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When in comparison to a flat window, Bay windows can definately increase a home's charm. It reaches out to capture more light and views from three angles, and the seat provides extra space for plants or a sunny sitting spot to relax. But does adding a bay window increase the home's value enough when a homeowner is preparing to list? And upgrading to a bay window will most likely require a professional, which costs the homeowner money. So is this upgrade work the money/work when getting ready to list? Any thoughts on this?

Back in the 1950s, the one car garage was standard in the homes that had any garage at all. Now almost two thirds of all new homes have two car garages, and on a nationwide basis, have three car or more garages.

According to the National Association of Home Builders, the three car garage is becoming a must-have in new homes with the Midwest and the West in the lead.

For most buyers, the appeal of the three car garage is the added storage space. And seldom do three cars get parked inside!  And for builders, installing a three car garage allows them to offer a second floor "bonus room" Today's three car garage with an upstairs bonus area actually rivals the size of a typical new home of the 1950s.

• Candy Cigarettes
• Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water inside
• Coffee shops with tableside jukeboxes
• Newsreels before the movie
• Telephone Party Lines
• 45 RPM records
• Hi-Fi's
• Roller-skate keys
• Drive-in Movies
• The Fuller Brush Man
• Penny Candy
• 15 cent hamburgers
• Your mom wore nylons that came in two pieces
• Metal ice cube trays with levers
• Mimeograph paper
• 35 cent a gallon gasoline

Okay...that's enough goofing off! I need to get back to work!

Taking a break from real estate, here's some interesting and slightly strange facts:

• Peanuts are one of the ingredients in dynamite
• There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar
• No word in the English language rhymes with ORANGE, SILVER or PURPLE
• A cat has 32 muscles in each ear
• Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur
• Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer
• A dragonfly has an average lifespan of just 24 hours
• A dime has 118 ridges around its edge
• John Lennon's first girlfriend was named Thelma Pickles

Okay...back to work!!

Often times, I'll be asked by my sellers how soon after they put their home on the market should they start looking for a new home.  Should I answer the seller's questions with another question: what would you do if you fell in love with another home? Should I suggest negotiating a bridge loan to allow them to buy their next home while their existing home is on the market? Or should I just say the best plan is to have the old home under contract before looking at others?

I'm curious what fellow agents are telling their sellers should this question come up. 

A buyer's market means that the buyers have the advantage. The buyers today are in the driver's seat. Why then don't more buyers buy in a buyer's market? Would the primary reason be fear? Fear that they will lose money if they bought now? All the negative press tends to get to the masses of people. Is the media the ones creating the fear and uncertainty? Is the Media helping keep people out of the buying mode and creating this buyer's market?

Because they're the people that's going to be buying, we need to know how to market to the next generation.

Social networking sites, blogs, online videos and virtual communities are some things realtors should consider looking at. This generation uses technology, so we have to use technology for prospecting and networking.

Real Estate Technology Expert Saul Klein of E-Pro has some suggestions:

You may need to go virtual, creating virtual worlds where residents appear as a 3-d character (known as an Avatar). He mentions SecondLife and There.com for these virtual economies. Klein also suggests sites like MySpace and Facebook to show off your listings and educate buyers about real estate.

How about giving them a USB flash drive instead of a magnet?!

Or deliver new property listings in real-time through instant-messaging and text-messaging?

If the buyers coming up do things in a different way, we'll have to know how to communicate to them.

I recently received an email titled "Matt Chillinsky, Author Appologizes to Realtors.  I opened it up and found a company promising to help you turn internet leads into closings.  He had an "e book" which he had published which promised to help to "Stop Wasting Leads", as follows:

•·         Recently I sent an e-mail out with the subject line: Realtors Make Me Sick. I sincerely apologize. My intent was not to offend Realtors; it was merely to get your attention.  If you actually read the e-mail you know that I was promoting my e-book "Stop Wasting Leads" along with some very valuable bonus items.

When you visit my website you will see that I'm offering some great bonus items valued at over $3200 that will help you to dominate your market and crush your competition. But, I must warn you that there are only a few of these bonus items still available.

 I went to the website and looked around.  I have been in business for 21 years, I have spoken at the Inman Conference in the past regarding Internet Lead Generation, and I am know here in Colorado Springs real estate for generating a lot of leads.  I order and have read many great things over the years and so I purchased this E-Book for $100.00.

This is a sample of his website promises about his book:

• Creator of Quantum Lead Conversion Service Reveals Secrets to Success
• "It makes me sick to see REALTORS® wasting money on leads when they have no clue what to do with them"
• The Secret to Success in Real Estate is not the number of leads you have. The Secret is knowing what to do with them.
  These easy to apply Secrets work in any market with all types of leads to create a desire in prospects to work with you.

What I received for my $100.00 was absolutely nothing.  I would have at least expected to have a script.  Instead I received things like "Call them more than once" and "Buy a database to track your leads"....WOW, ground breaking stuff.  But probably the best, from a book promising to "Stop Wasting Leads" was the one that said "I could have included scripts but it is better if you write them yourself"....The crown jewel!

I was reading my september 2007 Star Power Real Estate News and they had a few interesting quotes in there that I thought each of you might be able to use as you talk to your customers.  I hope you find these useful...

• "The prices of houses seem to have reached a plateau, and there is reasonable expectancy that prices will decline."  Time Magazine, 1947
• "Houses cost too much for the mass market.  Today's average price is around $8,000.00--out of the reach for two-thirds of all buyers."  Science Digest 1948
• "The goal of owning a home seems to be getting beyond the reach of more and more Americans.  The typical new house today costs about $28,000."  Business Week, 1969
• "You might well be suspicious of 'common wisdom' that tells you, 'Dont wait, buy now.'" --NEA Journal, 1970
• "The median price of a home today is approaching $50,000.00... Housing experts predict price rises in the future won't be that great." Nations Business, 1977
• "The era of easy profits in real estate may be drawing to a close."--Money Magazine, 1981
• "Financial planners agree that houses will continue to be a poor investment."--Kiplinger's Personal Financial Magazine, 1993.
• And my personal favorite...."A home is where the bad investment is."--San Francisco Examiner, 1996

This article was written by Jeff Scislow from Minneapolis, Minnesota.  His commentaries are available under Investor Alerts on his web site at http://www.america2florida.com/.

Fact National real estate values have appreciated:

88%          Since 1996

340%        Since 1977

685%        Since 1969

2650%      Since 1948

Thanks to Star Power and to Jeff for bringing us something we would not read in a newspaper...Not even in their "Corrections" Area.

Have a great weekend.

Steve