Congratulations to our first 5 real estate agent winners from the Agent Appreciation 2010!

Week 1 Winners (Guess how many Maxes are in the jar?):

Correct answer: 32

Out of 100+ guesses, only 5 people guessed the correct number.

1. Larry W. of Century 21 Sunbelt ($50 Amazon.com gift card winner)
2. Brandon S. of Re/Max Suburban (Max bobblehead winner)
3. Mike A. of Restaino and Associates (Max winner)
4. Amy W.  (Max winner)
5. Steven R. of Better Homes Realty (Max winner)

View Week 2 Competition: Metaphor Madness or refer to the email we sent you with the link to the main Agent Appreciation Campaign page. We’ll announce the next 5 winners next Monday!

Many real estate agents complain about online consumers creating leads which contain bad information, leads which cannot be pursued, a.k.a. “bogus leads”.

This is no doubt the case a large percentage of the time. However, it seems that recognizing a “good” lead has become clouded by the expectation that online leads are all “bogus”. By this, I mean that, in many cases, when an agent receives a new internet lead, they already feel that it is not worth the effort to follow up.

Is this simply a case of recognizing what constitutes a good lead? How much consumer information is needed for a lead to be considered “good”? In our estimation and in keeping with online consumers’ behavior, only minimal information is required or should be demanded or expected. Most online consumers do not want to work hard to get to where they want to go.

Whether this is accessing the MLS on your website or requesting assistance with their current real estate situation, most consumers do not want to be forced to divulge too much information until they feel comfortable doing so. If you come away with the consumer’s name and a valid email address through the consumer’s first experience with you or your web site, that is all you really need to get started turning them into a “good” prospect. Continue reading this post

In a relatively uncertain real estate market with lenders exercising strict lending practices, finding qualified home buyers can be daunting. However, there is a pool of qualified buyers who are otherwise neglected: International Buyers.

With a continually expanding global economy, local real estate has the potential of reaching home buyers anywhere in the world. The U.S. real estate market has always been an attractive investment vehicle for foreign buyers, who place emphasis on America’s strong private property rights and historically, long-term market stability.

According to a report by the National Association of Realtors®, for the time period ending 1Q2010, purchases by foreign buyers (those whose main residence is outside of the United States) accounted for $907B, a 4.45% share of the residential market. And although purchases by foreign buyers were reported in 39 states, there was a heavy concentration in California, Florida, Arizona, and Texas.

Furthermore, 55% of foreign buyers are cash buyers, due in large part to difficulties in financing real estate purchases in the U.S. Compare that to 92% of Americans who finance their home via a mortgage.

So how can real estate professionals market to international buyers? Continue reading this post

HomeGain is always working hard to improve our programs – and a new enhancement is now available for AgentEvaluator® real estate agent members!

We are pleased to offer 800 numbers at no additional cost to help AgentEvaluator members keep track of all the calls that go to them via HomeGain.

(Sample proposal shown here with 800 number highlighted in yellow.)

To view a log of calls that come through your 800 number, go to your AgentEvaluator Control Center and look for the Statistics page.

For questions about how this enhancement works, or any other aspect of AgentEvaluator®, call (877) 744-4968 to speak with your HomeGain Regional Manager.

Thanks to a special request made by Max the HomeGain Gorilla, we are having our first-ever Halloween photo competition for our real estate agent members!

What to do: Simply email a photo of how you spent your Halloween — whether it’s dressing up yourself, your kids or dog in a costume, decorating your home or realty, tactfully placing a pumpkin on a client’s home for sale, or your own idea.

(See photo below… who is that chicken?)

What/how you win: We are giving away 4 prizes to 4 lucky agents (see prizes below). All entries will be judged by the HomeGain Blog Team, based on creativity, originality and/or relevance.

Do it by: All entries must be received by Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 10am PST. (Halloween falls on a Sunday — October 31st — so we are giving you a few extra days to submit your photos.)

Spooky Halloween Photo Sweepstakes Prizes

1st prize: $100 HomeGain credit*

2nd prize: $50 HomeGain credit*

3rd prize: $25 HomeGain credit*

PLUS, a special prize will be awarded to one agent who submits the most fun photo of Max in a costume (choice of a plush Max, a Max bobblehead or a Max mug).

Email your photo (One photo at a time and don’t forget to include your contact info.)

Rules: Continue reading this post

Today HomeGain announced that it is inducting 18 AgentEvaluator® Find A Realtor® club members, bringing the total to 73 inducted agent members this year — and whom together have earned over $6.8 million in gross lifetime real estate commissions. Read the press release.

HomeGain last inducted 27 members into its clubs in July, and is now inducting an additional 18 members (see below for club agents’ names):

• 5 new HomeGain Platinum Club members (totaling 369 agent members who have earned $125k or more in gross real estate commissions from HomeGain leads)
• 7 new HomeGain Gold Club members (totaling 303 agent members who have earned $75k or more)
• 6 new HomeGain Silver Club members (totaling 260 agent members who have earned $50k or more)

“We are pleased to induct these new club members and highlight their remarkable level of achievement,” stated Louis Cammarosano, General Manager at HomeGain.

HomeGain has 26 agent members in its Diamond Club (who have earned more than $500k in gross commissions) and two members in its Million Dollar Club (who have earned more than $1,000,000 in gross commissions).

HomeGain AgentEvaluator Award Club members have earned over $100 million dollars worth of real estate commissions since 1999 when HomeGain was founded. Award Club membership has grown to include 960 HomeGain members.

Newly inducted agent club member comments:

Continue reading this post