AGENT BUSINESS BUILDING

5 Success Tips for New Realtors®

By Anna Spooner on December 9, 2015 - Real Estate Marketing Magazine

When starting out as a Realtor®, it can seem really tough to find clients and enjoy a high level of success. There is a lot of competition in this industry! But, don’t get discouraged – you can find success and build a name for yourself. Here are five tips help you launch a successful career as a Realtor®.

Set Your Goals and Come Up with a Plan

Just like with any other business venture, a Realtor® needs to have a business plan. I don’t necessarily mean a long, formal, complex document. In your business plan, you define your marketing strategy, your target market, and your overall plan of attack. By having a document to refer to, you can avoid many pitfalls that new Realtors® face. Every Realtor® should treat their job of selling homes as a business. You’re in business for yourself, so make a plan to succeed!

Concentrate on a Niche to Develop Trust

As a Realtor®, you will have a lot of competition, and it’s hard to stand out from the pack. One way to do so is to have a niche. You could specialize in, for example, luxury homes, condominiums or homes in the countryside. With a specialization, you can build a name for yourself as a Realtor®. Then, you will have an easier time attracting clients via word-of-mouth. Remember, when you select your niche, you should make sure that it’s a viable one as you don’t want to paint yourself into a corner.

Use Social Media to Build Relationships and Gain Referrals

Social media is a great tool to build contacts and relationships and gain referrals. Ideally, if you are a new Realtor®, you should choose one to three social media platforms that your ideal customers spend time on. Don’t overextend yourself, but invest time in forming relationships online. By signing up for social media accounts and providing up-to-date, relevant and interesting information, you can communicate with current and potential clients with ease.

Focus on Promoting Listings to Increase Your Visibility

Print media and traditional mail is far from dead, especially for Realtors®. You can stand out and generate interest in your listings and your business with a variety of printed material. Just Listed Postcards help you let potential buyers know about a new property on the market, and seasonal postcards can help you maintain your relationships with your prospects. Printed materials sent in the mail are very effective and can help you target your ideal clients.

Find a Mentor to Help You Avoid Common Mistakes

A new Realtor® will make mistakes, and it’s part of the learning process. It’s easy to waste money on ineffective strategies, and a new Realtor® can easily lose clients without knowing why. That’s why it’s important to try to find a mentor in the industry. It helps you avoid costly and time-consuming mistakes. When you find a mentor who matches your style and is willing to show you the ropes, you will be light years ahead of other new Realtors®.

As a new Realtor®, you must have a plan, define your market and take advantage of social media. To market yourself better, you need to use printed postcards and advertising to get people to check out your properties and stay in touch with prospects. By following these ideas and learning from people in the industry, you will be well on your way to finding success as a Realtor®.

What other success tips do you have for new Realtors®? Please share in the comments!

MARKET NEWS

Mortgage rates are in a holding pattern

Dec 10, 2015, 10:26am EST

While the markets fret about the Federal Reserve’s December rate meeting, mortgage rates continue to show little movement.

Freddie Mac’s (OTC: FMCC) weekly rate report says a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.95 percent in the week ending Dec. 10, up just lightly from 3.93 percent last week. A year ago, 30-year rates averaged 3.93 percent.
Enlarge


Freddie Mac's weekly rate report shows average rates on 30-year mortgages were little… more

PATRICK T. FALLON

A 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.19 percent this week, up from 3.16 percent. A one-year adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 2.64 percent, up from 2.61 percent.

Thirty-year rates in the Northeast and Southeast were slightly higher, averaging 3.98 percent this week.

The lowest rates are in the West, where 30-year rates averaged 3.92 percent this week.


Jeff Clabaugh covers general assignment and provides business coverage for WTOP.

MARKET SURVEY 12/3/15

Weekly Mortgage Interest Rate Report December 3, 2015

Week ending on 12/03/15 Average Rate Points & Fees Margin  30-Year Fixed Rate 3.93% 0.6 N/A  15-Year Fixed Rate 3.16% 0.5 N/A  5/1-Year Adjustable Rate 2.99% 0.5 2.75  1-Year Adjustable Rate 2.61% 0.3 2.74  Week ending on 11/25/15 Average Rate Points & Fees Margin  30-Year Fixed Rate 3.95% 0.7 N/A  15-Year Fixed Rate 3.18% 0.6 N/A  5/1-Year Adjustable Rate 3.01% 0.5 2.75  1-Year Adjustable Rate 2.59% 0.3 2.74 “Treasury yields ticked down 3 basis points after weak manufacturing data. In response, the 30-year mortgage rate dropped 2 basis points. After the survey closed, Yellen implied that the economy is ready for a rate hike in December. However, all eyes remain on this Friday's jobs report, the last significant release prior to the FOMC's meeting.” – Sean Becketti, chief economist, Freddie Mac

Data and information is provided by Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS)

This is not intended as an advertisement of interest rates as defined by Regulation Z, Section 1026.2. Data is provided for informational purposes only. The financial and other information contained herein speaks only as of the date posted herein. Freddie Mac, and/or the sender of this information, is not responsible for business decisions made based on the reported results of the PMMS. In general, the data presented were calculated from information collected Monday through Wednesday of the same week that the PMMS is released and may not reflect mortgage rates, fees or points currently available. Average fees and points are provided to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining a mortgage. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.

SOCIAL SHARE FOR YOUR WEEKEND

Copy/Paste below link onto your Facebook or LinkedIn. Keeping followers informed keeps you top of mind!

LINK TO SHARE:  http://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/events/2014/12/05/biggest--upcoming-events--metro-phoenix/19965839/

Biggest and best upcoming events around Phoenix

12/12 FANTASY OF LIGHTS BOAT PARADE

The Republic | azcentral.com

You won't want to miss any of these concerts, festivals and other events in the weeks ahead. Check events.azcentral.com for details.

MARKETING CORNER

5 Places To Generate Leads Outside The Office

By Anna Spooner on December 2, 2015 - Real Estate Marketing Magazine

As a Realtor®, you’re likely skilled in communicating over the office phone with clients. You’ve probably answered hundreds of emails in the past week. Your online lead generation techniques are, no doubt, primed and seamless. But even in a marketplace that is increasingly moving towards online communication as a means of contact with clients, leads developed outside the office hold tremendous value. Here, I’ll outline five places you can generate leads as a Realtor® outside the office environment.

Chat with vendors

Industry trade shows offer you the opportunity to meet with others in the real estate marketplace, as well as professionals within related fields such as construction. These events can be an environment in which to exchange business cards with construction business leaders and to highlight your recent success to promote your realty business. By talking to contractors, title companies, inspectors and other people in the know, you can score some solid leads and get your name out there. A great benefit of talking to vendors and people in the industry is that you can build long-term relationships, which is key for any Realtor®.

Local business associations

If you aren’t going to local business associations, you are missing out on plenty of opportunities. Not only can you find other like-minded business people to share strategies with, you can find potential clients. Attending these events allows you to stand out when compared to a Realtor® who only has a website and Facebook page. Use the opportunity to chat with people and get ideas flowing. Share tips and ideas about real estate, and ask people what their current needs are. This unique venue will help you connect with prospects in a way that has very little competition from other Realtors®.

At School Events

As a Realtor® you likely have deep roots within your local community. These roots can be harnessed to further develop your business. Many Realtors® are now working with local schools to help engage students within the learning process. You might use your knowledge of the marketplace to speak at career days for high school students. Or you might organize a school fundraising event. With the latest tools for organizing groups on social media, this type of initiative is rarely expensive or time consuming. You’ll be seen as a local business leader within the community and you can use this role to maximize contacts with parents, teachers, and a variety of other possible prospects.

At a Local Organization through Sponsorship

Your investment in the community can have recurring value for your real estate business. One way to make this happen is through sponsorship. Of course, it’s important that you carefully select the sponsored organization. You could have sponsorships at events like 5K runs or fundraising for a local fire departments. You might also consider sponsoring a local animal shelter event as well, or events that are targeted at your specific farm neighborhood or demographic. These events allow you to connect to prospects in a way that is focused on charity rather than sales.

The World is Your Office

Although it can sometimes be uncomfortable, talking to strangers you meet can be a rich source of leads. You need to keep your business mindset on, and make sure your professional business cards are ready. Realtors® offer a very real and important service that people need when they are buying and selling a home. When you engage people and offer your services, you’re doing them a big favor and saving them a lot of heartache down the road. See everyone you meet as an opportunity for a connection and conversation, and then keep those relationships going. You never know when someone is ready to buy or sell, or who they might know that’s ready for a real estate transaction today.

These techniques can help you expand your real estate business and build significant connections throughout your local community, without sitting at your desk all day. What are your go-to lead generation techniques outside your office? Let me know in the comments below.

NEW LOAN PROGRAM!

Fannie Mae makes it easier with HomeReady

Chris Hrapsky, KARE

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. - Fannie Mae is making it easier to get a mortgage, especially for creditworthy borrowers with low and moderate incomes.

For many people trying to buy a home, there are a number of barriers that stand in the way.

"It could be a credit problem, it could be an income problem, it could be an employment history problem, it could be a debt-ratio problem. There are a number of things that can affect a person's situation," said Chris O'Connell, a licensed mortgage loan officer with Nations Reliable Lending in Edina.

Mortgage giant Fannie Mae recognizes these hardships, and in response will soon offer a new kind of mortgage with new rules designed to add flexibility for borrowers.

"They've recognized that households have changed and our guidelines need to change with it," said O'Connell.

It's called the HomeReady mortgage program, and here's how it works.

Buyers can put as little as 3 percent down on the house, with expanded rules regarding the source of the payment.

But here's the real kicker.

Traditionally, a bank looks at a buyer's income versus their debt, which establishes how much money it will loan you.

Banks will only consider income from you and a spouse or you and a cosigner, that's it.

HomeReady will consider incomes from others planning to live in the house without being a borrower on the loan. This means, if you live with parents, siblings, working children or maybe a roommate, as long as they make 30 percent of the household income, Fannie will include their money to help you qualify for a loan. These are being called "non-borrowers" by Fannie.

Also, non-occupants of the home can add further income to the mortgage. Perhaps parents living elsewhere but willing to help pay the loan.

St. Thomas Real Estate Program director Herb Tousley says this program could help a lot of people.

"The typical household has changed now. It's not the household we used to know 20 years ago because there's a lot of extended family. Parents are living with the family, children are staying home longer, and it allows you to consider their income too," said Tousley.

According to Fannie Mae, in 2013, 14 percent of all households with a mortgage had extended family living there. Most commonly adult children, unmarried domestic partners, and other relatives.

Tousley says he doesn't believe the relaxed restirctions on this new loan will create another housing bubble where homeowners borrow over their heads.

"I think the key to this is they are going to do it with creditworthy borrowers. They may change the criteria to qualify a little bit but I don't think they are going to borrow to anybody. It's not going to be like 2006, 2007 where you didn't need any documentation, you didn't have anything, and I don't see them go down that road again," said Tousley.

If this option intrigues you, stand by. The HomeReady program goes live before the end of the year.

MARKET NEWS

Mortgage Rates Fall for Third Straight Week: Freddie Mac

By Jacob Passy
December 3, 2015 - National Mortgage News


Mortgage rates went down as Treasury yields fell on weak manufacturing data, according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

The weekly survey reported that the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped this week to 3.93% from 3.95% the previous week, Freddie Mac said in a Dec. 3 news release. Nevertheless, this figure remains 4 basis points higher than during the same period in 2014.

Meanwhile, rates for both 15-year fixed-rate and five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages declined 2 basis points week-over-week, to 3.16% and 2.99%, respectively. A year ago, the rate for a 15-year FRM was 3.1%, while the rate for the five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid ARM was 2.94%.

The one-year Treasury-indexed ARM was the only mortgage type to experience a rate increase, with its average rate edging up to 2.61% from 2.59%. This figure stood well above last year's, which was 2.41%. The report also noted that it will cease to include data on the one-year ARM beginning in January 2016.

While weak manufacturing data influenced the week's results, the industry's attention remains on the upcoming jobs report, according to Freddie Mac chief economist Sean Becketti.

"Treasury yields ticked down 3 basis points after weak manufacturing data," Becketti said in the release. "In response, the 30-year mortgage rate dropped 2 basis points to 3.93%. After the survey closed, [Federal Reserve Chair Janet] Yellen implied that the economy is ready for a rate hike in December. However, all eyes remain on this Friday's jobs report, the last significant release prior to the FOMC's meeting."





© 2015 SourceMedia. All rights reserved.