The Double Comma Club

Sometimes as real estate industry professionals we get caught up in the success, in the transaction, counting units and production. Those are real and tangible and feel good. But when we celebrate the client's success, remembering who the real estate industry is really about, then we stop making it about us and are able to make a dramatic difference in people's lives for today and all of their tomorrows... it's multigenerational.

Nicole asked Bret, "What would you say is the one thing that you've learned during this time, right during COVID19? We've all had to rethink everything. What was the one thing that you've learned that really stands out?"

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When we go back 10 20 30 years, in real estate. We sometimes it feels like we just lose our way and we start to focus on our commissions. We start to focus on the money, and we start to lose sight of value, our award ceremonies. It's based on production, not how many families we've helped. It's based on size. Not how many individuals do we help to achieve their goals, and sometimes we get so focused on those numbers and we forget that this is the biggest transaction in people's lives. In the past 20 to 30 years we've dropped the ball on that a little bit. As Realtors and real estate agents, we've allowed companies like these disruptors, the big companies -  Zillow, Redfin, all these companies to come in. Because we've been focused on not the consumer but on the general process and kind of where it takes us. 

It is much more important right now than it ever has been for us to focus on being of value to these people because there's a lot of people are gonna be put into really difficult positions and they're looking at us to be the experts. A lot of people have lost their jobs. If they can't refinance, if they can't call you to get something done and they got $200,000 of equity. We have to be that frontline, and there's going to be so many people out there that are gonna be taking advantage of that.

Bret says, "The real estate industry making that dramatic difference in people's lives that are essential. Hyper-focusing on that has really helped us to grow. And the nice thing is, if you build your business this way, it really seems like you get a lot more referrals. You get a lot more people who are actually coming to you because you're an expert. They know that you care.

If you're not sharing and you're thinking that everything is limited, then that's keeping you playing small. "

Nicole Rueth

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Forbearance GREAT News for Your Clients.  You've heard me talking about how brutal the consequences were for taking a forbearance. It was something the designers of the Cares Act did not foresee. It took FHFA 6 weeks to figure it out. But they finally did. Listen to find out how the 12-month waiting period just got reduced to zero or three months and a quick summary of the four options for exiting a forbearance and their timing updates.

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***Please note: this guideline change is for originating new conventional loans (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) not FHA, VA, and USDA, those still have a 12-month post forbearance waiting period. We are hopeful their announcements will follow.

Nicole Rueth

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Nicole welcomes Alex Tooke, one of the founders of Peak Properties Group to Agent Talk today. Derek Weber and our guest, Alex Tooke have grown Peak to a consistent $100 million in transactions per year company. They have 20 agents and three locations. He really drives home the overuse of the word pivot. There is no need to pivot your business now. This is the time to double-down on your core values as an agent and a company. What are you already good at? Do more of that. Look for collaboration among your competitors for the benefit of all agents and the local industry. There is enough room for everyone to continue building strength from within their teams. This 8-minute conversation will give you some aha moments, and allow you to not buy into the need to change everything you know in order to survive in these times. Instead, focus on what you do well and thrive. Learn more about Peak Properties Group here.

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Nicole Rueth

303-214-6393 www.TheRuethTeam.com

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We have Steve Danyliw, who I am honored to have as long as I've known him, which hasn't been long enough. He has been if you will, the man behind the curtain of DMAR's Market Trends report. He is a data geek, which speaks to my heart. He started the market trends report back with Gary Bauer in 2012. He's been in the industry pretty much since birth since his second-generation realtor, but officially he's been in 18 years, so he's seen the cycles. He's seen the seasons, and this season is unlike anything else. So I wanted to ask Steve, especially this week when the market trends report just came out. Steve, what are you seeing this month?

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Steve: Maybe that not surprised you, but numbers different than where we usually go this time of year. Definitely this time of year, the market starts accelerating. The seasonality of the Denver metro market is that we typically hit the bottom in December and January. Then it's a quick acceleration up to June where we typically peak. Then it's a slow decline all the way back to December and in January. We just didn't see this covert housing market has just pretty much taken the air out of the balloon.

When it comes to that spring surge of the housing market and normal seasonal increases that we expect to this time of the year just have not happened. And the question then becomes, is this a short term situation?

Steve: It is short term, but the impact and the ability to recover, how long is that going to really take. There really is no easy answer because we're in uncharted waters and there is no way to go back and say, oh, this is like the financial collapse in '08, and so this is what we can expect to happen. There is this percentage of distressed sales, and we had short sales and foreclosures and, 2010 – 35% of what we sold in certain months were properties that were in some sort of financial distress. Right now, we're at about 0.1%. So we're still healthy and in those regards. But this time of the year we should be seeing seasonal increases. We would normally see new listings increased 5% this time of year from March to April. And we saw it drop by almost 30%. So there was a lot of red in this report. Is it scary? Not necessarily. It's not scary. We’re not falling off a cliff. This was all kind of expected.

You can't shut down an economy and not see these types of numbers happen.

So you'd expect this to continue into the May report as well, or the May data in the June report?

Steve: Generally, there are certain things, traditionally when a property goes under contract, it's 30 to 45 days to closing. And so you could always potentially look at the pendings or under contracts in a given month to kind of predict what the following month is going to be like.

Your pendings are going to turn into [closings], hopefully. They give you a good barometer of closings the following month. Historically, we should see about a 5% increase month over month in properties going under contract. This is part of that increase in the spring moving into the summer, and we dropped by about 30%. We had 30% fewer. so when you talk about what we see normally see seasonality plus the additional 30%. What it really means is that closings are also next month or the end of this month. The closings, they're going to be probably significantly down once again. Is it going to be in the 30% to 40% range off the pace from the same month last year? Probably to be conservative is probably going to be in that area could we be even a potentially little higher? It's possible.

Listen to the rest of this episode to hear more of Steve's insights for the coming two quarters.

Nicole Rueth

303-214-6393 www.TheRuethTeam.com

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Forbearance .. how to get in, get out, and the 12 month waiting period There have been more questions than answers when it comes to forbearance. Banks and servicers are making it oddly easy to get into forbearance making it seem like even if you don't need it, it's the right thing to do. But is it? It can affect your ability to get a lower interest rate or purchase a home for 12 months, locking you OUT of the market. Parents, sellers.. I'm talking to you as well. There are consequences the Cares Act did not think through. Listen to find out how to get in, get out, and more about the 12 month waiting period!

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Here are the four options your service provider will offer - or make you aware of:

1. Pay it back in full and get current

Call me if you have more questions!

Nicole Rueth

303-214-6393 www.TheRuethTeam.com

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We see red numbers on this month’s Market Trends Report and this is no surprise, but there are a few silver linings buried in there as well.  Let’s start at the top and what’s going on in the economic market, the consumer confidence, and then how it intersects Denver’s real estate market. COVID-19 has impacted us all, some more deeply than others. The loss of jobs and the requirement to stay at home forced many transactions and businesses to a screeching halt. 

Join us for this episode covering Unemployment, GDP and Consumer Confidence Rates, In Person Showings, Appreciation, Demand is Strong, Time to Navigate. These insights will help you respond to the current market and prepare for what's coming up.

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Your partner,

Nicole Rueth

303-214-6393

www.TheRuethTeam.com

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Jeremy Kane joins us with tips for gaining market share while protecting your buyers and sellers. He's a Broker Associate, Realtor at Broker's Guild Cherry Creek Ltd. 

Jeremy Kane has always been ready jump into the uncomfortable. His ability to switch gears and move quickly has kept his business steady through this pandemic. He shares some of the tactics he's using and how he's staying nimble, and even finding ways to be MORE effective and efficient during these times.

"I found I can be productive from my house, and be a great asset to my clients" - Jeremy Kane

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Your partner,

Nicole Rueth

303-214-6393

www.TheRuethTeam.com

Connect on social media:

Follow me on FB: https://www.facebook.com/theruethteam/

Be an expert in your field. Instead of posting, "Wash your hands..." You should be an expert in real estate or lending. Focus on that. This is the advice from Mike Reff, Co-Founder of Hey Mr.! He joins Nicole for this episode of Chalk Talk on The Double Comma Club. He guided those attending Agent Ignite through the idea that people need to position themselves to answer questions and provide a lot of advice. The payout will be later. He covered social stats and the decrease in app use. There is more desktop use since people aren't commuting. If you are focusing on mobile ads for Facebook, YouTube, and other apps, you may want to shift the focus back to their main sites. Consider leveraging video chats to cover the top of mind topics related to property values and promoting, inviting through NextDoor. Listen to this full episode to get a guide to how to rise above your competition, large or small. Highlights are below.

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1. I'm here to answer any questions about real estate.

1. Facebook still a great platform and Facebook ads are still valuable because of their reach.

*Be cautious spending your marketing efforts on the current hot venue. Work with what has proven to be long-standing, reliable, effective. If you have extra time to learn a new venue, then do it after you have covered what already has been proven.

• Make your content date-specific - be evergreen, OR add the date at the top of the post because not everyone notices the PUBLISH date.

Your partner,

Nicole Rueth

303-214-6393

www.TheRuethTeam.com

Connect on social media:

Follow me on FB: https://www.facebook.com/theruethteam/

In this Agent Talk, Nicole welcomes her long-time friend, Sarah Gallegos who hangs her Gallegos Team shingle with RE/MAX. In this 11-minute episode, Sarah gives us five simple tips in order to stay on top of our businesses, and sanity. These tips will be helpful long after COVID is something we talk about over wine at night.

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About Sarah:

As a RE/MAX® agent, she's dedicated to helping her clients find the home of their dreams. Whether you are buying or selling a home or just curious about the local market, she and her team would love to offer their support and services. She knows the local community — both as an agent and a neighbor — and can help guide you through the nuances of your local market. With access to top listings, a worldwide network, exceptional marketing strategies, and cutting-edge technology, she works hard to make your real estate experience memorable and enjoyable.

How to reach Sarah:

One of the causes we are highlighting this month really tugged at Nicole. SafeHouse Denver assists families in reclaiming their lives and building a new one free from domestic violence. Help us help them today. Our guest is  Heather Schreck, Annual Giving and Events Manager at SafeHouse Denver

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About Safehouse Denver:

One of the causes we are highlighting this month really tugged at Nicole. SafeHouse Denver assists adults, children, and youth in reclaiming their right to a life free from domestic violence. They serve victims of domestic violence and their children through both an emergency shelter and a non-residential Counseling and Advocacy Center. All of the adults, children, and youth who come to SafeHouse Denver have access to a full range of bilingual programming, including individual counseling, group sessions, advocacy, and safety planning.

There are many ways to help change lives:

WHETHER YOU'RE DONATING YOUR TIME, TALENTS OR TREASURE, CONTRIBUTIONS OF ALL KINDS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED AND TRULY MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Donate today. Any donations during the month of April 2020 will be matched by The Rueth Team. Be sure to mention The Rueth Team in the comments on this form: https://safehouse-denver.org/get-involved/donate.html