Category — Coldwell Banker

February 5, 2009

 

It is with great pride that I share the news that Coldwell Banker Real Estate has gained a major honor.  Through the amazing efforts of our Learning Department, we have been included in Training Magazine’s Top 125 organizations list for 2010.

 

Training Magazine is the learning industry’s top publication and annually selects top companies who excel in the training of their sales professionals.  Coldwell Banker is on the list, which includes such noted brands as Bank Of America, Microsoft, Continental Airlines, and McDonalds.

 

In 2009 the Coldwell Banker Learning Group had approximately  10,000 registrations for programs with over a 95% satisfaction rating; this speaks to the depth and quality of our programs.

 

The group has put together an aggressive list of programs for 2010 including eFastStart and BOO$T for new and experienced sales associates, as well ACT Now! for brokers and owners.

 

Obviously, an award of this stature is worthy of sharing with your sales associates and clearly benefits in your recruiting and retention efforts.

 

Thanks and continued good luck.

 

Regards,

The CEO of Coldwell Banker LLC appeared on Fox News yesterday to talk Real Estate.  Jim Gillespie appreared on the show Countdown To the Final Bell, with Liz Claman. To no surprise the topic of discussion was the current state of the housing market.  Click here to see the video…

Angel Tree Donation

When it comes to helping those in need, Seaside Vacations and Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty are committed to making a difference each and every day.

KITTY HAWK, NC (January 8, 2010) — Seaside Vacations and Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty, leading vacation rental and real estate firms located on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, are committed to improving the community each and every day. Their “Vacation with a Purpose” program encourages employees, homeowners and guests to join their mission and support local non-profit organizations.

They make a difference by building homes for low-income families, providing assistance to those in need and raising funds for charitable organizations. They support organizations such as the Albemarle Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, American Cancer Society, Outer Banks Relief Foundation, Interfaith Community Outreach, Homes4NC, Dare Education Foundation, The Beach Food Pantry, The Baltimore Station (a charity supporting men, most of whom are veterans, who are transitioning from the cycle of poverty, substance abuse and homelessness to self-sufficiency) and more.

In addition to their year-long efforts, this holiday season they also sponsored The Angel Tree – a non-profit organization that provides much-needed clothing, wished-for toys and other items to the area’s neediest children. This year, Seaside Vacations and Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty chose to support a needy family in Hyde County.

“I am very pleased at the willingness and excitement to support The Angel Tree program.  After we matched the contributions from our employees and vendors, we were able to provide what will surely be a wonderful Christmas for a local family, “says Gordon Jones, President of Seaside Vacations and Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty.

Seaside Vacations and Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty would also like to thank the local businesses who help make our donations possible.  Special thanks to Travel Guard and VBL Technologies as well as High Cotton – who graciously hosted their holiday donation celebration.

For more information on Seaside Vacations and their wide selection of Outer Banks vacation rentals, visit www.OuterBanksVacations.com – where you can search a wide variety of homes, book online with real-time availability, view up-to-the-minute Outer Banks specials and check out local Outer Banks events.  Guests can also follow Seaside Vacations on the Seaside Vacations Blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and MySpace.

About Seaside Vacations:
Founded in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1990, Seaside Vacations is a full-service vacation rental management company representing homes from Corolla to Nags Head.

Seaside Vacations offers a complete selection of Outer Banks vacation rentals. Guests can choose from 1 – 14-bedroom private vacation rental homes, condominiums, townhomes and villas.  Explore our homes in Duck and Corolla as well as numerous vacation rentals in Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head.

For more information on Seaside Vacations and their wide selection of vacation rentals, visit www.OuterBanksVacations.com or call one a Vacation Specialist at 866.936.4659.

The House of Representatives voted last Thursday to extend the first time homebuyer tax credit.  The bill was approved with an overwhelming 403-12 margin in Congress.  On Friday it was passed to the White House and enacted as law by president Obama.

Jim Gillespie, CEO of Coldwell Banker LLC, played a key role in the extension of this bill.  Gillespie and many other leaders in the real estate industry have been activists for this cause.  They have fought for almost a year now to have the bill extended, and in a email he sent out to Coldwell Banker associates he states,

“This is an historic moment for our industry as well as the culmination of more than a year’s worth of hard work and meetings with elected officials and policy makers. I want to personally thank all of you who participated in Coldwell Banker’s Legislative Week, which was the springboard for my meetings on Capitol Hill, as well as the numerous other legislative calls for action — I am both proud and appreciative of how so many of you made office visits, phone calls and e-mailed your elected officials. Combined with Realogy’s instrumental efforts on Capitol Hill, I know that our grass roots outreach to Congress and the Administration truly helped make a difference on this issue.”

The Senate was also commended by the National Association of Realtors for the extension.  NAR estimates that the current tax credit aided about $22 billion in home sales.

Bill Details:

·         Extends the present $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers through April 30, 2010.  

·         Current homeowners are eligible for a $6,500 tax credit through April 30, provided they have lived in the home they are selling, or have sold, as principal residence for five consecutive years in the past eight years.

·         If potential home buyers have a binding contract on or before that date, they will have until July 1 to close the transaction.  

·         Income limits for eligible home buyers are expanded to $125,000 for single buyers and $225,000 for couples.

·         The purchase price of the home cannot exceed $800,000. 

·         To help guard against fraud, buyers are required to attach documentation of purchase to their tax return.

Ad Age, the go-to magazine for the advertising industry, featured the Coldwell Banker YouTube channel “On Location” in an article touting untraditional ways of reaching the consumer!

The article reads:

“Big name marketers such as Procter & Gamble, Best Buy, MasterCard and Coldwell Banker are among those who have taken matters into their own hands by creating content and bringing it straight to the consumer.”

Obviously, Coldwell Banker is keeping great company!  The full article can be read at http://adage.com/article?article_id=139864. Your sales associates will find the recognition called out on the homepage of coldwellbankerworks.com.

Congratulations to Coldwell Banker sales associate Jessica Riffle with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast in Wilmington, North Carolina, who was selected to serve as a guest blogger for the Today Show!

Jessica saw Tuesday’s Today Show segment where real estate contributor Barbara Corcoran suggested that it would take a “miracle” for new homebuyers to take advantage of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit as there was essentially no time left. Jessica saw this and wanted the world to know that’s simply not true.

Jessica expressed her opinions to the Today Show and the producers invited her to be a guest video blogger. Jessica then submitted her video response and posted on Coldwell Banker On Location You Tube channel, outlining why there is indeed still enough time.   Click here to see the video.

To see the same video on the Today Show page, click here.

A discussion on Jessica’s Today Show blog has also appeared on our Coldwell Banker Facebook page, as several people are weighing in on the subject.

Jessica deserves kudos for taking advantage of Coldwell Banker On Location to make her points known.  To date the channel has had nearly 450,000 viewed videos and Coldwell Banker professionals have posted more than 5000 videos. 

Great job, Jessica!

J.D. POWER AND ASSOCIATES RANKS COLDWELL BANKER HIGHEST IN HOME SELLER SATISFACTION

PARSIPPANY, N.J. – Sept. 17, 2009 – Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC ranked highest among real estate companies in satisfying home sellers according to the recently released J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Home Buyer/Seller StudySM.

“This recognition is a testament to the brand’s legacy as an industry leader, our commitment to innovation and, above all, our powerful network,” said Jim Gillespie, president and CEO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. “With unsurpassed local knowledge, expertise and work ethic, we at Coldwell Banker have always felt that our network of professionals is the greatest in the industry, and we’re pleased J.D. Power and Associates recognized it.”

The independently administered study measured customer satisfaction of homebuyers and sellers among the largest national real estate firms.  The study incorporates more than 3,100 evaluations from 2,801 respondents who bought or sold a home between April 2008 and June 2009. The survey was fielded between April and June 2009.

J.D. Power and Associates examined four factors in the home-selling experience including:   agent; marketing; office; and package of additional services. Among home sellers, Coldwell Banker Real Estate ranked highest with a score of 815 and performed particularly well in all four factors.

Coldwell Banker Real Estate also ranked particularly high in the home-buyer segment. The brand ranked second with a score of 801 on a 1,000-point scale, performing particularly well in the office factor.

Complete results for the study can be found here.

About Coldwell Banker®
Since 1906, the Coldwell Banker® organization has been a premier full-service real estate provider. In 2008, Franchise Times magazine’s prestigious Top 200 issue ranked the Coldwell Banker system No. 1 in real estate for the ninth straight year and 12th among franchisors in all industries. The Coldwell Banker System has approximately 3,500 residential real estate offices and approximately 100,000 sales associates in 47 countries and territories. The Coldwell Banker System is a leader in the industry in residential and commercial real estate, and in niche markets such as resort, new home and luxury property through its Coldwell Banker Previews International® division. It is a pioneer in consumer services with its Coldwell Banker Concierge® Service Program and award-winning Web site, www.coldwellbanker.com. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC is a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation, a global provider of real estate and relocation services. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Each office is independently owned and operated.

COLDWELL BANKER REAL ESTATE LAUNCHES FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND INTERNATIONALHOME SEARCH APPLICATION FOR
IPHONE AND ANDROID DEVICES

First National Real Estate Brand to Offer Automatic Notifications of New Listings Through a Mobile Application

PARSIPPANY, N.J. – August 20, 2009 –Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC today announced the launch of the first-ever international home search application for iPhoneTM and AndroidTM-powered devices.  The Coldwell Banker Real Estate mobile application enables users to easily search for property listings and recent home sales in 28 countries in North America, Europe, Central America, Caribbean, Australia and South America.  The results of these searches as well as the search itself can be saved in a personalized ‘My Coldwell Banker’ account newly created from the user’s smartphone or added to an existing account with coldwellbanker.com by logging into the site directly from the handheld device.  Unique to the Coldwell Banker application, searches that are saved to an app-created ‘My Coldwell Banker’ account will automatically generate notifications of new properties and open houses, alerting the user to updated results right on the device’s homepage. 

Coldwell Banker Real Estate continues to raise the bar on the traditional home search.  In October 2008, Coldwell Banker Real Estate set out to reach the masses by becoming the first full-service national real estate brand to optimize its Web site for use on all mobile devices.  By early 2009, international Coldwell Banker Real Estate listings in 28 countries became accessible via the Coldwell Banker brand Web site on the iPhone, Blackberry and other smartphones.  To date, more than 200,000 users have viewed Coldwell Banker Real Estate listings from the convenience of their handheld devices.  Building upon this success, the Coldwell Banker brand is taking the next step in providing consumers with greater flexibility when searching for a home by designing a mobile application that is intuitive, quick and convenient.

“While the desktop computer remains a proven screen, Coldwell Banker recognizes that today’s technologically savvy consumers are also using smartphones to access information on-the-go,” said Michael Fischer, senior vice president of marketing for Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.  “We are committed to improving the consumer experience and will continue to introduce innovative technology such as this mobile application to provide our customers with up-to-date home data the moment they want it and to wherever they may be.” 

Features of the new application include:

• GPS-based search to locate nearby homes for sale, open houses and recent homes sold
• Ability  to sort recently sold properties by location, price and sale date
• Option to view search results in list form or on a variety of maps including street, hybrid and satellite that are marked with “clickable” Coldwell Banker Real Estate icons 
• Detailed property listings that include images and a slideshow view
• Direct dial and e-mail functions from the user’s mobile handset to the local Coldwell Banker Real Estate listing agent associated with each property
• Real-time notifications of new properties and open houses identified through the user’s customized saved searches

A video demonstration of the Coldwell Banker brand mobile application can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSUpuHbPXhE

Bootstrap Software was responsible for developing and building the Coldwell Banker Real Estate mobile application.

iPhone is a registered trademark of Apple Computers, Inc.

Android is a trademark of Google Inc. Use of this trademark is subject to Google Permissions.

About Coldwell Banker Real Estate
Since 1906, the Coldwell Banker® organization has been a premier full-service real estate provider. In 2008, Franchise Times magazine’s prestigious Top 200 issue ranked the Coldwell Banker system No. 1 in real estate for the ninth straight year and 12th among franchisors in all industries. The Coldwell Banker System has approximately 3,500 residential real estate offices and more than 101,000 sales associates in 47 countries and territories. The Coldwell Banker System is a leader in the industry in residential and commercial real estate, and in niche markets such as resort, new home and luxury property through its Coldwell Banker Previews International® division. It is a pioneer in consumer services with its Coldwell Banker Concierge® Service Program and award-winning Web site, www.coldwellbanker.com. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC is a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation, a global provider of real estate and relocation services. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Each office is independently owned and operated.

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COLDWELL BANKER REAL ESTATE SURVEYS 1,000 MEN AND WOMEN TO DISCOVER GENDER DIFFERENCES IN THE HOME-BUYING PROCESS

Survey Finds that While Couples Make Real Estate Buying Decisions Together, Women Make Up Their Minds Significantly Faster than Men
           
PARSIPPANY, N.J. (August 17, 2009) –   It often seems as though men and women are from different planets, but every day millions of couples navigate through day-to-day and even life-altering decisions. Because a home is the biggest purchase most people will make in their lifetime, Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC surveyed 1,000 individuals to discover how much men and women differ in the home-buying process.

The real estate company engaged a third-party research firm, International Communications Research (ICR), to delve into the innerpsyche of men and women, asking questions such as “How long did it take for you to know that the last home you purchased was right for you?” and “If you found the home of your dreams but had concerns about its security, would you still be interested?” Coldwell Banker Real Estate also surveyed couples on additional topics, such as “Who wears the pants in the relationship?” when it comes to making major financial decisions.

“The results were surprising,” said Diann Patton, the Coldwell Banker consumer real estate expert. “Not only did we uncover some of the inherent differences between men and women, but we also pinpointed a number of ways that the two genders are actually the same. For example, both men and women are increasingly concerned with having a space to work in their homes – something we would not have seen 40 years ago.” She continued, “We also found that feeling insecure about a home’s safety is a deal-breaker for most people, regardless of gender.”

Patton noted this topic is particularly timely given that many first-time homebuyers are hoping to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit before it expires on December 1, 2009.

Below are some key highlights from the Coldwell Banker Real Estate study:

Women may be inclined to make up their mind more quickly than men …

• When asked how long it took before they knew their home was “right” for them, almost 70 percent of women had made up their mind the day they walked into the house, vs. 62 percent of men. Conversely, significantly more men needed two or more visits: (32 percent of men vs. 23 percent of women).

Women would rather live closer to their extended family than to their job …

• 55 percent of women find it more important to be closer to their extended family (those that do not live in their household) than to their job, compared to only 37 percent of men.

A home’s security is a deal-breaker for both men and women …

• 64 percent of women said that if they found the home of their dreams but had concerns about its security, they would no longer be interested. More than half of men agreed (51 percent).

Couples say that no one “wears the pants in the relationship” in terms of major financial decisions …

• When asked who wears the pants in the relationship (when it comes to major financial decisions, such as purchasing a home), almost 70 percent of respondents living with their significant other said it’s actually mutual.
• However, 23 percent think that they, themselves, wear the pants in the relationship, not their partner. More men than women said this (26 percent vs. 20 percent, respectively).

Men and women agree on how they would use a spare room, for the most part …
When the respondents were asked how they would use an extra 12 x 12 room if it could be anything they wanted, men and women agreed on the top three most popular, and very practical, responses:

• Bedroom: 25 percent
• Office/Study: 15 percent
• Family Room / Den: 11 percent

However, men really do want a “Man Cave”…

• Interestingly, out of the 8 percent who indicated they would turn that spare room into an entertainment center, it was a preponderance of men leading the charge.  In fact, four times as many men as women said they would use the extra space for recreation / entertainment.

In addition to providing background on the survey results, Patton is able to offer tips for couples who are currently going through the process of buying a home.  “These results further validate how critical it is for couples to recognize each other’s differences and work together, from deciding a neighborhood to how to use a spare room,” she said. “Online tools and the expertise of a real estate professional can be particularly helpful for couples, especially if they work together step-by-step along the way.”

Methodology: Coldwell Banker Real Estate engaged ICR to conduct an omnibus survey via telephone in May 2009, among more than 1,000 respondents.

About Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC
Since 1906, the Coldwell Banker® organization has been a premier full-service real estate provider. In 2008, Franchise Times magazine’s prestigious Top 200 issue ranked the Coldwell Banker system No. 1 in real estate for the ninth straight year and 12th among franchisors in all industries. The Coldwell Banker System has approximately 3,200 residential real estate offices and approximately 100,000 sales associates in 47 countries and territories. The Coldwell Banker System is a leader in the industry in residential and commercial real estate, and in niche markets such as resort, new home and luxury property through its Coldwell Banker Previews International® division. It is a pioneer in consumer services with its Coldwell Banker Concierge® Service Program and award-winning Web site, www.coldwellbanker.com. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC is a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation, a global provider of real estate and relocation services. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Each office is independently owned and operated.

Jim Gillespie, president and CEO of Coldwell Banker, appeared on Fox Business News again to chat with Alex Glick about the housing market.