Hi everyone,

Today we want to discuss the next phase of taking care of a home seller.  There are 5 keys to selling a home; 1) Sellers Motivation 2) Price 3) Presentation 4) Access to the Property 5) Marketing.

If a seller is not motivated to sell, we do not take the listing.  It seems selfish on the surface, however, passing on the listing completely takes vare of the seller.  Seems strange, doesn’t it?  Every Real Estate professional wants listings, except when it will waste the sellers time and aggravate them further as time passes.

If you take the listing knowing the seller is not motivated, then you cannot set the pricing correctly and it all unravels from that point.  Of the 5 components to a sale, price is carrying 80% to 85% of the equation today.  So motivation and list price go hand in glove.  More tomorrow on taking care of home sellers.

Thank you for reading about real estate,

Mark and Kari Shea - Shea Real Estate & Investment Group

For more information on San Diego Real Estate, go to www.Shea-RealEstate.com

Hi everyone,

Today we want to discuss the next phase of taking care of a home seller.  That begins with how people (including us in the past) end their sentences with the phrase “in today’s market”.  Home sellers already know the Real Estate market has dropped.  Some sellers are painfully aware of the fact the market has dropped.  What they really need is confidence that we can sell their home.  In order to take care of them in this process, we remove the following phrases from our vocabulary:

1. It’s a buyers market (they know)
2. You need to lower the price again (work with them to set the price correctly the first time)
3. I don’t know why it’s not selling (it is our job to know)
4. The market today is really tough (they know this too)

What a seller needs is someone that is realistic, is honest from the beginning, is positive with them and will get the job done in a professional manner.  More tomorrow on taking care of home sellers.

Thank you for reading about real estate,

Mark and Kari Shea - Shea Real Estate & Investment Group

For more information on San Diego Real Estate, go to www.Shea-RealEstate.com

Hi everyone,

We wanted to open conversations on what sellers need in today’s Real Estate market.  As Real Estate professionals, we (like most everyone) use a statistical analysis to provide our sellers with a good understanding of the value of their home.  Given everyone has a different point of view about values today, we have started asking our sellers to get an appraisal prior to activating the listing so we are clear about the value of the home, in advance.  We put the appraisal information in the MLS so prospective buyers and agents understand what offers to make.  Bottom line, take the mystery out and save your sellers $$$ by having them spend a little in advance.

 Thank you for reading about real estate,

Mark and Kari Shea - Shea Real Estate & Investment Group

For more information on San Diego Real Estate, go to www.Shea-RealEstate.com

Even with all of the press about the credit crunch, the number of resale homes has risen 4 months in a row in Southern California.  There are still qualified buyers out there with the ability to purchase.  So given that is happening, our main focus has been having buyers and sellers meet where the purchase & sale is fair and equitable for both parties.  The main dilemma has been that buyers want a “deal” and the sellers want what’s fair. 

This is where negotiation skills are important and often confused.  By definition, Negotiate = To arrange for or bring about by discussion and settlement of terms.  What people often confuse it with is “taking a stance” or “playing hardball”.  When counseling our clients, we continue to encourage them to stay open while we are negotiating an offer.  We have found that when a client is open, things usually go well and come to a “meeting of the minds” which = an accepted offer.

Thank you for reading,

Mark and Kari Shea - Shea Real Estate & Investment Group

For more information on San Diego Real Estate, go to www.Shea-RealEstate.com

If you find yourself fearful of the Real Estate market today, then we should chat.  While the Real Estate market is by no means “in recovery”, many people have found our buyers market a great place to be in terms of finding true values.  As home owners ourselves, we know what it would like trying to sell our home today.  The thing to remember about Real Estate, the stock market or any other investment is values go up and values go down.  Do not forget that existing homeowners received the benefit of the boom market and we have to understand that all markets correct themselves after a large gain.

In our experience, fear is bred in news reports and conversations with friends, coworkers and neighbors.  Remember, it is the news media’s job to report information from “experts” and the media itself is not an expert.  Bottom line:  Our advice is to do your homework and understand the market data so YOU are the expert for your own home and your local market.

Mark and Kari Shea - Shea Real Estate & Investment Group

For more information on San Diego Real Estate, go to www.Shea-RealEstate.com

This is a topic that is near and dear to our hearts.  Being recognized as a stand out professional in any occupation is an honor.  Let us also say that being a full time real estate professional is not as easy as ome may think.  So with that said, here is our advice on how to disringuish a professional from the many semi-pros:

1. A pro knows this is a business and your residence is of major financial importance to you.
2. Given #1, a pro knows their numbers inside and out, backwards and forwards.
3. A pro knows how to communicate and the communication is steady and reliable.
4. A pro knows the business of real estate and how to keep you safe from harm.
5. A pro knows that doing the right thing is very important to their client.
6. A pro tells their clients the truth and sells where it is most important, with other Realtors.
7. A pro knows marketing, advertising and product positioning.
8. A pro cares about their clients first, second and third.

We are proud to serve our clients each and every day!

Thank you for reading,

Mark and Kari Shea - Shea Real Estate & Investment Group

For more information on San Diego Real Estate, go to www.Shea-RealEstate.com

While many people tout the purpose of blogging, we wanted to let you know why we have our Real Estate blog.  The reason we blog about Real Estate is to allow people to get to know us, how we approach business and our feelings about what is important.  In our life, Kari and I feel the following four things matter most:

1. The people we have in our lives are Positive
2. The people we have in our lives are enthusiastic
3. The people we have in our lives are enjoyable
4. The people we have in our lives trust one another

This goes for friends, family and business relationships.  We hope that everything we write allows you to get to know us and our perspective on Real Estate and what is happening in the market place today.

Thank you for reading,

Mark and Kari Shea - Shea Real Estate & Investment Group

For more information on San Diego Real Estate, go to www.Shea-RealEstate.com

As most of you have heard, home foreclosures are up, sales have been down and Wall Street has been taking a beating as a result.  Today the stock market steadied due to better than expected home sales figures.  While sales of new homes still fell, they only fell by 6/10 of 1 percent nationally.

Here in California, combined sales of new, resale and condos was up again in June by 6.6%  That is 3 straight months that sales increased in California.  By no means are we saying the market has stablized, it has not.  Experts now predict prices will stablize in mid 2009, which is the figure we are all watching.

Bottom line: Buyers are continuing to purchase now that homes are more affordable again.  If you have been looking to buy, we suggest you get moving while the deals are here.

Thank you for reading,

Mark and Kari Shea - Shea Real Estate & Investment Group

For more information on San Diego Real Estate, go to www.Shea-RealEstate.com

This is one of the most asked questions in Real Estate today.  So who is to blame?  The mortgage industry for their “loose lending practices”, real estate professionals for “over selling and driving up prices”, the government for “not watching what was happening” or home builders for “creating too much inventory”?  In truth, the list could go on forever.

We feel that NO ONE is to blame and each sector of this market has the opportunity to be responsible for what is happening in the Real Estate economy today.  We also ask that the Media be responsible for their reporting and the effect it has on consumer confidence.  We , and others we know, no longer watch the news or read a newspaper.  We get our news on the internet where we can pick what we feed our minds and hearts.

Thank you for reading,

Mark and Kari Shea - Shea Real Estate & Investment Group

For more information on San Diego Real Estate, go to www.Shea-RealEstate.com

The Real Estate world has been predicting what to do with the Baby Boomer generation once we start to retire?  Well, that time is here and it is now.  Here is how we see the progression given Kari and I are on the younger end of this generation:

1. First is to get kids through high school and/or college
2. Look for a housing situation that is more “turn key”, like a single story home, a townhome or a condo
3. Next move to a true turn key, most likely a condo to stay with having a one story

So be prepared Real Estate world, there are 50+ million of us coming your way over the next 10 years.  That is 16.7% of the total US population today and 22.8% of the population 20 years of age and older!  There will also be great opprtunities for younger people to pick up great furniture and artwork as we downsize along the way.

Thank you for reading,

Mark and Kari Shea - Shea Real Estate & Investment Group

For more information on San Diego Real Estate, go to www.Shea-RealEstate.com