Holiday Home

Here’s some reasons why..

1. There is a higher percentage of serious buyers. Many need to find a home before the end of the year.

2. Less competition for your home. Residential housing inventory historically decreases during the holidays and rises after New Years.

3. Your home presents better and is more welcoming to buyers because of Holiday decorating, cooking, etc.

4. Your home will have a marketing head start. Buyers and agents become familiar about your home early, before the New Year’s increase in inventory.

SHASTA MLS REAL ESTATE UPDATE

Available residential listings: 1,402 (down from 1,413 last week and 1,422 two weeks ago)

Homes in escrow: 465  (up from 450 last week and down from 467 two weeks ago)

Homes closed escrow so far in November: 100

Homes closed escrow  in October: 188

Homes closed escrow in September: 213

Homes closed escrow in August: 174

Homes closed escrow in July: 181

Homes closed escrow in June: 184

Homes closed escrow in May: 198

Homes closed escrow in April: 142

Homes closed escrow Year to Date: 1790

We finish strong for each client.

Call 530-224-6700 for details

State of the Company: Real Estate Professionals GMAC

Celebration Breakfast

February 3, 2009

Ross Domke Broker/Owner

Our Market and Our Place in It

I’d like to take this time to reflect on 2008 and to discuss what to expect in the months and years to come for our company. I will answer the following questions:

Where are we?

Where are we going?

How will we get there?

As we all are aware, 2008 was undoubtedly a year of economic turmoil. We witnessed and continue to see the destabilization of some of our most respected institutions by financial crisis and scandal (and often both). There are daily announcements of companies in crisis and subsequent job losses.

In this crisis of confidence REP-GMAC will have a continued commitment to our core values of integrity, excellence, passion and community. These values will be defining characteristics that will continue to set REP-GMAC apart from other real estate organizations. Our core values express who we are.

Where are we?

We enter 2009 very well positioned for a challenging market environment. This positioning is grounded in several facts that represent our strategic market advantage.

1.     Dominant and growing market share. Our market share in Shasta County has increased by over 20% in 2008 compared to 2007. We continue to be #2 in market share. However the #1 market share company, with 3 times the amount of agents, is only doing 30% more business than we did.

2.     We continue to have the greatest average productivity per agent of any large brokerage. We had an average agent income of close to $50,000 per agent in 2008.

3.     We have the highest concentration of successful, experienced agents in Northern California.  We have 5 Realtors of the Year including the recent 2008 award winner Donna McFarlane. This gives us a strong voice and influence in not only our local MLS but also on a state and national level.

4.     We obviously have a very competitive agent commission structure or we wouldn’t have or be able to keep the high concentration of experienced agents that we have. I encourage you to share it with other agents outside our company. You will find that it is the best, most complete package around.

5.     We have a unique and effective marketing plan that targets close to 90% of serious buyers via the internet.

6.     We have effective training, coaching, mentoring systems of agent support that other companies only talk about while hiding behind smoke and mirrors. The addition of Mindy Cronic provides an additional commitment to all of your success, regardless of level of experience.

7.     We have the strongest financial security of any real estate franchise system with the Brookfield RPS purchase of GMAC Real Estate.

No doubt that 2009 will be another year of challenges both locally and nationally. Dealing with these challenges will be stressful for all of us. However, as I have shown, we have the resources and tools to thrive in this environment. Our clients will need our help as never before. Our top priority must remain to minimize their stress, rather than subjecting them to ours.

Where are we going?

Real Estate Professionals GMAC is continuing down a path that we’ve been on for years which is creating an extraordinary and unique customer experience based on companywide standards which we all are committed to. Our approach to business will be aligned with and customized to each client’s expectations and demands …what we call Premier Service. This includes:

1.     Access to a broad range of timely information, community and market analysis available through each of our agents, and our websites. Our goal is to provide unique market insights, backed by accurate data, to help consumers make informed decisions.

2.     Demonstrated expertise in internet marketing. We know that almost 90% of serious buyers use the internet to find homes, agents and brokers. We are a market leader and will continue to be so. By using and understanding the web 2.0 platforms of social networking tools we create a powerful connection with consumers. This trend continues to grow exponentially – We will be part of it.

3.     Streamlined accountability for services related to transactions through our strategic committed partnerships with Bridge Mortgage and Relay along with an ongoing affiliation and partnerships with other services such as Title and other ancillary providers.

How will we get there?

We will stay true to our values and goals. Themes we will focus on include:

1.     Pricing our listings to sell in today’s market. Believing that motivated sellers, who are proactive about pricing their home and offer a compelling value, will be rewarded compared to other sellers. We will continue to offer materials to assist you in having fact based conversations with your clients. Helping your clients make informed decisions about price levels and trends.

2.     Aligning expenses with market realities. Almost every company in America has been faced with the need to reduce expenses to remain viable. While we have already made some tough decisions, we will continue to monitor our needs compared to the cost. I have and will continue to invest resources in areas proven to be effective to meet consumer needs and wants such as internet, virtual tours, etc. Some of these changes may be disconcerting for some of you. Rest assured that the priority is to structure the company for the long haul.

3.     By investing in training and skill building for our agents and staff. To be the best at what you do, you must be constantly refreshing your knowledge and skills, especially in this rapidly changing market. We have expanded our agent support with the addition of Mindy and her development of on-demand training materials, Agent Jumpstart program, business planning, and lead management, all facilitated through our new intranet platform of REPHOME.COM. Our focus is helping you increase your effectiveness, business and market share.

4.     Laser focus on being self employed. You are all self-employed and being so you have only 2 jobs: 1) Acquiring Clients and 2) Serving clients.

a.     To acquire more clients you have to focus on spending enough time and doing the right things. This includes finding clients, getting meetings and making presentations …every working day.  If your goal is to make $100,000 this year in income then that figures out to about $2,000 per week or $50 per hour.

You must ask yourself the following:

1.     Would I pay someone else $2,000 a week for what I do?

2.     Would I have the audacity to have someone else pay me $2,000 per week for what I do? If yes…How would I prove it? With my numbers?

3.     How many of your “work days” would you pay someone else $400 for that day?

There have been roughly 24 work days since the 1^st of the year.

Are you 24 days behind?

We’ve got to earn it every day…Make money daily

Realize the value of a day and manage ourselves accordingly

You can’t do everything…but you can do something

Hopefully I’ve given you plenty to consider for now.

I am excited about 2009 and succeeding together.

I look forward to working together and continuing to set the standard for our profession for many years to come.

Now, more than ever, a laser focus is required.

Win everyday

My focus is your success and through you efforts … the company’s success.

Location of Dream Home/Percentage of Respondents

Island/27%

Rural or Country/22%

Suburbs/18%

Inernational Destination/18%

City/hi-rise with amenities/13%

City/single-family home/10%

Why are we blogging about this? Simple. Shasta County in California perfectly fits the picture for the 22% respondents whose “dream home” is in a Rural/Country location. That’s no surprise to those who live here. Many of the folks that move into our area come here because of the “country-feel” yet they can find top-notch medical services, retail and business ammenities, recreation and city-like restaurants within 20 minutes of their “country home”.

Take a look at these pre-selected homes from our local inventory – these amazing properties are truly gorgeous in every sense of the word. And we have them right here in Shasta County – see for yourself CLICK HERE TO VIEW THESE 12 PROPERTIES.

Fact is ..the answer to “To buy or not to buy” is “it depends”. A few more questions need to be answered such as what are your goals? I know ..never answer a question with a question …that’s what my Momma always said. But the answer does depend on each person’s/families motivation and goals. Want to buy your dream house and live in it for at least 5 years? BUY NOW. Never owned a house? BUY NOW. Do you understand the importance of owning real estate as an integral part of your financial portfolio? BUY NOW. Want to flip a house and make a quick buck? Uh-h-h-h maybe…but probably not.

The point is ….. you owe it to yourself to at least find out what your options are. We are here to help you make the best decision possible that fits your needs and comfort level. Contact us ….you just possibly may be surprised about what you can do these days …Ignore the headlines …they are just trying (and losing) to sell more papers and advertising. We are here to help you understand the market …really understand …. and help you act if it makes sense.

So I ask you ….what do you think? What’s your mood, gut feeling, sixth sense of where the market is? What are you saying at parties, meetings, etc? Seems like everyone is talking about the housing market….. what are you hearing, saying, or thoughts? Please respond to this post ..and while you are at it….be sure and subscribe with the link to the right to stay current with the Buzz.

Redding, Calif. (June 24, 2008) – Real Estate Professionals GMAC announced today that it has been named one of the top 10 real estate offices nationwide for customer service, according to independent research firms Quality Service Certification, Inc. and Leading Research Corporation.

This is the second consecutive year that the Real Estate Professionals GMAC office, located at 230 Hartnell Avenue, has won the prestigious award, which is based on customer satisfaction. The 2008 Q_E^™ Award (which stands for “Quality Excellence”) recognizes the real estate industry’s leading companies and individual offices that deliver service excellence and provide the highest levels of customer satisfaction.

“For an industry that is measured by millions of dollars of sales, we are interested in recognizing excellence based upon measurably superior customer satisfaction and service quality,” said Larry D. Romito, CEO of Quality Service Certification, Inc. (QSC).

The Q_E^™ Award is based upon feedback from 250,000 consumer surveys of more than 500 participating companies and their 30,000 real estate agents nationwide.

“Being named a top 10 real estate company nationwide by home buyers and sellers is truly an honor,” said Ross Domke, broker at Real Estate Professionals GMAC. “The customer service standards we’ve set are incredibly high and to win this award two years running is a testament to all of our sales associates at Real Estate Professionals GMAC.”

In addition to Real Estate Professionals GMAC office, other top 10 winning firms include:

• Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston , Raleigh, N.C.
• Helen Adams Realty, Charlotte, N.C.
• Helen Adams Realty, Huntersville, N.C.
• Prudential New Jersey Properties, New Providence, N.J.
• Prudential Northwest Properties, Hillsboro, Ore.
• Prudential Palms Realty, Sarasota, Fla.
• Prudential Tropical Realty, Tampa, Fla.
• RE/MAX Properties, Inc., Colorado Springs, Colo.
• Weichert, REALTORS^® Rebhan & Associates, Charlotte, N.C.

Real Estate Professionals GMAC provides a full range of residential real estate services and is located at 230 Hartnell Avenue, Redding, Calif., 96002, (530) 224-6700. Additional information as well as listings of homes for sale can be found at: http://www.buzzaboutredding.com

WASHINGTON, June 09, 2008
A modest gain in the level of home sales is possible over the next couple months, and an improvement is forecast for the second half of this year as more buyers are able to access affordable mortgages, according to the latest forecast by the National Association of Realtors^®.

The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in April, rose 6.3 percent to 88.2 from a reading of 83.0 in March. It’s the highest index since last October, but remains 13.1 percent lower than April 2007 when it stood at 101.5.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said pending sales contracts have picked up notably in areas undergoing significant price drops. “Bargain hunters have entered the market en masse, especially in areas that have experienced double-digit price declines, but it’s unclear if they are investors or owner-occupants,” he said. “Sharp price reductions are leading to a quicker discovery of price equilibrium points. The West is already seeing year-over-year gains in pending contracts.”

The PHSI in the West rose 8.3 percent to 98.8 in April and is 4.0 percent higher than April 2007. In the Midwest, the index jumped 13.0 percent to 83.7 in April but remains 13.1 percent below a year ago. The index in the South increased 4.6 percent to 88.8 but is 22.5 percent below April 2007. In the Northeast, the index declined 1.9 percent in April to 79.3 and is 12.2 percent below a year ago.

NAR President Richard F. Gaylord, a broker with RE/MAX Real Estate Specialists in Long Beach, Calif., said the market may be breaking its holding pattern. “It appears that more buyers are realizing they can take advantage of a favorable combination of mortgage interest rates, home prices and family income,” he said. “Overall affordability conditions are the best we’ve seen since the middle of the housing boom in 2004, but with far more choices and much less pressure than buyers experienced four years ago to make an investment in their future. Recent declines in mortgage rates on conforming jumbo loans and a return to sound but not overly stringent underwriting standards will permit more people to qualify for a loan.”

NAR’s housing affordability index has been trending up this year and is projected to rise 15 percentage points to 128.0 for all of 2008.

“Although mortgage interest rates will remain historically favorable, they will start to steadily inch up,” Yun said. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage should rise gradually to 6.3 percent by the end of this year, and then hold at that level for most of 2009.

Yun said the underlying fundamentals point to a pent-up demand. “Home sales are at about the same level as they were 10 years ago, yet the population has grown by 25 million people and we have over 10 million more jobs,” he said. “The housing market has been underperforming by historical standards, partly because buyers were hampered by mortgage availability issues, but that’s improved and an upturn is more likely. On the other hand, it’s unclear what role consumer confidence will play in the coming months.”

Existing-home sales should increase from an annual pace of 5.05 million in the second quarter to 5.83 million in the fourth quarter. For all of this year, existing-home sales are expected to total 5.40 million, and then rise 6.3 percent to 5.74 million in 2009. “Sales gains will be greatest in areas that underwent sharp price declines,” Yun said.

After unprecedented home price declines in the first half of the year, many markets can anticipate stabilizing price trends in the second half. The aggregate median existing-home price is likely to decline 8.4 percent in the first half of this year, and then begin to stabilize in the second half before rising 4.4 percent next year to $213,900. “Policymakers need to be attentive to the fact that many homeowners have seen a reduction in housing equity, or are in an ‘underwater’ situation. More needs to be done on the policy front to alleviate hardships and bring fence-sitters back into the marketplace,” Yun said.

A great mix of conditions continues around the country. “We’re seeing healthy price gains in moderately priced areas like Erie, Pa., and Corpus Christi, Texas, and double-digit gains in others,” Yun said. “Our most recent data shows sales rising strongly from a year ago in some areas that experienced sharp price drops, including Detroit and Las Vegas.”

New-home sales will probably fall 31.7 percent to 529,000 in 2008 before rising 12.5 percent to 595,000 next year. Housing starts, including multifamily units, are projected to drop 27.2 percent to 987,000 this year, and then slip 0.6 percent to 980,000 in 2009.

“Rising construction costs will provide less room for price cuts on new homes,” Yun said. The median new-home price is forecast to decline 3.1 percent to $239,500 in 2008, and then rise 5.4 percent next year to $252,400.

Yun sees an improving economy. Growth in the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) should be 1.7 percent in 2008 and 2.0 percent next year. The unemployment rate is estimated to average 5.3 percent this year and 5.6 percent in 2009.

Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, is expected to be 3.6 percent this year and 2.4 percent in 2009. Inflation-adjusted disposable personal income should grow 1.4 percent in 2008 and 2.5 percent next year.

The National Association of Realtors^®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

# # #

*The Pending Home Sales Index is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing.

The index is based on a large national sample, typically representing about 20 percent of transactions for existing-home sales. In developing the model for the index, it was demonstrated that the level of monthly sales-contract activity from 2001 through 2004 parallels the level of closed existing-home sales in the following two months. There is a closer relationship between annual index changes (from the same month a year earlier) and year-ago changes in sales performance than with month-to-month comparisons.

An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, which was the first year to be examined as well as the first of five consecutive record years for existing-home sales. View

Existing-home sales for May will be released June 26; the next Forecast / Pending Home Sales Index will be released July 8.