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WESTWORDS JANUARY 2021

I AM

I AM SHEY LAMBERTY I AM DEDICATED I AM PROFESSIONAL I AM PASSIONATE I AM MOTIVATED I AM DETERMINED I AM WEST USA

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING Being first-time homebuyers, my husband and I were pretty naive to the whole process of searching for, finding financing and actually purchasing a home, and having Shey as our realtor made the whole experience very pleasant! We really felt Shey acted in our best interests and advocated for us throughout the entire process; she walked us through the steps and was always available to answer any questions that we had. We really felt that Shey was in our corner! We ended up purchasing a property that we absolutely love, and there is no way we could have gotten it without Shey's help. We would highly recommend Shey for anyone looking to buy a home! Thanks, Shey! Shey Lamberty is a fantastic realtor from the word go. She brings a very professional appeal from day, laying out the ground work for your needs and / or plan. Shey then works this plan into action. She is a thorough, constant communicator, fights for your fair wants or needs, and is always there when you need her within reason. My family would recommend Shey to anyone, and you would not be disappointed. Working with Shey was everything I needed for a first time buyer. She met my deadline to move out of apartment and find a home that will meet my current and future family needs. Checked in with me on how I was doing and had great communications on when I needed to sign documents. I always knew what to expect with Shey.

BROKER BLOG WITH DEAN BECKER ZILLOW CHANGE TO IDX You may be aware that Zillow is in the process of becoming a brokerage. As Zillow transitions from being a listing distribution partner to a dues-paying member of NAR and local Associations, they will begin to enjoy the same rights as other brokerages. Among these important rights is the right to access IDX (Internet Data Exchange) feeds. Today, Zillow receives listing data from brokers instructing ARMLS to provide their listing information through a specifically tailored listing distribution feed. Once Zillow becomes a brokerage in our area, they will access listings through the same feeds that brokers do today. Here is a breakdown of what this means for you. The ARMLS system currently permits brokers to control which listing distribution partners receive their listings, including Realtor.com, Homes.com, Apartments.com, and Zillow. Those options will soon change. As Zillow will be a participating brokerage instead of a listing distribution partner, brokers will not be able to specifically exclude Zillow from receiving their listings Because of the switch to IDX feeds, listing data will display on Zillow differently than it does today. Full details are still forthcoming.

We know, however, that our IDX licensing agreement does not permit advertising in the way you may be used to on Zillow. Zillow will update its current listing displays to comply with ARMLS IDX standards, the same as any brokerage that uses that same IDX listing data feed. You may have heard rumors that Zillow plans to start charging fees for rental listings. (In fact, per Zillow, Zillow has charged fees for rental listings for “around a year,” except for MLS-sourced listings.) As outlined above, Zillow is also moving rental listings to IDX feeds. It’s reasonable to wonder how these two things can coexist. Zillow will no longer combine rental and for-sale properties in the same search. In other words, their IDX feed for MLS-sourced for sale listings will not comingle with their feeds any rental listings. The rentals search will be a completely separate search experience on the Zillow site. This move to IDX will change the Zillow experience to allow Zillow to provide consumers the same information that any other site can, but with the same limitations. As always, you’re welcome to reach out to us with any questions or concerns. Thank you! *CRMLS

QUESTIONS, CONTACT: Managing Broker, Dean Becker 602-942-4200

CRUSH YOUR EMAIL MARKETING IN 2021 BY WISE AGENT In today’s digital age, where there are always new tools and technology releasing, you may be going into the new year wondering if email is as beneficial as it once was. We are here to tell you that it is. According to a 2019 Litmus study, for every dollar spent on email marketing, brands see an average return of $42. E-mail is one of the most lucrative marketing tools if you’re using it correctly. As someone who depends on marketing to run their business, make sure you stay ahead of the trends. Your subject line needs to stand out. Use yourself as an example. How many emails do you receive every single day? Your email is competing with every other email your prospect is receiving, so it needs to be creative and catchy. Despite the prevalent phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover,” most people determine whether or not they will open an email based solely on the subject line. Utilize free email subject line test tools to help you determine if your subject line is too short or too long, what words you can use to increase open rates, and other useful tips to assist you in coming up with a unique subject line! The average human has an attention span of eight seconds, and this number is declining year after year. What this means for marketing is that you need to capture your reader’s limited attention immediately and draw them in to stay. Opening up an email that has lines upon lines of text can be overwhelming to readers. A way around this is to incorporate images and videos in your emails! Using these elements helps to keep things new and exciting for your audience, A/B testing is the process of sending different variations of your campaign to your database so you can see what variations work and which don’t. Things

you can test include the subject line, length, images, style, and even the content itself. Once you figure out which email works better, you can send it out to the rest of your database and know that you will receive the best results for open and click-through rates. A call to action is something that the audience can go and do after reading your email. A CTA can be a link that your reader may follow to read your most recent blog post or a button they click that redirects them to a home that is for sale. Whatever it may be, you must include it somewhere in your email, so you keep your audience's attention. You can even have your call to action in multiple places throughout your email to give them the highest chance of being used! Wherever you decide to use your call to action, make sure it hooks your reader and pulls them to make the next move rather than something that can easily be overlooked. When we say automate everything, we mean everything, or at least as much as possible. When you don’t have to worry about sending out emails every day, it frees you up to focus on other things. With Wise Agent, you can set up drip campaigns or recurring emails. Once you create the e-mails and adjust the settings, you don’t even have to think about sending the messages until you receive responses! Free up your day to focus on other things to take your business to the next level. Email can be a powerful tool for connecting with and converting leads to clients. With Wise Agent’s CRM, you can streamline your email activity with pre-filled, ready-to-go emails designed to build relationships, capture new business, and convert leads. Start sending better emails today!

DESIGN A DAILY

ACTION PLAN BY ERIC GALLAGHER, DIRECTOR OF COACHING Your daily action plan is an essential component of your overall business plan. Once you have identified the steps and tasks of building your business, you then need to organize them into a regular and functional schedule. Start by tracking your existing personal schedule and everything that actually occurred in half hour increments for an entire week. You will immediately see a lot of available time to work on your business. Now allocate the known tasks such as checking email, returning calls, prospecting, marketing development, lunch, outside appointmentsâ€Ś etc. It will begin to function as a mix between a weekly calendar and a strict action plan. The point of specifically allocating time blocks to tasks is to maintain forward momentum in all aspects of your business. It is very easy to get caught up in a task for half a day, but then lose sight of other important tasks. The daily action plan is there to remind you that the enjoyable tasks (perhaps building your website) should not take the place of other work

that you may subconsciously be putting off, like prospecting, which is really really important. Your entire business must be worked as balanced tasks. Every successful company works this way. The challenge for Realtors is that you are wearing many hats throughout the week. Now this is not to say that all you ever do is work. Also allocate time for networking, socializing, hobbies or personal development. The most successful people in business maintain a balanced life and start every working day with a regimen of exercise, reading or listening to personal development audio. In addition, knowing what your day looks like in advance makes it a lot easier to work through, is rewarding when accomplished and challenges you to stay committed to your plan. Create the plan, print it and pin it to your corkboard on the wall next to your desk. This way it is always staring back at you reminding you what is important and when it needs to be worked on.

2020 REAL ESTATE

MARKET STATS WITH TODD MENARD

The first quarter of 2020 showered the AZ real estate industry with double digit gains in both units sold and dollar volume. Inventory levels were continuing to worsen while historic interest rates in the mortgage sector created a buying frenzy. The Arizona population increased by approximately 375 Californians migrating from CA to AZ per day confirming forecasts of a growing housing market. Population also provides for robust job growth and additional economic factors stimulating spending and increases in the GDP which at that time was already exceeding National GDP numbers. All the key performance indicators were aligning to what many anticipated would be an amazing year. The real estate industry was already suffering from continuously declining inventory, however the average sales prices remained within the single digit annual increases somehow unaffected by the rules of supply and demand. Residential lending stimulated the home purchase interest from first-time homebuyers as homes remained affordable due to historically low mortgage interest rates and changes to the lending guidelines making it easier to qualify. In the second quarter of 2020 COVID-19 arrived. Fortunately, real estate was identified as an ‘Essential’ service allowing a licensee to remain in business albeit with new protocols for social distancing and other CDC guidelines for both consumers and businesses. Many licensees stuck their head in the sand simply electing to give up, while the top 20%, and new licensees, continued to persevere and identify ways to find clients who are interested in selling and or buying. As we approached the end of the second quarter, unit sales and dollar volume were actually ahead of 2019 YTD numbers as consumers were still desiring/ needing to buy and sell.

The beginning of the third quarter provided additional confirmation that 2020 could actually outperform 2019. Unit sales were up 20% and sales prices began showing signs of demand pricing pushing the annual increase into the double digits. Fortunately, new sellers would provide enough new listings to maintain current inventory levels. However, that didn’t last long as inventory levels once again shrunk to historic low ending the year with only 4,229 single family residential homes for sale. Take away 641 new construction inventory homes and you are left with under 4000 SF detached homes for sale in the entire ARMLS system. So, what’s in store for 2021? All eyes will be on the protocols relating to COVID-19. Business and commerce must fully reopen free of COVID stigmatization and regulation. AZ GDP will again shine as job growth, new business starts, and businesses reopen. We do expect ARMLS active inventory to remain low until new listings can stabilize above 2400 per week, and of course increased population will require additional inventory. Look for increases in new home construction starts to fill the inventory void. Anticipate tariffs and limited supply of construction materials to play a role in base pricing. Mortgage interest rates should continue to remain low as long as Sales Price increases remain below double digits which may offset the higher housing prices. If the sales prices increase above an annualized 10% expect increases in mortgage interest rates to slow the sales volume, which will cause sales price increases to recede back into single digits. I wish you a prosperous 2021.

AWARENESS

WEEK

THANK YOU!

FOR SUPPORTING WEST USA CARES Your support, donations, and involvement in Awareness Week was overwhelming. We appreciate your dedication and passion to not only our cause but also to each individual passion of our agents.

2020 BASKET WINNERS: 2020 AHWATUKEE STYLE BASKET

DONNA LEEDS

GONE TO THE DOGS

MARSHA CARROLL

GOURMET WINE BASKET

SUE FLUCKE

HOME SURVIVAL KIT

MONA WILLIAMS

FALL LOVERS BASKET

SUE FLUCKE

ITALIAN GIFT BASKET

MIKE WEINSTEIN

DATE NIGHT BASKET

MONA WILLIAMS

KIERLAND HOLIDAY HOME BAR

MAGDA HINTEREDER

AGENT EMERGENCY KIT

KRYSTAL DAWSON

BOSS LADY BASKET

NANCY CAMPBELL

WHISKEY LOVERS BASKET

BOB GARY

CONGRATULATIONS

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT DURING AWARENESS WEEK!

M O N DAY

T U E S DAY

W E D N E S DAY

JANUARY 2021

T H U R S DAY

F R I DAY

New Year’s Day

West USA Weekly Webinar 9:00am - 10:00am / Webinar

iFound Agent - Quick Start 1:00pm - 2:00pm / Webinar

West USA Agent Orientation 10:30am - 12:00pm / Webinar

iFound Agent - Working with pages, posts, menus, embedding videos/photos etc. 9:00am - 10:00am / Webinar

Don’t Do Dat w/Broker Bob Stephens 2:00pm - 2:30pm / Webinar

Prostart Training Session 1 9:00am - 4:00pm / Zoom

West USA Weekly Webinar 9:00am - 10:00am / Webinar

Prostart Training Session 1 9:00am - 4:00pm / Zoom

Company Wide Office Meeting 10:00am - 11:00am / Zoom

FREE REMOTE CE CLASS Agency and Industry Related Issues 3Hrs Agency Law 9:00am - 12:00pm / Zoom Prostart Training Session 1 9:00am - 4:00pm / Zoom

Don’t Do Dat w/Broker Bob Stephens 1:00pm - 1:30pm / Webinar

ALL OFFICES CLOSED Martin Luther King Day

FREE REMOTE CE CLASS The NAR Code and the AZ Law 3Hrs Real Estate Legal Issues 9:00am - 12:00pm / Zoom

Broker Roundtable 10:00am - 11:30am / Zoom

Transaction Desk Class 10:00am - 11:00am / Zoom

FREE REMOTE CE CLASS Mastering the Residential Purchase Contract - 3Hrs Contract Law 9:00am - 12:45pm / Zoom

Creating Real Estate Wealth

Facebook Basics for Real Estate Professionals w/Keith Flynn 10:00am - 11:30am / Webinar

iFound Agent - Ask the Pro - Q&A Training Workshop 10:00am - 11:00am / Webinar

ARMLS Training - Searching & Mapping 10:00am - 11:00am / Webinar

Instagram Basics for Real Estate Professionals w/Keith Flynn 10:00am - 11:00am / Webinar

Prostart Training Session 2 9:00am - 4:00pm / Zoom

Canva Basics for Real Estate Professionals w/Keith Flynn 10:00am - 11:00am / Webinar

w/ Michael Douville

10:00am - 10:30am / Webinar

Prostart Training Session 3 9:00am - 4:00pm / Zoom

West USA Weekly Webinar 9:00am - 10:00am / Webinar

Coffee with Justin - FREE Marketing & CRM Platform 10:00am - 11:00am / Zoom

Don’t Do Dat w/Broker Bob Stephens 1:00pm - 1:30pm / Webinar

FREE REMOTE CE CLASS Mastering the Residential Purchase Contract - 3Hrs Contract Law 9:00am - 12:45pm / Zoom

Creating Real Estate Wealth

w/ Michael Douville

10:00am - 10:30am / Webinar

• CE- Continuing Education Renewal Training • Luxury Division Event

• Commercial Division Event • Office Meetings