Real Estate Snippets

Tag, I'm It!

You can tell it's getting close to the holidays when the whole world starts playing games.  Not only has Mary McKnight organized the first Yankee Blog Swap, but she also has "memed" some of the bloggers who are in my blogroll.  Eventually the ball rolls down the hill to me, so Teresa Boardman got "memed" by Sellsius and I got "memed" by Teresa!  It's not like I haven't enough pressure trying to come up with an exceptionally good blog topic for the Blog Swap on the 19th, but now I have to reveal 5 things to the world that they don't know about me!  I'm eventually going to cave in under all this pressure!

For those who don't know what a "meme" is, it is a cultural thought passed from one to another.  As Mary McKnight described it, it's like a blog chain letter on one topic.  My assignment:  reveal 5 things that most people don't know about me.

1. I'm really introverted and a homebody, but enjoy diversity in people.  I love to hear stories of other countries and traditions.
2. I was always the first girl picked for sports teams and many times was picked before many of the boys.  I could swing a mean right field home run, especially to those who didn't know my skill level.  I also could steal a dribbled basketball right out from under the guy's hand.
3. My father was a pastor and I once road away after Sunday morning worship in my mini skirt on the back of a young man's motorcycle!  To balance that behavior, I have never been drunk!
4. My goal in life was to work with teens on the street.  I married instead, and the street teens came to our house which was always open to the tough kids.
5. I had a squirrel tail hat when I was in fourth grade.  All the tails were my own trophies taken with a sling shot.

I "meme" Carole Cohen, Leanne Paynter, Jonathan Dalton, Ardell DellaLogia, and Jeff Dowler.

Holidazzle Parade

It's spelled with one "L" and it's definitely another example of how strange Minnesotans can be . . . or it's another example of how resourceful we are.  The Holidazzle parade is young as far as traditions go.  It has not been around as long as the Dayton's to become Marshall Fields' and now Macy's 8th floor auditorium has been, nor as long as the St. Paul Winter Carnival, but it's fun and it's resourceful and it's accomplishing its purpose.

TCF wanted to attract business to the downtown Minneapolis area, especially during the holiday season when shoppers tend to go for convenience and warmth (did I mention malls?), so they started the Holidazzle parade.  The parade is full of lights and fantasy creatures manned by local people who sometimes end up on a waiting list to get to volunteer.  You almost have to know someone to get in.  Thousands of families flock to the Nicollet Mall to stand in frigid weather for a chance to see the glitter and glitz of the winter floats passing by.  Lighted balloons, mice chasing cheese, bands trying to keep their instruments warm, hot chocolate, and lots of mittens and hats add to the fun.  Only when the temperatures dip very low has the parade been cancelled.  Merchants report that more customers are present on the nights of the parade.

If you haven't been yet, you might want to check it out this year while we're experiencing temperate, almost balmy for Minnesota, wealther.  The parade starts at 6:30 PM, Wednesdays through Sunday, starting at Thanksgiving and going through Christmas.  Bundle up, bring a donation for the food shelf, stop at Macy's 8th floor auditorium and enjoy the fantastic Christmas lights of the parade.  There is definitely something  a little "tesched" about Minnesotans to think that winter parades are fun!

 

Zillow Again

I'm not sure how much John Q. Public knows about Zillow.com, but in the real estate blogging community another Zillow hullabaloo has arisen.  When I last checked Technorati tags for Zillow there were 740 entries with Zillow tags!  Zillow went live in February and the real estate blogosphere went nuts.  Things had quieted until last week when Zillow announced three new "features" or "traps" depending on whether you're an optimist or pessimist!  The 3 features are:

• Agents or unrepresented sellers can list their homes for free on the Zillow.com site.  Other sites already exist for agents or consumers to list homes.  There is REALTOR.com, Trulia, Oodle, e-Bay, Craig's list, and many others.  Agents and sellers can now add Zillow to the list.  This feature may be attractive to sellers without agents since they are not listed on the MLS.  The more internet exposure the better.
• The "Make Me Move" feature is attractive to me.  Would I move if someone offered me a million dollars for my $200,000 home?  Let's see, would I?  Could I find another Victorian to fix up in a neighborhood like mine?  Would the extra money be worth it?  I'm not sure.  I'm pretty happy where I am, but Zillow has dangled the carrot to those who want to speculate.
• Wikis have been added.  That's right, Wikis.  The public can now write about their neighborhood or their town, just like on Wikipedia.

One of the concerns by agents is that Zillow's home value "zestimates" have proven to be quite inaccurate.  Placing a listing on Zillow with a good comparative price next to an inaccurate "zestimate" created confusion for the public.  Who is one to believe?  Is Zillow right (at a sometimes lower price) or is the listing agent or owner right?  Why should the buyer offer more if the "zestimate" is several thousand less?  The consumer may not realize the "zestimate" is created by algorithms on a machine, not true analysis of the specific home by a live professional!

The next question being asked by agents is whether Zillow wants to be the "go to" place for real estate and that their ultimate business goal is to charge for these services in the future.  Do they plan to be a national listing service?  Agents are asking if, or when, the other shoe will drop.  Most people believe TANFL ("There ain't no free lunch.") and that Zillow has an ulterior motive even though they currently deny this accusation.  Time is the great revealer for answers to this question.

As far as the "Make Me Move" option, it sound like fun and is a creative way to lure people in.  The Wikis also will be a great added feature.  Consumers are always looking for more info.  The value of that info will depend on the accuracy of the person creating the content.  Once again, only time will tell whether this feature will retain high standards of excellence.

Although some agents are worried about their jobs being eliminated because of the internet exposure, I think this is a bit far fetched unless, of course, the agent is not internet savvy.  If that's the case, I think I'd start packing my bags and look for a new career, because the internet and all its innovations is definitely here to stay!

 

Market Casualties?

Because the Yankee Blog Swap is next week, I went snooping around Jonathan Dalton's blog to see if I'd fit in.  I found this great link which should give each of you a chuckle for the day.  Read "It's the Onion for REALTORS"!

It's also fun to note that Jonathan is a good match for swapping with me.  His style is easy to read and straight forward.  We even have a touch of great minds thinking alike as his entry yesterday was also on the Houston MLS which I did not know until I read the entry today! 

Houston, Real Estate Innovators

Houston, Texas, has made real estate news this week.  It seems the Houston area REALTORS are forerunners and innovative in their desire to generate business and sell houses.  Reuters reports one resourceful agent is advertising a free gun to those who buy a $150,000+ home from her.  At first glance this sounds a bit scary, but the real story is that Julie Upton is advertising this special incentive for law enforcement officers only.  Her inspiration:  her husband is a police officer!  Her ads are running in the monthly police publication "Badge & Gun" and so far only two guns have been "earned" by purchasing a house using her services.

Maybe Julie Upton's resourcefulness is an indicator of the creativity of the entire Houston Association of REALTORS.  Justin McCarthy, a Google spokesman, touted Houston's Association of REALTORS as "forward thinking" and a "group to emulate" when discussing the fact that HAR is the first REALTOR association to allow their MLS data to be directly uploaded to Google's Google Base.  The agreement between Google and HAR has caused a stir among other associations.  Silicon Valley won't sign a similar agreement because Google will not agree to protect the data or use it in a limited way.  REALTOR associations wonder if Google Base gains access to other MLS's, if they will become a lead generator in the future and begin charging agents to acquire leads generated from REALTOR provided data.

Eyes across the nation will be watching HAR's test run to see how it benefits the public and the agents, or if this decision will become a miserable fiasco. 

November Stats

The numbers for November are reflecting a more normal market where the holiday months are a little slower and the market heats up in the spring.

	HENNEPIN	Change	RAMSEY	Change
OCT 2006	Single Family Only		Single Family Only
New Listings	2301		812
Pending Sales	780		231
Closed Sales	553		221
Total	3634		1264
	HENNEPIN	Change	RAMSEY	Change
NOV 2006	Single Family Only		Single Family Only
New Listings	1427	-38%	520	-36%
Pending Sales	443	-43%	146	-37%
Closed Sales	378	-32%	159	-28%
Total	2248		825

The above figures were based on information from the Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota, Inc. for the period October 1, 2006, through November 30, 2006.  Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
(c) Bonnie Erickson 2006

Property Management

Some tenants don't know when enough is enough.  My honey is a mild mannered Clark Kent type until he gets pushed too far.  Last night a tenant did just that.  He pushed and pushed on the phone and then made the mistake of hanging up on TLH (the loving husband).  I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when super husband ended up in the tenant's unit.  Disrespect is something TLH will not tolerate.  Hanging up in the middle of a conversation or honking from the street are in the bucket of disrespectful actions he cannot abide.  If a tenant has a legitimate dispute with another tenant in the building, hanging up on the owner/landlord is not the action to take!

It turns out that Mr. Disrespectful was upset because there was not a parking place for his car behind the building.  There were lots of spaces on the street, but one tenant had taken two places (only one allowed) and Mr. Disrespectul was demanding the other car be moved instantly.  There was a tight space open, but he didn't want to use that one.  Prior to TLH's arrival (just 2 minutes) or even before the phone call to us, Mr. Disresptful had kicked and pounded on the other tenant's door to get them to move the car (We will be checking for damage.).  It was below zero and the second car would not start which is why it was stuck in the lot.  Mr. Disrespectful didn't care.  It had to be moved now!  TLH was met at the door with, "We're moving!" to which TLH replied, "I'll take your 30 day notice now.  I can easily rent this unit to someone else for at least $150 more than I'm collecting from you.  Besides you're late on your rent."  Mr. Disrespectful didn't care.  He was in a huff.  What he doesn't know is that he is on borrowed time.  Too many more encounters like this with my Clark Kent husband will find this tenant eating his threats.  He will be moving on.

And some people wonder why property management isn't for everyone!

2006 Yankee Blog Swap

Coming to your favorite blog:  The Yankee Blog Swap.  New to me is the term "Yankee Swap" which is a gift exchange game I've played for years but never knew what it was called!  Guests all bring a wrapped gift which is placed in a gift pool.  Each guest chooses a gift in the order of numbers given.  Each gift is unwrapped as it is chosen and displayed for all to see.  The next number may choose from any opened gifts or from a new one in the pool.  Number one gets to choose from all of the unwrapped gifts at the end.

Because the name was new to me, I conjectured that Yankee was because we're all from the north (but we aren't).  Then I wondered if it would be like a swap meet, where my junk becomes someone else's treasure.  Regardless, our blog Yankee Swap will just plain be fun.  Jonathan Dalton from Arizona will partner with me in swapping blogs.  His entry will be published here on December 19, along with a little Arizona sun, and mine will be published there.  My readers will get a taste of Arizona real estate and his will get a taste of the great Northland.  Let's hope for snow by then so those sun people can appreciate what they've got!

Behavior Equals Communication

The end of the year is approaching and many small business owners including real estate agents are reviewing their business plans for next year and getting their finances in order for tax time.  I resist this activity as much as possible and yet I know its importance.  I know if I don't revise my business plan by reviewing last year's plan, and its success or failure, there will be no business in my future.

I read the following quote in an Active Rain blog by Jeff Turner, the President and founder of RealEstateShows.com, a virtual tour company for real estate agents:  “Behavior is the only authentic form of communication. Our words either confirm or contradict it.”  Jeff's business partner and mentor, Bill Leider, was the originator of the quote.  The quote impacted Jeff much as it did me when I read it.  Behavior is our only authentic communication.  If I make New Year's resolutions that I don't keep, my behavior is what I really meant to resolve to do.  Is it any wonder we don't lose that 20 pounds by March?  Most of us give lip service to that desire but our actions do not follow. 

In like manner, I might write the goal of having 50 transactions next year.  That's only one a week with two weeks vacation.  If, however, I do not do the behaviors necessary to generate that kind of business, it won't happen.  In real estate we have to figure out how many postcards, how many ads, how many blog entries, and how many phone calls will generate one lead.  We then have to find out how many leads are necessary to get one transaction.  The behaviors necessary to accomplish one transaction have to be done in order to reach the goal.  Our behavior is the only authentic form of communication.  If we don't do the behavior, then that number of transactions was not our goal.  There was a different goal operating which was demonstrated in the behavior we really displayed!

What about you?  Do you say you want to buy a house, but just haven't gotten around to it?  Are some of your goals unrealized because your behaviors have not been consistent with the goals?  I know I'm going to think twice about those New Year's resolutions this year!

Christmas Decorations

Much hullabaloo has been made about whether to decorate or not at Christmas when your house is on the market.  Having spent the better part of an evening getting a 16 foot tree into an 11 foot high room, I'd be the first to say "skip the decorations!", but it's a difficult decision to make.  For many families the decorations are a deeply entrenched part of their holiday and cutting that tree and then squeezing it into the house are all part of the fun (or torture!).

Sellers cry out, "It's our house!  Why can't we celebrate the way we always do?"  or worse yet, "It's our last Christmas here and we want to have the best Christmas ever."  Both statements are legitimate, but reality is that if your house is listed at Christmas the decorations can detract from the commodity you're trying to sell . . . your house.  Just like the fresh crab leg birthday dinner prepared by one of my sellers created lots of negative comments about the smell from prospective buyers, buyers cannot always see beyond the decorations.  Decorations make the house look crowded or smaller or darker or  . . .   Knowing that only serious buyers are looking during the holidays, it's best to keep your goal in mind and dress your house for success.  The stagers say it best:  Use discretion.  Make decorations tasteful.  Put limits on the number of decorations.