This is a message to all the real esate agents that I know and love who haven’t changed the photo on their business card and other materials for 20 or more years!
Sure, I’d love to look the way I did 20 years ago. Well…not quite. I’d love to look as YOUNG as I did 20 years ago and still have an updated look that says 2010 – not 1990. One of the reasons I don’t have a photo on my business card or web site is because agent photos have gotten so ridiculous. I’m firmly convinced that if I put my 45-year-old mug on a card, people would automatically think I was 80 years of age. After all, having a photo that is dated to about half of our actual age seems to be the industry standard.
So here are 10 signs that the photo on your card and other publicity might be a tad — ahem— dated.
1. You have a child the same age you were when that photo was actually taken.
2. Your eyeglasses cover your entire face.
3. Your hair is bigger than the eyeglasses that cover your entire face.
4. The padded shoulders on your power suit make you look like a football player.
5. Your kids laugh hysterically when they see the photo and ask “did you really look like that once?”
6. Your hair, clothing, and makeup make you look like you are dressed for a costume party with a vintage theme.
7. NO ONE recognizes you from your photo.
8. You have a full head of hair and sideburns in the photo – even though you have been bald for years.
9. You lapels and tie are so wide they cover your entire chest.
10. Your new client runs away in fear because they think the strange older person approaching them is impersonating the young hot agent they contacted.
Last year around March a young couple called me up seeking a buyer’s agent. They were about to get married and they wanted to buy either a coop or condominium. We were at the height of the credit crisis but they were in great shape to make that first purchase and so we went on our way.
There was one distinct caveat…they wanted to a dog – and they wanted a German Shepherd. Now this is a challenge. But let’s face it – I’m a sucker for anyone with a dog. After all, I have three goodly sized canines myself in the form of 2 Siberian Huskies and a Husky/Cattle Dog mix.
Dogs are tough sale to condo and cooperative boards:
But here are the facts: Its tough enough to find a condo or cooperative that will accept dogs – but a German Shepherd is much tougher. Even if the complex accepts larger dogs many are restrictive with respect to breeds. The German Shepherd, Rottweiler, Akita, Pit Bull, and from time to time my beloved Siberian Huskies are often on the chopping block specifically by condo and coop boards. Why? These dogs are supposedly known to have attitude problems such as a tendency to attack/bite, over-protectiveness and the like.
To me, as an animal person who understands dogs quite well – (I’ve lived with 8 dogs over the course of my life) I think that boards would do better to concentrate their efforts on the individual dog and its owner rather than the breed itself. After all, dogs, like their human counterparts have individual personalities. My two pure huskies are like night and day personality wise. The owner also plays their part. Aneglectful owner who doesn’t care about those living around them can turn the sweetest and most agreeable dog into a nightmare for his neighbors.
Buying a condo in White Plains NY can be very expensive. Cooperatives offer a viable alternative and financially stable complexes are great investments. But for those who own dogs, relatively few are pet-friendly. Here is one of the premier cooperative complexes of White Plains – and the best part is that its pet-friendly.
The Surrey Strathmore is a complex of six mid-rise buildings which surround a courtyard. This is perhaps one of the more upscale cooperatives in White Plains. Built in 1939, the complex boasts some of the graces of a by-gone era. The ceilings are 9 ft high, and graceful archways separate living room, dining room and kitchen areas. Each unit has at least one of the Surrey Starthmore’s signature curio nooks. The floor plan is excellent.
Located at the Southern end of White Plains, the Surrey Strathmore is located on Bryant Ave which almost acts as the “dividing line” between the Southern residential area from the Northern downtown. So, the Surrey Strathmore sits on the edge of the residential neighborhood, the Highlands where quiet walks on tree-lined streets are just a block away. Perfect for a walk with the dog. On the other side is the beginning of the downtown area within walking distance of the famous and upscale Westchester Mall, Whole Foods, Cheesecake Factory, Morton’s Steak House along with some favorite local restaurants including Iannelli’s. A bus taking commuters to the White Plains Train Station stops right at the corner of Bryant Ave and Old Mamaroneck Rd. – which is the Southwest corner of the complex.
The Scarsdale market began its correction towards the end of 2007. Scarsdale homes went down substantially in value through 2008. In spite of the financial meltdown at the end of 2008, the Scarsdale market has actually been firming up over the past year. Although this has not been smooth ride, there are signs that the market is stabilizing – or at least depreciating at a slower rate. In many ways the Q4 data reflects the Q2 data where year over year home values had started to nudge up. In Q3 many of these gains were erased, but they were back in the 4th quarter.
There are several issues that could derail this trend. Subsidies for mortgages will be ending putting pressure on interest rates. Further, Scarsdale is not immune to the shadow inventory of foreclosures that have yet to hit the market. the high-end will probably not be spared a share of short sales and foreclosures.
Scarsdale NY Cooperatives:
Cooperative sales prices remained stable from the previous year with the average sales price of $251,000 for both years. Sales volume was impressive when compared to the doldrums of the post-crash 2008 – up 72% over the previous year. The swollen inventories have decreased and there is only a 4.9 month inventory currently on the market. This is consistent with stable prices. Read the rest of this entry »
Sometimes I post something that has nothing at all to do with real estate. Not too many people know this about me, but years ago I studied piano quite seriously. I was actually a music major during my college days and my B.A. is indeed in musicology.
I have very short fingers and my former organ teacher from those days apparently remembered and emailed me the link to this hilarious video. Now I know that music purists will argue that this particular piece is not that tough to play. Still, I thought it was hilarious because most Romantic works required me to roll many of the chords…
The housing recession continued to exert its impact on local markets. Hartsdale was no exception. Areas such as White Plains and Hartsdale were late to the recession party. For a while it looked as though they might emerge somewhat unscathed. But the market crash of 2008 caused the correction to reach the lowr Westchester market. The question remains as to where the bottom of this market truly is. I have given up making too many predictions. What conclusions one can come to are generally based on current inventories and the absorption rate. Since housing is supply and demand – low inventories stabilize prices. In any case, the decline is not over, but it is fair to say that the free-fall of last year seems to be winding down.
Hartsdale NY Cooperatives:
Entry-level markets fared better than other sectors so far during this correction. Cooperatives in Hartsdale show a similar pattern to that of White Plains. Prices are down 3.3% over last year. However, I would warn that this might reflect the increased sale of 2 BR units over 1 BR units. As prices fell, buyers found they could afford a bigger unit – creating statistics are artificially favorable. If you are a seller, be careful not to overprice your coop. Inventories are low and volume is only slightly lower than the previous year. So, for the moment, this is more stable market than most. Read the rest of this entry »
Kris Berg wrote a very compelling post on Inman yesterday Don’t Forget the Customer The article was spot-on about how brokerages function – and often how the function to the detriment of the consumer.
Now, I think most consumers would understand that in order to keep their doors open, a brokerage needs to be profitable. The bottom line for any business is that they must turn a profit or close their doors. Ideally, profitability should be tied to customer service. The agents of a brokerage should provide outstanding customer service including intelligent negotiating skills, a fine marketing plan, and service that smoothes the transaction process. Unfortunately, that model is not the prevailing one among brokerages.
The way brokerages function often is a mystery to the consumer and it often comes as a shock to new agents who think that the brokerage is there to “support” them. After all they are paying very hefty splits to the brokerage -supposedly for leads and support and training from the brokerage. And therein lies the rub for the consumer. Most brokerages disconnected from customer service and the newly licensed agent course became the big cash cow. They recruited and recruited throwing anyone with a license and a pulse up against a wall and hoping that something will stick. Even a non-productive agent had a couple of good deals in them from family and friends. Read the rest of this entry »
Back in the bull market days of 2005-2006 the notion of needing to “stage” your home for a faster sale was nearly laughable. But home sales in the Westchester market are not what they once were. As most seller’s are painfully aware – this is not 2006. There is ample inventory on the market, prices are down and buyers are increasingly picky. Things once deemed insignificant now become major stumbling blocks to a successful sale.
Increasingly, listing agents, myself included, are encouraging sellers to stage their homes prior to putting them on the market. That includes, but is not limited to painting, pointing up and arranging furniture in a way that maximizes the potential of the space and creates a neutral atmosphere. We ask that seller’s depersonalize the space so that buyers can “mentally move in.”
Although I am not one to spend a homeowners money needlessly, there are times when I feel staging is essential. Staging is most beneficial in the following cases:
An Empty Home:
When the sellers have moved out – they tend to leave an empty shell of a house that used to be a home. That house can tend to lack personality and be all too forgettable to a prospective buyer. Right now there is an excess of inventory that is completely unfurnished and after a while they can all start to look the same to buyers. If a house is in danger of becoming that forgettable – it needs staging in order to stand out in the eyes of buyers. Read the rest of this entry »
The housing market in White Plains has taken a drubbing since the stock market crash of 2008. Although some adjacent areas are showing small signs of stabilization, the same can not be said for the city of White Plains. This is ironic because White Plains was at the epicenter of the housing boom for Westchester County.
White Plains NY Cooperatives:
Cooperative prices were actually up slightly over the same period in 2008. However, this slight uptick might be do to an increase in the proportion of 2 BR units in the sales statistics. The previous quarter showed a grim 17% price reduction and recent sales in specific complexes indicates that this downward trend is continuing. Since 2 BR units are suddenly far more affordable, buyers are finding that they can afford a larger unit. Sales volume is down 17% over the previous year and the current inventory of 9 months indicates a buyer’s market undergoing a price correction bordering on double digits. Read the rest of this entry »
It is very interesting that just as consumers are demanding ever more hyper-local content and knowledge from agents that we are also seeing another distinct trend in the opposite direction: the tendency to list and sell to larger and larger geographic areas.
The contrast between old-school hyper-local agents and the newer nomad agnet was driven home to me while I was working with two listing agents who still work exclusively in small niche markets. I was at a closing with one of them and she implied that since I had the entire city of White Plains to cover, why didn’t I simply refer out the client who finally bought in Scarsdale?
Can a real estate agent be too local?
I knew that the attitude about staying hyper-local is alive and well though it appears to be a staple of old-school real estate. Still, I was more than a tad surprised. Scarsdale is not the moon. It is the town directly adjacent to the west side of White Plains and about a whopping six miles from my front door to the center of the village. If we followed this line of thinking to its most extreme would mean that a buyer potentially moving from New York City to Westchester NY would have to have as many as five or six agents to explore all the possibilities open to them that were within about 30 minute commute. For the consumer this seems most unwieldy if not highly impractical. Could you imagine the mountain of agents all crawling over each other for the buyer’s attention? What a mess. Not to mention a monster of coordination.
From the agent’s perspective, there could also be a danger to being too local. What if something happens to that small segment of the market you represent? If your geography/price range are razor thin – you are setting yourself up for trouble. This was clearly seen this year when agents who specialized in small high-end markets got creamed because jumbo loan issues bit them in the backside. Another listing agent I encountered was used to selling about 10 major properties a year – but this year had only managed a single sale.
