6 Incentives to Attract Buyers to Your Listings
Source: MarketWatch, Amy Hoak (07/15/07)
Daily Real Estate News | July 17, 2007


Flashy buyer incentives — such as a new TV or car — may entice some buyers, but bottom line perks are more likely to close a sale, say experienced real estate professionals.


Here are the six most common buyer incentives in today's market:


1. Reduce the price. "The price is something that is a common currency — it appeals to everybody," says Gene Rivers, who owns four Keller Williams offices in Florida.


2. Pay points. One point is 1 percent of the loan amount, charged as prepaid interest. Sellers can pay these points on behalf of the buyer, so for the first year or two, the buyer has a lower mortgage payment.


3. Assist with the down payment. First-time buyers without enough money for a down payment appreciate this kind of assistance.


4. Pay closing costs. Closing costs generally add up to somewhere between 2 percent and 7 percent of the loan value, according to Freddie Mac. Buyers who are stretching to make a down payment like this type of help.


5. Add a home warranty. A residential service contract is some insurance that the buyer won’t encounter high repair costs in the first year or two of home ownership.


6. Pay home owner association fees or pool maintenance. Paying these kinds of predictable maintenance costs at the beginning can be a nice welcome to the buyer when money will be tight.

SOURCiS has launched a new Property Address Website


Property Address Websites™ provides an effective way to separate yourself from other realtors. Our service allows you to offer your clients a completely customized website listing for their home. Take your real estate marketing strategies to the next level, and offer your clients a specially made website today!


Visit the website - http://www.propertyaddresswebsites.com. Contact SOURCiS for more information


SOURCiS
916.983.0426
info@sourcis.com

How to Grow Your Leads in a Slower Market
Source: Inman News, Glenn Roberts Jr. (07/09/07)
Daily Real Estate News | July 10, 2007


Experts note that the housing downturn means real estate agents need to focus more of their efforts on marketing, especially online.


Point2 COO Brendan King suggests putting rich content on the Internet — including a multitude of property photos — and allowing consumers to decide when to contact the agent for further information.


"I say put the data out there in the places that people are looking, track the analytics, build a model based on their online activity and then give them information about what the model tells you they are interested in," says King, who discourages requiring consumers to register to view the data.


Rusty Lindquist, a la mode's vice president of agent and broker products, recommends that real estate professionals put aside a little bit of every commission they collect for marketing expenses. He notes that keyword marketing to boost search-engine rankings is both affordable and effective — especially for those who have narrowed their marketing focus to a particular niche or neighborhood.


Lindquist underscores the importance of responding to all leads, even those that are not likely to convert to closed transactions in the near future. "Keep the consumer in control — let the consumer control their timetable," advises Matt Heinz, HouseValues Inc. senior marketing director.

There's a NEW Internet address to the Sacramento Velley Real Estate and Realtor Locator portal. If you were not aware, the NEW address is:


www.SacMetroRealEstate.com


Become part of SacMetroRealEstate.com serving Sacramento County, El Dorado County and Placer County. Let SacMetroRealEstate's online directory promote you, your business and your website. To learn more, please contact us at:


Phone: 916 983-0426 or 530 575-0423
Email: info@sacmetrorealestate.com


There are also three SAR Home Tours and Caravans online. Check out what homes are on tour for the week and what calendar events are going on for the month!


www.sacmetrorealestate.com/hometours
www.FolsomCaravan.com
www.GoldRiverCaravan.com
www.TourNatomas.com

Get More Business During Busy Spring Season
By Brian Hilliard - Published: May 1, 2007
RealtyTimes


The birds are chirping, the temperature is rising and spring is in the air. And you know what that means? The start of another busy selling season for Realtors® across the country.


But with so many choices (and so little time) for building your business, what actions can a new agent take to get more business right away?


Create a Formalized Sales Pipeline. Simply put, always be on the look out for people ready to buy or sell their home … and have a trusted place where you can store those names.


I can't tell you how many times I've seen agents make the mistake of only looking for prospects ready to buy or sell their home "right now" -- not this week, or this month, but "right now" -- and completely overlooking everyone else.


And while I recognize the importance of working with "serious" buyers, the problem is that not everyone you meet will be ready to put their house on the market that day, even if they are "serious" about the process.


But when you have a formalized sales pipeline in place, which is simply a trusted area or "bucket" that you can reference for contacting these folks over the next few weeks, then building your business becomes a whole lot easier.


Why? Because prospects are more educated today than they were even 5 years ago, and most need some time to get "up to speed" with how the process is going to work. So while you might be ready to help them right away, they might need some time to get organized. Which is fine, as long as you do two things:


1. Ask some qualifying questions up front to gauge their level of seriousness about the home buying process, and
2. Have a pipeline in place that captures the names of all that potential business.


And it's that pipeline, or lack there of, which in my mind causes most new agents to fail. I think we've been so conditioned to only finding "serious buyers," that we forget we're talking about the sale of an individual's largest personal asset.


Think of it this way: When you went out to buy a personal computer, did you just go to the store, scope out a model and pull the trigger on a $1,200 investment?


If you're like me, probably not. As a matter of fact, you might have even done some research on online. Talked to a few friends who knew the industry, and THEN gone to Best Buy or Dell to pick up a machine.


The point? Even though you were "serious" about buying a new system, that didn't mean you were ready to meet with the Best Buy sales person right away.


The same is true for anyone looking to buy or sell their home.


You want to have a pipeline in place where you can "catch" all of this business, and contact these folks two, three, or even four months down the road -- when they will be ready to buy (or sell) their home.


And that's the beauty of a formalized sales pipeline. You'll literally have a list of qualified prospects who have:


1. Expressed an interest in buying or selling their home, and
2. Have met you before.


That way as the date gets closer, you can shoot them an email, give them a call and see how things are shaping up.


More times than not, it's those contacts which will result in new business.


During my next article I'll share the exact pipeline process that I've used to help grow my business. It works, it's cheap and it's shamefully easy to use.


But if you'd like some more ideas on how new agents can get more business during this busy Spring Selling Season, then email info@agitoconsulting.com (Subject: More Business this Spring) and we'll send out a free report on how you can do just that.


So in the meantime, get out there and start building your pipeline!


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