Monday, May 26, 2014

Humbled

Hello all,

"Humbled" 

I had a wonderful experience last week. I was one of 200 Brokers from the USA and Canada invited to Denver for three days to meet to discuss our offices, share ideas and talk about how we can work better with RE/MAX International. They do this every year but it is only a select few who get invited. I could not be prouder for all of us that in only 5 years of being in business we made it into this select group. My head might have begun to swell a little bit and things happen for a reason.

Because then...

On the last day I was paired in a golf cart with Patrick Hare, a nice Irish native from Calgary. For the first couple of hours Patrick was just one of the boys and a great golf companion. Then after 9 holes and about 4 beers Patrick let us know his RE/MAX office in Calgary was the number one RE/MAX office in the world for the last 14 years. As one of our boys in the foursome said "Holy %#@* we are playing with royalty". Got to spend the last 9 holes and a couple of hours at happy hour with Patrick after that and he is one of the nicest people I have ever met. Got a few pieces of information and did the math from there, these are numbers I can't wrap my mind around.

 His one office for 2013:

Average sales price = $530,000

Agents = 275

Transaction = 6,800

Total Volume = 3.6 Billion, correct Billion.

Average Transactions per agent = 25

Average volume per agent = 13,000,000

To put it in perspective, the L&F office on East West Avenue in Bethesda has long been considered the #1 office in the area. They have 264 agents and did a total volume of 1.06 Billion. His agents did 3.5 times their volume. Simply amazing and I am truly "Humbled". However very grateful, thank you all for being with us!

Enjoy the coffee,
Joe


Monday Morning Coffee
INSPIRATION FOR TODAY: "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes." - Marcel Proust   DON'T FORGET TO PACK YOUR INSIGHT! How wonderful it is to learn new things and see new places! How would we ever grow as individuals if we never experienced anything different from that which we see and do in our daily lives? Two different voyages come to mind, however, when considering the discovery of that which is "new" - an outward journey, and one which turns inward. Your outward "voyage of discovery" takes you to different places and new people. You begin to understand other things outside yourself. This can be as simple as discovering new-found beauty on a wilderness "adventure," or having an engaging conversation or correspondence with someone from a completely different part of the country or the world. The ultimate goal here is not just looking at new things, but looking at things in a new way! A change of scenery can effect a change of mind.But you can still experience a voyage of discovery even if you don't travel anywhere, even if you don't meet anyone new. You don't have to change your surroundings, just the way you look at them - with "new eyes!" Sometimes stepping back and looking again at the Big Picture can reveal things that you never saw before. The solution to an ongoing problem can suddenly manifest itself. This can often be the key to unlocking the door to your happiness - finding a way to change yourself instead of changing what surrounds you. For all those situations that seem to be out of your control, you have to realize that you are always in control of yourself. So much stress comes from frustration. Don't keep running up against that rock that represents your problems. Try to act like the water that simply flows around the rock as it continues its journey downstream. Your inward voyage of change can have dramatic results on how you see what's around you! Enjoy your new outlook!


Monday, May 19, 2014

Appraisals

Hello all,

"Appraisals"

We have had several cycles in the real estate market the last 15 years. 1999-2005 it ran hard, 2006-2010 it fell hard, 2010-2012 it was flat and now we are moving in a positive direction again. When the market is flat we usually do not have appraisal issues but when it moves in one direction or another they start to creep in. The reason being is the data is changing quickly and it becomes discretionary to what the data means. One of the sayings in the business is "An appraisal is an art not a science". If you send 5 different appraisers out in a moving market you could get 5 different opinions on value. With the market moving again we are seeing the appraisal issues start to come back. If you get a low appraisal you do have the ability to fight it. If you need help with this your manager and I are there to help. Please let us know and we can meet with you to look over the appraisal and the comps.

Enjoy the coffee,
Joe  

Monday Morning Coffee
INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
 
"All that Adam had, all that Caesar could, you have and can do . . . Build, therefore, your own world." 
 
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
 
IF I WERE A CARPENTER . . . !
 
Picture a builder hiring a new framing carpenter to help construct his new homes. The first day on the job, the new carpenter shows up without a tool belt . . . and without any tools . . . and asks, "Where do I begin?" How much progress do you think would be made by the end of the first day?
 
Most of us at some point in our lives are like the unprepared carpenter. We show up, but have no tools, and haven't the slightest clue what we want to build. Within us, we have the power to build any life we choose, yet at day's end, nothing has changed.
 
Oh sure, we actively pursue the day-to-day activities of our chosen career, yet we don't take time to visualize the finished product - our life. Thoreau said it best: "Live the life you've imagined." Steven Covey said it this way: "Begin with the end in mind."
 
To "build your own world," begin by deciding what that world will be like. Next, gather the tools required to begin construction. Finally, begin practicing until you are an accomplished master.
 
If you want to be a renowned musician, choose an instrument, take lessons, and practice eight hours each day. If you want financial independence, determine a method, learn how others have achieved wealth, and mimic their approach and techniques.
 
Just remember, the world you get is the world you chose. It's an awesome responsibility - knowing that what you become is the result of the choices you have made. It's also an awesome opportunity to enjoy all the peace, contentment, freedom and riches life has to offer.
 
Carpe diem! Seize the day!

Monday, May 12, 2014

Happy Mothers Day

Hello all,

"Happy Mothers Day"

As we were celebrating Mothers Day I got to thinking about all of the hard working Mothers we have in the office. I knew we had more women than men in the office but I have never looked at the exact number, so... We have 144 MRIS ID'S currently of which 95 belong to the women, 67%. Happy Mothers Day to the Mom's, thanks for being with us and your kids should be proud of who you are and what you have accomplished! 

Enjoy the coffee,
Joe 


Monday Morning Coffee
INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
 
"To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly." 
~ Henri Bergson 
 
"All things change; nothing perishes." 
~ Ovid
 
HAVE YOU SPRUNG FORWARD? 
 
The changing of the seasons presents several opportunities throughout the year to consider how life itself changes and how it remains the same. Hearing the first frog calls of spring feels at once reassuring, and also just a little unsettling. 
 
It’s consoling to know that the spring will always follow the winter, that autumn will always follow summer, and so on. But of course, the pattern also points to the fact that another winter has got behind us, and while we enjoy the offerings of spring, that winter season is now gone forever, and there is one less winter in the seasons of our lives. 
 
But the flowers and birds of spring also remind us of the futility of dwelling on seasons gone by. “Be here now,” they tell us, “because the party’s just starting!” The vestiges of the past year haven’t really disappeared, they’ve only morphed into something different and new (again). And the memories don’t vanish; they persist, unchanged, for as long as our minds can hold them. 
 
It’s a basic law of physics that matter can neither be created nor destroyed, so “turn yourself in,” and allow yourself to be subject to the rules of nature. Everything that you can be, you already are. You just have to make the change, like the butterfly from the chrysalis. Then summer will be here before you know it! 

Monday, May 5, 2014

2014 Vs. 2013

Hello all,
 
"2014 Vs. 2013"

So far this year has a completely different feel from last year. In 2013 we had a decent start with an incredible Spring market, around mid March the floodgates really opened. Then in mid June interest rates went from 3.250% to 4.5% overnight and things came to a grinding halt over the summer. Things picked back up in October and we had a decent end to the year. This year things have started slower than expected, it is starting to pick up but we have not seen that big spring surge. It will be interesting to see how things unfold over the next 3-4 weeks. Did we start slow because of the weather and the spring surge arrives or is it going to be a little slower this year than predicted? If things hit hard in the next couple of weeks it could still be that huge year that was predicted. Nothing in the economic news suggest a steep change in the interest rates this year so at worst we will stay consistent for the rest of the year. My money is still on the big surge coming...

Enjoy the coffee,
Joe
Monday Morning Coffee
INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
 
"Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance." 
 
~ Samuel Johnson 
 
GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK! 
 
How many times have you heard it? "Don't work harder, work smarter." This modern cliche has almost become an annoyance - its meaning seems so obvious that we don't even pay attention to it anymore. But such simple sentiments often bear closer consideration, especially since they become cliched because of their inherent truth. 
 
You see, sometimes it really isn't how hard you try. Think back to high school: some students studied for hours for an exam and did poorly, while others studied a few notes and highlights for thirty minutes and got A's. Sometimes it just came down to smarts, but often it came down to how well prepared and organized the students were. Performing well on an exam or project doesn't necessarily reflect higher intelligence - it reflects ability to apply intelligence or strength efficiently. It's qualitative instead of quantitative. 
 
Expend great effort inefficiently and you may well end up farther behind than if you expend less effort in a more resourceful manner. The whole goal should be progress, not the total expense of your resources. It's those folks who can analyze and implement an approach that requires less effort who enjoy the greatest success. We all want to minimize our investment and maximize our returns, right? 
 
If you find yourself trying so hard and not getting anywhere, you're probably experiencing a deep feeling of discouragement. Help yourself out by looking at changes you can make to help you focus more on the solution to the task. Eliminate energy spent that isn't producing results. 
 
Apply a little effort on a consistent and targeted basis, and you'll achieve the progress you're seeking. Jacob Riis observed, "When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before."