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September 2006
• Sep. 15, 2006 - Bigger Isn't Always Better
The press release sounds impressive:
Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors Inc., headquartered in Traverse City, Michigan, and headed by CEO Ken Schmidt, merged with Woodland Realty, based in Holland, Michigan, and AJS Realty in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The newly formed company will have the largest real estate presence in northern and western Michigan. The company does business as Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors in Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula, Coldwell Banker Woodland Schmidt in Western Michigan and Coldwell Banker AJS Schmidt in Grand Rapids. All told, the company now has more than 600 sales associates and nearly 40 offices.
The largest real estate presence in Northern Michigan. But does it really make a difference? No disrespect to my friends at Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors® but sellers don't really care how many agents you have, especially if they are spread throughout half the state. Sellers want results. They don't care, for the most part, about how big your company, or office is. They want to know about you, the individual agent.
This chart shows the top 10 offices in my local area, based on the sales volume of their agents. Rather than name names, I've just listed whether they are a national franchise, or a non-affiliated office.
| |
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|
Units |
Volume |
| Rank |
Office |
Agents |
Per |
Per |
| |
|
|
Agent |
Agent |
| 1 |
Franchise |
3 |
18.667 |
$2,013,021.67 |
| 2 |
Franchise |
12 |
19.083 |
$1,908,965.42 |
| 3 |
Franchise |
22 |
12.909 |
$1,258,258.09 |
| 4 |
Independent |
6 |
9.333 |
$1,222,500.00 |
| 5 |
Franchise |
8 |
9.25 |
$966,943.00 |
| 6 |
Independent |
5 |
7.6 |
$795,682.40 |
| 7 |
Independent |
2 |
7.5 |
$738,750.00 |
| 8 |
Franchise |
1 |
6 |
$705,900.00 |
| 9 |
Franchise |
18 |
6.4444 |
$622,623.67 |
| 10 |
Independent |
3 |
5 |
$563,300.00 |
Top Ten Offices Based on Agent Dollar Volume
As the chart shows, more agents isn't necessarily the best thing for home sellers. More important is the reputation, and professionalism of the individual agents. In the chart above, if you combined numbers 1 and 2, with 15 agents they would exceed the sales volume of #3 with 22 agents.
Congratulations to Ken and the Schmidt family but locally, it doesn't mean a thing. |
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• Sep. 7, 2006 - Copper Robbers Return for More
It always happens, everyone is surprised that it happens, and nothing ever changes. What is it? Copper robbers.
Scrap copper, along with aluminum and some other metals, has increased to the point that thieves are now stealing air conditioners, water pipes and pretty much anything else that is made of copper. It happens every time the price of copper goes up.
In an article for RealEstateJournal.com, Sarah Schaefer Munoz and Paul Glader report that. "In the past several months, police departments across the country have reported a surge in the number of copper-related thefts at homes, businesses and elsewhere. Police have reported everything from copper vases swiped from gravesites to more serious thefts, such as the copper wire stolen recently from a power substation in Oklahoma City that utility officials say caused a six-hour power outage for 4,000 customers."
Something else for builders and absentee owners to worry about. |
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• Sep. 5, 2006 - Bric-a-brac
Bric-a-brac - something unusual -- perhaps worthy of collecting
Just some things that caught my eye.
In a letter to the editor of Inman News today Stu Siegel CEO & Founder of eNeighborhoods Inc. in writing about leads and contacts, "So, are these "leads" or are they "contacts"? That's a great question that we don't attempt to answer. Instead, we use science to score these consumers, based upon their behavior as they navigate the Web site. For example, if they are searching haphazardly, they get a low score. If they are focused in their search (e.g., specific neighborhood, specific price range, specific housing characteristics), they get a higher score, making them a "hotter lead." The system is also built around automated tools to do everything in our power to drive the consumer to increasing his/her score and becoming a hotter lead over time. So we don't distinguish between "contacts" and "leads." To us, they are ALL leads, just some are warmer and some are colder than others."
A good thing to remember next time someone calls you wanting to sell you a lead.
RIS MEDIA reports that Pat Vredevoogd Combs, National Association of Realtors® president-elect testified recently before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity. In the most recent NAR survey of home buyers, 77% reported that they used the Internet to search for homes. The report also found that of those home buyers who use the Internet to search for a home, 93% of them still use a real estate agent.
MORTGAGE FRAUD - Reports of all mortgage fraud nationwide have tripled since 2003 to nearly 22,000 last year, the FBI says. In the past five years, appraisal fraud has been involved in up to 40% of fraudulent mortgage reports, according to the Mortgage Asset Research Institute. In Colorado, mortgage fraud is “a significant factor” in the rising number of foreclosures, and “bogus appraisals are a big, big part of it,” says Colorado Attorney General John Suthers. One of every 436 Colorado homes was in foreclosure in May, 2.8 times the national average, according to RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosures. The state ranks fourth in the nation for mortgage fraud based on dollar loss and cases under investigation, says Denver-based FBI agent Jean Andersen.
FREE DICTIONARY Over the last six months RealtyU added 800 new terms and definitions to it’s free online real estate dictionary, www.realestatewords.com, expanding the total number of quick-reference real estate terms to above the 2,000 mark. |
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