Real Estate News Worth Reading

Here are some stories on the net worth noting today – Feb 28. How will they affect the local San Ramon market?

Existing-home sales rise 3% – Sales of existing homes rose 3% in January from December, the largest percentage gain in two years, says a MarketWatch article. (Sales were down 4.3% year-over-year, MarketWatch says.) The median sales price dropped 3.1% from January 2006 to $210,600, the article says. “The price correction is working,” the Web site quotes David Lereah, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, as saying. He can’t say definitively whether the housing market has bottomed out because January’s warm weather helped to increase sales, he is quoted as saying. Condo resales were basically flat in January, dipping 0.1%, the article says.

Housing Worries Linger Despite Jump – Surprisingly strong January home sales seem to foreshadow an imminent market bottom, but economists say housing’s not home free yet

But the sky seemed to clear when the National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced that sales of existing homes increased in January to the highest level in seven months. Total U.S. existing-home sales rose 3% in January to a seasonally adjusted rate of 6.46 million units from an upwardly revised pace of 6.27 million units in December. Wall Street had expected January home sales figures to hit only 6.24 million, according to Briefing.com. In 2006, existing home sales saw a record year-over-year decline of 8.4%.

Don’t count on home equity to come through with a significant portion of retirement funding, cautions a new report by Fidelity Investments.   – According to the study, home values underperformed stocks and bonds over every five- and 10-year period from 1963 to 2005. Home values have been slightly above the returns on treasury bills during the same time, according to the report, “The Equity You Live In: The Home as a Retirement Savings and Income Option.”

California Shows Slow Sales in January 2007, Pricing Holds Flat  – Sales volume in California was down in January 2007 12.6 percent while home prices rose 1.9 percent. These numbers may sound dry, but they tell one hell of a story. Prognosticators have been expecting housing prices to drop significantly in the state as the speculators left the market.

Ranking the States for the New Economy – A new study guides entrepreneurs seeking the right place to run a business by examining how states are faring in a changing economy

The U.S. is in the midst of its third major economic transformation of the last 120 years, equivalent in scope and depth to the emergence of the factory economy in the 1890s and the mass-production, corporate economy in the 1940s and 1950s. This means states must act decisively to encourage entrepreneurship or be left behind in this New Economy.

VMA – 2/23

Once again, every Friday, I am in Pleasanton, CA at Tommy T’s for the weekly Valley Marketing Association meeting for Realtors®, real estate agents and other professionals associated with the real estate industry in Pleasanton andDublin.

Our featured guest today was Chief of Police, Michael Fraser. Chief Fraser spoke with Roy from the stage for about 15 minutes addressing many points of interest about the Pleasanton police and public safety.

It looks like activity is picking up given the amount of new listings today which included:

• 7588 May Way, San Ramon
• 2882 Sable Oaks Way, Dublin Ranch
• 4383 Second Street, Pleasanton
• 9435 Olympia Fields Drive, San Ramon
• 102 Cameo Drive, Danville
• 5211 Alacon Court, Dublin
• 7116 Cross Creek Circle D, Dublin
• 249 Belaire Court, Danville
• 3035 Crestblanca Drive, Pleasanton

You can find information on local real estate trends here and request a FREE 14 page Market Details Report here.

RMA – 2/22

It was a great morning to jump out of bed and land in the wild and whacky world of San Ramon Valley real estate – except for the sinus headache and the pouring rain – perfect. Well, the rain was great, so that only leaves the headache.

After coffee and a donut at Starbucks – had to down some painkillers – it was off to the San Ramon Community Center for this weeks Realtors Marketing Association meeting. The rain seems to have impacted attendance. Then again, maybe word got out that Will Doerlich was going to be presiding over this morning’s session.

Whatever the case, Chuck Miller made a late arrival to gasps, oohs and ahhs. Once again, while others languish, Vickie Coker is wheeling and dealing. I think she sold at least two properties during the introductions.

New property listings this week included:

• 433 Fuchsia Lane, San Ramon
• 767 Pradera Way, San Ramon
• 152 Canyon Green Place, San Ramon
• 4250 Golden Oak Court, Blackhawk
• 9435 Olympia Fields Drive, San Ramon
• 2940 Langhorne Drive, San Ramon
• 249 Bellaire Court, Danville
• 7116 Cross Creek Circle #D, Dublin
• 320 Edinburgh Circle, Danville

In addition to these homes, we were informed that John Laing Homes’ Roubion project is ready for sell – houses between 2 to 3 million dollars. “Enjoy breathtaking views and architecture with a custom feel at Roubion by John Laing Homes. Located in the hills of San Ramon, Roubion’s executive level homes offer a central location surrounded by scenic open space. These sophisticated homes will take luxury living to a new level. “

KW Team – 2/19

Early this morning, I unlocked the Danville Womens Center, set up the chairs, opened the parking area, hung the banner I purchased for the team and then left the scene leaving the doors cracked for the first arrivals.

The banner is a result of the last team meeting prior to Keller Williams’ Family Reunion in Las Vegas. There was a discussion about pitching in for advertising to increase the KW brand awareness in the community. My thought – if you want to increase brand awareness, get out in the community and let people see you – thus the banner which any associate at the Keller Williams Danville market center can use.

I went to Peets to arrange for coffee as I received an email from Owen Hennefer saying he would not be making the meeting. If you have ever been around a bunch of real estate agents on an early Monday morning without coffee – well, it’s not a pretty sight. So, it was really a gesture of self-defense on my part to avoid all of the groans, whines and sniffles – just kidding.

Having arranged for the coffee, I went to breakfast at Pascal’s in Danville – where they have some of the best coffee in Danville – and they’ll give you a couple of poached eggs to go with it. After hanging around until 9:10, I went back to the Danville Womens Center only to find people waiting in their cars for someone to open the doors – how the heck is a guy supposed to arrange a surprise if no one will cooperate??

In the end it all seemed to work as this video will attest to.

Here are links to some recent articles I have written about Keller Williams over on my Active Rain blog:

• Keller Williams Pyramid Scheme is Just the Tip of the Iceberg
• Keller Williams #4 Real Estate Franchise
• OutFront with Keller Williams

Pleasanton CA Realtors

I was at the Valley Marketing Association today in Pleasanton, CA. A shame to be inside on a gorgeous morning like today’s, but when you can get the High Priestess of Poop and Roy to put on a show like this – well, it pays to be indoors!

I’m collecting more photos to have another go at an online video showcasing this group of real estate industry professionals. I’ll be collecting the pics of Realtors and affiliates over the next couple of meetings. Everyone is enjoying the venue at Tommy T’s in Pleasanton.

Here you see Roy’s agenda for the day and his market report.

New listings today included:

• 3240-122 Maguire Way, Dublin
• 5252 Dolores Drive, Pleasanton
• 1505 Elderberry, Pleasanton
• 7218 Moss Tree Way, Pleasanton
• 9476 Blessing Drive, Pleasanton

The Harper Team can help you with the purchase of these or any other properties in the East Bay Area. The California sunshine is upon us, interest rates are great, inflation is in check – it’s a great time to buy that new house and get out in the yard and garden!

A Day at the Office

Craig and I are in the conference room today (Feb. 13) with Amy Graybeal, Sandy Hickey, Owen Hennefer and Mary Ann Andrews. Amy and Sandy are new agents at Keller Williams. Sandy is with us in the Danville market center. Amy is working out of the Oakland market center with another of our sponsorees – Theresa Ordanez.

Here you see Amy on the left and Sandy on the right.

Here is a pic of Owen and Mary Ann. I really did catch Owen at his desk working.

We’re discussing contact manager systems, websites and blogs, trying to help Amy and Sandy to make some decisions and get started. Craig is a certified Top Producer trainer and he has been evaluating Agent Office and Active Agent.

Owen is our in-house loan officer with Western Security. He’s begging for people to throw him a bone. So far, it looks like I’m the only one who has done so.

Feb 9 – VMA

The Weekly meeting of the Valley Marketing Association met at Tommy T’s in Pleasanton, CA this morning. The VMA represents real estate professionals in the communities of Dublin and Pleasanton, CA.

There are some signs that the market may be improving not necessarily in property appreciation – housing prices may still drop a bit, but no one expects seems to expect too much more of a correction. Many agents are beginning to report multiple offers on listings and increased buyer interest and activity.

Otto Catrina leaves tomorrow with his group of friends to help with the AIDS situation in South Africa. We wish him and his team safe travel and return.

Here is a short video of today’s events. As you will see, I need to invest in a better camera with more flash capacity. Use the button on the bottom left corner of the video screen – it may be a little jerky the first time it loads.

Included in today’s new property listings are the following:

• 106 Rodriguez Court, San Ramon
• 767 Pradera Way, San Ramon
• 450 Bollinger Canyon Lane, San Ramon
• 785 Watson Canyon Court, San Ramon
• 10708 Ian Lane, Dublin
• 2396 Del Monte Street, Livermore
• 3707 Whitworth Drive, Dublin Ranch
• 3288 South Bridgepointe Lane, Dublin

The Harper Team can assist you with the purchase of these or any other properties in the East Bay Area properties. We have a Buyer’s Guarantee and are one of the few real estate teams in the area with a cancellation guarantee.

Check out the best technology on the Internet today for online search.

Feb 8 – Realtors Marketing Meeting

Today’s meeting of the San Ramon / Danville Realtors Marketing Meeting found me a little groggy eyed. I was amazed to have slept in until 7:15 – I’m usually up at 5am reading through the 70 blogs and news sites I follow for The Harper Team and our clients. I gave the RMA membership a break and left my camera at home today!

These properties were included in today’s new listings presentations:

• 144 Farm Lane, Martinez
• 1175 Chesire Circle, Danville
• 1982-D Ascot Drive, Moraga
• 10708 Ian Lane, Dublin
• 21 Deer Creek Lane, Blackhawk

The Harper Team can assist you with the purchase of these or any other property locaed in the East Bay area of California. We also help to match people relocating with real estate professionals in communites throughout North America. We’re proud to be assciated with the Realtors Marketing Association and Keller Williams Realty.

The high point of the meeting was when Vickie Coker finally owned up to having a birthday.

Kristin White – Keller Williams – Team Leader – Danville

What better way to teach a blog clinic than creating a new blog post. I’m at the Keller Williams Danville CA Market Center and in between helping agents to learn how to blog, I am writing this post about Kristin White our team leader at KW Danville.

I did a short interview with Kristin, but failed to record it due to unfamiliarity with my new digital gadget AND my reading specs being in the other room. But, here is the gist of our conversation.

Kristin has been with Keller Williams for 5 and half years. The Danville Market Center has only been open for four years. Prior to coming here, Kristin was a KW agent in the Walnut Creek Market Center.

Kristin was with Prudential for 15 years before succumbing to Beverly Steiner’s charms and joining KW. It was Kristin’s need for a new car that brought her to Keller Williams. According to her, she had a couple of transactions in escrow with Prudential and was surprised when she did not have enough commission to purchase the car she wanted.

It was at that point in time that she finally took Beverly Steiner up on her invitation to hear about the KW business model. Kristin had never really crunched the numbers to see how much she was leaving on the table for Prudential and was surprised to compare how much she could keep under the KW commission cap model.

Noting that as team leader she hears all the stories of why agents leave other brokers, I asked her what they report. (I mentioned to her that I think there is a misconception on other agents’ part about the KW profit sharing plan being a big factor.) Kristin told me that there is a big misconception, but it is not about profit sharing it’s about broker satisfaction.

The misconception is that people come to Keller Williams because they are unhappy with their current situation. This is not true according to Kristin. The number one reason people join Keller Williams is the KW business model. “When they finally take the time to listen to the business model, they are blown away about the focus on the individual agent’s success and the proven plan to make it a reality,” she says.

So, there you have it Kristin White, team leader and once again It’s the Business Model that brings them in.

If you would like to open a dialouge on how the KW business model can impact your business and bottom line email us or jump over to The Harper Team Blog and IM us.

Groundhog Day Eve at RMA

The weekly meeting of the Realtors Marketing Association kicked off on time today at 8:30 sharp thanks to Linda’s firm gavel and Dan’s gruff voice. Nathan Ellis, GMAC Mortgage, got everyone excited about tomorrow being Groundhog Day. Many members were left longing for the good old days of Sonny & Cher.

This months room sponsors are Joel Koosed & Assoc., First American Exchange, and Residential Pacific Mortgage. Thank you very much.

Here is my first attempt at online video. It’s a little long at just over 4 minutes and I kept the best for last, so please hang in there.

The Harper Team can help you purchase these or any other properties for sale in the East Bay Area. We can also assist you with locating a Realtor that is a good fit for you in any part of the USA or Canada.