by Phil Hoover, Real Estate Broker

The Truth About Floor Time

Back in the 1970’s, when real estate offices were usually co-located adjacent to the nearest grocery store in a shopping center, there was a phenomenon known as “drop in” traffic.

People would go to the shopping center to buy groceries, walk by a real estate office, gaze at the photos in the windows, and occasionally “drop in” to inquire about a home they had seen.

Predictably, those people were “just looking” and not likely to actually buy or sell anything.

The duty agent, aka “floor agent”, was there in the hopes that a real buyer or seller would show up, but floor agents were usually about as lonely as the Maytag repairman.

My best guess is that the last time anyone walked into a real estate office to inquire about a photo of a home taped to a window was probably around the time dinosaurs disappeared from the earth.

The exception to this is perhaps resort areas like McCall or Sun Valley, but the truth is that floor time is mostly unproductive for most Boise real estate agents.

For that reason, most offices no longer have floor time and instead route inquiries to the listing agent.

Or, they assign floor duty to the office rookies who have not yet realized that there are better uses of their time.

Fact is, experienced, successful agents will not take floor time!

October 24th, 2009 Posted in Inside Real Estate | Print This Post Print This Post | No Comments »

The Truth About Office Caravan Tours

I am sometimes asked by prospective sellers when my office will tour their home if they list with me.

The answer?

Never!

Fact is, very few real estate offices tour new listings anymore.

There used to be a MLS bus tour of new listings, but our Intermountain MLS scrapped that concept years ago due to lack of interest.

Office tours are an outmoded, ineffective real estate practice that was common in the 70s and 80s.

Granted, sellers will briefly experience a warm and fuzzy feeling as their new listing office parades its agents through their home as they parrot “You have a lovely home, Mrs. Smith!”

But, let’s face it ~ does any experienced, successful agent have the time to go on tour and look at homes for which they do not currently have a buyer?

Successful, experienced agents find homes matching their buyer’s needs by searching MLS.

Which leaves sellers with the inexperienced agents who work for brokers who require them to tour new listings in order to impress unsuspecting sellers.

October 13th, 2009 Posted in Inside Real Estate, Seller Stuff | Print This Post Print This Post | No Comments »

Boise, Idaho Real Estate Stats – September 2009

Here’s a snapshot of September’s real estate activity for Boise, Idaho (Ada County):

Available Homes
# Available: 3,842
# Vacant: 1,949
Vacant Percent: 50.7%
Average Asking Price: $268,555
Median Asking Price: $195,000

Pending Sales
# Pending: 1,030
Average Asking Price: $208,441
Median Asking Price: $165,273

Closed Sales – September 2008
# Closed: 530
Average Sales Price: $249,769
Median Sales Price: $209,900

Closed Sales – September 2009
# Closed: 585
% Change: +10.4%

Average Sales Price: $201,690
% Change: -19.3%

Median Sales Price: $163,000
% Change: -22.3%

Data taken from Intermountain MLS on 10/11/09 and pertains to single-family residences on lot or acreage. Data does not include condominiums or townhomes.

October 11th, 2009 Posted in Boise Market Stats | Print This Post Print This Post | No Comments »

Meridian, Idaho Real Estate Stats – September 2009

Here’s a snapshot of September’s real estate activity for Meridian, Idaho:

Available Homes
# Available: 1,048
# Vacant: 619
Vacant Percent: 59.0%
Average Asking Price: $217,481
Median Asking Price: $184,000

Pending Sales
# Pending: 304
Average Asking Price: $187,109
Median Asking Price: $165,990

Closed Sales – September 2008
# Closed: 147
Average Sales Price: $236,582
Median Sales Price: $215,000

Closed Sales – September 2009
# Closed: 146
% Change: -.07%

Average Sales Price: $185,806
% Change: -21.5%

Median Sales Price: $166,850
% Change: -22.4%

Data taken from Intermountain MLS on 10/11/09 and pertains to single-family residences on lot or acreage. Data does not include condominiums or townhomes.

October 11th, 2009 Posted in Meridian Market Stats | Print This Post Print This Post | No Comments »

Eagle, Idaho Real Estate Stats – September 2009

Here’s a snapshot of September’s real estate activity for Eagle, Idaho:

Available Homes
# Available: 341
# Vacant: 112
Vacant Percent: 32.8%
Average Asking Price: $516,041
Median Asking Price: $389,900

Pending Sales
# Pending: 77
Average Asking Price: $420,646
Median Asking Price: $349,900

Closed Sales – September 2008
# Closed: 29
Average Sales Price: $449,675
Median Sales Price: $402,500

Closed Sales – September 2009
# Closed: 43
% Change: +48.3%

Average Sales Price: $387,287
% Change: -13.9%

Median Sales Price: $310,000
% Change: -23.0%

Data taken from Intermountain MLS on 10/11/09 and pertains to single-family residences on lot or acreage. Data does not include condominiums or townhomes.

October 11th, 2009 Posted in Eagle Market Stats | Print This Post Print This Post | No Comments »
Page 115 of 225« First...102030...113114115116117...120130140...Last »