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Random Thoughts for the Week - November 15, 2009

Here are a couple of things that Stephanie and I were thinking about this week:

1. Smartphone revolution- I switched from a Blackberry to a Palm Pre this past weekend to have a touch Random Thoughts for The Week from The Somers screen. I have not been super happy with my blackberry, plus my wife Stephanie has been very happy with her Palm. These gadgets are just amazing. I think soon everyone (outside of business professionals) will have smartphones. So if you agree, own some Apple (APPL), Research in Motion (RIMM) or Palm (PALM) in your portfolio (disclosure - we own PALM) and I am sure we own the others in various mutual funds.

2. Toll Brothers - Did the recent news that Toll Brothers announced suggest that the end of the housing market has come and gone ? Their press release is worth reading - you can read it here .

3. Lawrence Yun at NAR - 2010 forecast - Wow !!!! See it here: 2010 Sales to Rise 15 percent . I think most Realtors will really like what he is saying about Realtors incomes for 2010. I am bullish on the economy and the housing market in 2010 but think his forecast is too optimistic.

4. Lesson Learned - "Fear is fueled by lack of knowledge, and only by facing that fear can you overcome that fear." Stephanie Somers

For the longest time we have been putting off buying a music system for ourselves. Music happens to be something that we both enjoy very much and is extremely therapeutic, whether we listen to punk rock or a classical composer that we do not understand. Thus, we finally went and bought something that we will enjoy for our home. But the fear of all the technology involved was really a deterrent for us. We sucked it up, we bought it, we got tangled up in instructions, freaked out several times, but we made it through. The fear is behind us and have a future of musical bliss ! HARD WORK ALWAYS PAYS OFF !

5. Expertise- In order to be an expert at something, you need to have many many hours of experience. It takes a long long time to be an expert. We agree with Malcolm Gladwell, author of "Outliers" where he talks about the most successful folks that become experts at something put in about 10,000 hours into that. That seems to be the common denominator ! Is a lot of hours but so be it !

Please comment on what your thoughts are in regards to these items or please share your own random thoughts from your week !

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Posted by Christopher and Stephanie Somers - Realtors - Philadelphia Real Estate on 11/15/2009 06:36 PM

Comments (15)

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Originally posted at: The Philadelphia Real Estate Blog: Random Thoughts for the Week - November 15, 2009

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15 Comments on Random Thoughts for the Week - November 15, 2009

NOV

How are you enjoying that new music system?!? I often tend to procrastinate on purchasing things...b/c I'm afraid I'll make a mistake...LOVE, LOVE, LOVE music...all kinds. If I ever wake up in the night...there is 90% of the time...a song playing in my head. :)

Glad you decided to buy the music system that you wanted. Hope you relax with many hours of enjoyment and thanks for sharing.

Christopher and Stephanie,

Glad to hear you didnt bu an iphone! I have the storm, hated it back in Nov 2008 but like it now, even more with os upgrade last week.

Can I use #4. LOVE THAT!!

Sonja - I love music too and it has been awhile since I have had a nice music system to really enjoy ! As a result, it has been more tv and less music at night. Now that will be reversed !

Valorie - Yes, it was not easy setting it up although it should have been : ) . But well worth it !

Paul - Sure ! I had a love / hate relationship with my blackberry so decided to try something new : )

Hi Chris! Great information here! Did you read the entire article on Toll Brothers?! WOW! Results for 4th quarter even rose above same quarter, 2007! Their report was SO refreshing--I understand that many new home builders have either 'gone into their bunkers' or gone out of business so, those left standing should be doing quite well in 2010. (especially if Lawrence Yun's predictions are correct!)

Hope you and Steph have a great week!

Chris and Stephanie, what kind of music system did you buy? I've been wanting a Bose, but I'm too much of a tight wad to buy it.

NOV

Chris it would be nice to think that sales are going to rise by 15%. It is certainly possible:)

Debe - It was VERY impressive ! I think that report was a signal for more things to come and why TOL was up 3 points that day !

Kay - It was a Sony Altus where you can dock an IPOD with wireless speakers. Similar to Bose. Very cool.

Christopher and Stephanie - Congratulations on the new music set-up. Always a good thing. Can you believe I don't own a stereo of any kind. Weird. I'm loving the random thoughts posts. Good way to communicate a few small things that you've had on your mind. I may have to steal it from you...then again, we all know I can't be short with my posts.

Team Somers ~ I like the idea of random thoughts.

I am getting ready for a smart phone and I was thinking about Palm Pre or Samsung Moment.

Really interesting post. I might have to steal the format! Our brains all have that capacity to jump from one subject to another rather than focus on one thing.........that's too hard sometimes!

Bill - I agree that it is possible ! The stock market is certainly surging.

Matt - Yes, it is a cool format. I think it has some potential and allows us to keep it brief per se or maybe take one of the thoughts and expand into a blog post later ?

Harris - We are really grooving to the Palm Pre ! I have had it for 2 days and am loving it. Stephanie loves it.

Chris - Yes, am glad we are getting some compliments on this format !

Hi Chris - Music is what lifts my soul and while I don't have a complex music system, my Bose radio fits the bill for now. You hit on some great points with your random thoughts for this week and given me some food for thought.

NOV

5. Expertise- In order to be an expert at something, you need to have many many hours of experience. It takes a long long time to be an expert. We agree with Malcolm Gladwell, author of "Outliers" where he talks about the most successful folks that become experts at something put in about 10,000 hours into that. That seems to be the common denominator ! Is a lot of hours but so be it !

Am I an expert on real estate yet? Let's see 5 years x 60 hours a week x 52 weeks (no vacation yet) = 11,000 hours. Yes, I made it!!! Whew!

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