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Residential real estate is not rocket science. We know that this housing crisis is: 1. Explainable – bad lending, mad speculation, wild expectations, government meddling 2. Isolated – bad mortgages, negative equity, strategic default, government meddling 3. Temporary – demand for housing always catches up to supply eventually

These days, it seems that all we hear about are problems. The crisis of the day may vary a bit depending on the network you happen to be watching or newspaper you’re reading, but the theme is basically the same: sustained unemployment, distressed homeowners, dire economy…and not necessarily in that order. Experts say that the only way to turn the tide is to attack the root of the problem—consumer confidence. But how does one improve consumer confidence in such murky times? Simple, says EquityLock—protect the value of their homes.

Our whole business is nothing but negotiation. Negotiating with sellers, other agents, or even your own staff…This is what REALTORS® do all day long. Yet, negotiation is like a bad word, with negative connotations associated with the act of negotiating and the viewpoint that, in order for one side to gain, the other must lose. But, this needn’t be the case in real estate – it doesn’t have to be an adversarial battle. In fact, it’s possible for everyone to win; the seller, the buyer, and both agents in the equation. If you are going to make it to 100 deals, you must master the art of negotiating for all of these parties to feel that they succeeded in the negotiation and resulting transaction.

In late-breaking news Tuesday Brookfield Residential Property Services, a Brookfield Asset Management Inc. affiliate, announced that it has purchased Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services (PRERS), a recognized leader in employee relocation and real estate franchising from Prudential Financial, Inc. Prudential Relocation Services operates as Pricoa Relocation in Asia and Europe.

A few weeks back, Jerry Richardson, owner of the Carolina Panthers of the NFL, showed up at the parking lot where we were tailgating before the game. A group quickly formed around him to talk and get autographs. I looked at my son, Jordan, and said, “Jordan, it’s Jerry Richardson, the owner of the Panthers, and I want you to introduce yourself. I want you to go up to him, look him in the eye and give a good handshake with your right hand. Give him your name as well.”

There are only two ways to beat the competition; lower your price or increase the quality and quantity of service you provide to your customers. One of the biggest reasons most salespeople fail to succeed is because they view customer service requests as unpaid, administrative burdens rather than golden opportunities. By going the extra mile, you will stand out from the crowd because most salespeople are unwilling to even go the first mile let alone the extra mile. Consumer surveys underscore the fact that customers don’t mind paying a higher price for a product if they’re satisfied with the service they receive after the sale.

Think about the meaning of the phrase, “at the top of your game.” What does it mean to you? Does it bring up images of success? Can you picture yourself in the future being successful and maintaining a balanced life? If this picture is fuzzy, here are some common mistakes that you can avoid. Mistake No. 1 Lack of clarity. So many people I know tell me that they want to be more successful. When I asked him specifically what do they mean by "more successful,” they often do not have an answer.

With a national housing market recovery yet to come, Bank of America is sowing seeds to ensure real estate professionals, homeowners and home buyers have the tools and education needed to succeed now, tomorrow and well into the future. Pursuing a sweeping, company-wide strategy to deepen its customer relationships, Bank of America is firmly committed to offering mortgage products and making loans as part of its financial menu. Taking a position as a responsible lender eager to help create successful homeowners, the bank is equally firm in its commitment to real estate professionals and the customer experience.

Naturally, you don’t need to use a system if you’re only planning to turnover two or three deals and can wing it to get these deals closed, but when you are considering the volume of 100 deals, a system is imperative and mandatory. Major businesses constantly look at their production processes to make their companies more efficient and productive. Without the efficiency of office systems, whether you’re running a multinational corporation or a local real estate business, it’s impossible to maximize your business to its fullest potential.

Consumer confidence improved in November, rising 15 points and reaching its highest level since July. With consumers’ view of business conditions perking up, and their opinion on job conditions brightening, positivity seeps into what has been a fairly negative past few months. The Index now stands at 56.0, up from 40.9 in October. The Present Situation Index increased to 38.3 from 27.1. The Expectations Index rose to 67.8 from 50.0. The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey®, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was November 15th.

Did you know that 9 out of 10 business owners suffer from procrastination at some time in their career? Most of the time they are puzzled by this pattern, and often stay stuck in procrastination for weeks, months and sometimes years not understanding what is going on. Having been a business coach for success-minded professionals for over 15 years, I have found that it's easy to release the habit of procrastination and get to action once you know what is going on. I was working with a client recently, and during the coaching process she became aware that the procrastination was a kind of protection for her.

“Real estate agent arrested for closing buyers on the purchase of a bigger home. Accusations of use of dialog, closing techniques, persuasion, inducement, and manipulation were made.” Can you imagine that headlining the evening news? Well what I uncovered recently may make this “headline” not so far-fetched. Early last year, Eileen Taus, director of education for the Westchester Putman Association of REALTORS®, asked if my most popular class, “Things Just Don’t Gotta Get Better, YOU DO!™,” could be submitted for continuing education (CE) credits.

Denver-based firm EquityLock Solutions was named the first-ever recipient of RISMedia’s Real Estate Magazine New Product of the Year Award. EquityLock received the award for its creation of Home Price Protection™, a product designed to protect a homeowner’s equity in today’s volatile market. The Real Estate Magazine New Product of the Year Award was created to highlight and recognize a service or product that RISMedia believes will contribute to the livelihood of real estate professionals and promote homeownership among today’s consumers. The award winner was announced at RISMedia’s 16th Annual Power Broker Dinner on November 11, part of RISMedia’s “Power Broker Weekend.” The event took place in Anaheim, California, in conjunction with the REALTORS® Conference & Expo.

The successful outcome of your next sales presentation will be determined largely by your ability to do two things very well; develop rapport with your prospect and adapt your sales message to engage his or her preferred "learning style." The "learning style" theory was developed back in the early 1970s and has proven to be an extremely powerful communication model that every school teacher, parent, manager, and sales rep should have in his or her toolbox. Simply stated, the "learning style" theory promotes the concept that people have a natural preference, based upon their dominate sense, in how they choose to learn and process information; visual/seeing, auditory/hearing, or kinesthetic/touching.

RISMedia’s 16th Annual Power Broker Forum, held on Friday, November 11 at the Anaheim Convention Center, brought together leading brokers and industry visionaries to discuss “The One Thing Power Brokers Can’t Live Without.” Nearly 600 attendees turned out to the standing-room-only event, which provided an environment for top brokers to share their most important tools for staying ahead of the curve and finding success as we continue to struggle through today’s fragile housing market and economy.