Old-school real estate marketing is lame, so ‘90s, and so ineffective … but there’s an alternative! Gain a working knowledge of social marketing tools and tactics in Polley’s “Real Estate Marketing Reboot” course.

Want to succeed in new and emerging real estate markets? Then you must be where consumers are, and reach them in ways they want and need.

Polley Associates’ course, “Real Estate Marketing Reboot,” was created by the Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council. During the first part of its day, learners evaluate marketing strategies and analyze buyer profiles

In the remainder, the course helps agents understand and maximize their marketing use of social and interactive media like Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, texting, blogs, e-mail, and consumer forums. It inspires novel approaches that help you create a “personal brand” for your real estate practice, and encourages you to look everywhere for differentiating marketing opportunities that grab consumers’ attention

Course State Approval: Continuing education for Pennsylvania real estate broker and salesperson license renewal.

This is a one-day, 7-hour, live classroom course. No post-course exam is given (except when used for designation; see below). It is approved by, and meets 7 hours of continuing education requirements set by, the Pennsylvania State Real Estate Commission. It can be combined with other courses to fulfill all 14 hours of continuing education required by the Commission for a real estate salesperson’s or broker’s biennial license renewal during the 2014-2016 cycle that ends at midnight on May 31, 2016.

Designation Approval: Accredited Buyer Representation

This also is approved by the Real Estate Buyer Agents Council® (REBAC®) division of the National Association of REALTORS® as an elective to accompany its Accredited Buyer Representative® designation course. If used for designation purposes, passing an exam is required.

Price: $95

Student Material: This course may be accompanied by in-class materials distributed by Polley Associates.

Related:

• PA Continuing Education: What’s That Course About?
• PA Continuing Education: Live Course Attendance
• PA Continuing Education: License Renewal And Reactivation
• PA Continuing Education: License Renewal Online
• PA Continuing Education: First-Timer Requirements
• PA Continuing Education: Re-Activate A License In Escrow

Find Courses For:

• Pennsylvania Real Estate Salespersons and Brokers CE
• Pennsylvania Real Estate Salespersons’ First-Timer CE
• CE For Pennsylvania Commercial Real Estate Practitioners

The post Polley Courses: ‘Real Estate Marketing Reboot’ appeared first on Polley Associates School of Real Estate.

At any given time, today’s real estate professionals may be working with four generations of real estate buyers: Millennials, Generation X, the Baby Boomers, and Matures. This one-day course examines the home buying characteristics of these generations and evaluates their expectations (of agents and of the transaction) as well as communication preferences.

As a turnkey resource, participants receive generation-specific marketing tools, networking tips, scripts, and counseling strategies to help formalize agency relationships.

Course State Approval: Continuing education for Pennsylvania real estate broker and salesperson license renewal.

This is a one-day, 7-hour, live classroom course. No post-course exam is given (except when used for designation; see below). It is approved by, and meets 7 hours of continuing education requirements set by, the Pennsylvania State Real Estate Commission. It can be combined with other courses to fulfill all 14 hours of continuing education required by the Commission for a real estate salesperson’s or broker’s biennial license renewal during the 2014-2016 cycle that ends at midnight on May 31, 2016.

Designation Approval: Accredited Buyer Representation®

This also is approved by the Real Estate Buyer Agents Council® (REBAC®) division of the National Association of REALTORS® as an elective to accompany its Accredited Buyer Representative® designation course. If used for designation purposes, passing an exam is required.

Price: $95

Student Material: This course may be accompanied by in-class materials distributed by Polley Associates.

Related:

• PA Continuing Education: What’s That Course About?
• PA Continuing Education: Live Course Attendance
• PA Continuing Education: License Renewal And Reactivation
• PA Continuing Education: License Renewal Online
• PA Continuing Education: First-Timer Requirements
• PA Continuing Education: Re-Activate A License In Escrow

Find Courses For:

• Pennsylvania Real Estate Salespersons and Brokers CE
• Pennsylvania Real Estate Salespersons’ First-Timer CE
• CE For Pennsylvania Commercial Real Estate Practitioners

The post Polley Courses: ‘Generation Buy’ appeared first on Polley Associates School of Real Estate.

Agents rarely need to spend money to entice these clients back to be represented by them in the future, but they do need to create an environment that encourages clients to make referrals. RIS Media today (May 20, 2014) published an article authored by the Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council, titled “Ten Rules of Referrals,” that covers the topic well. Read it here:

“Ten Rules of Referrals”

Polley Associates is Pennsylvania’s oldest and largest “approved provider” school for real estate career professionals. It also meets the needs of licensees in New Jersey, New York and Delaware.

The post Got A System To Generate Referrals? If Not, Look Here appeared first on Polley Associates School of Real Estate.

The NAR said its 2013 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey showed vacation-home sales rose 10.1 percent last year to 553,000, from 502,000 in 2011. Vacation-home sales accounted for 11 percent of all real estate transactions last year, unchanged from 2011. And the trend may continue, according to association Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, who said favorable conditions were still driving second-home sales.

“We had a strong stock market recovery, which helps more people in the prime ages for buying vacation homes.  Attractively priced recreational property is also a big draw,” Yun said.

The median vacation-home price was $150,000, compared with $121,300 in 2011. That reflected what the NAR reported was “a greater number of more expensive recreational property sales in 2012.” All-cash purchases remain common in the recreation market: 46 percent of vacation-home buyers paid cash in 2012. Thirty-five percent of vacation homes were considered distressed properties.

Who was active in the market? The NAR survey reported the typical vacation-home buyers were 47 years old, and had a median household income of $92,100. They purchased property that was a median distance of 435 miles from their primary residence, although 34 percent of vacation homes were within 100 miles and 46 percent were more than 500 miles. Buyers plan to own their recreational property for a median of 10 years.

Lifestyle factors remain the primary motivation for vacation-home buyers, the NAR said. Among reasons buyers listed for purchasing a vacation home, 80 percent wanted to use the property for vacations or as a family retreat, 27 percent planned to use it as a primary residence in the future, 23 percent expected to rent to others, and 23 percent considered it a good investment opportunity.

The survey was conducted in March 2013.

The post Right People, Property, Price In 2012 Vacation Home Sales appeared first on Polley Associates School of Real Estate.

Real estate licensees, if they intend to be successful, must acknowledge all home buyers – first-timers, repeaters, those who are downsizing, and those who are investing – have fears. Most revolve around losing: losing out on a good deal, losing equity in their properties, losing a low interest rate, losing a bid on the palace of their dreams or, as witnessed all too often in recent years, losing their home altogether.

They’re valid fears for many consumers. Add to the mix worries about buying a lemon and a common lack of understanding of the home-buying process, and it’s no wonder that working in real estate sometimes seems like an uphill struggle.

Top producers rarely falter, though; they usually don’t even see the hill! The reason: they do their best to address consumer fears right up front, and explain how they will help overcome them.

The best salespeople openly admit, for instance, that the housing market was changed forever by the banking crisis. The days of creating instantaneous wealth by buying a home are gone. Like any professional guides, top producers counsel consumers that housing is not a quick-in, quick-out investment. They bolster their claims with solid proof too, like that provided by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. It shows the rate of return on a housing investment increases the longer it is held.

Top producers also recognize that media attention on foreclosure sales and inventory over-supply has generated bargain-hunting fever. They caution consumers that market timing is an almost impossible task, even for world-class economists. The bottom of any market reveals itself only when home prices there begin to rise. By then, the “best bargain” probably has already passed.

So here’s the trustworthy, winning advice record-breaking salespeople give consumers: 1) Find a property within their budget that best satisfies their needs, lifestyle choices and priorities. 2) Buy it right, within the context of the market. 3) Buy for the longer term and, once purchased, let the asset mature.

Just as consumers seek a medical professional to relieve their fears about an illness, they can depend on your services as a professional real estate agent to relieve home-buying fears. Top-notch licensees will identify false fears, work with consumers to address valid ones, and walk them through the entire process.

To win when buying a home, consumers must make many hard, responsible decisions. That becomes easier when you, their agent, keep them informed and dispel or calm their fears. Moreover, it further convinces them that you are the best advocate of their interests.

• Want to join the excitement of NAR’s Nationwide Open House Weekend? Find tips in its “Field Guide to Open Houses,” here. Get promotional resources, here (this will require your Realtors.org login). Find more help from the Pennsylvania Association of REALTIORS®, here.

This article was originally published on the Polley Associates‘ blog
Logo from the National Association of REALTORS®

The post Challenge For Brokers And Agents: Calming Consumer Fears appeared first on Polley Associates School of Real Estate.

Inman, covering an address by Charles Achilles, chief legislative and research officer for the Institute of Real Estate Management during the National Association of Realtors’ mid-year conference, said he predicted that a dizzying array of issues which face commercial property investors also will have an impact on residential housing markets.

Because more municipal governments must deal with budget deficits, Achilles said, tax increases may be inevitable for commercial brokers and their clients. That would only reduce the potential for economic growth, he noted.

• Read a story by reporter Matt Carter, titled “Real estate downturn’s impacts to linger for years” and published Monday (May 16, 2011) by the Inman News Service, here.

Related (to multi-family dwellings):

• Commercial Investors Face Years Of Trouble, Expert Claims
• Market’s Now Looking Better For Multi-Family Housing Units
• Pennsylvania Home Builders Applaud Sprinkler Repeal Vote

Photo from Google Images

The post Commercial Investors Face Years Of Trouble, Expert Claims appeared first on Polley Associates School of Real Estate.

Mortgage interest deductions help “many families become home owners by reducing the carrying costs of owning a home,” Yun contended in his response. “The ability to deduct the interest paid on a mortgage can mean significant savings at tax time,” he wrote.

• Read Yun’s entire response, titled “NAR Letter to the Editor: Who Really Benefits from the MID,” here.

Photo from Google Images

The post Mortgage Interest Deductions Help Homeowners, NAR Replies appeared first on Polley Associates School of Real Estate.

A division of the U.S. Treasury, the office adopted a regulation Feb. 12 (2004) that “exempts national banks from having to comply with state banking laws,” according to the NAR. It fears the new ruling opens a back door for large, interstate banks like Bank of America and Wells Fargo to both get into real estate and avoid the expense and trouble of state licensure.

As a result of earlier lobbying, the NAR persuaded Congress to forbid the Treasury Department from considering regulations allowing federally chartered banks to enter real estate brokerage and property management.

However, than ban will end Oct.1, 2004, unless extended. If Congress then decides to side with banks and permit their entrance into real estate, the OCC ruling would also allow bankers to ignore real estate licensing laws, the NAR argues. “Taken together, these two regulations could create the real estate industry’s worst nightmare,” says NAR President Walt McDonald.

But the OCC issued a press release Feb. 12 claiming its rules were “misunderstood” and (do) “not grant national banks new powers, such as real estate brokerage, nor does it insulate banks from complying with anti-discrimination laws or state laws in such areas as contracts, torts, taxes or generally applicable criminal statutes.”

This article was originally published at Joe Zlomek’s Docket

The post Will Comptroller Office Let Banks ‘Sneak’ Into Real Estate? appeared first on Polley Associates School of Real Estate.