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The Real Estate Market

by Larry D. McGee, Denver Realtor on November 15, 2008

We stopped taking the newspaper a few months ago. What I miss most about the daily rag is the comics, which I guess goes to show you just how valuable the daily was in my life. Oddly enough, about the same time, I stopped watching the 10 o’clock news, which is now the “all the time” news, so I am no longer in touch with the talking heads of broadcast media. So, it was a bit unusual that as I was waiting for my plane home after an out of town conference a few days ago, I was idly watching a talking head on a television in the terminal. The talking head was speaking in sad tones about the state of the economy and mentioned in passing the national real estate market having lost XXX trillions of value in the last few years. It suddenly occurred to me that the talking head did not understand the concept of a market, as he was just reading the script. So goes my inspiration for this article.

According to Webster, a market (from the Latin -mercatus), is “a meeting together of people for the purpose of trade by private purchase“. Further, a market is a geographic area of demand for commodities or services. Real Estate is defined as property in buildings or land. So, a “real estate market” is “a meeting together of people in a geographic area for the purposes of purchasing buildings or land“. What the media is constantly referring to as “the real estate market” is really a reference to housing data compiled from thousands of markets to present simple and reportable national averages that can be addressed in 30 or 60 second sound bites.

In the Denver area real estate market, as with most markets nationwide, there are really many “markets”. Certainly there are many geographic markets, with values in neighborhoods such as Washington Park remaining steady, and values in Green Valley Ranch plummeting due to excessive foreclosures.There are new development projects such as The Landmark in Greenwood Village that are selling as fast as the builder can finish them, and other new home projects that are not selling at all. There are also markets stratified by price. Today, in Metro Denver, the price bracket of $100,000 to $200,000 is actually a sellers market, with multiple offers presented on some properties, and sales well over asking price on many bank owned homes. However, there is a glut of million dollar plus homes, with sales slowed to the level of watching grass grow.

And the “real estate market” is very dependent on another market, the “monetary” or “credit” market. With the worldwide money market in complete disarray, the housing market, as well as every other market, is captive to the lack of available credit.

The “real estate market” is much too individually specific, much to complicated, and much to local to accept what the talking heads are spewing on the nightly news. If you have need to buy or sell real property, you must take time to understand the market as it applies to your specific needs. You might want to spend time with a knowledgeable Realtor® and have an extended conversation about how your specific needs relate to the “market”.

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Selling Simplified

by Larry D. McGee, Denver Realtor on October 21, 2008

I just returned from the Rocky Mountain CRB meeting at the Broadmoor Hotel, where I received my “thank you very much” award for serving as chapter President. Beyond that, the small but vociferous group of leaders in attendance brainstormed ideas on just how to make the Rocky Mountain CRB more useful to the managing brokers. One particularly good idea, which became a theme, was to have speakers from outside the industry speak to us about how to do better the things we do. Great concept, and we will make that happen starting in December. Realtors® need positive technique influence from other successful business models, and the RM CRB Chapter has a plan to make that happen.

Learning from Others

Of more interest to you is my happenstance discovery of a “You Tube” video on the http://www.thephoenixrealestateguy.com blog site. Go there and view the 15 minute video attached to the first entry today. Listen and learn.

Remain Calm

In these challenging times, I hear many Realtors® asking “what do I do to make a sale”. Here are my thoughts:

Please remember that we are in the sales business. We sell a service. Many people still want to acquire houses, and many people still need to sell them. The service we sell is the expertise to join together a buyer and a seller and effect a sale of real property. It is more difficult (but obviously not impossible) today because people are scared and concerned about the economy, politics, war, and their job. The public needs you, as the professional, to be informative, reassuring and yes, professional. Be calm, point out the plus sides of buying a home today, the big one being that prices are low enough to make home ownership possible for many people.

Selling Simplified

Selling is simple. Here is how it works:

1.) Find another person to talk to. (there are people everywhere, just start connecting)

2.) Ask that person about the things that matter, family, occupation, recreation, and dreams (F.O.R.D.). (if you do not care a whit about people, it is difficult to demonstrate genuine curiosity)

3.) Listen. (this is really hard, because we really want to talk. You are listening for clues of change)

4.) Determine if there is a need for the thing you are selling.

5.) If so, sell it; if not, add or make current their contact information, bid a pleasant goodbye, and find another person to talk to.

We have in our home over 30 books on selling techniques, and they all boil down to that level of simplicity. Just 5 things, all 5 of which we learned before we were 6 years old. Somewhere after 6, probably by age 10 or 12, we learned about rejection. That learning experience was painful, and has screwed all of us up since then. Humans hate rejection, and we will avoid it whenever possible. We go to great lengths to find business without actually asking for it, hoping that because of our great technique, people will just line up and beg to work with us. That does not happen often enough to make a living. Rejection will not kill you (it does not feel good, but it will not kill you). Talk to people, you will find business. Really.

Cheese Chasing

Back in 1998, Spencer Johnson, M.D. wrote a very cool book titled “Who Moved My Cheese”. I urge you pick up a copy and breeze through it. It is a short but valuable read. Since our cheese has been moved, both internally and externally, and is probably true that our cheese will never sit still again, you should embrace techniques to help you keep your eye on the cheese.

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