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Build Your Brand by Being a Better Person

By Susanne Dwyer

Fields_Mark

In the following interview, Mark Fields, president of CENTURY 21 Mark Fields and Associates in Asheville, N.C., discusses branding, culture, luxury marketing, and more.

Region Served: Asheville, N.C., and surrounding areas
Years in Real Estate: 40+
Number of Offices: 1
Number of Agents: 10
Favorite Way to Communicate With Clients: Face-to-face. A lot of communication is nonverbal, so when you text, email or speak on the phone, a great deal of nuance can be lost. It’s the expression on someone’s face that can identify best how a person is feeling, and it could also lead to solutions to challenges and overcoming objections.

What is your top tip for real estate newbies?
Affiliate with a company that represents your values and provides the culture of learning and support you will need to get started—one that ensures its people provide the highest possible level of service to your buyers and sellers. Second, learn the real estate contract. Know all the legal ‘ins and outs,’ but remember that more than 50 percent of being a great real estate professional isn’t what you learn in real estate school. Third, learn how to be a good communicator, which starts with being a good listener.

How do you build yourself as a luxury brand?
Marketing. I have a background in marketing, not through formal education, but through experience. I’ve watched the best people market themselves, and so I learn from the best. Early on, I asked myself who was doing great luxury marketing. I take inspiration from the “greats.” I built my company reputation by becoming the best I could be.

Please describe your company culture.
We are a family. When I hire, I make sure the person’s heart is in the right place. They’re not going to be competing with our family or undercutting the people we work with, and for. We are here for each other. We support each other. No matter how big we become, we care about each other.

What sets your team apart from other brokerages?
When I bring people in, I make sure they’re committing to my company for the right reason—not just to make money, although that’s an important motivator, but to provide the very best service they can. I can’t have mediocrity. I need people who strive to be the best they can be—to provide the best service they can, no matter what. As high-end real estate professionals, we make a lot of money. If you’re going to play the game, you have to truly earn it. You have to offer equal value for what you’re earning. My goal is to never get to a closing table without feeling 100 percent sure that I earned that money.

How are you staying abreast of industry and market shifts?
We’re in it. We’re living it, so we feel it. Every time there’s even a small ripple here, we feel it.

For more information, please visit www.century21.com.

Eisenberg_Zoe_60x60Zoe Eisenberg is RISMedia’s senior content editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at zoe@rismedia.com. For the latest real estate …read more

From:: Real Estate News

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Fannie: Economy to Roar on Stimulus

By Susanne Dwyer

DeVita_Suzanne_60x60

The economy is expected to grow at a full-bodied pace for the year, and boosted further by the stimulus, according to Fannie Mae’s Economic & Strategic Research (ESR) Group’s recently released Economic and Housing Outlook for March 2018. Analysts at Fannie forecast GDP growth at 2.8 percent, barring consumers reining in their spending, the impact of the aluminum/steel tariffs and other influencers.

Analysts are encouraged by indicators that are on a positive trend, such as consumer confidence and jobs; however, dire housing inventory levels are making the market track unevenly.

“Home sales got off to a rough start in 2018, bottle-necked by the persistent challenges of the inventory shortage,” says Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae. “Of course, there’s a flipside to the demand-supply imbalance, and strong home price appreciation continues to come as welcome news to existing homeowners.”

According to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), in the first two months of 2018, existing– and pending home sales struggled. Compounding the issue, potentially, are hiked interest rates; the ESR Group is all but certain the Federal Reserve will move on rates at its quarterly meeting on Wednesday.

“We’re nearly a quarter of the way through 2018, and, as anticipated, the interplay between fiscal and monetary policy continues to frame the economic landscape,” Duncan says. “While we expect the economy to shift temporarily into a lower gear in the first quarter, the pace of growth should accelerate through the remainder of this year and into the next.

“Beyond the obvious downside risks, the economy appears poised to build on a foundation of strong consumer spending and a historically healthy labor market following the recent passage of the discretionary spending bill, on top of tax reform,” says Duncan.

Suzanne De Vita is RISMedia’s online news editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at sdevita@rismedia.com. For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

The post Fannie: Economy to Roar on Stimulus appeared first on RISMedia.

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From:: Finance and Economy

Posted on

Fannie: Economy to Roar on Stimulus

By Susanne Dwyer

DeVita_Suzanne_60x60

The economy is expected to grow at a full-bodied pace for the year, and boosted further by the stimulus, according to Fannie Mae’s Economic & Strategic Research (ESR) Group’s recently released Economic and Housing Outlook for March 2018. Analysts at Fannie forecast GDP growth at 2.8 percent, barring consumers reining in their spending, the impact of the aluminum/steel tariffs and other influencers.

Analysts are encouraged by indicators that are on a positive trend, such as consumer confidence and jobs; however, dire housing inventory levels are making the market track unevenly.

“Home sales got off to a rough start in 2018, bottle-necked by the persistent challenges of the inventory shortage,” says Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae. “Of course, there’s a flipside to the demand-supply imbalance, and strong home price appreciation continues to come as welcome news to existing homeowners.”

According to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), in the first two months of 2018, existing– and pending home sales struggled. Compounding the issue, potentially, are hiked interest rates; the ESR Group is all but certain the Federal Reserve will move on rates at its quarterly meeting on Wednesday.

“We’re nearly a quarter of the way through 2018, and, as anticipated, the interplay between fiscal and monetary policy continues to frame the economic landscape,” Duncan says. “While we expect the economy to shift temporarily into a lower gear in the first quarter, the pace of growth should accelerate through the remainder of this year and into the next.

“Beyond the obvious downside risks, the economy appears poised to build on a foundation of strong consumer spending and a historically healthy labor market following the recent passage of the discretionary spending bill, on top of tax reform,” says Duncan.

Suzanne De Vita is RISMedia’s online news editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at sdevita@rismedia.com. For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

The post Fannie: Economy to Roar on Stimulus appeared first on RISMedia.

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From:: Real Estate News

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Growing Non-QM Wholesaler Adding TX Staff

A wholesaler that has capitalized on the origination of loans that don’t meet the requirements for Qualified Mortgages has opened a new Texas facility with plans to hire dozens of new employees.

Atlanta-based Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions LLC claims that it is the largest wholesale and correspondent provider of non-QM loans.

Parent Angel Oak Companies recently reported that non-QM originations from all of its affiliates, including Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, came to $1.1 billion during 2017.

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From:: Financing

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Mnuchin says U.S. is ‘not afraid’ of a trade war

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday the U.S. is unafraid of a trade war, according to Agence France Press. A trade war “is not our goal, but we are not afraid of it,” Mnuchin said. The Treasury Secretary’s comment came at the end of the meeting of G20 finance officials in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Finance ministers urged the U.S. to stick to a multilateral approach to trade, arguing that failing to do so would spark a trade war. Many countries are seeking exemptions from U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs set to take effect later this week.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

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Cambridge Analytica says it’s suspended its CEO

Cambridge Analytica, the data research firm used during President Trump’s campaign, said it’s suspended its CEO, Alexander Nix, after a U.K. broadcaster secretly recorded him saying the company used bribes and sex workers to entrap politicians. “In the view of the Board, Mr. Nix’s recent comments secretly recorded by Channel 4 and other allegations do not represent the values or operations of the firm and his suspension reflects the seriousness with which we view this violation,” the company said in a statement. Facebook shares have been hammered by the news Cambridge Analytica gained access to private information on more than 50 million Facebook users.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

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Oil prices settle at their highest levels of the month

Oil futures climbed Tuesday, with concerns surrounding declines in Venezuelan crude production and tensions in the Middle East among the reasons prices settled at their highest levels month to date. April West Texas Intermediate crude , which expired at the end of the trading session, rose $1.34, or 2.2%, to settle at $63.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. May WTI crude , the new front-month contract, settled at $63.54, up $1.41, or 2.3%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

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Mississippi governor expected to name state’s first female U.S. senator: reports

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is expected to name Cindy Hyde-Smith to the Senate on Wednesday, according to multiple reports. Hyde-Smith, 58, a beef cattle farmer and a former Republican state senator, would replace Republican Sen. Thad Cochran, who announced he will resign on April 1 for health reasons. Hyde-Smith would be the first female U.S. senator in Mississippi history. To keep her seat, Hyde-Smith would have to run for re-election in November.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

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Fed says snowstorm will not impact meeting

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday said it would hold its policy meeting as scheduled on Wednesday despite the forecast for several inches of snow. The Fed said it will release the FOMC interest-rate decision at 2 p.m. Eastern, followed by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s first press conference at 2:30 p.m.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

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Delinquency90Day032018LP.asp

Despite recent escalation in mortgage interest rates, serious delinquency held steady last month. Current conditions suggest further continued strong performance.

Including first and second mortgages, bank cards and automobile loans, consumer delinquency of at least 90 days was 0.96 percent as of Feb. 28.

Serious consumer delinquency inched up a basis point compared to the preceding month. A 2-basis-point year-over-year increase was recorded for the 90-day rate.

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From:: Financing