Mark Ledbetter's Blog

It is important to KNOW YOUR INVENTORY

Mark Ledbetter (Prudential Lifestyle Realty) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 10:13:35 -0700

I encourage all my agents to get out and familiarize themselves with what is on the market. This knowledge is so powerful whether it is for that home you are viewing or doing market comparisons. My suggestion is 5-8 homes per week. Start with in house listings 1st as should know those best in case of a office call. By viewing that many homes on a monthly bases (above what you are already showing potential buyers) will increase your knowledge and help move you to becoming an expert in your market. If needed, start small. Pick a neighborhood, community or even a price range and go for it. Let me know of your success stories. I will share mine in future blogs!

We must not forget

Mark Ledbetter (Prudential Lifestyle Realty) — Fri, 20 May 2011 14:17:12 -0700

This is just a friendly reminder that we are real estate agents / REALTORS 24/7. What I mean by that is we don't take a break from our profession to maybe "express a personal opinion" that for the non real estate person / REALTOR may be okay. So when you are out talking with neighbors, friends, etc - we must remember we are held to a higher standard.

Hope this makes sense to all those reading this blog!

Sometimes it may be "too late" to ask for the business!

Mark Ledbetter (Prudential Lifestyle Realty) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 15:50:51 -0700

I am a big beliver in wearing my badge out in public - as Tom Ferry says - "stop being a Secret Agent"! If you do not tell people what you do or are embarrassed in your profession, then do something else. There are thousands of us that ARE proud of what we do and we do it well. Don't ever forgot to remind people you are a REALTOR or a real estate agent. If you do not ask for the business, someone else will, I guarantee it. I am not suggesting you drop a hint in every sentence but we all have been trained to get those conversations going.

Moral of the story - act with integrity, always do the right thing and you will be proud to say you are a REALTOR! Ask for the business and you might be surprised, it just might come your way!

Update on March numbers in Western North Carolina Real Estate

Mark Ledbetter (Prudential Lifestyle Realty) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 09:20:30 -0700

Overall it was not too bad in the month of March. Sales for residential were down slightly (by about 5%). Average home prices continue to be effected by foreclosures and short sales however we are still strong compared to many areas of the country. Prudential Lifestyle Realty continues to be strong by being ahead of the market #'s coming in at almost flat vs last year. When looking at the top 2 companies in our area, they are down 15% and 18% respectively as compared to last year. Our volume pentration is also up over 1 percentage point.

April and May both look strong so I am very optimistic that we are still okay and safe. As the final numbers come out next week, I'll give an update on avg sale price, days on market. etc.

Why can't we all play nice

Mark Ledbetter (Prudential Lifestyle Realty) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 09:14:06 -0700

I was thinking about how everyone works together and need each other in this real estate world of ours. Whether it is an agent from another company showing our listings, showing our own listings or other companies, we all need to play nice. It is just a common courtesy to offer construtive feedback and in a timely manner. To respond (either over the phone or email) in a professional manner since many times that feedback is automatically fed to the client and always treat each other with respect. I know many of us are stressed over the economy, that difficult client, that missed appointment at your childs school - the list goes on and on, however PLEASE take the time to say "thank you, please, and any other applicable word that fits" and do it often. It will come back to you 10 fold!

Bring Your Challenges - Prudential

Mark Ledbetter (Prudential Lifestyle Realty) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 09:50:47 -0700

This past weekend we ran an article regarding our company and our property management sister company. As of yesterday, we have generated several real estate leads, numerous property management leads and an HOA inquiry. The article featured stats from a Prudential survery regarding confidence in home ownership, what people are looking for when searching for an agent / agency and a bit about our company. I am really pleased with the early results.

Real Estate Sales in Western North Carolina

Mark Ledbetter (Prudential Lifestyle Realty) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 09:46:55 -0700

Having just ran a quick report of real estate sales in Western North Carolina, It appears sales of higher priced homes may be on the rise. Not only have we seen sales of homes over $1M dollars, the activity of showings is up. In the past 2 month alone, there were over 650 showings in homes with price points of $600,000 and up. This is a dramatic increase from previous months! I'll keep you posted.

Builder home starts in WNC

Mark Ledbetter (Prudential Lifestyle Realty) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 10:44:45 -0700

Very excited to hear that Lifestyle Homes is about to start 7 homes in the next few weeks. Most builders are at a stand still however customer visits are up and we are selling homes! I'll keep you posted over the next few weeks as we move along on the construction. Prudential Lifestyle Realty is the agency that represents these home sales.

Western North Carolina Real Estate Activity

Mark Ledbetter (Prudential Lifestyle Realty) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 10:50:25 -0700

I was pleasantly surprised that home sales where up in our area over the same period last year. Being up over 5% is a really a "good" thing! Average sales price was down by 8.2% however that is still good compared to many parts of the country. Also, over 1/3 of all residential transactions YTD have been cash - these are signs that consumer confidence is improving.