Category: Rodeo Realty

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Rodeo Realty itunes app now available for download! Check it out.

TODAY Rodeo Realty Launches Mobile Real Estate App to Search All Local Homes for Sale on iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, iPads & Smart Phones 

 

 

Our new mobile app uses GPS, when available, to locate the user and display listings in the immediate area. Users can also search by address, city or zip code to see property details for all homes for sale in a specified area, including price, square footage, estimated mortgage, taxes, features, maps, pictures and more. The “Refine Search” feature lets users select a price range, property type and the number of beds and baths to help them find just what they’re looking for.

Wherever you are, driving, or walking around looking at properties, you’ll have access to all of the MLS information on the homes for sale around you, with just one touch of a button on your cell phone.   Hit “Call to See” and you will be put right in touch with ME, ready and waiting to serve all of your real estate needs.

It’s so easy to do!  Just text RODEO to 87778, and the application will be sent to your phone by text message.  Just click on it and the application downloads right away.

 

 

 

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Economic Update: Week of 3/22

Economic Update: Week ending 3/22

The federal reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke  announced this week that the fed will continue bond purchases to keep long term interest rates down until substantial improvement in the employment market is seen. With that said 226,000 jobs were added in February and over the last 5 months the average has been 200,000 jobs added per month. The unemployment rate dropped to 7.7%, the lowest level since 2008. Bernanke also said that when the fed decides to pull back that they can act quickly and begin buying bonds again if the economy begins to stall. His suggestion of pulling back on bond purchases and letting long term interest rates rise to market levels mark a change in the long term foreseeable future comments made earlier this year. I believe we will see interest rates rising soon, as all indicators including employment have shown gains above what has been expected. This could begin as early as the next fed meeting.

In other news Cyprus had a run on its banks, which while newsworthy, had no impact on our economy or markets. Had it not been slow news days this would not have had much coverage as Cyprus is such a small economy. As far as home sales news:   US home resale’s were up 10.2% and the median  price index showed a 11.6% year to year increase for February, lower than California but huge for US! Home builders reported that they can’t find land to purchase and can not get zoning and building approval quick enough to meet demand.

Mortgage rates this week fell back toward historic lows after moving up a week ago. The average rate on 30-year loan fell to 3.54% this week, from 3.63%, a high for the year last week, and the highest rate since August 2012. The rate on the 30-year loan has been below 4 percent now for a full year and is expected to stay under 4 percent for all of 2013 based on Freddie Macs adjusted upper end of its inflation range forecast.   The 15-year loan averaged 2.72% this week, from 2.79% last week.  The lowest mortgage rates in decades are spurring more home purchases and refinancing. That’s really helped the broader economy. Increased sales are also pushing home prices higher. As the spring home-buying season begins, low mortgage rates will entice more people to buy homes or refinance. The National Association of Realtors reported Thursday that sales increased 0.8% in February from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.98 million. That was the highest sales pace since November 2009, when a temporary tax credit for home buyers had boosted sales. However, some people still are unable to take advantage of the low mortgage rates, either because they can’t qualify for stricter lending rules or they lack the money for larger down payment requirements. First-time buyers made up just 30% of sales in February. In more stable economies, they make up more than 40%  of sales.

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Rodeo Realty Hires Fred Henry to Manage Sunset Strip Office

Rodeo Realty is moving forward with plans to open a new office on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. Fred Henry, a Westside real estate veteran, will be managing the new branch.

Henry’s experience in the Westside market is extensive. He was manager and VP of marketing and communications for DBL Realtors (now Sotheby’s International Realty) on the Sunset Strip.

He opened one of John Aaroe & Associate’s offices in Los Feliz. The branch went on to be a great success for the company. And Henry was manager of Fred Sands on the Sunset Strip.
“The Sunset Strip area has always been a dynamic market,” said Henry. “It’s an entertainment hub and centrally located. It’s important to have an office in the neighborhood to really service this area right.”
Rodeo’s Sunset Strip branch will open in early 2011. Once the space is built-out, it will house approx. 100 agents. Henry is also hiring experienced Westside agents. The office will be a great addition to Rodeo Realty and West Hollywood, he said.
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Walk-in Leads to Multiple Listings for Sherman Oaks Agent

Derick Vallance knows the value of working floor time. In a recent case, a young woman walked into Rodeo Realty’s Sherman Oaks office at about 6 p.m. with the L.A. Times Homes Section in-hand. She asked if she could speak with somebody about listing a home.
Vallance was on floor time and took the meeting.
The woman needed an agent who could get two houses on the market the next day, host open houses by the weekend, and somebody who was not going to make a bunch of empty promises.
In two days, and with the help of the Rodeo team, Vallance had ads running in the newspaper, professional quality signs in place, photos of the properties, color brochures, lock boxes, and flags and balloons for the open houses. The open houses were a success.
The client came back the next week and asked him to list and host open houses for three additional homes. Vallance plans on spreading the open houses out a little bit in order to give each one his full attention.
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Rodeo Realty Expanding in the Los Angeles Area

(Bel Air, Calif.) Over the past few months, Rodeo Realty has expanded the size of its Woodland Hills, Calif. office by 3,000 square feet, secured space for a new office in prime Beverly Hills, and began searching for new branch locations in Brentwood, Calif. and the famed Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. The residential real estate firm has hired more than 100 agents in 2010 alone.
“My company gives agents an edge, by providing them with the technology and marketing tools they need to succeed in this market,” said company founder and president, Syd Leibovitch.
Rodeo’s 3,000 square foot Woodland Hills expansion accommodates 12 new private offices, six cubicles, and space for Rodeo’s affiliate company Encore Escrow. The company plans to increase the branch’s number of producing agents by 25 or more.
Leibovitch secured more than 12,000 square feet of prime Beverly Hills real estate on Cañon Drive to build-out a new office for its existing Beverly Hills operations. Once complete, the branch will house more than 100 agents.
Rodeo is searching for 10,000 square feet of office space in Brentwood, Calif. to service communities such as Santa Monica, Malibu, and West L.A. The company is also actively looking for space on the Sunset Strip. In the past few months, Leibovitch has doubled the size of his Information Technology department, and hired a new regional manager and publicist.
“Becoming a real estate agent means owning your own business, and you have to invest in your business to make it grow,” said Leibovitch. “I try to lead by example and always show that Rodeo Realty is a leader in agent support.”
Syd Leibovitch founded Rodeo Realty in 1986. It’s one of the largest independently owned residential real estate firms in California, with more than 700 agents and 10 offices in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Affiliate companies include: L.A. Mortgage, Encore Escrow and Progressive Title.

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Rodeo Realty Expanding in Southern California

(Bel Air, Calif.) Over the past few months, Rodeo Realty has expanded the size of its Woodland Hills, Calif. office by 3,000 square feet, secured space for a new office in prime Beverly Hills, and began searching for new branch locations in Brentwood, Calif. and the famed Sunset Strip. The residential real estate firm has hired more than 100 agents in 2010 alone.

“My company gives agents an edge, by providing them with the technology and marketing tools they need to succeed in this market,” said company founder and president, Syd Leibovitch.
Rodeo’s 3,000 square foot Woodland Hills expansion accommodates 12 new private offices, six cubicles, and space for Rodeo’s affiliate company Encore Escrow. The company plans to increase the branch’s number of producing agents by 25 or more.
Leibovitch secured more than 12,000 square feet of prime Beverly Hills real estate on Cañon Drive to build-out a new office for its existing Beverly Hills operations. Once complete, the branch will house more than 100 agents.
Rodeo is searching for 10,000 square feet of office space in Brentwood, Calif. to service communities such as Santa Monica, Malibu, and West L.A. The company is also actively looking for space on the Sunset Strip. In the past few months, Leibovitch has doubled the size of his Information Technology department, and hired a new regional manager and publicist.
“Becoming a real estate agent means owning your own business, and you have to invest in your business to make it grow,” said Leibovitch. “I try to lead by example and always show that Rodeo Realty is a leader in agent support.”
Syd Leibovitch founded Rodeo Realty in 1986. It’s one of the largest independently owned residential real estate firms in California, with more than 700 agents and 10 offices in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Affiliate companies include: L.A. Mortgage, Encore Escrow and Progressive Title.

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Media Relations 101 for Real Estate Agents

What do you do when a reporter from the local newspaper, or a national publication, calls asking for quotes about the real estate industry? A) Run for the hills. B) Put off the call until a later date. C) Claim that you don’t want competitors to know your trade secrets.
If you answered “yes” to any of the above, you just lost an opportunity for the best free advertising on the planet. And, you lost the opportunity of potentially being that reporter’s trusted source in the future, the real estate pro that he/she calls first.
Knowing how to respond to media inquiries and pitch story ideas to reporters is an important marketing skill for one big reason: The public is more likely to take notice and trust a news story written by a credible publication than spend the same time scanning your paid advertisement through and through.
I worked as a newspaper reporter for more than a decade. The media world moves fast; deadlines are often the same day or hour. Anytime I dealt with story sources who couldn’t get it together enough to call me back, I moved on.
It’s sad, because many of those people who didn’t take the call, played “gatekeeper” to their boss, and the like, lost out on the possibility of increased revenues and future interviews.
That said, real estate agents should also know a few rules of the road when dealing with the media.
The Do List:
1. Do call reporters back immediately. If you get their voicemail, leave a cell number. Set up a protocol in your office to make sure calls from the media are forwarded to a live body that can talk on the record.
2. Do provide substantive quotes and content. This may make the difference between you or your competition getting in the paper. Remember that good reporters call multiple sources.
3. Do be proactive and call reporters when you have an interesting story idea. Ask them about the types of stories they prefer to write and the types of information they prefer. Meet their needs.
4. Do get to know the real estate reporters in your area. Offer to meet for a cup of coffee to discuss trends you are observing in the real estate market. Reporters can pick up on story ideas that you would have never thought of.
5. Do offer to provide other resources and interview opportunities that can help the reporter accurately cover his/her beat or story, even if those resources aren’t directly linked to you.

The Don’t List:
1. Don’t ask to speak “off-the-record” when you are being interviewed. The line between on-the-record and off-the-record can get blurred. Also, reporters are looking for information and quotes that can be used in their story.
2. Don’t say things that you would feel uncomfortable having viewed by thousands of readers. If you are bound by a confidentiality agreement with a client, do not break that agreement.
3. Don’t ask reporters to let you see the story before it goes to press. But you can ask to review your quotes and context of the story over the telephone. Some reporters are open to this idea, and some are not.
4. Don’t pitch bad story ideas. That’s the quickest way to lose a reporter’s ear. Trends that nobody else has written about, human interest stories related to the housing market, and significant transactions are typically good bets. Charity events, average real estate listings, and your latest marketing gimmicks are not worthy of a story.
5. Don’t, and I repeat DON’T, ever try to bribe a reporter or editor to write a story. Generally speaking, reporters cannot accept gifts, lunches, etc… that exceed $20 in value. And some reporters and editors cannot accept anything other than your quotes and insight.

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Rodeo Realty Lists Academy Award Winning Producer's $25 million Calabasas Ranch

Located in the heart of Calabasas, Avalon Ranch is a 190-acre equestrian estate currently owned by Jim Wilson, an Academy Award winning producer who worked on the movie “Dances with Wolves.” The property includes a 7,500 square foot traditional farm house built in 1999. Hardwood floors, stone fireplaces, slate floors, wainscoting, built-in bookcases, beamed ceilings, country gourmet kitchen, French doors, wrap around porches, and stunning views are just a few of many of the home’s features. The property also includes two guest homes, a 16 stall barn with full amenities, swimming pool, spa, tennis court with viewing pavillion, secondary barn, utility building, duck pond, expansive pastures and corrals, sand ring, more than 1,000 trees planted, and hundreds of fruit and citrus trees. For more information, visit www.avalonranch.us/ or e-mail JimPascucci@RodeoRE.com. Jim may also be contacted at (818) 222-7707 or  (818) 653-2691.

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