Sleepless in Sturbridge

 A PERFECT STORM IN REAL ESTATE

What's going on in your real estate marketplace?  We have been more busy than I have ever remembered being in 7 years of real estate.  We constantly have appointments, are adding lots of new listings and working with plenty of buyers.  This has been such a new kind of market. 

When's the last time that you can remember a December, January and February being more busy than your May, June and July?  We've run into the perfect storm in the real estate marketplace. 

What have you been focusing on to keep your business rolling?  For me, I've had to learn how to effectively prospect for new business, practice time blocking, use extra communication to keep frustrated sellers from canceling their listings, negotiate short sales, and keep buyers calm when trying to wait for a short sale and price my listings to sell.  This is a market that you need to get creative in.  The old ways of marketing just won't cut it. 

Some creative ways we market are by:

•·         Creating property address website such as www.9MaddenRoad.com

•·         Advertising on Blogs and Facebook

•·         Networking with other agents

•·        Price Watching

•·        Property Business Cards

Don't let this market pass you by.  Right now is your time to shine and to seize the moment!  This is a defining market.  Where do you want to come out at?  I know for me, it will be the top of the mountain! 

BE BOLD!

 HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

It's the perfect time of the year to fall in love with a brand new home.  Let me play the matchmaker and find you a home that you will absolutely adore year after year.  And you'll also love how much money I can help you get for your current house, too.

Call me at 508-365-3567 or email jckcrealty@gmail.com today!  We'd LOVE to hear from you! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

 SPEECHLESS SUNDAY - TOP OF THE HUB!

If you are ever looking for a Buyer's Agent or Seller's Agent in Worcester County,  Hampden County, or anywhere in Central Mass, please don't hesitate to contact me, Kathleen Cooper at kathleencooper@jckcrealty.com .  Please make sure to visit my website at http://www.MassachusettsHomeLocator.com and find everything you need from market snapshots, Buyer and Seller information, property searches, my blog and more! 

kathleencooper@jckcrealty.com , cooperagents@charter.net , 508-523-8632 www.activerain.com/jckcrealty, www.JCKCRealty.com,  www.CentralMAListings.com, http://www.realtor.com,  www.MassachusettsHomeLocator.com, http://www.facebook.com, www.trulia.com, www.myspace.com/kfcooper,  http://jckcrealty.postlets.com/ , www.loopnet.com,  http://twitter.com/jckcrealty

I am proud to be a full time real estate professional and Massachusetts Realtor.  I am happy for the opportunity to work with you in the purchase or sale of your next home!  Contact me today!

Contact Kathleen Cooper, JCKC Realty, Realtor, Sturbridge, MA (Worcester and Hampden Counties and All Of Central Massachusetts).  

Sturbridge Realtor, Realtor in Sturbridge, Worcester County Realtor, Worcester County Real Estate, Buy a Home, Buyer Specialist, Buyer Agency, Sell a Home, Worcester County, Sturbridge, MA, SRES

This has been a very busy month for real estate here in Massachusetts!  I've been running around like crazy with showings, listing presentations and educational events.  One of my major goals for 2010 is to attend more educational classes and seminars and I've started the year off right!  Another goal of mine was to get more involved in the REALTOR community and I'm proud to announce that I've joined four committees and two subcommittees at the Worcester Regional Association of Realtors. 

I've been missing my friends here at Active Rain a lot!  It's so hard to balance your time in this profession.  I haven't forgotten you!  :)  I've actually been trying to bring awareness to my community here about blogging and trying to help others get started. 

I have been attending the BOLD training that is offered through Keller Williams.  Not sure if I am liking it just yet, we're only two weeks into it.  We have a heavy load of homework for it and it's hard to balance that into my already busy schedule.  I feel like I haven't seen my kids all week and as you all know, I haven't blogged in at least that amount of time! 

Good news is, we've been signing a lot of contracts lately.  Homes seem to be moving fairly quickly and that's a great sign. 

How are things out there in your neck of the woods? 

 GOODBYE 2009...WELCOME 2010!

Last year was such a year of growth, maturity and learning for myself and the JCKC team.  In a market that some would call "bad", we managed to stay on track and to successfully take care of our many clients both buyers and sellers. 

I am very excited about what 2010 has in store for us.  There are many things in the works and JCKC is going to thrive this year.  I welcome the new changes and challenges with open arms.  This year is a year that I will focus on education and follow up.  I consider those to be two areas that were weak for me in 2009.  I'm going to stick to an action plan to be very purposeful with what I am doing and where I want to be in 2011 and beyond.  I'm going to work hard with my team to help us all reach our company goal and double our sales for this new year. 

I want to say thank you to all of our clients and everyone that has supported us here at JCKC Realty.  We truly couldn't be a success without each and every one of you.  Our company is becoming what it is because of the many great people we get to work with each day.  It brings us much joy to see the happiness we can bring to families everywhere when they move into their new home.

What are you doing to make 2010 even better than 2009?

 MY DARLING CHRISTMAS ANGEL

If you are ever looking for a Buyer's Agent or Seller's Agent in Worcester County,  Hampden County, or anywhere in Central Mass, please don't hesitate to contact me, Kathleen Cooper at kathleencooper@jckcrealty.com .  Please make sure to visit my website at http://www.MassachusettsHomeLocator.com and find everything you need from market snapshots, Buyer and Seller information, property searches, my blog and more! 

kathleencooper@jckcrealty.com , cooperagents@charter.net , 508-523-8632 www.activerain.com/jckcrealty, www.JCKCRealty.com,  www.CentralMAListings.com, http://www.realtor.com,  www.MassachusettsHomeLocator.com, http://www.facebook.com, www.trulia.com, www.myspace.com/kfcooper,  http://jckcrealty.postlets.com/ , www.loopnet.com,  http://twitter.com/jckcrealty

I am proud to be a full time real estate professional and Massachusetts Realtor.  I am happy for the opportunity to work with you in the purchase or sale of your next home!  Contact me today!

Contact Kathleen Cooper, JCKC Realty, Realtor, Sturbridge, MA (Worcester and Hampden Counties and All Of Central Massachusetts).  

Sturbridge Realtor, Realtor in Sturbridge, Worcester County Realtor, Worcester County Real Estate, Buy a Home, Buyer Specialist, Buyer Agency, Sell a Home, Worcester County, Sturbridge, MA, SRES

 100 DAYS OF CENTRAL MASS FEATURES INTERSTATE 84

In the heart of Central Mass you will find the quaint town of Sturbridge.  In Sturbridge, we have great access to all major routes.  Today we are featuring Interstate 84. 

Interstate 84 East runs from Sturbridge, Massachusetts to Dunmore, Pennsylvania close to Scranton.  It travels through 4 states: MA, CT, NY and PA.  Massachusetts has the smallest stretch of the highway, only 8 miles worth and 3 exits until it ends at the Mass Pike in Sturbridge.

Interstate 84 is the routing method of preference for locals that commute to Hartford for work.  We use it to easily travel to North Carolina to visit my father and drive down to Florida.  The Interstate was originally planned to travel east from Hartford, CT to Providence, RI, but environmental concerns prohibited that from happening.  Check out Wikipedia for more info on Interstate 84 and it's exits.

 MY MOTOROLA DROID DOES - SHOPSAVVY

A couple of days ago I was out Christmas shopping with a friend.  She was looking for something in particular at Walmart for her daughter.  The Barbie 3-story Dream Townhouse was priced at $144.99 in-store at Walmart.  That is a lot of money for a dollhouse for a 5 year old!

Being the wonderful mother that my friend is, she didn't want to break her daughter's little heart on Christmas morning when she didn't get her only wish.  She was determined to get this dollhouse, even if it meant paying more than desirable and having to slim down her Christmas shopping elsewhere.

Just for the fun of it, I pulled out my Motorola Droid phone from Verizon and decided to scan the dollhouse using my free ShopSavvy app to see if it would show us any local stores that had the dollhouse for less.  My friend said that she thought Walmartwas the cheapest around, so I said let's put it to the test.  I scanned the bar-code of the dollhouse and waited about 30 seconds and back came a bunch of results for online retailers as well as locak ones that had the dollhouse for less.  The cheapest local store was Target in Millbury and they were advertising it for $129.99.  I was able to call them with one click and ask if they had any in stock, and they were sold out. 

We decided to go up to customer service and ask them about the Walmart's "unbeatable price guarantee".  I showed them how my phone scanned in the bar-code and found the Barbie Townhouse cheaper in several local stores and asked if they could match that price.  After waiting about 20 minutes for a manager to approve it, we were able to purchase the dollhouse for the lower price of $129.99.  Not huge, but $15 is $15, right?  This was the last Barbie Townhouse in that Walmart and apparently around the whole local area because both Target and Toys R Us had said they were sold out.

Just another reason I love my Motorola Droid!  To learn more about other cool, free applications just like ShopSavvy, check out my blog post - My Motorola Droid Does!