The New York Real Estate Market Trends for 2013

New York is one of the most dynamic cities in the world and the New York real estate market is no exception to this rule. After the huge plunge of 2008, the market has been on the road to recovery, but experts are still cautious about predicting growth. Let us take a look at the major trends for 2013 and find out how they will affect buyers and sellers.

It is worth looking at the New York real estate market statistics first. In January 2013, the average price per square foot in the city is $1,339. The average listing price for homes is $2,316,317. There has been an increase in the price of some 10.6 per cent from the same period last year. The increase in the number of sales from December 2011 to December 2012 was 40.3 per cent.

The statistics reveal that the New York real estate market is experiencing a recovery with more homes being sold and the prices going up. However, the sales and prices do not reveal the whole picture. It is the demand and supply that play a major role in the market. There are other factors that buyers and sellers need to consider as well.

Experts agree that the increase in the New York real estate prices is primarily due to the fairly small inventory which is projected to shrink. The number of new developments in the city has dropped substantially since the recent market plunge. At the same time, fewer properties are listed because sellers are not happy with the current market prices, which remain fairly low, and prefer to wait for better times.

Hurricane Sandy is expected to have long-term consequences on the market inventory. It has destroyed or significantly damaged many properties. Many neighborhoods have been severely affected and their attractiveness has diminished considerably as a result.

The demand in the New York real estate market has not increased considerably over the past year despite the commotion in the summer of 2012. The predictions for 2013 are not particularly optimistic either. This is mainly because of the growing costs which owners of properties in the city have to incur.

The real estate taxes are projected to grow. This will be the case even for new buildings and ones which have been improved to be more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. The property insurance premiums in the city are expected to increase as well. The growing costs will have a negative impact on home buyers and on investors. The increasing cost of mortgages will affect market demand adversely as well.

The predictions for the New York real estate market in 2013 are not particularly bright but this does not mean that the situation is desperate. New construction developments are in the way and more neighborhoods which were previously ignored by buyers such as Harlem are now gaining popularity.

Real Estate Marketing - Make Good Use of Your Business Card

How many real estate business cards did you hand out today?

Hopefully, a whole handful, but I've known agents who guarded those cards like they were gold - they'd only give one away if someone specifically asked for it! Really, I know agents who can make a box of 250 cards last a year or more. (They cost money, you know!)

Instead, you should be handing them to everyone you interact with during the day - even if you've given them one before. If they ask why, tell them it's so they'll have one handy when they want to give your name to someone. That's a subtle request for referrals and just might make people realize that you do appreciate it when they tell others about you. (When they do refer someone to you, remember to say Thank You!)

Photographs: It's become common practice in real estate now, so maybe I don't need to remind anyone, but be SURE to include a good picture of yourself.

Many of the people you talk with in your day to day travels either don't even know your name until you hand them your card, or won't remember your name later. But if your picture is there, they'll remember your face. More importantly, when they see you smiling at them, they'll remember that they liked you!

I'm talking about the waitress who brought your lunch or the checker at the grocery store - you might visit with them every time you go in, but do you introduce yourself by name?

Real estate is a unique business. While people "should" choose you for your experience and expertise, often they choose you on feelings alone. So smile, be pleasant, and cause people to get a good feeling when they see your face on a business card.

The picture on your card is also important when you attend networking events...

Think about how many people you might meet in a single day, and how little time you have to actually get acquainted with any of them. How can you keep track of which of them impressed you as someone you might want to do business with?

When you hear 50 or 100 names you have to have a darned good memory to remember what you thought about each of those people when you met them. But seeing their faces on a card will cause you to recall how you felt about them. You might see one face and think "She was sure friendly and informative," while another face will cause you to think "Boy was he an arrogant jerk!"

So hand out your card with a really good likeness of yourself (not some glamour photo!) - so other people can think "That's someone I want to do business with" every time they come across the card.

Be sure to actually use the cards you get at those events

Those cards can expand your sphere of influence! When you get home, put them in your contact database and send them a note within a day or two. If you can remember something you talked about, mention it - so they'll remember you.

You may have written a note on their card reminding yourself that you offered to send something, and if you did, do it right away.

Maybe you got permission to put them on your newsletter list. If so, do it. If not, write them and offer to put them on the list. Send a sample so they'll know your newsletter will be of value to them.

And then, provided you were favorably impressed by the person, make an effort to send a referral their way within the next few weeks.

here's no better way to ask for referrals (and get them) than to be the first to give one.

Mobile Marketing for Wholesaling Real Estate

Between free Google WiFi, a dramatic increase in tablet usage and being able to go weeks without needing an outlet to charge mobile is clearly quickly becoming the future for wholesaling marketing.

In fact, mobile marketing is already quickly becoming a major differentiating factor in who gets the business when it comes to wholesaling and selling real estate.

Those still sitting on the mobile sidelines, afraid of the technology or who undervalue it or haven't found the right angle yet will find the data from the recent report "The Digital House Hunt: Consumer and Market Trends in Real Estate" provides great insight into what is going on right now and how the shift in buying homes is occurring, as well as important realizations for wholesaling marketing.

According to the report real estate related searches on Google are up 253% in the last 4 years and up 22% in the third quarter of 2012 alone. However, this is nothing compared to the 120% rise in mobile searches for real estate terms in the third quarter or the over 300% jumps in tablet searches by new home buyers.

Most real estate investors and marketers are probably aware that 90% of home buyers now use the web in their searches, with over half making it their first move. However, what many probably don't know is that buyers of foreclosures are more likely to use the internet than others and were responsible for 180% surge in related searches via mobile versus just 7% for desktops.

Many investors have failed to embrace mobile for their wholesaling marketing because they say they need money and deals right now and don't have time for it. They should know that 24% of those using the web for their home search took action the same day, and 60% did within 60 days.

7 out of 10 who took action used local keywords in their home searches. Those advertising foreclosures in their wholesaling marketing will want to know the most popular states for foreclosure related searches were FL, NV, GA, AZ and IL.

Video is of course another big wholesaling marketing trend today and very common on mobile but few probably know that the most common reason for watching video was to find out more about a specific community, not home tours or watching testimonials.

Clearly whatever type of wholesaling marketing you are planning for the year data is king. He who has the data can do the best marketing and reap the best results.

Sadly most still underestimate the importance of mobile for wholesaling marketing. Know that it will only take a couple of really great real estate apps to lock many investors out of much of the market in terms of buyers. HomeSnap is attempting to be one of them. Will you find a way to capitalize on mobile in time?

Higher Conversion Marketing Tips for Commercial Real Estate Agents

When you have a commercial or retail property for sale or lease today, the marketing process is really important. The message about the property and its availability just has to reach the local area and the target market of buyers or tenants as the case may be.

The days of generic marketing in commercial real estate are well gone. We are the specialist local real estate agents to find the right people to buy or rent the listed property. All of that being said, it takes real effort on our part to do this; finding the right parties to inspect premises today is a skill. For this very reason your efforts of personal property marketing should be devoted only to the exclusive listings on your books. Open listings are a waste of time and if any of your open listings sell or rent, it is a factor of luck.

Top agents will walk away from 'open listings' on the basis that the client has not committed to the agent; you cannot trust clients in those circumstances. If a property owner wants to sell or lease their property, they should be serious and committed to the task.

One special note should be made here that all clients today on exclusive listings should commit to the marketing process by providing vendor marketing funds to the agent.

Here are some more ideas to help with this marketing effort:

Local area bias should occur with most of your listings. Over the years in most areas you will see that contracts and leases largely occur with local business owners and property investors. Yes, I know that there are exceptions to the rule with 'out of town' buyers or a tenants sometimes entering the area, but generally speaking it is easier to market locally to the people that know the area and the property.
Signboard placement on the property will remain a key component of property marketing. If you can get a special sign placed on the property then do so.
As soon as the sign is placed on the property, visit the other local businesses in the street and the neighbours that occupy nearby property. Every new listing is an excuse to talk to local people.
Internet and website listings are an important part of property marketing today. Most people and businesses that are looking for properties and premises will check out the internet. For this reason choose your property descriptions and advert layout with care. Get professional photographs taken to help the process of attracting the enquiry.

Simple strategies of marketing like these always work in commercial and retail real estate. You will find out more information and get more leads when you take the right property marketing steps.

Get Top Property Prices For Your Home With These Tips

It is an interesting question. Why are you the best agent for the client to use to promote the clients property today? Do you have an answer that is real and relevant to the situation? Or is the answer something generic like some of the following.

We know the property market
We have all the enquiry
We have sold (leased) property like this before
I have a buyer (tenant) right now that would like to see this property
We have good people to promote the property for you
We have offices all over the state (country) that will have your listing detail and can promote that to their buyers and prospects.
We have the contacts to reach the targets for you
Our costs are lower than any other agent
Our team is the best
We can get you the best price

So many times I have heard these phrases in the market. The reality is that they are all worth nothing to the listing presentation and pitch. Without the deeper facts, these phrases are worth 'zero' to you.

To win a listing today, you must be the best choice of agent. If you say any of the above statements in your presentation, be prepared to prove it with a lot more detail and facts. Facts, market knowledge, and results all have to be proven today before the client will see you and your agency as being relevant to them.

Take any of the above phrases to prove a point here. I will choose 'Our team is the best'. Without any supporting comment and proof, the phrase is quite irrelevant to the client. If I had made that statement, I would have to support it with a few more specific facts such as the following:

'Bill Smith on our team has sold 3 properties like this in the last 4 months. That activity has given us a database of 200 qualified people that we will be taking the new listing to personally.'
'Our team has tried a number of marketing systems and alternatives for this property type in the last 6 months. What we have found is that the tender process is the best to use here as it creates significant inquiry in the shortest time. Every time we have used this strategy the tender close date kept the prospects active and motivated to putting in an offer that was market relative.'

You can see from the above examples that you can be far more specific when you work with clients in listing their property. In this way you can prove your relevance to the client as the top agent for the job at hand.

The New York Real Estate Market Trends for 2013

New York is one of the most dynamic cities in the world and the New York real estate market is no exception to this rule. After the huge plunge of 2008, the market has been on the road to recovery, but experts are still cautious about predicting growth. Let us take a look at the major trends for 2013 and find out how they will affect buyers and sellers.

It is worth looking at the New York real estate market statistics first. In January 2013, the average price per square foot in the city is $1,339. The average listing price for homes is $2,316,317. There has been an increase in the price of some 10.6 per cent from the same period last year. The increase in the number of sales from December 2011 to December 2012 was 40.3 per cent.

The statistics reveal that the New York real estate market is experiencing a recovery with more homes being sold and the prices going up. However, the sales and prices do not reveal the whole picture. It is the demand and supply that play a major role in the market. There are other factors that buyers and sellers need to consider as well.

Experts agree that the increase in the New York real estate prices is primarily due to the fairly small inventory which is projected to shrink. The number of new developments in the city has dropped substantially since the recent market plunge. At the same time, fewer properties are listed because sellers are not happy with the current market prices, which remain fairly low, and prefer to wait for better times.

Hurricane Sandy is expected to have long-term consequences on the market inventory. It has destroyed or significantly damaged many properties. Many neighborhoods have been severely affected and their attractiveness has diminished considerably as a result.

The demand in the New York real estate market has not increased considerably over the past year despite the commotion in the summer of 2012. The predictions for 2013 are not particularly optimistic either. This is mainly because of the growing costs which owners of properties in the city have to incur.

The real estate taxes are projected to grow. This will be the case even for new buildings and ones which have been improved to be more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. The property insurance premiums in the city are expected to increase as well. The growing costs will have a negative impact on home buyers and on investors. The increasing cost of mortgages will affect market demand adversely as well.

The predictions for the New York real estate market in 2013 are not particularly bright but this does not mean that the situation is desperate. New construction developments are in the way and more neighborhoods which were previously ignored by buyers such as Harlem are now gaining popularity.

Real Estate Marketing - Make Good Use of Your Business Card

How many real estate business cards did you hand out today?

Hopefully, a whole handful, but I've known agents who guarded those cards like they were gold - they'd only give one away if someone specifically asked for it! Really, I know agents who can make a box of 250 cards last a year or more. (They cost money, you know!)

Instead, you should be handing them to everyone you interact with during the day - even if you've given them one before. If they ask why, tell them it's so they'll have one handy when they want to give your name to someone. That's a subtle request for referrals and just might make people realize that you do appreciate it when they tell others about you. (When they do refer someone to you, remember to say Thank You!)

Photographs: It's become common practice in real estate now, so maybe I don't need to remind anyone, but be SURE to include a good picture of yourself.

Many of the people you talk with in your day to day travels either don't even know your name until you hand them your card, or won't remember your name later. But if your picture is there, they'll remember your face. More importantly, when they see you smiling at them, they'll remember that they liked you!

I'm talking about the waitress who brought your lunch or the checker at the grocery store - you might visit with them every time you go in, but do you introduce yourself by name?

Real estate is a unique business. While people "should" choose you for your experience and expertise, often they choose you on feelings alone. So smile, be pleasant, and cause people to get a good feeling when they see your face on a business card.

The picture on your card is also important when you attend networking events...

Think about how many people you might meet in a single day, and how little time you have to actually get acquainted with any of them. How can you keep track of which of them impressed you as someone you might want to do business with?

When you hear 50 or 100 names you have to have a darned good memory to remember what you thought about each of those people when you met them. But seeing their faces on a card will cause you to recall how you felt about them. You might see one face and think "She was sure friendly and informative," while another face will cause you to think "Boy was he an arrogant jerk!"

So hand out your card with a really good likeness of yourself (not some glamour photo!) - so other people can think "That's someone I want to do business with" every time they come across the card.

Be sure to actually use the cards you get at those events

Those cards can expand your sphere of influence! When you get home, put them in your contact database and send them a note within a day or two. If you can remember something you talked about, mention it - so they'll remember you.

You may have written a note on their card reminding yourself that you offered to send something, and if you did, do it right away.

Maybe you got permission to put them on your newsletter list. If so, do it. If not, write them and offer to put them on the list. Send a sample so they'll know your newsletter will be of value to them.

And then, provided you were favorably impressed by the person, make an effort to send a referral their way within the next few weeks.

here's no better way to ask for referrals (and get them) than to be the first to give one.

Higher Conversion Marketing Tips for Commercial Real Estate Agents

When you have a commercial or retail property for sale or lease today, the marketing process is really important. The message about the property and its availability just has to reach the local area and the target market of buyers or tenants as the case may be.

The days of generic marketing in commercial real estate are well gone. We are the specialist local real estate agents to find the right people to buy or rent the listed property. All of that being said, it takes real effort on our part to do this; finding the right parties to inspect premises today is a skill. For this very reason your efforts of personal property marketing should be devoted only to the exclusive listings on your books. Open listings are a waste of time and if any of your open listings sell or rent, it is a factor of luck.

Top agents will walk away from 'open listings' on the basis that the client has not committed to the agent; you cannot trust clients in those circumstances. If a property owner wants to sell or lease their property, they should be serious and committed to the task.

One special note should be made here that all clients today on exclusive listings should commit to the marketing process by providing vendor marketing funds to the agent.

Here are some more ideas to help with this marketing effort:

Local area bias should occur with most of your listings. Over the years in most areas you will see that contracts and leases largely occur with local business owners and property investors. Yes, I know that there are exceptions to the rule with 'out of town' buyers or a tenants sometimes entering the area, but generally speaking it is easier to market locally to the people that know the area and the property.
Signboard placement on the property will remain a key component of property marketing. If you can get a special sign placed on the property then do so.
As soon as the sign is placed on the property, visit the other local businesses in the street and the neighbours that occupy nearby property. Every new listing is an excuse to talk to local people.
Internet and website listings are an important part of property marketing today. Most people and businesses that are looking for properties and premises will check out the internet. For this reason choose your property descriptions and advert layout with care. Get professional photographs taken to help the process of attracting the enquiry.

Simple strategies of marketing like these always work in commercial and retail real estate. You will find out more information and get more leads when you take the right property marketing steps.

Get Top Property Prices For Your Home With These Tips

How much your house is really worth depends on a lot of things, like the state of the economy, the kind of neighbours who live within the area, and the locale's potential for future development. However, making a successful sale does not depend solely on property prices; the design of the interiors and a few special perks can actually help secure a customer. After all, the convincing power of low house prices can never quite compare with the compelling force of love at first sight. If you want to make your house look a little more inviting to home buyers, then maybe you should consider a few (or all) of the tips listed below.

One of the quickest ways to make your house look more relaxing and appealing is by making it look brighter. The easiest way to do this is by opening up windows to let in the light; try removing curtains and see how that act alone can get rid of a room's heavy atmosphere. Whenever you are entertaining a potential buyer, remove or tie back curtains as this can help make the room much brighter. Letting in views from the outside also makes the room look bigger and much more spacious than it really is. If you really need to use curtains for privacy, try going with light fabrics or sheer lace that can obstruct views but still allow light to pass through. Avoid using thick fabrics and heavy drapery as these not only block light but also give rooms a stifling atmosphere.

Another thing that can guarantee interest from buyers is including special details in your home that make it look all the more luxurious to live in. For instance, placing a basket filled with rolled towels tied with pretty ribbons and packets of scented soaps, creams, and lotions can make your bathroom seem more like a spa than a place for maintaining hygiene. A vase of fresh flowers waiting to greet prospective buyers with a sweet floral scent can make your house all the more inviting, and a collection of colourful cookbooks and bowls of shining, fresh fruit in the kitchen can help make your guests more enthusiastic about cooking meals there. These little tricks don't cost much but they can have great effects on the appeal of your house. Remember, it's all in the details.

Lastly, selling your house does not depend entirely on how it looks. It's also affected by how you present it. Make sure you exude a cheerful vibe when selling because talking about your favourite room in the house won't be as convincing when you're looking sullen, or worse, impatient. Be enthusiastic when showing prospective buyers why you love the house and you'll be sure to get great price for your property in a short amount of time.