Milton, MA

I am not a big believer in canned scripts. Unless you are practiced and comfortable they sound like scripts. I do know that no one in this economic climate wants to be sold, but many are willing to buy if you provide them a reason to buy. That is what scripts are all about isn't it? Aren't scripts written out in such a way that you lead a client or prospect along a route that ends up with them saying yes along the way. At the end of the script is the close, or call to action that you also expect a yes? Scripts from all the various sources and gurus were designed by them to produce results, but reading verbatim makes you sound wooden and stiff.

What happens when you are thrown a curve ball. When the prospect veers off your line and you have to reel them back in? Are you prepared? Have you practiced enough to have made that script your own. I am not talking about memorization, I am talking about deep down knowing what you are doing and being able to deliver that content in your own words, at your own pace and in your own voice. A script is the little league of this sport. To get to the big leagues you need to embrace the content of any script and make it your own in such a way that you are believable. We don't need more people out there saying the same thing.

I work expireds and so that means I call prospects on the same days they are hearing from others. Yesterday I had one prospect tell me he heard the same dialog from 3 different agents and he was willing to talk to me because I actually was listening to what he was saying and feeling and reacting to that emotion. I know coaches demand that you learn their scripts, but that is really just the beginning. What works in Dallas will not work in Boston and the opposite is true as well. You need to adjust what you are saying to the people you are talking to. You need to listen and get back on track when your are taking down a dead end objection. The way to do that is not to hang up and go to the next robocall; the way to get back on track is to acknowledge the objection ask a question and look for the opening to get back on track. When you call you know what you want. If you make it canned then so will the prospect. It is much easier to say no than to say yes, your script was designed in a way to help the prospect say yes. But if all you do is read it off the page you will not get anything more than some low hanging fruit or the fruit that has fallen off the tree. Embrace your script and make it your knowledge. Deliver that knowledge in a way that engages your prospect not bludgeons them into agreement with you. This is my opinion and I know that people are successful with canned scripts. Imagine how successful you would be if you made that script part of you?

Milton MA Real Estate: 2011 Year in Review

Milton MA Real Estate continued to hold steady throughout 2011. Overall for 2011, there were 223 single family homes sold in Milton MA, with an average sale price of $520,962.00.

The lowest priced home sold for $181,000 and the highest was a sale at $1,805,000.00. The first chart to the left shows the percentage of homes sold in each price range.

While the average sale price may have fluctuated from month to month in 2011, it is holding steady. The average sales price in 2010 was higher at $545,404, however 2010 was the year of the federal first time home buyer tax credit, which may have influenced prices.

The number for 2011 is up over both 2008 and 2009 average home sale prices, which were at $518,982 and $505,411 respectively.

In other categories, the news is also encouraging for a steady market. Average days on the market was at 108 for 2011, 107 for 2010, 103 for 2009 and 109 for 2008 - all down from 120 in 2007.

Milton MA has done pretty well to weather the real estate storm. It is extremely convenient for commuting to Boston, located just south of and adjacent to Boston.

In addition, it consistently ranks in the Money Magazine listing of best small towns in the US, having just been named number two small town in America by Money Magazine in 2011, due to its well-rated schools, including its highly regarded French immersion program, recreational opportunities and proximity to all that Boston has to offer.

If you are considering buying a home in Milton MA in 2012, work with an Exclusive Buyer Agent from Milton MA who will put your interests first and assist you through the process every step of the way.

All data is taken from the MLS Property Information Network Inc.

I am sure I am just llke so many of you who did not achieve all the goals I set for myself in 2011. So what! I achieved a good 85% of them and when I set my goals each year, as I have today they are mostly reach and stretch goals. I don't ever worry about what I didn't accomplish, but I make an effort to find joy, happiness and energy in the goals I did accomplish. Setting goals sets you apart, you know. Having those goals close at hand makes you remember them. Reviewing your goals on a consistent if not daily basis brings you even further down the path towards achievement. At this point you are one percent of one percent, so why can't I achieve all my goals. Well, number one is I set outrageous goals because I want to stretch myself.

In the assessment of a year I look to why the goals I set were unmet, but not in a sad or depressed way. I look at them for a solution to why they were not met. Did I not put in the right effort? Did I not focus correctly? Were there outside influences such as a rotten economy? These are the kinds of questions I ask, but not for the reason you are thinking. I don't ask these questions to beat myself up, I ask them to see how I can overcome the issues. I want to find away around them, through them, over them. I have no intention of sitting by this wailing wall and having a good cry, no siree. I have people to talk to, communities to assist and neighborhoods to help rebuild.

Focusing on what is positive is the surest way to get more of the positive juice flowing. Focusing on the negative gives you just that. If someone in your office starts one of those conversations, RUN. Don't be infected with others views on your business. Don't be reading and repeating negative spin from the media, they don't know either. This may sound hypocritical, and it is, but take all the positive news you hear and spread it everywhere. People want to work with upbeat people, don't you? Be one of those people. If you aren't that by nature, fake it until you can make it an everyday habit.

I have learned so much here in the Rain these past 2 years and I am immensely grateful to many people. Thank you, Thank you, thank you, you have all be great and my appreciation is deep. My plan for next year is more of the same, but I am borrowing an idea from Chris Brogan--a friend of mine and one of the leading Internet voices. His current book is about Google + and is well worth the read, check it out at Amazon. Chris does not make goals, he chooses three words that he posts on his computer, in his briefcase and around his offices. These three words are code for all the activities he needs to focus on in the year. I like the streamlined nature of this. My three words for next year are COMMUNICATION, DISCOVERY and SYSTEM. In these three words are all my passions, desires and focus on this wonderful career in real estate. I am wishing all of you the best New Year. If I can be of any help to any of you don't hesitate to ask.

During the frenzy of goal setting for next year, what are you doing with the goals that you set last year at this time that are still yet, unmet? Do you just roll them over? Do you think about them and wonder why they are not met? Do you devise a strategy for meeting the goal this year, or do you just move on? It is said that successful people set goals and this is true. It is taught that you have to visualize your goal and keep it fresh in your mind to achieve the goal, this too, is true. But is imagining driving your new car, or having $100,000 in your bank account enough? Clearly it will make you feel good about yourself as you slog through your days, but is that enough?

What do you do about your feelings during all of this? Goals are a conscious activity, but it is said that all action is emotional and those emotions are built in your subconscious. This is why feeling your goals and visualizing them is so effective, but what if there is a disconnect, and more importantly, what is that disconnect? I have given this a lot of thought this past few months. I have always been a goal setter and a goal keeper. I am proud of the goals I have accomplished, but I have never achieved, as of yet, the goals I have set for my life. I work to find what the missing ingredient is. It is not just writing down the goals and looking at them. It is not just visualizing the success that I will attain and allowing the joy of that emotional success wash through me. It is more and it is less.

Like many of us here I have had coaches, read books, listened to tapes, attended seminars and webinars and felt great about all this frenetic activity, but I am still a block away from what I want. How do you bridge the divide? Is it as simple as persistence? Is it as plain as staying the course year in and year out? The goals I had at 20 are different, or differing at 30, 40 and beyond, but there is an underlying theme that has been with me forever. I think this is true of most people I speak with. Instead of looking outside myself for the goals, maybe they are inside and have been there all the time. Maybe by pouring in information and tasks and systems we are covering over the true nature of our goals. All of us want to do the best, be right, be successful as we define that success and be respected for our accomplishments. So this year as I write goals I am looking hard at the goals I didn't accomplish and why. I am looking back through the years and seeing that the goals I didn't accomplish this year, I didn't accomplish last year or the year before that. Does that make me a failure? Well, yes and no; I clearly didn't meet the goal and that is failure, but I also haven't given up so the game is still on.

Opening the mind to what does not want to be seen is difficult. I learn from others and incorporate what is working. Sometimes it takes time. This year I can achieve more of what I want like I have throughout my life, but it is never without constant and persistent focus on the goals, what I am doing and how am I doing with it. Best of luck to all of you and I say that knowing that the more focused I am with the work, the more lucky I am in it's pursuit. Happy Holidays.

For the period of November 1, 2011 through November 30, 2011, there were 21 single family homes sold in Milton MA. That is the same number of single family homes sold in Milton in October 2011. The median price for November 2011 was $415,000.00, with a low of $278,199.00 and a high of $1,070,000.00. The late fall and winter tend to be slower than the spring months so I always like to compare to the same month of the prior year. Number of sales was way up from the 12 homes sold in November 2010 but the median price was down.

The median price is obviously affected by the actual prices of sold homes during any given month. Milton has a variety of inventory with lows averaging in the mid to upper $200,000s to million dollar properties, and a lot in between. The sale - or lack of sale - of a million dollar home in any given time period will impact the median price. It is also interesting that in the year of the lowest number of sales (November 2010) had the highest median price.

For home sellers, the high number of sales is good news. There are people out there buying homes. The median home price number does indicate, however, that buyers are negotiating those prices and not willing to pay above market value.

For home buyers, Milton remains a town where people are interested in moving, due to the good schools, proximity to Boston, good quality of life and the status of number two small town in the country. The market is holding its own, adding another reason why people like to buy homes in Milton MA.

Stay tuned for a year end review of the 2011 real estate market in Milton MA!

If you are considering buying a home in Milton MA in 2012, contact your Milton MA Buyer Broker. I will help you through the process from beginning to end, always putting the buyers interests first.

*All numbers taken courtesy of MLS Property Information Network, Inc.