Jeff's Blog

Southern California Real Estate is looking brighter

Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:05:48 -0700

I am hopeful that this blog is coming to you at the best part of your day! I got a report from Data Quick one of the Nations largest data recorders in Country, representing the housing industry and movement. It appears Southern California is starting to gain some momentum in housing sales, confirmed closings bith Realtor driven and For Sale by owners. The data is alot more precise regarding housing than the Realtor.com site as this represents ALL sales not just Realtor driven. Single Family Homes Condominiums SFR Only, April 2009 Community Name LOS ANGELES COUNTY Sales Price Median SFR ($1,000) Home Price/ Sq. Ft of Single Family Homes 4,808 $295 $214 ORANGE COUNTY 1,553 $430 $269 RIVERSIDE COUNTY 3,757 $171 $90 SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY 2,839 $135 $85 SAN DIEGO COUNTY 2,207 $325 $185 If anyone would like the numbers broken down into each city let me know and I can email you the data. Its very cumbersome for AR. Thank you! Jeff Vandermate 909-520-2410/760-403-6220 jeff@catreb.com

Opening the Wallet: What Top Agents Spend on Marketing

Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:15:16 -0700

by drm on March 9, 2009

This post is the second of a series of six posts dedicated to the results of The Real Estate Agents study conducted by Network Communications, Inc., The Real Estate Book and The OSR Group. The scope of the series is outlined in this post.

The key driver of marketing investment by top agents is the length of time they’ve been an agent and the amount of money that they earn in commissions, according to analysis of The Real Estate Agents Study that we conducted.

The net effect of this observation is that top agents are able to use their marketing clout to increase their impact on the market. Consumers looking for homes are more likely to encounter a top agent’s marketing message more frequently, in more different media than another agent. This consistency and repetition of marketing messages is a basic foundation of successful marketing programs, and top agents benefit from this consistency in terms of higher lead volume and higher earnings.

One wrinkle we noted in the research was that agents relatively early in their careers invested a higher percentage of their commissions in marketing than any of the other top agents. One reason for this may be that the emerging agents understand the importance of establishing a strong marketing presence in their local community, and are willing to bear the cost of that incremental investment in order to increase the odds of their building a strong real estate practice.

Top Agents Spend $7464 A Year on Marketing

The average top agent spent $622 per month on marketing, or a total of $7464 in a year. The agents were asked to quantify how much they spent on all forms of marketing: advertising, personal sales collateral, web marketing, web sites, direct mail and e-mail marketing.

Overall, top agents spent 8.4% of their commission revenue on marketing.

Of the total, 43% spent less than $500 per month, or less than $6000 a year. 73% of the agents surveyed spent less than $1000 per month.

The difference in marketing spend in relation to commission revenue was notable. Agents making more than $200,000 a year spent $19,764 on marketing: 148% more than agents who earned between $75,000 and $200,000 a year and 262% more than agents earning under $75,000 a year.

It is in analyzing the spend by agents according to the number of years of experience that we see the more significant commitment newer agents make to marketing compared to more experienced agents. Agents with less than 5 years of experience spent 9.3% of their earnings on marketing, while agents with more than 20 years of experience invested only 8.0%. This relationship speaks to the higher earning power of the more established agent, but it also points out the investment newer agents make to establish themselves in the market.

Internet Marketing Accounts for 31% of Total Marketing Spend

In the survey, we also asked agents to quantify how much they spent on internet marketing, including their personal web sites, internet listing services and other forms of internet marketing.

The average top agent spent $2,352 a year on internet marketing, or 2.7% of their annual commissions. The total was approximately 1/3 of their overall marketing spending. (We see in a later section of this series that agents believe they allocate a higher percentage of their budget to their interactive marketing activities, suggesting that the absolute dollars on internet marketing will increase.)

Of the total respondents, 30% spent less than $100 per month on internet marketing, while another 32% spent between $100 and $250 each month.

Brokers Continue to Support Their Agents Marketing Activities

Given the difficult conditions of the housing market, we were interested whether the level at which real estate brokers supported marketing activities by their agents had changed at all. We’ve witnessed anecdotal instances of brokers trying to generate more incremental revenue from their agents in these tough times by introducing proprietary marketing programs, such as broker-specific magazines and internet marketing packages.

In general, the top agents we surveyed reported very little change in the support they are getting from their brokers. Of the total, 63% said support had not changed at all, while 13% said the brokers had increased support in response to the difficult market conditions.

Agents cited three primary kinds of support they received from their brokers:

67% said that their brokers provided a name that customers trust;
60% said that their brokers provided a web site and online support;
52% said that their brokers provided basic marketing materials that they could customize.

RealEstateBook.com launches Real Estate Foreclosures Search Feature

Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:09:04 -0700

As foreclosures and short-sales remain a viable portion of the homes for sale in many parts of the US, many home shoppers are turning towards them as potential real estate investments or as low-cost primary homes.

The RealEstateBook.com has incorporated a new search feature allowing home shoppers to view listings for thousands of pre-foreclosed, foreclosed, auction and REO homes. By partnering with RealtyTrack, The RealEstateBook.com now includes a simple and effective feature, allowing users to immediately narrow or to broaden their search by market, price, or location.

Just enter the city and search. For instance, San Francisco Foreclosures brings up over eight hundred listings.

Buying into this market can be a great way to purchase a home at a greatly reduced price. But those who jump in without any additional information may learn some very valuable lessons the hard way. Just like anything else in life, buying a foreclosed home has its pros and cons. They present wonderful, profitable investment opportunities, but they can just as easily become money pits if you don't know what you're doing.

The Real Estate Book allows you to better understand the foreclosure market by spending time learning about the homes, their locations, and the steps necessary to acquire them. With listings, images, maps and vast amounts of other information, The RealEstateBook.com gives home shoppers the most comprehensive foreclosure coverage.

Other advantages to purchasing a foreclosed home include low prices, lower closing costs, flexible financing, and profitability. There is no waiting to move in, as foreclosed homes are often vacant. And many of them are homes in need of repair, which can ultimately bring back money on your investment.

The new search enhancement adds diversity and flexibility to the existing property search features on RealEstateBook.com -- now with over 900,000 current foreclosure listings, and more added daily. To learn more, take advantage of the real estate foreclosure feature today.

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Great News in the housing market!

Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:06:51 -0700

New Home Sales, Traffic and Optimism on the Rise

wknd-home-webRISMEDIA, April 18, 2009-New home sales, traffic and expectations all lifted meaningfully in March. Findings that support this news are detailed in the John Burns Real Estate Consulting April survey of builders across the country. According to the survey, while the improvement can be partially attributed to seasonality, we can also point to a shift in builders’ optimism in many metros. The rating of future sales improved substantially, and expectations rose in every single region except the Northwest.

This month, 233 public and private builder executive representatives from over 160 companies around the country provided market ratings that represent conditions at 1,984 new home communities in 82 unique metros.

“We think the improvement is attributable primarily to improved affordability,” said John Burns, CEO of Irvine, Calif.-based John Burns Real Estate Consulting. “The new home tax credit in California is also helping.”

“Earlier in the year, the gains in traffic and sales were mostly limited to builders at the affordable end, but in April we began to see some gains for move-up builders as well,” said Jody Kahn, vice president. “This trend is still spotty, and limited to a handful of markets, including Raleigh, Atlanta and Nashville.”

Results also showed that builders in a handful of locations have recently purchased land, and that more plan to purchase in the near-term. “We know from prior housing downturns that the resetting of land prices is an important step in the process of clearing the market,” said Kahn.

Survey Highlights:

Land Buying is Increasing: Already this year, 18% of survey participants have purchased land and 29% indicate they will buy land in 2Q09. By 2010, 47% expect to be buying.

Builders are targeting Washington D.C., Charlotte, Dallas and Tampa for near-term land buys. There was a pronounced message that buying would not be occurring in Phoenix, Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Orlando and Orange County for quite some time. There were mixed messages in California markets of Riverside-San Bernardino, San Diego and Sacramento.

Recent buying appears to have been predominantly among private builders. Of purchases made this year, 35% were by public home builders.

Sales, Traffic and Expectations Jump: The builders’ rating of current sales reached a record level since our survey’s inception, traffic ticked up in every region but one, and expectations climbed as builders’ outlook appears to be brightening. No region of the country reported declining net sales per community. Average net sales per community rose to 1.7, which is the highest level since September.

Builders Start More Homes: 70% of builders started homes this month, compared to only 59% last month.

Pricing Net of Incentives Inches Toward Flattening: Overall, the direction of new home pricing moved closer to flat, but regions like Southern California report decreasing prices over last month.

Inventory Declining: The average number of unsold, finished units per community is continuing to trend down nationally, to 4.0 units from 4.2 last month. This is the lowest number we have seen in more than six months.

For more information, visit: www.realestateconsulting.com.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

Exposure? in a sea of online hoopla.

Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:22:19 -0700

With the numbers telling all, at over 87% of consumers looking online for Real Estate. How do you get seen in this sea of online hoopla? Well, the internet is a great media for advertsing your listings to the consumer there is no two ways about that. I do it as well, I feed to over 35 sites but I still find myself picking up a Real Estate Book or source so that I can get a local feel for the market at a glance. There is nothing like having it under my nose, then it sparks me to maybe do a search online for more inventory. With that being said many consumers have taken the same path, we are now finding that print actually drives a portion of the internet.

Lands End, a popular clothing line started its path with a book or magazine to promote its goods. Then the internet came and the buzz that went along with it. Many of the execs turned their nose to the print side saying its gone! Well, they let it go and so they also let the profits go. They concluded that the print side actually drove consumers to their website for a more detailed search for whatever it was they desired. Needless to say, they now have both!

The current Real Estate market is much like the same. We all need to be seen and "as soon as possible" yet there are so many homes available "how do we hope to be seen or our listings viewed ?" I have a suggestion look into The Real Estate Book, www.therealestatebook.com they feed to the internet and are the largest printer of Real Estate Magazines in the Country. They are offering a deal right now for a full page of advertising and your listings fed free to over 35 sites for $320.00 (Inland Empire) it is the half page rate Countrywide!

Call today, offer is ending and then its back to the full page rack rates!

Thank you!

Jeff Vandermate

909-520-2410

760-403-6220

jeff@catreb.com

Download this free widget for your blog or webpage, FREE

Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:50:33 -0700

<div>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://widget.realestatebook.com/customize/trebscript.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://widget.realestatebook.com/customize/trebhtml.js"></script>
<script language=javascript type="text/javascript">
window.onload = function() {
var trebText = trebBuildHTML(300, 250, 'default', 'tan', 'usa', '?ecid=WGT|GEN|300250D');
document.getElementById("trebwidget").innerHTML = trebText;
document.forms['trebform'].reset();
};
</script>
<div id="trebwidget"> </div>
</div>

At NCI we are committed to expand our services and provide fresh insights to clients. As such, we have developed a new tool that will allow users, bloggers and Web site owners to search thousands of property and rental listings. The Real Estate Book and Apartment Finder Widgets are a fast, free and easy way to increase traffic to your site and strengthen your brand presence.

A widget is a small specialized desktop application that allows the user to interact with a website and its content. They provide easy access to frequently used functions, are free to the user and easy to install. This viral component makes it an excellent source to get users to visit our site on a daily basis and encourage them to share with friends and colleagues. Widgets are also great marketing tools that provide the opportunity to acquire new customers, promote brand awareness and increase overall traffic. It also helps with SEO, since once the widget is adapted the links will benefit the natural search engine rankings for that website.

With the Real Estate Book and Apartment Finder Widgets, we will be able to offer agents, communities, renters and buyers an opportunity to access properties in our website in a simple and fast way. By selecting the city, state, price range and bedrooms that they are looking for in a home or apartment, the widget will deliver them directly to the search results page based on that criterion.

Both widgets will be distributed thru Google Gadgets and available for download to your personalized iGoogle Page (www.google.com/ig ). Recently announcing over 100 million users, iGoogle is the perfect starting point for distribution. Anyone can download our widget by simply searching the Google Gadget directory and adding it to their personalize page. Please refer to the attached document for step by step instructions on how to find and add the widgets to iGoogle.

For bloggers and website owners interested in adding the widgets to their site, refer them to widget.realestatebook.com and widget.apartmentfinder.com where they can customize the widget to fit the look and feel of their personal blog and webpage.

If you have any questions or comments please send them to onlinerequests@nci.com.

iGoogle Search Widget Examples

United States Canada Bahamas Cayman Islands Dominican Republic Mexico Panama Puerto Rico Turks and Caicos Islands U.S. Virgin Islands

AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA DC WV WI WY

Price Min. ($)
Any Price 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 350,000 400,000 450,000 500,000 550,000 600,000 700,000 800,000 900,000 1 Million 3 Million 4 Million 5 Million No Limit

Price Max. ($)
Any Price 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 350,000 400,000 450,000 500,000 550,000 600,000 700,000 800,000 900,000 1 Million 3 Million 4 Million 5 Million No Limit

Bedrooms
Any 1+ 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+

Bathrooms
Any 1+ 2+ 3+ 4+

Real Estate Search powered by www.RealEstateBook.com

Apartment Search powered by www.ApartmentFinder.com

Thank you,

How One Broker Gets a 3,000% ROI on Her Internet Marketing

Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:01:48 -0700

By Mike Parker

RISMEDIA, March 27, 2009-I received a letter recently that began, “What you have given me is a whole new outlook on real estate sales.” The letter continued, “My husband and I ran a mom-and-pop brokerage in Northern New Mexico for 25 years. We were a big fish in a little pond and our business was 100% referral and walk-in. Then we moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico (a city of about 100,000) and went from a Realtor board of 43 to one of over 600. It occurred to us that we had to do something to stand out in the bigger pond.”

“We knew there had to be an answer that would help us establish ourselves and succeed in the bigger market and after reading about how over 87% of all real estate sales begin online I started to think that online marketing might be ‘the thing.’ I worked hard at it and got myself some first page listings. After a while, though, I couldn’t keep that performance going.”

“I subscribed to an online marketing service for Realtors. I took a gamble and within 30 days of signing up I got my first lead off the subscription. I sold that lead a $450,000 home and I have never looked back.”

Two years later

“I am at the top of most search engines and I receive about a lead a day, sometimes more. I haven’t had a day off in six months. I couldn’t even answer your questions because every time I would sit down to write you, another lead would come in and I had to follow it up. I hired two new sales people to help field all the leads we get. I pay less than $300 a month for my subscription and my subscription will easily produce over $100,000 in commissions this year for me. That’s a 3,000% return on investment in a world where very few services even cover their costs.”

When I read this, I realized that I needed to speak to this broker, so I called Judith Picker at Las Cruces Fine Properties in Las Cruces, New Mexico and found her to be a wealth of good information about online marketing. Judith is no newbie, she is a 33-year Realtor. Las Cruces is a beautiful city with 350 days of sunshine, low humidity and New Mexico State University in town to keep things interesting. When I was able to finally reach her, Judith graciously answered my questions- both written and oral-and what follows is what she told me.

I learned the formula for Internet success

“I used to look at people high in the search engines and think to myself that if I could only get there, I could succeed, too. I was wrong. It takes a lot more than just getting found by Internet shoppers, you must do more to succeed. I found that succeeding is a three-step process and that not completing any of the steps relegates your site to obscurity and you to hoping for walk-in traffic again (not too likely, these days).

Those steps are:

• Your website must be found when shoppers type in exactly what they are looking to examine and it must have the information and education they want to find. Since most people don’t know me or the name of our company, I realized they had to find us under where we sell homes. If you type in Las Cruces NM Real Estate on Google, you’ll have a chance to pick my site there because I am on page one for that Google search. When those shoppers come to my site, I give them all sorts of useful information that encourages them to sign in with me, not just listings (although your listings are the most popular pages on your website, according to experts). That’s just step one: You must be able to be found by Internet shoppers when they type in what they are looking for and you must give them what they are looking for.
• As your site climbs up in the search engines, you’ll find your traffic increasing. Contrary to what you may have heard, you really don’t need a huge amount of traffic to succeed if you do this right: if you can bring 300 unique visitors to your site each month and just 5-15% of your unique visitors will register, that will keep you busy and selling houses. Step two is that you must convert a percentage of the anonymous visitors to your site into people you can farm and prospect. Some will be long-term prospects, some are immediate prospects, but whatever the case, when they register, you can communicate with them regularly and build a rapport and trust with them.
• Once they register, you must respond to them immediately. This is so obvious I feel silly even mentioning it, but I read where NAR says that about half of all Realtors respond to an Internet lead within 54 hours and the other half never responds. The half that never responds needs no further comment, but even 54 hours is just too long.” Plenty of leads and plenty of sales, all the time

About 80% of the company’s leads come from their online marketing subscription, Judith reports. “Sales continue to be strong and we recently had to add two associates to help handle all the leads we get. We follow our own advice and respond immediately to those leads and when they ask us about the market, we say this: We tell buyers it’s a great time to buy and we tell sellers that they’ll make up their loss in value when they buy on the other end. Both statements are true.”

When common sense and high technology work together, it’s a beautiful thing

Think about this: NAR says that 87% of home sales begin online. It’s also a fact that 92% of Internet buyers find their agent through a search engine and that 880 million people search Google for real estate related things monthly. You truly will not be able to function as you have in the future without bringing the Internet into your business. That’s not sales talk, that’s fact as reported by NAR.

If you aren’t getting about 80% of your leads and sales from your website, how do you think you will remain in business in the future? Judith Picker used to get 100% of her business through referrals and walk-ins. “Used to” is the key phrase. You probably used to get 100% of your business through walk-ins and referrals, too, but that’s unlikely these days. Now, Judith gets 80%+ of her business through her website, but chances are good that you don’t, because NAR also tells us that 90% of agents are unhappy with the production of their websites. Plenty of agents and brokers are succeeding every day; it’s just that they aren’t waiting for walk-ins and referrals anymore; they are going out and capturing prospects online. Most of those succeeding online have something in common with Judith Picker: they subscribe to services like ours, CompassSearch and REAL SEO, to power their success. “None of this would be happening without CompassSearch” Judith said “and we really appreciate the services Compass brings us, in addition to the many sales and leads.”

Summer is coming fast. New economic measures are slowly turning things around. Why not turn your business around and become an Internet Realtor? It’s where everyone goes to look at homes today, and it’s where 87% of residential homes sales take place.

Mike Parker specializes in online marketing services for Realtors® and real estate professionals. Obtain a free copy of his booklet that shows you what Judith Picker has that you don’t have: “REAL SEO Explained” by writing to realseo@compassinternetsystems.com. It will be sent to you free and no one will call you. To request a free review of your website to determine if it can be found by Internet buyers and if it is search engine friendly, click here and it will be evaluated free.

Feeling sluggish in a bull market?

Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:00:17 -0700

Spring into Savings!!!!

The market is great out there and homes are selling. New reports that just came out in the San Bernardino markets show that housing is on the rise! This means buyers are looking at the lower cost of housing and the affordability of home mortgage's. Its the perfect storm of cheap homes and cheap money. Anyone that went through this as I did in the early to mid nineties knows what I am talking about, the only exception is that then money was NOT cheap. So, really this is a great opportunity for the up and coming home buyer.

With all this I have a solution for your self promotion as well as your listings. I am offering a full page of advertising for $320.00 and this includes your listings being feed to over 35 real estate websites. By the way www.therealestatebook.com is now ranked in the top 20 in the Country AND we feed to 10 additional sites within that top 20. Dont your sellers deserve this exposure of their homes?

Carpe Diem! (Seize the day)

Jeff Vandermate

909-520-2410

Basic Truths in Advertising Vol:2

Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:39:27 -0700

The Elements of Design

1) Proximity-sometimes referred to as proportion. Elements should look like they belong on the same page together. Good proximity allows the page to look good in its entirity, utilizes space appropriately, and avoids a cluttered look.

2) Alignment (Flow)-to present you in a favorable way to potential home sellers.

3) Repetition- repeat visual elements. This is very easy in real estate advertising as we either use single photos of many homes or multiple photos of a single home but isnt it nice to know that it is also a good graphic design. Making similiar elements different often confuses the reader.

4) Contrast-the way selected items differentiate themselves from eachother. Thick, thin, light, dark create most basic contrasts. Contrast without alignment (purpose) or proximity (proportion) is clutter.

These are a few simple truths in preparing for your next advertising campaign. I will dig deeper into these 4 basic truths at a later time, until then "Make it a great day"

Jeff

Good Advertising, like anything good is achieved through good practice Vol:1

Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:39:10 -0700

The goals of advertising are clear:

1) LEADS- to attract quality homebuyers to you and your listings

2) LISTINGS-to present you in a favorable way to potential home sellers

3) IMAGE- to help create and reinforce your image. To create, in the consumers mind, a preference to do business with you.

There are also some very basic truths we must keep in mind when it comes to advertising to the real estate consumer:

1) The consumer is looking for a home (show the home)

2) In print, they expect to see multiple homes, and on-line, they expect to see multiple photos of a home.

3) They will respond better when they see the home at its best (take good pictures)

4) They want to know where the property is located (at least proximity)

5) They want understandable and pleasing ad copy (clear and compelling)

6) They are interested in the price (tell them)

7) They want to easily contact you (dont make it difficult)

Good luck out there and I will be doing another blog this afternoon about THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF DESIGN.

Take Care!

Jeff

909-520-2410 jeff@catreb.com

February's numbers are in for the top Real Estate search sites.

Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:47:50 -0700

The numbers are in for the top Real Estate search sites for February. If you would like a copy of the complete list, let me know and I can email the data to you.

Thank you

Jeff

KEY MEASURES REPORT

Geography :

United States

Location :

All Locations

Time Period :

February 2009

Target :

Total Audience

Media :

Real Estate [Undup.]

Date :

3/12/2009

Items 1 to 405

Total Unique Visitors (000)

% Reach

Average Daily Visitors (000)

Total Unique Users

Total minutes

(000)

Total Pages Viewed (MM)

Total Visits (000)

Total Internet : Total Audience

192,187

126,173

322,296

464,589

10,775,861

Real Estate

42,410

5,613

1,629

2,824

159,483

[P]

Move Network

7,779

510

184

316

16,782

[C]

Yahoo! Real Estate

7,176

369

10,735

[M]

AOL Real Estate

3,431

184

5,435

[C]

MSN Real Estate

3,324

174

5,191

[P]

ZILLOW.COM

2,844

209

7,491

[M]

RENT.COM

2,779

147

4,444

[M]

HPCInter@ctive

2,224

116

3,597

[P]

TRULIA.COM

2,107

106

3,304

[M]

Homes.com Network

1,979

3,060

[P]

FORECLOSURE.COM

1,935

2,789

[M]

APARTMENTS.COM

1,906

2,705

[P]

ZIPREALTY.COM

1,867

166

5,415

[M]

HOMEGAIN.COM

1,742

2,413

[P]

REMAX International, Inc.

1,739

112

3,533

[P]

REALTYTRAC.COM

1,706

2,309

[P]

NCI Interactive

1,514

2,213

[M]

ForRent.com Sites

1,484

2,158

[P]

MYNEWPLACE.COM

1,427

2,063

[P]

Century 21 International

1,404

2,546

[P]

LoopNet Sites

1,346

2,744

[M]

REALESTATE.COM

1,346

1,801

[P]

MLXCHANGE.COM

1,108

184

125

203

9,570

[P]

COLDWELLBANKER.COM

1,100

3,179

[P]

ACTIVERAIN.COM

929

1,269

[M]

APARTMENTRATINGS.COM

714

1,020

[P]

MLSFINDER.COM

683

1,030

[M]

UHAUL.COM

683

928

[P]

HUDFORECLOSED.COM

629

764

[P]

CYBERHOMES.COM

584

3,771

[P]

MOVOTO.COM

579

932

[P]

WEICHERT.COM

565

898

[P]

Housevalues Sites

530

847

[P]

REALTYTIMES.COM

523

683

[P]

PULTE.COM

521

673

[M]

RENTALHOMESPLUS.COM

496

754

[P]

IDXRE.COM

486

908

[P]

HOMESANDLAND.COM

466

720

[P]

INMAN.COM

459

772

[P]

HAR.COM

423

1,900

[M]

APARTMENTHOMELIVING.COM

410

508

[P]

FORECLOSUREFREESEARCH.COM

403

504

[P]

MRIS.COM

397

3,340

[P]

USHOMEAUCTION.COM

392

744

[P]

KW.COM

391

655

[P]

HOUSE.INFO

377

483

[P]

MLS.COM

377

511

[M]

FORSALEBYOWNER.COM

362

484

[P]

REALTOR.ORG

355

517

[P]

NEWHOMESOURCE.COM

346

570

[P]

First American Real Estate Solutions

337

1,661

[P]

REALESTATESHOWS.COM

335

496

[M]

FRONTDOOR.COM

324

520

[M]

HOMEFINDER.COM

320

511

[P]

ERA.COM

310

531

[M]

Point2.com Homes

309

402

[P]

LISTHUB.NET

308

553

[P]

MLSPIN.COM

306

2,531

[M]

PRUDENTIALPROPERTIES.COM*

305

494

[P]

Enormo Sites

288

332

[P]

REDFIN.COM

286

658

[P]

HOTPADS.COM

282

365

[M]

CONNECTWITHLIFE.COM

275

318

[P]

TOURFACTORY.COM

275

588

[P]

VACATIONHOMERENTALS.COM

270

458

[P]

COLORADONEWHOMES.COM

268

1,722

[M]

AMERICANHOMESHIELD.COM

264

329

[P]

POINT2AGENT.COM

259

399

[P]

CIRCLEPIX.COM

259

396

[P]

OBEO.COM

255

401

[P]

JUSTSNOOPING.COM

251

350

[P]

AFFORDABLEHOUSINGONLINE.COM

246

302

[P]

HOUSES-JUSTLISTED.COM

245

284

[P]

MRMLSMATRIX.COM

241

1,433

[P]

FORECLOSURELISTINGS.COM

237

277

[P]

LENNAR.COM

234

328

[P]

CYBERHOMESPRO.COM

231

2,199

[P]

PROPERTYWARE.COM

230

374

[P]

RENTALADS.COM

230

275

[P]

CONNECTMLS.COM

224

103

1,826

[P]

HOUSEHUNT.ORG

223

346

[P]

APARTMENTREVIEWS.NET

223

305

[P]

LISTINGBOOK.COM

220

980

[P]

HOUSEHUNT.COM

220

284

[P]

APARTMENTCITIES.COM

214

251

[P]

NATIONALRELOCATION.COM

207

244

[P]

RELOHOMESEARCH.COM

207

245

[P]

THATRENTALSITE.COM

204

236

[P]

SUBLET.COM

200

301

[P]

COOLHOUSEPLANS.COM

200

310

[P]

EPROPERTYSITES.COM

200

401

Real Estate Marketing Study

Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:29:32 -0700

Citing the recent shifts and challenges in the real estate market, The Real Estate Book, a leading publisher online and in print of real estate information in North America, conducted a national survey of top real estate professionals to assess how they are marketing themselves and their listings in the current economy, and what channels are driving the best results for them. One of the key findings reveals that the migration of marketing dollars from mass media to targeted real estate media is now complete, with agents dedicating 75% of their marketing spending to specialty print, personal websites and Internet marketing. Surprisingly, the study shows that agents spread their marketing budget among these three categories evenly. Categories that were given lowest marks for value were traditional mass media like newspapers and radio.

“Real estate agents understand that it is critical to maintain their visibility in a very confusing and shifting market, and to do that they are using multiple targeted media channels to stay out in front and relevant to consumers,” says Scott Dixon, president, The Real Estate Book. “Perhaps what may surprise many people is that agents are not dumping their money all in one bucket, nor are they simply turning to the Internet for leads, as this has proven to be ineffective.”

Dan McCarthy, chairman and CEO of Network Communications Inc., which publishes The Real Estate Book and nearly 30 media brands in the housing area, adds, “We have discovered that real estate agents who spread their marketing messages between efficient print and Internet resources experience significantly more impact in driving leads than using one medium or the other solely.” He continues, “There is no question the U.S. housing market will never be the same. But, at the core, it will not be all that different. The practical and emotional reasons that a person buys or sells a home will stay the same, even while the tools and resources that they use to complete that transaction change and evolve.”

Clearly, innovation in the on-line space has caused marketers to re-evaluate how they reach their target audience. But, the real revolution taking place in real estate marketing, according to this recent study, is the ability for agents to spend money efficiently and with accountability, both in their print and Internet marketing.

2/ The Real Estate Book’s Key Findings from The Real Estate Marketing Study

Among its findings, The National Real Estate Agents Study revealed that:

More than half of respondents (57%) spend more than $500 in a typical month on advertising, marketing, branding and promotion. The median monthly spending on advertising, marketing, branding and promotion is $622.
Respondents said that in the current economy, the most important goal is “finding more buyers,” followed by “showing current customers you are working for them,” “getting more listings,” and “promoting your name to other agents,” with agents using specialty print stating significantly more likely than non-users to worry about showing current home shoppers they are working and about promoting their names to other agents.
Respondents spend about 25% of their media spending on each of the following: Specialty print, Internet marketing, and the broker’s own Web site.
Virtually all respondents use some form of Internet marketing. Over the next six months, the channels respondents expect to spend the most money on are Internet marketing (40%) and the respondents’ own personal Web sites (32%).
The median amount spent on Internet marketing is $196 each month. 38% spend more than $250 per month on all forms of Internet marketing.
86% of the respondents had a personal web site in addition to their broker web site. 61% spent money on search engine marketing to promote themselves. 25% used blogs or social media as a promotional tool.
Only 5% of those agents surveyed expect to spend more on newspaper ads.
85% of respondents measure the effectiveness of the money they spend marketing their services.
78% of respondents track the leads they get from various media and other sources.

The results of the research paint the picture of an evolving information landscape that gives consumers nearly ubiquitous access to information about their local real estate market. In the end, consumers are interested in finding a real estate agent that they can trust who will help them negotiate the challenging process of buying or selling a home. In order to effectively market themselves to these consumers, agents are using more and more marketing outlets. Their goal is to stand out in their market as a trusted and experienced expert.

2/ The Real Estate Book’s Key Findings from The Real Estate Marketing Study

Dixon adds, “We have seen in our own business that print distribution drives online traffic, and our study reconfirms that agents not only get the best results when they market their listings this way, but also looking to the future of the market, agents who responded to our survey will continue to utilize a mix of targeted multi-media channels and spread their marketing dollars among those categories evenly. They will increase Internet spend, but continue to promote their online content in print to help them drive their business.“
Case in point: tens of thousand of advertisers of The Real Estate Book benefit from a wealth of experience and an integrated media platform that showcases their listings in a variety of ways. With 8 million magazines in print every 4 weeks, The Real Estate Book gets nearly 2 million unique visitors on its Web site, www.RealEstateBook.com, as a result of the prominent off-line visibility.

7 Really Smart Habits of Top Agents

Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:55:26 -0700

The Real Estate Book's 7 Smart Habits of Top Agents

In response to the dramatic change in the housing market,
The Real Estate Book® commissioned OSR Research to conduct a study of thousands of leading real estate agents to uncover their key habits for success (even in a challenging market), and provide insight into how to apply these lessons.

OSR RESEARCH FOR 2009:
HOW TOP AGENTS
MAINTAIN SUCCESS

“7 Really Smart Habits of Top Agents”

The results from the OSR Research allow us to define what we call the “7 Really Smart Habits of Top Agents”, which provides a simple blueprint to the marketing strategies of agents still earning top incomes.

For more than 30 years, The Real Estate Book has focused on helping top agents become even more successful.

Investing in this type of research provides us with the
information necessary to provide a high quality integrated
marketing environment to help you attain your goals.

Download white paper now.

To download your free whitepaper & view a video about
the “7 Really Smart Habits of Top Agents,” go to...
RealEstateBookMediaKit.com
Or call, 1-800-643-1174 for advertising information.

The New Real Estate Book Overview You Tube Video of services and why it is imperitive to start using our services to assure success in Todays Economy and uncertain Market condition

Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:28:34 -0700

For anyone that has marketing questions in the current Real Estate climate here is Mr. Todd Walker of The Real Estate Book to assist in your questions.

Feel free to contact me for a local rep or publisher in your area.

Jeff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVTVh8294Kg&feature=related

Decembers Top Real Estate sites by Media Metrix

Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:29:03 -0800

I hope this information is helpful in the marketing of your homes. This information is supplied by media metrix and The Real Estate Book is rated as number 23 by this third party.

Unique Vistors(000)

1	[P]	Move Network	5,680
2	[C]	Yahoo! Real Estate	4,821
3	[M]	AOL Real Estate	3,814
4	[C]	MSN Real Estate	2,310
5	[M]	RENT.COM	2,148
6	[P]	ZILLOW.COM	1,890
7	[P]	TRULIA.COM	1,881
8	[P]	SERVICEMAGIC.COM	1,795
9	[P]	ZIPREALTY.COM	1,697
10	[M]	APARTMENTS.COM	1,590
11	[M]	HPCInter@ctive	1,575
12	[P]	REALTYTRAC.COM	1,344
13	[M]	Homes.com Network	1,337
14	[M]	HOMEGAIN.COM	1,292
15	[M]	ForRent.com Sites	1,258
16	[P]	FORECLOSURE.COM	1,175
17	[P]	MYNEWPLACE.COM	1,117
18	[P]	Century 21 International	1,038
19	[P]	LoopNet Sites	999
20	[P]	REMAX International, Inc.	964
21	[P]	Reply! Inc.	954
22	[P]	MLXCHANGE.COM	823
23	[P]	NCI Interactive	746
24	[P]	COLDWELLBANKER.COM	701
25	[P]	REALESTATE.COM	637
26	[M]	UHAUL.COM	636
27	[M]	APARTMENTRATINGS.COM	619
28	[P]	ACTIVERAIN.COM	572
29	[P]	MLSFINDER.COM	547
30	[P]	Housevalues Sites	468
31	[P]	First American Real Estate Solutions	464
32	[P]	WEICHERT.COM	452
33	[P]	COLORADONEWHOMES.COM	426
34	[P]	MRIS.COM	404
35	[P]	TOURFACTORY.COM	386
36	[P]	HUDFORECLOSED.COM	382
37	[P]	MLSPIN.COM	373
38	[M]	HOMESCAPE.COM	369
39	[P]	CYBERHOMES.COM	347
40	[P]	REALHOLIDAYS.COM.AU	334
41	[P]	INMAN.COM	325
42	[M]	FORSALEBYOWNER.COM	325
43	[P]	HOMESANDLAND.COM	324
44	[P]	MOVOTO.COM	321
45	[P]	APARTMENTHOMELIVING.COM	320
46	[P]	IDXRE.COM	312
47	[P]	FORECLOSUREFREESEARCH.COM	310
48	[P]	HAR.COM	307
49	[P]	REALESTATESHOWS.COM	302
50	[P]	NEWHOMESOURCE.COM	301
51	[M]	RENTALHOMESPLUS.COM	300
52	[P]	REALTYTIMES.COM	293
53	[P]	REALTOR.ORG	282
54	[P]	OBEO.COM	279
55	[P]	POINT2AGENT.COM	271
56	[P]	KW.COM	264
57	[P]	CIRCLEPIX.COM	251
58	[P]	MOVEAROO.COM	237
59	[P]	MRMLSMATRIX.COM	235
60	[P]	LONGANDFOSTER.COM	233
61	[P]	REDFIN.COM	230
62	[P]	LISTHUB.NET	225
63	[P]	RTVPIX.COM	225
64	[M]	FRONTDOOR.COM	220
65	[P]	ERA.COM	218
66	[P]	MLS.COM	216
67	[P]	USHOMEAUCTION.COM	216
68	[P]	SUBLET.COM	209
69	[P]	PROPERTYWARE.COM	207
70	[P]	ENORMO.COM	204
71	[P]	BURNSIDEHOME.COM	202
72	[P]	TOLLBROTHERS.COM	200
73	[M]	AMERICANHOMESHIELD.COM	188
74	[P]	TENMANAGEMENT.COM	182
75	[P]	CONNECTMLS.COM	182
76	[P]	HOUSE.INFO	181
77	[P]	FIZBER.COM	181
78	[P]	HOTPADS.COM	179
79	[P]	APARTMENTSEARCH.COM	176
80	[P]	Centex Corp.	168
81	[P]	UNITEDCOUNTRY.COM	167
82	[P]	HOUSES-JUSTLISTED.COM	163
83	[P]	ZIPFORMONLINE.COM	161
84	[P]	FORECLOSURELISTINGS.COM	161
85	[P]	AVALONCOMMUNITIES.COM	158
86	[M]	PRUDENTIALPROPERTIES.COM*	156
87	[P]	RELOHOMESEARCH.COM	156
88	[P]	COSTAR.COM	156
89	[P]	CALIFORNIAMOVES.COM	155
90	[P]	HOUSE-REAL-ESTATE.COM	154
91	[P]	CONDO.COM	153
92	[P]	PULTE.COM	152
93	[P]	ROOMMATES.COM	151
94	[P]	MLSLI.COM	151
95	[P]	HOMELISTINGSFINDER.COM	147
96	[P]	BUYATIMESHARE.COM	146
97	[P]	LANDWATCH.COM	143
98	[P]	HOMESBYOWNER.COM	142
99	[P]	THATRENTALSITE.COM	142
100	[P]	PPLMOTORHOMES.COM	142

Go Big or Go Home

Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:04:12 -0800

This article ran and I thought this is a great testimony to advertising campaigns or lack thereof. We all think that "Oh everyone knows who I am, I dont need to advertise". Well if I said "gosh there is a shoe company that has a "swoosh" but I just cannot figure out who it is or wow, I see this ad all the time and its this big yellow "M", what the heck could that be? " You would think I was either under a rock or left in the Desert for far to long.

My point is that these companies are HUGE and they still advertise, via print, online tv or radio. In Real Estate we have all been taught that online is "where its at", well it is a big part of the campaign. My book helps with regard to that exposure more than you may think. However playing devils advocate and posing as a buyer (in their shoes) I performed my own home search and found that it was difficult to find the property I was looking for. So, my thought turned to "How does the consumer find you in the vast presence of the web" believe its by the grace of God because I plugged my neighbors home specs into the computer search (which is listed) and it took me hours to find it and I knew what I was looking for. So, with that said I have this article that proved to be an eye opener.

Happy Reading.

Jeff

Home > Entrepreneur Magazine > November 2008 > Go Big or Go Home

Go Big or Go Home

Even in a bad economy, one truth about marketing stands: you have to spend more to make more.

By Robert Kiyosaki | Entrepreneur Magazine - November 2008

A few days ago, I spoke at a luncheon with approximately 500 local business leaders. I began with these words: "I have good news and bad news. The good news is you will have fewer competitors next year because many of your competitors will be out of business. The bad news is you might be one of those out of business."

I then showed them my local newspaper, pointing to the headline "Businesses Are Struggling." I opened the newspaper and said, "I can tell you who will be in business." I pointed to a full-page ad for a local appliance store. "I'll bet money that this business will be here next year. Why? Because this business is advertising more aggressively than its competition."

In previous issues of Entrepreneur, I've written about the importance of advertising and promotion. I've shared my rich dad's lesson that when business drops off, many entrepreneurs listen to their accountant's advice and cut back on advertising and promotion. That's the worst thing you can do. When times get tough, your job is to promote more, not less.

Promotion is a six-week cycle. That means if I promote today, business increases six weeks later. Many businesses violate the six-week cycle. They promote for, say, four weeks, and because nothing happens, they stop. Two weeks later, there's a sudden increase in business. For four weeks, business remains strong. Then, just as suddenly, business drops off, because six weeks earlier, the entrepreneur had stopped promoting.

My rich dad's lesson was to never stop promoting: Promote whether the economy is strong or weak; promote even when you may not have the money. If you have no money, stand on a street corner at lunchtime with a sign hanging around your neck promoting your product or service. Not only will you meet new customers, but you might also save money on lunch, lose some weight and get a suntan.

Obviously, it takes more than just promotion to do well. To be successful, a business also requires strong fundamentals and a desirable product or service. During tough economic times, though, even some good businesses fail; some businesses shrink and others grow. When a business closes, its customers migrate to the business that fights hard and stays open. Businesses that promote while others cut their ad budgets have a better chance of getting bigger . . . even if the economy is shrinking.

Robert Kiyosaki, author of the Rich Dad series of books, is an investor, entrepreneur and educator whose perspectives have changed the way people think about money and investing.

Sking in Wrightwood, Ca and Affordable second homes

Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 11:40:23 -0800

I had the pleasure of taking my 16 year old son to the Mountains for a little boarding yesterday. Wow, I could not believe that I could be on the slopes witin one hour in Southern California. I live in Rancho Cucamonga and have a few choices to board close by, Wrightwood, Big Bear and Mammoth. Well, they are listed in sequence according to drive time, so natually I picked Wrightwood because it was close and since I was merely spectating for the day I thought closer the better.

What I found was a great little getaway that is close, affordable and best of all they have affordable housing. Okay I grew up in Northern California and we had many choices like Tahoe, but at over 3 hours away and the cost to stay was not an option. So, when I got to Wrightwood I did a little prospecting myself while Chase was on the slopes. What I found was that you could get a cute cabin for under $125,000....that is AMAZING. I am so suprised that more So Cal residents dont take advantage of a ski/board destination that is so close and one that you can buy a cabin for so cheap. I mean split it with a few families and treat it like a timeshare and whala you have skiing at your door step and a place to stay to call your own (not to mention the tax write off, second home).

I felt like I had to share this find because if this was in NOR CAL people would buy in a heartbeat and to think that there is a draw of millions of people in the Los Angeles basin is just crazy!

By the way it was cold 32 and Chase said the boarding was pretty good considering it was close but naturally as a true boarder would say, "well Big Bear is a little better". I am telling you what just cannot win with teenagers.

www.mthigh.com, this is the website for the boarding.

Jeff

Sking in Wrightwood, Ca and Affordable second homes

Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 11:39:01 -0800

I felt like I had to share this find because if this was in NOR CAL people would buy in a heartbeat and to think that there is a draw of millions of people in the Los Angeles basin is just crazy!

www.mthigh.com, this is the website for the boarding.

Jeff

Downsizing a Home Requires Cutting Contents, too

Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:19:20 -0800

I ran across this article this morning and thought I would share it as I am one of these people looking at downsizing and the daunghnting task of "re-structuring" the home. Its painful to say the least! Happy reading.

RISMEDIA, January 23, 2009-(MCT)-The kids have moved out. Those three bedrooms are looking awfully lonely. That spacious backyard that once served as a barbecue pit/football field/volleyball court now looks like a breeding ground for weeds, not to mention back-breaking acreage during mowing season.

You want to move to something smaller, but the task seems overwhelming. There’s a basement full of boxes, a garage stuffed with unused toys and rusting machinery.

Let the experts help you get moving.

Rod and Sharon DePue had to do major downsizing before they moved into their apartment seven years ago.

They had to sell two condos-one in Greenfield, Wis., another in Florida. They had prepared well for when moving day would come.

“We saw contemporaries who had to close out the house of elderly parents,” Sharon said. “They had to go through 50 or 60 years of stuff. We vowed not to do that to our children.”

It is the key to downsizing, they said. Sort through your stuff regularly and get rid of what you no longer use. You’ll thank yourself on moving day.

In fact, the DePues wish they had done a little more sorting and tossing. They kept enough of their old belongings to furnish their 1,000-square-foot apartment in Milwaukee’s Yankee Hill area, but once they got into the new space, they discovered that they wanted new furniture, too.

“We now don’t have any of the stuff we moved with except a lamp,” Rod said.

Ray and Peggy Hendrickson didn’t have a lot of time to plan for their move in the fall of 2007.

“I thought we could live where we did forever,” he said of the Shorewood, Wis., home they had owned for more than 35 years.

But Peggy Hendrickson had medical setbacks last year, and Ray fell and broke his leg in the spring of 2007. They tried to continue living in their home with the help of visiting medical care but soon realized they would have to move somewhere that could provide a nursing home-type setting for her and a smaller place for him.

There was much sorting to be done.

“There’s a lot of trash when you’ve been living in the same place for many years,” said Ray Hendrickson, a retired Milwaukee Public Schools teacher and football coach.

Storage space in a condominium probably will be less than in your house. Space gets even tighter if you’re moving to a nursing home or assisted-living site.

Bruce Nemovitz, a broker with Realty Executives Integrity in Whitefish Bay, Wis., said people also have to think about the emotional impact of winnowing their belongings. There are a lot of memories packed into those boxes in the attic.

“People have a sense of feeling overwhelmed. Then they tend to procrastinate and then they become frozen,” said Nemovitz, who specializes in helping seniors relocate and has written a book on the topic, “Moving in the Right Direction.”

To help get started, Nemovitz suggested having a family get-together. Make it a party, where each of the children puts Post-its on what he or she wants.

There are companies that specialize in helping with downsizing. They help organize estate sales or auctions, line up items for donations and assist with the packing.

Smart Moves in Hales Corners, Wis., is one such company.

Older residents making a move often “don’t even want to think about how they’re going to get from point A to point B,” said Sue Wiske of Smart Moves. “Having someone to walk them through it can really help.”

While there’s less room for boxes of old belongings in a smaller home, there’s also going to be less room for the couple moving in.

“You have to learn to live together in a smaller space,” Sharon DePue said. She and her husband have set up the second bedroom in their apartment as a computer room. He often will work there while she’s reading or working in the kitchen.

Space constraints are an issue for many downsizing couples, said Jack H. Smith of Shorewest Realtors in Wisconsin.

“They’re used to Harvey going into the other room to watch TV. Now they’re in the same room, and she’s thinking, ‘Does the football game have to be that loud?’”

Before moving, people also have to think about the practical aspects of everyday life, Smith said. How much will you miss a yard, or having a garden? Can you get by with a one-car garage-or no garage-instead of the two-car space you’ve always had?

Some people come to him excited about the prospect of moving into a downtown condo. After analyzing all the factors, they sometimes end up moving into a smaller home with a smaller yard closer to downtown.

“They use that as a happy medium. Instead of being 25 minutes away, they’re eight minutes from downtown,” Smith said.

Routine tasks like hauling groceries can be more of a chore in a condominium. It may be a longer walk from the car to the kitchen. There may be elevators or stairs to navigate while juggling your grocery bags.

The same goes for walking the dog. There likely will be no more just opening the back door and stepping out quickly with your pooch, Smith said.

“If the dog has to go out at 2 in the morning, you can’t just hold it over the balcony.”

Downsizing a Home Requires Cutting Contents, too

Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:16:29 -0800

Downsizing a Home Requires Cutting Contents, too (edit/delete)

I ran across this article this morning and thought I would share it as I am one of these people looking at downsizing and the daunghnting task of "re-structuring" the home. Its painful to say the least! Happy reading.

You want to move to something smaller, but the task seems overwhelming. There’s a basement full of boxes, a garage stuffed with unused toys and rusting machinery.

Let the experts help you get moving.

Rod and Sharon DePue had to do major downsizing before they moved into their apartment seven years ago.

They had to sell two condos-one in Greenfield, Wis., another in Florida. They had prepared well for when moving day would come.

“We saw contemporaries who had to close out the house of elderly parents,” Sharon said. “They had to go through 50 or 60 years of stuff. We vowed not to do that to our children.”

It is the key to downsizing, they said. Sort through your stuff regularly and get rid of what you no longer use. You’ll thank yourself on moving day.

“We now don’t have any of the stuff we moved with except a lamp,” Rod said.

Ray and Peggy Hendrickson didn’t have a lot of time to plan for their move in the fall of 2007.

“I thought we could live where we did forever,” he said of the Shorewood, Wis., home they had owned for more than 35 years.

There was much sorting to be done.

“There’s a lot of trash when you’ve been living in the same place for many years,” said Ray Hendrickson, a retired Milwaukee Public Schools teacher and football coach.

Storage space in a condominium probably will be less than in your house. Space gets even tighter if you’re moving to a nursing home or assisted-living site.

To help get started, Nemovitz suggested having a family get-together. Make it a party, where each of the children puts Post-its on what he or she wants.

There are companies that specialize in helping with downsizing. They help organize estate sales or auctions, line up items for donations and assist with the packing.

Smart Moves in Hales Corners, Wis., is one such company.

While there’s less room for boxes of old belongings in a smaller home, there’s also going to be less room for the couple moving in.

Space constraints are an issue for many downsizing couples, said Jack H. Smith of Shorewest Realtors in Wisconsin.

“They’re used to Harvey going into the other room to watch TV. Now they’re in the same room, and she’s thinking, ‘Does the football game have to be that loud?’”

“They use that as a happy medium. Instead of being 25 minutes away, they’re eight minutes from downtown,” Smith said.

The same goes for walking the dog. There likely will be no more just opening the back door and stepping out quickly with your pooch, Smith said.

“If the dog has to go out at 2 in the morning, you can’t just hold it over the balcony.”

Downsizing a Home Requires Cutting Contents, too

Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:13:36 -0800

I ran across this article this morning and thought I would share it as I am one of these people looking at downsizing and the daunghnting task of "re-structuring" the home. Its painful to say the least! Happy reading.

You want to move to something smaller, but the task seems overwhelming. There’s a basement full of boxes, a garage stuffed with unused toys and rusting machinery.

Let the experts help you get moving.

Rod and Sharon DePue had to do major downsizing before they moved into their apartment seven years ago.

They had to sell two condos-one in Greenfield, Wis., another in Florida. They had prepared well for when moving day would come.

“We saw contemporaries who had to close out the house of elderly parents,” Sharon said. “They had to go through 50 or 60 years of stuff. We vowed not to do that to our children.”

It is the key to downsizing, they said. Sort through your stuff regularly and get rid of what you no longer use. You’ll thank yourself on moving day.

“We now don’t have any of the stuff we moved with except a lamp,” Rod said.

Ray and Peggy Hendrickson didn’t have a lot of time to plan for their move in the fall of 2007.

“I thought we could live where we did forever,” he said of the Shorewood, Wis., home they had owned for more than 35 years.

There was much sorting to be done.

“There’s a lot of trash when you’ve been living in the same place for many years,” said Ray Hendrickson, a retired Milwaukee Public Schools teacher and football coach.

Storage space in a condominium probably will be less than in your house. Space gets even tighter if you’re moving to a nursing home or assisted-living site.

To help get started, Nemovitz suggested having a family get-together. Make it a party, where each of the children puts Post-its on what he or she wants.

There are companies that specialize in helping with downsizing. They help organize estate sales or auctions, line up items for donations and assist with the packing.

Smart Moves in Hales Corners, Wis., is one such company.

While there’s less room for boxes of old belongings in a smaller home, there’s also going to be less room for the couple moving in.

Space constraints are an issue for many downsizing couples, said Jack H. Smith of Shorewest Realtors in Wisconsin.

“They’re used to Harvey going into the other room to watch TV. Now they’re in the same room, and she’s thinking, ‘Does the football game have to be that loud?’”

“They use that as a happy medium. Instead of being 25 minutes away, they’re eight minutes from downtown,” Smith said.

The same goes for walking the dog. There likely will be no more just opening the back door and stepping out quickly with your pooch, Smith said.

“If the dog has to go out at 2 in the morning, you can’t just hold it over the balcony.”

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Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:33:21 -0800

Hello all my Inland Empire agents and Victor Valley Agents,

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www.therealestatebook.com

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Hello all my Inland Empire agents and Victor Valley Agents,

I have a great opportunity for some lucky agents to take advantage of unparrelled exposure. Corporate has extended the PROMO for February. If an agent comes into the book for a half page then we will automatically upgrade them to a full page. So, your only paying $320.00 versus $520.00, this includes your listings being fed to all of our partner websites, 35+ !! This is a 3 issue agreement, a savings of $600.00.

As an added BONUS, the first agent in the Victorville market and the Inland Empire (Valley floor) to respond will get a home featured on the COVER for free!

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The Real Estate Book Reduced pricing promo.

Jeff Vandermate (The Real Estate Book) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 11:54:08 -0800

Hello all my Inland Empire agents and Victor Valley Agents,

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909-520-2410

760-403-6220

jeff@catreb.com