Solar Eclipse & Opportunity
So let's talk about opportunity.
Opportunity is defined as a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something... like when the sun, moon, and earth line up to cast a shadow on the earth, or when we receive a viable lead that could be a client.
Fun Facts:
- 65% of sellers found their agent through a referral from a friend, neighbor, or relative or used an agent they had worked with before to buy or sell a home.
- 81% of recent sellers contacted only one agent before finding the right agent they worked with to sell their home.
- 46% of sellers used the same agent to purchase a home as to sell their home. (This share rises to 84% for sellers who purchased a new home within 10 miles.)
- The typical seller has recommended their agent once since selling their home. 20% of sellers recommended their agent four or more times since selling their home.
These opportunities are all around us.
It's important to build awareness and stay top-of-mind to the people we know well and to the contacts we already have. We have to continue building our contact lists through networking, branding, and marketing. We needs systems in place to help us manage and nurture our contacts when we find them.
We also need a plan in place for when we're feeling overwhelmed.
Are we missing opportunities? Are we getting leads and dropping the ball somewhere? Are we not calling someone back because we're intimidated by phone calls, or because we're having a tough time balancing our schedule? Are we not getting our mailings out because we can't effectively plan ahead or budget for them? Are we holding ourselves back because we don't know what to do or say??
The first step in all of that is admitting we're facing a challenge. And then, there is great news: you can be part of an incredible support system.
Let's chat about it. We can work together to put strategy in place to help you take advantage of every opportunity you have - whether that's marketing, exploring new business building strategies, working on systems, delegating and team building, business management - we will figure it out together so that you're building a sustainable business.
So your biggest opportunity right now is: exploring your opportunity to work in a collaborative work environment with personalized support.
Cheers!
We’re seeing a lot of competition in the Real Estate market right now as Buyers move forward with their home buying plans and as many of our NYC neighbors are deciding to come join us in the Hudson Valley! 🏡💕
The pandemic stay-at-home orders have definitely given us all an opportunity to really evaluate what we love and crave in our home environments. As many employers discovered the efficiency and productivity of having workers telecommute during the quarantine, many people are exploring moving away from busier city centers to more suburban and rural areas. The Hudson Valley is a favorite destination among city dwellers, with beautiful hiking trails and outdoor recreation, bustling cultural centers and charming towns all while within close proximity Manhattan. Now, many of our NYC neighbors have the opportunity to make their favorite weekend escape a place for permanent residency.
👉 Check out this article from NBC News – with our Team Leader, Michelle Pfeffer, quoted about what’s happening here locally:
NBC News – Families fleeing the city are pushing up home prices amid tight supply
We’re back to in-person real estate showings as we enter Phase 2 of New York reopening.
It is soooooo nice to see our clients in person!! It‘s kind of wonderful to be able to go hunt for all of those special details that make a house the perfect place for them to call home.
It is different than before, for sure. We need all sorts of gear – gloves, masks, and booties. PreApprovals and signed disclosures need to be sent in advance of every showing. It takes more planning and coordination, more prep to be ready. Only decision makers can actually enter the home with their Realtor, socially distanced, of course.
We are so ready to help get those home plans back on track. Want to catch up? Want to hear more about what’s happening in the real estate market?
Call/Text (845) 500-0160
Winter Cabin
With snow and below freezing temperatures in the Northeast over the last week, home shopping has become a bit of a challenge – treacherous even. For buyers, the competition this season may be a little less fierce than it has been over the past few months as some buyers may decide to postpone their home search until it’s a bit warmer, so those willing to bundle up may have a competitive advantage.
The good news for sellers is that there are plenty of serious buyers out there willing to brave the frigid temperatures to find their Home Sweet Home, so it’s really important to consider what the buyer experience is like on these winter house hunts –
Bundled up in your heaviest coat, complete with sweaters, scarves, gloves, hats, hoods, and boots… driving over slippery, snow covered roads to get from one home to another. Emerging from your (hopefully) warm vehicle to trek across slippery driveways and walkways to get to the front door. Your real estate agent leads the pack, making conversation through chattering teeth, as they remove their gloves to open frozen lockboxes and get the key in the door. Stomping snow off of your boots as your group huddles into the entrance of the home, you begin peeling off layers – coats, scarves, boots – so you can really see the home…
House hunting is exciting and exhausting and even more so in the cold with snow on the ground. With that in mind, here are a few things sellers can do to make the visit easier and more welcoming for their buyer guests:
- Plow the driveway. Simple enough, right? You can take it a step further by making sure there is enough room around the vehicles so the passengers don’t step into a snowbank as they exit their cars.
- Shovel & salt the walkways. Most buyers are wearing boots to keep their feet warm, but there have been several times when they really needed them to get through knee deep snow just to get to the front door. That kind of hiking should really be reserved for weekend snowshoeing adventures – it’s tiring and that means buyers are thinking about being cold and tired when they enter your home and NOT the home itself. Throw a little salt down, too – nothing will stop a home tour faster than a slip on an icy walkway.
- Leave the lights on. With the sun setting earlier in the winter, the afternoon and evening shadows make the cold seem even colder. Turn both your outdoor and indoor lights on – nothing says “home” like leaving the lights on.
- Leave a rug or towel down by the front door. Buyers usually slip their wet, snow covered boots off at the front door and walk around in their sock feet – if the floor is wet, that means their socks are wet for THE REST OF THE DAY. You can prevent this by making space for the pile of boots coming off and giving them a dry place to step as they move into your home.
- Warm it up. Warm (but not tropical) temperatures in your home help keep your pipes from freezing and creates a welcoming atmosphere. Remember that buyers are going in and out of the cold, though, so making it too hot inside the home makes it a little uncomfortable with all of the layers and then really startling to go back into the cold. Try keeping your thermostat right around 68 during home showings.
- Wanna go above & beyond? Offer water bottles, some wrapped treats, tissues, and a sweet note for your buyers who were brave enough to tour homes in 5 degree weather. I cannot tell you how much they appreciate the thoughtful gesture – it leaves us all warm and fuzzy – which is the perfect way to feel at home.
