ADVANCED ACCESS May 2002 Newsletter

May 2002 Newsletter

"Somewhere on the great world the sun is always shining,
and just so sure as you live, it will sometime shine on you."
- Myrtle Reed

Record Home Sales Projected in 2002 reports NAR

Home sales are stronger than ever, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Factors such as favorable housing affordability conditions, strong underlying demand, the improving economy and unusually good weather encouraged home buyers to get into the market and drive total state existing-home sales to a new record in the first quarter of 2002. Forty-six states and the District of Columbia posted increases from a year ago, according to an article posted by NAR on May 13, 2002.

NAR President Martin Edwards Jr. reported that sales are rising as a result of the strong entry-level demand from children of the baby boomers, immigrants and minorities, as well as families wishing to trade up to a larger home. "When you combine favorable market conditions with this strong demographic demand, you create new housing records," he said.

David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, said that with mortgage interest rates hovering near record lows he expects the housing market to coast for the rest of the year. "The momentum of sales will push us into another annual record, even with a somewhat lower pace of home sales activity going forward," he said. "The economy is recovering, the job outlook is improving and interest rates will be fairly stable, increasing only modestly in the second half of the year."

Introducing the "New" Classic Package™

ADVANCED ACCESS has been working with real estate professionals for over 17 years and we're continually searching for ways to provide state-of-the-art products and service to better serve YOU - our valued clients. Over the years we've recognized you have become more "technically savvy" than ever before. And, as your knowledge and experience in the Internet has increased, so has your desire to have more access and control over ALL sections of your website.

In an effort to provide you the control you need to make changes to your website at any time, we've introduced the NEW Classic Package™ website.

Our Classic Package™ provides you with same professional content you're accustomed to, with some important differences. The Classic Package™ is a "dynamically generated" website, which means you can control ALL of the pages and sections of your site from your Virtual Office. If you desire, you can literally "change the look" of your site instantly with the click of a mouse.

Here are some NEW features of our Classic Package™

Dynamic Home Page: over 350 attractive styles, colors and graphics. Includes Holiday Themes and Company Templates! Change your "look" INSTANTLY online at any time.
Create NEW pages online with our easy-to-use Page Manager - No limit to the number of pages you can create!
Add your own FORMS - quickly and easily - in the Virtual Office.
Modify your navigation buttons on your website using our new 'Button Manager.' It's EASY to create your own buttons, and then design your own page through our "Page Manager" program. Simply type in the text for the button with 'Custom Button' and Voila! …your website is instantly updated. And, did we mention there is NO limit on how many buttons you can create?
Automatic Client Follow-Up with Address Book: Capture your prospects who "sign in" to ANY of the forms in your website. Each entry will be sent to your own online address book and will receive an automatic e-mail follow-up campaign (7 powerful e-mails).
AND MUCH MORE! Check out the design styles available in the Classic Package here.

Is the Classic Package right for me?

If you wish you had more control over the pages and sections in your current website, you might want to check out the Classic Package™ in greater detail. Your Account Executive would be happy to discuss the features and benefits of the Classic Package™ website with you at your convenience. If you're happy with your website as it is, then there's no need to make any changes.

Costs for Upgrading to the Classic Package

The cost to upgrade to the Classic Package™ website is a one-time fee of $100.00. The cost includes transferring your domain name to a "special server" within the ADVANCED ACCESS network. In addition, your Account Executive will transfer over your "About You" information and your photo to the new website.

If you have any questions about the Classic Package™ website offer, please don't hesitate to call us. Thank you for your business and support.

Update on Realtors® Housing Relief Fund

Many of our valued clients still display the above banner on their websites with pride. Within hours of the terrorist attacks, the National Association of Realtors® put in place the very first relief fund by a national association to help victims of the tragedy. The Realtors® Housing Relief Fund lived up to, and even exceeded, the hopes of its creators. More 1,300 families of those whose lives were lost were assisted by the fund.

The goal was to make sure that families of victims who had already suffered so much, would not also have to endure the pain of losing their home, as well. All of the contributions - 100 percent-went to help pay rent and mortgage payments of victims' families. Realtors® and thousands of others contributed their personal and financial resources to help these families meet their mortgage and rent payments as they struggled with the loss of their loved ones and breadwinners.

Realtors® stand united among the millions of Americans who contributed their time, their blood and their money to help ease the pain of a loss almost too much to bear. The compassion of Realtors® was never more bountiful than in the work of the Realtors® Housing Relief Fund. Realtors® grieved with the rest of America, but they quickly turned their grief into something useful and helpful. With good reason, Realtors® should be proud of the assistance they helped provide the victims of this tragedy.

Did You Know?

According to United States Census data released on February 5 and reported in Business Week February 18, more than half of all Americans and half of all households are connected to the Internet. And, more and more consumers are using the Internet to search for real estate.

The California Association of REALTORS® recently released some
Internet related statistics, as reported in their 2002 "Internet vs. Traditional Buyer" survey. The following statistics might be of interest to you as you consider the importance of your website in your real estate business:

* 72.3% of Americans use the Internet (an increase from 66.9% in 2000)

* 89% of Americans indicate "Good to Excellent" Internet ability (an increase from 40.1% in 2000)

* Internet vs. traditional buyers begin the process earlier before contacting an agent (5.8 weeks vs. 2.1 weeks)

* Internet vs. traditional buyers research homes and neighborhoods longer before contacting an agent (4.5 vs. 1.8 weeks)

* Internet buyers spend less time looking with their agent prior to purchasing a home (2.0 vs. 6.6 weeks)

* Internet buyers visit fewer homes with their agent prior to purchase (7.5 vs. 15 homes visited)

The CAR study shows how the Internet is an essential tool for real estate agents to gain exposure to a broader and more dynamic client. Internet buyers gathered information to enhance the working relationship with their real estate professional. The results show how Internet buyers use information to educate themselves on the home buying process and used it as a reference guide along the way. They showed a higher degree of understanding of the home buying process, knew what they wanted, and therefore, showed higher levels of satisfaction with their recent home buying experience and with their real estate agent.

April 2002 | Back to Main Page | June 2002