3 Questions Realtors® Are Afraid to Ask

Okay, you might not be afraid to ask these questions, but dollars to doughnuts I'll bet some agents think twice before they ask them. And is it because we're so thirsty for business in a slow market and so we'd rather work with somebody who walks like a buyer and talks like a buyer, but they're really not a buyer? So what do you think?

Any way, here are the three questions realtors are afraid to ask for fear they might turn a client off and yet, depending on the answers, the questions could save them a headache, could save them some time, could save them some gas and ultimately, most importantly, could save them from being distracted so that they miss the real buyers when they come calling:

Are you afraid to ask potential buyers/clients...

(1) Are you working with another agent?

(2) Have you been pre-approved by a lender yet?

(3) If we have a home that fits your needs, are you ready to move on it now?

(Questions from GMAC Reminder Binder)

Your Home Seen by the Largest Audience

Are you wondering about which Mother Lode real estate company to choose to sell your home? Sugar Pine Realty is committed to using every possible means available to attract buyers to get your home sold. This means that we are investing in marketing to the largest audience out there on the world wide web. And the way it works is your home gets posted, of course, to sugarpinerealty.com, and to various other real estate classified advertising sites and more (see below). But beyond that, your home benefits and enjoys the potential of being viewed via other Sugar Pine Realty internet marketing efforts. For one thing, our listings can and do appear just about anywhere online (click here for an example), which in turn becomes a potential portal for buyers to come and see your home. Along with this we have other web and blog sites that we use that have worked well to increase our search engine rankings, which means when buyers are searching for real estate in the Mother Lode, let's say on Google, in many of the primary searches for our area, Sugar Pine Realty most often appears among the Top Ten choices on the first search page. You just can't go wrong listing your home with Sugar Pine Realty where the largest audience will see your home. Here's a list of some of the sites that are a part of our internet marketing strategy (each are clickable):

Classified Sites:
Postlets
Craig’s List
Flyinside
Google Base
Trulia
Realtor.com
Vast
vFlyer

Other sites:
sugarpinerealty.blogspot.com
motherlodemaster.blogspot.com
motherlodelinks.blogspot.com
activerain.com/sugarpine
laketulloch.activerain.com
deltagroup.com
youtube
blinkx.com

One for the Dogs (Cats, Horses, Llamas, Etc.)

Here's a post for all you pet owners out there who are considering a move to the Mother Lode. Whether it's a dog, cat, horse, llama (or anything in between) that you own, when you come to the Sonora area you're gonna want to know where stuff is. And to make it easier for you once you get here, I've gathered together a number of links (see below) to many of the services available in the Mother Lode from pet shops to feed stores to sitting services to veterinary hospitals, etc. You name it, the Sonora area has got it for your pet! Here are the links:

All Services
Jake & LuLu's Pet Boutique

Bathing Services
Dusty's Den
Tia's Tub 'n Toys

Boarding & Sitting Services
All Animal Home-Care
Paws Inn
Sonora Sitter

Feed & Supply
Hurst Ranch Feeds & Fencing
McDillard's Feed & Supply
Spence Ranch Feed & Supply

Grooming
Corrine's Pet Grooming
Yorkle & Friends Pet Salon

Pet Supplies
Angels Pet Center & Supply
Away in the Woods
Pet Supplies

Vets
Alpine Animal Hospital
Animal Medical Clinic
Columbia Veterinary Hospital
Jamestown Veterinary Hospital
Mono Way Veterinary
Sierra Veterinary Care
Sonora Veterinary Group Inc
Twain Harte Veterinary Care

Fall and the Mother Lode Real Estate Market

Fall has officially arrived in the Mother Lode. (Don't you love it?) The leaves are changing (or will be soon), the morning air is becoming crisp and cool, and the real estate market, well, the change of season just affords us another opportunity to consider where the market is and where it's going. I've got a chart below to help you do just that. It includes the Residential Sales of this year and compares them to the previous two years. Of course, the September numbers are just through today (Sept 23rd), but still you get a pretty good idea and it doesn't take much to extrapolate what the final numbers for September might be, give or take. Take a look at the numbers and I'll leave it to you to decide what they say. Click on the thumbnail below to view. (The data used comes from the Tuolumne Multiple Listing Service and is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.)

Set Yourself Apart with Audio/Video

In a tight market it's all the more crucial and incumbent upon real estate professionals to set themselves apart from the crowd. One way to do it is through the use of audio and/or video "welcomes" on your blog or website. It's really quite simple to do it yourself. All you need is a cheap microphone (from Staples or Walmart) and a digital camera and you can create something after the likes of the following two examples. On realestatezebra.com, the agent uses video to introduce himself and his website to customers: click here to view (once on the site click the youtube video on the left). On wealthydecorators.com, the designer uses audio to introduce herself and what she has to offer to customers: click here to listen (once on the site the audio automatically plays). So how can you do this yourself? For video: plan a short script, dress in your Sunday best, get a friend to film you, save it to your computer, upload it to youtube, copy and paste the code to your blog or website. For audio: plan a short script, download a free sound recorder (here), warm up your vocal chords, record your clip, upload it to podbean, copy and paste the code to your blog or website. Of course, you can contact me if you would like some help or have any questions.

Helping Kids Through a Move

When moving your family to a new home, it's especially important to be aware of what your children are facing — new friends, new neighborhood, new schools — and help make the transition as smooth as possible.

Before you move:
(1) Find out as much as you can about your new community. If possible, take your child with you on house-hunting trips.
(2) Visit your child's new school. Ask if there is a dress code and see what kids are wearing.
(3) Help your child plan a going-away party. Give guests stamped envelopes with your new address to encourage letter-writing.
(4) Plan a family outing to say "goodbye" to some of your child's favorite places.
(5) Pack a few of your child's belongings to take with you in the car or carry on the plane, in case there's a delay in moving your possessions into your home.

Once you're there:
(1) Help arrange and decorate your child's room right away. When the kids are situated, work on the rest of the house will go much more smoothly.
(2) Encourage your child to join extra-curricular activities. They're a great way to find new friends with common interests.
(3) Get a map and help your child learn his or her way around. Find out where the nearest locations are for activities your child enjoys.

Along with all this, the best thing you can do for your children is to present a positive attitude about the move, keep them informed and reassure them that you'll be there to help them face new challenges.

What People Are Looking For in a Realtor®

What are people looking for in a real estate professional? The following GMAC survey sheds some light. It was taken of customers who had recently purchased or sold a home. Here's what some said about their experiences with realtors:

1. They didn't keep their promises.
2. They didn't communicate frequently enough.
3. They didn't think agents had their best interests in mind.
4. They couldn't differentiate between real estate companies.
5. They really didn't know what to expect from real estate agents.

The survey went on to say that most consumers found the real estate transaction frustrating, time consuming and stressful.

And so what are people looking for in a real estate professional? Well, according to the above survey they are looking for:

1. Agents who keep their promises.
2. Agents who communicate frequently.
3. Agents who have their best interests in mind.
4. Agents who differentiate themselves from agents of other companies.
5. Agents who clearly spell out their services to their clients.

We at Sugar Pine Realty are committed to delivery in each of these areas. You will enjoy a less frustrating, time consuming and stressful real estate transaction by choosing Sugar Pine Realty. Call us today at: 209-533-4242. (Above GMAC Survey gleaned from GMAC Real Estate Reminder Binder)

Campaigns React to Mortgage Bailout

Yesterday Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain on Face the Nation and Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate Joe Biden on Meet the Press reacted to the government rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Watch the 2-minute video below to find out what each had to say.

Mother Lode Market Numbers to Chew On

The final Mother Lode market numbers for August 2008 compared to August 2007 are in: CLICK HERE. Along with that you'll find the year-to-year comparison for eight months (Jan-Aug) of 2008 versus eight months (Jan-Aug) of 2007: CLICK HERE. You'll also notice the graphs including the Mother Lode Residential Unit Sales through August 2008 graph versus the previous five years (clickable picture 1 on the above left) along with the Mother Lode Residential Volume Sales graph versus the previous five years (clickable picture 2 on the right) and the Mother Lode Residential Average Sales Price graph versus the previous five years (clickable picture 3 below), respectively. (The data used comes from the Tuolumne Multiple Listing Service and is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.) And for those of you that just like to chew on the numbers in black and white, here some of them are:

UNIT SALES: Aug 08 = 58; Aug 07 = 66; -12%
VOL SALES: Aug 08 = $17,053,218; Aug 07 = $23,903,675; -29%
AVG SALES PRICE: Aug 08 = $294,021; Aug 07 = $362,176; -19%