Happy New Year! I am doing what everyone else does at the beginning of the year-evaluating my life to figure out what's working, what needs to be tweaked and what needs to change completely. There are things I know for sure: 1. If I were busier in real estate, I would enjoy it more 2. Radio is fun but doesn't pay worth beans!
Profound, huh? That's all I've got today...... :-)
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Slow Real Estate, Steady Radio
Not much has happened since my last post. I am still doing traffic, and keeping my hands in Real Estate as much as possible-though there's not much happening. I have some buyers that are searching, but just haven't found what they're looking for yet. They're taking some time right now to regroup and take some deep breaths-which is exactly what I am doing.
For now, I am having fun in radio. At first I was hesitant to let any potential real estate clients know that I was doing radio-but I don't feel that way anymore. I am not the only real estate professional who is supplementing their income in some way. I don't have the salary of a spouse to lean on, so for me it's even more important. And, it's an easy profession for which I am more than qualified.
I've decided to give myself a "honeymoon" thru the holidays to not worry about real estate. Yes, I am doing phone duty, staying in touch with clients, maintaining the transactions I do have-but I've jumped off the hampster wheel of trying to "make" things happen right now.
I am doing a mid-day shift on Y 102.9 tomorrow (Monday) from 10-3. It will be my first time being a DJ since July 3rd, 2001. Surprisingly, I am not nervous. Wish me luck!!! :)
For now, I am having fun in radio. At first I was hesitant to let any potential real estate clients know that I was doing radio-but I don't feel that way anymore. I am not the only real estate professional who is supplementing their income in some way. I don't have the salary of a spouse to lean on, so for me it's even more important. And, it's an easy profession for which I am more than qualified.
I've decided to give myself a "honeymoon" thru the holidays to not worry about real estate. Yes, I am doing phone duty, staying in touch with clients, maintaining the transactions I do have-but I've jumped off the hampster wheel of trying to "make" things happen right now.
I am doing a mid-day shift on Y 102.9 tomorrow (Monday) from 10-3. It will be my first time being a DJ since July 3rd, 2001. Surprisingly, I am not nervous. Wish me luck!!! :)
Monday, December 1, 2008
Giving Thanks and Consumer Confidence
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! Mine was good. I hosted 8 people at my home, including family and friends. I said grace on behalf of everyone before the meal-and I got a little choked up. Even though times are tough and things are slow, I still consider myself one of the lucky ones. I have family and friends who love me, a roof over my head (well, not just any roof, but a really cool house), my health, lots of real estate contacts, a dog and a cat who think I hung the moon....and the list goes on and on. I am pretty lucky-and realized it while I was giving thanks.
Coldwell Banker/HPW has a kiosk at Crabtree Mall which I love working in. For me, it's a great way to meet potential clients. I am very comfortable in that kind of setting, and enjoy meeting people that way. I can easily strike up a conversation with strangers, and have definitely met some potential clients at the Kiosk!
Anyway, I digress. :-) I worked in the Kiosk on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, from 6-9:30p.m. I was curious to see how crowded the mall would (or wouldn't) be.
I was actually quite surprised. I saw quite a few people with shopping bags. I know this sounds weird, but it actually made me feel good to see people out spending money. I was talking with my fellow agent Gary who was before me that night in the Kiosk. We both agreed that if we could all spend just a little money, how much that would boost our economy!! My wheels are turning, and I'm trying to figure out what I can spend my money on to help boost our economy.
Coldwell Banker/HPW has a kiosk at Crabtree Mall which I love working in. For me, it's a great way to meet potential clients. I am very comfortable in that kind of setting, and enjoy meeting people that way. I can easily strike up a conversation with strangers, and have definitely met some potential clients at the Kiosk!
Anyway, I digress. :-) I worked in the Kiosk on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, from 6-9:30p.m. I was curious to see how crowded the mall would (or wouldn't) be.
I was actually quite surprised. I saw quite a few people with shopping bags. I know this sounds weird, but it actually made me feel good to see people out spending money. I was talking with my fellow agent Gary who was before me that night in the Kiosk. We both agreed that if we could all spend just a little money, how much that would boost our economy!! My wheels are turning, and I'm trying to figure out what I can spend my money on to help boost our economy.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Who's Unrealistic? Sellers or Buyers?
I've been thinking alot lately about where the happy medium is in our marketplace. Truth be told, we are actually doing much better in The Triangle Market than other parts of the country. I consider myself lucky that I have transactions working!!
Having worked onsite for builders for almost 8 years in a seller's market gave me one side of the story. It seemed much simpler then. Sellers (the builders I represented onsite) were pretty cut and dry. This is the price we'll sell it for, yes we'll do that, no we won't do that, if you don't buy it then someone else will come along that will. And I know it wasn't much different on resale sides. Sellers had the leverage and used it to their best advantage, which they should. That's the assurance a seller has in a seller's market.
We know that we are not in a seller's market anymore-it's clearly a buyer's market. But in some cases there doesn't seem to be alot of buying taking place. What's going on?
Let's face it-there are more people that want to live in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area than people clamoring to leave it-so if you plan on lowballing, you might encounter one of those sellers who says "thanks but no thanks" to your low offer. That's what I am finding-that there's not alot of desperation with sellers here, so there's been less meeting of the minds between buyers and sellers. And sometimes between listing agents and sellers.
Recently I lost 2 listings because of sellers who had unrealistic expectations about what their home would fetch in this market. The first one was a young couple who have a big house, and want to downsize into a trendy, urban new c0nstruction neighborhood. Well, when all the number crunching was done, what they owed and what they wanted to sell for were pretty far apart. To the tune of about $20,000. I told them in good faith I could not list their home for that higher price tag, knowing that it would not sell.
When I walked out the door, I knew I had done well in my presentation but also knew in my gut that I wouldn't get the listing. Sure enough, they e-mailed me early the following week to tell me they had chosen another agent. I knew when I saw the home posted on MLS, it would be very telling-and it was! The home is listed at that higher price point. I wish them well, but don't think they'll be selling anytime soon.
Alot of people that are selling now probably bought when it was a seller's market, and want to employ the same philosophies. But it's a different time with different circumstances, and the rules have changed.
Having worked onsite for builders for almost 8 years in a seller's market gave me one side of the story. It seemed much simpler then. Sellers (the builders I represented onsite) were pretty cut and dry. This is the price we'll sell it for, yes we'll do that, no we won't do that, if you don't buy it then someone else will come along that will. And I know it wasn't much different on resale sides. Sellers had the leverage and used it to their best advantage, which they should. That's the assurance a seller has in a seller's market.
We know that we are not in a seller's market anymore-it's clearly a buyer's market. But in some cases there doesn't seem to be alot of buying taking place. What's going on?
Let's face it-there are more people that want to live in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area than people clamoring to leave it-so if you plan on lowballing, you might encounter one of those sellers who says "thanks but no thanks" to your low offer. That's what I am finding-that there's not alot of desperation with sellers here, so there's been less meeting of the minds between buyers and sellers. And sometimes between listing agents and sellers.
Recently I lost 2 listings because of sellers who had unrealistic expectations about what their home would fetch in this market. The first one was a young couple who have a big house, and want to downsize into a trendy, urban new c0nstruction neighborhood. Well, when all the number crunching was done, what they owed and what they wanted to sell for were pretty far apart. To the tune of about $20,000. I told them in good faith I could not list their home for that higher price tag, knowing that it would not sell.
When I walked out the door, I knew I had done well in my presentation but also knew in my gut that I wouldn't get the listing. Sure enough, they e-mailed me early the following week to tell me they had chosen another agent. I knew when I saw the home posted on MLS, it would be very telling-and it was! The home is listed at that higher price point. I wish them well, but don't think they'll be selling anytime soon.
Alot of people that are selling now probably bought when it was a seller's market, and want to employ the same philosophies. But it's a different time with different circumstances, and the rules have changed.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Doing What It Takes
It's been awhile since my last post, and I have some news! I recently took a job back on the air, to help pay the bills while the Real Estate Market is slow. Agents whose business is quite established are doing okay, but agents like myself who are just trying to get their business going are struggling. As of yet, I don't have repeat clients. I am still trying to build my referral base. I figured the best thing to do was to take a job that's fun, and let's face it.....quite cool. Radio and real estate are similar in that you've either got it or you don't. And, I consider myself very lucky that I've "got it" in both!
All I did was send one e-mail about a possible job, and before I knew it I was offered a FULL TIME gig doing traffic. The good news is that I still have ALOT of flexibility to work on real estate-all weekend, middle of the day, evenings. The bad news is I have to be up @ 4:30am, by work at 5:30am. Ugh. I have done this schedule before, though, so I knew what to expect. It can be a brutal schedule-you just have to discipline yourself to go to bed early. As long as I am in bed by 9, lights out before 10 I am okay.
I am actually at my real estate office right now-it's 1:15 in the afternoon and I have already put in an 8 hour day. I have to go back to traffic at 2:30-I'll be leaving here in awhile to go home and make some coffee, then back out the door.
When I set my mind to it, I can do anything. This has actually made me more efficient, I believe, in my real estate career. I don't have alot of time to play around-every minute counts. In the long run I think this will be good for my real estate career.
Oh yeah, I am pretty much the News/Sports/Talk Traffic Goddess right now. I do WPTF 680am, WDNC 620am (The Bull), WRBZ 850 The Buzz, and also NC State Government Radio. State Government has their own radio station. Who knew?
All I did was send one e-mail about a possible job, and before I knew it I was offered a FULL TIME gig doing traffic. The good news is that I still have ALOT of flexibility to work on real estate-all weekend, middle of the day, evenings. The bad news is I have to be up @ 4:30am, by work at 5:30am. Ugh. I have done this schedule before, though, so I knew what to expect. It can be a brutal schedule-you just have to discipline yourself to go to bed early. As long as I am in bed by 9, lights out before 10 I am okay.
I am actually at my real estate office right now-it's 1:15 in the afternoon and I have already put in an 8 hour day. I have to go back to traffic at 2:30-I'll be leaving here in awhile to go home and make some coffee, then back out the door.
When I set my mind to it, I can do anything. This has actually made me more efficient, I believe, in my real estate career. I don't have alot of time to play around-every minute counts. In the long run I think this will be good for my real estate career.
Oh yeah, I am pretty much the News/Sports/Talk Traffic Goddess right now. I do WPTF 680am, WDNC 620am (The Bull), WRBZ 850 The Buzz, and also NC State Government Radio. State Government has their own radio station. Who knew?
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Hello-is this thing on?
Hi There. Wow, I have always been one to speak my peace (or is it piece?) and this is pretty cool. I can put it out there, not knowing whether or not anyone is listening. It will take me a bit to get the hang of it, as I'd rather jump in feet first and then fix things later. I mainly wanted to share my updates about how my real estate career is going. It's been 3 months since I went into business as a General Brokerage Real Esate agent. If those words sound foreign-it's basically what you think of when you think real estate agent. Before, I worked onsite for a builder, selling homes in several communities in the Raleigh/ Durham/Chapel Hill area. Now I can help anyone with real estate needs just about anywhere. It's very different to what I did before. Friends and family have asked me what I think so far. What I tell them is that before, I was selling homes. Now, I am practicing real estate. There's definitely a difference. A big difference. I am getting ready to work on my 2nd referral transaction -that makes me feel good-I must have done something right in new home sales!!
I used to work in radio as a dee-jay, and I've had opportunities over the past couple of weeks to get my feet wet again in the world of radio. It's actually felt really good. Radio is a fun career, no doubt. But not one I could rely on for the rest of my life. It might be fun to pick up something in radio to do part time while I am getting this real estate gig off the ground. Who knows, it might work out. I recorded a commercial for my company (Coldwell Banker/HPW) that is playing on one of our local stations. Once I figure out how all this works, I'll post the commercial on here and you can listen to it if you'd like.
Okay, since I don't really know what I am doing, I think this is enough for now. See ya.
I used to work in radio as a dee-jay, and I've had opportunities over the past couple of weeks to get my feet wet again in the world of radio. It's actually felt really good. Radio is a fun career, no doubt. But not one I could rely on for the rest of my life. It might be fun to pick up something in radio to do part time while I am getting this real estate gig off the ground. Who knows, it might work out. I recorded a commercial for my company (Coldwell Banker/HPW) that is playing on one of our local stations. Once I figure out how all this works, I'll post the commercial on here and you can listen to it if you'd like.
Okay, since I don't really know what I am doing, I think this is enough for now. See ya.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
