Today I was reading an article from a study conducted by the Baltimore-based Sage Policy Group for the Maryland State Builders Association.

The study has indicated that consumers are reluctant to purchase houses in today's economic environment.

The study references a survey conducted by the National Association of Homebuilders, which found that the availability of credit for acquisition, construction and development loans has 'worsened every quarter for ten quarters in a row."

The article continues to say that there is almost nothing that indicates that conditions might improve in the near future. In fact "the homebuilding industry nationally and in Maryland is not positioned to recover in the near term."

OK. That was the bad news. And yes. It is bad.

Now the good news. There has to be some, right?

Every month I speak to dozens of builders and sales professionals. This summer was a little slower then the past. One of my clients in Sussex, DE has never done better. In fact. Sussex De sales are up 20% from last year. Why is that? There could be many factors to this, but I believe the following:

* Great product

* Great price/value

* Great sales team

Yes the news is bad, but builders are still selling homes and people are still buying. If you have the right product at the right price with the best sales team possible, you will make sales!

Saying Sussex County Realtors and county government have a shared interest in real-estate activity, Sue Bramhall welcomed county council, administrative staff and housing department staff to the annual appreciation day.

Bramhall, chairwoman of the Sussex County Association of Realtors government affairs committee, said the luncheon is scheduled each summer to thank county staff for their efforts. This year's event took place Aug. 17, at the association's office along Route 9 outside Georgetown.

Bramhall said the No. 1 question on everyone's mind is: "How's business?"

Experts predict another five or six years until the housing market returns to normal, she said, and the biggest factor leading to recovery is the creation of jobs; more than 7 million jobs have been lost.

She said the good news is that interest rates, around 4.5 percent, are the lowest in two to three generations. The association predicts rates will remain low through 2012, rising slightly to just above 6 percent.

Overall, home sales in the county are running about 20 percent ahead of last year, Bramhall said, and the average selling price of a house is above last year.

Just last week we completed a shop on a sales professional who is currently selling homes in the $650k and up range. Some of his homes are over $1Mil.

That has not stopped him from selling.

The sale professional went through every step. He built rapport and then went into the macro-micro selling. All along he continued to check in with the shopper to make sure that she was on board.

This professional creating urgency by narrowing the choices down on the homesites based on the needs. He was also able to focus in on all of the shoppers hot buttons.

Best of all, this rep followed up by email within 4 hours of the visit. He made a phone call 24 hours later and another email 4 days later. Its too soon to tell, but I am betting that he will make at least 5 touches within the 1st 30 days.

In this challenging market, follow-up is one of the many keys to making sales and this sales professional did it right! If you looked at his numbers, you would never know that this market was tough. He is selling. Why?

* Right product

* Great price/value

* Great sales team

The New Home Sales Connection works over 60 National and Regional builders, providing mystery shopping, personalized sales training and consulting services to generate impressive sales results.

Jay Schulman, founder of The New Home Sales Connection, has spent his 25-year career in sales, management and training. Over the last few years, The New Home Sales Connection has shopped hundreds of new home sales professionals. Jay has provided team training and one-on-one coaching to hundreds of community sales professionals and managers as well as provided consulting services to numerous builders. His work with his clients in identifying needs, creating urgency, handling objections, closing the sale, and following up, has resulted in increased sales for their builders.

If you are interested in having Jay speak at your next event, contact him directly:

jay@newhomesalesconnection.com

1603 Edmondson Ave, Suite 200

Catonsville, MD 21228

443-341-6821