According to the Wall Street Journals analysts review of a chart prepared by Yale Economist Robert Shiller

Home prices are almost back to their long-term trend. Adjusting for inflation, U.S. home prices were 40% lower in the first quarter than at their peak five years earlier. That left them just 7.5% above their average level from the mid 1940s through the 1990s—a period when home prices tended to gain at the same pace as the overall inflation rate.

When choosing a real estate agent does the company make a difference?

We here so much today about big brokerage real estate and the importance of the Brand?  In the final analysis the job of the REALTOR® is complicated and cannot be packaged into a brand.  Your first focus should be picking the individual that you feel most comfortable and that has the expertise to get the job done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxhk6WxEDXg

Remember the process should be about you, not the spin and hype of the real estate Company.

For any of my REALTOR® friends out there that read San Diego Lifestyle we just finished our new promo video.  Spread the news and have anyone with a like mind give me a call.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3roZ_cJ0yZY

I have been doing a lot of thinking about my on-line goals for San Diego Lifestyle and came across this wonderful article written by Karen Mead titled Desperate To Be Seen: Learning To Shine A Steady Light. This was a real a ah-ha moment for me.  Thank you Karen and I could not say it better than the quotes below:

But I think this need speaks to such a greater challenge. It reminds me of the trust it takes to stay consistently in our personal truth, to be who we are we openly, to send a steady beam knowing that this is enough.

So the premise of the post is an analogy to business branding to a lighthouse…

The example highlights how a lighthouse doesn’t run up and down the coast, anxiously seeking any boats in the water. It doesn’t cast its beam north and south, right and left, desperate to be seen. It isn’t frantically searching for every possible boat, screaming “Let me help!”

What it does is remain steady, naturally drawing attention to itself by consistently beaming the same message “I am here.”

By remaining true to its purpose, the lighthouse guides the boats that need its direction. When they need it, they find the beam. There are no swaying lights and mixed reference points to confuse the other boats not needing direction. Everyone’s needs are met.

So many in our industry are desperate to be seen when what the consumer needs is helpful beam of light to keep them off the rocky shore.

The on-line strategy for most is to capture leads and spam them mercilessly. My personal belief is to provide the light and have those that need help come to me.  My e-mail policy is very simple, it is not shared with anyone without your permission.  You won’t be placed on an newsletter or drip marketing without you asking.  San Diego LIfestyle is here when you need it.

I am realizing that there is great power in being authentic—that there is strength in truth. As I honor my personal truth without stressing about getting or being more I’m naturally more confident and more successful.

I want to be a steady beam, to know that there is safety in my own truth—that my presence can provide a place for others to be authentic and secure in whom they are.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I am here and I am truly grateful.

Yesterday I took a rare morning off to get some air at the San Diego zoo.  I have been wanting to see the new Galápagos Tortoise exhibit which did not disappoint.  These slow moving amazing animals were doomed for extinction without the help of man.

Gazing down at three of them gathered together got me thinking about the future of real estate brokerages.  While one of the three had it’s neck out a tiny bit, they were gathered together in the false security of each other of yesterday’s strategies.  Frankly it reminded me of the current state of organized real estate, clinging onto dead business models with a false sense of security in the status quo.

Can you afford to hire such a company to sell your most valuable asset?  Today, more than ever, you need a lion, not the tortoise way of thinking.

What do you think?

Courtesy of Flickr - Pascal Wiluhn

An interesting bit of news with a recent court case in California regarding a Seller entering escrow on a sale for $749,000.  Turns out the listing agent and seller did not disclose to the buyer there were 3 loans against the property in excess of 1.141 million dollars.

According to the California appellate case, Holmes vs. Summers, real estate practitioners have  the same responsibility as sellers to disclose information that affects the “value and desirability” of the property.  The court found that the real estate practitioner had a greater duty to disclose facts affecting desirability and marketability of the property than he did to protect the privacy of the seller.

Normally a property would be placed in the Sandicor MLS with full disclosure that the sale may result in a “short sale.”  I would recommend that you have your agent pull title information on any home you are considering making an offer on to save you a bunch of time a grief.

Source: REALTOR® Magazine and RIS Media

Brain Boero over at 1000 Watt Consulting said it best…

In real estate, stupid scales. Excellence lives in small pockets. That’s how it’s always been. And it will be this way until, someday soon, a rising tide of technology and consumer frustration reaches flood stage, breaches the levee, and sweeps forty years of toxic sediment out to sea.

Imagine my surprise today,when in my e-mail inbox, I find this lovely little piece of SPAM.

Really, is this what agents want in their real estate company?

You might want to pour yourself some Kool Aid since this is the weekly meeting over at Prudential California in Scripps Ranch.

Learn how to manifest anything you want in your life professionally and personally and how to have a life of balance and abundance.

• Learning how to do affirmations.
• Learning how to manifest your desires.
• Creating a vision board.
• Goal Setting.
• Positive Energy Exercises.
• Living the life you’ve always wanted to live.

Hey Nick, you might want to take me off your e-mail spam list.  The chances of me coming back to Prudential are slim to none, even if you are a Branch Manager, Trainer, and Coach.

Also the next time you send out your propaganda you might want to fix the “editable text here” on the front of the card.

Positive thinking does not keep ships from sinking.

Update – September 29, 2010

Just got another e-mail from Nick.

I am trying to use my manifestation powers to get off your e-mail list!  Here is a tip how to get Google Alerts.

San Diego, CA – Corinthian Title Company Agrees to resolve enforcement issue with State Department of Insurance.

According to  SanDiego6.com, Corinthian Title has made an agreement with the State Department of Insurance and Commissioner Steve Poizner to resolve an enforcement issue.

Corinthian Title Co. Inc. was accused of failing to file escrow rates between October 2008 and November 2009, despite the fact that it solicited and provided escrow services during that time, Poizner said.

The company also allegedly failed to comply with its underwriter’s filed rates, resulting in overcharges and undercharges, and gave discounts on lender title insurance policies in residential refinance transactions that didn’t meet qualification criteria for those discounts, resulting in undercharges that could be considered illegal rebates to induce the referral of business, according to the DOI.

The settlement with Corinthian includes a $100,000 monetary penalty, plus a $10,000 reimbursement of legal fees and costs to the Department of Insurance, Poizner said.

It is hard to believe that in 2010 we still see these illegal rebates and cozy affiliated companies, at the detriment of the consumer.  Just another sad scheme like the Property ID kickback with Prudential California and other major brokers.

Only one reason a real estate company, broker, or agent should ever refer a settlement service – based on their belief it’s in the best interest of the Client and that the company will provide excellent and competitive services.

Companies, agents, and Brokers should be ashamed for these illegal activities.

“I refuse to allow title companies to break the law through illegal rebating or through overcharging consumers,” Poizner said. “It is mandatory that companies file their schedule of rates prior to charging those rates and the rates they file with the department are the rates they are required to charge consumers — no more and no less.”

Good job Steve Poizner.  Full press release here.

There is a massive movement afoot, as the latest real estate market shift left most traditional brokerages as ships tossed upon a stormy sea. With change comes chaos, in an industry that certainly will be remarkably different in the next decade.

Is the virtual real estate model the next wave, or will the traditional brokerage survive?

An article, “Declaring Independence” appeared in the current California Real Estate Magazine published by the California Association of REALTORS® asks the question.  The article questions how many real estate agents are declaring their independence over the old traditional real estate brokerage models by joining virtual real estate companies.

The mega traditional real estate brokerages limped through the storm, their ships badly beaten with tattered sails and real estate agents full of mutiny jumped ship. Most float listlessly at sea not sure of what direction. Leadership is in short supply and the status quo is gripped that much tighter.

Many of the original captains of these magnificent ships disembarked long ago.  They were being sailed by committees of bureaucrats and yes men. While still seaworthy, their size has left them difficult to maneuver, and the traditional brokerage is slow to change or new ideas.

A thousand new real estate brokers have launched their small virtual real estate crafts from the shore, each confident that they will discover the future of real estate. Fresh, full of hope and charging little or nothing for passage on their vessels, each profess to be the future. Virtual real estate has become the new battle cry, 100 percent, no fees, no bricks and mortar, better technology, and better than before!

Many new virtual brokerages or freedom shops will not  get past the surf line. Lack of real estate experience, clueless leadership, no financial strength, and quickly thrown together business models will break apart at the first sign of a trouble.

The traditional real estate broker super liners are much too expensive to sail into the future.  They are mired in legacy systems.

When an industry shifts, those that survive have a viable real estate business model to stay afloat.  A cheap man will pay twice and he may find himself in a boat with no paddle, or listening to the dance band on the Titanic as it gently sinks into the sea.

So as the storm passes and the sea calms, a new battle is on the way between traditional real estate brokerages and the many emerging models including virtual. Surrounding the agents, confused and frustrated with the shifting models, each is clamoring for them to climb aboard.

Alas, many have lost sight of the consumer in the fervor for change.

It is not about how much money a brokerage or agent makes, it is about the consumers experience. The Client is looking to find those capable real estate brokerages that can get them safely to their destination – not a rowboat full of naive newbies.

I love the real estate industry, and I’m extremely passionate about those that are real estate professionals in the ocean of change.  I hate the amateurs and the laziness of the entitled real estate agent, those choosing to float along with the status quo.  Dual agency, policies of company fixed commissions, and fancy gold plaques.

It’s not about being virtual, small, big,traditional, branded, or full service, discount service, or no service. It is about providing the best possible service and advocacy for our passengers, the clients that are trusting us for a safe journey. Whatever the real estate model, be it virtual or tradtional.

While many will still clamor aboard the giant ocean liners of a bygone area with the perception of being the safest, lets not forget that even the biggest ocean liner can sink or become an outdated relic of the past.

Passion, mastery, and autonomy will be the new flags proudly flown on the future real estate brokerages.

If you are a real estate agent searching for change, align yourself with a brokerage that meets your needs and goals. Wake up and realize that in the 1980′s approximately 97 percent of the brokerages offered a “graduated comission program”. Today this traditional real estate model accounts for only 25% of brokerages.

If you are a customer, select a champion that has your best interests at heart. Don’t climb aboard any boat  in the hope that the journey will be cheaper – the stakes are too high and the markets still full of danger.

Remember, positive thinking does not keep ships from sinking…

Read the full article “Declaring Independence” by Roger Cruzen.

Agents working with big box brokerages start to believe the spin about being number one and the best of the best.

The general perception is the large brokerages make up the majority of the agent population, while in fact, 58.7% of California’s Brokerages are one agent.

Only 13.8% of the brokerages are five or more agents.

86.2% of brokerages are four or fewer agents.

Below is the graph published in the current California Real Estate by California Association of REALTORS® for August 2010.

So who’s the big dog now?

Source – California Association of REALTORS® – California Real Estate Magazine – August 2010

Photo – Source Flickr.