How we feed the public's negative view of real estate agents

I'm normally not the one to complain about my colleagues nor post anything negative online but my experiences this morning with so called "luxury listing agents" have me so disappointed in my industry that I've just got to vent!  It's no wonder the public often sees us as glorified used car salesman (no offense to my used car salesman colleagues; I know some darn good ones).

So I showed four luxury homes this morning and here are my observations:

• home number one- the listing agent opens the door, dogs barking, kids running around, house is dark, cluttered, and the owner is following us around
• home number two-the listing agent shows up in a low cut blouse and skin tight pants. Really?  Are we marketing luxury homes or going out clubbing?
• home number three-the listing agent doesn't even both to show up, the house is dark, the owner is home, the dog's running around, and the owner is giving away her bargaining position by simply talking too much!
• home number four-(and this one's my favorite) the listing agent opens the door, we introduce ourselves. Then the listing agent turns to the owner and asks her...................wait for it........................"would you like to show the house or should I?"

I guess today's showings leave me both sad and encouraged.  Sad because these folks have absolutely no clue the harm that they're doing to our industry.  And encouraged because if this is my competition, then the sky's the limit for me!

How Short-Sale Survivors Can Get a Mortgage

I get a lot of questions about this very thing....



How Short-Sale Survivors Can Get a Mortgage - Yahoo Finance

keeping Murphy in check!

We all know Murphy's law right?  If something can go wrong, there's a good chance it will.  Though like any risk, with preparation and due diligence that risk can be mitigated.  In real estate a big part of it is knowing your business, your business partners, and not freaking out when things don't go as planned.  And in today's real estate environment, things rarely go as planned.  Hurdles to reaching a successful conclusion of any real estate transaction are simply par for the course.  I found this online and thought it might be helpful to some of colleagues and consumers as well when it comes t keeping Murphy in check!  Remember: Concentrate of the ones where you CAN affect the outcome...as for the rest; as they say, "keep calm and carry on"

 

 

 

Back To The Blog

It's been a pretty long time since I've visited my blog, and quite frankly I feel pretty darn guilty about it.  With so much happening in the real estate industry it's hard to fathom that I should have writers block.  Oh how fortunes have changed in such a short period of time!  Home sellers are now back in the driver's seat, and multiple offer scenarios for well-priced homes are once again the norm. 

So are we creating another bubble? Depends on who you ask actually.  My observations are as follows: 2013, particularly the summer, was crazy.  There was just so much demand and so little supply that most areas in South Florida saw double digit price increases over 2012.  Then, as has been the historical case, things slowed down in the last quarter.  However January 2014 is off and running!  This year will continued to see, albeit tempered, price appreciation in most markets. Why tempered?  Well, for starters interest rates will continue to gradually rise as the Federal Reserve begins to curtail its purchase of mortgage backed securities.  Additionally, a fair amount of the new developer inventory is beginning to come online thereby absorbing some of the demand for housing.  As for buying opportunities, they're still certainly out there though get ready to "fight" for them; there's no room for low-ballers or week long negotiations in this market.  Remember that time is the enemy of all real estate deals.  Highest and best is the order of the day!

Until nest time; thank you for reading!

Burnt Out Bulbs May Say More to Buyers than You Think

Burnt Out Bulbs May Say More to Buyers than You Think

Predictable Equilibrium Part Deux

Just thought that you'd might like to know that I've noticed a small change in the Country Club of Miami these past few weeks.  There have been at least four price reductions of on market listings in the neighborhood.  Now this is not necessarily a cause for alarm, yet it is indeed an indication that the local market may have gotten a little ahead of itself.  The recent interest rates increases could bear some of the blame, and the imbalance of supply and demand that's driven the double digit increases over the past 18 months seems to be easing.  One of my colleagues that works in West Broward has also noticed this in his local market.  That being said, I feel that we're on the cusp of a return to a more balanced market with historically conservative appreciation levels , heading towards a phrase I coined in 2009; predictable equilibrium.  Here's where I wrote about this back then in my blog: http://bitsaboutrealestate.blogspot.com/2009/07/predictable-equilibrium.html

4 Major Myths about the Housing Recovery

This is a MUST WATCH!

4 Major Myths about the Housing Recovery | Watch the video - Yahoo! Finance