Pending home sales rose in February.

[Nick Gromicko]

Pending home sales rose in February in all parts of the U.S. except for the Northeast. The National Association of Realtors said its index of pending home sales rose 2.1% to 90.8 in February, the first increase in three months. The index is based on sales contracts on existing homes.

[Gary Farnsworth]

Yep. Those figures may be correct. Here in KC, home sales went from 1,307 in January to 1,336 a 2.2% increase, in February; a numerical increase in an amount of 29 homes. There are over 26,000 homes for sale in the KCRAR region.

Wow. Impressive increase. Geesh.

[James A. Levy]

March is becoming a HUGE month for me in Southern, NJ. This is after a total of 3 in all of Jan. and Feb.

[James E. Braun, CMI]

According to my local Board of Realtors, sales are still a good 40% down in my area. But I am still performing more home inspections then usual. There is a lot of junk homes still sitting on the market, and the well maintained houses are selling as soon as they are listed.

[Doug Edwards]

This is exactly opposite of an article I read today. I also read an article last week that said the NAR has been fudging their numbers.

[Gary Farnsworth]

One article says that only 3% of foreclosures are on the market. Foreclosures available for sale are 30 times greater than foreclosure sales. 13% of homes for sale are vacant on average per state. So what this tells me that there are millions of vacant homes that are bank-owned, and have yet to reach the market. 6.8 million mortgages are considered "non-current".

Good for us in the long term, but there are very few buyers. Most young people today cannot afford a home, let alone their new cell phone.

http://www.linkedin.com/news?actionB...-tod-b-ttle-44

Things are not always what they seem.

[Jeffrey R. Pope]

That information accurately reflects how my business has been this month. Income for March 2011 will go down as the best single-month in the history of my business.

[Nick Gromicko]

Income for March 2011 will go down as the best single-month in the history of my business.

Nice Jeff!

It can't be just the market. If you had to pick one thing, what would you say it is,... that you are doing right?

[Jeffrey R. Pope]

Customer service - hands down. The feedback I get from clients (past and pending) and agents is that I am completely accessible (phone, email or text) and respond quickly, whether it's to book/schedule an appointment, discuss an inspection/report, speak to contractors or address a potential issue/dispute.

[Gary Farnsworth]

I lost a duplex inspection today because I did not answer my phone while on another inspection. Buyer left a VM, and I called back in 35 minutes. She hired someone else. I told her good luck.

My business is up from February, but still much lower from Jan-March this year compared to 2010 same months. Being a CMI has hurt, IMO, as most other agents suggest licensed, basic inspectors who have been in the business under two years. As I mentioned to the customer above who called me last night, I told her about being a CMI, and differences in being licensed and being qualified, etc. I bet her agent had something to do with the situation.

[Nick Gromicko]

Customer service - hands down. The feedback I get from clients (past and pending) and agents is that I am completely accessible (phone, email or text) and respond quickly, whether it's to book/schedule an appointment, discuss an inspection/report, speak to contractors or address a potential issue/dispute.

Thanks Jeff.

James writes:

March is becoming a HUGE month for me in Southern, NJ.

It can't be just the market. If you had to pick one thing, what would you say it is,... that you are doing right James?

[James A. Levy]

Originally Posted by gromicko

Thanks Jeff.

James writes: It can't be just the market. If you had to pick one thing, what would you say it is,... that you are doing right James?

Nick, I do believe it is the market in my case. The only thing I do differently is multiple websites that are geared to five or six keyword cities each. I have had top search engine rankings for the last six to eight months. Most of my calls are coming from my sites since I only have one or two agents that I work with.

When March rolled around home, commercial, mold, radon, everything just went crazy and hasn't stopped. I feel its mine to mess up now. I know several competitors are still sitting home.

[Gary Farnsworth]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42323042...n_the_economy/

Here is another article out today. It seems that some associations are fighting the negative data with data of their own. It is surprising that "192,000 new jobs were created in February, up from January" when over 5,000 baby boomers retire every day. That alone is supposed to create 150,000 jobs a month, but most companies just absorb the loss of people retiring, and just make their employees work harder.

IMHO, it is all just a smoke screen. Four years of lousy business, and counting.

[James A. Levy]

Originally Posted by gfarnsworth

IMHO, it is all just a smoke screen. Four years of lousy business, and counting.

I don't think anyone spoke out, lashed out or vented about lousy biz more than me. I think, until now, the buyers just weren't there. It seems to vary with the area. I may have to quit the "other" job if this holds.

[Nick Gromicko]

That information accurately reflects how my business has been this month. Income for March 2011 will go down as the best single-month in the history of my business.

Jeff, if this is too personal of a question, don't answer it, but... can you tell us roughly what a good month for you is in terms of gross revenue? Also, how many assistants do you have?