Real Living Lifestyles News

Mark your calendar for February 22-23 and the Real Living Convention and CELEBRATION at the The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

Keynote speakers (like Terri Murphy and Dr. Lawrence Yun) have crafted special presentations to fill these two days with the most relevant and requested information among professional real estate agents.  A sneak peak at some popular sessions:

• Stop Selling! Start Connecting! Strategies to forge relationships that turn into direct business
• The Chief Economist from NAR breaks down the housing market and economic background of 2012
• The Zen of Social Media Marketing.  A calm and effective approach that gets new media to work for you.

Terri Murphy shares a preview of her plans for Momentum 2012

More about Terri

Terri Murphy, President of Terri Murphy Communications and Chief Information Officer of U.S. Learning INC.

As a consultant to the National Association of REALTORS®, and CIO of U.S. Learning, Inc., Terri understands the critical need to interface technology solutions with personal connection to create truly exceptional relationships.

Her session “Stop Selling! Start Connecting! 5 Ways to Bridge Relationships Before you Get to the Door” includes:

• The One Minute Connection – Learn the secrets to engage and build trust with today’s savvy consumer from the very first contact
• Words, scripts, and programs: How to make your presentations irresistible using empowered and magnetic communication presentation skills, tools and communication channels
• The 3 systems you must engage that work 24/7 and provide trackable results to smart customers and clients no matter what the market conditions are!
• The 5 top online tools you must have to compete and win in today’s competitive market to provide real differentiation in your marketplace and never lose to a competitor again!
• The only ways to use social media marketing and networking to show ROI for your time and efforts

Terri was a top producing sales person in Chicago, listing and selling over 100 homes a year for 28+ years. This gave Terri the deep understanding of the unmatchable power of strategic alliances that create a truly unique and strong service differentiation in the marketplace today. Terri is:

• A published author of 5 books, including her most recent book with Donald Trump, The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received
• A consultant to the National Association of REALTORS®, the American Credit Union Mortgage Association and other national associations
• Producer and host of television and radio programs, and has been featured on ABC, NBC and CNBC News as a real estate and sales industry expert
• One of the Real Trends top 50 most influential Women Leaders in Real Estate in 2008

Terri will be speaking on the importance of relationships and tactics that you can use to create innovative ways to add value and support systems that enhance authentic connections with clients and leads.

Speaking: Wednesday, February 22

Inman News, the leading source of independent real estate news, information, advice, research, opinion and commentary for industry professionals and consumers alike announced their choices for the 100 Most Influential Real Estate Industry Leaders.

“The Inman 100 report, an annual list of the Most Influential Real Estate Leaders, recognizes those who embody leadership, ingenuity, strength, conviction, power, persistence, perseverance and progress — their voices and actions can move the industry toward change.” ~ Inman

Recognized in the prestigious list were Harley Rouda Jr., the President of Real Living Real Estate, and Graham Badun, the CEO of Brookfield Residential Real Estate.

At Real Living Lifestyles we are proud to be among the best in Real Estate!  In April 2011, Steve Rodgers, Mark Loscher and Jim Browne changed their eight San Diego County offices to Real Living Lifestyles, Integrated Real Estate Services and joined the fastest growing real estate brand in the nation.

Harley E. Rouda Jr. became president of Real Living last year when the franchise company merged with GMAC Home Services LLC.  Rouda, whose father founded Real Living in 2002, had previously been the company’s CEO and managing partner.  As 2010 progressed, more than 50 former GMAC brokerages affiliated with Real Living growing the brand to 400 offices and nearly 10,000 agents.

Graham Badun began his career in the real estate industry as a loan office in 1988. He joined Toronto-based Brookfield in 1998 and held several executive positions before becoming a managing partner and CEO.  Under Badun’s direction, Brookfield Residential Property Services acquired GMAC Home Services in September 2008 and rebranded that company as RealLiving in late 2009.  Brookfield also operates Canadian real estate franchisor Royal LePage.

Published by Alex Manessis and Russ Schreier of Samuel Scott Financial Group

Today if someone were to ask me if housing was currently a buyers market, the answer would be an emphatic Yes. Interest rates are at an all time low, housing prices are at the same level they were eight years ago, and lending institutions are willing to give loans to those who qualify. This recipe creates an excellent opportunity for those looking to invest, especially in the form of rental properties. San Diego aside from being a beautiful city is also one of the West Coast’s premier college locations.

The major universities in the region San Diego State University, University of California San Diego, University of San Diego, and Point Loma Nazarene have a combined enrollment of roughly 75,000 students. What all these schools have in common is that many students choose to move off campus when they become upperclassmen. Several reasons for this include lower rent, desire to be closer to nightlife, more space, and a greater sense of independence. This creates a high demand for both 9-month and year long leases in the neighborhoods surrounding these universities.

From an investment standpoint this is an excellent opportunity that can be best taken advantage of now during this downturn in the housing market.

1. These homes are affordable. The median price for a San Diego county home is $350,000 (down roughly a third from its 2007 peak). This median price has not been seen since the early stages of the housing bubble in the summer 2003.
2. Interest Rates are at an all time low, about 4%. This will reduce the monthly mortgage payment by hundreds of dollars when compared to the 7-8% rate that one would have received 5 years ago.
3. On campus housing is expensive. For a year housing can cost approximately $11,000 or on average around $1050 a month for a room (and often that is with a roommate).

Imagine you buy a three bedroom home for $350,000 in one of these college neighborhoods. If you receive a conventional 30-year loan with the standard 20% down payment, and a rate of 4.2%, your monthly mortgage payment would be roughly $1370 a month. Now a three bedroom house can reasonably rented to three or four students for (depending on the neighborhood and size of the home) $2400 to upwards of $3000 a month. Rent covers the cost of mortgage and virtually every other expense of owning the home including property tax, repairs, and insurance. In the mean time as the housing market recovers, which is going to happen in the next several years, the value of the home will appreciate. As the economy recovers, rent will rise while your expenses stay virtually the same, bringing in positive cash flows.

Now, I can already hear those of you saying “I don’t want to rent my home to college students.” However, contrary to popular belief not all college students will ruin your home. But if you really insist many young professionals, fresh out of these colleges look for housing in the neighborhoods surrounding their old schools. Purchasing a rental home in college neighborhoods is an ideal situation, precisely because there are so many  college students (and young professionals). There are in fact thousands of potential tenants who are looking to pay less than they would on campus. Neighborhoods such as College East, College West, Morena, Linda Vista, La Jolla, Pacific Beach, and Mission Beach are high demand locations for the college student in San Diego, and thus are ideal places to think of investing.  Think of housing as a service that you can provide to students while at the same time covering your own costs in the investment. It’s a win-win for both sides. For more information in obtaining a loan or any other questions regarding the possibilities of purchasing a rental property contact a loan professional at Samuel Scott Financial Group.

A Message from Real Living Real Estate’s President, Harley E. Rouda, Jr.

To the Real Living agents:

Recently, I had the privilege to announce that our parent company, Brookfield Residential Property Services, acquired Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services.

This means that we are now under the umbrella of the #3 player in the North American residential real estate brokerage market. We now exist within an entity that consists of almost 80,000 real estate agents and 2,800 locations.

When many companies are retreating with doubts about the U.S. market, through this transaction Brookfield RPS is showing confidence in the real estate market and commitment to the industry. I hope you share my sentiments that it is fantastic to be a part of this company.

Through such an expansion, we reach a prominent position within the industry. Our goal is to continue to grow and provide you with technologies and services that help you build your client roster, personal brand, and business as a whole.

I hope each and every one of you is as excited about this news as I am. This is a great time to be a part of Real Living. What was already a hugely successful year has come to a close with a bang, and I can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store.

Wishing you the best of holidays and a happy New Year!

Real Living in the NewsReal Living Northwest REALTORS^® hosts annual holiday event, garners leads

The holidays are always a time to celebrate. Real Living Northwest REALTORS^®takes the opportunity during this time to host an annual holiday event for their clients, family, friends, and vendors.

Get Real was able to sit down with Stephanie McCarthy, broker/owner at Real Living Northwest REALTORS^®, to talk about a recent holiday event her brokerage put togetherGR – What was the event?

SM – “The Real Living Tree Hunt” is an annual event we do for our past and present clients, family and friends. It is a way of saying ‘thank you’ while creating a tradition.

We partnered with Stocker Tree Farm, who gave all of our attendees a discount of 10% off on the tree they cut down. A Title Officer we work with dressed as Santa and we had a photographer for family photos. There was a station for making tree decorations and holiday cookies, hot chocolate and coffee were also available. Great fun was had by all!

GR – Why did you decide to put the event together?

SM – We wanted an event that is fun for the whole family. This event is so special because it gives our office and agents the ability to re-connect with their clients and sphere, and then to spend a couple of hours with their families instead of just receiving a card via email or through the mail.

GR – How many people attended the event?

SM – As it turned out, we had 124 people come to the event. We received a lot of positive feedback saying it was great!  We had many past clients come who now use this event as one of their holiday traditions.

GR – Did you utilize any Market Advantage materials in preparation for this event?

SM – As for the preparation for the event, we had our Marketing Manager create an invite through Market Advantage and create a group called Events where we place our contacts. We also told our agents to do the same and then created an initial invite explaining the event and used it as a save the date.

We sent this out one month in advance.  We then sent a second reminder the following week.  The last two weeks before the event we called everyone to touch base and get a final head count for food and decorations.

GR – How has this event helped your business so far?

SM – From the Santa Pictures we took, we created a cute frame around each photo and sent them out as a ‘thank you’ for attending the event. During this time, I had three people refer a family or friend that we are now currently working with in finding homes.

Long ago, I learned that having a gathering over sending a special gift or card would be better money spent because you would get the opportunity to strengthen an existing bond and remind them about what we do.  It really works!

Congratulations to Stephanie and her team for a successful event.

Network Testimonial – Finding success with the Real Living eNewsletter

One of the most popular marketing tools provided by Market Advantage is the eNewsletter. Blake Eudailey, CRS, of Real Living Eudailey Real Estate, began using the eNewsletter during the summer and months later; he has found it a complete success.

“After the first month of them going out, one of the contacts called me for a listing appointment. That resulted in a listing that sold after 30 days,” says Blake. “Now I’m selling that seller another house. I already have two more listing appointments as a result of the last eNewsletter that went out this past week.”

The eNewsletter comes in many different formats, ranging from ‘pre-built’ with a variety of topics to ‘build your own’ where you can write about what is most important to your target audiences.

In addition to generating leads, Blake points out that he is able to engage with many of his existing contacts who respond directly to him, appreciating the information and complimenting the content.

“I can’t believe how simple and user friendly it is, and it’s free! I can’t think of a more effective and simple way to stay in front of people.”

If you haven’t created one yet, consider it. A video tutorial on Market Advantage guides you through the easy step-by-step process of creating your own personal eNewsletter. It’s a simple way to keep prospects, clients and leads in the loop.

Real Living HER Awarded Best Real Estate Agency

For the third year running, Real Living HER has been named the Best Real Estate Agency (Residential) 2011 by Columbus CEO Magazine’s Best of Business 2011. The award was accepted by Jim Stevenson, SVP of Marketing and Strategic Initiatives for Real Living HER and Real Living Realty Services.

“We are humbled that the readers of Columbus CEO have awarded us with the designation of Best Real Estate Brokerage,” says Jim. “This shows the level of professionalism and visibility of our associates, and their ability to deliver services to the central Ohio community.

Since Harley E. Rouda, Sr. founded Real Living HER in 1956, it has been a brokerage of choice for residents of central Ohio and many reasons are attributed to its continued success. “The momentum created from having established strong local roots more than half a century ago is a powerful force,” says Jim.

“Now coupled with state-of-the-art technology tools, the most professional associates in the business, and more recently, the partnership with Brookfield, has created a unique one-two punch – we have the local knowledge and heritage combined with the global resources to truly deliver an exceptional real estate experience from start to finish.”

On behalf of the Real Living network, we would like to congratulate Real Living HER on receiving this award, and wish them continued success.

Dilbeck Real Estate Real Living Celebrates New Office

On Wednesday, October 12, Dilbeck Real Estate Real Living held a gala event in celebration of the grand opening of their newest office located at 600 Brand Blvd., Suite 210, Glendale, California.

As 5:00 p.m. rolled around, Dilbeck Real Estate Real Living opened its doors to over 150 real estate agents, affiliates, and local celebrities who all wanted to be a part of the celebration with Shannon Cistulli, Branch Manager, and her team.

“This new office has a modern look and better visibility in the community,” says Shannon. “It’s smaller, but designed more for meeting clients with a large conference room and wide screen monitor. This also accommodates the new working style of agent who does not require a large private office.”

“Shannon and her team have extensive expertise and knowledge of the Glendale housing market and are committed to delivering Full-Service Real Estate Services to the local housing market,” said Mark Dilbeck, President of Dilbeck Real Estate Real Living in a recent press release. “This team will be a tremendous asset to real estate buyers and sellers in the Glendale community.”

This new office will help serve the Glendale region with residential sales and relocation, commercial sales, corporate sales, new home sale, estate home sales, along with related escrow, title, and, financing services. For pictures of the grand opening, view the album on Facebook.

On December 6, 2011, Brookfield announced their acquisition of Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services.  The story is being featured on news sites like Inman News, RIS Media and Business Week.

There are also many media outlets and real estate networks that are sharing this incredible news with their local communities.  With more than 80,000 real estate professionals now associated with Brookfield Residential Property Services, there is a lot of information being distributed through a variety of sources.

To be sure that the most accurate information is readily available, Brookfield released the following answers to most asked questions.

They also released a four page Fact Sheet with full details on the acquisition and the brands that operate within it’s network. Download the Fact Sheet from Brookfield

Why is Brookfield buying Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services?

Brookfield is a strong global company that is focused on and deeply immersed in the real estate brokerage and relocation services sectors, is in the business for the long-term, and is looking for continued domestic and international growth.

High-quality real estate and relocation systems of this size and scale rarely become available, and we are delighted to be able to capitalize on this opportunity.

The addition of Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services to Brookfield’s real estate businesses establishes Brookfield as the #3 player in the North American residential real estate brokerage market with almost 80,000 real estate agents, 2,800 real estate brokerage locations, and more than $150 billion in annual residential real estate transactions. The combination of the Prudential Relocation Services and Brookfield Global Relocation Services businesses creates the clear #2 player in global relocation, managing close to 85,000 relocations per year, in and out of over 125 countries around the world.

Brookfield and Prudential are a great fit, sharing a passion for the business and a strong commitment to exceptional customer service, and combined will be part of a bigger, stronger organization. And as part of our strategy, we’re committed to making long-term investments in platforms that we have a history of operating successfully.

Who is Brookfield?

Brookfield is a leading global provider of real estate and relocation services, analytics and knowledge. It is a division of Brookfield Asset Management Inc., a NYSE-listed global asset manager with approximately $150 billion of assets under management.

With this acquisition, the company’s portfolio consists of leading brands, including Brookfield Global Relocation Services, the second largest provider of global relocation services, Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, including Pricoa Relocation, Brookfield Real Estate Services Inc., Royal LePage, Real Living, Via Capitale and Centract. Through its real estate brands, it has nearly 80,000 real estate professionals in more than 2,800 locations, who transact over $150 billion annually. Its global footprint spans North America, the United Kingdom, France, China, Singapore, India, Brazil and Australia, and includes more than 2,500 employees worldwide.

Who will lead the combined company?

Graham Badun, CEO of Brookfield Residential Property Services, will be responsible for the combined entity. Earl Lee will continue to lead the U.S. real estate businesses, and Rick Schwartz, President, Brookfield Global Relocation Services, will assume responsibility for the combined global relocation services business. Phil Soper, will continue to lead Brookfield’s Canadian residential real estate operations.

Will Harley E. Rouda, Jr. continue to lead Real Living?

Yes.

Additional Talking Points:

• Brookfield Residential Property Services, a Brookfield Asset Management Inc. affiliate, announced on December 6, 2011 that it has purchased Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, which operates as Pricoa Relocation in Asia and Europe, from Prudential Financial, Inc.
• Brookfield is a leading global provider of residential real estate franchising and employee relocation services, technology and knowledge; It provides a full suite of residential, relocation and analytic services designed to meet the unique real estate needs of clients across the globe;
• They are residential real estate franchising and employee relocation services experts, part of Brookfield Asset Management Inc., a NYSE listed asset manager with approximately $150 billion of assets under management, meticulously put together during a 100-year history.
• This announcement does not introduce any immediate changes to the tools and business processes that impact how our franchisees, agents and their clients interact with us – it is business as usual.
• The expanded scale of our combined businesses will ensure that we remain at the forefront of the industry and positioned to provide the leading-edge tools and technologies our clients need.  We are committed to making this transition as seamless as possible for our clients, and will continue to deliver the exceptional customer service you have come to expect.
• Prudential Real Estate and Brookfield Real Estate affiliates and agents will continue to operate as separate networks.
• This transaction demonstrates Brookfield’s belief in the US residential real estate business by investing in the Prudential network when others are retreating.

• This transaction will combine Prudential Financial, Inc.’s real estate and relocation services companies with our businesses, to create a new global industry powerhouse, positioned to grow and lead the market. We believe it is an exciting development for our franchise networks. The expanded scale of our combined businesses will ensure that we remain at the forefront of the industry and positioned to provide the leading-edge tools and technologies to our franchisees so as to enhance and continue to grow their businesses.
• The addition of Prudential to Brookfield’s real estate businesses will establish Brookfield as the #3 player in the North American residential real estate brokerage market with almost 80,000 real estate agents and 2,800 locations; (ranking is based on the 2010 Real Trends Top 500, published in May, 2011)
• Brookfield’s real estate business now transacts over $150 billion annually (2010 transaction dollar volume).

Stay on top of the story as it unfolds on Brookfield Residential Property Services website.

You may want to stop waiting and start moving on the purchase your new home or refinance of your existing home; the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage rose sharply this week after falling below 4 percent for the first time in history.

Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year fixed loan rose to 4.12 percent. That’s up from 3.94 percent last week, the lowest rate ever, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage, a popular refinancing option, increased to 3.37 percent from 3.26 percent, also a record.

Why the increase? U.S. mortgage rates climbed from the lowest level on record after better-then-expected economic data. Mortgage rates are low because they tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note; the yield rose after the government reported modest job gains in September and revisions to show more hiring in July and August, plus optimism that Europe’s debt crisis will be contained.

“The economic news has not been nearly as bleak as we’ve become accustomed to,” said Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH Associates, a loan-data firm in Pompton Plains, New Jersey. “Money has crept its way out of the safe havens of Treasuries and back into equities and there’s been a slight lift in interest rates as a result.”

Need another reason to finally get off the fence? A U.S. housing recovery will begin in 2012, building on a “pent-up demand” for homeownership, according to Ron Peltier, chief executive officer of HomeServices of America Inc.

The housing market is being held back by high unemployment and tough underwriting standards, he said in an interview on Bloomberg Television.“We tend to think that the cycle is close to its end,” Peltier said. “We will be bouncing along the bottom and I think by mid- to late- 2012, we will begin to see a recovery.”

Low mortgage rates have fueled a modest boom in refinancing. Economists say rates need to fall at least a full percentage point before it makes sense to refinance again. The reason is that homeowners typically pay a few thousand dollars in closing costs when they refinance.

Rates have been below 5 percent for all but two weeks in the past year. Just five years ago they were closer to 6.5 percent.

So why wait any longer? Run to the phone and call your real estate agent, who can guide you on how to best take advantage of the low, low rates – lower your current payment or be in your new home before 2012!