For the full Commercial Report click here or on the logo:

Nerds in Real Estate (NIRE) is now formed.  This is an Elite agency designed to Inspire the nerds in each of us.  We will have consistent  missions that demand our attention.  Also by joining you will be required, and encouraged to share any tech news, reviews and tips you may uncover.   Good Luck!

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In efforts to give back to the communities where we live, Keller Williams Realty as an entire company (3rd largest real estate company to be exact) has dedicated Thursday, May 14th to RED (Renew, Energize, Donate) Day.   Each KW agent is challenged to spend this day focused on improving the community they reside and do business in.  Activities may include:

• rehabbing a home
• providing food to the homeless
• hosting a blood drive
• cleaning up local parks & playgrounds
• planting flowers along downtown streets
• donating time to charities in dire need of volunteers

and the list goes on.

The Keller Williams Realty office in St. Charles has partnered with the local Salvation Army in volunteering to spring clean some of the elderly and disabled members of the community’s homes.   From raking lawns to cleaning windows, these special community members will experience a fresh and clean start to the bright and sunny spring season.   We have committed to 14 projects in all which will be coordinated by 7 crew leaders in charge of two projects each.  This leaders are excited to be a part of this heartwarming and FUN event. Does this sound like something you would be interested in?

For more information or to join us as a volunteer for the day, please contact Keller Williams-Fox Valley Realty at 630.377.6200 or klrw496@kw.com.   Or, visit our website at www.kw-fvr.com.

RISmedia on January 29th wrote an article about Keller Williams and abilities in a tough market.  following are some of the highlights of what the article states

• Homes sales dropped 17%  the first 11 months of 2008 Keller Williams while outpace that by 10%,
• KW gave back $30 Million in profit sharing back to its agents,
• KW is debt free
• KW continually creates products and services to help boost agent productivity, such as 2 new books,  Your First Home: The Proven Path to Home Ownership, and SHIFT: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times

This article features quotes from our CEO Mark Willis and our COO Mary Tennant.

In tough times it is nice to know that our Leadership is taking us in the right direction and that outside sources are recognizing the same thing!

Please read the article when you have the chance;  Article

As we move closer and closer to the season of the white fluffy stuff, thinking about water usage is probably not on your mind.  But, that white fluffy stuff melts and turns to water, something that is becoming more and more scarce  on our planet.  Households make up  10% of the fresh water used in this country.  That may not sound like a lot, but that adds up to over 43 billion gallons of water per day for use in households (drinking,  bathing, laundry, cooking, and outdoor use).  43 billion a day!

While many newer homes are coming equipped with water saving appliances, plumbing, and features, your older home can be made to be more water conserving very easily.  The toilet accounts for 28% percent of water usage in the average U.S. home.  The city of New York realized how big an impact could be made just by encouraging its residents to replace older, water inefficient toilets, with newer efficient ones.  The rebate program cost the city about $393 million in money back to home and building owners when they made the switch.  But the 7% savings in water usage saved the tax payers $605 million by deferring expansion of the cities water infrastructure.  That’s a win-win!

How can you get in on the savings, even without a government rebate?  First and least expensive is to install low flow aerators on faucets.  This is the single best home water conservation method.   Inexpensive, water saving shower heads are another great way to decrease water waste.  If you have an older toilet, but are unwilling, or unable to replace it, fill the bottom of 2 plastic bottles with about 1-2 inches of sand, then the rest of the way with water.  Place them in the toilet tank, away from the mechanical parts.  You will be saving water with every flush!

A few free options for conservation are to turn the water off while brushing your teeth, except to rinse.  The same for shaving.  Rather than rinse the razor in running water, put an inch or so of water in a stoppered sink.  This will rinse the razor just as well.  Take shorter showers, and turn off the water when lathering.  Only run the clothes and dish washers with full loads.  Stop using your garbage disposal, and start a compost pile.

If you are inclined to invest the greenback to go green, do a bit of research.  Be sure to compare the purchase cost, the operational cost, and the upkeep or maintenance cost when deciding which unit to purchase.  According to the U.S. Dept. of Energy: “Based on our estimates, a typical family with a home more than a decade old could save $200 per year in electricity and water bills, and 18,600 gallons of water, by switching to highly energy and water efficient appliances. A family in a newer home would save slightly less, due to the more efficient equipment already installed in their home. If every American household installed these products, the annual water savings would equal the average flow of the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico for five entire days.”  (Source: National Geographic Green Guide).  That’s a lot of white, fluffy stuff!

Goals-what about ‘em?

In the book What They Don’t Teach You in the Harvard Business School, Mark McCormack tells of a study conducted on students in the 1979 Harvard MBA Program. In that year, the students were asked, “Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?” Only 3% of the graduates had written goals and plans: 13% had goals, but they were not in writing; and a whopping 84% had no specific goals at all.

Ten years later, the members of the class were interviewed again, and the findings, while somewhat predictable, were nonetheless astonishing. The 13% of the class who had goals were earning, on average, TWICE as much as the 84% who had no goals at all. And what about the 3% who had clear, written goals? They were earning on average, 10 TIMES as much as the 97% put together.

In spite of such proof of success, most people don’t have clear, measurable, time-bounded goals that they work toward.

NOW is the time to plan your business for 2009. Don’t YOU want to making the commissions the other 97% of Realtors are making and grab your unfair share?

Contact Ute Westphal, In-house Productivity Coach at 630.513.3844 to reserve your seat in the upcoming business planning workshops. Limited seats available, so act now.

Please join us here for our sales Meeting it will start promptly at 11:30 am on Tuesday Nov. 4th!   we are working on getting this viewer to show on the blog, b1ut initially it will have to be through a separate window.  So please click on the Click Here button below at 11:30!

Click Here

To listen to the news, one would think that the end is near.  Indeed, one newspaper recently featured a cartoon with a downtrodden soul carrying such a banner. “The End Is Near” it read.  Next to him in the cartoon, a trader from Wall Street, is labeling the doom and gloomer an “Optimist”!  As real estate professionals, it is partially our job to acknowledge the fact that we are in a tough market.  But it is also our job to educate our clients, friends and family that all is not lost.  Now is not the time to bury our heads in the sand, but to secure the beach!

One motif that our current economic situation is given is “as bad as the Great Depression”.  Lets look at a few facts about our current situation and the Great Depression.

The unemployment rate in the US during the Depression reached 25%.  Even at the end of the 1930’s, unemployment was close to 15%.  As October 24th, our current unemployment rate measured 6.1% (source: Dept of Labor).  As of January, 1934, 43.8% of all owner occupied homes in the US that had a first mortgage were in default on that loan.  As of the end of June, 2008, 2.75% of loans were in the foreclosure process (notice of default, auction sale notice,or bank repo).  An additional 6.41% were at least 1 month delinquent (source: Mortgage Bankers Association).  Fully 40% of US banks failed during the 5 years from 1929 to 1933.  Today, only 15 of the 8,451 banks backed by the FDIC have been taken over by the FDIC, or less than 0.2% (source: FDIC). 

You may have heard that the credit markets are “frozen”.  But when it comes to housing, FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are open for business.  These 3 entities are accounting for over 90% of the loans in the US mortgage market.  FHA alone is insuring over 100,000 new loans a month.  HUD Secretary Steve Preston says that these 3 have “kept liquidity alive” for home buyers.  “There is no credit crisis” for individual home buyers who have at least 3% to put down, documentable employment, and at least a moderately good credit record, said Preston.  Preston and HUD are playing key roles in the widely publicized $700 billion financial system bailout. 

Also in the works on Capital Hill: A new economic stimulus package aimed at increasing employment and adding billions of dollars into key segments of the economy.  One version of the proposal includes a large federal tax credit for all purchasers of homes.  Currently, the federal goverment has a $7500 tax credit available to first time buyers, which has to be paid back over time.  The new credit amounts being pushed by housing industry lobbyists are up to $12,000, available to all home purchasers, and would not have to be repaid.

So, keep your head up!  Times are tough, but have been tougher.  Interest rates are still good, gas and heating oil prices are down.  We get what we focus on. Don’t let the mainstream media determine YOUR focus!

We have an fun filled Month of ahead of us!

Sorry if this calendar is not easily read, to find a readable copy,  please select the link below and you will get a PDF copy of our Monthly calendar. If you are interested in coming to one of our events please call Joelle Senter or Lauren Smith at our Office.    630-377-6200

training-schedule-october2008

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