The Residential Specialist, March/April 2012

M a r ch / Ap r il 2 0 1 2

THE RESIDENTIAL SPECIALIST â–

m arch / april 2 0 1 2

Local Housing Market Forecast Turning Your Business Around

Face

Content and patience are the keys to using Facebook effectively for your business.

Value

Keeping Sellers Happy in a Slow Market

Tiffany Hampton, CRS

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residential The

S pecia li s t

March/April 2012 VOL. 11, NO. 2

30

18 features

18 Face Value

By Regina Ludes When it comes to using Facebook to foster business relationships, content is king and patience is required.

22 Local Forecast

By Caroline E. Mayer CRSs look back — and ahead — to offer an up-close view of the housing market.

26 Counseling Patience

By Gwen Moran These days, calming anxious homeowners is a big part of an agent’s job.

CRSs share strategies for keeping sellers happy in a slow market.

30 Right Turns w w w . c r s . c o m

By Mary Ellen Collins Recognizing that your business is in need of a turnaround is hard. CRSs who changed direction share how they put their businesses on a new road to success.

Cover photo by Jason Grow

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residential The

S pecia li s t

16 departments 4 President ’s Message 5 Q uick Takes

10

By Mark Minchew, CRS

Doing business in the cloud; fixed-rate mortgages; investors and the bubble; and more

9 10 Technolo gy

inside CRS

Great Finds

REALTOR® safety apps

FROM 36 NEWS THE COUNCIL Sell-a-bration® Recap CRSs Make Leadership Academy CRSs of the Year Your Home newsletter

By Chloe Thompson Email marketing: is it dead?

12 Trends

By Mary Dixon Lebeau Building listening skills

14 Pi p eline

By Chris Bird Tax time preparation

l 46 Referra Marketplace 48 Ask a CRS

Advice from the country’s top agents

16 Up Close

Leon Dickson Sr., CRS Benchmark at Southwind, LLC REALTORS® Memphis, Tenn.

34 Good Read

Reviewed by Allan Fallow The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

By Charles Duhigg

2 | March/April 2012

12

residential The

Coming In The Next Issue ... n

Set the Stage

With so many foreclosures on the market, is staging even more important than before? n

Reasons Y

A look at the best techniques for reaching out to and working with Gen Y homebuyers n

Local News

Being a good agent isn’t enough; positioning yourself as a local expert is key to success. n

Fresh Start

Truly useful, effective websites and blogs are built on good content.

Would you like to be considered as a source for a future story in The ­Residential Specialist? Send an email to mfenner@crs.com to be added to our potential source list. To see a list of the topics we’ll be covering, check out the magazine’s 2012 Editorial Calendar online at www.crs.com/File/ PDF/editorial_cal.pdf.

Specia li s t

EDITOR Michael Fenner Email: mfenner@crs.com Tel: 800.462.8841, ext. 4428 Fax: 312.329.8882 ASSOCIATE EDITOR Regina Ludes Email: rludes@crs.com Tel: 800.462.8841, ext. 4404 Fax: 312.329.8882 2012 COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY PANEL Moderator: Colleen McKean, CRS Co-Moderator: John W. Goede, CRS 2012 COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY PANEL MEMBERS Israel V. Ameijeiras, CRS; Shelly Campbell, CRS; DeDe J. Carney, CRS; Gretchen Conley, CRS; Lois Cox, CRS; Wendy Furth, CRS; Hap Hilbish, CRS; Geri Kenyon, CRS; Rita McNeil, CRS; Nancy Metcalf, CRS; Thomas M. Patterson, CRS; Rae Roeder, CRS CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Mary Ellen Collins, Daniel Rome Levine, Gwen Moran OFFICERS: 2012 President Mark Minchew, CRS Chief Executive Officer Nina J. Cottrell

PLUS: Marketing With Twitter

2012 President-Elect Mary McCall, CRS 2012 First Vice President Ron Canning, CRS 2012 Immediate Past President Frank Serio, CRS

PUBLICATION MANAGEMENT

Tel: 202.331.7700 Fax: 202.331.2043 Publishing Manager Andrea Gabrick Email: agabrick@tmgcustommedia.com Advertising Manager Andrea Katz Email: akatz@tmgcustommedia.com Tel: 202.721.1482 Project Manager Katie Mason Art Director Josh Coleman Brian Rees Production Artist Tommy Dingus The Residential Specialist is published for Certified Residential Specialists, General Members and Subscribers by the Council of Residential Specialists.

The magazine’s mission is: To be a superior educational resource for CRS Designees and Members, providing the information and tools they need to be exceptionally successful in selling residential real estate.

The Residential Specialist is published bimonthly by the Council of Residential Specialists, 430 North Michigan Ave., Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60611-4092. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago, IL, and additional mailing offices.

Change of address? E-mail requests to crshelp@crs.com, call Customer Service at 800.462.8841 or mail to CRS at the above address.

The Residential Specialist (USPS-0021-699, ISSN 15397572) is d ­ istributed to members of the Council as part of their membership dues. Non-members may purchase subscriptions for $29.95 per year in the U.S., $44.95 in Canada and $89.95 in other international countries. All articles and paid advertising represent the opinions of the authors and advertisers, not the Council.

POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to The Residential Specialist, c/o Council of Residential Specialists, 430 North Michigan Ave., Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60611-4092.

COPYRIGHT 2012 by the Council of Residential Specialists.

All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.

www.crs.com

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President’s Message | News from Mark Minchew, CRS

Michael Thad Carter

Sell-a-bration® 2012: A Huge Success!

By putting our hearts into our work and caring for those we serve, we can help others be safe and happy.

4 | March/April 2012

In January, I was pleased to attend Sell-a-bration® 2012 in Phoenix, which was an uplifting and inspiring success. Excitement filled the rooms as top speakers from around the nation taught and entertained more than 400 attendees who converged on the Arizona Grand Resort.

This year’s annual event featured a bit of a twist. A pre-conference program called “Listing Legends” featured some of the top real estate practitioners in the nation. Many of the attendees arrived early to hear this distinguished group share some innovative ideas.

Brian Copeland, CRS, kicked off the main event with nothing short of a Hollywood presentation that wowed the crowd. The sessions began in rapid-fire order with experts who shared their secrets to success. These leading-edge sessions were well-prepared and presented, and most were repeated during the conference so attendees didn’t need to pick and choose.

Keynote speaker Jeff Turner gave an inspiring presentation about what we really do with our life’s work. The key message for me was to remember that by putting our hearts into our work and caring for those we serve, we can help others be safe and happy.

Many of the presenters participated in workshop sessions, taking notes to better their own skills.

Even a number of CRS certified instructors were on hand to share their expertise and learn the latest techniques top-producing CRS agents are using — valuable information they can share with their future audiences. Chapter regional vice presidents and a large number of chapter presidents were also in attendance to gain knowledge they will share with CRS members in their home regions.

When I returned to Austin, Texas, I reviewed the many notes I took at the event to determine how I might implement the things I learned in my business. But I believe the face-to-face interactions that Sell-a-bration® provides are always a highlight. Discussing the sessions at roundtable luncheons and feeling the excitement that takes place when a group of high-energy, knowledgeable practitioners put their efforts into helping others is truly rewarding. After all, staying on the leading edge is what being a CRS is all about.

See you in the trenches,

QuickTakes | Industry headlines, statistics and trends

Housing Wealth

nruboc/Veer

A recent study by Pew Research, Housing Wealth and Higher Education: Building a Foundation for Economic Mobility, finds that low- and middle-income students whose families experienced increases in housing wealth were more likely to attend college, select higher-quality universities and graduate. The study, which examined how gains and losses of home equity during and after the housing boom of 2001–2005 affected students’ college choices, finds that for every $10,000 of equity gained, the likelihood of college enrollment increased 6 percent among families earning less than $70,000. This resulted in a 24 percent increase in college enrollment among low- and middle-income families.

Conversely, the recent housing bust had a negative impact on college decisions. As home equity fell, college enrollment for low- and middle-income students declined 30 percent and the graduation rate from four-year colleges fell 12 percent.

the great divide

A recent study by the Mortgage Bankers Association finds that buyers and sellers don’t see eye-toeye on housing, and that gap is growing wider.

The Great Recession and Attitudes Toward Homebuying report finds that while 80 percent of homebuyers believe now is a good time to purchase a home, given today’s low mortgage-interest rates and better affordability, sellers believe it is not a good time to sell a home, citing difficulty in finding buyers at desired sales prices. In fact, the sentiment among sellers is at an all-time low. From 1992 to 2005, the positive home-selling sentiment fluctuated between 40 percent and 60 percent. Since 2005, positive selling sentiment has fallen steadily to its current level of 7 percent.

The survey also finds that over the next five quarters, the positive home-buying sentiment is expected to remain at current levels. In contrast, the homeselling sentiment is expected to remain around current, historic low levels.

Since the housing market collapse in 2006, economists and housing experts have debated about the cause of the housing bubble. But a recent report by economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York suggests that real estate investors likely played a more significant role than previously thought.

These investors — who often used mortgage credit to purchase multiple residential properties — helped push up prices during the peak of the housing market between 2004 and 2006. The trend was especially prevalent in four states with the most pronounced housing cycles — Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada — where the share of investor-purchased properties was 45 percent. Investor shares of new-purchase mortgage loan debt nearly doubled between 2000 and 2006 nationwide, with the biggest increase among borrowers who owned three or more properties. In 2006, investors in these four states who owned three or more properties were responsible for nearly 20 percent of loan originations, nearly triple their share in 2000.

When the market turned and prices fell, investors defaulted on mortgage loans in large numbers. Between 2007 and 2009, investors were responsible for more than one-fourth of seriously delinquent mortgages nationwide, and more than one-third in Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada.

“Because investors don’t plan to own properties for long, they care much more about reducing their down payments than reducing their interest rates,” the report says. The expansion of the nonprime mortgage market in the early 2000s provided the perfect opportunity for ambitious investors to get low-down-payment credit at higher interest rates. As investors took advantage of nonprime mortgage loans that were available, the housing bubble inflated further, causing millions of Americans to pay more to purchase a home.

The report concludes “that it’s very important for lenders (and regulators) to manage leverage as asset bubbles are inflating. Effective regulation of speculative borrowing, like what is being attempted in China today, may be needed to prevent this kind of crisis from recurring.”

joerg/Veer

Investors and the Housing Bubble

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QuickTakes | Industry headlines, statistics and trends

Use of REALTORS® Rises

Smaller Losses in 2011

the right price? ibphoto/Veer

U.S. homes may have lost more than $681 billion in value during 2011, which is 35 percent less than the $1.1 trillion lost in 2010, according to a recent survey by online property listing and valuation service Zillow. The bulk of the lost value took place during the first six months of the year, when U.S. homes lost $454 billion. From July to December, the study estimates residential home value losses may have totaled $227 billion.

The majority of markets surveyed (92 percent) experienced home value losses in 2011, with just nine of the 128 markets showing gains. New Orleans posted the largest increase with $3.5 billion, followed by Pittsburgh with a gain of $2.7 billion.

Meanwhile, larger metro areas such as Los Angeles, New York and Chicago experienced the biggest home value losses of $75 billion, $44.8 billion and $41.7 billion, respectively.

Many more homebuyers chose to work with a real estate agent or broker in 2011 than they did a decade ago.

According to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® 2011 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 69 percent of homebuyers bought a home with the help of a REALTOR ® in 2001, but that rate climbed steadily to 89 percent in 2011. Only 7 percent of buyers purchased a home through a builder or builder’s agent in 2011, and only 4 percent bought directly through the previous owner.

Fixed-Rate Mortgages Preferred Fixed-rate loans accounted for more than 95 percent of all refinance loans in the fourth quarter, regardless of whether the original loan was an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) or a fixed-rate, according to a report by Freddie Mac. Nearly two-thirds of borrowers who had a hybrid ARM (58 percent) chose a fixed-rate loan during the fourth quarter, while the remaining 42 percent refinanced into a similar type of product.

An increasing number of refinancing borrowers chose to shorten their loan terms. Of those who paid off a 30-year fixed-rate loan, 43 percent chose a 15-year or 20-year loan, the highest such share since the first quarter of 2003.The strong refinance activity is attributed to continuing low interest rates on fixed-rate mortgages, which averaged 4 percent for 30-year loans and 3.3 percent for 15 years during the fourth quarter, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

6 | March/April 2012

Homebuyers and sellers continue to be far apart in their views of home values. According to HomeGain, three out of four homeowners (76 percent) believe their homes are worth more than the recommended listing price from their agent. In contrast, 66 percent of homebuyers believe homes are still overpriced.

How do your buyer clients feel that homes for sale are priced? underpriced by less than 10 percent

5%

overpriced by more than 20 percent

4%

overpriced by less than 10 percent

34%

underpriced by more than 20 percent

4%

underpriced by 10–20 percent

8%

overpriced by 10–20 percent

28%

fairly priced

17%

Michaeldb/Veer

M ov i n g t o t h e

Dream

Many small businesses that switched their information technology operations to “cloud computing� solutions (in which data is stored on the network, as opposed to on office or home computers) did so to improve access to information via multiple mobile devices, according to a recent survey by technology consultant CSC. Nearly half of small businesses (46 percent) say information access was the most important reason for moving to the cloud, while 10 percent of them cited a desire to cut costs. While many businesses do save money using cloud-based systems, those savings are small.

Some 45 percent of small businesses report no savings from converting to the cloud, while 35 percent saved less than $20,000. The study finds that cloud computing has helped 64 percent of organizations reduce waste and lower their energy consumption, while 74 percent of small businesses say their employees readily accepted the move to the cloud.

Home

Green or energy-efficient

A Yahoo! Real Estate study asked consumers: Would your dream home include one or more of the following features?

38% 38%

Water views Building a custom home A suburban home Beachfront or near the beach Cottage in the woods

31% 27%

Gated community Urban neighborhood

20%

Stately, traditional mansion

17% 13%

Ultramodern home, glass walls

11% 10% 9% 9%

Castle or castle-style

5%

Condo in vacation area Tiny house

Kovaleff/Veer

50%

Source: Yahoo! Real Estate Home Horizons 2012 Study (multiple responses were allowed)

www.crs.com | 7

QuickTakes | Industry headlines, statistics and trends

Baby boomers are using their earnings and their knowledge of investment strategies to help their children and grandchildren realize their dream of homeownership, according to a survey by Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate. One in five baby boomers has already gifted, loaned or cosigned a loan to help their children or grandchildren purchase a home, and 68 percent say they want to provide this type of support in the future.

Many baby boomers say their willingness to provide financial support is driven primarily by their belief in the overall investment value for them and their offspring, and by the important role homeownership plays in fulfilling the American dream.

2012 Jobs Outlook

Microzoa/Getty Images

Trickle-Down Economics

Bang for the Buck Remodeling magazine ranked the percentage of return that various homeimprovement projects brought to homeowners.

Project

There may be some good news on the jobs front, which could give the housing market a boost. Some employers plan to add new jobs in 2012, but many are waiting to see how the economy fares before ramping up their hiring plans, according to CareerBuilder’s annual job forecast. Nearly one in four employers (23 percent) say they plan to hire full-time, permanent workers in 2012, unchanged from a year ago. Nearly six out of 10 employers (59 percent) expect no change in their staffing, while 7 percent say they plan to cut staff.

Compensation is also expected to increase in 2012 for both current staff and prospective employees. Some 62 percent of employers plan to increase compensation for their existing employees, while 32 percent will offer higher starting salaries for new employees. Professionals in sales (24 percent), information technology (20 percent), engineering (14 percent) and business development (14 percent) are expected to get the biggest pay increases.

Nearly 20 percent of employers say they will focus on recruiting more Hispanic and African-American workers, and 44 percent plan to hire bilingual workers in 2012.

Project Cost

% Recouped

Entry door replacement (steel)

$1,238

Attic bedroom

$50,148

72.5%

Minor kitchen remodel

$19,588

72.1%

Garage door replacement

$1,512

71.9%

Wood deck addition

$10,350

70.1%

Siding replacement (vinyl)

$11,729

69.5%

Window replace$11,319 ment (vinyl)

68%

Window replace$12,229 ment (wood)

67.5%

Basement remodel

$63,378

66.8%

Major kitchen remodel

$57,494

65.7%

73%

Source: Remodeling magazine’s Cost vs. Value Report 2011–12

8 | March/April 2012

Great Finds | Tools of the trade

safety patrol People know to use caution while walking in dark alleys and deserted parking lots, but no one likes to think danger could be lurking at an open house or a home showing. Unfortunately, we’ve all heard horror stories. Put safety first — and in the palm of your hand — with smartphone apps designed to keep REALTORS® out of harm’s way.

doctor’s orders itunes.apple.com Accidents can happen anywhere, even during an open house. Know how to handle a medical emergency with First Aid White Cross, which guides users in basic first aid response, such as how to check for vital signs, perform CPR and dress wounds. The app also comes with an option to purchase first aid response information for children and infants. Available for iPhone.

Free

button up www.mymoby.com If you find yourself in trouble, let your phone be your panic button. Moby

by Contigo allows you to let others know instantly when you’re in danger and provides your specific whereabouts. Alert a predetermined list of contacts — family members or colleagues, for example — who will be notified with your exact location by selecting an “alert” feature on the app. On the BlackBerry, you can also set a recurring schedule for your phone to ask, “Are you OK?” If you don’t respond, your contacts will be notified automatically. Available for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry.

Free

road warrior www.drivesafe.ly Getting to and from showings and open houses can be dangerous, especially when you’re trying to multitask behind the wheel. Keep distractions at bay with drivesafe.ly, which automatically reads text messages and emails aloud as you drive. Don’t have a hands-free device to take calls while driving? Use the app to set up an automatic response to let others know you’re on the road. Available for BlackBerry, Android and iPhone.

Free

first alert www.realalertapp.com Whether you need to contact the police, the hospital or your closest friend, Real Alert can do it all — and more. Open the app to use the large red “Call 911” button. Other app features include “Sound Alarm,” which emits a loud noise to ward off potential attackers; “Alert a Friend,” which notifies preselected contacts; “Locate Hospital,” which uses GPS to find the nearest one; and “Save Creep Data,” which lets users record (audio or text) details about a suspicious person.

Available for iPhone and Android.

1.99

candid camera www.soslink.com When you’re in trouble, a picture can say a thousand words, which is why SOS Link may be especially useful for REALTORS®. Press the large, red “start” button on the application to take one photo per second for 30 seconds that will be sent to one predetermined contact.

Like other personal safety apps, SOS Link also sends a map with your location so help can be on the way at a moment’s notice. Available for iPhone and Android.

Free

www.crs.com | 9

Technology | Streamlining your business

target practice Email marketing is not necessarily dead. It can be a powerful tool for agents whose messages cut through the clutter.

68 percent of small businesses say they use email to market their services, and 54 percent use social media.

Source: Pitney Bowes, May 2011

10 | March/April 2012

N

early two decades ago, when Mark Porter, CRS certified instructor, owner of Mark Porter Live and broker with Castle Hills Real Estate in Lewisville, Texas, started his real estate career, property listings were still in books. He had scarcely heard of email or the World Wide Web. But as the Internet’s popularity grew in the early ’90s, reaching out to clients became as easy as pressing “send.”

That’s when many REALTORS® began sending mass emails to clients with everything from recipe cards to canned holiday greetings. The “drip campaign” quickly became the real estate technology trend of the moment. But as technology has progressed, many agents have latched onto more innovative ways to connect with clients and share information.

With potential clients now embracing social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, and texting and tweeting taking the place of emails, it might seem as though email marketing has been left in the dust.

REALTORS® can’t help but wonder: Is there any use for “old-fashioned” email marketing? Only if you do it right, says Porter, who has taught CRS’s Outlook E-Marketing Strategies course since the late ’90s. In today’s tech-savvy world, using email effectively means cutting through countless emails by providing quality content.

Out With the Old When Porter first began teaching the Outlook class, the business model was radically different. Because the idea of being able to communicate quickly with a client was

Gregor Schuster/Getty Images

By Chloe Thompson

so new, agents tended to go overboard, he says. “We would barrage them with constant information that wasn’t necessarily relevant,” Porter says. “It was an excuse to say, ‘Hey, I’m still here. I’m still in business.’ It was just constant, consistent and voluminous.”

As a result, Porter says, clients began to gloss over, delete or unsubscribe from the hundreds of emails that REALTORS® were sending to “stay relevant.” According to a 2010 survey from ExactTarget, more than half of email subscribers unsubscribed to a company email because it came too frequently; 49 percent unsubscribed because the content became repetitive or boring.

“If we abuse the privilege and give a bunch of junk to people, we have no way to get them back,” Porter explains. “Once they’ve called us spam and our email address is marked as spam, that connection is lost. What good is a marketing piece that nobody sees?”

be more targeted, not less. More personal, not less,” he says.

About five years ago, Owen developed a new strategy by weeding out thousands of unknown people from his contact list.

He proudly says that he now knows every single one of the 1,500 or so people on his Gmail contact list. He groups his contacts into five categories: an inner network of close friends, repeat and prospective clients; vendors; local owners and brokers; and both local and out-of-area REALTORS®. Each group receives weekly, plain-text emails with targeted content, such as his “Monday Morning Coffee.”

“There’s no point in sending anything to anybody unless there’s a real message,” Owen says. For his “Monday Morning Coffee” blasts and those that local REALTORS® receive, he curates content from his daily real estate blog, which covers

In With the New

18.48% 16.4%

The new way of thinking about email campaigns, Porter says, is to make them all about relationships. Real estate in general, and email marketing especially, is no longer about agents being salespeople. Instead, it is about providing a resource to clients.

As such, email marketing should first and foremost address clients’ needs. When it accomplishes that, Porter believes, email can be one of an agent’s best tools.

“In this new model, we’re friends and we communicate,” he says. “[Prospective clients] hang out on our blog, they subscribe to our RSS feeds, they want our emails and our specific information. Then, they want to buy with us.”

Porter says the average person takes nine months to buy a home, only contacting the agent about 90 days before closing.

It’s those first six months that are the most important, he says. “We want to be that agent in front of them when that day clicks, when they think to themselves, ‘Now, I want to buy a home,’” he says.

To strike the right balance between constant white noise and radio silence, Barry Owen, CRS, broker of Pareto Realty in Nashville, Tenn., has developed a marketing strategy to which he attributes countless referrals. His philosophy is simple: “The best use of technology these days is to

rates works best. Brian Block, CRS, managing broker of Block Real Estate Group in McLean, Va., uses a service called MailChimp, which has tracking and other features that Gmail doesn’t, including customizable templates and several plans that vary in price based on list size. Block sends out a customized weekly HTML email that contains select posts from his blog to a list of about 2,000 contacts.

“I cover everything, maybe monthly marketing statistics, a how-to article about something in real estate or why to have a home inspection, that kind of thing,” he says. “I have almost five years of content now to draw from, and that’s just a wealth of information.”

In addition to his weekly mailings, Block sends a personalized “checking in” email a few times a year to past clients, usually with a link to an article about low

Open Rates measured by leading mass email services MailChimp’s Real Estate Open Rate

Constant Contact Real Estate Open Rate

business strategy and overall quality-oflife tips such as developing better timemanagement skills, balancing work and home life, etc. Once a month, Owen sends a “touch base” email to out-ofarea REALTORS® reminding them to use Pareto Realty as a resource for future referrals, and he sends out a blast inviting the local brokers and owners to a monthly meetup to discuss business strategy.

Because he uses his personal email address, Owen says he believes his emails are more likely to be opened, although Gmail doesn’t have an automatic tracking mechanism like those of more formal email programs. But Owen says he knows they’re being opened: He recently had four queries come his way from prospective clients, and they were all referred to him by those who received his marketing email the day before.

Making Moves For some agents, a more formal email program that tracks click-through and open

interest rates or why it’s a good time to buy, and includes his contact information.

Like Owen, Block believes the key to keeping clients interested in his business lies with making the messages personal. In the past, he used prewritten e-newsletters from Realty Times, but in 2007 he opted to use content from his blog instead. “Your clients need to see that the email is really from you, and not from some automated system,” Block says. “That’s really the key.

Whether it’s a blog post or a new article or an email, it should answer questions that your clients might have, stuff that they ask you about every day.”

Many REALTORS® who have shifted their focus from being salespeople to serving as problem solvers say they have found it easier to gain clients’ trust. And by working to build trust, via email or any other method, agents can establish valuable and lasting relationships.

Chloe Thompson is a writer based in Washington, D.C.

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Trends | Today and tomorrow

now hear this

By Mary Dixon Lebeau

“Man’s inability to communicate is a result of his failure to listen effectively.”

—Carl Rogers

12 | March/April 2012

S

ales associate Cheryl Fairbanks, CRS, CRB, recently saw her listening skills pay off. Fairbanks, with RE/MAX Masters in Southlake, Texas, was dealing with a buyer who was looking for homes in the $800,000 range. His one requirement was that the home had to have a master bedroom on the second floor, as he and his wife wanted to be close to their young children.

Unfortunately, there was only one house in her market that met this condition. “Builders in our area are reluctant to put the master suite on the second floor. That floor plan is unpopular, because it doesn’t do well in resale,” Fairbanks explains.

But instead of throwing in the towel, Fairbanks reviewed the conversation she had with

the buyer, this time listening to the things he didn’t say. She realized that, through his statements, the buyer was making clear his two priorities — that he was keen on his children, and he was keen on investment.

Realizing what had been said between the lines, Fairbanks proposed that the buyer consider homes with a master bedroom and a second bedroom on the first floor, with other bedrooms on the second floor. That way, the family could all be downstairs when the children were small. Then as the children grew into their own rooms, they could be moved upstairs.

“After all, ages are temporary, but when you’re spending close to a million on a house, you’re making an investment, and you want it to be a good one,” Fairbanks says. “They

Piotr Powietrzynski/Getty Images

Good listening skills are essential to success in today’s market.

Improve yours — and your business at the same time.

can be near the children now, but the time will come when they’ll be glad they have that master suite downstairs.”

By listening carefully to what the buyer was saying — with his words as well as with his intent — Fairbanks was able to best serve the buyer and help him find a home that met his needs, in the present and in the future.

REALTORS® know communication is key to establishing a solid relationship with clients. But too often, communication is all one-way. Agents who have their finger on the pulse of current market conditions can spout out a geyser of information. But does that communication flow as well in the other direction? After all, selling is not just about talking. To be truly effective, agents must work to be just as good at receiving information as dispensing it.

Hear to Reveal “It may be called a listing presentation, but it should be called a listening presentation,” says Paul Pastore, CRS, an associate broker with RE/MAX Infinity in Chandler, Ariz.

“We need to listen to discover the seller’s goal.

Just like a doctor needs to diagnose before prescribing, we need to listen before advising our clients,” Pastore says. “You have two ears and one mouth for a reason.”

Pastore recalls a recent transaction in which the agent clearly didn’t listen. The agent submitted a full price offer on a short sale, but lacked the proof of funds. He was told to submit the form immediately, and that time was of the essence, but he was distracted and not really listening, Pastore says. The agent delayed following through for several days, during which time another offer was accepted.

“Listening says ‘you are important, and I’ll take time to hear what you have to say,’ ” says Drew Stevens, president of Stevens Consulting Group in Eureka, Mo. In his work as a business development mentor, Stevens defines the importance of active listening for his clients. “Active listening means you’re totally engaged in the conversation — you can feel the other party is opening up to you more. Trust is building, which creates a relationship,” Stevens says. “People will make acquisitions from those they trust and those they respect,” he adds.

Unfortunately, Stevens continues, people tend to believe they are listening better than they actually are. “I find there is an excessive need to tell, even in this industry, which

should be all about listening.” Part of the problem lies in agents’ ability to evaluate their own listening skills. He advises REALTORS® to watch clients’ body language carefully. If they’re looking around the room, fidgeting, or looking distracted or disinterested, it might be time to stop talking and start listening.

Stevens also advises REALTORS® to be aware of who is doing most of the talking in client meetings. “In buyer-agent communication, the buyer should be doing 60–75 percent of the talking,” he says. In any negotiating conversation, he adds, the communication should be 50/50.

Be a Better Listener For agents who want to sharpen their listening skills, Stevens offers the following tips: Eliminate obstacles. “We all filter, and many of us have too much on our mind to truly participate in active listening. Yet, if we stop filtering we can be better communicators,” Stevens says. “For example, if I want to tell you about my birthday, you immediately begin to think about your birthday. It’s about me, not you, but you draw visuals in

Can You Hear Me Now? Evaluate your skills by videotaping an encounter with a client. Check yourself for the following signs of poor listening: • You’re talking more than the client.

• You interrupt often and don’t wait for the client to finish a sentence or thought.

• You don’t ask questions, or ask questions that don’t relate to what the client just said.

• You fidget, play with your tie, check your watch or do other distracting hand movements.

• You answer the phone, check your email, or peruse a lunch menu during the conversation.

• You’re looking off into the distance (or at your phone) and not making eye contact when the client is talking.

• You ask for information that has just been given.

your mind to build associations.” Although it is human nature to build these visuals, you should be aware of when it’s happening and bring yourself back to the present. In that way, you can focus on what is being said.

Demonstrate that the speaker has your full attention. Use your body to let the client know that what she is saying matters. Lean in to the speaker. Nod in agreement (or shake your head to disagree). Maintain eye contact.

And put aside all other work. Turn off the cell phone and move away from the computer.

“And unless the house is on fire, don’t take an incoming call,” adds Fairbanks. “Remember, this is their time.”

Let the client talk without interruption.

This may be tougher than it sounds. Because agents are trained to be helpful, Stevens says, they tend to jump in as soon as possible with an answer to a question or a solution to a problem. Instead, encourage the client to continue talking. Take a silent count to two before responding to ensure the person is actually done speaking.

“If you pause and wait for the other person to respond, it’s remarkable how much information you can gather in those silences,” Stevens says. “Most people by and large deplore silence and will often jump in with useful information.”

Prepare a presentation with questions.

As Fairbanks’ tale of the client who wanted a second floor master suite demonstrates, the most important details may not be the ones being expressed. The best way to learn your clients’ priorities is to ask them. Use questions such as, “How long do you plan to stay in this home?”, “How do you see your family dynamic changing during that time?” and “Why do you want that feature or option?” to understand what is really important to your buyer. The more questions you ask, the more opportunity the client has to respond.

Be conscious of terminology. REALTORS® tend to use a lot of acronyms. “To maintain a conversation, stay away from acronyms and shortened ways of saying things.

Remember to clarify what things mean.

There needs to be understanding in every conversation,” Stevens says.

That understanding will pave the way for true relationship building. “The more we can get our clients to talk,” Fairbanks says, “the faster we can learn how to help them.”

Mary Dixon Lebeau is a writer based in West Deptford, N.J.

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Pipeline | Strategies to grow your business

good form Here’s what you need to know to ensure your 2011 tax return is in order and how to plan for next year.

“I shall never use profanity except in discussing house rent and taxes.”

—Mark Twain

14 | March/April 2012

I

t’s tax time again, and while some REALTORS® may be planning to file for an extension, others have already submitted their returns. Keep in mind that the 1040 filing date for 2011 is April 17, 2012, and the extended due date is Oct. 15, 2012.

This is an election year, so most of us in the tax business expect little in the way of significant tax legislation

to be enacted in 2012. Any substantive legislation will probably take place early in 2013, and as to the tax years impacted, it is anyone’s guess. The U.S. Supreme Court will rule this summer on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the health care law enacted in 2010), so we won’t know until then whether the taxes included in the law will take effect in 2013 as scheduled.

Fancy/Glow Images

By Chris Bird

So what do we know about tax law changes on the books right now that affect 2011 returns and planning for 2012 returns? Here’s a rundown.

Issues for 2011 Returns

1. Charitable contributions The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that approximately 275,000 organizations have lost their tax-exempt status in 2011. Contributions to these organizations are generally not deductible. For a listing by state or organization with revoked status, visit www.irs.gov/charities.

2. First-time homebuyer tax credit To claim the first-time homebuyer credit for 2011, the taxpayer (or spouse if married) must have been a member of the U.S. military or Foreign Service, or an employee of the intelligence community on qualified official extended duty outside the United States, for at least 90 days beginning after Dec. 31, 2008, and before May 1, 2011. The home must have been purchased with a written binding contract before May 1, 2011, with a closing date before July 1, 2011.

3. Foreign financial asset reporting To disclose foreign assets of more than $50,000 ($100,000 if married filing jointly), individuals must file a new form with the IRS, form 8938, and attach it to the tax return. The penalties for not doing so are significant. This new reporting requirement does not replace the old form TD F 90-22.1, which is required to disclose foreign assets in excess of $10,000.

Again, the penalties for not doing so are horrendous. If you are a REALTOR® who has foreign assets, please talk to your accountant to determine whether these disclosure rules apply to you. And remember, a U.S. citizen or resident is taxed on their worldwide income, not just their U.S. income.

4. Merchant card reporting In its zeal to hunt down $385 billion in lost taxes every year (known as “the tax

gap”), the IRS has come out with a new form 1099K to find unreported income of Internet businesses and other side businesses. As a result, if you have selfemployed income from a side business where you accept either credit cards or PayPal-like electronic payments, expect further IRS scrutiny. I have heard that the IRS expects as many as 300,000 businesses to file for the first time in 2011 with the issuance of the new reporting forms.

9. Bonus depreciation For new equipment placed in service in 2011, the tax law permitted a first-year write-off of 100 percent of the cost. Yes, 100 percent!

Whether it’s a heavy SUV, a tractor, a bulldozer or a Gulfstream jet, the deduction is limited only to the business use percentage.

For example, an $80,000 Cadillac Escalade used 80 percent for business would yield a tax deduction in 2011 of $64,000. In 2012, the 100 percent bonus depreciation deduction falls to 50 percent of that cost.

5. Repeal of expanded 1099 reporting A provision impacting taxpayers receiving rental income from a real estate rental activity was repealed before it became effective.

Had it not been repealed, rental property owners would have been responsible for issuing form 1099 to each unincorporated independent contractor who worked on the rental property and was paid $600 or more in 2011.

What’s Ahead for 2012?

6. Residential energy credit The previous and generous 30 percent credit for the cost of energy-efficient home improvements (with a $1,500 limit) that was in effect in 2009 and 2010 was replaced by a credit of 10 percent of the cost (limited at $500) in 2011. In 2012, at press time, no credits are available for energy conservation funds spent on a principal residence. However, the larger credits for geothermal heat pumps, solar energy systems and some other improvements are still good through 2016, with no limit on the amount of the credit.

7. Payroll tax reduction The 2 percent payroll tax reduction that both the employed and the self-employed enjoyed in 2011 has been extended through the end of 2012.

8. Standard mileage rate For 2011, the standard mileage rate was 51 cents per mile for the first six months and 55.5 cents per mile for the last six months.

In 2012, at least so far, the amount is 55.5 cents per mile.

Undoubtedly, the outcome of the November 2012 elections will play a big role in determining what changes will occur in the U.S. tax code.

It’s likely that we will see an increase in both the marginal income tax brackets, currently capped at 35 percent, and the capital gains tax rates, currently capped at 15 percent. The health care law that passed in March 2010 includes two new taxes, both effective in 2013. The first is a 3.8 percent surcharge on investment income and the second is a 0.9 percent surtax on earned income. The Supreme Court case to be decided this summer may have an impact on both of these provisions. And I do not foresee Congress mustering the political will to take away either the Home Mortgage Interest Deduction or the Real Estate Tax Deduction. I do think there may be an effort to eliminate the interest deduction on recreational vehicles and second homes instead.

As always, Congress has heaped new laws on top of old ones when it comes to the tax code. REALTORS® should work with a qualified tax professional to help them complete their filing obligations. The recent tax law changes are far too complex to cover in a single magazine article, so the best advice is to hire a professional to ensure that your 2011 tax return is completed accurately.

Chris Bird is a CRS certified instructor who served as an IRS agent for 16 years before launching his company, Chris Bird Seminars Inc. in 1986.

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Up Close | Profiles of people to watch

leon dickson sr.,

CRS

Benchmark at Southwind, LLC REALTORS ®, Memphis, Tenn.

REALTOR® since: 1989 Designee since: 2004 Contact: ldickson14@ comcast.net

You recently served as the 2011 president of the Memphis Area Association of REALTORS®. What was your biggest accomplishment during your tenure?

I wanted to be not just a president in name, but to be visible and communicate with the agents as well. Starting out as president in the market we were in, morale among agents was low. I wanted to reassure agents that we were all on the same team and let them know we valued them, so we had a REALTOR® Appreciation Week during which we had prize drawings for all the area REALTORS® among other things.

But perhaps the most notable thing was creating the Community Forum Real Estate Series. I started noticing people in the region who didn’t understand what was happening in the market and didn’t know what to do about their housing situation. I got to thinking that maybe we could help stabilize the market a little if people had a better understanding of foreclosures and short sales, so we started the series in various parts of the city to provide that information to the public. The five-part series featured a panel that included past board presidents, boards of directors and committee chairs as well as agents who specialized in the areas of the city where we held each particular forum.

Were there misconceptions?

I remember one homeowner who had been told by a friend that a short sale was a way to sell his house really quickly.

We explained the short sale process, went through the 1099 form that goes along with the short sale and clarified credit liability, which he wasn’t aware of.

16 | March/April 2012

We face a great challenge in staying relevant to consumers due to the abundance of real estate information available on the Internet. It has become our competitor.

We can’t make the information disappear, but as CRSs we can embrace it and become the authority and expert on the home buying and selling process for our customers and clients.

In addition to leading your local REALTOR® board, you’ve been a leader in different capacities at your brokerage for the past seven years. How do you keep your team motivated in trying times?

My leadership style is very hands-on. I try to be flexible and to really listen so I get good information. I like to lead by example and to be as transparent as possible — it’s easier to get people to follow you when they know where you’re going and how you plan to get there.

One thing that has helped me is that I understand we’re in a challenging market and the market that we’re accustomed to is gone. This is the new normal, the way things will be for awhile. I understand that I can’t change the market, nor can I change the times. What I do is focus on the things that we can change. We can educate ourselves better, we can be more professional and more knowledgeable about the industry, and we can better understand technology. And that’s what I try to instill in my agents through the course of the many one-on-one conversations I regularly have with them.

You network with like-minded REALTORS® who are trying to achieve goals similar to yours. What advice do you have for them?

My best piece of advice would be, No. 1, get connected with your local REALTOR® association. That’s your power source, that’s where you can stay motivated. It keeps you abreast of everything that’s going on. You network with like-minded people who are trying to get to the same place you’re trying to get.

Second, educate yourself. You can never get enough education in real estate — the market changes, so many things change, nothing stays the same.

And, lastly, always try to keep something new going in your pipeline. In the market that we’re in right now, you can have two or three sales in the pipeline, but how many of those will actually close? If you have only a couple and they fall through, you’ve got nothing, and you’re discouraged.

Trey Clark

How did you get started in real estate?

I own a beauty salon and was a hair stylist for 16 years, but I had to give up standing behind a salon chair after several orthopedic surgeries. At the time, my older sister was in real estate, and I talked to her one day about doing something different. She suggested real estate. That was almost 24 years ago. Now I own a real estate company, and my sister works for me.

I was attracted to real estate because, like working at the salon, I could control my own schedule, control my income and there was a lot of flexibility. My father has been selfemployed for as long as I can remember. Watching him, it really imprinted on me how great it could be to work for yourself and control your destiny.

“It’s easier to get people to follow you when they know where you’re going and how you plan to get there. ”

Leon Dickson Sr., CRS

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face v a Tiffany Hampton, CRS, was browsing her Facebook news feed one day when one particular conversation caught her eye. A Massachusetts-based broker looking to refer a client in New York had posted a message on a local agent’s wall. After several days, the message went unanswered, prompting a second message: “I guess you’re not interested in a million-dollar sales lead.”

By Regina Ludes

18 | March/April 2012

When it comes to using Facebook to foster business relationships, content is king and patience is required.

Jeffrey Coolidge/Getty Images

a l ue

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Facebook Tools for Business Development Hampton friended the broker and began communicating with him on the site. Several months later, she received a referral, resulting in a $1.1 million deal that closed in November.

“We never met him personally, and we’ve only had two conversations with him. If Facebook never existed, we would never have had that contact,” says Hampton, who is with Century 21 Samia Realty in Westbrook, Maine.

Facebook has become the go-to place for many real estate agents to connect with clients, fellow agents, local residents and friends.

And while REALTORS® enjoy getting “likes” for their business page, converting those likes into tangible sales leads can be a challenge.

As with any offline marketing endeavor, promoting a business on Facebook requires a sustained effort that rewards patience and perseverance. Agents who have garnered new business opportunities through their Facebook connections say they focus on building rapport with potential clients and providing good content rather than concentrating on winning sales leads. Nurture the relationships first by providing good content and thoughtful interactions, agents say, and sales leads and referrals will follow down the road.

Stacy Harmon, author of Facebook Page Marketing: Content Strategies for Real Estate, recommends four Facebook tools to help real estate agents build their presence on the social network.

Page profiles are the initial point of contact for visitors. The profile should contain details about what you do, where you went to school, and your hobbies and interests. Using a personal page for commercial gain violates Facebook’s terms of service, so listings should not be posted.

Business pages can be used to promote your business and your listings. Set up a custom website address for the business page, such as www.facebook.com/ harmonenterprises, and publish the address on your marketing material, website, blog and business cards. Post updates three to four times a week, focusing on local information, such as events, new businesses and market data.

Closed groups on Facebook allow specific groups of people to have a conversation. Group members do not have to be Facebook friends to converse with one another. Examples include agent-only groups for networking and referral opportunities, neighborhood groups where residents can post notices about garage sales and local events, and local business groups, similar to a chamber of commerce, where members promote their businesses to one another.

Facebook ads allow users to buy space to advertise their business. Ads are targeted toward interested demographics, which Facebook has aggregated from users’ profiles. Agents can choose from two business models: cost per impression and cost per click-through, which can run from 50 cents to $3 per clickthrough. Harmon recommends the cost-per-click model because it gives agents more flexibility. “Agents can cap how much they want to spend, so they can tell Facebook to stop charging them at $25 or $50,” Harmon says.

It makes sense that agents are looking to tap into Facebook’s marketing power, says Stacy Harmon of Harmon Enterprises, author of Facebook Page Marketing: Content Strategies for Real Estate. “There is such a large population on Facebook, and many people use it as the preferred form of communication. [REALTORS®] are in a relationship-oriented business, and Facebook is structured to foster those relationships,” she says.

Several Facebook tools can help agents market themselves, including personal profiles, business pages, groups and Facebook ads. (See sidebar.) But the key to success, Harmon says, lies with using a content strategy predicated on frequent and informative postings that present agents as trusted, knowledgeable local market experts.

Ideally, REALTORS® should post updates to their Facebook pages three to four times a week, 20 | March/April 2012

says Harmon, and while listings can be part of the content, they shouldn’t be the sole focus. “Talk about the community and lifestyle, local businesses and events, or causes that interest you. The focus is on engaging content, which people can like, comment on and share.” There’s a reason for providing this content, adds Harmon. “Facebook

rewards engaging content by placing it at the top of the news feed. That gives it more visibility, which is good for an agent’s name and brand,” she says.

Hampton agrees that content is king, and it shows in her frequent and varied postings on Facebook, which she says has helped her gain 15 new clients. “My Facebook pages are much busier than my email these days,” Hampton says.

Hampton maintains three Facebook pages: one personal, one business and one community page for Saco, Maine, her hometown. On her personal page, where she connects with her closest contacts and sphere of influence, she shares anecdotes about her busy life and recognizes friends’ birthdays and anniversaries. On the business page, where she

GSO Images/Getty Images

Content Matters

42 percent of smallconnects with past clients, fellow agents and her business network, she advertises property listings and professional accomplishments. A Century 21 landing page gives information about the company and lends credibility to her team, Hampton says.

The community page for Saco, Maine, is the most popular of the three, with 4,398 likes to date. A landing page contains photos and details about the area, which Hampton updates every few weeks using the app Wildfire (www.wildfireapp.com). She also posts links to her community blog (sacomaine. mainerealestatesolutions.com), where she segments her entries by day and theme, including Social Media Monday, Around Town Tuesday, Buy Local Wednesday, Real Estate Thursday and Weekend Fun Friday.

Using different themes, she says, enables her to reach different audiences and sets her apart from other agents.

To keep her content fresh and timely, Hampton pays attention to what people like to talk about online most: themselves. When she recently posted the question, “What is your favorite memory of Saco?,” it garnered nearly 40 responses. “I’m more concerned about what the community wants to hear rather than what I want to say,” she says.

Blog Stop Eric Kodner, CRS, with Wayzata Lakes Realty in Minnetonka, Minn., and Madeline Island Realty in La Pointe, Wis., says he posts more often to his personal page than his business page, thanks to his Active Rain blog and an app called Networked Blogs (www.networkedblogs.com), which feeds his blog posts automatically to his Facebook page. “I don’t get a lot of comments on Active Rain, but when my posts appear on Facebook, I get many more calls and comments,” says Kodner, who teaches social networking classes at Wisconsin and Minnesota REALTOR® conventions.

Market reports and video tours are also common fodder for Kodner’s Facebook posts. When the Wisconsin Association of REALTORS® releases its monthly housing report, for example, he posts a link to the report and shares some analysis of the numbers. And video tours have helped sell his listings. “I sold a house on Madeline Island (one of Lake Superior’s Apostle

business owners received sales leads through Facebook, compared to 36 percent for LinkedIn and 16 percent for Twitter.

Source: Crowdspring survey, September 2011

Islands) last fall and the buyer said he remembered seeing it on Facebook. They weren’t my friends on Facebook at the time, but they are now,” he says.

Kodner posts on Facebook a few times a week, and he makes sure to write about topics that interest people. Second homes and short sales are common topics because people frequently ask about them. When Kodner received a message from a couple who was looking for a “rustic cabin,” he turned it into a blog story about the differences between cabins and cottages in the area, and how to stage a rustic home.

“If people bother to tell you what they are looking for, it’s worth it to write about it,” Kodner says.

“I used to think I would never get any business from Facebook,” he adds, “but if you provide something that shows that you know your market, like staging or classifying lakeshore lots, that will generate messages and comments.” Interactions like that can lead to future business.

Managing Interactions “Social media is the new model of marketing,” says CRS-certified instructor Mark Porter, CRS, with Castle Hills Real Estate in Lewisville, Texas. Social networks are the places where “you hang out with people. You don’t want to be the obnoxious salesperson in the room. What you hope to do is develop rapport, so they step into your inner realm, like your blog or website, and eventually become a client,” Porter says.

He advises agents to post once a day or every other day. When posting, his goal is to provoke discussion, so friends of his Facebook friends will join the conversation and ask questions, which puts them one step closer to his inner business circle.

“My personal page is about expanding my sphere of influence and building rapport with more people. It’s the place where someone might ask a pal, ‘What’s up?’ The Castle Hills business page is for friends

and relatives who are serious about buying and selling. I post about the local market, appreciation and depreciation, interest rates and other timely information that shows my professionalism,” Porter explains.

But a strategic approach can backfire, he adds. Sometimes planned posts aren’t as engaging as the ones that reflect spontaneous, real-life situations. When Porter recently posted that he was fixing his iTunes library and “having a very loud AC/ DC block party in my office,” it generated 23 likes and comments. “Real life seems to spark the most interest because people get a glimpse into your life. Sometimes if you get too strategic, it can come across as phony.”

To keep up with the interactions, Porter uses the social media dashboard Hootsuite (hootsuite.com) to schedule Facebook posts in advance, which is helpful when he is busy teaching a class or attending a conference. The only plug-ins he has on his pages are the Realtor.com app for listings and the CRS app for Council information. To manage the barrage of emails from Facebook and other social networks, Porter sets up rules in his email program that send the messages into a separate file folder, which he can browse and respond to later. “Before I put that into practice, it was overwhelming to deal with all the interaction. I felt it was interfering with my productivity,” Porter says.

Whether it’s setting up a community page, posting about the latest market reports or linking to stories on their blog, agents are tapping into Facebook’s marketing power to build and maintain ongoing relationships with their clients. While they may not see immediate results, agents who are patient and consistent with their Facebook strategy can create a pool of potential clients who will call when they’re ready to buy or sell.

Regina Ludes is the associate editor of The Residential Specialist.

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LOCAL Forecast B y C a ro l i n e E . M a y e r

In 2011, even the lowest mortgage rates in decades did little to boost consumer confidence and drive buyers back into the challenging real estate market. Although some locales posted gains in home sales, many also continued to see a drop in prices, particularly in places where distressed sales were flooding the market.

Yet by the end of the year, many agents were becoming cautiously optimistic as oncetentative buyers signaled renewed interest, and investors started to snap up bargains in the form of foreclosed homes and short sales.

Of course, that’s just the birds-eye view — the only real truth about the state of the housing market is that all real estate is local. So to take the best pulse of what’s really happening on the ground, The Residential Specialist spoke with several CRSs to learn how their specific markets fared last year and what they expect for 2012.

22 | March/April 2012

Len DeLessio/Getty Images; Globe inset: hibrida13/Veer

CRSs look back — and ahead — to offer an up-close view of the housing market.

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At the Coldwell Banker Grass Roots Realty offices in Nevada County, Calif., agents have adopted a jocular refrain about the local market. “We like to say that we’re working three times as hard as we used to — for one-third the money,” says John Daly, CRS. “It’s harder than ever to get places sold; it takes longer to sell, and homes are selling for about half or one-third less than five years ago.” In addition, Daly says, “If it’s a bank-owned [foreclosed] property, the banks are always insisting on reducing our commissions.”

Inventory remains fairly constant with houses taking at least two months to sell, longer if they are high-priced. About 30 percent of the homes in the area are distressed (bank foreclosures or short sales).

For buyers, that means “there are some incredible deals,” Daly says.

The good news, Daly says, is that sales picked up in 2011, with 1,378 homes sold in Nevada County, the heart of California’s Gold Rush country. That’s a 9 percent increase over 2010’s tally of 997 homes, and a marked improvement over 2009’s total of 894.

Yet home prices continued to decline. In 2011, the average sale price was $244,365, down from $293,260 in 2010 and $314,175 in 2009.

Daly says that at the end of 2011, about 30 to 40 percent of local transactions in his office were cash sales.

“That’s not normal,” he says. But from what he’s observed, the cash sales were mostly in the low-priced, distressed-sale category — from $100,000 to $250,000 — and included are a variety of buyers from investors to flippers to buyers planning on moving there in two or three years when they retire. They used their home equity and/or IRA funds, and some were cashing out of the stock market. One of his clients was cashing out of the gold market.

“We feel like we’re in the bottom of the trough and will probably be there for the next couple of years,” Daly says.

24 | March/April 2012

New Hampshire “It’s going to take a while for everything to come back, but there are a lot of positives,” says John MacGilvary, CRS, regional manager for Prudential Verani Realty in Londonderry, N.H., about his southern New Hampshire market. “It’s all being fueled by affordability.

Everything is on sale and interest rates are ridiculously low.” He sees many other encouraging signs.

For starters, pending sales have increased more than 10 percent from a year ago, from 563 in November 2010 to 612 in November 2011. “That’s tremendous,” he says.

And when bids are made for houses in the lower range — under $200,000 — there are often multiple offers. “That hasn’t happened in the last four years. So we find it very encouraging.”

In November, inventory had declined to an 8.4-month supply from a peak of nearly 12 months a year ago. “At its peak, three years ago,” MacGilvary says, “we had over 16 months of inventory.” In addition, cash transactions are at an all-time high at 33 percent — more than double the number of

“As long as the banks continue to hamper financing, the recovery will be delayed.”

sales that rely on FHA financing. “Many of the cash buyers are people who have lived in their homes for 15 to 25 years and are now downsizing. This is an exciting new market.”

The slow but steady improvement is enough for MacGilvary to voice a potential concern for the future: “Once the job situation becomes less of a threat, inventory won’t be able to keep with demand, and it will take several years for new construction projects to catch up.”

But MacGilvary admits that scenario is not imminent. “As long as the banks continue to hamper financing, the recovery will be delayed.”

Des Moines, Iowa With the unemployment rate near 5 percent, Des Moines has been spared the worst of the nation’s financial doldrums, says John Stark, CRS, GRI, and broker associate for Coldwell Banker MidAmerica Group. “But we’ve not escaped its psychological impact. Consumer confidence remains low — and that means most homeowners are not eager to move up to a bigger house.”

In Des Moines, about 7,100 homes were sold in 2011, up from 6,757 sales in 2010. But the average price dropped from $166,800 to $159,700. Stark attributes the decline to an increase in foreclosure sales, especially homes under $100,000. Data show that one in six homes in the Des Moines area was a distressed sale.

Inventory has dropped to an 8-month supply, from 10 months in 2010 and 12.7 months in 2007. “One reason is that builders have stopped building homes on spec,” Stark says.

“Those who have survived will now build only if they have a solid purchase agreement with deposit.”

Stark expects 2012 to be as difficult as 2011. “People are not seeing a recovery — or if they are, they’re seeing one that’s very flat. Home sales will probably edge up a little bit because some people are tired of

Crystal ball: Tetra/Glow Images; Icons: Solid/Veer

Nevada County, Calif.

the malaise and want to buy, but prices will remain flat. I think this is our new normal.”

Stark characterizes 2011 “as the year sellers learned to price a home correctly,” noting that they seem to have come to grips with the fact that the home they bought a few years ago cannot be sold even close to that price today. For buyers, it was the year of choice — in some cases, too much choice. “Buyers are increasingly picky, taking their time to buy and demanding many concessions.” Stark began showing houses to a young, newly engaged couple in January 2011. “We must have looked at 90 homes in five different suburbs. I never thought, starting out in January, that I’d be a guest at their July wedding and still not have closed on a home for them.” That finally occurred — in August.

Texas

Existing-Home Sales 2009 4.34 million 2010 4.19 million 2011 4.26 million

Median Home Price 2009 $172,500 2010 $172,900 2011 $166,100 Source: NAR

Chicago Business is normally slow in December, says Sheri Kamikow, CRS, with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Lincoln Park Plaza in Chicago.

But this year, Kamikow was busier than ever.

“Buyers who, two years ago, walked away from the market too scared to buy — with prices dropping, they were afraid they’d end up upside down [on their mortgage] — were calling me, telling me it was time to start looking.”

Kamikow believes that’s because although prices haven’t stopped falling, “we’re getting close to the bottom.” Inventory is shrinking, from 9 months in late 2010 to 6 months in late 2011. Of course, some of that shrinkage comes from sellers who have decided to rent their homes instead of selling them at low prices.

That’s particularly true for condos: “The condo-rental market today is almost as hot as the condo-purchasing market in 2005,” Kamikow says. “There are so many people who don’t want to lose money selling their condo, that they are renting them out — and there are so many people still afraid of buying that they are eager tenants.”

The foreclosure market, she says, is also hot, noting that in many cases, investors

are bringing cash to snap up good deals.

“Some [homes] are in awful shape, but some banks are beginning to fix them up because they want people to buy them who will occupy them,” Kamikow says.

“The reality is that more than 65 percent of the homes listed in Chicago and the suburbs in 2011 did not sell — and pricing is the No. 1 reason,” says Marilyn Dopler, CRS, a broker with RE/MAX Suburban in Arlington Heights, Ill., pointing to MLS statistics for the first nine months of 2011 that show the Chicago area struggling. There were 53,671 sales in the first nine months of 2011, down nearly 4 percent from the same time period a year earlier. Meanwhile, the median price was down more than 10 percent to $168,000, and the time on market increased from 161 to 175 days.

Dopler does see a few encouraging signs in the suburban Chicago market, mainly from first-time homebuyers who are taking advantage of some state and county programs (a zero-interest, 10-year loan, for example) for qualified buyers who haven’t owned a home in three years.

Investors are also active again, taking advantage of low prices and interest rates.

Between October 2010 and October 2011, Texas created 15.4 percent of the total jobs in the United States. That fact, from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, “is huge and is reflected in the market,” says Cathy Cole, CRS, CRB, with Heritage Texas Country Property in Brenham, Texas.

“People are still moving to Texas, and many have deep pockets,” Cole says. In the Washington County area in which she works, many of the transactions involve second homes or retirement homes, with many buyers from nearby Houston, Austin or San Antonio eager to snap them up, often paying in cash.

“Consumer confidence does seem to be growing a little bit,” Cole says. But overall, “inventory is down, mostly because people aren’t willing to sell unless they have to — either to move away, relocate to a retirement community or move to a smaller (or larger) home.”

According to estimates by Texas A&M’s Real Estate Center, 2011 sales for all of Texas were up only 1 percent from 2010 to about 206,000 houses.

The average price rose by 1.5 percent to $195,300. Inventory was also flat, holding at approximately 7.5 months throughout 2011. Of course, there were wide variations within the state. For example, from January through October, Odessa posted a 13 percent increase in median prices, with sales up 3 percent.

Paris, Texas, by contrast, saw median prices drop 15 percent, with sales down 5 percent.

Despite the tight inventory, “buyers are taking longer to make a decision, cautious after hearing so much from the media about the bad economy,” she says. And “unless the economy turns around, I don’t expect to see a significant change.”

Caroline Mayer is a writer based in Arlington, Va.

www.crs.com | 2 5

c o u n s

By Gwen Moran

These days, calming anxious homeowners is a big part of an agent’s job. CRSs share strategies for keeping sellers happy in a slow market.

26 | March/April 2012

e l i n g

patience When it comes to frustrated sellers, Leigh York, CRS, with Century 21 Judge Fite Company in Weatherford, Texas, has heard it all. When a home isn’t moving as quickly as the seller or she had hoped, she schedules a sit-down to let the seller vent. And the refrains she hears typically go something like this:

Buena Vista Images/Getty Images

“I heard on the news that the market is still terrible.”

“Nothing is happening.

I should just take it off the market.”

“Why did the house up the street sell in a week and it’s taking you much longer to sell mine?”

www.crs.com | 2 7

What to Expect Kimberly Cameron, CRS, of RE/MAX Properties West works hard to “wow” sellers with her knowledge of the St. Louis, Mo., market. She rattles off demographics, buyers’ habits, which companies are moving employees into the market, and which 28 | March/April 2012

“The key is to stay calm.”

“When people are very anxious and desperate, you have to help them calm down and then get to the heart of what’s bothering them.”

agents have “buyers in their cars ready to make an offer,” she says. And while she says that approach helps win listings, she admits it’s only the beginning when it comes to keeping sellers happy. The day she completes the listing agreement, she schedules a follow-up meeting for two weeks later, which sets into motion the plan for keeping clients updated and calm during the selling process.

“That meeting is the first review of the progress of the listing, which sets the tone and expectation for our hands-on service. I explain that I’m ‘in the trenches’ with them.

At the end of the meeting, I set another meeting in another two weeks. [The key is] consistent attention,” she says.

York agrees that managing expectations starts at the first meeting. And the first thing she does is explain very clearly what she will and won’t do to promote the property, as well as the reasons why, which prevents any assumptions that could lead to conflict later on.

“I explain why I won’t do info tubes or public open houses right upfront,” says York, who works primarily with rural properties in her Fort Worth, Texas-area market. “People like those things, but they just don’t work in our market. Plus, I’ll explain

that if someone is taking information from an info tube, that means they’re not calling me for the information, and I don’t have a chance to talk to them and get them in to see the house,” she says. Instead, she highlights the things she will do that have proven to work, such as hanging flyers in feed stores and post offices in very rural areas or discussing which features will be most attractive to highlight in the MLS listing, such as a stable and acreage.

Karen Nichols, CRS, with Perry & Co. in Denver spends time up front discussing the all-important issue of pricing. Using statistics from the MLS showing days-onmarket for similar homes at various price points helps her clients understand how long to expect the sale to take, she says.

She shows her sellers both the neighborhood and the broader market area. “We look at where things are priced and where they end up selling and the percentage difference between the original price and the sold price and how long it took to get there,” she says.

Cameron also uses MLS stats this way and includes frank discussion about the condition of the home and what will need to be done to it to have it sell at various price points. If the seller wants to do no

Iofoto/Veer

And while many REALTORS® may walk away from tough conversations like that, York says it’s critical to address these frustrations to keep sellers happy and maintain listings after they’ve expired. In some cases, she admits, the market is terrible. But that’s usually not the case. So she weathers the anger and criticism and then calmly tries to offer a solution. She reminds the seller that the market has changed, and that selling a property requires evaluating current market data and pricing the house according to what’s happening in the neighborhood.

“When a seller is thinking about taking the house off the market or not renewing a listing, I remind them that I want it to sell, too. I’ve spent time and money advertising and showing the property, and we’re both in this together. Then, I work on showing them the most current market data to show them where we need to be to accomplish the goal we both want,” she says.

While the housing market in some regions is showing signs of life or even recovery, on a national level it continues to struggle. The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Index posted an annual decline of 3.9 percent in the third quarter of 2011.

That was an improvement over the decline of 5.8 percent in the second quarter, but still shows that many markets nationwide are still declining or stagnant, which can make sellers nervous and anxious. It’s more important than ever for agents to develop strategies for keeping them calm and persuading them to be patient.

Some of the most effective tactics are ones that should already be in every agent’s toolbox: managing expectations, providing consistent updates and having tough conversations that keep sellers calm. REALTORS® who fine-tune these tools will put themselves in the best position to keep their listing clients happy — even if their homes don’t sell in the first week.

work on the home, she’ll evaluate the sale price based on its current condition.

If they want more, she’ll tell them what they need to do to the home to get more money. “I explain that, in St. Louis, we’re in our sixth year of a depreciating market, so here’s the reality of what you need to do,” she says.

Information Flow Updating sellers regularly about progress is crucial: it helps prevent the fear and anxiety that can make the relationship more difficult, says Jared Althoff, CRS, with Ruhl & Ruhl REALTORS® in Dubuque, Iowa.

In addition to meeting with clients, he uses the Book a Showing appointmentsetting service, which allows sellers to log in and see their activity and feedback for their properties at any time. He also sends clients a weekly report with website traffic and gathers feedback from agents who are showing the property about its strengths and weaknesses.

“Sellers are hearing things on the national and local news and even from coworkers, family and friends about people having luck selling when they’re not. The key is to shift the blame for the home not selling from you, the REALTOR®, and really show them what’s going on … in the market,” Althoff says. He does that with regular updates about inquiries from buyers, MLS traffic, Book a Showing data and changing market conditions.

In York’s initial meeting, she asks clients how they would like their follow-up communication. Some prefer weekly phone calls, but others just need an email every 10 days to keep them comfortable, she says.

She adapts her updates to suit the seller’s preferences.

Cameron uses electronic updates to communicate weekly traffic reports for the MLS listing, Zillow, and similar sites. However, she is also now emphatic about face-to-face meetings after realizing she had started to rely too heavily on technology. In late 2011, one of her sellers complained about never seeing the REALTOR® who previously had the listing. She realized she needed to get more face time with her clients and, since then, has had calmer clients who feel assured

she is devoting her energy toward selling their properties. They also tend to be more patient and willing to work with her when changes need to be made, she says.

“It’s easy to hide behind email, voicemail, texts and commenting on social media sites like Facebook,” she says. “Truly face-to-face meetings have made all the difference and changed how we achieve price reductions, longer listings, happy clients and more sales.”

During her first follow-up face-to-face meeting after the listing, Cameron evaluates the number of showings. Once the property has had three to five showings without an offer, she knows there is a pricing issue and discusses adjusting price with the sellers. She evaluates pricing weekly, looking at new comparables and other listings on the market to see if there are changes that might affect her listings.

Tough Conversations In a tough market, not all difficult conversations can be prevented by managing expectations and keeping in touch. People get frustrated, York says. And when they do, she lets them get their feelings off their chests.

“You have to let them vent and not interrupt.

Then, what I usually say is, ‘I understand, because I’m frustrated, too,’ ” she says.

York comes to these conversations armed with the most current market data, showing what’s selling and at what prices.

Slow selling in most of her markets typically comes down to a matrix of condition and price. She rigorously collects feedback from prospective buyers and their REALTORS® and shares it with her sellers. She has even gone so far as to bring sellers to other homes that sold more quickly so they can see why the property might have been more attractive than their own. And when she hears defeatist statements like, “Maybe I should just take it off the market,” she reminds sellers of one thing: “It’s not going to sell if it’s not on the market,” she says.

When Nichols’ clients get agitated about slow progress, she calmly reminds them of some of the initial discussions about their motivations for selling the property — some clients have to sell their homes for financial or other reasons, while

others simply want to move on. “The key is to stay calm. When people are very anxious and desperate, you have to help them calm down and then get to the heart of what’s bothering them,” she says.

In some cases where the sale is not crucial, and she has reached an impasse with the seller about price reductions or property improvements, she may even suggest taking the property off the market for a period of time to alleviate the anxiety. This often changes the tone of the conversation — either the seller agrees or becomes more open to making changes.

Althoff also revisits the reasons for selling when his listing clients are anxious, reminding them of the tools, and evaluating feedback and other data to determine why the property isn’t selling. “You can’t always hammer sellers on price. They hear enough of that as it is. Sometimes, it’s a function of the condition of the house.

Sometimes, it’s a function of not enough buyers in a certain price range. When you get all of the information in front of the sellers, [showing them the data in writing], they can make clearer decisions,” he says.

Cameron also finds that taking a lighthearted approach sometimes works when clients are reluctant to invest more money in their homes to sell them. When she reviews feedback and notices comments about a particular feature, she’ll tackle it head on, posting signs around the house, taped to the walls, like “Wallpaper tacky?

No problem. It’s $150 to have it removed.

We can credit at closing.” That neutralizes a negative in the prospective buyer’s mind and also relieves the seller of the expense of more work.

“I always joke that I’m a cross between a hairdresser and a therapist,” Cameron says.

“But above all, I try to be positive, forthright and empathetic with frustrated sellers.”

Keeping sellers happy in challenging market conditions requires time, attention, and a high level of communication, but when done well, it can mean the difference between calming sellers’ nerves or losing the listing altogether.

Gwen Moran is a writer based in Wall Township, N.J., and is a frequent contributor to The Residential Specialist.

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Right

Recognizing your business is in need of a turnaround is hard. CRSs who changed direction share how they put their businesses on a

new road to success.

W

hen the real estate market in his area took a downward turn and

dragged his business down with it, Jim McGowan, CRS, SRES, with RE/MAX Properties in Bucks County, Pa., did some serious self-reflection and took a careful assessment of where he wanted to put his energies for the 10 years until he retired. “I always think … ‘Where will the next sale come from?’ But you can’t let that paralyze you. Sit down and take a breath. It’s about one door closing and the other door — there’s no doubt that it’s there.”

B y M a ry E l l e n C o l l i n s

Okea/Getty Images

another door opening. Always look for

Turns www.crs.com | 3 1

For McGowan, that other door turned out to be a mirror. “I was about to turn 55 and said, ‘If I’m going to be in the business for 10 more years, who are my clients going to be?’ And when I looked in the mirror I saw a different person from who I was when I got into the business in my 30s.”

Recognizing that he was a baby boomer, he also decided to focus his business on serving that very demographic. “With aging, there will be changing housing needs, and I realized that this will help me understand where I’m going to be 10 years from now.”

The market downturn has proved that when the market gets tough, tough REALTORS® get going by focusing on a new demographic, a new market or a new way to market themselves. No one is immune to a slump in business, but CRSs who have faced that challenge report that flexibility, persistence and a “failure is not an option” approach dictate a high probability of success in turning their business around.

Demographic Detour After McGowan decided to shift his mentality and strategy toward a new demographic, he took action. He got his Seniors Real Estate Specialist designation and created a new website, www.55andabove.info, 32 | March/April 2012

which includes his property listings and information about legal and financial resources for seniors, as well as lists of assisted living facilities and other housing options. “I like doing more for them rather than just focusing on what’s in it for me,” McGowan explains. “I was a social worker for 12 years, and this ties my two careers together. I sincerely believe in what I’m doing.”

McGowan advertises his business on conveyor-belt order dividers at grocery stores located near 55+ communities and participates in local senior expos where agencies and vendors promote services for the elderly. In addition, he’s developing a PowerPoint presentation that outlines

housing options for seniors, which he hopes to present at senior centers and 55+ communities. The 55+ client base now represents about 40 percent of his business, and although it has increased slowly, he’s unwaveringly optimistic about the future.

After all, as he ages, so will his clients.

“The fact that it’s not happening as quickly as I’d hoped is a disappointment, but I think it’s due to the housing market, which is out of my control. I really do believe this is a good niche market that’s going to become larger and larger because of the tsunami of baby boomers coming. I have no doubt at all that this is going to work. If you decide to specialize in something, you have to be willing to take the risk.”

Technology Tweak Kim Ziton, CRS, with Keller Williams Premier Realty in Woodbury, Minn., a Twin Cities suburb, had been specializing in luxury new construction for 15 years before the market tumbled.

“New construction crashed, and I had to focus on existing homes. I said, ‘What do I need to do to set myself apart?’ I needed to saturate the market and do something different from everyone else, so I hired an SEO (search engine optimization) consultant to take me to the next level.” Ziton had been using REALTOR.com, Zillow and Trulia, and had a Facebook fan page, but her consultant enhanced her marketing

Robyn Mackenzie/Veer

REALTORS® who manage to retool a faltering business strategy successfully may employ different tactics, but they all share a willingness to change direction when necessary.

strategy by adding blog posts and YouTube videos about her properties to the mix, and using meta tags to garner more prominent exposure on Google.

Each home also now has a unique domain name, and that keeps bringing people back to Ziton’s site, she says.

“Within 24 hours of my sending [the consultant] information about a home, we send the seller a screen shot showing that they’re on the front page of Google. That stops people in their tracks.”

Ziton says she’s “not a tech person,” but some clients refer to her as “the tech gal” because she’s the only agent in her area who employs an SEO expert to assist her with Internet marketing. The number of sales and leads she’s gotten since she hired him have tripled.

“I just received a lead call from someone who said that in his research on top agents for Woodbury, Minn., luxury homes, my name flooded Google. He said, ‘Clearly, you’re the frontrunner for the area,’ ” Ziton says. “I thought doing this would help me seal deals a little bit faster, but I didn’t expect the level of excitement of the people I present it to. I pride myself on it now. It’s a key part of my business and an advantage I have above anyone else.”

Sergej Khakimullin/Veer

Stocked Market Christine McNaught, CRS, CRB, with Windermere Prestige Properties in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson, Nev., knew that the extremely distressed market in her area would require her to reevaluate her business.

McNaught has specialized in luxury homes for 17 years and says, “2009 was the worst year of my career. There were a minimal number of luxury homes selling, and there were lots of foreclosures, but unless you had relationships with banks it

was difficult to penetrate that market. In 2008, I said I would never touch a short sale because it was too much work, but you have to change with the market if you’re going to survive in this industry.” After taking some courses to learn the tricks of the short-sale trade, she says her business did a complete 180.

In addition to the increase in her client base, McNaught appreciated the opportunity to assist people in a different way than she had previously. “It didn’t used to be as emotional as it is now. Sellers are going through a hardship and sharing very personal information. I’m really helping these people be able to get back on their feet more quickly. With a short

“If you decide to specialize in something, you have to be willing to take the risk.”

Jim McGowan, CRS

sale, their credit can come back in less than 24 months. With a foreclosure, it may be up to six years before their credit is restored. I’ve never felt like I was helping people so much. And from each of my short sales, I’ve gotten at least three to five referrals of people who are going through the same thing.”

McNaught eased the administrative part of the short-sale workload by suggesting to her broker that the company partner with a third-party processing entity to handle the labor-intensive paperwork required. The processors are responsible for getting the complete short-sale package to the bank, and the processing company’s attorneys go over the approval with the seller. This arrangement allows McNaught to keep her focus on personal service to her clients. “Working with this company allows everyone to handle his or her own area of specialization,” she says.

“Without them, our closings would not go as smoothly.”

In a way, McNaught has come full circle. Although she said she’d never do short sales, opening up to the idea of switching gears ultimately led her back to where she’s always been. “I’m back in the luxury market, where 90 percent of my listings are short sales. Luxury homes are moving again. [My short-sales expertise] has allowed me to get back into the niche that I know and am comfortable with.”

REALTORS® who manage to retool a faltering business strategy successfully may employ different tactics, but they all share a willingness to change direction when necessary, seek out a new open door, and walk through it with confidence.

Mary Ellen Collins is a writer based in St. Petersburg, Fla., and is a frequent contributor to The Residential Specialist.

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Good Read | Resources in print

breaking bad Scientists and marketers have begun to glimpse how habits work — and how they can be changed.

Reviewed by Allan Fallow

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

by Charles Duhigg Random House 400 pages, $28

We seem to be in the midst of a flowering of the mind, or at least a flowering of books about how the mind works. Recent months have brought us popular treatments of whether we should proceed intuitively or analytically in a given situation (Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow); how to cope in a crisis (Sien Beilock’s Choke and Paul Sullivan’s Clutch); and the mechanics of human creativity (Imagine, by Jonah Lehrer). The latest bloom in this bouquet is The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, a much-decorated science writer for The New York Times.

A telling tweak befell Mr. Duhigg’s opus on its way to the printer: The subtitle was altered from its original Why We Do What We Do and How to Change It to the far less prescriptive Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. That was probably a wise move, for reading The Power of Habit does not guarantee you’ll break a bad routine. But it will leave you with a fistful of insights into how habits form, the rewards we (often unknowingly) derive from them, and what’s involved in modifying some of the more insidious patterns we’ve all spent a lifetime learning to follow.

Creatures of Habit Several factors lured Duhigg to the subject of human habits. The strongest of them was, as his book title has it, the power they appear to exert over our everyday lives. “Most of the choices we make each day may feel like the products of well34 | March/April 2012

considered decision making,” he writes, “but they’re not. They’re habits.” If you resist (as I do) the degree of determinism this injects into our existence, consider the Duke University researcher who established in 2006 that “more than 40 percent of the actions people performed each day weren’t actual decisions, but habits.”

Duhigg’s book covers the habitual waterfront, explaining how habits emerge within individual lives; how they distinguish stellar companies from middling performers; and how they shape — and can reshape — entire societies. His overall message, he assures us, is a positive one: “Habits can be changed, if we understand how they work.”

Make or Break Although positive routines and their triggers figure largely in The Power of Habit, it seems likely that the majority of readers will be those seeking to break what the Rolling Stones famously referred to as “nasty habits” — smoking, drinking, gambling and the like — and the typically perverse rewards they bestow upon their practitioners.

At the gentler end of that scale, look at nail biting. Like any routine, good or bad — and this is the book’s essential insight — it consists of a three-part “habit loop”: First comes a behavioral cue, followed by the routine itself, and finally the reward (be it physical, emotional or social) for partaking in that process.

Duhigg presents a hopeful case study involving Mandy, a 24-year-old graduate student at Mississippi State University, who had been a chronic nail biter virtually her entire life. Subjected to awareness training (to identify the triggers of her habitual behavior) and habit-reversal therapy (to replace the physical sensation of nail-biting with a less-destructive one such as rubbing her arm or rapping her knuckles on a hard surface), Mandy broke her bad habit in five weeks.

“It seems ridiculously simple,” habitreversal pioneer Nathan Azrin told the author, “but once you’re aware of how your habit works — once you recognize the cues and rewards — you’re halfway to changing it.” Duhigg compiles an impressive inventory of the bad habits being reformed by habit-reversal therapy today: verbal and physical tics, smoking, gambling, bedwetting, and procrastination, to name a few.

In every case, he writes, a bad habit may resist reform simply because “we don’t really understand the cravings driving our behaviors until we look for them.” So just as Mandy’s nail-biting compulsion actually arose from a desire for physical stimulation, those snack breaks you’ve been taking at work in the middle of the day may in fact be driven by a yen to snap the boredom of your quotidian routine. “If you snack for a brief release,” Duhigg concludes, “you can easily find another routine — such as taking a quick walk, or giving yourself three minutes on the Internet — that provides the same interruption without adding to your waistline.”

By the same token, smokers may be able to replace the routine of a cigarette once they identify the true object of their craving: It’s not necessarily the nicotine hit they desire so much as the burst of stimulation, the daily structure or the socializing conferred by the act of smoking.

And while Duhigg concedes that alcoholism is “more than a habit,” he effectively shows how one of its most common cures, Alcoholics Anonymous, attacks the habits that surround alcohol abuse. Alcoholics

don’t crave the physical sensation of feeling intoxicated, he points out; rather, they long for the seemingly tangential rewards associated with alcohol consumption, such as relaxation, companionship and emotional release. Not coincidentally, those are precisely the rewards delivered by attending an AA meeting or having a sit-down with one’s sponsor: “AA has built a system … that strives to offer as much escape, distraction and catharsis as a Friday night bender.”

The Change-Up Duhigg synthesizes these and other lessons into something he calls the Golden Rule of Habit Change: “To change a bad pattern, you must insert a new routine into the habit loop. … If you use the same cue, and provide the same reward, you can shift the routine and change the habit.”

If Duhigg’s theory of habit formation and modification is convincing — perhaps even enlightening — when applied to the level of individual habits, it loses something when he tries to broaden its applicability to organizations (and, later, to whole societies). Still, REALTORS® and other close students of successful businesses will be intrigued by what he reveals of “keystone habits” and their ability to transform the likes of Alcoa, Starbucks and Target.

In the first instance, Alcoa CEO Paul O’Neill instilled a culture of excellence in a faltering behemoth by maniacally obsessing on a seeming sidelight: worker safety.

At Starbucks, executives wrote training workbooks designed to inculcate willpower in the lives of its workers. Anyone familiar with the coffee chain’s role as a “third place” in American society — not home and not work, but a source of essential interactions just the same — may view Starbucks in an even more sanguine light once they read Duhigg’s judgment: Starbucks has succeeded in teaching the kind of life skills that schools, families and communities have failed to provide. With more than 137,000 current employees and more than one million

alumni, Starbucks is now, in a sense, one of the nation’s largest educators. All of those employees, in their first year alone, spent at least 50 hours in Starbucks classrooms, and dozens more at home with Starbucks workbooks and talking to the mentors assigned to them.

The dark side of a company’s immersion in our personal habits, Duhigg reports, can be found in Target and its forays into the disturbing new field of “predictive analytics.” Having built a massive data warehouse of consumer demographics, where every shopper is tagged with his or her own unique identification code, the retail chain now feels confident in guessing “what you habitually buy, and then try[ing] to convince you to get it at Target.” In one extreme case, writes Duhigg, a father in Minnesota learned of his high school daughter’s recent “status change” when Target’s “pregnancy-prediction model” began sending coupons for baby clothes and cribs to her home.

So why, after all this, do we do what we do? Well, you can chalk up at least some of it to simple adaptation: Many a human habit is in fact a labor-saving shortcut, crafted by the brain to lighten its processing load. “Left to its own devices,” the author writes, “the brain will try to make almost any regular routine into a habit, because habits allow our minds to ramp down more often.” This setup also conveniently relieves us of constantly having to focus on bare necessities such as walking and deciding what to eat, Duhigg continues, “so we can devote mental energy to inventing spears, irrigation systems, and, eventually, airplanes and video games.”

And if habits got us where we are today, just think of where they might take us tomorrow. “Once you see everything as a bunch of habits,” the book notes, “it’s like someone gave you a flashlight and a crowbar and you can get to work.”

Allan Fallow is a magazine writer and book editor in Alexandria, Va. You can follow him on Twitter @TheFallow.

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CRSs of the Year

Referral Story

Course Listings

p. 39

p. 40

p. 43

inside CRS N E W S

F R O M

T H E

Sharing Ideas: Sell-a-bration® 2012

M

ore than 400 real estate professionals traveled to the Arizona Grand Resort in Phoenix to attend the Council’s annual educational conference, Sell-abration®, Jan. 19–21. This year’s event featured a popular new pre-conference day of sessions, Listing Legends (see sidebar), in addition to the usual three-day lineup of workshops, keynotes and general sessions.

The official event began with a full day of workshops that emphasized how REALTORS® can do their jobs better, especially by harnessing the power

36 | March/April 2012

of technology and social media. In his opening keynote presentation, Sell-a-bration® emcee Brian Copeland, CRS, stressed the need for REALTORS® to embrace new ways of conducting business.

“A CRS who is trying to apply the market’s principles from five years ago will not survive. Adapt to the new reality. Prove and reprove your value every day to your clients,” Copeland said. The key to

C O U N C I L

accomplishing that goal is to engage with existing and potential clients who want REALTORS® to “be all things to all people,” he continued. That’s certainly a tall order, but technology can help. For example, rather than viewing social media and online listing aggregation sites such as Zillow as threats, agents would do well to make such technology “sing throughout [their] business plan,” he said.

That sentiment was evident throughout the Sell-a-bration® workshop sessions. And while some REALTORS® have embraced social media as a way to enhance their consumer outreach efforts, others simply do not see the value of engaging with clients via social media.

That’s OK, said Brandi Peal Thompson, CRS, who led the Twitter Jumpstart workshop. Simply “think of it as a tool,” she said. “If you want to use this tool, use it. If not, leave it in the tool shed.” But REALTORS® looking to connect with younger homebuyers and sellers should consider all media that allow them to communicate with this demographic in a way that is familiar and comfortable.

REALTORS® can use Twitter as a listening tool to get to know their market better, and that will help them address their core customers’ needs, she said.

Sell-a-bration® emcee Brian Copeland, CRS

Sell-a-bration®: Listing Legends

For example, by following local journalists’ Twitter feeds, agents can get in tune with what is happening in their community.

Maura Neill, CRS, echoed that same sentiment in her session, Spin It: Putting the R in PR. She said REALTORS® who cultivate relationships with influential journalists — via email or social media — can reap big rewards. By creating relationships with reporters, conversing with them and giving them valuable information they can use when they need it, agents will gain visibility in their local market.

Speaking the Language The words REALTORS® use when marketing their listings can make all the difference when it comes to satisfying clients and getting a home sold. In her Lifestyle Marketing keynote session, Laurie Moore-Moore gave Sell-a-bration®

Copeland and 2012 Council President Mark Minchew, CRS

“If you can’t track it, don’t do it.” That sentiment was one of the key takeaways for attendees at the CRS Listing Legends event Jan. 18 at the Arizona Grand Resort.

Session moderator Frank Serio, CRS, led a panel of top producers through a discussion of what works and what doesn’t when it comes to winning leads and clients. The tried-and-true methods work for some, while others find that a mix of more modern tactics and technologies have helped them succeed.

For example, while many agents have abandoned print advertising entirely, several panelists said that the tactic can pay dividends if used wisely. Panelist Maura Neill, CRS, said she employs print advertising to promote specific local happenings, such as charity events that support the U.S. military. “We get more calls on those ads than we ever do from ads focused on our business, or our listings — or ourselves,” she said.

The panel tackled the question of whether open houses still produce results in today’s market. And while many agents have abandoned them, Carol Greco, CRS, recommended that agents give a “sneak peek” open house for neighbors in order to help generate buzz about a new listing. She says open houses have generated big returns for her team working outside of Washington, D.C. Radio advertising also has fallen out of favor with many agents. But panelists Russell Shaw, CRS, and Leigh Brown, CRS, have found a way to make it succeed.

Although she admits it is expensive, Brown said her radio campaign won her an average of six listings each month in her Charlotte, N.C., market. Shaw says it took him more than a year of trial and error with his radio ads until he got a single phone call, but it has since become a staple of his lead-generation strategy. He stressed the need for agents to use exceptional ad copy and to present it in their own voice to gain the maximum return on the advertising dollar.

Clients Speak Out The Listing Legends event concluded with a panel featuring five recent homebuyers and sellers who delivered some real-world advice to the 180 REALTORS® in attendance.

Agents who manage to foster a sense of trust with potential clients will win more listings, panelists said. Karen Rudnick said that due to the state of the economy, her income fell 50 percent a year and a half after she bought a $250,000 condominium. She tried to work with her mortgage company to get a loan modification, but they could not come to an agreement. When she found a REALTOR® she trusted to help walk her through the short-sale process, she was comfortable with the need to sell her home and move on.

Specialization is key, panelist Al Arpad said, whether REALTORS® focus on short sales, buyers or sellers. Consumers tend to look for expertise, and agents who can deliver will be rewarded with consistent business and referrals.

Rebecca Kennel, who has two master’s degrees, said agents do not do a good enough job of marketing their professional designations and training. “Tell me why I should pick one person over the other,” she recommended.

Julia Gonzales, who recently purchased her first home, gave some more sound advice to REALTORS®: “Just be patient with first-time homebuyers. We don’t know anything [about the intricacies of the home-buying process],” she said.

What’s more, agents must focus on engaging in two-way communication with clients to ensure that they achieve their goal of buying or selling a property. “You need to ask me what I want before you tell me what you’re going to do for me,” panelist Kathy Garrett said.

After all, results matter — both to agents and clients. Confidence that a REALTOR® can deliver an acceptable result helps real estate professionals win clients and all-important referrals. As Rudnick said, “I want to trust you enough to refer you to somebody else.”

www.crs.com | 3 7

inside CRS much they’re up against,” Brown said.

To help them through the process, she provides them with a detailed “State of the Market” report that includes current home sales rates, home prices and the absorption rate. Brown also said she uses humor to disarm her clients and make them laugh. That makes agents “seem less like automatons who are just out for a sale,” she said.

In his keynote presentation, Jeff Turner encouraged REALTORS® to focus on building community rather than simply having attendees a lesson in using conversations. And while the words that matter — both to trappings of a technologybuyers and sellers — when enabled world tend to marketing a property. dominate our lives, Turner Moore-Moore said agents encouraged attendees to should follow the age-old put their smartphones away lessons demonstrated by when they want to engage Madison Avenue advertising with other people. After all, Minchew welcomes agencies. Instead of referring attendees to the event. “the greatest gift you can to a “listing presentation,” give your community is your for example, agents can call it a property undistracted attention,” “marketing consultation appointment.” he said.

And rather than talking about similar properties in the area as “comparables,” Engaging Generation Y REALTORS® will find more success Generation Y (people born between by calling them “relevant properties.”

1980 and 1999) currently makes up That language helps sellers realize which approximately 34 percent of the U.S. properties they must compete with to workforce, and that will grow to 50 find a buyer. percent within two years, Travis Robertson Effective marketing can make the said in his keynote presentation. More difference between listings that sell and important for REALTORS®, this those that sit. Sam Miller, CRS, said generation purchased 31 percent of all in the List to Live session that his main goal is to gain top-of-mind awareness in his area. “I want everybody in the community, when they think about REALTORS®, to think about me.” At a time when fewer homes are being bought and sold, agents must realize that they need to work harder to get a piece of a smaller pie, he said.

Leigh Brown, CRS, pulled no punches in her Educating the Client session. Her client research showed that sellers look for an agent who is aggressive, so she delivers just that. “I am in charge [of the transaction], and they are not. The sooner they realize that, the better our relationship will be,” she said.

But given the state of the current market, “sellers need to know how 38 | March/April 2012

homes sold in the U.S. last year. That’s a market that is simply too big to ignore.

But how can baby-boomer agents relate to today’s Gen Y consumer? The key, Robertson said, is to find emotional triggers that induce people to take action and purchase a home. For example, members of Generation Y (also called “Millennials”) tend to prioritize work-life balance more than their boomer parents did. As a result, they tend to prefer homes and locations that reflect those values.

Millennials love collaboration, and they grew up in an environment in which there were no winners or losers. “We got trophies and ribbons for everything,” Robertson said.

The 13-to-32 age group also tends to be more aware of multiculturalism, and they are much “greener” than any other generation. They would rather live in a smaller home on a smaller lot than have a long daily commute to work, Robertson said. The good news for REALTORS® is that those Generation Y buyers’ parents, who raised them in the suburbs, are also looking for a more urban lifestyle to enjoy in their later years. Smart agents will work to position themselves as “lifestyle experts” who can be relevant to both audiences.

The 2012 Sell-a-bration® audio library — including recordings of the keynote sessions, workshops and breakout sessions presented in convenient MP3 audio — is available for purchase. Visit http://bit.ly/x43ifQ for details, pricing and purchase information.

CRSs of the Year Winner

C

ongratulations to all the CRS of the Year winners. These individuals show exceptional dedication to their respective chapters, give their time and resources to their communities and run successful real estate businesses.

Winners also must have been members of their local boards or state associations for more than five years.

Below are the 45 honorees who were named by press time.

Company, Location

Chapter

Sharon Ellsworth, CRS

RE/MAX Catalina Foothills Real Estate, Tucson, Ariz.

Arizona

Laura Jarrett, CRS

RE/MAX Commonwealth, Richmond, Va.

Central Virginia

David Anderson, CRS

RE/MAX Pueblo West, Pueblo West, Colo.

Colorado

Katherine Froehler, CRS

The Platinum Group, REALTORS®, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Colorado

Greg Young, CRS

Prudential Connecticut Realty, Old Saybrook, Conn.

Connecticut

Ninetta Wandler, CRS

Everett Real Estate, Dickson, N.D.

Dakotas

Norka Diaz, CRS

Norka Realty, Hialeah, Fla.

Florida

Greg Waldhour, CRS

Moppen-Stapen, REALTORS , Savannah, Ga.

Georgia

Cindy ReesOuchi, CRS

Island Realtors , Honolulu

Hawaii Aloha

Cindy Sweeney, CRS

Lakeshore Realty, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Idaho

Michael Oldenettel, CRS

RE/MAX Results Plus Inc., Jacksonville, Ill.

Illinois

India Castaneda, CRS

McColly Real Estate, Schererville, Ind.

Indiana

Celia Simmer, CRS

Trapp GMAC Real Estate, Cedar Falls, Iowa

Iowa

Earleene Woods, CRS

Keller Williams Experience, Murray, Ky.

Kentucky

®

®

Winner

Company, Location

Chapter

Glenn Elliot, CRS

ERA Justin Realty Co., Rutherford, N.J.

New Jersey

Rich Bradford, CRS

RE/MAX Connection, Turnersville, N.J.

New Jersey

Sammie Carlson, CRS

American Realty, Albuquerque, N.M.

New Mexico

Jennie Chapin, CRS

RealtyUSA.com, Oneida, N.Y.

New York

Bonnie Ballard, CRS

Crye-Leike REALTORS®, Madison, Ala.

North Alabama

Mark Given, CRS

Mark Given Seminars, Roanoke, N.C.

North Carolina

Al Colhoun, CRS

Better Homes and Gardens Mason-McDuffie, Tahoe City, Calif.

Northern California

Judy Patriski, CRS

ERA/Quad Realty, Cleveland, Ohio

Ohio

Michelle Epps, CRS

Chinowth & Cohen REALTORS®, Owasso, Okla.

Oklahoma

Tommy Huntington, CRS

Windermere C.C.R.G.I., Cannon Beach, Ore.

Oregon

Robin Risley, CRS

Windermere Realty Group Cronin, Cannon Beach, Ore.

Oregon

Helen Miernicki, CRS

Realty World We Get Results, Ashland, Pa.

Pennsylvania

Avis Cherry, CRS

Coldwell Banker Best Sellers, Carson City, Nev.

Sierra Nevada

Mike Duncan, CRS

The Duncan Group, La Quinta, Calif.

Southern California

Linda “Honey” Borla, CRS

Honey Borla Real Estate, Las Vegas

Southern Nevada

Stephen Meadows, CRS

Crye-Leike REO Division, Nashville, Tenn.

Tennessee

Elaine Sevier, CRS

RE/MAX North-San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas

Texas

Darlene Price Bailey, CRS

Coldwell Banker Southern Homes, Beaumont, Texas

Texas Lone Star

Lana Ames, CRS

Windermere, Salt Lake City, Utah

Utah

Barbara Corbett, CRS

Key Realty LLC, Alexandria, La.

John Allen, CRS

SellState Dominion Realty, Bowie, Md.

Maryland/DC

Marilyn Jarvis, CRS

Keller Williams Realty, Beverly, Mass.

Massachusetts

Furhad Waquad, CRS

Real Estate One, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Michigan

William Tschohl, CRS

Coldwell Banker Burnet, Eagan, Minn.

Minnesota

RE/MAX Commonwealth, Richmond, Va.

Virginia

Janet McClanahan, CRS

Jody Korman, CRS

Realty Executive of Cape County, Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Missouri

Sharri Bailey, CRS

Windermere of Yakima, Yakima, Wash.

Washington

Alana LaRock, CRS

Great Divide Realty, Butte, Mont.

Montana

Sandra Hunt, CRS

Hunt Country Properties, Romney, W. V.

West Virginia

Becky Herms, CRS

Lincoln First Realty, Lincoln, Neb.

Nebraska

Kathy AllisonZimmermann, CRS

RE/MAX Community Realty, Lake Mills, Wisc.

Wisconsin

Louisiana

www.crs.com | 3 9

inside CRS

Referral Story: Taking Care of Mom

T

im Burroughs, CRS, with Keller Williams Realty-Boise in Boise, Idaho, had a special client referral recently: his mother.

When Burroughs’ mother needed to sell her home in Hayward, Calif., where she lived since 1966, he used the CRS online referral directory to find an agent in the area who would give her the attention she needed. After interviewing several qualified CRSs, he chose Louise Lovewell, CRS, of Prudential California Realty in Castro Valley, Calif. “Lovewell was experienced, knowledgeable and very understanding of my 86-year-old mother’s needs. I knew that we needed someone who would not push her since she lived there since 1966 and she had a lot to do to get ready for the move,” explains Burroughs.

“Louise met with my mother and carefully listened to what her timeline was and worked with her to get the house ready for sale. She took time to explain things to her, never rushed her to make a decision but always stayed in touch.”

Once the home was listed in June 2011, Lovewell expertly guided Burroughs’ mother through the process, negotiated through a home inspection and got the home sold “as-is” in a tough market. The home sold in September 2011, and Burroughs’ mother moved to a retirement home near Long Beach, Calif. “Lovewell took care of my mother like I would have if I had been there,” Burroughs says.

CRSs Make NAR Leadership Academy

C

RS is well represented in NAR’s Leadership Academy class of 2012. Of 17 REALTORS® selected to participate in the program, 10 are active CRS Designees. The Academy Advisory Board selects applicants who have demonstrated personal and professional leadership in their respective local markets, but who are not actively involved on the national level.

The Academy aims to expand participants’ leadership abilities, while giving them an opportunity to learn about NAR and the industry in the process.

Academy participants undergo a series of challenging team-building exercises

and workshops over a nine-month period.

Previous graduates of the program have gone on to serve in numerous volunteer positions within their respective state and local real estate associations, as well as within NAR and its affiliates.

Congratulations to the following CRS Designees who were chosen to participate in 2012: Russ Boyce, CRS; Jennifer Branchini, CRS; Brett Brown, CRS; Brian Copeland, CRS; Scott Lalli, CRS; Heather Ozur, CRS; Gary Reggish, CRS; Linda Trevor, CRS; Duane Uhlir, CRS; and Karen Valentine, CRS. CRS Designees also serve on the Leadership Academy Advisory Board.

They include: Otto Catrina, CRS; Brenda Ghibaudi, CRS; Ingrid Glancy, CRS; Dwight Hale, CRS; Leslie R. Smith, CRS. NAR is currently accepting applications for the 2013 Leadership Academy class.

To learn more and to apply, visit http://bit. ly/ACsnK9.

Mark Your Calendar

T

he 2012 Mid-Year Meetings will take place May 17–20, 2012, at the Hilton Washington in Washington, D.C. For more details, visit www.crs.com/Events/795.

40 | March/April 2012

Personalize, Reproduce and Mail This Newsletter to Your Clients

Edit

Leave YOUR HOME as is, or personalize the newsletter by adding your photo, logo, address and phone number to the mailing panel.* You can also substitute any article in the newsletter with one of your own. Edit the newsletter ­electronically by downloading the Microsoft Word version at www.crs.com/ magazine/your_home_newsletter.shtml.

PLEASE NOTE: The images featured in the YOUR HOME newsletter may only be used within the PDF version of the newsletter. These images may not be reproduced or republished elsewhere outside of this newsletter format. CRS members are free to re-use the text of the articles contained in the newsletter, however.

Reproduce

Do it yourself with your office copier, or take the newsletter or electronic file (in addition to your photograph and any information you want inserted) to a printer who can prepare and reproduce the newsletter for you.

Distribute

Mail. If you photocopy YOUR HOME or use it “as is,” please note that it is designed to be folded in a Z fold with the words YOUR HOME facing out on one side and the mailing panel facing out on the other side. Postal regulations require that Z folds have three closures (tabs or tape) — one on top in the center and two on the bottom. For your convenience, we have placed asterisks (*) where the closures should be. Be sure to check with your local mailer or post office to make sure you have prepared your mailings properly.

Electronic File. Attach the customized newsletter file to an email to your clients or create a Web link to the file on your website. Consult your webmaster or technician to make sure the file is prepared correctly for these purposes, since these basic instructions will vary by person and system. * This newsletter is for the exclusive use of CRS members.

For a complete step-by-step guide to personalizing and ­reproducing the YOUR HOME newsletter, visit www.crs.com/ magazine/your_home_newsletter.shtml.

HOME *

YOUR T i p s

a n d

T r e n d s

f o r

h o m e o w n e r s ,

b u y e r s

a n d

ma rch

2012

s e l l e r s

Room for Improvement

Gadget Recycling

f you’re getting ready to sell your house, you may not have extra cash to spend on home improvements. But some basic improvements can be inexpensive, and the results are worth it. Minor upgrades, such as painting the living room or changing the hardware on kitchen cabinets, can make a house much more attractive. Consider these simple ideas from Frontdoor.com and HGTV.

ant to get rid of an old computer and reduce your carbon footprint? Recycling old electronics can reduce waste and ensure that obsolete devices get put to good use. It’s easier than you think.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), only one-fourth of plastic and metal electronics that could be recycled are brought to a recycling facility. The easiest and most effective way to recycle unwanted electronics is to drop them off at a recycling center in your community. To find a location near you, check www.greenergadgets.org or www.epa.gov. The EPA site lists local programs as well as manufacturing and retail companies that accept recyclable electronics.

Consider local stores, too. Some electronics retailers and manufacturers, such as Best Buy, Kodak and HewlettPackard, offer trade-ins, cash or charitable donations in exchange for old devices. Office Depot, Staples, Verizon Wireless and AT&T also accept recyclable devices. Be sure to check each company’s website for guidelines and procedures before dropping off a recycled product.

I

Yard Sale When buyers pull up to your home, the first thing they’ll notice is the front yard. Improve your home’s curb appeal by brightening it with flowers.

Place ceramic pots with colorful blooms on either side of the front door for a warm welcome. If the front door looks worn from the elements, spruce it up with a fresh coat of paint.

See the Light Proper lighting can help make your home more inviting and comfortable to buyers visiting your home. Assess the ambience to determine where there could be more, less, softer, or stronger light. For instance, kitchens often have useless dark spaces under cabinets. Consider installing undercabinet lighting, which will brighten up cooking space while adding a dramatic effect to the kitchen.

Brush Up A new coat of paint can change the entire look and feel of a room. Choose neutral colors that appeal to a wide range of tastes and easily blend with many styles of home décor. Neutral color schemes also allow buyers to envision their own personal style in a new home. Consider beige, light gray or bone white to create a warm and comfortable living space.

W

fast fact »

»»»»

Appliances and electronics account for 30 percent of a household’s energy consumption.

B R O U G H T T O Y O U B Y Y O U R A G E N T, A M E M B E R O F T H E C O U N C I L O F R E S I D E N T I A L S P E C I A L I S T S

Playing House

M

oving or renovating your home can be stressful, and it’s easy to get caught up in the details.

But don’t overlook your kids, who may be feeling stressed about the pending move.

Getting the whole family involved and teaching kids about the moving process can help them understand what’s happening and ensure a smoother, less stressful transition.

For starters, ask children to draw a house, inside and out. This can help you see how they envision their living space — and provide insight about what’s important to them in a home.

Engaging kids with real-estate-related games, books and art projects can help them understand the process of buying a new home and moving. Coloring books

can be downloaded and printed from sites such as Hellokids.com. Computer games, such as Real Estate Tycoon, can teach kids about property value. The game challenges players to buy and sell houses

while they make a virtual profit from their investments. Parents can draw real-life buying and selling experience from this game to explain to children the value of home pricing.

DID YOU KNOW?

referr ve

s! al

I Lo

Buying or selling a home can seem like an overwhelming task. But the right REALTOR® can make the process easier — and more profitable.

A Certified Residential Specialist (CRS), with years of experience and success, will help you make smart decisions in a fast-paced, complex and competitive marketplace.

To earn the CRS Designation, REALTORS® must demonstrate outstanding professional achievements — including high-volume sales — and pursue advanced training in areas such as finance, marketing and technology. They must also maintain membership in the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and abide by its Code of Ethics.

Work with a REALTOR® who belongs in the top 4 percent in the nation. Contact a CRS today.

*

Do you know someone who is thinking about buying or selling a home?

pmphoto/Veer

Say Yes to CRS

In the mid-1800s, German Phillip Griebel popularized ceramic garden gnomes based on a myth that gnomes helped in the garden at night and scared thieves away.

Please mention my name.

This newsletter is for informational purposes only and should not be substituted for legal or financial advice.

If you are currently working with another real estate agent or broker, it is not a solicitation for business.

*

inside CRS » » » » » » »

S E A R C H C O U R S E O F F E R I N G S B Y C I T Y A N D S TAT E AT W W W. C R S . C O M

CRS Classroom Courses CRS classroom courses earn either eight credits (for 100-level, one-day courses) or 16 credits (for 200-level, two-day courses) toward the CRS Designation. CRS courses listed below are from March 15, 2012, to June 30, 2012. For more up-to-date listings, visit www.crs.com/education/173.

CRS 111 — Short Sales and Foreclosures: Protecting Your Clients’ Interests MAY 3 ATLANTA Georgia Association of REALTORS® 770.451.1831 Instructor: Robert Morris, CRS, CRB

CRS 204 — Income Properties Course

JUNE 13 – 14 CLIVE, IOWA

APRIL 18 – 19 MEMPHIS, TENN.

Iowa Association of REALTORS® 800.532.1515, ext. 1 Instructor: Mark Porter, CRS

Memphis Area Association of REALTORS® 901.685.2100 Instructor: Tina Daniel, CRS

APRIL 25 – 26 CAPE MAY, N.J. New Jersey/Delaware CRS Chapter 855.696.5277 Instructor: Pat Zaby, CRS, CCIM

APRIL 26 – 27 TROY, MICH. Michigan CRS Chapter 248.877.2337 Instructor: Tina Daniel, CRS

APRIL 30 – MAY 1 AUSTIN, TEXAS Austin Board of REALTORS® 512.454.7636 Instructor: Tina Daniel, CRS

South Metro Denver Association of REALTORS® 303.797.3700 Instructor: Chandra Hall, CRS

CRS 201 — Listing Course MAY 3 – 4 AUSTIN, TEXAS Austin Board of REALTORS® 512.454.7636 Instructor: Chuck Bode, CRS

CRS 202 — Sales Course MARCH 22 – 23 PLEASANTON, CALIF. Northern California CRS Chapter 800.277.6003 Instructor: Michael Selvaggio, CRS, CCIM

MARCH 27 – 28 ATLANTA Georgia Institute of Real Estate 404.252.6768 Instructor: Jackie Leavenworth, CRS

APRIL 19 – 20 STATE COLLEGE, PA. Suburban West REALTORS® 610.560.4800 Instructor: Michael Selvaggio, CRS, CCIM

MAY 3 – 4 FORT WAYNE, IND. Indiana CRS Chapter 800.681.8056 Instructor: Richard Sands, CRS

Northeast Florida Association of REALTORS® 904.394.9494, ext. 1650 Instructor: Robert Morris, CRS, CRB

CRS 210 — Referral Course JUNE 6 – 7 OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA. Norman Board of REALTORS® 405.364.8724 Instructor: Chuck Bode, CRS

CRS Elective Courses Each elective course is one day and earns eight units of credit toward the CRS Designation.

CRS 200 — Business Planning and Marketing APRIL 25 – 26 LITTLETON, COLO.

JUNE 26 – 27 JACKSONVILLE, FLA.

CRS 205 — Financing Course

Ninja Selling

MARCH 21 – 22 HONOLULU

MARCH 15 HELENA, MONT.

Hawaii Aloha Chapter of CRS 808.733.7060, ext. 105 Instructor: Tina Daniel, CRS

Montana CRS Chapter 406.441.4863 Instructor: Mark Given, CRS

APRIL 10 – 11 PORTLAND, MAINE

MARCH 29 TINTON FALLs, N.J.

Maine CRS Chapter 207.622.1234 Instructor: Dale Carlton, CRS

Monmouth County Association of REALTORS® 732.918.1340 Instructor: Michael Selvaggio, CRS, CCIM

CRS 206 — Technology Course

Rich Buyer, Rich Seller – Part 1: Positioning and Branding Yourself as a Luxury Market Expert

MARCH 19 – 20 RENO, NEV.

MARCH 21 KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C.

Sierra Nevada CRS Chapter 775.622.3881 Instructor: Michael Selvaggio, CRS, CCIM

MARCH 20 – 21 HANOVER, MD. Maryland/DC CRS Chapter 410.937.4707 Instructor: Robert Morris, CRS, CRB

MAY 1 – 2 CLARKSVILLE, TENN. Clarksville Association of REALTORS® 931.552.3567 Instructor: Robert Morris, CRS, CRB

MAY 8 – 9 GILLETTE, WY. Campbell County Board of REALTORS® Inc. 307.682.2789 Instructor: Pat Zaby, CRS, CCIM

The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing 214.485.3000 Instructor: Tami Simms, CRS

MARCH 22 UPPER MARLBORO, MD. Keller Williams Preferred Properties 214.485.3000 Instructor: Laurie Moore-Moore

MARCH 29 SAN ANTONIO Keller Williams San Antonio 214.485.3000 Instructor: Laurie Moore-Moore

APRIL 12 TUCSON, ARIZ. Keller Williams Southern Arizona 214.485.3000 Instructor: Laurie Moore-Moore

www.crs.com | 4 3

inside CRS JUNE 11 NATICK, MASS. RE/MAX of New England 214.485.3000 Instructor: Laurie Moore-Moore Rich Buyer, Rich Seller – Part 2: A Luxury Marketing Idea Blitz

MARCH 22 KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing 214.485.3000 Instructor: Tami Simms, CRS

MARCH 23 UPPER MARLBORO, MD. Keller Williams Preferred Properties 214.485.3000 Instructor: Laurie Moore-Moore

APRIL 13 TUCSON, ARIZ. Keller Williams Southern Arizona 214.485.3000 Instructor: Laurie Moore-Moore

JUNE 12 NATICK, MASS. RE/MAX of New England 214.485.3000 Instructor: Laurie Moore-Moore Outlook E-Marketing Strategies

JUNE 11 MANHATTAN, KAN. Kansas Association of REALTORS® 800.366.0069, ext. 2129 Instructor: Mark Porter, CRS

MARCH 30 SAN ANTONIO Keller Williams San Antonio 214.485.3000 Instructor: Laurie Moore-Moore

Real Estate Social Marketing Strategies for Success

JUNE 12 FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. Greater Fort Lauderdale REALTORS® 954.563.7261 Instructor: Gee Dunsten, CRS Silver Bullet Solutions

MARCH 28 RICHMOND, VA. Central Virginia CRS Chapter 804.305.0662 Instructor: Michael Selvaggio, CRS, CCIM

MAY 10 BOWLING GREEN, KY. Kentucky Real Estate Education 800.264.2185 Instructor: Michael Selvaggio, CRS, CCIM

NOTE: Instructors listed on all courses are subject to change.

RESOURCES • March/April 2012

residential The

Specia li s t

Face Value

Tiffany Hampton, CRS Century 21 Samia Realty tiffany.hampton@century21.com Eric Kodner, CRS Wayzata Lakes Realty and Madeline Island Realty emkodner@gmail.com Mark Porter, CRS instructor Mark Porter Live Mark@Markporterlive.com

Local Forecast

Cathy Cole, CRS Heritage Texas Country Property cathy@cathycolerealtor.com John Daly, CRS Coldwell Banker Grass Roots Realty johndaly24@gmail.com

Marilyn Dopler, CRS RE/MAX Suburban Marilyn@MarilynDopler.com

Karen Nichols, CRS Perry & Co. knichols@perryandco.com

Sheri Kamikow, CRS Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage sheri@sherikamikow.com

Leigh York, CRS Century 21 Judge Fite Company leigh@leighyork.com

John MacGilvary, CRS Prudential Verani Realty john.macgilvary@verani.com

Right Turns

John Stark, CRS Coldwell Banker Mid-America Group john.stark@coldwellbankermag.com

Counseling Patience

Jared Althoff, CRS Ruhl & Ruhl REALTORS® jared@dubuqueteam.com Kimberly Cameron, CRS RE/MAX Properties West Kimberly@stlagent.com

w w w. c r s . c o m

44 | March/April 2012

Jim McGowan, CRS RE/MAX Properties JimMcGowan@55AndAbove.Info Christine McNaught, CRS Windermere Prestige Properties Christine.mcnaught@gmail.com Kim Ziton, CRS Keller Williams Premier Realty kim@kimziton.com

CRS REFERRAL MARKETPLACE

East Coast

Manuel Vargas Licensed Broker Associate

Bachelor of Science in Real Estate, NYU, Magna Cum Laude Serving Manhattan and Queens for over 17 years

C Claire Bisignano Chesnoff

N.Y.S. Licensed Real Estate Broker, ABR, AHWD, ASP, BCREP, CHLMS, CRS, GREEN, GRI, SRES

Board Certified Real Estate Professional DIRECT: 917-974-2239 OFFICE: 718-524-4424

Cell: 917-559-2002

E m a i l : M a n u e l @ i s e l l ny. c o m

SO U T H

Lance Jason Boca Expert Realty, LLC Broker Associate CRS, GRI, e-Pro, SRES

FAX: 718-524-8538

EMAIL: claire@claireproperties.com

Serving the Real Estate needs of Staten Island and Brooklyn, New York www.claireproperties.com

ABR, CRS, SRES, GRI, CDPE

Serving Northern Virginia and the Dulles Tech corridor

Offices in Ashburn, Leesburg and Sterling Re/Max Select Properties, Inc.

703-999-6535 lisacromwell@remax.net www.LisaCromwell.com

Phone: 561-290-9866 Lance@LanceJason.com www.LanceJason.com Specializing in Boca Raton, FL and surrounding areas.

West Coast NAPLES, BONITA SPRINGS, ESTERO, FT MYERS—FLORIDA

Marie Pimm,

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TEMECULA – MURRIETA RIVERSIDE & ORANGE COUNTIES

P.A.

Realtor—CRS, CIPS, e-PRO, GRI

(239) 770-3383

“Everyone Likes Sara Lee!” SARA LEE PAULL CRS, SRES,e-PRO

Marie@MariePimm.com www.MariePimm.com

www.NaplesBonitaEsteroHomefinder.com

H AWA I I

Broker Associate (#00547900) Cell: 951-970-5211 Direct: 951-461-4611 saralee@saraleepaull.com saraleepaull@verizon.net www.saraleepaull.com

Canada

Real Estate

BUILD REFERRALS

to your region from more than

36,000 CRS Designees and members with an ad in the Referral Marketplace.

Limited Space Available First Come, First Served Ask us about multi-issue discounts

Just call Andrea Katz at 202.721.1482

46 | March/April 2012

Ask a CRS | Advice from the country’s top Certified Residential Specialists

year in review Q U ESTIO N : How did your real estate business fare in 2011 compared with 2010?

IN OUR EXPERIEN C E . . .

“I had a pretty good year, and it was due mainly to my wonderful past clients who sent me some really great referrals. It just proves you have to give great service to start with and stay in touch! I had to work harder and smarter, but that just stretched my wings so I can soar in 2012.”

Fred Millard, CRS RE/MAX Partners Evans, Ga.

gwenfredmillard@msn.com

“I closed 14 more units in 2011 than in 2010. My theme for 2011 was FOCUS and CUT. I cut activities and expenses that weren’t bringing in the value needed and focused on getting listings priced right. It made all the difference in the world. The name of the game is to stay one step ahead so we have consistent months. I try to do that by analyzing our numbers each month and keep current by reading the CRS magazine and other trade journals.”

“Last year was a test of my patience. This year has already started off better than last year, and I believe it’s due largely to my new noexcuses attitude. Our clients need us more than ever before.

First-time buyers are coming into the marketplace, and they need us. Our past clients need the honesty and integrity that comes with being a CRS. Now is our time to shine.”

Steve Heuser, CRS RE/MAX Equity Group Lake Oswego, Ore.

Kim Laforet, CRS

Steve@SteveHeuser.com

Coldwell Banker Hubbell BriarWood Delta Lansing, Mich.

Kim@KimLaforet.com

»»»»»

Please submit real estate questions for “Ask a CRS” to Mike Fenner at mfenner@crs.com.

48 | March/April 2012