Spokane Real Estate Voice: Washington

In Spokane Wa. we having the amazing privilege of having 76 lakes within close driving distance. Some are 20 minutes from downtown, some as far as two hours. A majority are about 45 minutes from Spokane. That is not a typo, yes I said 76 lakes!

I LOVE LAKES!

We just spent a week at the stunning and pristine Priest Lake Idaho, which is a two hour drive from Spokane.

AMAZING, REFRESHING, RELAXING, PRIMITIVE FORESTS, CRYSTAL CLEAR MOUNTAIN WATER, HUCKLEBERRIES, GREAT RESORTS, MAJESTIC HIKES, I have said it before and I will say it again, the Pacific Northwest is God's Country!

Here are a few pictures we took on our vacation. Enjoy...

My kids kayaking at Priest Lake!

The unmatched beauty of Upper Priest Lake, unreal. :)

That is me, hiking. GOOD DAY, BAD HAIR!

If you are considering relocating to the Spokane area, I would love to talk with you about how great it is to live in Spokane Wa!

BethAnn Long, Realtor  www.BethAnnHomes.com

There are only so many sources for prospects in our business. With 20% of agents doing 80% of the business, it warrants the question: Where do the top producer's get their business?

There is no simple answer. It may depend on how many years they have been in real estate. But then again, I have seen new agents run circles around "experienced" agents.

The largest current pools for leads are SOI (Sphere of Influence): People you know and their referrals,  and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) : Internet leads generated by your website, lead sources, blogging, and social networking.

While there is a third category of lead sources: Expired Listings, Farming, FSBO'S and cold calling, ect. - for this article I am not addressing those.

There are a few "Master's" at the art of SOI. The two I am most aware of are: Larry Kendall's philosophy and training on Ninja Selling. ( www.ninjaselling.com ) which highlights several systems for all aspects of real estate, especially keeping in touch with your sphere. They do retreats at there agency n Fort Collins, CO. which I personally attended and highly recommend. The second is Jennifer Allen " Sell with Soul" who can be found right here on Active Rain. She does a great job of writing about new and creative ways to keep in touch! Both of these are worth looking into! As far as mastering SEO, the list is long. I see on Active Rain many who claim nearly 100% of their business from the Internet.

Now, back to the title: "When SOI and SEO collide". What do I mean by this?...

Where I find they collide, is that there is only so much time in the day. And there is only so much money to budget for prospecting.How do we decide, as real estate professionals- how to spend our time, money and resources? Each of these can be very costly on both time and money.

I feel the best thing to do, is to truly evaluate not only what has worked for you in the past, but what you enjoy.

Take 3 highlighters, yellow, pink and blue. Get the entire list of EVERY transaction you have ever done. Now highlight all of the SOI in yellow, INTERNET closings in blue, and all others in blue. Make three columns and place each name under a column:

                       SPHERE                                                  INTERNET                                         OTHER

Study this list very carefully. Make budget decisions accordingly. Be intentional about how you spend your time, energy and resources.

For me, I am clearly a half and half gal at this point in my career. I have a clear plan for both SOI AND SEO. It does require some juggling, but it works for me. I think both are critical, and I am not willing to let go of either.

I have had incredible experiences with people I know, like and trust- and some very difficult ones. I have met strangers who found me online that I now call dear friends. I particularly love helping people relocate to Spokane Wa. that find my website or blog. Some have not worked out very well, that is true. But I learn as I go, and unless something changes in my world, I will continue forward on both spectrum's.

It is a balancing act for sure, but as a mother of five, I am a master at multi tasking and plate spinning.

Medical Lake Waterfront Park is a great place to spend the day!

It has lots of green grass, decent bathrooms, large sandy beach, anda 3 mile paved trail all the way around the lake.

The kids enjoyed jumping off the cliffs!

This weekend (Aug. 8-10th 2010) they have a bluegrass festival out there.

This beach is great for family get together's because there is a lot of room. Plus you can bike or walk all the way around the lake.

Waterfront Park/Medical Lake Wa is only 20 minutes from Downtown Spokane!

On the top of what we call " The South Hill" here in Spokane lies a beautiful view rim called "High Drive".

The entire west facing ridge has been turned into miles of great dog walking, running, biking, hiking and just plain sunset watching!

Enjoy an evening stroll, or get up early and throw on your running shoes! GREAT VIEWS, Peaceful and Serene places to enjoy just another beautiful place in Spokane Wa.

That is Qualchan Golf Corse down on Highway 195 as seen by me walking on High Drive Trails!

For great Ice cream and more, visit "The Scoop" on Spokane's South Hill!

Situated in the lovely Wilson Scool/Manito Park/High Drive area, The Scoop is a favorite local hang out for all ages.

LOCATED at the corner of 25th and Monroe right by Wilson Elementary.

There are so many spectacular hikes all around the Spokane area. Yesterday, I went to the Iller Creek Conservation area and hiked up to the Rocks of Sharon, also known as " Big Rock"

One thing I loved about this hike is the diversity! One minute you feel like you are in the rain forest, and the next you have an almost desert feel. Then it is on to Forest, and when you reach the rocks, well be ready to say WOW when you see the view of the farm land and Palouse. Simply so much to take in!

I am so fortunate to live in the GREAT NORTHWEST!

Spokane Realtor, BethAnn Long of Coldwell Banker Tomlinson is now a nationally published author and syndicated Real Estate Columnist. BethAnn was discovered on ACTIVE RAIN and invited to be a regular contributing columnist for www.newsgeni.us and www.thecommissioncheck.com .

The first site, www.newsgeni.us is created for real estate agents and is an excellent free resource to gain ideas for growing your business. You can subscribe there to receive daily news e-briefs with all kinds of cutting edge idea's and up to the minute estate news! Her personal column is titled: "Long Story Short".

The second site, www.thecommission.check.com  is designed for brokers, owners, managers, trainers, and agents alike. This site is sure to provide you with fresh training and ideas to ensure that those commission checks keep coming in.

While both of these great sites are designed for the real estate industry, you can find BethAnn's consumer sites at:

www.BethAnnHomes.com (website) and www.SpokaneRealEstateVoice.com (blog).

BethAnn has been selling real estate in the Spokane area for the past 8 years, and has won numerous awards for her outstanding performance.

When she is not servicing her clients, BethAnn is married to Bill Long (KXLY),they have 5 children, and she is a professional musician - active in both her church and community.

A note from BethAnn:

Realtors:

I highly recommend subscribing to these FREE websites! You will most certainly learn some great new ideas for your business as well as increase your bottom line! Do it now!   www.newsgeni.us

Award winning Spokane Realtor BethAnn Long specializes in Spokane Homes for sale, Spokane Real Estate, Relocation to Spokane Wa.

Farm Chick Serena Thompson has finally revealed the location of her new store: 1601 W. Pacific Ave. in Browne's Addition.

Wow! This is too good to be true.

If you don't know about the FARM CHICKS you should!

Check out their INCREDIBLE BLOG at http://www.thefarmchicks.typepad.com/

I will be going to the new store this Saturday!

They have written cookbooks, and regular columnists for County Living!

I think the store will do very well. Country girls in the heart of the city. Love it!

Each month I post the Spokane Association of Realtor monthly report for Spokane Wa. These statistics reflect sales for residential properties on one acre or less.

As for myself, this has been a steady year. Not too crazy busy, and not too slow. I am particularly curious how sales will continue and compare now that the tax credit's are behind us.  However, there are still some tax credits that apply for active military personnel. Ask your accountant or Realtor for details!

Spokane Wa real estate is alive and well and has proven to be one of the more stable markets in the nation.

SAR REPORT AS FOLLOWS for June 2010:

For the ninth consecutive month closed sales for this month surpassed closed sales for the same month a year ago. Closed sales reported in June totaled 506 compared to 501 for June of last year. The average sales price for June was $190,308 which is up 5.4% from last month and the median price for June was $171,295 up 6.6% over May. Residential closed sales for the first half of this year are up 24.5% over last year. (wow!) The average sales price for the half year mark stands at $181,482 and the median price is at $163,000. These numbers are down 6.4% and 6.1% respectively when compared to last year. The current inventory increased the past month and as of this report totals 3,406 homes/condos on the market in Spokane County (on less than one acre). Sales of newly constructed homes/condos are up 5.5% year to date.

Visit my website! www.BethAnnHomes.com

Yesterday, my sister, mom and I had a great Spokane area Mini Adventure! The truth is, if you live in the great northwest like we do, there are hundreds of little mini adventures to be had around every cornner!

We went out the Palouse Highway, just south of town. We took a hike up toward Big Rock (STUNNING!). When we encountered a very BIG MOOSE we decided to turn around. But the view from part way up was breathtaking!

Then we adventured to Mt. Hope, a serene little chapel in the country. So beautiful! Driving past feilds of gold mustard, rolling wheat fields, wildflowers, country farms and simple beauty.

From Mountain hike to valley farms, it is just moments. I hope you enjoy these pictures I took!

Here is BIG ROCK!

View of Palouse from Big Rock Trail

Mt. Hope Chapel ~ A sweet country setting.