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RISMedia, June 10, 2011—Despite the ups and downs of the housing market, home owners and non-owners alike consider owning a home essential to the American Dream. That's the key finding of a recent survey of people likely to vote in 2012 that was conducted on behalf of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) by Public Opinion Strategies of Alexandria, Va., and Lake Research Partners of Washington, D.C. "The survey results show that Americans see beyond the immediate housing market to the enduring value of homeownership," says NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen, a home builder from Reno, Nev.

RISMedia, June 9, 2011—With financial institutions tightening lending standards and requiring more from home buyers, consumers are asking more from their agents than ever before. And in response, many agents and brokers are pursuing advanced education and professional certifications to help them navigate the changing real estate landscape and better serve their clients. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to speak at RISMedia’s 2011 Achieve! Conference last month to a group of agents with similar expectations. And just like these agents, I found myself asking the same question as I prepared for the conference: What are the key programs and tools that agents need for success in today’s market? And how can REBAC help?

RISMedia, June 8, 2011—At a time when new home construction in the Northeastern region of the United States has dropped by more than half since 2007, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), there is at least one Connecticut builder/developer whose company remains well in the black—and whose innovative single-family homes and multi-family condos are attracting a new kind of consumer.

RISMedia, June 7, 2011—As time goes on, the landscape of our real estate industry is beginning to look more and more like a high school campus. We have cliques, and whichever one is on top at the time looks down on the others as inferior. However, our cliques don’t have names like “popular,” or “troubled,” or “wannabes.” Instead, we have Traditional, REO, and Short Sale. Originally, the clique on top of our industry was Traditional sales. Traditional sales can be likened to those kids years ago who were “popular” because they were very status quo. They had few blemishes, never caused any problems, and did what was expected. Traditional held the top spot for many years, and no one ever thought they would be outnumbered.

RISMedia, June 6, 2011—Make this your transformational mantra for engagement in social media. This means not just characters in tweets, but real actions and sharing with others—whether it’s your knowledge, cool tools or any other valuable information you can share. This will help you build new relationships and lead to more fans or likes, followers and others who connect with you; new business will follow. Did you know that fans are 41 percent more likely than non-fans to recommend a product they are a fan of to their friends?*

RISMedia, June 4, 2011—Successful salespeople understand that making the sale has much more to do with developing trust and rapport than it does with issues of lowest price, highest quality or the largest company. Unfortunately, far too many salespeople unintentionally sabotage their chances of making a sale by skipping the "small talk" and getting right down to business. On the surface, this approach might appear to be an effective use of time, but it's a huge mistake that will cost tons of money over the long haul! Any architect will be quick to tell you that a strong foundation must be laid first before you can build the walls. Likewise, before you can expect your prospect to buy your products or services, he or she must first like and trust you as a person.

RISMedia, June 3, 2011—When it comes to private mortgage insurance (MI), there are several myths that exist that make buyers reluctant to consider a conventional loan with MI as an option when purchasing a home. One of the more common misconceptions is that cancelling MI is a difficult—not to mention time-consuming—process. The irony is that the majority of buyers don’t harbor those same beliefs or reservations about an FHA insured loan when, in reality, FHA coverage may be less easily cancelled, or take longer to cancel, than MI.

RISMEDIA, June 2, 2011—One of the most common topics I am asked to speak on is the team structure vs. individual agent vs. models of the future. Although I feel that a team structure is not the only way to go, I am partial to it and most certainly feel it will dominate our industry in the future. There is a plethora of different approaches one can take to reach success, but I don’t think I will receive any argument from REALTORS® that our job is only getting more demanding and consumers are becoming more educated with more tools at their disposal.

RISMedia, June 1 2011—The word "auction" is derived from the Latin augeo which means "I increase" or "I augment." Auctions have a long history, having been recorded as early as 500 B.C. There were many types of auctions held during the Roman Empire. One of the most significant historical auctions occurred in the year 193 A.D. when the entire Roman Empire was put on the auction block by the Praetorian Guard who offered the empire to the highest bidder. In some parts of England during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries auction by candle was used for the sale of goods and leaseholds. This auction began by lighting a candle after which bids were offered in ascending order until the candle spluttered out. The high bid at the time the candle extinguished itself won the auction. The oldest auction house in the world is Stockholm Auction House, established in Sweden in 1674.

RISMedia, May 31 2011—Much has been written about how to recruit agents to join your company. But to attract and retain these candidates, you need to prepare your environment. Here are some important things to do before you recruit. 1. Decruit Before you can accept new agents into your office, you must eliminate those who no longer produce or contribute. Think right now of someone whom you hope will leave your office by the time you finish reading this article. Now answer these two questions: Why do you want them to leave? Why do you keep them?

RISMedia, May 28 2011—Do you find yourself avoiding certain types of clients? Do you find yourself unable to speak the truth to sellers when their properties are overpriced? If you’re like most real estate professionals, your “people pleaser” pattern often gets in the way of telling the truth. When you’re not able to tell the truth to your sellers, they lose respect for you, and you end up losing the transaction. This is similar to a client of mine, named Pauline, who was unable to reach her financial goals because she only wanted to work with buyers. When I probed into what was blocking her, she said that she really didn’t like the idea of working with sellers. In fact, her dislike was so great that she actually avoided speaking with sellers.

RISMedia, May 27 2011—International buyers are driven to own property for investment purposes, or as a temporary residence while visiting the U.S. for business or pleasure. For the former example, think a European business executive with a co-op in Manhattan, for the latter, a Canadian snowbird seeking Florida weather in winter. You’ll find these smart, savvy, computer-literate clients hail from Europe (30.8 percent), North America (27.5 percent) and Asia (25.2 percent), with the remainder being from Latin America, Africa and Oceania. They speak their native language. They embody their culture and follow their customs.

RISMedia, May 26, 2011—This business is about connections and relationships. Before you can ratify a contract and go to closing, you have to connect. You have to engage. You have to collaborate. You have to deliver an experience, not just a transaction. Finding the right technology to help you accomplish this objective is critical. For the better part of a decade, technological advances allowed consumers and REALTORS® to increase efficiencies, but did very little to enhance an experience. People did pretty much the same things, only faster.

RISMEDIA, May 25, 2011—By mid-May, the spring home-selling season is usually in full swing. Homes look their best, and buyers rush to lock in deals so they can relocate in the summer. But this year, things are not so good. Despite low home prices, sales are sluggish as the market struggles to recover from the burst bubble of the past decade. Many potential buyers are scared off by worries that a home bought this spring could be worth less a few months later, given that prices have fallen by more than 8 percent over the past 12 months, according to Zillow.com. Others are eager to buy at today's low prices, but cannot get a mortgage because lenders have tightened standards to avoid a repeat of the default and foreclosure crisis.

RISMEDIA, May 24, 2011—Knowing where to meet potential buyers and sellers online is only half the battle. Once you’ve identified the social networks that fit your global objectives, the next challenge is tapping into the business-building potential of these networks with effective communications. Social networking can be an excellent tool for meeting new people and creating new opportunities far from your local market. That said, cross-cultural blunders are easy enough to commit in face-to-face settings. Shift those conversations to a social network—where proper online etiquette poses new challenges and you cannot read non-verbal communications—and it is even easier to run into trouble.