ALISO VIEJO, CA, October 30th , 2006 – According to the California Association of REALTORS®, the California housing market forecast for 2007 predicts cooling home sales, and a modest price decrease. “The housing market clearly downshifted in 2006 from the record-setting sales and robust price gains of the last few years,” said C.A.R. president Vince Malta.  According to a San Francisco Chronicle article, numerous changes and new business models are impacting the business. In response to the changes and downturn, First American Title is bringing the RE ALERTS Roadshow will be coming to Redwood City, California – the midpoint between the Silicon Valley and San Francisco – next week, for an easy to understand daylong analysis of trends, a business briefing, and a step-by-step 2007 strategic planning session. 

The first speaker will be highly in demand real estate trends guru Stefan Swanepoel, author of the “Swanepoel Trends Report” talking about “Change is Coming! Are you Ready?”  Following Swanepoel, Bill Shue – known as the Larry King of real estate agent interviews – will moderate a panel of leading agents from the Bay Area who will talk in detail about “Great Profits in Demanding Markets”.  The afternoon session belongs to Allen Wright – esteemed business planning expert – who will be teaching the “how-to” subject of  real estate business planning in a cooling environment.  That session is approved for three hours of continuing education credit and will include such subjects as:

•  Create a plan to project your business future income in light of market fluctuations.
•  Discover existing spending patterns and create a revised annual budget .
•  Examine your real estate market to determine average sale prices and sales trends.
•  Learn to project closings as a percentage of listings in your market.
•  Determine marketing methods and budget spending accordingly.
•  Differentiate fixed expenses from variable components.
•  Create new marketing plans.
•  Identify the need for additional staff (transaction coordinators, assistants etc.)
•  Determine an income goal and create a plan to reach it.

The reasoning behind the RE ALERTS seminar, according to Shue, is that: “We are trying to prepare agents and brokers for the challenging sales environment of tomorrow.  And professional education is a vital key for success.”  This one-day meeting is open to all brokers and agents and will be held at the Sofitel San Francisco Bay Hotel, located at 223 Twin Dolphin Drive, Redwood City.  “Whether the attendees are from a large corporately owned brokerage, or a one-man-band mom & pop small business, the trends analysis, marketing advice, and business planning tips that will come out of the RE ALERTS seminar can be used to create a roadmap to success in 2007,” Shue added.   
The registration cost of attending the event November 7th, is $75 at the door.  Delegates can however pre-register online at www.REAlerts.com for only $29.  Also RE ALERTS will be in Minneapolis, MN, on Nov 1st, Philadelphia, PA on Nov 14th.  According to Shue, during 2007, the RE ALERTS tour will be addressing the following cities: Columbus, OH, Orlando, FL, Miami, FL, Houston, TX, Dallas, TX, San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, Phoenix, AZ, Las Vegas, NV, Boston, MA, and Orange County, CA.