This blog post is the next in a continuing monthly series where I'll pass on some information of interest that you may not get the opportunity to see otherwise. (There are links to the other twelve posts in this series at the end of this one.) It won't take you long to check out the four articles covering real estate and social media use in business.
2010 sales to rise 15 percentfrom Real Trends. A pretty rosy view of the real estate market for next year is offered by Lawrence Yun, NAR's Chief Economist. Do you buy it? (No pun intended)
7 Ways to Get More Out of LinkedInby Sharlyn Lauby on mashable.com. The golden trio of social media are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn (I heard somebody say recently). You're using the first two, but what about the third? This article offers insight on how to get going on LinkedIn and use it to benefit your career goals. Worth it.
I just got back from taking my wife, daughter and son to the doctor's only to find out they each have the swine flu. (I'm not making it up. Who would want to?) And what if you were working with a real estate agent who all of a sudden came down with the H1N1 bug as it's also known? I'd like to suggest that you might be happy. And before you think I've lost all my marbles (maybe you thought that already?), hear me out. (Btw, my family is supposed to be fine. Just need to gut it out for a few days.) Of course, I'm not suggesting that you hire a realtor® who has the swine flu "literally." Instead, it's that acronym thing I've done in the past. (See "A Successful Realtor® in One Word" for an example: HERE.) This time it's two words: (spell it) S-w-i-n-e F-l-u. I suggest you search for and find a real estate professional with the following characteristics~not coughing, fever and a headache, but...
S-ervice-oriented
W-orker
I-mpressive
N-o nonsense
E-xpert
F-riendly
L-ocal
U-nderstanding of people
And maybe it's not such a bad thing to have the swine flu after all?! (If my wife reads this, she'll slap me. You can be sure of that. Or strangle me?)
I've got the latest Lake Tulloch / Copperopolis area residential sales statistics for you to see in four clickable graphs. As usual, the first three graphs cover three years including 2007, 2008 and 2009. The first graph spells out the Residential Unit Sales. The second graph highlights Residential Sales Volume. And the third graph shows Residential Average Sales Price. And finally, the fourth graph focuses on the price range breakdown of Residential Units Sold through November 12, 2009. Before you click on the graphs, here are some of the numbers in simple black and white...
Total Residential Unit Sales: October 2009 = 95; October 2008 = 71; October 2007 = 66
Total Residential Sales Volume: October 2009 = $23,235,724; October 2008 = $21,648,277; October 2007 = $30,170,874
Total Residential Average Sales Price: October 2009 = $244,587; October 2008 = $304,905; October 2007 = $457,134
For more market information and help with buying or selling, contact your Sugar Pine Realty Lake Tulloch / Copperopolis real estate professional today. Call 209-785-5757. (The data used in this post comes from the Calaveras Multiple Listing Service and is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.)
My son, Michael, had a writing test a few years ago. My wife, Kim, and I were very anxious about how he would perform. Of course, Kim had invested much time and energy in teaching Michael the things he needed to know (as a home school mom). Then all we could do was pray. To make a long story short, Michael took the test and the woman facilitator said he did very well. We were so pleased! Later that evening I really wanted to make Michael feel good, so I played like I didn't see him on the other side of the room while I started up a conversation with Kim. I went on to talk about what a good job Michael had done and how happy we were that he'd done so well. You could just see him beaming as I knew he could hear every word. Then I said, "Where is Michael, anyway?" He replied, "Here I am, Dad." I said, "Wow, I didn't even know you were there." Expressing appreciation for a job well done. I wonder if we don't tend to point out and harp on the negatives we see in people to the exclusion of recognizing their positive contributions. And when was the last time you said to somebody, "Hey, I appreciate what you're doing and have done and for you being in my life. Thank you"? (I wrote The Power of Appreciation about six months ago, but I thought with Thanksgiving coming another reminder of it's importance couldn’t hurt. Agree?)
(As this post is being released the unemployment rate has surpassed 10% in this country.) Have you ever asked yourself the question, "Is it me?" It's an easy question to ask especially when you're going through a challenging time. Other translations of "Is it me?" ~ Am I the problem here? Am I my own worst enemy? ~ and that's the reason why I'm having such a hard time selling property? (if you happen to be in real estate) ~ and that's the reason why deals are falling through? No matter what your career field, difficulties have a way of causing you to second-guess yourself. Right? Your confidence wanes. You become hesitant/gun-shy. (You've been there. Could it be now?) And there are different ways to deal with the "Is it me?" question that I could talk about (of course). But I want to go another direction with it to finish this post. And just as way of a reminder: Life can be (and is) very complicated. (Tell me it ain't so.) At any given moment there are a number of factors contributing to each of our own personal situations, both in and outside our control. And could it be that it's not so much "you" but something else "beyond you" that's pressing in and making your situation that much tougher ~ and once you take this to heart you'll actually help to set yourself up for future success by removing the total burden from your shoulders? I feel better already.
I've got the latest Mother Lode market numbers for you to look at today. To begin with, you'll notice the overall sales picture including all sales classes. CLICK HERE to view October 2009 compared to October 2008. CLICK HERE to view January-October 2009 compared to January-October 2008. You'll also want to notice the graphs including the Mother Lode Residential Unit Sales through October 2009 graph versus the previous five years (clickable picture 1 on the above left) along with the Mother Lode Residential Volume Sales graph versus the previous five years (clickable picture 2 on the right) and the Mother Lode Residential Average Sales Price graph versus the previous five years (clickable picture 3 on the left below), respectively. (The data used comes from the Tuolumne Multiple Listing Service and is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.) As usual, I also have some of the numbers in black and white here:
UNIT SALES: Oct 09 = 62; Oct 08 = 49; +27%
VOL SALES: Oct 09 = $26,671,484; Oct 08 = $13,997,800; +91%
AVG SALES PRICE: Oct 09 = $430,185; Oct 08 = $285,669; +51%
Have you ever got caught? (If you answered "no", you've just been caught lying.) The fact is every human being on the face of the earth has blown it at one time or another, tried to hide it (especially when we were younger?) and then been found out. And it can (and does) happen in the work setting. (Can you think of a time in your own experience?) So what do people ~ and in particular, employees ~ say when the proverbial lid comes off? Some 'fess up while others dodge. Know what I'm talking about? Which got me to come up with a list. (If you've read this blog very long, you know about me and "lists.") And I'm sure there's much more to add to these, but here are...
10 things employees say when they get caught:(can you think of any more?)
In the following video Vicki Cox Colder (2009 NAR President-Elect) offers the following five tips on short sales: (1) Reach out to homeowners and be their advocate; (2) Find a HUD-approved credit counseling agency; (3) Read the listing carefully; (4) Educate consumers on length of time required to approve a short sale; (5) Find out whether seller has recourse loan or non-recourse. Worth your while. (More videos from REALTOR® TV: HERE.)
I don't want to say too much being that this is supposed to be a picture post. These are just a few quick shots from around my neighborhood in Sonora (Mono Vista area near Soulsbyville). Fall is in the air and the trees are showing it. It truly is God's country up here. Enjoy! (Click on each picture to enlarge.)
(Disclaimer: I have no understanding as regards the topic I'm writing about?) Oh sure, I'm in charge of a real estate blog, a couple of Twitter sites (@blogboy2 and @sugarpinerealty) and a Facebook page (HERE) (not counting my personal life). And, of course, I don't have to hardly do anything and readers, followers and friends just automatically appear like magic~thousands and thousands of them. Doesn't it work that way for you? All kidding aside, if you want to enjoy the many benefits of social media it necessarily requires a reasonable investment of time and energy, thought and engagement. Right? And like anything else, if you're not careful you can begin spending too much time and energy, thought and engagement with social media. (Naaawww?) It's our natural tendency as humans. And so where's the point that enough's enough and by passing it you're going overboard? How does a person determine that he/she maybe needs to take a break, step back and "smell the roses"? Well, to help you consider your own life and whether or not you're out of balance in this area, here are...
5 signs you might be spending too much time with social media: (what would you add?)
Sign #1: You're up at 3 a.m. pacific time usa for an early start on #followfriday and to see how many shout outs/mentions you're getting. (You really couldn't sleep. At least that's what you tell your wife.)
Sign #2: You're wondering if it was something you said and that's why people unfollowed/unfriended you. (Are "unfollow" and "unfriend" words?)
Sign #3: For some unknown reason you're twitter account got suspended and you feel like a close acquaintance or relative just died.
Sign #4: Reading timelines and/or tweeting have made you late for an appointment (dinner, work, doctor, etc.) more than once.
Sign #5: It's 3 a.m. again (well going on 4:00 now) and you're finishing a post on spending too much time with social media.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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