Have you ever wondered how to really capture and convert leads?

Have you read posts on here from me and others that are getting tons of sales each year by using HomeGain’s BuyerLink product along with great lead conversion systems?

Do you want to add 12 sales, 24 sales or more a year to your bottom line?

If this sounds good to you, then let me show you how. In one week from today, on March 1, at the HomeGain Nation event in San Francisco, get ready to learn the tricks and secrets of lead conversion.  I have spent the last 8 years working to increase our lead capture and conversion rates.  It’s not rocket science, but it does take a strong work ethic and a great solid system to make it happen.

I will demonstrate how to capture leads and more importantly how to turn those leads into customers for life.  This is a step by step process that I have developed so that my agents, regardless of experience.  It’s all in the systems and on March 1, I’ll be revealing this for you to learn.

By this time next year you will be having your best year in real estate.  Why?  Because the system I teach works.  This past year we sold 311 homes with 90% or more of those from the BuyerLink product we buy from HomeGain. Our goal this year is 425 home sales.

I’ll be giving away a few copies of my new book, of which Louis Cammarosano (General Manager at HomeGain) wrote the foreword, titled “100MPH Marketing for Real Estate“.

See you there!

It’s Friday evening and there’s a dusting of snow on the ground in Bethesda. The Washington, DC area is supposed to get up to 20 inches over the next 24 to 36 hours, which would be a record snowfall.  I’ve already canceled the 4 showings in Virginia for tomorrow.  Most were new houses and — even if we could safely get there –  no one was willing to promise that driveways and walkways would be shoveled or plowed.

I’m hoping that the roads will be clear enough so that I can get out for the two scheduled showings that I have on Sunday.  The tenacity of many buyers here — despite the elements — reminds me how and why the holiday season can be a fruitful time for home sales.

Motivated Anyone?….

Home buyers who are asking to see homes in the last couple weeks of December with 2 feet of snow on the ground, aren’t going out for “fun” — unless they’re skiing from house to house in Vail or Beaver Creek

In DC and much of the country?  Very few are going to be taking the roads for information gathering.  No, the majority of holiday buyers (at least in my experience) have done their research, and are “pushing on” because they need to buy a home.

And for those who don’t have to brave the elements this time of year (Sarasota, Florida, Austin, Texas…), there are still other commitments of the season.  And those who need/want to sacrifice some of this time are equally committed to the process.

Where Did The Sellers Go? Continue reading this post

I’m in my fifth year of owning my brokerage and every December seems to have the same outcome.  We sell tons of homes all year long, and then the Christmas Season comes along and home sales slow to a crawl.  It’s been this way year in and year out.

The other day I was thinking about this subject as our normal December takes place.  Yes, it’s a typical December.  Half my real estate agents are on vacation or going on vacation and most of our buyers are coming into town in January or February.

I thought to myself, this is really the best time to buy a home, isn’t it?

Let’s think about it logically.  Selling homes in the current market has been a challenge to say the least.  However, the best priced homes always have multiple offers because everybody is looking for the deal!

Most of the homes we have under contract this month are great deals with very low prices…not so great for my brokerage, but great for the customer.

It dawned on me as I tried to figure this out, why are we having so many low priced homes all of the sudden?  The answer popped out like a rocket.  These homes are under contract because nobody else is out buying homes right now…they are all waiting!

The homes we currently have under contract are usually homes that would receive 10+ offers but at this time of year, there are  no other offers.

So why is this a benefit to home buyers out there this month? Continue reading this post

The real estate market in Atlanta appears to be following the upswing many of have heard about on the news recently and it’s high time we spread the word! For the first time in years, parts of Atlanta have seen price increases and sales volume increases. This is particularly true for resale homes and those homes in the traditionally more popular areas on the north side of the city.

As I write this, home sales in Atlanta under $200,000 for the month of July are 2,547 solds vs. 2,390 sold in July of 2008. This is a significant statistic because, we will have more sales than last year for the second month in a row and this also represents the single largest segment of homes for sale in Atlanta broken down by price point.

In June, which is traditionally the highest monthly sold numbers, 2009 sales at this price point far outpaced what we saw in 2008. This year there were 2,679 sales vs. 2344 in 2008. This is a 14% increase in volume. In the popular northern suburbs, this has turned to a seller’s market with only 3 or 4 months of inventory available to purchase in many cases.

The significance of the year over year sales increase at this price point cannot be overstated. Since this represents 60% of total sales and represents 43% of all homes listed for sale, year over year increases represents more than just a small tick in an otherwise bleak market.

This represents a turning point.

When this is combined with 6 consecutive months where inventory levels have declined and 4 consecutive months where the average home price has increased and we find ourselves wondering whether or not we have actually seen the bottom in the overall real estate market. Continue reading this post

Content Building Blocks

The first month of your real estate blog’s life is the most important.

What you do during the first month can affect the way Google will see your blog for the next year, so it is extremely important to build hyper local, keyword rich content in a structured and cohesive way.

The following are tips to building your first month’s worth of blog content.

Plan to post between 3-5 times a week.

Write “About Me” on Day 1. This includes:

• Your past experiences
• Your Team (if applicable)
• Reviews
• Boast posts: This is my favorite way to let you boast about your talents while couching it in an example and expert advice.  As a Realtor, you have the unique ability to solve problems most people feel are overwhelming.
• Talk about your past experiences. People like to know that not only do you understand their problem, but that you have solved the very same problem for other clients. Example marketing helps you to establish your position as an expert and problem solver while also emotionally connecting with potential clients that share a similar problem.

On day 2, select another topic. Work your way down the list on each of the sections and by the end you will have a full blog of hyper local real estate content that WILL get you found on the search engines.

Think writing real estate blog content is like pulling teeth? Continue reading this post

The market in Columbus Ga MLS is typical of markets all across the country.  Sales are down.  That said, our economy is more stable than most and for this reason we have not seen the dramatic drop in home prices.

Homes priced right and well maintained are still selling quickly.  Homes with any problems or that are overpriced are being overlooked.

Here is a snapshot of 2008 vs. 2009 :

• Home prices are down about 4%
• Total Homes sold are down 21%
• Home sales in the $100K to $200K level are only down 17.5%
• Home sales in the $200K to $300K price level are down 35%
• Home sales in the $300K to $450K price level are down 22%
• Home sales in the $450K and up price level are down 27%

New home sales and foreclosures account for a large portion of the sales in the Columbus GA/Phenix City home market this year.  The normal resale homes are the ones really staying on the market.

So, it is very important for resale clients to price their homes aggressively and to have their homes in pristine condition when they go on the market!

Wayne will be hosting a session titled “Prospecting, Proposals, Pipeline: AgentEvaluator” at HomeGain Live Nation in San Francisco on August 3rd at 2pm. Twitter it #homegainnation.

Find more Regional Updates here.

Click to learn more about Columbus Georgia Real Estate and Columbus home prices.

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