11:30 AM CDT on Thursday, July 30, 2009
By STEVE BROWN
The Dallas Morning Newsstevebrown@dallasnews.com
A new consumer poll asked sellers and buyers to rank national residential sales companies, and Coldwell Banker and Keller Williams were the sellers’ top choices.
J.D. Power and Associates surveyed home sellers about customer satisfaction.
Buyers ranked Keller Williams higher, the report issued Thursday said.
Both Coldwell Banker and Keller Williams have a big sales presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
J.D. Power measured customer satisfaction by asking about experience with the individual agent, the company’s office and additional services provided.
“For both buyers and sellers, the agent is still the most important driver of overall satisfaction,” the researchers found. “However, the importance of agents has declined substantially from 2008, while the importance of additional services has increased considerably.”
J.D. Power’s research also found that more than half of homebuyers are now first-timers. Government tax incentives and falling prices have lured many of these people into the market.
"The presence of more first-time buyers is encouraging, as it indicates that the real estate market is returning to more normal activity, with fewer speculators," said Jim Howland, senior director of the real estate and construction practice at J.D. Power and Associates.
The study showed that 64 percent of sellers used the Internet to market their homes. And the number of open houses at properties is down from an average of 4.5 showings in 2008 to 3.2 this year.
The rankings did not include large local or regional real estate companies which dominate the market in some cities.
How real estate sales firms stack up
Based on interviews this year with home sellers who were asked to rate satisfaction with nationwide firms. Based on a 1,000-point scale.
Coldwell Banker: 815
Keller Williams: 801
Re/Max: 784
Century 21: 770
Prudential: 753
SOURCE: J.C. Power and Associates
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Make that Call!!
So I got an email from the Texas A&M Real Estate Center...as I was reading the newsletter, I noticed an article titled, " ON THE ROAD AGAIN . . . AND AGAIN . . . AND AGAIN." The article stated that, "Drivers in Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington were stuck in traffic 140.7 million hours in 2007, ranking it fifth in the United States when it comes to time lost because of travel delays." Can you believe that?! 140.7 MILLION HOURS. With so much time spent in gridlock, this is a great time for you to be scrolling through your cell phone & calling past clients. Yup, do your FORD calls & stay in contact with your sphere. This practice is not something that will take up your time...instead, it is a way to make use of the useless time we spend in traffic. So instead of cutting off that car, make that call!
Please visit the link below for the full article.
http://recenter.tamu.edu/
Please visit the link below for the full article.
http://recenter.tamu.edu/
Friday, July 10, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Family Circle magazine labels Rockwall a family-friendly city
10:35 PM CDT on Wednesday, July 1, 2009
By RICHARD ABSHIRE / The Dallas Morning News
rabshire@dallasnews.com
Rockwall is the best family town in Texas, one of the 10 best in America. Or so says the upcoming issue of Family Circle magazine.
In editions that will hit newsstands Tuesday, the magazine lists Rockwall and nine other U.S. cities as perfect places to call home, combining affordable housing, good neighbors, green spaces and exceptional public school systems.
The list isn't exactly scientific – it was compiled by magazine staffers and two outside firms using data in a handful of demographics categories. And the 10 cities aren't actually ranked, although Rockwall is listed first in the list.
None of that matters to Rockwall officials, who see the honor as a chance to spread word about the town to the magazine's 21 million readers.
"I'm thrilled," said Rockwall City Manager Julie Couch. "We actually knew we were in the running, so I'm thrilled that they kept us in there."
Couch said that the magazine focused heavily on schools and that she believed the Rockwall school district played a big role in winning the award.
Family Circle senior editor Paula Chin said the survey, in its third year, is one of the magazine's most popular features. She said the focus was on schools this year and only the highest-rated were considered.
"We're all about family-friendly towns," she said.
By RICHARD ABSHIRE / The Dallas Morning News
rabshire@dallasnews.com
Rockwall is the best family town in Texas, one of the 10 best in America. Or so says the upcoming issue of Family Circle magazine.
In editions that will hit newsstands Tuesday, the magazine lists Rockwall and nine other U.S. cities as perfect places to call home, combining affordable housing, good neighbors, green spaces and exceptional public school systems.
The list isn't exactly scientific – it was compiled by magazine staffers and two outside firms using data in a handful of demographics categories. And the 10 cities aren't actually ranked, although Rockwall is listed first in the list.
None of that matters to Rockwall officials, who see the honor as a chance to spread word about the town to the magazine's 21 million readers.
"I'm thrilled," said Rockwall City Manager Julie Couch. "We actually knew we were in the running, so I'm thrilled that they kept us in there."
Couch said that the magazine focused heavily on schools and that she believed the Rockwall school district played a big role in winning the award.
Family Circle senior editor Paula Chin said the survey, in its third year, is one of the magazine's most popular features. She said the focus was on schools this year and only the highest-rated were considered.
"We're all about family-friendly towns," she said.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
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