“The quieter you become the more you hear.” 

Posted by Lou Ludwig of Boca Raton, Florida, the quote caused me to recall a business training initiative on effective listeniing which became a core element of Xerox Corporation’s business skills training program. In an article entitled Xerox U (Time/CNN) reported, ”Since it set up its industrial-education program in 1965, the Xerox Corp. of Rochester has cranked up sales of crisp courses in business skills to 20,000 a month. Currently boasting three short (up to three days) courses that include drills on sales and problem-solving techniques as well as ‘effective listening,’ the program has drawn more than 500,000 students from such companies as Pfizer, General Electric, Burlington Industries and Eastern Airlines.” So, effective listening is clearly a  big deal and Lou’s quote, “The quieter you become the more you hear,” is an elequent expression of it.

I think that the first step towards effective listening is valuing silence as an important part of a client relationship. Dead air does not have to be filled with my words.  Rather, the silence should be allowed to act as a vacuum to be filled with our clients’ information…information that will help us serve them better.

Consultant Germaine Knapp, president of Wordsmart Inc., a consulting and training firm in Rochester, N.Y. notes: “Effective listening–we call it power listening–is one of the strongest assets in professional life today.  Too few of us take advantage of it, but all of us could. There are dozens of field-proven techniques and tactics for applying the power of listening, and they get results.”

The second step is realizing that, as realtors, we exist only to help our clients reach their goals…and to do that we have listen.

Essex Fells experienced the sharpest sales decline (-45%); while Fairfield dropped 39%; Verona, 27%; and North Caldwell, 19%. The gainers were Caldwell (+14%) and West Caldwell (+3%).

In commenting on 2010 sales, Brian McCabe, north Jersey Realtor and developer of hyperlocal market analysis, which was used to prepare the 2010 Market Report, notes that numbers like these contribute to the belief that houses are difficult to sell. Yet, he said, they tell only part of the story. “Markets do not move uniformly up or down. There are big differences between towns and between price points within towns. Hyperlocal market analysis identifies those differences, and they tell a very different story.”

For example, from 2007 to 2010 median home prices in all nine West Essex towns declined, however the amount of decline varied greatly from town to town: Verona and Roseland pretty much held their own, losing only 3 percent and 4 percent, respectively, while Essex Fells’ median home value lost 25 percent. On the other hand, from 2009 to 2010 six of the nine West Essex towns posted gains in their median home values. The biggest gainer was Essex Fells (+34%) followed by Verona (+8%), Caldwell (+6%) and Montclair (+5).

Another market measure is how quickly buyers go under contract to purchase a home. When looking at all West Essex sales, 57% of the homes sold in 2010 went under contract in two months or less. When hyperlocal market analysis dug deeper into the numbers, it was found that 72% of Verona’s sales went under contract in two months or less. Montclair came in at 68%; West Caldwell, 64%; and Cedar Grove, 61%. For those buyers, the shopping was over and they were ready to pull the trigger on deals.

So, while overall sales might have dropped, median home prices rose, and the houses that sold did so quickly. “That’s a big difference from the common perception of what this market is about,” notes McCabe, “and an even bigger difference emerged when hyperlocal market analysis looked at price points.”

Every town has both weak and strong price points. A strong price point is one where the likelihood of a listing being sold…rather than expiring or remaining active…is high. An example of strongest price point information follows, and it answers this question: What would have happened to a house in Montclair that was fairly valued between $600,000 – $650,000 if it had been listed for sale in 2010?

A list of the five strongest price points in each West Essex town, as well as additional information about hyperlocal market analysis, can be found at www.wessex-homes.com.

As you probably know, building code officials need to approve the remodeling work that is done on a house including the framing, electrical and plumbing systems, fire alarm systems, etc.  With the help of our general contractor we selected subcontractors who were well known for the quality of their work.  In fact, it was common for inspectors to say things like, “This is Bob Stavella’s work, isn’t it?”  In other words, Stavella had earned a reputation for doing outstanding electrical work, which not only made electrical inspections go more smoothly, it gave Linda and me a warm and fuzzy feeling knowing that we hired the best. 

Okay, you are out house hunting.  You step into a house for the first time and it’s spotless.  It is very clear from what you see that the people who live there possess a deep affection for the house.  Then you descend into the basement and your eyes are drawn to the heating and plumbing system.  You are blown away.  Even if you don’t know a whit about heating and plumbing, you know you are viewing the work of a master.  In fact, if the house is in my neighborhood, you might be looking at the work of a master plumber and friend named Don Dowling, owner of Don Dowling Plumbing and Heating.  Here are some images that tell Don’s story a lot better than I could. 

Pretty good, huh?  Could you confidently buy this house assuming it had the other things you were looking for?  You bet you could and the reason is that quality in a home is viral.  It tends to spread from one system to another and from one room and floor to another. 

But, alas, many houses you will see in your search…especially a search for a first home…will have some glaring deficiencies.  Even if the house has been well cared for, the baths might need redoing, the kitchen’s out of a 50′s sitcom, and the boiler burns coal (not really).  These are things to deal with, but they are not necessarily big deals.  The key is to know what you are getting into, and that’s where I can help.  As a former real estate investor and rehab developer I have seen it all and have transformed some pretty ghastly structures into some very good homes.  I’ll use that experience to help you navigate around some of the things that might look too daunting to tackle.  Your home inspection service (using one is an absolute must) will do the rest. 

So, you see a bunch of houses and finally buy one that you really love at a price that you love even more, but it needs some work.  Now what?  My recommendation is to hire the best contractors that you can, because it will be their work that potential buyers will see when you are ready to move to your second dream house. 

By the way, you can reach Don Dowling at (973) 228-7400.  He does wonderful work in my neighborhood.  Tell him McCabe sent you.

For a number of years I was a partner in an advertising and promotion firm. A lot of the work we did for clients centered on branding, and the premise that underpinned out work was this: if two brands say the same things about themselves they may as well be the same brand. The connection to Realtors is this; if ten Realtors say they deliver outstanding service are they all the same? If they’re not all the same, whose outstanding service is going to be the most outstanding? Since there’s no way to answer that, you may as well hire your aunt Molly or your cousin Charlie to represent you. That puts me in a tough spot since I’m neither your aunt Molly nor your cousin Charlie. On the other hand, I bring some very special knowledge to the table.

My special knowledge falls into four categories. The first is hyperlocal market analysis. When you visit my website , you’ll find information about a market analysis system that I developed called Game Changer. It uses MLS data, but it does so in a manner that enables both buyers and sellers to make better deals. For example, suppose you are interested in a $500,000 home that’s in a town where $500,000 homes attract many buyers. Strictly on the basis of supply and demand, it’s not likely that you’ll get a good deal on that house. It’s that kind of information that you should know, and that Game Changer provides. And it’s FREE!

Second, I was a real estate investor and rehab developer. I bought, rehabbed and sold formerly distressed houses.  Some purchases were conventional and some where short sales, which I negotiated with banks on behalf of homeowners.  And, what I learned with the help of some very able contractors was the cost of modifications, how to spot serious problems, how to modify floors plans in order to increase value, and how to work with city officials. 

Third, I’ve lived in north Jersey all my life. I’ve lived in Wood Ridge, Bellevillle, Nutley, Glen Ridge, East Orange, Montclair, North Bergen and the Caldwells.

Lastly, a lifetime in marketing and sales has taught me a few things about service, the importance of listening, the power of negotiation, and the joy of winning.  

In short, I bring a lot to the table and I want to sit at that table with you.

During the ride back to NYC my boss asked me how I thought the meeting went.  I said I thought it went well.  He said that I obviously knew a good deal about the subject.  I said, yes, I do, adding that I had made a study of it.  He said, “No one cares about what you think.” 

My life was over.  I was dead but my body just hadn’t gotten the memo yet.  Little did I know that what he said, which was, at the time, incredibly painful, would turn out to be the most valuable sales and marketing lesson I would ever get.  What he meant was that clients don’t care what sales people think.  Sales people are conduits for facts and they [the salespeople] exist to communicate those facts in the context of their [the client's] needs.  Everything else is ego-driven window dressing. 

It was time for me to rethink how I was going to conduct business for the rest of my life.

While that exchange took place many years ago I remain eternally grateful that my boss, who is long gone but hardly forgotten, cared enough to make me a better advocate for my clients’ interests.  But, interestingly, his wise counsel, which I have sought to pass on to others along the way, has often been seen as an unnecessary burden.  After all, they argued, developing factual understandings takes work and, in their minds it isn’t necessary because clients won’t know the difference. 

Perhaps clients won’t know the difference, but I will.

So it is with your search for your first home.  Don’t fall in love too fast.  Really think it through and don’t hesitate to ask for the advice of friends and family and, of course, your realtor.  But most importantly, look at a sufficient number of houses so that you can feel comfortable with your selection.  And remember, the choice of a house also includes the choice of a block, a neighborhood, a town and an area.  My Web site, www.wessex-homes,com, covers the west Essex County neighborhood, an area comprising eight towns…Caldwell, North Caldwell, West Caldwell, Roseland, Essex Fells, Verona and Cedar Grove…each one a great town in which to live.

Now, were you to ask me how many houses you should look at, I would say that only you can answer that question.  Actually, there’s a well-known saying about pornography that informs the house hunting process: it’s tough to define pornography, but you know it when you see it.  In other words, you’ll know when you have seen enough houses.  That said, I would caution against allowing external factors to play too much of a role in your decision-making.  For example, suppose a good buy comes on the market…one that’s likely to sell fast.  Your realtor will most likely tell you that, but there are two ways that the message could be delivered. 

1. The High Pressure Way: This is a great house.  If you don’t act now you are going to lose it. 
2. The Informative Way: This is a great house and it should sell fast.  If you think it’s the right house for you, consider making an offer, but do so only because it’s the right house for you. 

Which style of communication makes you feel most comfortable? 

That brings us around to the role that a Realtor should play in your search for a first home. I would want you to see me as a guide, a consultant, a set of experienced eyes, a financial advisor, an advocate and a watchdog.  While that may seem like a lot of hats to wear, it’s really only one hat: the hat of someone who will do what’s necessary to make the purchase of your first home a memorable and joyful experience. So, as you engage the process of buying your first home, be in the moment.  You’ll only have it once.