As a consumer, have you ever walked in to a store, let’s say an electronics store, seeking the advice of one of the helpful salespeople and found that their lack of knowledge throttled their confidence level to the point that they were really of no use to you and as they try to muster an answer to a question about which TV to buy, you lose confidence in them?

There are pros and cons for each TV and you as the consumer need answers to make the right choice but you can’t get them because your salesperson does not have any confidence that they know the answer. As a consumer, we unconsciously pick up on subtleties of people like this salesperson and we lose confidence in them very quickly! We naturally gravitate towards those who we automatically recognize as confident about their work.

So it goes with real estate agents working with home buyers or sellers.

I encourage that you spend some time every week working on aspects of your business that can help you increase your confidence. It doesn’t matter if you are new or have been in the business a while. If you know what you are doing it will show through loud and clear to your clients in that ever important first impression. That’s confidence. 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

These are the words that my first broker had for me after I closed my first deal. As luck would have it, I was in for quite the ride for my first deal and at times I thought there was no way I could actually get it closed and even worse, there was no one or nowhere I could turn for all of the answers.

It involved foreign terms to me at the time like elevation certificates, flood plains and settlement statements. Most of us who have done this for a while have had transactions where we just thought the changes would never end, but, when my broker told me “every deal was different,” I thought twice before continuing on in my real estate career.

Surely things wouldn’t always be different and if they were, I would never be able to learn enough about how to be a great real estate agent so I might as well quit now!

If you are a new agent, there is no need to have the fear I had. Instead, think of the fact that every deal is different as a blessing. Every new transaction will open up for you new and creative ways to make transactions work.

Even as real estate agents (not brokers) what we are really doing is “brokering” a transaction between a buyer and a seller.

In today’s market, things can often times become more complicated than in the past because of fickle buyers, short sales, foreclosures and wounded sellers who have seen their retirement accounts slide away right alongside the equity in their homes. These situations can make real estate in today’s environment tricky and deals harder to hold together.

Frequently, less than usual situations risk tearing apart transactions that sometimes seem only to be held together by our will. Continue reading this post

Long time AgentEvaluator member, Virginia Cheezum, who has recently been inducted into the prestigious HomeGain Diamond Club, met with me to discuss the changes she’s seen in her market this year (in Virginia), how she’s adjusting her business, how AgentEvaluator keeps her busier than ever — and how it helps put her in the top percent of real estate agents across the U.S.

Listen in as Virginia Cheezum of RE/MAX Allegiance divulges some of her best tips for how to achieve a half million dollars from the AgentEvaluator program.

Hear the HomeGain Radio Clip:

Listen to more HomeGain Radio clips

Home Sales Results by MSA For AgentEvaluator® Subscribers

Earlier this week, MDA Dataquick reported that in HomeGain’s backyard, the San Francisco Bay area, home sales in June had jumped by 20% YOY. Solano County, a long term poster child and whipping boy for the foreclosure crisis, saw a whopping 67% increase in sales during the same time and reached sales levels not seen since August 2006.

The million dollar question is, have things bottomed out?

It’s sure starting to seem that way. Prices have started to stabilize, or in some markets actually beginning to go up as foreclosures are accounting for a less percentage of the total properties sold.

In the recent HomeGain home prices survey, Gillian Goldrich of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Woodbridge, CT noted “Markets are definitely picking up…buyers  are getting off the fence and taking advantage of tremendous buys.” Many of our agents expressed similar opinions as they are seeing declining inventory levels , raising prices and multiple offers.

Looking Back

The first half of 2009 was a memorable one for HomeGain agents as several achievements were reached. We  inducted our second agent (Alan Shafran) into the HomeGain Million Dollar Club for generating over 1 million dollars in gross closed commissions. Seventeen agents were inducted into the HomeGain Diamond Club for generating a half-million dollars in gross closed commissions.

Combined with the dozens of agents inducted into each of our Silver, Gold and Platinum Clubs, HomeGain AgentEvaluator agents used the turbulent conditions to further grow and expand their market opportunities.

Top MSA’s for First Half of 2009:                    Continue reading this post

The wait is over — “Mini Max” has finally arrived here at the Emeryville headquarters!

A few months ago, Max, the HomeGain gorilla, found inspiration from the movie Austin Powers and decided to create a ‘Mini-me Max’ so he could attempt to conquer the real estate world.

Now that he has arrived, HomeGain is using its annual Office Olympics to welcome him to California.

Can you guess how many Mini Maxes are in the bowl?

To kick the event off, we want to ask for your help …

Can you guess how many Mini Maxes are in the bowl?

The winner gets a Mini Max!

(Hint: Mini Max measures approximately 5 inches tall. The bowl measures 17.5 inches in diameter and 12 inches high.)

Contest ends this Friday, July 17th.

Also, as promised, Mini Max will be mailed to the 1,150 real estate agents who completed our home prices survey in May.

Mini Maxes as well as the new Max Bobbleheads will be available at HomeGain Live Nation.

Take a look at the Mini Maxes before they head out the door! Continue reading this post