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Image Courtesy of shreveportbossier

Another Yuletide season is upon us and I wish you all happiness with your families and meaningful connections at Christmas. No matter how you choose to celebrate the holidays, enjoy yourself and enjoy the time that you will be spending with your family and friends. I hope you will also take the time to be with Mother Nature. Get out for a cross-country ski or some outdoor skating, or maybe even just a walk in the park. Let’s not forget the greatest blessings we have apart from our loved ones – the air we breathe, the beauty all around us, the life we’re given each day, and the second chances, just as winter makes way for spring and summer.

The New Year brings new excitement. I hope everyone will look forward to the New Year with great expectations. Think up meaningful new experiences for you and your family – not only about the new things you want to have and the wonderful places you haven’t been to, but also about all the good things you can do. For my family, we’ll all go to a bookstore, buy a bunch of magazines and look at the pictures, then cut out some pictures of the experiences we want to have for ourselves this year. That’s a great way to get all of us working hard to achieve those dreams.

You can even set some goals for yourself. Being in sales, that is something that I regularly do. I set goals and think about what value I can add to folks. Then I work out how I’ll achieve those goals. I have some financial goals that are obviously important for a family man like me, but there are also health goals, education goals, family and relationship goals, and spiritual goals.

Have you thought about what experiences you want to have in 2014? Whatever they are, I wish you’ll live your dreams this coming year. Merry Christmas and let’s keep connecting!

Are  you looking to Sell or Buy a home in Calgary and need someone who won’t rest until you’ve found your dream home or until your home is sold? I’ll work hard to earn your trust and to deliver exactly what you need. Contact me at 403-589-0004 or at TheHowardTeam.net.

About Bryon Howard

Bryon Howard and his team of Calgary real estate professionals sell an average of two homes a week. He is a member of the MLS Million Point Club, which ranks him roughly in the top 2% of productive realtors in Calgary. His aim is not just to please clients but to help them buy/sell a home in Calgary at the best price, in the shortest time, and with the least hassle. He is a member of the RE/MAX House of Real Estate that leads in the Canadian market. Learn more about Bryon at TheHowardTeam.net.

I came across this recent study by finance and real estate professor Bennie Waller of Longwood University, Virginia, published on the Journal of Housing Research in 2012, stating that experienced realtors sell 12% more homes and 32% more quickly, on the average, than inexperienced agents.

I was happy to get confirmation!

It seems that the adage practice makes perfect is true even in the real estate industry. According to Prof. Waller, “The more experience you have, the more likely you are to sell the properties that you list, the more likely you are to sell (them) at a higher price, and the less time (they stay) on the market.”

I believe experienced real estate agents have these three advantages.

Experienced agents generally know more.

Veteran agents tend to know more about the neighborhood, the market, what buyers and sellers typically need and want, and the entire selling and buying process. For example, veteran seller agents know what buyers are looking for and are aware of the competition, and they use what they know to stage, price and promote the seller’s house to sell fastest and at the best price. Veteran buyer agents know what’s a good buy and how to structure the purchase offer in terms of price, condition dates, closing dates, and even the length of time an offer should be left open, ultimately helping the buyer acquire the property for less money and under the terms and conditions that the buyer wants. A lot of this information cannot be had in a real estate course or from books, but is experiential and intuitive. In addition, veteran agents generally know more buyers and sellers, as well as good and reputable home inspectors, appraisers, mortgage brokers, and other key members of the real estate team.

Experienced agents are more confident about what they know.

 As veteran agents’ knowledge of their business comes not just from books or from other people but from their own firsthand experience over many years, they can hold their own in transactions. They can tell a seller who wants to sell his house at a ridiculously high price that it won’t work, and convince him to go with a more realistic price. He can tell a buyer if a crack on the wall is not a major issue and can be easily repaired, and is in fact a good thing because it will pull down the price.

Experienced agents can advise you through the many changes in your housing needs.

 Veteran agents are of course older and have gone through many changes in their lives and seen the same changes in the lives of others that impact their housing needs. As such, they can be a valuable resource for you as you go through your own life changes and even those of your family.

Everything has its season, though, and the rookies today will be the veterans of tomorrow. So I advise the rookies to go beyond seeing the veterans as the competition, to learning from them so that they could take over when the time is right.

Image Courtesy of Calgary Herald

Are you looking to Sell or Buy a home in Calgary and need someone who won’t rest until you’ve found your dream home or until your home is sold? I’ll work hard to earn your trust and to deliver exactly what you need. Contact me at 403-589-0004 or at TheHowardTeam.net.

About Bryon Howard

Bryon Howard and his team of Calgary real estate professionals sell an average of two homes a week. He is a member of the MLS Million Point Club, which ranks him roughly in the top 2% of productive realtors in Calgary. His aim is not just to please clients but to help them buy/sell a home in Calgary at the best price, in the shortest time, and with the least hassle. He is a member of the RE/MAX House of Real Estate that leads in the Canadian market. Learn more about Bryon at TheHowardTeam.net.

After 20 wonderful years of marriage last month, my wife Shirley and I wanted to skip our usual dinner-and-a-movie celebration for something different, fun and memorable. Suddenly I remembered the Couples Bike Tour of my good friend Joel Goralski’s Bici Bucerias bike tour business in Mexico. I thought it would be a great way to celebrate! While Shirley is active and loves being in the outdoors, she does not consider herself a cyclist, so I was a bit anxious when I told her my idea. I was thrilled when she agreed that it would be a great way to celebrate our 20th anniversary.  Shirley is very supportive of me, and that’s one of the many reasons why I fall in love with her over and over again.

The tour of the ocean town of Bucerias in Mexico was clearly heaven-sent; the weather was perfect, we had great accommodation with our very own private pool, we were biking, and Shirley and I were together and with friends. What more could a guy ask for? And what better way to prepare for the tour, than with a massage by the beach on Day 1? That got us off to a great start. The first day of cycling was on flat roads; and later on in the week, we moved to more challenging terrain. On the last leg, we had a VERY LONG uphill climb. I was happy to assist my wife by placing my hand on the small of her back, and with a straight arm, pushing her up the Sierra Madres! (I enjoyed the extra work  out… and she enjoyed the help!)  And you know what? That’s our first secret to a happy marriage: We got each other’s back — especially on the mountains!

We did a lot more than just bike during the tour, though. We passed by a Mariachi band, and my wife, who’s a musician (read about her Christmas concert), happily jumped off her bike and played with them. As Joel and his wife are foodies, the dining was as much a part of the tour as the actual biking. We enjoyed delicious, healthy food as we relaxed in the local romantic restaurants, and we even took back to the hotel with us some great organic food from the La Cruz Market, a weekly farmers’ market at a nearby marina. We also sampled the food at the restaurants on Bucerias Beach, in between snorkeling and simply strolling and watching the sunset. We saw a couple getting married by the beach on a beautiful night, and it brought us back to when my wife and I were exchanging vows. There were fireworks — it was magic! That reminds me of our second secret to a happy marriage: Have fun and focus on the beautiful!

Overall, the experience was nothing short of unforgettable for Shirley and me. My friend Joel couldn’t have chosen a better motto for Bici Bucerias: Ride. Eat. Relax. Repeat.

Are  you looking to Sell or Buy a home in Calgary and need someone who won’t rest until you’ve found your dream home or until your home is sold? I’ll work hard to earn your trust and to deliver exactly what you need. Contact me at 403-589-0004 or at TheHowardTeam.net.

 
About Bryon Howard
 

Bryon Howard and his team of Calgary real estate professionals sell an average of two homes a week. He is a member of the MLS Million Point Club, which ranks him roughly in the top 2% of productive realtors in Calgary. His aim is not just to please clients but to help them buy/sell a home in Calgary at the best price, in the shortest time, and with the least hassle. He is a member of the RE/MAX House of Real Estate that leads in the Canadian market. Learn more about Bryon at TheHowardTeam.net.