Yesterday I attended REBarCampSiliconValley in San Jose, CA at the AXIS high-rise.  There were about 150 real estate bloggers  (like myself) who also use social media to connect with other Realtors to “stay ahead of the curve” and in the process provide better service to their clients.

While there were some outside professional consultants to the industry, almost everyone was quite knowledgeable and they contributed to the discussion rather than just sat back to be passive sponges taking in everything new.  It was what I call “open source” real estate.  We all learned from each other sharing our knowledge and experience openly without fear of having our secrets stolen by a competitor.  And as a result, we all benefited.  It was a free event and although there were generous sponsors who underwrote the event, few were blatantly pitching their services or product.

Today is Tech Tuesday at California Association of Realtors convention in San Jose, CA which will probably have a more traditional formal format of speakers and audience.  The convention floor will have vendors pitching their wares and a very different feel.

With the rise of the Internet, Realtors are no longer the guardians of private information about listings, but they are even more important to a transaction because of their knowledge and experience in contract matters, negotiating tactics, market trends, true market valuation, marketing, networking and customer service.  In the same way that today consumers are more proactive in their own health management, we still need doctors, lawyers, accountants and other professionals for their skills, detailed knowledge and experience.

Part of how I try to practice real estate  is to give a little more than is expected in this open source world. In Louisiana they call it “Lagniappe” (lan-yap) – It’s the unexpected treat at a nice restaurant; the extra roll in a bakers dozen; the free samples at Costco; even the penny jar at the local retailer.  This “open source real estate” in Saratoga, I call it the “Art and Heart of Real Estate.”

I am inspired by the saying of Jesus “Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38

With many homes available on the market at more affordable prices in the past year, home buyers have been devoting more and more time in each of the past couple years to consider and carefully select their home during the research and buying process.

In general, home buyers devoted more time from start to finish during the home buying process. On average, they spent:

• 8.4 weeks considering buying a home in 2009, compared to 7.2 weeks in 2008
• 6.6 weeks investigating homes and neighborhoods before contacting an agent, compared to 6.2 weeks in 2008.
• 10.3 weeks searching for a home with their agent, compared to 8.7 weeks in 2008
• Home buyers on average visited 15.5 homes in 2009, compared to 15.1 homes in 2008.  

In the past, home buyers spent more time with their agent partly because they visited more homes. The increase in the number of homes visited in 2009, however, was not significantly different from 2008. The additional time spent with an agent could be attributed in part to the increase in the complexity in viewing distressed properties.

Rick Bonetti | Alain Pinel Realtor | 408-857-8800 | DRE# 01237009