Some time ago a not so famous segment posted on my facebook wall to hurry up and take advantage of the first time buyer tax credit before it expired. I commented that there is no way they can let this program expire in its current form as this is 50% of the already weak market. If you don't think this market is weak your nutso and if you don't admit it your a liar. Anyway about a year ago this month I had been a part of an article for the Milwaukee Journal regarding the market and how soft it was last year. In the area I had been working ( Wisconsin Dells Real Estate, Lake Delton Real Estate, and the surrounding areas) most of the transactions that were taking place were either cash sales, short sales, or foreclosure sales. I would say that was the largest segment of the market at about 30% of the closing sales. Today I am no longer active in selling properties, I cannot properly work for a seller while the market, the government, and the banks all work for the buyer. That is another story all together. I did, however read a post that suggested that over 50% of the sales are either short, or forclosure sales. So technically speaking if you take the cross section of that 50% you get to see pretty clearly a number of things. The first thing I see in this market is that if the largest section of the market is distressed then you have to ask " who buys distressed properties?" , and the answer is first time buyers...Investors looking to buy rental properties..and a very small percent will be upgrading their homes. So if you think the fed would allow the largest section of the market to just vanish along with their borrow from Peter to pay Paul program, once again I think your nutso.
There is one segment that continues to be steady, stable, and pretty much neutral in terms of value. Recreational property, yes land and farms are still chugging along at their own pace. This segment will outshine other areas in real estate due to its unique position. You can hunt on a wooded parcel, camp, and do a lot of things other than pray for your investment dollars to explode. So to make a long story short, I told ya so and I will do it again very soon.
Do it yourself SEO?? Yes, its going to be very possible very soon for realtors to do SEO for themselves and actually be able to follow a step by step program. MWM, a Wisconsin Search Marketing entity is putting together a program where people can actually do their own SEO and Web Marketing .
This program will not be for everyone, and will be initally by invite only. If your interested in this SEO program which is only offered through MWM, shoot me a message and I will get you the details once they are available.
Using search to market yourself is getting more popular, however during this small spike in opportunity many real estate professionals are not using their websites to the fullest potential. Search Engine Optimization and Website Promotion go hand in hand. People searching for foreclosure sales and listings are looking for multiple properties before they make contact. If you are making these types of transactions part of your portfolio then you NEED TO OPTIMIZE and build traffic thru social media. More often than not people will start a social media program only to let it slide, which is the worst possible thing you can do. As with any marketing, consistancy is the key to making it generate leads for you. If your not going to work this as a marketing arm of your business you will be left behind. Optimize all of your pages for maximum effect. If you want to make your website work for you, optimization is the first in a series of steps you will need to take. Working with a marketing professional will do the following: 1. Use the right keywords 2. Tag the right places on your pages 3. Structure your pages to sell 4. Offer better content to the user 5. Increase conversions thru better placement of contact forms.
If your overwhelmed with foreclosure business that is great, then use your website to pre-qualify prospects, allowing you to work the best ones to optimize your efforts.
It looks like the fed is trying to say we are near the bottom of the real estate market, what do you think? Honestly I don't see it, although we rarely do before we are truly past it. Detecting the bottom of the market would in my opinion could include things like less foreclosures, a better stock market, less unemployment, and the list continues. What I have seen is quite another story, in fact if unemployment gets any worse we will all be without work.
I think to try to stay positive is very important in this struggle for life and death. Staying realistic will keep you headed down the path to recovery, however. Postitive attitudes are great but so many people in real estate try to extend postive perception with dishonesty and lies. I think that just the fact that people are doing everything possible to sell their listings is very honorable, but to lie about the market is just unethical. It happens way too much today and I think these are the same people who time and again do things like badmouth competition, work in the "grey" in terms of agency law, and just plain dont give a rip about anything other than the next commission check.
Ethics will help us recover from this mess. Dishonesty is only going to mask the core issue and continue to breed false hope. I believe that our economy is going to improve and I hope very soon ( see I am positive ), but believing it or proclaiming it for the sake of getting that next deal is just plain wrong.
Today as I am reading my daily dose of real estate news and things like that I came across a post that kind of ticked me off. Some old lady broker from the east cost who insists that agents cannot become professionals at anything else. In fact her blog post cited people who had been in real estate and how dare they consider themselves experts at things like motivation, SEO, Marketing, and copy law.
Well here is my take on that, being a 10+ year pro-agent who has decided to take a pass on the current situation that bankers, the gov, and real estate professionals have gotten us into, I have focused on SEO as a career. I have been doing organic SEO for the better part of 15 years, basically since the beginning. I have been certified and have several happy clients to stand for. That is not my issue with the post.
What is wrong with this post, coming from a so-called pro. She should realize that inside every SUCCESS a realtor has in this business there is some side talent or skill that the professional either learns or has honed along the way. In my 10+ years I must admit I have mastered the art of quite a few local trades, marketing, SEO, negotiations, public speaking, fund raising, and have become a professional writer, photographer, map reader, and others. So many people don't know or understand what it takes to be successul in real estate, and positioning with such crap really ticks me off coming from a broker.
In the end there will be those who have been honest, respectful, and right...and those who wished they were.
As it would turn out, I am not able to practice right now due to my moving away from RE/MAX Preferred. I need to be able to practice and that would require me having a broker to work for, so if your interested in having a 10+ year veteran on your team, without a bunch of fees ( the reason I left RE/MAX in the first place ) I would like to talk to you.
Send me an e-mail or call me direct at 608-963-6051
The dems have pretty much gotten their idea of a "stimulus package" done and actually may be signed into law today.
They all speak of cutting the "Pork" out of these bills yet this one is 50% fat.
My own brother thinks Obama is the anti-Christ, and I know others like him.
Most of my friends like Obama and think he's the guy to pull our country out of the craphole these greedy lenders have gotten us into.
Its not going to work, as I write this I remind myself to try to be more positive but I can't. Its the end of the financial world as we know it.
Its the best time to buy real estate in history, with a robust tax credit and low prices, but no-one will.
Like the deer in this video!!
The new real estate environment is quite unlike anything anyone has seen before. Granted election years are always a bit on the slow side but this year we had some extraordinary circumstances what exacerbated the situation and with a slowing economy, massive foreclosures, and banks not lending money, the market pretty much locked up completely. In fact the only people out looking at real estate right now are people who want to invest on the foreclosures that are selling for up to 50% under their true value. One thing that we as agents have going for us at this point is extremely low mortgage interest rates approaching 4%, which means many people who are still in their jobs and still have equity in their homes or are first time buyers will have the best opportunity to own a home in decades, or ever for that matter. What will people do? Will people be able to sell homes to move into bigger ones? Will people just refinance into low rates and try to recoup some of the equity they once had? Mortgage modification will also be available via the T.A.R.P. program as well. I believe that people with jobs will begin to spend again, those without will have to wait until the economy comes back which means that we will have a mediocre year at best in Wisconsin real estate with solid communities like Watertown, Oconomowoc, Jefferson, and Waterloo will fair better than those areas without industry and commercial entities which provide solid, stable, and secure incomes for potential buyers of homes. I feel like the long term holds great opportunities for things like solar energy, geothermal heating and cooling, and wind energy, as well as clean coal and nuclear energy.
Real Estate is heading to an all time low and my guess is that many of its best realtors will be spending their last days in the business this winter. I wanted to thank all the great people who have helped me along the way and a special thanks to Dennis Midthun of RE/MAX Preferred.
Dennis was very much there for me when I lost everything, even though some other folks (again those darn orange sign people), saw a chance to put me out of business then and attacked me, Dennis continues to stand behind me and all of his agents. He embraced the opportunity that was in me and that has made a difference in my life after the fire.
So I would like to just say thanks to one of the people in real estate who deserves a ton of credit, and takes so very little.
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