Name

Benjamin Day

Company

ERA Shields

E-mail

Contact Benjamin Day (ERA Shields)

Website

http://www.BennyMoo.com

Office Phone

(719) 598-5101

Cell Phone

(719) 331-9170

Fax

(866) 766-9044

Address

2139 Chuckwagon Drive, Colorado Springs, CO, 80919

Description

Sustainability and Stat Nerd at Selley Group Real Estate

Differentiation

"Ben, he's like you, he likes to tell you how the sausage is made". Those were the joking words a seller relayed to me this April describing my ability to unpack intricate details and tell you how they all integrate into a unified system that results in a successful outcome. And yes, I like sausage.

And like sausage, the Colorado Springs Real Estate market right now is both tasty and filled with mystery meat.

Example: Average prices are around 2003 levels, many non-bank-owned or short-sold properties are selling like bank-owned or short-sold properties and there is next to no new construction. The total number of sales for the first six months of 2011 was lower than any year in the last 15 except 2009... and 2009 had a pretty decent 2nd half which we probably won't top.

Opportunity only exists where there is risk. Real Estate isn't Fair. The only thing that's staying the same is that everything is changing. These are some of the rules of the game.

Buyers and Sellers are participating in a personal finance roller coaster right now, and my business philosophy holds three fundamentals as applicable for everyone:

1.) Be informed.

2.) Have good humor about chaos

3.) Be different than everyone else and stand out.

For five years I have produced a monthly report called The Stat Pack. You can digest the latest issue here. This report unpacks the numbers, looks for trends provides detailed analysis and paints a map for the road ahead. It's not a puff piece. It's not your usual "MARKET REPORT FOR 80919, 16 sales, 42 new listings, average sales price $326,000, down 7.1% from one year ago...". It's more: "Average new listings price is moving away from average selling price. As average selling price has stagnated, the average property coming on the market has consistently been coming on the market at a price increasingly higher each month. The only way prices will rise on the sold side of the ledger, despite 5.5 months of inventory (actual COS market months of inventory in July 2011) is if sellers choose to reduce their expectations and place their property in flow with where buyers are operating. It won't cost that much to do it. With money leverage so strong due to 4.7% interest rates, it's less than $5.20 a month per thousand dollars financed, so a slight price adjustment could open up a seller's property to literaly dozens more buyer prospects."

In 2011 I embarked on ECOBROKER certification as a part of building up my new construction and development consulting business focused on sustainability (overused word of the decade) with a specific emphasis on durability. A commitment I have made to my clients is helping them make decisions that are not only informed, but financially beneficial in the short and long term. Sustainable decisions generally do cost a bit more upfront, but the lasting benefits over time and lower replacement costs a consumer yields to purchasing quality over quantity make significant financial sense.

Finally, as geeked out and data-centric as I am, I also understand that lasting, convicting decisions usually don't come from a spreadsheet. They come from the heart. There is a duality in consumers that need to logically have their left-brain, data-focused, everyday empirical side satisfied; but when it comes to "I need to sell my house" or "I want to live here until I die"... those thoughts begin and end in the right brain. I am trained to communicate knowledge and data in a methodology where it is grasped, but also in being a counselor and advocate that helps people make decisions for themselves. The phrase "SHOWING IS BETTER THAN TELLING" is huge with me and have been for the entirety of my career. The house buys you. My clients operate from a position of strength knowing far more than the average consumer, but also are provided with the framework and ability to make their own critical long-term decisions by themselves.

An overlooked aspect of "when will the real estate market recover" is when trust recovers. The broken trust and the broken goodwill of the financial meltdown and the political fallout on both sides of the isle have upped the ante on the perceived perils in the market. Through objective communication, durable advocacy and promotion of personal decisions that resonate, I hope to be doing my part to rebuild that trust for the future.

 

Where I like to work...

Use this section to write about your specific areas of expertise. Do you specialize in first time buyers - listing high end homes - etc. Are there specific market area's that you specialize in? The more you write about your area's of expertise the more knowledgeable you'll sound to a potential buyer or seller.

Words of Praise that I didn't have to pay for...

Do you have any good testimonials that clients have provided you in the past? Be sure to add them here.