.com/gwjx

4. Create a Better Life: Are You In or Out of Control? From 2000-2004, Byron and I published a newsletter called Teleclues. It was packed with coaching tips to help people have a better life. This article ran in Teleclues back in 2002 and addresses why, when the market gets difficult, many people turn into control freaks. It also will help you address the underlying problems–being overwhelmed and feeling helpless to do anything about it. (Please note that this link goes to my blog at LuxuryClues.com. While you’re there, check out the other posts that can help you with your business or just make you laugh.)

http://budurl.com/tszn

5. Listen and Learn Real Estate–Visit our library of over 130 audio broadcasts and best of all, you can access them for less than a buck a day *Six Ways to Use Sliver Marketing to Dominate Your Real Estate Market The old approaches to real estate marketing are dead. Sliver marketing is the secret to becoming a top producer in today’s real estate market

*How to Use LinkedIn to Build Your Referral Business Still using the old and tired real estate referral strategies from the 1990s? If so, pump up your referral network with an entirely new approach using LinkedIn.

*Five Ways to Combat the Flood of Negative News We are being constantly bombarded with negative real estate news. This session outlines five specific ways to combat the constant onslaught of negative news and stay positive, no matter what the market does.

*Six Secrets to “Sell that Ugly House” Are you stuck with one of the ugliest listings ever? If so, here are tried and true ways to “sell that ugly house.”

6. LuxuryClues.com: Persuade Unrealistic Sellers to be Realistic *A Simple Strategy to Stop or Delay Foreclosure Are your clients losing their homes to foreclosure? You can help them at least buy some time if not stopping the process altogether by following this simple approach. http://budurl.com/jzc2

*Are You In or Out of Control? Are feeling overwhelmed by all of the bad news. Check out this post to learn how to get your life back under control and on the road to happiness. http://budurl.com/tszn

*Hot new marketing tip that costs absolutely nothing Would you like to trim you postage costs to virtually zero? There’s a simple way to stay in touch with a large proportion of your contacts. Best of all, you can reach all of them in just two minutes. http://budurl.com/bveb 7. Featured Products: ActiveRain Review of Real Estate Dough by Barb Van Stensel Here’s Barb Van Stensel’s review of Real Estate Dough(tm) I was on the phone last night talking to a dear friend and coach, Bernice Ross. Bernice has been guiding me since I found her on the internet when I lost my hearing 6 or 7 years ago and I was frustrated, ah, more like angry at my deafness and didn’t know which way to turn. The reason why I’m writing about her and “Recipe for Success” is that I have told her stories about myself so that if client’s couldn’t remember my name, they would remember certain things about me and would call the firm and ask for “the Realtor(reg) who is deaf that doesn’t cook.” Tis true, I don’t understand that brownie recipe thing, even in a box. Either my brownies come out nice on the edges and soggy in the center (then I scoop out the center and put a jello in the center or chips) or the edges were harder then rocks and “sweet” in the center. Hence, the massive cutting on the edges and a new size of brownie. It’s not that I don’t have the patience for them, I just can’t figure out how in the world to do them so that they are perfect! I can do other things in cooking and baking but the brownies are villains to me. When I discuss real estate with my clients, I let them know the brownie story because it just never ceases to amaze me that I just can’t figure it out. What I have been able to figure out is how to make the wheels in real estate hummmmm like a well oiled machine and that’s been because of Bernice’s being persistent and patience with me over the years. She saw something in me that I didn’t see, but now I see what she saw and that makes a big difference in one’s real estate career. So, after I went home last night after my talk on the cell with her, to my amazement, at my door was a copy of “Real Estate Dough(tm). Bernice Ross is the author of this well proportioned book with quotes of inspiration, plans of action for each recipe for the real estate agent who wants to grow, apply and learn through reading Real Estate Dough(tm). It is a unique way at looking at today’s marketplace for real estate agents with “recipes for success” with these “Knead the Dough Secrets” topped with life stories from people like Jeff Turner, Michael Russer, Jennifer Cummings, (Potato Chip Marketing), Teresa Boardman and others. Marc Davison from 1000 Watt Consulting shares his recipe for success by “Generating Loyalty the Old Fashioned Way” and Joel Burslem shares his recipe about 21st century “floor time”. It appeals to me because it’s about recipes. The chapters are short, packed, informative with game plans of action that deliver results when acted upon. Yes, I stayed up all night to read the book and am still awake. Click here to take a look and then you’ll know why you need to put this on your list of “reads.” By the way, don’t forget to read page 126 about Wanda Bolint, a former trainer at Jon Doughlas Company in Southern California, who used chocolate as a strategy for “multisensory marketing.” This is a recipe book that I can follow easily. Barb Van Stensel If you’re ready to find your personal recipe for success in 2009, don’t wait, order today– http://budurl.com/ajk3

8. Increase Your Production with Personal Coaching Looking for a well-trained coach who knows the real estate business? Our coaching team can help you increase your production and make your dreams come true. Send an e-mail to Shane@RealEstateCoach.com and we’ll help find the right coach for you.

9. Give Us Your Feedback On This Newsletter We want your feedback-to share your thoughts and suggestions, please e-mail us at Shane@RealEstateCoach.com.

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Copyright (c) 1996-2009, RealEstateCoach.com and Teleclass4U.com, LLC. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce, copy, or distribute RealClues as long as this copyright notice and full information about contacting the contributors to this newsletter is attached.

Contributors to this newsletter: Bernice Ross, MCC, and Byron Van Arsdale, MCC, Owners, www.RealEstateCoach.com, www.LuxuryClues.com, www.ConferenceCallTraining.com; www.RossdalePress.com; and www.TeleconferenceLine.com Shane Bowlin, REC General Manager

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