James Murr

If you have enjoyed smooth drives to the grocery store over the holidays, you might want to invest in a stress ball as all the Texas A&M students arrive for the upcoming semester. Everyone is familiar with seasons, but here in Bryan College Station we have a couple different kinds of seasons. There is the holiday season when Bryan College Station is a relatively calm and peaceful place, and there is the traffic season when Texas Aggies roam the streets at all hours of the day. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Many of us were in their shoes not too long ago, and we were just as guilty for the traffic jams and half hour Wal-mart lines. The influx of students does not just affect the traffic. Those same students feed our local economy, and yes even our real estate market. Many small business owners are ecstatic to see their customer base return home and begin pumping money back into our local economy. It is because of this influx of students that our real estate market has been so lucrative over the years, especially in the arena of multi-family housing. When I first moved to Bryan College Station I often heard phrases like, “Wow they sure are building a lot of apartment complexes”, and I think I have heard similar phrases every year since then. They keep building them, and the students keep filling them up. Granted, there is pretty much a unanimous consensus among economist that we need to slow down the production of new homes and multi-family developments to bring the supply and demand back to a comfortable equilibrium, but overall we can look at the traffic jams and the Wal-mart lines around us and know that the Bryan College Station real estate market is sustained by the blood, sweat, and tuition money of Fightin’ Texas Aggies.

If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Bryan College Station, please contact Cortiers Luxury Realty by clicking the following link, Bryan College Station Real Estate, or call the office at 979-985-5610.

Technology makes the world go round. There are all kinds of new gadgets coming out, and keeping up with them becomes an endless task. One constant question any advantageous business person has to ask themselves is, "What technologies are worth my time and money?" It is inevitable that if we do not keep up, we will be left behind. It is important to identify technologies that need to be utilized and leveraged to our advantage, and not get wrapped up in gadgets that will be gone tomorrow. One technology that Yahoo acknowledged today as a must have, are dual monitors. For those of you who aren't in the know, dual monitors means that your computer is actually connected to two monitors side by side. This allows you to keep things open in separate windows. Looked at by old school critics this may seem like a waste of your desk real estate, but Yahoo actually asserts that dual monitors increases productivity by 44%. I think I am willing to sell some real estate on my desk and increase my revenue by 44%! Here at Cortiers Luxury Real Estate we try to leverage all available technologies to maximize the marketing exposure for our clients. A quick look at our website will show our dedication to being internet savvy. Our in house web designers design a webpage for all of our listings. Not to mention our state of the art software, search engine optimization, and the list goes on and on. If you want to do business in today's market, you have to combine customer service and professionalism with technology and internet marketing.

If you are interested in buying or selling a home in Bryan College Station, please contact Cortiers Luxury Realty by clicking the following link, Bryan College Station Real Estate, or call the office at 979-985-5610.

Change will happen my friends, whether we like it or not. No, it is not entirely due to our “change” advocating new president. It is simply that time. The market, the economy, even our culture has to shift eventually, and that time is now. Even though the conservative climate of Bryan College Station will probably see this shift happen more gradually than the rest of the country, inevitably it will happen. Change is not inherently bad. It is how we handle and adapt to change that will determine if we suffer of prosper from it. With this in mind, we need to keep our eyes and ears open for the opportunities that will present themselves during this shift. Those of us who embrace change will prosper in the years to come. For young people choosing career fields, Money Magazine suggests going green, or studying civil engineering. Anyone looking to play it safe can find security in fields like healthcare and education. But there will be opportunities in every field. We saw change coming in the real estate industry a long time ago. We saw an increasing tendency for real estate agents to offer discount services to home sellers. We saw a lack of marketing, customer service and professionalism in the industry. We responded to the need created by the market by creating a company that offers the highest level of professionalism and customer service to every client. See the change coming, embrace it, and create something better than what the market has to offer.

If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Bryan College Station contact Cortiers Luxury Realty by clicking the following link, Bryan College Station Real Estate, or call the office at 979-985-5610.

Several of my previous blogs have been about the privilege of living and working in Bryan College Station, where the economy and the real estate market are still fairing well. This blog is no different. The more I read about Bryan College Station, the more I am glad to be a citizen. Let me give you a few statistics about employment rates. Nationally the United States is down 1.5%. Texas is actually up 2.1%. It is good to be a Texan. College Station ranks among the best in Texas. We are third in job creation, and in the top ten for lowest unemployment rates. Other areas previously referred to as gold mines are now seeing the bottom fall out of their market, but it is truly the stability and consistency of College Station’s local economy that is the real “gold mine”. A lot of people got rich during the gold rush of the 1800’s, but a lot more people got lost and died in the mountains. For us Aggies, we will keep mining our gold right here in our back yard. So keep working hard, and keep the real estate market strong.

If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Bryan College Station contact Cortiers Luxury Realty by clicking the following link, Bryan College Station Property, or call the office at 979-985-5610.

Part of a real estate agent’s job is negotiation, but it is always essential for a Realtor to remember who he/she is working for. The Realtor should always be negotiating on behalf of the client. With this concept in mind it is crucial that real estate agents put their client’s wishes and priorities above their own. A real estate agent should be committed to cooperation and always look for ways to make a deal work in the advantage of their client. There are a few essential no-no’s, that are sometimes easier said than done. Number one: Never get emotional about a deal. This rule goes for agents and clients. It is easy to make decisions emotionally, but it will almost always result in a lost or bad deal. Although there can be a lot riding on a real estate transaction, it must be handled with the utmost of professionalism. Another common mistake that is often over looked is the tendency to judge the emotions or intentions of the other party. This tendency was recently pointed out to me by a fellow Realtor. Always avoid, and encourage your client to avoid statements like, “What are they thinking…”, or “They must think that we are…”, and especially, “I feel like they are…” These types of statements are gateway drugs that lead to emotional decisions. Even if the realtor and the client manage to remain emotion free, always prepare for a roller coaster. There will always be surprises, sometimes thrown in by the other party, and sometimes as a result of the closing process. Be prepared to roll with the punches. Patience is another essential quality. There may be delays and set backs. Avoid them, handle them, but do not freak out. And the final tip to successfully navigate a negotiation and transaction is listening. It seems obvious that you need to be able to listen to understand, but often we are listening for what we want to hear, rather than what people are actually trying to tell us. Make listening a priority. Find out what people really want and what they care about. By aggressively listening you can truly accommodate people’s needs, and create win-win situations.

If you want to deal with the best negotiators, focused on customer service, contact Cortiers Luxury Realty by clicking the following link, Bryan College Station Real Estate, or call the office at 979-985-5610.