I always strongly recommend my agents create a niche. Know everything that you can about a specific neighborhood--the stores, schools (careful), commute times, pricing, parks, etc. Preferable they will be selling in their own "back yard". One should know more about the neighborhood than the mail carrier.
The mail carrier can probably surmise what political party you are affiliated with, where your relatives live, what branch of the service your kid is in, where you get your gas, etc. One should also know more about market stats than the mail carrier, however, regarding what has sold, FSBOs, who else is working YOUR farm, and what will be available soon, whether it be foreclosure or a regular sale. Pick a niche, and stick with it. Become the area expert. Focus. Too many agents are too broad in their scope.
Now, can a person have more than one niche? I say yes! It could be one or more of the following:
An area with a great school
Golf course, horse, or boating properties
Luxury homes
First time buyers
Condos
The secret is to hold yourself out as THE expert--and then DO something about it! The following picture is from law firm in Walnut Creek, CA. Do these people make it absolutely sure that they are the "go-to" people:
In law, it is called specialization. Real estate fair houseing laws would prohibit selling only based on gender. But, this firm holds itself out as experts in this niche.
Good luck out there. Remeber, specialize. I own a company that specializes in one golf community in the Silicon Valley (Eagle Ridge Golf Community). It is a gated community, and although it is a public course, and I am selling homes there, there is more to sell than just a home. I get questions all the time regarding everything but the home they are interested in. I have 6 agents who work together with me to promote this great area. Just looking at the information posted on the MLS, outside agents get it all wrong, ranging from the square footage of houses to CC&Rs to builders to what the nearest cross streets are. It is amazing how much they don't know. It is just a one shot deal to them. We spend a great deal of time having to deal with myths. I once had a person tell me that they heard that kids could not ride their bicycles in Eagle Ridge! How crazy is that? She said she heard it from another Realtor.
Gilroy home sales: (total SFRs Sold: 47) Note: It is obvious people are going after the low hanging fruit in Gilroy...
Ave list price: $434,384
Ave. Original List Price: $475,961
Ave. sale price: $419,376
Median List: $399,000
Median Original: $409,000
Median Sales Price: $373,000
Ave. DOM: 64
Ave. CDM: 109
Median DOM: 32
Median CDOM: 45
These statistics are deemed accurate but not guaranteed for their accuracy. Please consult with your real estate professional for more information. Gary Frimann Signature Homes & Estates (408) 846-8284
The end of the Housing Foreclosure Bubble is in sight!
Well, maybe I'm being optimistic, but I don't think I'm being foolish. I wish I could say the fundamentals of the economy are strong, but they are not. However, with government intervention, and a big return to a possibility of restoring some confidence in the housing market, all the low hanging fruit will be gone, and then people will not price their home on a 50% drop (for example) in the price of houses throuighout an entire community...
I wish the government would take further action. President Obama said the relief was for those who played by the rules. What I would like to see--and have been calling, begging and shouting for-- is stricter enforcement of the rules as they were. For example, speculators who committed fraud and did 100% financing on homes they were hoping to flip and then got caught holding the bag, a declining asset. These people who lied about their income, and whether the loan would be for owner-occupied or Non-Owner-occupied, and who got 100% financing, when they new the bank would not give them 100% financing on N/O/O loans should be thrown in jail. They thought they were so clever, so smart, and nobody else thought about doing this. Well, yes we did, we just didn't because we knew it was fraud.
I mean throw those people in jail, throw away the key and put their kids in foster homes. In jail, they'd have a roof over their head and wouldn't have to worry about money. Those stupid idiots know nothing about economics, financing, or responsibility. While we are at it, we should sterilize them so they cannot create a new generation of IDIOTS.
Further, for those licensees who gamed the system, especially in California, the Department of Real Estate should go after them with a vengeance, as well as all District Attorneys and the FBI. All totaled, they were a substantial factor of this meltdown. Further, they caused what appeared to be a housing shortage and legitimate buyers had to increase price offerings to get into a house. Now these same jerks are claiming to be "Short Sale" amd "Foreclosure" experts. They should be--they lost their houses to foreclosure.
I encourage the FBI, DA's and DRE to contact me...
I've got a list of licensees who lost 19 houses in my neighborhood alone, which is/was running an average of $850,000 a house, and these jerks bought and went to default within 12-14 months. In some instances, the banks took a haircut of over $1M, which is coming out of people's 401K, taxpayer's pockets, and lost equity, which was there unti lyou played your cute little game. I hope you rot in jail. I am opposed to the death penalty in this case because I think it is too kind. I want to see you rot. I hope lenders have started a list of people who are convicted of fraud, and never give them a loan again. EVER. May youu rot, and think about what you did. Greedy pricks. I know, you were just trying to help your family. Use that as an excuse, and I say your whole family is greedy. Worse yet, you got paid on the sale, and got commission for doing the loan. You probably cheated to get your Real Estate license as well. I hope the judge is extremely harsh on you.
So, with the hope that people will not walk, and easier accessibility of loan modifications, I hope we have found, hit, and escape from a bottom.
Recently, Money magazine released its annual 100 Best Places to Live list. This is compiled from throughout the United States. I have added a link, comparing Gilroy to the top 10.
Gilroy did not do too badly, actually quite well in my opinion, with the possible exception of housing prices. Gilroy being in proximity of Silicon Valley, perhaps that was to be expected. Weather-wise, we've got them all beat. Gilroy truly is a great place to live.
Well, the Gilroy Garlic festival is ready to take place yet again. This festival is the grandaddy of all the food festivals, and it is the 30th presentation of this fun event. The dates are July 25, 26, and 27, 2008. The hours of the festival are from 10AM to 7PM. Monies raised go to local charities and there are many bands, shows, and artisans that participate.
Corde Valle Golf Course was recently ranked Number 14 if the golf Digest's Index of the "World's 50 Best Golf Hotels" in their Spring 2008 edition.
CordeValle is located about 5 miles north of Eagle Ridge. It is sure nice that it got the attention, as it brings attention to golfing to Southern Santa Clara County. Eagle Ridge is located in Southern Santa Clara County in Gilroy. For those seeking natural beauty, and little hassle from the courses of San Jose and the peninsula, both of these courses are located in Santa Clara County, and both are golf course communities. Corde Valle has fewer homes compared to Eagle Ridge, and they run almost twice as much in price, but they are gorgeous. The lots are surrounded by vineyards, which are maintained by Clos La Chance Vinyards.
In addition to its overall ranking, CordeValle was also recognized and ranked #2 for "Top Wine and Drinks," #4 for "Top Rooms," and #3 for "Top Service".
Corde Valle is also well known as a conference center by those of us who live in the South County, holding wedding receptions and business seminars.
Congratulations to all the staff and management for making this a wonderful "neighbor" to Eagle Ridge.
This is a new Economic principle I have established. I have egotistically named it after myself.
It shall be known as "THE FRIMANN PRINCIPLE" of homebuying and selling
Defined: "When buying or selling a residence in real estate, after the transaction is complete, the BUYER feels they could have obtained the property for less money, while the SELLER always feels they could have recieved more money in the immediate transaction."
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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