At Brandon Green & Associates, we have sold over 40 homes already this year. I saw an article in The Wall Street Journal and I thought it reflects well what we are advising our clients to do to be successful.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121553612650836199.html?mod=todays_us_nonsub_journalreports

So far this year, we have not had any expired listings and our average Days on Market are lower than the average in the area. Why? Because we give our clients the right advice and we know our local market.

I believe the most important factor when selling in this market is to hire the right agent, not just your friend or the agent next door. You want the agent that is going to work hard for you. I also believe presentation of your property, staging, and of course pricing, are key points to selling your home.

The bad news for seller is that if you bought your house in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 it is likely that your house is worth only a little bit more or just under what you bought it for. It is not easy for us to tell our clients the bad news, but we need to give them the facts if they decide to sell. We have no control over the market but we do on how to market and to sell.

If you decide to sell, you need to be very realistic about the market and forget how much your house was worth in 2005.  These days are over.  The good news is that if you follow our guidance, you will be able to sell your home at a price that is right.

If you have any friends that are struggling to sell their home, please send them our way. We are experts in selling houses that haven’t sold. We work hard!

Make sure to interview me if you are not a US citizen. You need good advice since there are huge differences between a US citizen a non US citizen when buying and selling. I am a Certified International Specialist Certified and have had extensive training to support foreign and domestic needs.

I was recently appointed to the Washington DC Association of Realtors Board of Directors and we had our first 2008 meeting yesterday morning. In 2007 the Board had begun a community outreach initiative to strengthen the image of the Realtor, and to educate the consumer about the differences between Real Estate Agents and Realtors. Realtors are members of the National Association of Realtors and are required to live by a code of ethics – or be punished financially.

Real Estate Agents are licensees and not required to uphold those ethics because they are not members of the Association. During the preparation for this public outreach campaign, the Board hired a PR firm to poll and conduct focus groups and they found the vast majority of residents do not know there is a difference between a Realtor and a Real Estate Agent at all. They also found the community viewed Real Estate Practitioners unfavorably because the perception is they swoop in, make money, and leave.

Though I’m not surprised by this, I’m disheartened that we as a real estate community aren’t doing a better job of participating and contributing to the communities we live in, and educating the consumer about our business.

WDCAR’s mission is to ensure the rights of the DC homeowner are protected politically. WDCAR fights to keep property taxes low, fought (and lost) the raise of the transfer and recordation taxes, and is working with local politicians on many other initiatives. WDCAR was also instrumental in getting the DC Vote initiative on the national agenda through lobbying on the Hill. Realtors are fighting for this because we too are homeowners and together we can have a stronger voice.

Hopefully the public awareness campaign this year, which will features ads, community services, and seminars, will help educate the community that the vast majority of Realtors really are out to help our communities. I feel like an ad right now for Realtors – but I was really impacted by the meeting yesterday. We have much work to do.