Thursday, February 26, 2009

One Man's Solution to the Housing Crisis????

CHINESE HOMEBUYERS????
While some US real estate developers and real estate agencies are still trying to find ways to overcome the sluggish sentiment among home buyers now, one in particular has begun to target some well-to-do Chinese as their potential clients. SOUFUN.com , a leading real estate Internet services provider in China, arranged for a group of 50 potential buyers to go on a 10-day trip to the United States to view properties.
According to Soufun's plan, the group will visit five cities in the US - New York, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas – which began on February 24th and will go through March 5th . The houses they will be viewing are mid to high-class houses and townhouses and priced between $300,000 and $800,000 US dollars.

Click here for the entire article: http://www.cnbc.com/id/29406401
Click here for the video clip: http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1046356813&play=1

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Renters Lose Edge on Homeowners


Cost Gap Returns to Historical Norms in Some Markets as House Prices Drop...

Below, find a link to a great article from today's WSJ. It states that the relative cost of owning versus renting is swinging back in favor of homeownership in some U.S. markets.
"After two years of rapid home-price depreciation, the relationship between the cost of rental payments versus after-tax mortgage payments is tilting toward ownership in a number of metropolitan areas."

click here for the entire article : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123552129423664663.html

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Through the Looking Glass...


Thought you might be interested in viewing this page at tompeters.com: http://www.tompeters.com/
Go to the 2/23/2009 post : Jennifer and Brad and Angelina and the Great Recession
Tom Peters makes the point that despite the current market/economic conditions, the “SHOW MUST GO ON”… and does for those who choose to find the opportunities and shun the “sky is falling” mentality…He asserts that those of us who “embrace the future” will be the ones who definitely create it...I say, why not you, why not me, why not us???

Let’s create the future together!!! Any takers?

Truly “news you can use”…


Obama to Lay Out His Economic Game Plan to Nation – tonight at 9pm


President Obama will provide more details about his financial stability plan and measures to help the economy while delivering "a sober assessment about where we are and the challenges we face."
In a prime-time 50 minute speech from the House of Representatives, Obama will make his case that much more has to be done to turn around the nation's economy.
We should all tune in as it will directly impact how we will work with our clients in this current economic climate.

Bernanke: Aggressive Action Needed To Restore Stability and Confidence


"If actions taken by the administration, the Congress, and the Federal Reserve are successful in restoring some measure of financial stability—and only if that is the case, in my view —there is a reasonable prospect that the current recession will end in 2009 and that 2010 will be a year of recovery," Bernanke said.

Click here for the full article... http://www.cnbc.com/id/29366221
Click here for the CNBC video clips of the full testimony...http://search.cnbc.com/main.do?keywords=bernanke&target=video

The Power of Email


Here is an article from E-marketer which I believe needs to be read by ALL of my agents who want to stay in touch with their clients. It effectively points out the POWER OF EMAIL MARKETING---PRINT/DIRECT MAIL IS DEAD!!!!!!


The Powerful Potential of Permission-Based E-Mail

FEBRUARY 24, 2009
The majority of customers who receive e-mail from a company have a more positive image of that company.
Really?
According to “Beyond the Click: The Indirect Value of Email,” from Epsilon and ROI Research, 57% of consumers had a more positive impression of companies they had purchased from when they received e-mail from them—and 40% said such e-mail made a future purchase from the company more likely.
Getting consumers to sign up for permission e-mails may be difficult, but the effort is worth it when 84% said they liked receiving e-mail from companies they had registered with—and more than one-half saved the messages for later review.
Even when consumers have to wade through hundreds of spam messages, they appreciate receiving relevant information.
“E-mail builds loyalty and brand awareness and drives on- and off-line behavior,” said Kevin Mabley, senior vice president of Epsilon Strategic Services, in a statement.
Need data for presentations? eMarketer subscribers can download charts instantly — over 50,000 choices.
To test this thesis, Epsilon looked more closely at one particular category in its “Flying High: Measuring the Value of Email Marketing for the Travel Industry” report.
“In the travel industry where so much activity has moved to the online arena, it’s crucial that companies communicate effectively and efficiently with their customers,” said Mr. Mabley.
In fact, recipients of travel e-mail showed even higher loyalty than retail, consumer packaged goods, pharma or finance category recipients, with 63% saying in October 2008 that they were more likely to buy from companies that sent them e-mail.
A whopping 92% of respondents who received travel e-mail thought it was a “great way” to learn about new products and offerings.
More importantly, consumers often took easily measurable actions such as booking online, clicking links and downloading coupons after receiving e-mail from a travel company.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

UNLEASH YOUR POWER WITHIN


I will be attending this seminar!!! If you are interested, I have access to preferred pricing.

Friday, February 13, 2009

What is YOUR future????

Will you leave it up to a cookie???
Here is a link to a great video "SHIFT HAPPENS". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpEnFwiqdx8&feature=related
Watch it and then ask yourself...
Am I ready to totally embrace change and believe that change creates opportunity?
What are the new opportunities in my profession, industry, personal life, etc that I want to go after like a heat seeking missile?
YOU ARE NOW LEAN, MEAN, CHANGE LOVING MACHINE!!! WELCOME TO YOUR FUTURE...CREATE IT!!!! RECREATE IT!!!! OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN!!!!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

HOW'S THE MARKET????...


It depends... Are you thinking of buying, selling, renting or investing??? Below are two articles from Sunday's NY Times Real Estate section. They both are necessary reads to answer your customers' questions....

“A Month Free? Rents Are Falling Fast”
In this challenging economic climate of layoffs and shrinking investments, there is a sliver of positive news: it’s a good time to be a renter in New York City.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/realestate/01cov.html?_r=1&ref=realestate

“For Home Buyers, More Bank Roadblocks”
Even if a prospective buyer has impeccable credit and reliable income, many banks are refusing to make loans if they don’t like what they find when they review the finances and bylaws of the building where the purchaser hopes to live.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/realestate/01loans.html?ref=realestate