Real Estate Cincinnati Style

You get what you give.

The more you give the more you get.

Giving without expectation of receiving is most rewarding.

œGenuinely great salespeople are not great because they have mastered œthe close, or because they give a dazzling presentation, or because they could shoot holes in any customer objection from fifty paces.   They are great because they create a vast and spreading sphere of goodwill wherever they go.   They enrich, enhance, and add value to people™s lives. They make people happier.   This is a quote from the Introduction of the book, œGo-Givers Sell More.

The book is not called Go-Getters Sell More.   A Go-Getter is an ambitious enterprising person, typically someone who has lots of energy and confidence and wants to succeed.   In order to achieve true greatness though, a go-getter must adopt the mantra of a go-giver, the Law of Value.

The Law of Value

œYour true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.

The truth about selling is that it™s not about your product or service, and it™s not about you “ it™s about the other person.   It™s about creating value, touching people™s lives, building networks, being real and staying open.   How?   By providing¦

Excellence “ Doing what you do and doing it well.   Ask yourself:   How much more value can I create than what I am paid for?

Consistency “ Doing what you say you will do, when you say you will do it¦under promise, over deliver¦over and over again!

Attention “ Paying attention to detail, knowing and understanding people™s wants and needs and insuring those are met.

Empathy “ This saying sums it up, œYou can’t really understand another person’s experience until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.”   This is a market filled with challenges and opportunities, we need to take our time and show and provide our understanding and compassion for what our clients are going through.   Before we can do that, we need to understand what they are going through, we need to find out what is happening in their lives.

Appreciation “ One of the most powerful ways you can create value for people is simply to appreciate them¦money is not a requirement.   The simplest¦a smile, a kind word, a thank you¦and mean it, notice the things they do that make a difference, no matter how small, and acknowledge them.   You want to spend some money?   Write a personal note¦not an email¦a handwritten note¦powerful beyond words!

To become a Go-Giver you should  begin each day by reciting  the following  affirmation to reaffirm your commitment to providing value, ” Giving value rings true, everything I do” and consciously adding value in what you do.

May each of you get what you want out of life, and still want it after you™ve gotten it.

May the good things of life not rob you of the best things.

May 2011 ring in as the best year of your life.  

It is snowing in Cincinnati…in fact, it was just starting to snow this morning when I went out at 5:15 a.m., it is now 4:45 p.m. and it is still snowing, hence my idea for a S.N.O.W. day!   As you may have guessed, my definition of a S.N.O.W. day may not be what other people think¦you may be recalling your experience of a S.N.O.W. day when you were younger that meant no school, sleeping in then getting up and putting on your snow gear to meet you friends at the hill with your sled or the pond with your skates to enjoy the day off in the cold.  

Well, my S.N.O.W. does not require going out in the cold, unless you want to, of course.   What my S.N.O.W. day means to me¦Seize Next Opportunity Whenever¦which also means you can have a S.N.O.W. any day.   A day when you spend quality time prospecting for your next business opportunity by:  

·  Calling friends, family, current and past clients and remind them it™s an incredible time to buy with historically low interest rates, value-priced housing (in fact, Cincinnati has been rated œundervalued in the housing price department by CNN Money, click this link to read the article:   America’s Most Overvalued And Undervalued Cities) and an extensive choice of inventory.

·  Sending some personal notes of thanks, congratulations, Happy Birthday, Happy Home Anniversary, thinking of you. Happy New Year, New Year=New Home. ·                 Creating and send an email newsletter (1, 2 or 3 items), you could include the link to the Cost vs. Value Report; the recent tip, Makes More Sense To Buy Than Rent In Cincinnati, or topics of your own choosing.

·  Looking for your friends, family, and past/current clients to befriend on Facebook and LinkedIn.   Not on those sites?   How about creating a profile on one or both then look for friendly œlinks to begin the social media networking.

·  Posting on Facebook and/or LinkedIn something of value, say like, current market stats (they will follow shortly in a separate email).

·  Updating your website with something of value for all to see when they visit your website, hmmm¦looking for ideas?   Go to:   www.houselogic.com.

·  If you do go out, don™t forget your business cards, so that when you meet someone new you can introduce yourself and begin a new relationships that could spark a business relationship.

Happy S.N.O.W. Day¦may you have S.N.O.W. every day!

Although this email may not apply to someone you personally know, it may apply to someone in one of the lives of your clients, friends or family.   This is a wonderful example of the goodness that exists in our society, people looking out for other people, people they don™t even know firsthand in most cases.   The message:

If you know any woman currently undergoing chemotherapy, please pass the word to her that there is a cleaning service that provides FREE housecleaning – once per month for 4 months while she is in  treatment. All she has to do is sign up and have her doctor fax a  note confirming the treatment.  Cleaning for a  Reason will have a participating maid service in her zip code area arrange for the service. This organization  serves the entire USA and currently has 826 partners (and counting) to help these  women. It’s our job to pass the word and let them know that there  are people out there that care. Be a blessing to someone and pass this information along.   LINK TO WEBSITE: Cleaning For A Reason

In case you’re wondering if this is true, I checked it out on www.snopes.com, the result of “TRUE” can be found by clicking this link:  http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/charity/cleaning.asp

Ž’Tis the season to be…giving thanks for everything we have…showing gratitude to everyone we know and meet…choosing to be happy and sharing a smile or a kind word throughout each day…

And while you™re at it, you may want to take the time (it takes about 45 seconds) to send a free Thank You to a member of our troops (or send as many as you like) courtesy of the Xerox Corp.   Click the following link, choose a design, fill in the blanks and œsend.   It will be greatly appreciated when received!

Say Thanks To Our Troops

Wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays!

The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is upon us, the new year is fast approaching, and here we are looking at the State of the Market for November 2010:   I’ll keep it brief while hitting the highlights which you can view for yourself on the charts found at this link:   Charts & Graphs – State of the Market – November 2010

â–²Active Inventory is up by 7%;

â–¼Unit Sales are down by 31% from November 2009;

â–²Housing Supply is up by 4.5 months from same time last year;

â–¼but down by .6 months from last month;

â–²the Average Sales Price is up 1%;

â–¼and YTD Unit Sales and Dollar Volume are down by 10% and 6% respectively.

2010 has proven to be yet another interesting year in real estate.   As you look forward to 2011,

May the most you wish for

be the least you get.

May the best times you’ve ever had

be the worst you’ll ever see.

©Copyright   Karen Schlosser   December 23, 2010

1. People who look for a home during the holidays are more serious buyers.
2. Serious buyers have fewer houses to choose from during the holidays, so you have less competition.
3. Houses show better when decorated for the holidays.
4. Buyers are more emotional during the holidays.
5. Buyers have more time to look for a home during the holidays.
6. Many people want to buy before the end of the year for tax reasons.
7. January is traditionally the month for transfers. Transferees can’t wait until spring to buy. You must be on the market to capture that market.
8. You may still restrict showings during your personal family events.
9. You can sell now, but specific a delayed closing or extended occupancy until early next year if you so desire.
10. By selling now you have an opportunity to buy during the spring, when many houses are on the market.

The Bottom Line

By listing now, you may have fewer actual showings, but more qualified and motivated buyers.   You have less competition, resulting in a quicker sale and a better price for you.

According to the Daily Finance, Cincinnati ranks #2 of America™s 11 best cities for telecommuters, read on: http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/real-estate/the-11-best-cities-for-telecommuters/19713087/

Those with gratitude see the glass as half full,

When it’s half full, there is room for more,

When there’s room for more, your life is enriched,

When your life is enriched, you improve yourself,

When you improve yourself, you look up,

When you look up, you can’t see down only around,

When you look around, you see blessings that surround,

When you are surrounded by blessings, you are grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours…may we each spread our attitude of gratitude to all we know each and every day.

For those of you music aficionados, you will remember the very popular song by Rufus and Chaka Kan written by Stevie Wonder, Tell Me Something Good, if you™d like a recall, here™s a YouTube link and tag to a live performance in Central Park of the song:   Tell Me Something Good.

Although the song has nothing to do with real estate, I heard it the other night and decided this would make a great title/theme for my article about October™s State of the Market report because of its upbeat and inviting nature and the fact that it holds the promise of good things to come based on saying good things.   So¦here are the good things about our current market:

People are still buying and selling real estate.

Almost 50 homes per day have been sold since January 1^st.

Interest rates are at historic lows, hovering around 4.5% for a 30-year mortgage.

From the folks at PMI comes the Economic and Real Estate Trends (ERET), PMI’s quarterly report that includes commentary on the national economy and regional housing price trends. A popular feature of every issue is the U.S. Market Risk Index, a presentation of 384 of the most populated Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). PMI’s U.S. Market Risk Index^SM (click the link above or read the tag to see the detailed report) uses economic, housing, and mortgage market factors, such as home price appreciation, employment, affordability, excess housing supply, interest rates, and foreclosure activity in assessing the risk of price declines and housing affordability in the MSAs.

The Risk Index for housing prices in the Cincinnati market being lower in 2 years has decreased from 49.6% to 23.3%.   What does this mean to you?   It means that there is a 23.3% chance that prices will be lower in 2 years.   In comparison, Anchorage, AK has less than a 1% change of prices being lower (their market appears to have œbottomed out) and Naples-Marco Island, FL has a 99.9% chance of prices going lower (that would be an œouch for sellers and buyers, prices are highly likely to decline further).   We are sitting pretty good!

Past price appreciation is a key predictor of future price appreciation potential.   In general, rapid and continued increases in the rate of price appreciation lead to increases in the risk of future price declines.   Cincinnati has always, and I do mean always, been a far more conservative market than the œcoasts.

According to the same report, the affordability of buying a home in the Cincinnati market has increased from 169.4 to 171.3.   What does that mean to you?   PMI™s proprietary Affordability Index^SM measures how affordable homes are today relative to a baseline of 1995. An Affordability Index score exceeding 100 indicates that homes have become more affordable; a score below 100 means they are less affordable.   This is very good for buyers as well as sellers who are planning to buy another home whether upsizing or rightsizing (I prefer that term to downsizing).

And now for the State of the Market for October 2010:   Unit Sales are down by 38% from October 2009, Active Inventory is up 9%, Housing Supply is up 12%, Average Sales Price is up 7%, YTD Unit Sales and Dollar Volume are down by 8% and 3% respectively.

Your mission:   concentrate on the positive, tell your clients things that are good as well as realistic about our market conditions, and do everything you do with passion and enthusiasm.

©Copyright   Karen Schlosser   November 18, 2010

You remember the big, hit movie, “Honey, I Shrunk The Kids” featuring an inventor father who created a contraption and shrunk his kids.   The movie was filled with adventures, some scary, some funny that the kids experienced while being very small, microscopic if I recall.   Much like the adventures we are experiencing, some more enjoyable than others, in the real estate market which by the way has “shrunk” in a number of ways.Sales are down September 2010 over September 2009 by 30%…back to 1994 levels…shrink.   To view the detailed market statistical charts, click here:   http://issuu.com/karenschlosser/docs/september_2010_charts?viewMode=presentation

Showings have slowed…shrink.

Pendings have slowed…shrink.

But wait…active inventory is up over last September by 8%…that’s not shrinking…but that’s not good.

And, the average sales price is up by 3%…that should be good (Sellers, don’t get your hopes up, now is not the time to raise your price)…but wait a minute, it’s down by 13% from the height of the market in 2005…shrink.

And don’t forget the housing supply…up over September 2009 by 4.1 months…wrong direction…we want this to shrink.

What percentage of the market are distressed sales?   The answer for the month of September, 29% which includes lender-owned, government-owned and short sales as voluntarily reported by REALTORS ®.   No doubt there are other transactions where sellers are bringing money to the table that are not classified as “short” but they are.   This percentage has run the same since the beginning of the year, neither growing nor shrinking.

And where are those interest rates?   At historic lows, just recently there were 30-year fixed rate mortgage loans available at 4.25…unbelievable.   Last year at this time interest rates were hovering around 5%.   Which begs the question, “how low can they go”?   Can you say “shrink, shrank, shrunk”?

The market has shrunk in so many ways which means Sellers must be realistic in their pricing and condition of their property when they put it on the market, in fact, the pricing and condition must be so compelling that one of the few buyers who comes along writes an offer and Sellers appreciate the opportunity, it may not come again for a very long time.

Buyers, have at it, take advantage of this overall shrinkage, housing prices are extremely favorable, interest rates (I don’t think) can go much lower and an increase in inventory to choose from, what more do you want?

Oh, and by the way, Sellers who are selling to buy something else, you are also part of the Buyer market and will have all the advantages of a Buyer.   Yes, you may take a “hit” on your house, but you are going to buy your next home with favorable pricing and historic low interest rates.

What does all this mean to you?   Unlike the end of the movie, there is no machine that is going to instantly resize the market to where you want it to be, it will take time, patience and thoughtful participation by all those involved.        

©Copyright   Karen Schlosser   October 21, 2010