In early 2009, the National Association of REALTORS® predicted that 53.5 percent of all homebuyers would be first-timers, making this niche a hot buying group. In a new survey, NAR revealed that the number of first-time homebuyers rose to 47 percent of all home sales from 41 percent of transactions in last year’s study, and was the highest on record dating back to 1981.

While it was not quite the predicted peak, these buyers came out during a difficult economic period, giving the housing market a boost it desperately needed.

Economists are now hoping the extension of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit coupled with the expansion for current homeowners will continue to stimulate sales and the housing market as a whole. The tax credit, which was slated to expire Nov. 30, 2009, will be extended for contracts signed before May 1, 2010 that close before July 1, 2010. First-time buyers, who are in the process of closing now, no longer have to worry about qualifying for the $8,000 tax credit if they do end up closing after the Nov. 30 deadline. The new legislation also increases the income limit for couples with income up to $225,000, a nearly $55,000 increase above the current level. Read the full story on the new tax credit and its provisions, including a chart comparing the old versus the new here.

Buyers who already own a home are also now eligible for a tax credit on the purchase of a home. The $6,500 maximum credit will be available to existing homeowners who have lived in their current residence for five of the prior eight years. The legislation does set forth several provision including, limiting eligibility for existing homeowners to homes worth $800,000 or less, as well as making both credits available only for primary residences, not second homes or investment properties. Economists, legislators and industry experts expect that the credit will encourage current homeowners to accelerate their purchase plans.

A proven way to get in on all the first-time home buying action: Give out free copies of Your First Home: The Proven Path to Homeownership to your prospects, and sponsoring a Your First Home seminar. Have a lender onsite to pre-approve potential clients and use the Your First Home PowerPoint to demonstrate the opportunity of purchasing while the newly extended tax credit is available.  

Distressed properties and short sales still represent 40 percent of all transactions across the United States. In some markets, distressed sales can account for 80 percent or more of all transactions. What’s even more compelling is that experts predict that distressed properties will remain a major factor of the real estate market for years to come.

                    

Keller Williams agents have been in the trenches since distressed properties began flooding the market and 2010 won’t be any different. With new Keller Williams University courses, including SHIFT Tactic 11: Distressed Properties Listing REOs, Working with Buyers and Listing Short Sales the opportunity to get your unfair share is just a download away.

Where should you get started? Because the learning curve is high for listing distressed properties, many inexperienced agents start with the buyers side of these transactions.

Build up a solid foundation, make essential contacts with banks and learn the listing process before you begin listing distressed properties. Also, be sure to check out the Distressed Properties Community on myKW and join in the conversation with other agents whose focus is REO, short sale and foreclosed properties.

The bottom line: The distressed properties market offers untold opportunities if you’re looking to diversify your expertise and serve a new client base while generating a whole new stream of income.

Education is nothing new to Keller Williams Realty, but with a growing trend toward fewer agents gaining more business, the future is clearly on the side of the tapped in.

Mega Camp attendance was bigger than ever and Family Reunion 2010 showing signs of exceeding all expectations. Did you know, agents who attended Family Reunion in 2009:

Took twice the listings,

Sold two times more houses,

Closed 48 percent more buyers, and

Completed 78 percent more transactions than agents who didn’t attend Family Reunion.

Those are powerful numbers that directly impact your bottom line. You can register for Family Reunion here.

2010 is also going to be the year when agents truly tap into the power of online education. Keller Williams University’s new Website with downloadable course materials makes it easier to access the education that will fuel your business goals – right from your computer.

 

Gary Keller has always been passionate about delivering real-world training through real-life experiences, and the newly revamped Agent Mountain Website continues to showcase new content every month. Interviews with top agents, insights from financial analysts and strategies on working smarter in your everyday business make this an essential tool to add to your training.

 

The bottom line: We live in an information-based, education-driven society and it pays to be the expert in your local market.

Not only did you choose the Keller Williams interdependent model, which supports agents and brokers working as a team over any other, it seems staying connected to your colleagues is just as important. In just one year, you grew the Keller Williams Realty Facebook page to more than 10,000 fans – the largest presence on the social networking giant by a franchising real estate company! The KWRI Twitter Page is not far behind with more than 5,000 followers. Bravo!

2010 is sure to bring an even greater focus to interconnectedness on all social media fronts. The important piece to remember is that these are online lead generating tools. Focus on building your contacts, following up and closing the sale. Stay away from any games or suspicious activity as scams will continue to be on the rise. 

 

 

Click here to learn how to protect yourself on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.  Also check out the Facebook and Twitter 101’s located on the Marketing Tab on myKW for information on getting started.

Adding Social Media to your 2010 business plan is easy. Check out this Agent Mountain session to learn how you can realize the power of today’s social networking Websites.

What’s coming in 2010 for real estate agents and Web 2.0? Video is on the rise among real estate agents and will continue to be a new avenue for those looking to promote their clients’ listings and their brand. There’s proof in numbers. Wellcomehost, an online real estate video host released its first annual report on the use of video in real estate marketing strategy. They found, that the use of video is up 95 percent in the first half of 2009 versus the first half of 2008.

 

30 percent of video was used to market listings

16 percent of video was used to showcase local areas (neighborhood tours/schools)

25 percent of video was used to introduce yourself professionally to potential clients and,

19 percent of video was used to demonstrate your market knowledge

Interestingly, marketing industry expertise proved to be the least important to real estate agents using video. If you’re not comfortable being on camera, try embedding the monthly This Month in Real Estate Videos on your Website or in any of your email touches.

Blogs will remain a hot topic in 2010 as well (Check out the new KW Blog here) and learning to leverage Search Engine Optimization will boost your blog’s ranking among popular search engines such as Google. This not only raises awareness of your brand, but brings you more business through online mediums. Check out the SEO Manual here.

 

In 2010, agents who survived the shifted market will choose to thrive in their real estate career by becoming skilled, coaching-based salespeople. Behavior and leveraging the power of words will most certainly be a big focus moving forward and the accountability factor will continue to fuel that fire.

Driving that accountability in 2010 will be BOLD: Business Objective a Life by Design, the newest breakthrough program from MAPS Coaching. The strategies, scripts and skills have struck a chord with a newly changed base of power producers.

As of September 2009, more than 599 agents participated in the seven week program completing 5,582 transactions and rumor has it 2010 will have more than 1,600 agents with 21,000 projected transactions.

 

As Dianna Kokoszka, president of MAPS and the brainchild behind BOLD says, “You will only have the money, success, health, relationships and prestige that match your level of thinking. That’s why you must work harder on yourself than you do on your business. In order to have more, you have to become more. For things to get better, you have to become better. Live your life by design not by default.”