James Lupori, Associate Broker Keller Williams Realty - 206.713.2102

How are you dealing with all of the technological changes in your life? Let's face it, iPods, computers, telecommunication technology and other tools have literally transformed our world. I don't know about you in your career but as a Realtor (c) it's incredibly important that I keep up with a MASSIVE amount of information. I must also adapt to new communication technology (phone and computer) and I need to distill all of this "stuff" into a coherent package (or toolkit) that I can use to be effective in my work as a real estate agent. This very blog is the result of a huge number of technologies working together. Trying to keep up is like drinking through a fire hose. It wasn't so long ago that things were........different.

A good friend of my sent me a link to an interesting and helpful website: Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies. The site includes a free list of the Top 100 Tools for Learning. It's truly amazing to me that a mere 30 years ago none of these "tools" existed. Think about it: we didn't have the Internet, high speed communication lines, "on-line social networks," email, (no voice mail either), home computers, document scanning, cell phones, iPods,.....etc. I hope you check out the list as you may come across a few tools that can make life just a little bit easier. Just click on the picture below to begin your journey. Have fun.

Technology pic by Lost in Scotland

See the whole story in my post entitled Top Tools for Learning: How to Stay Ahead in an Age of Technology

King 5 News is a large, local news dynasty in Seattle, WA. Today they published an interesting link to an on-line test for would-be millionaires. The test was developed by Jeff Lehman, author of the book: The Frugal Millionaires.For those of you who would like to know if you're "millionaire" material just click the picture below and take the test:

This is a fun test. Nothing too heavy-duty, but after you've beaten yourself up, it would be great to administer it to your spouse or children. Use it as a "teaching moment." For many years I gave money management & Credit seminars to high school students and adults (I worked for Consumer Credit Counseling Service). I always tried to focus my audiences on the fact that most wealthy people in America got that way by being FRUGAL. One of the best books on this subject is "The Millionaire Next Door." Culturally, our spending habits are out-of-control (have been for years) and our economy is finally suffering the inevitable credit-hangover.

For those of you struggling through tight financial times,(especially real estate agents) I'd also like to recommend THE definitive bible of personal financial management: "Your Money or Your Life." I've personally used the system in this book and it works if you follow the plan.

We live in interesting times. The curse is that we must tighten our belts, cancel our credit cards and quit spending our money needlessly. The blessing is that we must tighten our belts, stop, and reflect on things that are more important than shopping.

Redfin began it's adventure into the Real Estate world in 2004 which was a very different time than today: home sales were easy; everyone had a real estate license or was a loan officer; houses were selling quickly and an irrational exuberance permeated the world. Then Redfin came along with some new ideas about working with clients (buyers and sellers) and this model was an immediate hit with some of the public. Obviously, Redfin had found a need and filled it. Good job! Yes, and the media rewarded Redfin's CEO, Glenn Kelman, with interviews, print articles and a wonderfully provocative spot on 60 Minutes. I recall how many of my colleagues were angry and frustrated that yet another "business model" had entered the marketplace. So why would the current real estate community be so angry?

Here's the truth: Redfin stuck its, well.........red fin in the eye of a real estate establishment that has done business in much the same way for 50 years. There has always been a certain amount of public resentment against the real estate brokers and agents because selling a home can be a very expensive proposition. I can remember the venomous debates that raged in the media, on blogs and in my office about how agents don't earn their commission or how the real estate agents really don't represent the interests of their clients. Redfin touched a nerve and rightly so! Amongst these debates, one commentator said, in a moment of utter clarity, "when an industry is in decline, the players always eat their own young!"

In a brilliant PR move Redfin announced it's layoffs in a VERY PUBLIC way: in much the same way it announced its arrival four years ago. It's ironic that Redfin is getting more publicity by doing what so many other brokerages have done more quietly: reduced the size of their workforces. The larger irony is that when most agents leaving the business receive no benefits, severance pay or publicity, Redfin's CEO stands before us to say his employees are being offered severance packages and that it wasn't the business model that caused the difficulties: it's the economy! Well, it IS the economy. Pretty simple stuff.

Mr. Kelman is one smart cookie. He knows the market will come back around someday. He also knows that there will always be a market for Redfin's brand of service. More fundamentally, I believe that when the real estate industry emerges from this financial crisis, traditional brokerages and levels of representation are going to be very different than today. Already, I see signs that the consumers have taken a hammer and chisel to the components that make up a real estate transaction and have broken it into its component parts (Redfin has done this in a small way). Having done so, they have found that the traditional agent might not be what they need......no matter how hard the traditional agents say so.

In closing, I wish Redfin the best and I hope the employees who lost their jobs find something new in this tough economy.

Photo by LarimdaME

The ad above appeared in the Northwest Magazine insert of the Seattle Times today. Geoff Wood, the CEO of Windermere Real Estate has exerpted the words of his agent Leanne Finlay who wrote these timely words in her blog. The message: TAKE YOUR HOME OFF THE MARKET! When I read this, I almost dropped my coffee in my lap! Finally, a reputable real estate company coming clean and telling the truth: The market doesn't need more overpriced houses. Sellers, revisit your priorities and do the right thing. Stay put for the time being. After all, didn't you buy your home to enjoy? In my post yesterday , I suggested that both the real estate industry and the sellers need to be more honest about the current market. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one.

I finally had an opportunity to listen to This American Life's program entitled: "Giant Pool of Money." My friends, this should be required listening BY ALL AMERICANS. It is the most articulate explanations of this complex situation I've found. This program brings the listener right into the heads of the brokers, sales people and banks that are at the root of our current situation. Just click on the picture below...........enjoy.....