How to Choose My Niche as a New Real Estate Agent

As a new real estate agent, one of the hardest parts of the business is deciding what you are going to focus on that will set you apart from any other real estate agent in the market. Many real estate professionals identify a specific buyer/seller niche that they will cater to. Choose what you know, what you love, and what you dream about. If you are passionate, it will translate into your every day interactions with buyers and sellers!

When you are passionate about helping buyers find their dream home and helping sellers move into their next dream home, it is important to not be a jack of all trades. The first step is to break your real estate business into three categories:

1. What do you know best?
2. What are you most passionate about?
3. What do you dream of doing?

By answering these three questions, you will quickly find three niches that you can build your real estate business on, and watch your business succeed.

Niche #1: Stick to What You Know

If you're a new agent or have some experience under your belt and are still struggling to identify a niche market you can be successful in, think about what part of real estate you had the most knowledge of before coming into the business. Perhaps first time home buyers, senior housing, divorcing couples, historic homes, ect. Once you have identified the are of real estate that you already know about, make that your first niche.

Niche #2: Do What You Love

Your passion may be something different from what you already know, but when you love something, you'll put your all into it. If you are an outdoor enthusiast, homes with a lot of acreage might appeal to you. If you love to be on the water, homes with water access or waterfront properties might be just the ticket. With the heart of a student, once you find what you love, it's time to hit the books. Study maps, weather patterns, what type of person buys or sells that type of property, talk to other professionals already in that field and ask for help and information. You will be surprised at the information others are willing to share if you only ask. You need to know who buys that type of property and how to reach them. It's all about placing yourself and your marketing in the proper places to find the buyer and seller that is the right fit for you.

Niche #3: Dream Big

Your third niche will be the most difficult to break into, but you could likely take it over with the right mindset. It should be your dream - the part of real estate that you never thought you could be involved in. It could be luxury, commercial, or global real estate. By dreaming big and going after that dream, you will have to work hard, overcome challenges, and grow both professionally and personally. In the end, by working towards your goal, the reward can be huge.

Tips for Making Your Niches Successful

Be Brave and listen for cues

Don't be afraid to be the new guy nobody has heard of. As long as you are working as hard as you can, staying focused on your goal, listening to what your buyers and sellers are looking for, you will have success.

Get Involved

Join organizations that your ideal buyers and sellers are involved in. This is the best way to meet the clients you want. Show them that you have common interests, that you are committed to giving back to the community and they will want to work with you.

Use Tools you have at your disposal

All companies have them, weather it is a program, database management system, scripts, or a marketing suite, the most successful people and companies have systems in place and use them regularly. If you are constantly re-inventing the wheel instead of customizing the wheel that is there, you will quickly fall behind.

Keller Williams Realty Cary located at 201 Shannon Oaks Cir, Cary, NC 27511 has 189 real estate professionals. If you are interested in starting your real estate career or want to build your real estate business to the next level, visit our website today!

Keller Williams Realty Earns a Spot on Inc 5,000 Honor Roll!

Keller Williams is excited to have made the Honor Roll for the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing privately held companies. The Honor Roll recognizes companies that have appeared on the list each of the past five years! 

Keller Williams Realty Cary, located at 201 Shannon Oaks Cir. #101, Cary, NC has 176 agents who specialize in residential, luxury and commercial real estate. If you are interested in buying your dream home, or selling your home for the most value, call us today at 919-882-3200.

If you are looking for a career in Real Estate or looking to grow your real estate business, call Team Leader, Bill Middleton for a free, confidential consultation today at 919-882-3229 or for more information, visit our website today!

Remodel Your Home - Raise Your Home's Value

Home owners remodel their homes to increase the value, and more are showing a desire to stay and enjoy their remodels before they sell their home.

53% of U.S. home owners say they are remodeling to increase the resale value of their home, but they have no plans to move in the next five years, according to a new Houzz & Home survey of more than 135,000 respondents. 16% of re-modelers say they plan to sell their home in the next two years.

One in five — or 22 % — of the re-modelers surveyed say they feel home prices are rising too quickly to consider moving yet. 24% of respondents say they would prefer to move, but remodeling their home makes more economic sense.

The Millennial generation of home owners seem to be the most apt to move within the next five years, according to the survey. 36% say they are remodeling to increase their home’s value with the intent to move to their next home soon.

Overall, the most popular renovation projects are bathroom remodels or additions and kitchen remodels. Home owners continue to devote the highest share of dollars to kitchen remodels, spending an average of $26,172.

However, the average cost of a remodel can vary drastically by region. Home owners in the Northeast and West tend to spend the most on their renovation projects at an average of $32,155 and $29,411, respectively, on their kitchens (compared to $23,946 in the Midwest and $21,894 in the South), according to the survey.

The most popular replacement projects are flooring/paneling/ceiling, followed by windows/doors and roofing.

The top challenges that home owners say they face when renovating are finding the right products, defining their style, making decisions with spouse/partner, and educating themselves.

If you are interested in finding your dream home or are remodeling in hopes to sell your home for top dollar, call the Keller Williams Realty Cary office today at 919-882-3200. Keller Williams Realty Cary, opened in 2003 and has 170 real estate agents who specialize in residential, luxury and commercial real estate serving the Cary, Raleigh, Apex, Holly Springs area. 

If you are interested in a career in Real Estate, or are currently an agent who is looking to grow your business, visit our website today!

Spring Fling? Homes Sell Faster!

Real Estate Agents in the Cary, Apex, Raleigh area of North Carolina saw a boom in home buyer traffic as they officially enter their 'busy' season. Properties sold at a median of 55 days due to low inventories of homes for sale, according to the latest REALTORS® Confidence Index. The index is based on a survey of more than 3,800 REALTORS® about their transactions in March.

Short sales were on the market the longest, for 112 days in March compared to 98 days in February, according to the report. Foreclosed homes were on the market for 55 days.

About 37 percent of real estate professionals report that properties sold in March had been on the market for less than a month. 

Buyer traffic was also up in March, although demand was not as fast and furious as it was a year ago, according to the report.

Still, REALTOR® confidence about current market conditions soared in March, reflecting a typical seasonal increase. Their confidence about the next six months also improved but is lower than what it was a year ago, according to the report. The biggest concerns among real estate agents remain tight inventory, credit conditions, and uncertainty about flood insurance regulation, according to the REALTORS® Confidence Index.

Real estate agents continue to be confident that prices will increase over the next 12 months but at a “modest pace.” They expect prices to increase at a median of about 4 percent over the next 12 months. Due to the high home buyer demand and low inventory, home prices are starting to go up while mortgage rates are very low. 

If you are interested in selling your home or are looking for your dream home, Keller Williams Realty Cary, opened in 2003 has 174 real estate agents. 

If you are interested in a career in Real Estate, call Team Leader, Bill Middleton at 919-882-3229 or visit our website today!

Top 10 Reasons to Hire a Real Estate Professional

With so much information readily available online, customers often ask, "Why should we hire a real estate agent?" They wonder if they couldn't buy or sell a home through the Internet or at least without representation. There will always be the few success stories, but the amount of frustrated, unhappy, failed stories highly out-number the successes. If you've wondered the same thing, here are 10 reasons why you might want to consider hiring a professional real estate agent.

1. Education & Experience

You don't need to know everything about buying and selling real estate if you hire a real estate professional who does. The trick is to find the right person. Why not hire a person with more education and experience than you? We're all looking for more time in our lives, and hiring pros gives us that time.

2. Agents are Buffers

Agents take the spam out of your property showings and visits. If you're a buyer looking at new home construction, your agent will handle the negotiations with the builder's agent. This means you don't feel pressured or attacked and you know that your agent is on your side making sure you get everything you need. If you're a seller, your agent will filter all those phone calls that lead to nowhere from lookie loos and nosy neighbors and help serious buyers to immediately write an offer.

3. Neighborhood Knowledge

Agents either possess knowledge or they know where to find the inside information about your neighborhood. They can identify comparable sales and hand these facts to you, in addition to pointing you in the direction where you can find more data on schools, crime or the community. For example, you may know that a home down the street was on the market for $350,000, but an agent will know the inside scoop of how long it sat on the market, what upgrades it had and how it dropped in price twice.

4. Price Guidance

Contrary to what some people believe, agents do not select prices for sellers or buyers. However, an agent will help to guide clients to make the right choices for themselves. Selling agents will ask buyers to weigh all the data supplied to them and to choose a price. Then based on market supply, demand and the conditions, the agent will devise a negotiation strategy.

5. Market Conditions Information

Real estate agents can disclose market conditions, which will govern your selling or buying process. Many factors determine how you will proceed. Data such as the average per square foot cost of similar homes, average sales prices, average days on market, among other criteria, will help you decide what is in your best interest; weather you need to act now, or do you have time to sleep on it.

6. Professional Networking

Real estate agents network with other professionals, many of whom provide services that you will need during the buying or selling process. Agents know which vendors have a reputation for efficiency, competency and competitive pricing and can give you a list to choose from so you know you're getting great service.

7. Negotiation Skills & Confidentiality

Top producing agents negotiate well because, unlike most buyers and sellers, they are not emotionally invested in the outcome of the transaction. It's part of their job description. Good agents are not merely messengers; they are professionals who are trained to present their client's case in the best light and agree to hold client information confidential from competing interests.

8. Handling Volumes of Paperwork

One-page receipts were prevalent in the early 1970s. Today's purchase agreements run 10 pages or more. That does not include the federal- and state-mandated disclosures. Most real estate files average thicknesses from one to three inches of paper. One tiny mistake or omission could land you in court or cost you thousands. It's good to know that your agent has an attorney who is reviewing your documents to make sure you are covered!

9. Answer Questions After Closing

Even the smoothest transactions that close without complications can come back to haunt. For example, taxing authorities that collect property tax assessments, doc stamps or transfer tax can fall months behind and mix up invoices, but one call to your agent can straighten out the confusion. Many questions can pop up that were overlooked in the excitement of closing. Good agents are with you even after the last piece of paper is signed and are ready to take your call with any questions you might have.

10. Develop Relationships for Future Business

In order for an agent to have continued success in a career in real estate is referrals. Few agents would survive if their livelihood was dependent on consistently drumming up new business. This ensures your agent is working to make certain you are happy and satisfied. It also means that an agent who stays in the business will be there for you when you need to hire an agent again. Many will periodically mail market updates to you to keep you informed and to stay in touch.

Keller Williams Realty Cary located at 201 Shannon Oaks Cir. #101, Cary, NC 27511, opened in 2003 and has 174 real estate agents. 

If you are interested in speaking with a real estate agent for your buying and selling needs, or if you are looking to change careers, contact Team Leader, Bill Middleton by phone at: 919-882-3229 or visit our website today!

Top 10 Home Builders By Closings in 2013

Today's real estate market is just entering it's 'busy' season. Buyers are finding themselves in multiple offer situations and houses are being snatched up almost as soon as they hit the market. Many home buyers are turning to new home construction as the solution to high demand for homes. With so many new home construction neighborhoods popping up all around the Triangle area, how to the Home Builders compare to each other?

A review of 2013 shows that D.R. Horton maintains its No. 1 rank in the home building industry as the builder with the most closings as well as most revenue last year, according to Builder Magazine’s annual “Builder 100” list.

The magazine released its list of home building firms ranked by closings for 2013. The following are the top 10:

1. D.R. Horton: 25,161 total closings in 2013
2. Lennar Corp.: 18,290
3. PulteGroup: 17,766
4. NVR: 11,834
5. KB Home: 7,145
6. The Ryland Group: 7,027
7. Hovnanian Enterprises: 5,927
8. Taylor Morrison; 5,829
9. Meritage Homes Corp:5,259
10. Beazer Homes USA: 5,056

Keller Williams Realty Cary is located at 201 Shannon Oaks Cir. #101, Cary, NC 27511. It opened in 2003 and has 174 real estate agents.

If you are interested in buying a home, selling your home or becoming a real estate agent, call Team Leader, Bill Middleton at 919-882-3229 or visit our website today!