Guy Adams

When dealing with prospects, real estate professionals should have a list of criteria they must meet in order to become a client, taking into consideration the amount of time and effort spent on each transaction.

To avoid wasting time and energy, real estate professionals should gauge the buyer or seller's motivation by determining when they plan on moving; and they should find out whether they have the financial resources to close the deal by requiring them to provide a pre-approval letter from a lender or meet with the agent's lender.

Real estate professionals should also determine whether the prospect has reasonable expectations, respects their time and expertise, tells the truth, and does not pose a moral or ethical compromise.

Finally, try to assess whether the prospect could become a satisfied client and whether the commission to be earned is appropriate for the time and energy they will commit to the transaction.

Source: Realty Times, Dirk Zeller (07/10/09)

It's no secret that houses with photos get more attention online than those without, which makes spending time and money to get the right pictures a wise investment.

Here are some tips from Lyn Briggs, an associate with the Alan Tate Co. in Charlotte, N.C., and Jim Schmid, the photographer who shoots most of the photos for Alan Tate.

• Use a flash - even if you don't need it, force it to work. It will make the room look brighter.
• Take exterior shots when the sun is shining. If the picture is still dark, lighten the exposure by pushing the exposure-compensation button (the one with the +/- on it).
• Keep the image level and straight. Shooting upward on a house will distort it. Get on a stepladder or shoot from across the street.
• Avoid glare on the lens. Use an umbrella to avoid sunspots.
• Get a tripod. Otherwise some rooms are going to look crooked. If you must shoot without one, lock your elbows to your sides.
• Use a wide-angle lens. You'll get more of the room in the picture.
• Avoid things that date the images. Don't take pictures when there is snow on the ground or there are holiday decorations.
• Don't be stingy with images. Include photos of the front and back exteriors, kitchen, living room, family room, master bedroom, and any other area that might be appealing to a buyer.

Source: McClatchy-Tribune Newspapers, Cristina Bolling (06/27/2009)

Real estate research site Trulia.com says 24.6 percent of current homes on the market in the United States as of July 1, have had at least one price cut, totaling $27.1 billion in reductions.

The average price-reduced home has had a 10.4 percent reduction, down slightly from 10.6 percent as of June 1.

Some areas appear to be stabilizing quickly with the overall number and percentage of price reductions declining, including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.

"All real estate is local and we're seeing glimmers of hope as price stabilization occurs in major cities across the nation, including some of the earliest hit cities that have experienced huge declines in the past few years," says Trulia CEO Pete Flint.

The top-10 cities with the most price reductions as of July 1 are:

1. Jacksonville, Fla., 39 percent
2. Boston, 35 percent
3. Minneapolis, 33 percent
4. Milwaukee, 33 percent
5. Honolulu, 33 percent
6. Tucson, Ariz., 31 percent
7. Chicago, 31 percent
8. New York, 31 percent
9. Austin, Texas, 31 percent
10. Raleigh, N.C., 31 percent

Source: Trulia.com (07/10/2009)

Newswise - A Baylor University business study of recent home buyers and sellers found that most consumers rely on three basic factors when deciding on an individual real estate agent for buying or selling a home.

Through their focus group study, researchers with the Keller Center at Baylor's Hankamer School of Business found that consumers are likely to begin evaluating real estate agents by paying close attention first to social influences, followed by market sources and ultimately, the reputation of the agent.

The study found that critical "word-of-mouth" referrals often come from friends who are real estate agents and from friends who had a good experience with a specific agent, indicating that individuals seek out others who have some level of experience in buying or selling real estate and with whom they already have a relationship.

Baylor researchers also found that the "word-of-mouth" extends to the ease of use of the realtor's website, which gives buyers or sellers a clue about the agency's "potential quality." Satisfaction with a realtor's website can lead customers to be more loyal and spread positive messages to others.

A realtor's availability and aggregation in the market also play a role in determining agent choice. Focusing on targeted neighborhoods could lead individuals shopping those neighborhoods to associate "sold" and "available" houses with that realtor, the Baylor research found.

"Consumers may be aware of the realtor's name and have visited the website, but unless they see that the agency is active in the neighborhoods they find desirable, the agency won't be getting a call," said Dr. Kirk Wakefield, professor of marketing and interim director of the Keller Center at Baylor.

Baylor researchers also discovered that what a consumer expects from an agent defines the kind of reputation desired. They categorized responses of home buyers and sellers along five dimensions:

· Comfort

· Honesty

· Establishment

· Experience

• Knowledge

Comfort. Recent research suggests that the strongest effect on consumer perceptions of satisfaction and loyalty with an agent is the comfort level the consumer experiences in working with the agent. An agent's reputation as being someone easy to work with is based on "word-of-mouth" received from others. In addition, an agent with a good sense of humor is more likely to have a positive reputation as someone customers want to work with.

"One test of whether or not you have a good sense of humor is whether customers laugh after you arrive or after you leave," Wakefield said.

Honesty. Customers expect the agent to be honest about the market and to have knowledge about when the house will best sell. According to the focus group, agents with a reputation for being honest are known to ask questions, listen intently and ultimately respect the client's wishes - particularly regarding price ranges. In contrast, those who felt manipulated by an agent offered negative "word-of-mouth" to others, thereby damaging the agent's reputation.

Establishment. Customers use length of time in the business as a surrogate indicator of quality. On an individual agent basis, being established means that the agent has been able to satisfy the needs of others long enough to remain in business, which could put newcomers at a disadvantage. "National brand" was not very important for home buyers selecting an agent, and researchers found it was somewhat more important for sellers.

"None [of the focus group] rated it as very important," Wakefield said. "Rather, as long as the brand is recognizable, they were more likely to rely on ‘whose signs you see the most' in the area."

Experience. Closely related to establishment, the focus group noted that the reputation of an agent is tied to the breadth and depth of experience of the agent. "Just like most employers seek employees who have some level of experience, buyers and sellers look for someone who is not going to be training on them," Wakefield said.

Knowledge. The focus group discussed the need to find agents with a reputation for knowing the particulars of the local market for buyers (knowledge about schools and other geo-demographic statistics) and sellers (how to market a property).

For more information on this report and other Keller Center research, contact Laura Indergard at (254) 710-4243 or Laura_Indergard@baylor.edu or go to http://www.baylor.edu/kellercenter.

Some economic observers are predicting another wave of foreclosures later this summer or in the fall. That's because lenders that have held off on foreclosures as part of President Obama's plan will now move forward aggressively to clear the backlog of troubled mortgages.

Rising foreclosures will further depress home values, says Mark Zandi of Moody's Economy.com, who calculates that 15.4 million homeowners-one in five of those with first mortgages-will be underwater.

Seth Wheeler, a senior adviser to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, says the government is "unlikely to implement another moratorium."

But Wheeler said the government plans to put in place some programs that encourage lenders to try some alternatives to foreclosure.

Source: Chicago Tribune, Don Lee (07/06/2009)