I've had time to review the web sites (www.rismedia.com, www.brokeragentnews.com, www.realtytimes.com) and, although I don't think it will be a walk in the park, I do think that, with attrition of many people who flooded into the business in the last couple of years, and the pent-up demand from buyers, that we'll start to see some sales coming in!

I'm hearing some sellers saying that they are sick of the stalemate, sort of a "what can 'ya do?" mentality for some. That realization, with our showing them the correct price based on DATA (not what their neighbor's friend's cousin's roomate from college sold their house for in the next town over), I think things might ease up!

Sure hope so!

Merry Christmas to all!

Yes, the market's slow right now. Real estate is being bought and sold, but the holidays are upon us and people staying at home.

Am I depressed? NO! This is a wonderful break from the rush, rush, rush. I find this a great time to review, regroup, and renew.

• What are my buyers doing? How long have I been beating on each buyer, and who does it make sense to give the old heave-ho?
  
  
• Which sellers have I been pestering for so long without any action? See 'ya!
  
  
• Which ads don't work? Which 800 number extensions draw no calls? Which postcard and email campaigns stink? Open the emergency hatch and jettison them!
  
  
• How effective are my open house, just listed, follow-up practices? Tune them up!
  
  
• What are my leads-to-appointments-to-listings-to-closing numbers? How to improve them?
  
  
• How is my progress away from all print advertising and forms to all-digital advertising and forms? Make it happen!

Regroup:

• Get things filed away and in order so everything is close and hand and I have plenty of everything
  
  
• Get those paper forms digitized and (with the new Acrobat 8) automatically change paper forms to interactive forms. The Acrobat 8 is terrific! Scan your paper form in, automatically recognize the text so it's editable, and the software figures out where the date entry fields should go. Shazzam, paper to online enterable forms!
  
  
• Toss out the old, dirty signs and riders. Get fresh, great looking ones.
  
  
• Think about the type of people I want to work with, stop chasing every lead, work with only high-potential people
  
  
• Get rid of the money-wasting print ads, brochures, and tired old marketing practices. Create new ones!

Renew:

• Step back, realize why I got into this (freedom, I control my worklife, the gambler's high inherent in the job, no boss hanging over my head, the chance to help people find somewhere they love to live in)
  
  
• Take in a few movies (that I never have time for when real estate is hot), have a few drinks, sleep in late one weekday morning per week, take the kid out of school early and go for ice cream.
  
  
• Clear the head, get my goals back in focus, get my systems streamlined and perfected, get ready to rock when real estate comes back in the new year!
  

Let's face it folks, we're in a standoff between sellers and buyers. Sellers just will not, will not, will NOT give into the fact that they missed the boat. They will not admit that the peak is past. They figure that as long as they hold on (and on and on and on) there's just GOT to be someone stupid enough to pay full asking price or damn near full price.

Buyers, on the other hand, in our area, do exactly what the Boston Globe tells them to. No matter how desperate to leave the old dump and find a new palace, no matter how low interest rates are, the Globe tells them "Don't be a chump! Don't buy now!" So, they not only don't buy, they don't even look.

Big drag.

Eventually someone has to blink, and I believe it's going to the sellers. And soon.

The good news, we're getting rid of all the part-timers and former engineers.

Now, if only the 60+ crowd would start to go away... 

Not much time tonight for posting, but I did want to post my Questions and Answers for First Time Homebuyers document. I wrote it, and it is a terrific introduction for someone who needs to find out about buying their first home!

Click here for a copy of my Questions and Answers for First Time Homebuyers document.

Hello from Melby and Associates, LLC!

Christian Melby, Broker/Owner of Melby and Associates, here.  Truth be told, this is my first ever blog post...so I guess I'll ease into it with the requisite company information.

At Melby and Associates, LLC, we are involved in real estate brokerage and real estate education. Whether you want to sell a property, purchase a new home, learn the fascinating details behind the real estate transaction process, or train to become a real estate agent, look to us for support and information.

The major difference between us and other firms? We offer a wider range of real estate brokerage options.

The biggest difference is our a la carte listing model.

Homeowners have a wide range of abilities out there, but everyone wants to save money. And that's where our a la carte listing model comes in.

Some homeowners feel quite confident with certain aspects of selling a property. So we say, why not put that expertise to work and save money when selling a home? For these homeowners, we offer a menu of real estate services.  We've categorized everything necessary to list and sell a property into a list of menu items, and our view is "the more the homeowner can do, the more the homeowner can save!"

For example, if you consider yourself graphically talented, and you have access to color printing services, there's no need for Melby and Associates to produce your postcards, listing sheets, brochures, and the like. If you negotiate frequently as part of your job, then you might not need us for that either (although, having us negotiate is one thing we might want to talk about in more depth).

Just don't pay us for printed materials and negotiating. It's OK with us! We like it when homeowners get involved and take responsibility for their outcomes!

On the other hand, perhaps you don't want to get involved with having signs made up, addressing and mailing marketing materials, sitting through open houses, taking time off from work to attend home inspections and appraisals, fielding calls from real estate agents who want to show the home, missing the opportunity to show your home during work hours, dealing with all the problems that always rear their ugly heads between P&S and closing.

So, get us to handle all those tasks for you. You'll pay less than the usual price to get your property sold.

If you need the full boat, we'll gladly provide it. Select our full-service option and let us put our years of expertise to work for you (at competitive commission rates too!)

Are you a buyer? Well, don't feel left out; we've got something for you too...

At Melby and Associates, we specialize in buyer brokerage, in which we exclusively represent your interests as a real estate buyer. Recent license law changes mean that we pretty much have to work exclusively for the buyer, and we've perfected the art.

Think real estate bulldog that furthers your interests as a buyer exclusively. We get you the most information about properties, we fight for the lowest price and best terms for you. We represent and defend your interests exclusively throughout your purchase.

Oh, by the way, did we mention that in the vast majority of cases all our hard buyer brokerage work costs you absolutely nothing? Not every time, but our fee is usually paid entirely by the seller.

Another thing we do: we teach real estate.

Our educational activities range from teaching first time homebuyers about the process of finding and closing on a new home, to offering seminars that teach potential home sellers the details of listing, marketing, offer negotiation, financing, and real estate closing processes.

Interested in earning a real estate license? Call us! We teach you everything you need to know to pass the Massachusetts real estate salesperson and real estate broker licensing examinations.

Finally, Melby and Associates has a number of interesting web sites. This site, www.MelbyRealEstate.com, is our central real estate information site. Come here to read the blog (we promise it will get more interesting and irreverent in future postings), to read our comprehensive information on all aspects of real estate, to sign up for automatic email delivery of listings in the towns that interest you, to get a market analysis on your property, to calculate what towns and houses you could afford, and so much more!

www.MelbyAndAssociates.com is our company information site. This is where we explain the range of activities we are involved in and our mission. Visit there to learn more about what Melby and Associates is all about, to find out what your property is worth, to list your property, to sign up for automatic email delivery of listings,  to find out when our real courses and seminars are scheduled, and to so what real estate books we think are boffo!

www.MiltonListingsMap.com, www.CantonListingsMap.com, and www.QuincyListingsMap.com are our updated-weekly sites that Google-map all homes for sale. The listings include price, address, and property descriptions. Very cool if you want to search by neighborhood (or avoid, for example, homes near the railroad tracks).

Of course, you can always ask us for an up-to-the-minute listing of properties in any town (with prices and addresses we might add....)  Just call 617-872-4143 or email us!

Why do you suppose we set up www.MiltonCMA.com, www.CantonCMA.com, and www.QuincyCMA.com? For you to visit, of course!

Visit these if you want a free, no-obligation, right-on-the-money market analysis on your home. You'll have the best information available about what your house should list for in the current market.

You say you don't live in Milton, Canton, or Quincy? No problem! Of course, we would be happy to complete an information-rich market analysis for anyone on Boston's lovely South Shore. Just call or email!

Finally, there's always www.ChristianMelby.com. Our first site. Stop by once, at least, please...

Glad we got this posting out of the way?

Now let's get on to the fun stuff!