At the National Association of Realtors' MidYear Legislative meetings, economist presentations offer a more optimistic view of the future of housing and point to economic trends that will impact the recovery.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said there are many improving factors that are helping home sales. “Historically high housing affordability conditions, ongoing job creation, a solid stock market recovery, rising rents, a larger pool of qualified renters, a pent-up demand and improving confidence are drawing buyers to the market.”
Read complete article.
Source: Tara Steele, AGBeat.com, Thursday, May 17, 2012.
Kansas City Ranked Among Great Cities for Grads
Yahoo! Real Estate released a list of the 10 Best Cities for Graduates and Kansas City is one of them. The list was compiled based on unemployment rates, mean annual income and cost of cost of living, among others.
Kansas City was chosen in large part based on its economy and lifestyle:
- Unemployment rate: 7.6%
- Cost of living index: 97.8
- Mean annual income: $45,050
- Top industries: business, agriculture
Kansas City was singled out for its contributions in the categories of barbecue, jazz, and blues. It was also noted that Kansas City is known for “Healthy living and an eco-friendly lifestyle as part of the booming downtown area.
Source: Colleen Kane, CNBC.com, Tuesday, May 15, 2012.Ready to Become a Ninja?
Ninja Coach and Trainer, Terri Johnson, will be back in Kansas City to "install" more Prudential Kansas City Realty agents as Ninjas. This next session will be held September 11-14 near the Leawood office.
If you'd like to sign up, please send your $100 deposit by June 1 to secure your spot. Total program cost will be $650. Any questions, contact Fran Cashion at ext. 2310 or
fran.cashion@prukc.com. Not sure about Ninja, ask your fellow agents who have been through the class . . . it is well worth it!
Make the Perfect Connection with TeamBuilder
Do you know someone who'd be a perfect fit at Prudential Kansas City Realty? Reach out to them and help make the perfect connection for your broker.
During the
Perfect Connection TeamBuilder campaign, you'll have the chance to refer a candidate and earn great prizes! Now through July 31, when you register a candidate, you'll qualify for the Puzzling Party on Thursday, September 6 at David Cooper's house. It's sure to be an event you won't want to miss!
Registering a candidate is simple. Just submit the name of your referral to your broker and then help him/her set up an interview. If your candidate is hired, you'll:
- Receive an iTunes gift card
- Have the chance to win a gift card to the Apple store
- Have the chance to win the Perfect Connection grand prize - an Apple iPad
If you have additional questions about the TeamBuilder program, talk to your broker today.
8101 Team Named Among Top 100 in PREA
CEO David Cooper and 8101 Broker Kathy Copeland were delighted to present The Phil Summerson Group with their PREA Award for placing #66 in the Top 100 for units in 2011. There are nearly 54,000 sales professionals within in the PREA Network and it's quite an accomplishment to rank so high within it. What's more, this marks the 11th year in a row that The Phil Summerson Group has earned this award.
Congratulations to everyone in The Phil Summerson Group for their hard work and this well-deserved recognition.
REALTORS® Shell Out Some Green to Help Women Stay in the Pink
REALTORS® from different companies across the city came together on May 10th for a Pink Carpet Event. The event, held at the Hawthorne House in Parkville, raised money to help fund a program that helps uninsured and under-insured women to obtain mammograms.
Showing up on the pink carpet was Prudential Kansas City Realty's own Kristi Ferrara (Broker-Northland). She, along with agents and brokers from around the Northland, modeled clothing from David's Bridal, Amelia's, Dress Barn and Men's Warehouse, during a fashion show and brunch emceed by Fox 4's Susan Highland.
The event raised close to $11,000 which was donated to the
Spelman Medical Foundation which promotes breast wellness and the early detection of breast cancer. View pictures from the event above and watch local news coverage from Channel 41 by
clicking here.Sign Up Now for PKC's 2012 PKC FREE CE Classes
One of best ways to ensure you are providing the best service to your clients, is to make sure you keep up with the latest developments and trends in the industry.
The Continuing Education series offered by PKC is a great way to stay up-to-date, so be sure to take advantage of it!
To register, call Elaine Cavener at ext. 1486 or by email
ecavener@prukc.com.
View the
2012 course schedule and find out how to register. Times and dates are subject to change, so check back periodically for the most up-to-date schedule.
PKC Ends Listing Syndication to Trulia and Zillow
In recent months, the real estate industry has been in a heated national debate about the use of 3rd party syndication websites, like Trulia and Zillow, to market homes for sale. Locally, we continue to hear from our sales professionals and clients that they are tired of the inaccurate data that continues to prevail on these sites.
After much consideration, Prudential Kansas City Realty will no longer automatically send its listings to these websites. We are confident that this move will improve both the buyer and seller experience with Kansas City homes for sale. We have created a a number of marketing materials to help educate your clients about this change.
MLS Statistics for April 2012
The following statistics compare sales activity in April 2012 with the same time last year.
As you can see, the GREEN is growing more and more each month!
Heartland MLS:
- Sales (YTD): ▲ +13.3%
- Avg. Home Sale Price (YTD): ▲ +5.1% to $154,109
Johnson County:
- Sales (YTD): ▲ +28.5%
- Avg. Home Sale Price (YTD): ▲ +3.2% to $236,772
- New Listings YTD: ▼ -4.7% to 1,309
Wyandotte County:
- Sales YTD: ▲ +1.3%
- Avg. Home Sale Price (YTD): ▲ +6.4% to $69,366
- New Listings (YTD): ▼ -5.8% to 210
Jackson County:
- Sales (YTD): ▲ +7.2%
- Avg. Home Sale Price (YTD): ▲ +4.4% to $110,999
- New Listings (YTD): ▼ -3.4% to 1,470
Clay/Ray Counties:
- Sales (YTD): ▲ +15.2%
- Avg. Home Sale Price (YTD): ▲ +5.6% to $137,598
- New Listings (YTD): ▼ -12.0% to 602
Platte County:
- Sales (YTD): ▲ +28.0%
- Avg. Home Sale Price (YTD): ▲ 0.3% to $178,716
- New Listings (YTD): ▲ +5.7% to 295
Click here to download the April 2012 MLS statistics report and summary.
The Reasons Your House Isn’t Selling & What You Can Do about It
During a two-part series, RISMedia highlighted some of the biggest reasons why sellers may be having trouble getting their home sold. Take a moment to read this informative piece and share it with your own clients who may be frustrated by the selling process.
RISMedia - Selling a home can be a daunting undertaking, and while you may be helpless to control the state of the market or the number of prospective buyers in your price range, here are a few ways to be proactive against some of sellers’ most common pitfalls:
Problem: Competition. Are there too many homes for sale in your price range? If there are too many options open to buyers in your market, you may not see as many showings as you’d like.
What You Can Do: Unfortunately, the state of the market in your neighborhood or town is pretty much beyond your control. You’ll need to think about how you can make your home a more attractive sale, either by lowering your price or providing attractive terms of sale.
Read both
part 1 and
part 2 for the complete list.
Source: Kristin Brown-Orr, RISMedia, May, 2012.Sign up My Home Mobile Users on YOUR Website
You now have the ability to send prospects and clients to YOUR agent website to sign up for
My Home Mobile. We've replaced the default picture at the top of your website with the new
My Home Mobile banner.
If you would prefer to keep the current picture up on your website and NOT allow visitors to sign up for
My Home Mobile, you can to log on to the
My Website page on PKC Agent to switch it back. Just select "default picture" next to "banner ad" to reset the graphic which appears at the top of your agent site. If you have any questions about this new feature or how to use it, contact the Tech Department at
helpdesk@prukc.com or at ext. 1411.
My Home Search for Smartphones
Big news for mobile marketing. . .
My Home Search is now optimized for smartphones. If you access
My Home Search from your smartphone, you'll see a slightly different layout with all of the same great information. Here are a few things you need to know about using
My Home Search on smartphones:
-
My Home Search will only function in landscape mode on your smartphone.
- You can view the "new/updated" homes in your list or take a look at your "watched" list.
- On any property, you can click through for all photos, to view details and to map property.
- You can also check "not interested", "favorites" or "show me" for each home.
- If you'd prefer to switch back to the "full version" of
My Home Search, click on "full site" on the top right hand corner.
Any questions? Please contact the technology department at ext. 1411 or via email at
helpdesk@prukc.com.