• People you're contacting need to see or hear your name in at least 3 modes of communication before there is substantive recognition.
• Once you have gained some early recognition, you need to nurture a developing relationship with a phone call or e-mail at least once a month.
• If your want to transform a contact into a friend, you need a minimum of 2 face-to-face meetings out of the office.
• Maintaining a secondary relationship requires 2-3 pings a year.

You can try dividing your network into general categories such as:

• Personal  - friends and family members, potential referral sources
• Prospects - potential buyers/sellers, potential referral sources
• Past Clients - potential referral sources
• Business Associates - potential referral sources
• Aspirational Contacts - people you want to get to know on some level that would be a potential referral source.

Then prioritize your list of their importance to you and your business accordingly.

• 1's - contact monthly
• 2's - contact quarterly
• 3's - contact yearly

One very important ping is the birthday ping!  These are much more meaningful than the holiday ping because only a few take the time to do these whereas, everybody sends holiday cards. 

You can also ping your past clients on the anniversary of when they closed on their home that you sold them!  This is a special day that you were a part of and they will be glad you did.  And, when you do, don't forget to 'ask for referrals' and 'give them permission to refer you' to their friends!  Since they know how good you are from 1st-hand experience, they are a great 3rd-party referral base for you.

Get out & start pinging and have a great week selling real estate!

SHORT TERM TREND (20 days or less) Favors higher rates and lower prices.

SUGGESTED PIPELINE STRATEGY:  Maintain a "lock 'em if you've got 'em" pipeline risk management strategy until/unless the Fannie Mae 6.0% 30-year mortgage-backed security can muster the momentum to close above a price of 98.687. 

  Since last week Friday I've suggested a downward breach of the 98.583 price level by the Fannie Mae 6.0% 30-year fixed rate mortgage-backed security would leave the security very vulnerable to a slide all the way down to the 98.031 to 97.593 neighborhood before buyers might reasonably be expected to show up in force again.  

  On Wednesday sellers pushed the price of the Fannie Mae 6.0% 30-year mortgage-backed security all the way down to 97.843 before buyers showed up in droves to drag the price back up to 98.281.   While this price action is encouraging -- one or two days of mortgage market friendly price action does not make a trend.  I look for sellers to take at least one more stab at pushing the Fannie Mae 6.0% 30-year mortgage-backed security down and through 97.843 (a value exactly equal to last year's low).  If buyers once again stage a solid buying spree as we approach the 97.843 price level I think it is highly likely that the worst of the run-up in mortgage interest rates this year will be behind us.  

  I expect a bottom (in terms of price, a high in terms of interest rates) to most likely be fully defined somewhere within a +/- three days range of June 21st.   (Cycle projections were first posted on Wednesday, June 6th.)

  Do not front-run this forecast - wait for an upward breach of the 98.687 price level before initiating any new "floating" loan positions.

LONG-TERM TREND (21 days or more) Favors higher rates and lower prices

SUGGESTED PIPELINE STRATEGY:  Maintain a "lock 'em if you've got 'em" pipeline risk management strategy until/unless the Fannie Mae 6.0% 30-year mortgage-backed security can muster the momentum to close above a price of 100.281.

Commentary:  The May Consumer Price Index rose a stronger than expected 0.7% as energy once again provided the majority of the upward lift.  The core rate (a value excluding the more volatile food and energy components) posted a softer-than-expected gain of 0.2%.  Core consumer prices are up 2.1% on a seasonally adjusted annual rate during the first five months of the year - compared with a 2.6% rise for all of last year.  Today's modest gain in core inflation at the consumer level is likely providing a bit of relief for Federal Reserve policymakers and investors alike.

  I continue to strongly recommend that you stay in your foxholes with your helmets on and your heads down.  Stay safely on the sidelines with respect to your pipeline risk positions until the probabilities of meaningful upside marketing gains swing back into your favor - as it surely will.  Be patient, be disciplined and play it by the numbers.

THE MARKET IS ALWAYS RIGHT!  YOU AND I ARE SOME OF THE TIME

If you require further clarification of today's market commentary don't hesitate to call us at...

972-612-2076 or 1-800-382-3865