Posted on

‘My Door Is Always Open—Or Is It?’

By Susanne Dwyer

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Power Broker Roundtable this month discusses fostering culture and setting standards for leadership.

Moderator:
Robert Bailey, Broker/Owner, Bailey Properties, Santa Cruz, Calif.; Liaison for Large Residential Firms Relations, NAR

Panelists:
Matt Deuitch, Designated Broker, DPR Realty, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Christy Budnick, Partner/EVP, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty, Jacksonville, Fla.
Jason Waugh, President/CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest Real Estate, Portland, Ore.
Bill Hanley, VP, Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty, Westfield, N.J.
Gary Scott, President, Long & Foster Real Estate, Chantilly, Va.

Robert Bailey: “My door is always open.” It’s a phrase most of us, as company executives, have used with our agents from time to time. But in light of the chain of command we have in place, not to mention the impact of the communications game-changer we call social media, how relevant—how meaningful, really—is the time-honored open door policy? How can we as brokers best tend to leadership concerns while instilling confidence in our new and experienced agents that a fresh perspective or a sympathetic ear is available to them when they need it? The answers may be as different as the personalities who sit in the executive chair—so we’ve asked a few busy, insightful execs to share their modus operandi. Matt, what’s your approach?

Matt Deuitch: It starts with our philosophy. As an agent in the early days, I had brokers who made me feel like I was an inconvenience. I never want an agent of mine to feel that way. In my company, the agent is my customer, and anything else is an interruption. Appointments are encouraged, but agents have my mobile number and the numbers of all our brokers, and direct calls or texts are fine and encouraged.

Christy Budnick: Call it philosophy, or call it company culture—it’s essential to create an environment where your agents know someone is always there for them. In our company, someone always is, and our agents know it’s okay to call any of our brokers. We also encourage self-empowerment. If it’s a contract question, for example, we may say, ‘Go back and study that contract, look for solutions, and we’ll see you in half an hour to discuss them.’ That is the best way for them to learn. Our brokers are expected to block out time for coaching—and they do.

Jason Waugh: For us, as well, it’s about creating a culture of true accessibility, and our agents know we mean that. My attitude is, we’re paying 33 leases on 33 offices, so feel free to call anyone in any one of them. Our brokers understand the value of that kind of company culture. They use it as a recruiting incentive, and they live it every day. They also understand that some issues—legal disputes, for example, or thorny personnel challenges—may be what I call ‘Jason issues,’ and they don’t hesitate to loop me in.

Gary Scott: I think that’s typical in a family-owned business. Our goal is to make a big company feel small. No matter what the org chart says, our agents know we’re there and we care. …read more

From:: Real Estate News

Posted on

Hundreds of Neighborhoods Join the Million-Dollar Club

By Susanne Dwyer

Home prices are continuing to bulldoze records—mounting so much, in fact, that hundreds of neighborhoods have recently joined the million-dollar club, where at least 10 percent of homes are worth $1 million or more, according to an analysis by Zillow. Approximately 345 million-dollar neighborhoods have cropped up in the last three years, with the Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco metro areas forming the most million-dollar neighborhoods since 2014.

“As home values reach new peaks, $1 million homes are increasingly common, even in neighborhoods once considered middle class,” says Dr. Svenja Gudell, chief economist at Zillow. “The U.S. median home value is just over $200,000, but in San Francisco, Los Angeles and other expensive cities, homes are worth much more.”

New York has added 53 new million-dollar neighborhoods in the past three years, the analysis found; San Francisco has added 36 and Los Angeles has added 29. The Minneapolis-St. Paul, Boston, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale and San Jose metro areas have also added million-dollar neighborhoods in substantial numbers.

Several metro areas, however, have added no million-dollar neighborhoods at all since 2014, speaking to their relative affordability even as prices rise: Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio; Charlotte; Houston; Indianapolis; Orlando; Pittsburgh; Phoenix; and Tampa.

Still, the growth of million-dollar neighborhoods could spell trouble for the middle-class and for those who would have difficulty weathering property tax hikes, Gudell says.

“As home values hit seven figures in many neighborhoods, it’s going to have real impacts on affordability for middle-class homeowners whose incomes haven’t kept up, and this imbalance especially has implications for people on fixed incomes whose property taxes are rising along with their home value.”

All told, the analysis tallied 1,280 million-dollar neighborhoods. Four percent of the roughly 30,000 zip codes weighed had at least 10 percent of homes worth $1 million or more.

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

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 Hundreds of Neighborhoods Join the Million-Dollar Club appeared first on RISMedia.

…read more

From:: Finance and Economy

Posted on

Hundreds of Neighborhoods Join the Million-Dollar Club

By Susanne Dwyer

Home prices are continuing to bulldoze records—mounting so much, in fact, that hundreds of neighborhoods have recently joined the million-dollar club, where at least 10 percent of homes are worth $1 million or more, according to an analysis by Zillow. Approximately 345 million-dollar neighborhoods have cropped up in the last three years, with the Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco metro areas forming the most million-dollar neighborhoods since 2014.

“As home values reach new peaks, $1 million homes are increasingly common, even in neighborhoods once considered middle class,” says Dr. Svenja Gudell, chief economist at Zillow. “The U.S. median home value is just over $200,000, but in San Francisco, Los Angeles and other expensive cities, homes are worth much more.”

New York has added 53 new million-dollar neighborhoods in the past three years, the analysis found; San Francisco has added 36 and Los Angeles has added 29. The Minneapolis-St. Paul, Boston, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale and San Jose metro areas have also added million-dollar neighborhoods in substantial numbers.

Several metro areas, however, have added no million-dollar neighborhoods at all since 2014, speaking to their relative affordability even as prices rise: Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio; Charlotte; Houston; Indianapolis; Orlando; Pittsburgh; Phoenix; and Tampa.

Still, the growth of million-dollar neighborhoods could spell trouble for the middle-class and for those who would have difficulty weathering property tax hikes, Gudell says.

“As home values hit seven figures in many neighborhoods, it’s going to have real impacts on affordability for middle-class homeowners whose incomes haven’t kept up, and this imbalance especially has implications for people on fixed incomes whose property taxes are rising along with their home value.”

All told, the analysis tallied 1,280 million-dollar neighborhoods. Four percent of the roughly 30,000 zip codes weighed had at least 10 percent of homes worth $1 million or more.

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

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 Hundreds of Neighborhoods Join the Million-Dollar Club appeared first on RISMedia.

…read more

From:: Real Estate News

Posted on

The Best Cities for Retirees to Call Home

By Susanne Dwyer

Ask any retiree what mattered most in their search for a new home, and most will tell you location. A recent study by WalletHub ranked the top locations for soon-to-be retirees, weighing cost of living, health care, quality of life and recreation—and in a not-so-unexpected twist, the top three locations in the ranking were all within the Sunshine State:

  1. Orlando, Fla.
  2. Tampa, Fla.
  3. Miami, Fla.
  4. Scottsdale, Ariz.
  5. Atlanta, Ga.

Several other cities outside of the top five were named ideal for retirees, as well. Laredo, Texas was ranked No. 1 based on cost of in-home care and cost of living, while Plano, Texas, and Grand Prairie, Texas, were ranked No.1 and No. 3, respectively, in most employed retirees. (Many people of retirement age are simply forced to keep working due to a lack of savings, according to WalletHub.) Some sprawling metropolitan areas are suited for retirees seeking an active lifestyle; Washington, D.C., for instance, is tied for first for the most museums and senior centers per capita.

When it comes solely to weather, however, California cannot be beat: Glendale, Riverside and Bakersfield ranked in the top three for “mild weather,” followed by Scottsdale, Ariz., and Henderson, Nev.

Source: WalletHub

For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

The post The Best Cities for Retirees to Call Home appeared first on RISMedia.

…read more

From:: Real Estate News

Posted on

Craig Beggins: Organic Growth Drives the Future

By Susanne Dwyer

Craig_Beggins

June 2017 marked the 25th anniversary of CENTURY 21 Beggins Enterprises, which bills itself as a “life betterment company.”

“My favorite part about being in the real estate business is empowering, educating and encouraging real estate agents to make their life better, whatever that means to them, while they aspire to provide our customers with their finest real estate experience…guaranteed,” says Broker/Owner Craig Beggins.

While most of the firm’s markets have yet to return to the peak values of 2005, Beggins notes that the first half of 2017 has been exceptional. Thanks to a strong year, the firm—which covers West Central Florida—has opened two new locations and is consistently hiring 12 to 15 agents a month.

Still, there are challenges, explains Beggins.

“All of these new business models that threaten to disintermediate the agent from the transaction, which are attracting large rounds of funding, are a challenge,” he says. “Everyone thinks what we do is easy and can be replaced by technology, but that’s not so. We’re selling 300 homes a month, and there’s not one transaction that’s the same as another. Our agents and our staff go above and beyond normal expectations. Perhaps someday we’ll find a ‘normal’ transaction.”

In Beggins’ opinion, the firm’s biggest opportunity for growth is organic, and he’s currently on a quest to help 300 agents add at least one additional closing per quarter. When accomplished, this will produce a 40 percent growth for the company.

“Being a part of CENTURY 21, we believe in the theory that one plus one plus one equals five. We’re teaching our agents to sell the power of the CENTURY 21 brand, the power of CENTURY 21 Beggins in the local market and their expertise in the trenches,” he says. “We’ve always embraced technology, and with the help of CENTURY 21 and its technologies, we feel very comfortable that we’re on the cutting edge, and, internally, we have a 40-person staff to support our agents. We’re paperless, we have secure email servers and we can literally do an entire transaction and never touch a piece of paper.”

As far as training, Beggins feels he offers something unique.

“It begins with our three-week onboarding process, which leads to what we call Beggins University, a four-day intensive sales training course, both of which are reinforced by a daily team huddle from 8:30 to 9:30 each morning,” says Beggins. “During these team huddles, I expose the celebrations and mistakes that are made so that each agent can gain the experience of a master agent in a short period of time. It’s like an MBA in real estate, with case studies and all.”

Due to this training process, the company is highly attractive to new licensees.

“We’re very good at growing our own. Retention comes naturally from our agents knowing that we have a prescribed system that produces results and frees them up to focus on their customers,” says Beggins. “And, of course, the more productive an agent becomes, the more they’re rewarded by CENTURY 21 and Beggins Enterprises.”

Vitals: CENTURY 21 Beggins Enterprises
Years …read more

From:: Real Estate News

Posted on

Homebuyers: Bring on the Big Yards

By Susanne Dwyer

Homebuyers today are more interested in houses with space to spare outdoors than those with substantial square footage inside—in fact, 56 percent recently surveyed by Taylor Morrison would settle for a smaller house if it meant they could enjoy a larger yard.

Women, especially, favor more in the way of outside space than men (62 percent of those surveyed versus 51 percent), but the preference was reported across generations and by parents and non-parents alike.

What characteristics would the outside of the house have? According to the survey, homebuyers desire space between them and their neighbors most, as well as prioritize the driveway style, exterior paint color, roofing and siding.

Read: 8 Outdoor Trends That Attract Buyers

Source: Taylor Morrison

For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

The post Homebuyers: Bring on the Big Yards appeared first on RISMedia.

…read more

From:: Real Estate News

Posted on

Purchases Offset Refi Gain 3rd Consecutive Week

For the third week in a row, an increase in cashout-driven refinance activity has been more than offset by deterioration in the volume of purchase financing activity.

An indicator of upcoming single-family originations, the U.S. Mortgage Market Index from Mortgage Daily, was 147 in the week ended Aug. 18.

The index, which is based on average per-user rate locks at OpenClose, dipped less than a percent from a week earlier. No seasonal adjustments are made to the index.

…read more

From:: Financing

Posted on

Mortgage Lead Generation Advances

Mortgage lead providers, which have become more prominent as easy refinance business has diminished, have recently launched new offerings and enhanced existing products.

An upgrade to the do-it-yourself AstoriaLeads.com mortgage lead platform is expected to help loan originators more quickly get in contact with customers, Astoria Co. recently announced.

Real-time leads can be filtered by loan-to-value ratios, property type and location, Astoria said. Buyers can also choose between shared leads and exclusive leads.

…read more

From:: Financing

Posted on

Icahn steps down as Trump’s special adviser on regulation

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn said Friday he’s stepping down as a special adviser to President Donald Trump on regulatory-reform issues. Icahn said in a letter he and the president agreed that he would cease the role. He wrote that he didn’t want “partisan bickering about my role” to cloud the administration or the work of Neomi Rao, who has been appointed Trump’s regulatory czar. Icahn didn’t mention Trump’s reaction to the violence at a white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., but his resignation comes after several executives abandoned White House business councils after Trump said “both sides” were to blame.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News