I’m not a Harvard trained economist, I’m just a salty business guy who’s been around the block a few times or maybe has been put through the ringer, but it seems to me that we bottomed out about 3 ½ months ago.

As I travel around talking to brokers and seeing the general flow of business it appears that the market has stabilized for now. We do still face some challenges with high unemployment, increased national debt and the Alt-A mortgages starting to default, but I believe we’ve entered a period of relative stability in the housing market and the larger economy.

It appears that people have gotten over the initial shock, adjusted their lifestyles and begun living within their means, and are now beginning to make sensible purchases again.

The key ingredient in this market is making sure you are providing a lot of value and being cost conscious for your customers. If you’ve checked out Buffini & Company’s three Coaching Solutions you’ll see we’re starting to lead by example in that, and while it’s not time to throw a parade just yet, it is time to cancel the pity party.

Keep plugging along; things are going to be just fine.

It’s a good life!

Brian

I’ve been in my office today reading hundreds of notes that you’ve written following this year’s MasterMind and the most common theme has been, “It was just what I needed.” Nothing surprises me about our Members anymore, including the fact that 3000 of you showed up in San Diego for our annual Client Party/Seminar.

Now let me share something with you.

This year’s MasterMind was just what I needed! I can’t remember the last time I attended an event where I felt so rejuvenated, refocused and implemented so many action steps right away. After a two-year hiatus from a decades-long practice of journaling I now find myself carrying my journal with me everywhere I go - capturing what I did, what I felt and what I thought. It’s as if a big part of my life that was missing is back. On a side note, so many of you have generously sent me journals that I have enough to last me the next 20 years! So I thank you, and if you must send a housewarming gift send a bottle of wine to fill my new cellar! :)

In counting my blessings I recognize how privileged I am to do the work I do for the people I get to do it for. And this year the gift of serving people came back to serve me in a way I never would’ve imagined. This year’s MasterMind will go down as a life-changing event for all who attended and the one whose life may change the most will be the lad who presented it. MasterMind was just what we all needed. See you next year!

It’s a good life!

Brian

This just in...According to the National Association of Realtors, existing homes sales rose 3.6% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 4.89m in June. That’s up from a 4.7m rate in May – good news for the housing market and the economy in general. In addition, despite interest rates rising slightly to 5.14%, just a year ago the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 6.63%. Sales of new single-family homes jumped 11% in June – the biggest monthly gain since December 2000 and far outstripping economists outlook for a 4.5% rise.

So tell me this; in a market with great affordability, rates and choice, are you getting your fair share?

It’s a good life!

Brian

The sun is shining and the Summertime Surge is in full swing. Are you?

Over the years at our events you’ve heard me tell the story of the Spanish conqueror, Cortez. Reaching the Eastern shores of Mexico it became apparent over time that he and his men were going to have a battle on their hands. Problem was the men didn’t want to fight; they wanted to return home to Spain. Cortez had a mission, however, and so, he and his lieutenants went on board the ships one night and set them alight. Knowing that the option of ‘going home’ might lead to the men mutinying or refusing to fight, he took action to remove that possibility. Left with no choice but to go into battle and fight, they duly did just that.

There are times to burn your bridges, be committed and make what can feel like difficult decisions. My encouragement to you is to put yourself in a position where the only choice you have is success. At the end of the day this is all about your commitment to the business so it's time to hang tough. There are a number of people who want to tuck tail and run right now, but those who stay are not only going to win this fight, they’re going to prosper for years to come.

It’s a good life!

Brian

When things seem out of control or circumstances feel overwhelming, we’ll often try some grand gesture or radical U-turn to catapult us out of a rut. The benefits of a single day can seem too insignificant to truly have an impact. The reality is, however, that every great journey begins with a single step. Day-by-day, note-by-note and call-by-call, when you keep chipping away and being faithful with the fundamentals of working by referral you’ll weather this market and come out with a great business.

I wanted to share something powerful with you today. It’s a 17th Century French proverb that deals with the importance of doing the small thing right:

For want of a nail the shoe was lost,

For want of the shoe the horse was lost

For want of the horse the rider was lost

For want of the rider the message was lost

For want of the message the battle was lost

For want of the battle the war was lost.

All for the loss of a lone shoe nail

(Anon)

The lead-generation activities we’ve laid out in the Summertime Surge have been designed to keep your eyes peeled for those loose nails so your business is battle-ready. Don’t neglect the fundamentals. Put these in your business otherwise you’ll be biting your nails from fear and worry.

It’s a good life!

Brian

As all of you are Blitzing away and enjoying the Summertime Surge, some of the things we’ve been hearing over and over again are: “Am I too late?” “I was on vacation,” or “I have a friend who really needs this.”

So, by popular demand, as the game show host says, we’re starting our 2nd Wave of the Blitz today. If you have any colleagues in your office, or if you’re a broker who wants to increase productivity, tell your agents they can catch the Second Wave of the Summertime Surge. July 13th will be the last day to register as there’s no point in continuing the Surge past the summer...it’s tough to do summer themed Pop-Bys in November!

We’re hearing great stories and results. People are getting out there having fun, generating leads and making commission checks.

Don’t’ forget to tell your friends and colleagues they can start the Surge today.

It’s a good life!

Brian

I just returned home from a week in the fabulous city of Toronto. I’ve said this many times, but I truly believe it’s vital to get out of our environment on a regular basis. Visiting another country helps expand your thinking and broadens your horizons. It invigorates you by introducing you to a variety of new experiences…from different foods, different phrases to a different way of looking at the world. Getting out of the country also gives you a great appreciation for the things you enjoy most about your own city, town or neighborhood. And in that leveling of our perspective grow the seeds of contentment.

Right now, with so many people worried about their finances, the market etc. it’s very easy to forget all that we have and all there is to be thankful for.

So, my encouragement to all of you is sometime in the next 12 months, get out and about - as the Canadians say - and go visit a foreign shore. It’ll expand your horizons and be good for what ails you.

It’s a good life!

Brian

Oh, by the way…people have been requesting the fun facts and figures I’ve been talking about recently so they can respond to this market. Feel free to utilize these numbers and maybe together, one client at a time, we can educate the market!

Some facts to know:

• More than 1000 banks closed in 1930 – only 14 U.S. banks have been taken over in 2008
• There are 76 million households in the U.S. that own their home - 24 million of these homes are free and clear
• There are 52 million homes with mortgages - 97.2% of these are not in foreclosure, 93.8% of these homes are current on their payments
  

On a sobering note:

• Over 20% of homeowners with a mortgage owe more than their home is worth
• 40% of all foreclosures are non-owner occupied

How did we get here?

Decade    Homes Sold High    Homes Sold Average

1970’s      3.9 million               3 million
1980’s      4 million                  3.3 million
1990’s      4.9 million               3.9 million
2000’s      7.1 million               5.6 million
Resale numbers – the above does not include new home sales.

Sources: Wall Street Journal / Moody’s Economy.com / RealtyTrac / NAR / Forbes

For some compelling stats on the Canadian market, visit the Economics Publications section on http://www.scotiabank.com

If you’ve been following the national news recently regarding the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, the stock market getting hit and Fannie and Freddie being taken over by the government, these are all the classics signs of the bottom of a market correction.

Right now, we don’t have so much of a real estate problem as we do a banking one. Prices have mostly stabilized across the country and in the short sale and foreclosure market we’re seeing multiple offers. Although I do believe there are a couple more banks in trouble and there’s not yet a full complement of mortgage products to satisfy all the buyers in the market, trust me that will get sorted out. For thousands of years lending money has been one of the most profitable businesses in the world. Banks make money by lending; not by deposits. So they will figure out ways to package loans and get cash into the hands of consumers. I believe this is the final cleansing process and in the next six months we’ll start to come out on the other side of this.

Make sure your clients don’t get caught in the “cudda shudda wudda” of taking advantage of this market. Make sure all your investor clients are fully aware of all the deals that exist and if there’s any way possible, see if you can pick up one of these real estate deals as part of your own investment strategy. We won’t know what the bottom is until after but I believe it’s pretty close. Keep your head down working hard.

It’s a good life!

Brian

On my travels this year, I’ve noticed a lot of people working harder than ever to make the same or even less money. And myself and the staff at Buffini & Company have been doing everything we can to try to encourage, motivate, challenge and train all of our great Members. However there’s one element that you must introduce regularly to your mental diet and that’s a good belly laugh.

Studies have shown its physiological healing qualities, researchers have analyzed its psychological benefits, however it just seems to me that at times like this there’s nothing like putting your head back and allowing yourself to have a good laugh. This was part of the thinking that went into the "Referral Brothers" skit Joe Niego and I did this year at this year's MasterMind. We had just received the first copies of our new book, Work by Referral. Live the Good Life! and we wanted to come up with a creative way not only to gift our audience with the first edition, but also provide some comic relief and allow people to throw their heads back and just enjoy.

So make sure you put yourself in an environment or spend time with someone you know will provide a good laugh. And if you don’t have anything planned for today, check this YouTube clip out and maybe it’ll do the trick.

Keep working, keep trying, and keep laughing.

It’s a good life!

Brian

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same:
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

- Rudyard Kipling

Some say that Rudyard wrote this poem to encourage soldiers in the war. It seems rather applicable for Realtors®, lenders and those working in the service industry in this market.

It’s a good life!

Brian