Michigan Association of REALTORS®

Sales of new single-family homes rose 1.7 percent in October to an annual rate of 728,000, the first rise seen since April.

However, sales are down 23.5 percent from October 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

To spark more sales, developers have cut prices. In October, the median sales price for a new home fell 8.6 percent to $217,800 from $238,400 in September — the largest month-over-month decline since September 1981. The price was down 13 percent from September 2006, the largest year-over-year decline since September 1970.

There were 516,000 new homes for sale at the end of the month, a 2.3 percent drop from September. It would take 8.5 months to clear that inventory at the current sales pace, down from the 9 months' supply reported in September.

"Housing is still going to decline at least for the rest of this year," predicts Adam York, economic analyst at Wachovia Economics in Charlotte, N.C.

Institute a More Dynamic, Proactive System for Getting Back to People

By: Denis Waitley

· When you receive a letter, write a short response in the margin of the letter and either fax or mail it back, within minutes after reading it.

· If it requires further action, set up a time-based suspense file. If the person has an e-mail address on the letterhead, e-mail an answer.

· Pick specific times to read and answer mail and e-mail. Answer all e-mails within 48 hours. If you can’t respond that soon, send a brief e-mail "will respond as soon as current commitments allow." Read mail when phone calls are not appropriate to make or receive. Mail is best read late at night or early in the morning. Make important outgoing calls first thing in the morning. Take non-critical incoming calls, after screening, in the afternoon or early evening.

· Use more handwritten notes. In the age of fax and e-mail, a note in your own handwriting signifies your special interest in that person.

· Make generous use of the free electronic greeting cards on bluemountain.com. There is a salutation for nearly every occasion on that website. I send at least two musical cards per week.

· Use a specific color on your e-mail that is distinctive and easy to read. Also, consider adding your photo to your e-mail and also using the new voice e-mail now available online.

· As we mentioned earlier, consider sending compatible Internet telephone software to someone important to you in a distant city or another country, so you can communicate often by phone, without paying long distance charges.

And, perhaps most important in the communication process, when you have procrastinated getting back to someone, or you feel someone has slighted you, or that you have offended someone…please take the initiative and make the call.

I have learned through the years that the greatest communication problems occur when no communication takes place. One of Parkinson’s most important laws is that; "The lack of communication creates a void that is quickly filled with doubt, fear, anxiety, poison and innuendo." Always be first to forgive. Always be willing to listen. Always be willing to make the call that everyone else is afraid to make. You’ll regret what you didn’t say or do much more than the things you did.

Training the Treasurer

By: Chris Busky, CAE

Financial oversight is among the most important aspects of board accountability and cannot be taken lightly with the influx of Sarbanes-Oxley concerns. As trustees of the organization’s assets, board members, particularly the treasurer, are required to exercise due diligence to make sure the nonprofit is well managed and financially sound.

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The Grinch Asks Why?

By: Linda Talley

Every year at this time, my friend, Ben, who is in retail stationary, turns into the Grinch. Not that he’s trying to steal Christmas—he just wants it to go away. This year I asked him why he was so “grinchy” at Christmas and he said: “Because of my customers.” Of course, given an inch, I took a mile and said, “What do you mean by that?” He said: “They forget what Christmas is all about. They are inconsiderate, rude, angry, and just down right nasty. They think we can perform miracles for them because they waited till the last minute to order stationary or cards. Now we do perform a lot of miracles, however, if the manufacturers aren’t open and printing, it’s difficult for us to create those miracles. Why don’t people behave better at Christmas?”

Usually I would be talking about training your staff to deal with difficult customers but perhaps there are times when we, as customers, become a little crazy. When we’ve put things off till the last minute; when we’ve overbooked ourselves; when we’re running on adrenaline; when we see the light and think it’s the train! It’s about being reactive vs. responding.

When we’re reacting, it’s always emotional and usually always a mess. When we’re responding, it’s about seeing the gift in every situation whether it comes from fortune or misfortune. When we see that there is no “good” or “bad” life becomes a lot easier. During the holidays, tempers can flare, we can get reactive. The trick is to catch ourselves and remember what Marian Caplan said: “Bad situations in life are often the most fertile opportunities for deepening our understanding of life as well as our capacity to feel compassion for others.”

So how about this holiday season, when you’re out and about, consider the other person when you respond rather than react. It will make your holiday season a whole lot brighter and easier. And if you are in retail, why not give your staff an hour of paid leave with the instructions to go and observe their counterparts in the competitor’s store and then report back to you what they discovered. Remember, it’s how you want to be treated that you will treat other people—retail or not!