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‘Pay for what agents value, unless they’re wrong’ | Chappaqua NY Real Estate
Joseph “Joe” Rand has what he says is one “golden rule” to profitability, at least when it comes to expenses: Pay as little as possible, only for what your agents really value, and pay for nothing else — unless they’re wrong.
Rand is managing partner at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Rand Realty in the New York metro area. Last year, the firm generated about $45 million in revenue, Rand said.
He spoke to a roomful of his colleagues at Real Estate Connect New York City today in a session called “Survival War Room for Brokers.”
“If your business model is aligned with what your agents value, you’ll be just fine. It really depends on you being a good operator and executing on that,” Rand said.
But ”sometimes there’s a disconnect between what agents want and what they should want,” he added.
For instance, his brokerage used to pay for personal assistants for their most successful agents. But then the industry changed and the agents didn’t need those assistants as much, so the firm allowed the agents to spend that money on marketing.
– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2014/01/15/the-golden-rule-to-profitability-for-brokers/?utm_source=20140116&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesam#sthash.Gw830cZN.dpuf
Spike In Westchester Home Sales Is Good For Buyers And Sellers | Chappaqua NY Homes
Westchester home sales increased 21 percent in 2013 over the previous year, which has created a great environment for sellers, said Diane Cummins, president of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors (HGAR).
The White Plains-based group released its 2013 year-end home sales report this week. It showed 13,781 total sales in its coverage area, which includes Westchester, Putnam, Orange and Rockland counties. This is the highest number of sales since 2007, according to the report.
Among the four counties, Westchester only trailed Orange in increased sales over 2012.
“I think we’ve turned the corner,” Cummins said. “I think these numbers demonstrate a consistent growth pattern.”
Sales really picked up in the second and third quarters of the year. They slowed down somewhat in the fourth quarter, which is typical due to the weather and holidays, Cummins said. However, fourth quarter sales in 2013 were up 16 percent over 2012 and 34 percent over 2011, according to Joe Rand, managing partner of Better Homes and Gardens.
“That finished a really strong year. Sales came back in a really big way in 2013,” he said in a video.
With two years of increased home sales, prices are starting to follow, which Rand said usually trails home sales by one-to-two years.
http://chappaqua.dailyvoice.com/real-estate/spike-westchester-home-sales-good-buyers-and-sellers
Mayor de Blasio to party with real estate | Chappaqua NY Real Estate
A powerful cast of public officials, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, is expected to descend on the Real Estate Board of New York’s annual winter banquet on Thursday night at the Hilton Hotel in midtown.
The event, in its 118th year, has long been an opportunity for the city’s largest and wealthiest landlords and developers to schmooze with each other as well as top political figures both in city and state government. During his 12 years as mayor, Michael Bloomberg attended almost every year, one among a long list of senators, City council members and governors who made the year’s biggest New York real estate event a perennial stop on their social calendars.
It had been uncertain, however, if Mr. de Blasio and some of the officials who have filled top posts in his administration would do the same. The real estate industry has greeted the new mayor with unease as he campaigned on populist issues such as growing income inequality and the lack of affordable housing. Those dynamics have been a windfall for the real estate industry, which has rushed to build a new generation of luxury residential towers in recent years.
In addition to the mayor, Police Commissioner William Bratton is expected to attend, along with other top de Blasio appointees, including Tony Shorris, de Blasio’s first deputy mayor; Emma Wolf, the director of intergovernmental affairs; and Alicia Glen, the deputy mayor for housing and economic development. Kyle Kimball, president of the Economic Development Corp., who Mr. de Blasio recently renamed to that position, is also likely to be at the event, sources said. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer will likely attend as well.
HomeFinder.com acquires Open Home Pro | Chappaqua Homes
Real estate marketplace HomeFinder.com has acquired Open Home Pro, maker of a popular iPad app of the same name that helps agents capture and keep in touch with leads gathered at open houses.
In addition to collecting open house leads, the app also helps agents determine whether a prospect is already working with another agent, allows them to set up automatic emails and notifies potential homebuyers when changes are made to a listing they’re following.
The companies claim that more than 35,000 users have downloaded the app – currently for sale in the Apple Store for $14.99 – since its launch in 2010.
Launched in 2009 by media giants Gannet Co. Inc., The McClatchy Co. and the Tribune Co., HomeFinder.com features more than 4 million listings that attract upwards of 3.4 million unique visitors a month to a network of more than 375 news sites, including the ChicagoTribune.com, Azcentral.com and MiamiHerald.com. In addition to the 130 websites operated by its owners, HomeFinder.com powers real estate search on more than 200 websites belonging to GateHouse Media through a May 2011 agreement.
HomeFinder.com also sells advertisting and provides marketing services like Open Home Pro and single-property websites to a network of 20,000 real estate professionals.
“(The app) makes something agents do on a weekly basis much easier,” HomeFinder.com President and CEO Doug Breaker told Inman News. Part of the appeal for the acquisition, he said, was the app’s high rating in Apple’s app store and its lofty volume of paid users.
– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2014/01/14/homefinder-com-acquires-open-home-pro-maker-of-popular-agent-ipad-app/?utm_source=20140114&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesam#sthash.ZgytCb6L.dpuf
Say, ever had any closing issues? | Chappaqua NY Homes
6 Facebook Marketing Tips for Managing Your Facebook Page | Chappaqua Realtor
Wondering what works and what doesn’t for your Facebook page?
Or are you overwhelmed with all of the Facebook tactics you read about?
No matter how long you’ve had a Facebook page, it’s good to review some of the basics for creating a page for your business.
This article includes six simple tips that will make you a more effective admin and make your page more professional starting today.
#1: Check Your Wall-posting Preferences
Does your page get a lot of, ahem, critical commentary on its timeline? Or maybe just more than you have time to deal with easily? If so, it might be time to set your page’s Posting Ability tab so that only your page admins can post.
Here’s how: Choose Edit Page from your Admin panel. Then choose Edit Settings.
You can add/remove admins directly from the Admin panel.
From there, edit the Posting Ability tab and decide if you want everyone to be able to post on your page, or if you want to allow only your page admins to post.
While I normally advocate allowing open access to a page, and even leaving negative posts up so your customers and future customers can see how you deal with criticism, for some businesses it’s just simpler to let people message you privately if they have an issue. Setting to “Posts by Page Only” also prevents Facebook users from spamming you.
You’re able to choose to allow everyone to post to your page or limit posting.#2: Use Insights to Determine What’s Working for Your Page
There are two basic types of Facebook page admins: Those who post based on hunches as to what motivates engagement, and those who look at Facebook’s Insights to see what actually drives engagement.
Checking Facebook Insights will help you give your fans what they want. For example, if you notice that the posts with images have better reach and engagement than those that are text only, try removing the images to see what happens.
Since Facebook is always messing with EdgeRank, it can seem like just when you have figured out the formula for engagement, something changes. Checking Insights will help you stay on track, no matter what algorithmic changes Facebook throws your way.
A few months back, Facebook did a complete overhaul of Facebook Insights and Jon Loomer wrote a nice article for Social Media Examiner that walks you through the latest features.
Facebook Insights provide valuable information about the actions of your fans that can enhance your Facebook presence.#3: Assign Admin Roles
Facebook allows five different administrator roles: manager, content creator, moderator, advertiser and insights analyst. Each role has different capabilities—only managers have the ability to change each admin’s role. Facebook makes all admins managers by default.
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/tips-for-a-successful-facebook-page/