Dear Neighbors,
Greetings from sunny California and the Mike Ferry Super Star Retreat! I’m working from the west coast this week and next as I will be attending Howard Brinton’s Star Power Conference next week. At the Star Power conference, I have the pleasure of participating in a panel discussion titled "51 No to Low Cost Marketing Tips" with three very successful agents from across the country.

Below is my weekly email to our local Atlanta real estate community!

Loan applications on the rise. Last week, loan applications jumped 9.4 percent and refinance applications were up about 18 percent. This can be attributed in part to the fact that interest rates on thirty year mortgages are just over 5 percent and 15-year interest rates were about 4.6 percent. Read more here!

Market conditions improve for new construction. In addition to loan applications, the National Association of Home Builders is also reporting a 3.6 percent gain in overall housing starts and an 8.7 percent gain in permit issuance. Read more from the NAHB Chief Economist here!

What are untimely return calls telling your clients? We’re all very busy people, but returning phone calls - to both clients and other agents - is an integral part of our business. So what message are you sending to your clients when you return their call a day or two later? For one, your client is probably left thinking that you have too much business right now and aren’t interested in their business. For more on silent communication, click here!

Is it time for a change? We are looking for additional top-producing team members who either want to work with buyers or work with both buyers and sellers! Click here for more info!

I’m also looking for an additional listing partner to co-list properties with. This is a great opportunity for me to share 30 years of experience in the real estate business! Click here for more information on our listing partner position.

Please email me your resume at zac@zac.biz or give me a call at 404.564.7272 for a confidential conversation.

Our roles as teachers in real estate. A good friend of mine and real estate coach Bob Corcoran wrote an article a few weeks ago about how becoming a great educator can result in inspiring clients to buy or sell real estate. By taking steps beyond simply telling them the process to explain and teach them the process, you empower them to understand the big picture and what’s in it for them. Read more from Bob here!

Relooking your sphere of influence... and developing niche markets from A to Z. We all have hobbies and desires which can manifest themselves in what we look for in a home. Here is a new way of looking at the varying interests out there so you can figure out a way to target people where it matters to them. Read more here!

Digging a big hole. In a recent blog by Seth Godin, he talked about the "Law of the Little Shovel" and states, "If you want to dig a big hole, you need to stay in one place." Read more here on how your interactions with prospective clients can benefit from frequency and trust.

Streetcars coming to Peachtree Street? This has been an on-going discussion for some time now and, on Monday, the Atlanta City Council approved a plan to seek $300 million in stimulus money to conduct a feasibility study. The proposed plan would run a streetcar up and down Peachtree in between Midtown and Downtown and then between Centennial Park and the King Center. Read more from the Atlanta Business Chronicle here!

Also, stay tuned for FMLS statistical reports which we will have for next week! We will be putting them up on my blog later this week at http://blog.zac.biz.

Best wishes for a successful week!
Zac

404.564.7272 | zac@zac.biz | www.zac.biz | http://blog.zac.biz

P.S. Good to know from last week!
Petition to stop the Home Valuation Code of Conduct. In the past few weeks, we’ve talked about the new appraisal rules and how they’re impacting our business. Now, here’s a video explaining the situation more in-depth along with a petition to ask the House to enact an 18 month moratorium on the HVCC (in the form of House Bill 3044). Click here!