Yvette's Blog

Staying Networked

Yvette Gamet (Connect Realty) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:01:12 -0500

In this tough job market, no one has to tell you how important it is to network. If you don't know that, you are either independently wealthy and don't ever need to work, or you've been hiding under a rock for the bulk of your career.

What a lot of people don't recognize, until they are faced with a job search, is that it pays to stay networked --particularly in good times, when you don't feel the need as much to keep in touch. Staying networked on a regular basis will put you steps ahead of everyone else who has not remained connected when it comes time for a job search or getting the information or resources you need.

While most people are happy to help you by either taking time to meet with you or spend a few minutes to chat on the phone, their time is limited--and no one likes a fair-weather friend, acquaintance, or colleague. It is uncomfortable for both parties to become reconnected only when one person needs something from the other. This may work once, but it rarely works twice.

Aside from the obvious efforts to join industry associations or attend alumni events, there are some simple, yet highly effective, ways to stay connected and build stronger professional relationships.

Let others know what you're up to.
This can be done easily by e-mail or in a holiday card, for example. By letting someone know things like "I recently relocated to Chicago to do strategic planning for XYZ Corporation...," you are also letting them know that you'd like to keep in touch with them. Most will be flattered that you kept them up to date and won't be as surprised to hear from you if you do call them in the future for a favor.

Go to lunch.
It's easy to get consumed at work or in your daily activities and just inhale a sandwich at your desk. However, by making a point to go to lunch at least once or twice a week with a friend or colleague who works at your firm or elsewhere, you can not only stay in touch, but you can also find out what's happening with other people and other companies.

Call classmates and colleagues when you are traveling on business.
Not only does this beat eating a cold deli sandwich in your hotel room, it is a great way to stay in touch and find out what's going on with friends and colleagues. Be sure to reciprocate the invitation when they are in your city on business or holiday.

Give others something they need.
This is best done unsolicited, but is just as important when someone asks you for help. Whether it is putting people in contact with a potential employer, client, partner, etc., or giving them information that could be useful for them, they will remember your generosity and return the favor. For example, by sending people information on an upcoming conference in their field that they may not already be aware of, with a note attached ("I thought you might be interested in this."), you remind them of your presence and demonstrate your willingness to help them. Once again, most people will be flattered that you thought of them.

Take leadership positions.
Whether is it at your church or synagogue, leading a task force at your company, or planning an event for your alumni association, assuming a leadership position gives you the ability to (1) meet diverse groups of professionals, (2) be seen and known by others, and (3) call members of these groups and ask them for information, help, etc.

Connect others.
By putting other people in touch and helping them to broaden their networks, you are helping them expand the realm of people that they can, in turn, put you in touch with. They will also remember the favor and return it one day.

Help others succeed.
If the saying goes, "It pays to know people in high places," then help others attain these high places, so you can know these people.

If you stay connected on a regular basis, people will start to come to you as a source of information. People will say, "Call Jane--she knows everyone." Or, "Call Bob, he always knows what people are up to." When you've achieved and maintained this level of connection with others, your call to them will seem far less of an imposition than it might have if you hadn't made these ongoing efforts to stay connected.

Social networking pays off

Yvette Gamet (Connect Realty) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:42:21 -0500

Social networking may soon overtake virtually every other source as being the most important strategy for lead generation. Have you incorporated this powerful tool into your business?

What is a social network? According to Wikipedia, social networks are online communities where people can explore interests or activities that they share with others. The key point is that social networks allow participants to interact through chat rooms, instant messaging, traditional e-mail, video, video e-mail, file sharing, blogging and discussion groups. Wikipedia identifies three primary types of social networking services:

1. Directories such as former classmates

2. Means to connect with friends (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube)

3. Recommendation systems linked to trust (LinkedIn)

For example, social networks are a great way to stay in contact with family and friends, as well as your clients. Many agents who have lost track of past clients and friends have found them through these networks. These sites also allow you to share pictures of your listings, videos, links to interesting articles, as well as important information for potential clients.

Granted, there are certain risks associated with being online. Whatever you post is there for posterity, even if you take it down. Identity thieves can check your work history. Nevertheless, the benefits of participating far outweigh the potential risks.

Marc Davison, in his column, "Today's open social a legacy from the past," states that these Web 2.0 applications are now the primary way for today's new generation of buyers and sellers to connect. Davison argues that many people fail to realize that Web 2.0 "is deeply rooted in good old-fashioned tradition. I submit that if applied correctly, blogs, Twitter and the like could very well be the vehicle by which those old-fashioned ideologies we honor so dearly can be resurrected."

Putting it a little bit differently, Web 2.0 is very much akin to the general store from 100 years ago. People came there to discuss politics, hear the latest gossip, and most importantly, find and maintain personal connection. The way that you participated was simply by being there. Davison's contention is that places such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and YouTube serve the same function today as the general store did 100 years ago.

In today's Web 2.0 environment, having a Web site with your bio, a branding statement and cool technology tools is no longer enough. Today's consumer wants to get to know you through the actions you take online, not just through the static content that you post on your Web site.

For those who have not joined in the social networking phenomenon, it can be overwhelming. Where do you start? What social networks are really worthwhile? How much time should you spend and where should you spend it? Should social networking take priority over other real estate-related activities? Do you need a blog or is a profile on Trulia and Zillow a better alternative? Can spending all this time online actually translate into closed sales?

The answer to these questions depends upon what you want to achieve online, how proficient you are with technology, how well you write, and how diligent you intend to be in terms of regularly participating. Much like the individual who sits at home and avoids interacting in face-to-face activities, if you're not willing to "be there" and be actively engaged in the social networking process, then this is probably not a good venue for your business development. On the other hand, given the huge proportion of younger buyers and sellers that frequent these various sites, not participating will cause your business to gradually erode as the next generation of buyers and sellers shifts to Web 2.0 solutions for their real estate needs.

The great news about the Web 2.0 environment is that most of the real estate-specific services are either free or very low cost. This means that you can experiment with different services and determine which ones are the best fit for your business.

The most critical factor in your success will be your willingness to contribute to those who visit you online. Bob Burg and David Mann in their book, "The Go-Giver," point out that you can't expect to earn interest until you put money in the bank. The same is true in terms of Web marketing using Web 2.0 solutions. To attract business, you must provide service that your Web visitors find to be valuable.

If you're ready to put social networking to work in your business, next week's article will show you how.

Shaky job market threatens housing recovery

Yvette Gamet (Connect Realty) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 20:07:42 -0500

The housing slump, already shaping up to be the worst in a generation, still hasn't run its full course, according to Harvard University's annual report on housing, released on Monday. And if job losses accelerate in coming months, it could take even longer for local markets to regain their footing, said Nicolas P. Retsinas, director of the university's Joint Center for Housing Studies. Job losses could be "the last shoe to drop, but a pretty heavy shoe," he said in a telephone interview. The center releases its "State of the Nation's Housing" report each year, and not surprisingly, the 2008 edition gave a grim prognosis for housing markets throughout the country. In short, local markets are dealing with drops in housing starts, new home sales and existing home sales -- corrections that are rivaling the deepest slowdowns since the World War II era, the center reported. On top of that, the fall in home prices and the rise in mortgage defaults are the worst on record since the 1960s and 1970s. See the Joint Center for Housing Studies Web site. All this adds up to a downturn that is "the most severe that we have seen," Retsinas said. Other key points in the report:

Last year marked an acceleration of home-sale declines, propelled by falling home prices and the credit crunch. The pain in the housing market spread to the rest of the economy by the beginning of this year, as the drop in home building, turmoil in the credit and stock markets and the effect of falling home prices on borrowing and consumer spending contributed to the slowdown.
Real home equity (adjusted for inflation) fell 6.5% to $9.6 trillion in 2007. And home-price declines as well as a slowdown in home-equity withdrawals conspired to trim one-half of a percentage point from real consumer spending and more than one-third of a percentage point from total economic growth.
During 2003 to 2005, housing prices surged so far ahead of incomes that by 2006, the number of households (both renters and owners) paying more than half their income on housing rose to 17.7 million, or 15.8% of all households. Today, lenders are requiring larger down payments and higher credit scores, squeezing many would-be buyers out of owning a home -- even though prices have fallen.
More proof of the changing lending landscape: Subprime loans fell to 3.1% of originations in the fourth quarter of 2007, from 20% in 2005 and 2006. Interest-only and payment-option loans fell to 10.7% of originations in 2007, from 19.3% in 2006.

Some markets will recover faster For housing to stabilize, the inventory of homes for sale needs to decrease, Retsinas said. But while construction cutbacks have helped reduce the supply of unsold new homes, the number of vacant homes for sale still remains high. According to the report, the homeowner vacancy rate jumped to 2.8% in the last quarter of 2007, from 2.0% in the last quarter of 2005, as the number of vacant units rose by more than 600,000. At the end of last year, the report estimates that the oversupply of vacant, for-sale units numbered about 800,000 -- equal to 1% of the owner housing stock. "Builders overbuilt, lenders over-lent and borrowers over-borrowed -- and we're paying a price for that," Retsinas said. That said, he expects some markets to recover sooner than others. Boston, for example, has less of an inventory problem right now than Phoenix, he said. Also, those markets hit hardest by foreclosures will likely take longer to recover. The number of homes entering foreclosure almost doubled to 1.3 million in 2007, from about 660,000 in 2005, according to the report. The problems are most severe in certain areas, such as Ohio, where the foreclosure rate was 3.9% -- or one out of every 25 homes -- in the fourth quarter of 2007. The foreclosure rates in Michigan and Indiana followed close behind. "There's more to this than just the big meltdown that occurred in the financial markets... it's localized and a longer-term problem if not addressed sooner than later," said Saul Ramirez, executive director of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, an advocate for affordable housing. Vacant homes that have been foreclosed on require effort to keep up. Beyond yard maintenance and vandalism, vacant homes also can become a haven for criminal activity, or even stripped of valuable fixtures such as sinks, toilets and copper plumbing, he said. When this happens, "it costs even more ... to bring the property back to the level of occupancy and eventually homeownership," he said. A shift in thinking The homeownership rate rose 5 percentage points from 1994 to 2004, peaking at 69%, and has fallen since, according to the report. In fact, the largest rise in homeownership occurred before 2001, before the subprime market really started taking off -- a result of factors including favorable mortgage rates, vigorous economic growth and lower home prices in the wake of the 1991 recession. During that time, there also was a federal push for lenders to meet the needs of low-income communities and minority borrowers; automated underwriting and statistical models of loan performance also allowed lenders to relax down payment and debt-to-income requirements. Growth after 2003, however, came in large part from more subprime, interest-only and payment-option loans, which provided a temporary lift to homeownership. These loans are now experiencing steep default rates. Still, in the long term, demand for housing will bounce back, Retsinas said. Over the next 10 years, the outlook for household growth is about 14.5 million, signaling likely long-term demand. But pinpointing when housing will ultimately turn around is more difficult. Historically, housing markets usually recover after an economic recession and a mix of falling mortgage rates and dropping home prices, Retsinas said. This particular housing downturn will likely take longer to rebound due to the high volume of foreclosures and the constraints in the credit markets, he added. In the meantime, maybe Americans need to redefine what a home is, he said. As home prices are declining in many parts of the country, perhaps homeowners should focus on the consumption aspect of a home more than the investment aspect, he added. "After all, a home is to live in primarily, not for buying and selling," he said.