Earlier this month, BH&G Representatives Steve Servais and Amy Chorew showed us the new Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Greenhouse (intranet). The new Greenhouse features improved design and usability, the BHGRE Contact Manager, the Digital Marketing Center and more. Here are two tips to help you use the new Greenhouse:

1. "How To" Tip Sheets - On the home page of the greenhouse on the upper right hand side, there is a link to "how to" tip sheets. For example, if you want to learn how to import your custom CSV into the Greenhouse contact manager, there is a tip sheet for it that you can access. If you still don't find "how to" do something on the Greenhouse, call the BHG client services team at 866-616-4244 or email help@bhgrealestate.com. You can also "live chat" with the client services team when you are in the greenhouse, by clicking on the "Live Chat (online)" link at the top of the page.

2. Leverage PinPoint to get more Listings - One of the benefits of being a BHG Real Estate agent is industry-exclusive access to the US database of more than 85 million consumers who interact with the Better Homes and Gardens brand through the magazine, website and other sister brands. Through access to PinPoint, you can target prospective buyers through a direct marketing campaign. To access PinPoint, log into The Greenhouse and click on the PinPoint link in either the ‘Buyer” or “Sellers” section. One of the segments in PinPoint is "Move Up Buyer". If someone is a "Move Up Buyer", they have a house to sell. Enter the zip code that you are targeting, create a custom postcard with a call to action to get their house on the market. Many sellers are still unaware how active the market is and that their ability to move up may be closer than they think. Once an order is placed, you will receive a PDF with the name, address, city, state and zip for consumers that receive the mailing. Use that list to add them to a print marketing campaign or, better yet, use it as a door knocking list! See attached consumer brochure for more information.

Save 20% on Enhancing Your Listings' Lawn with a Green Grass Upgrade from VHT Studios. Just $20 per photo during the month of May. Order today by: 1) Letting your photographer (Lauren) know at the time of your photography appointment, 2) email VHT at Support@VHT.com or 3) call VHT Client Services at 800-790-8687.

Looking for some new postcard designs to send to your COI? We've updated the classic schedule postcards (e.g. baseball, football, basketball) and added some new ones.

Print Time is currently taking orders for the June postcard, which features some of the Kansas City area's best hotspots for happy hour. Send yours out and give your clients some after-work social options.

Pricing is the same as last year. If interested, please contact Print Time at 816-472-1500 or orders@printtimepostcards.com

On Thursday, May 2, three agents - Jana DeLong, Jason DeLong and Aundre Gray - from BHGRE Kansas City Homes' Northland office modeled in the Northland's annual fashion show at The Hawthorne House in Parkville.

The Pink Carpet Event is a fashion show and brunch that raises funds to help provide free mammograms and additional testing to uninsured and underinsured women in the Northland of Kansas City Missouri. The event is a formal Pink Tie Affair that brings together the Northland Realtors, our vendors, and clients for a day of fun that allows us to give back to our community! This event is a benefit for the Saint Luke's Foundation and will promote breast wellness and the early detection of breast cancer.

The preliminary list of classes for Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Kansas City Homes' 2013 Continuing Education series is now available.

Take a moment to download and review it so you can make plans to attend the classes you need for the coming year. Check back often as this list is sure to evolve and update in the future. If you have any questions about the classes offered or how to register for them, please contact Elaine Cavener, Education Director at 913-661-1486 or via e-mail at elaine.cavener@kansascityhomes.com.

Are you currently a Ninja or are you interested in becoming a Ninja? National Ninja Selling Coach and Trainer Terri Johnson will be coming to Kansas City once a month to assist sales professionals to reach their very best through Ninja Selling Advanced Group Coaching.

Each session will be three hours and participants will learn more about the following topics:

• Ninja Installation Review, Focus, Time Management	• Neuro Linguistic Programming
• PIE Time Management Review, Self Image Development	• Closing Techniques, It Matters Who Says It
• Customers for Life, Success Patterns	• Life/Business Planning
• How the Mind Works, Personality Strengths Profile	• Staying Focused for the Long Haul, The Ninja Path
• Powerful Presentations, Ninja Listing and Buyer Process Review

The total cost of the program is $1200, paid monthly in $100 installments. You do NOT have to be a Ninja to participate in the Advanced Group Coaching. Please contact Fran Cashion at ext. 2310 or Fran.Cashion@prukc.com with questions or to sign-up.

The following statistics compare sales activity in April 2013 with the same time last year.


Heartland MLS:

• Sales (YTD): ▼-0.1%
• Avg. Home Sale Price (YTD): ▲ +6.8% to $164,497

Johnson County:

• Sales (YTD): ▲ +6.5%
• Avg. Home Sale Price (YTD): ▲ +5.3% to $249,256
• New Listings YTD: ▲ +7.4% to 1,407

Wyandotte County:

• Sales YTD: ▼ -12.4%
• Avg. Home Sale Price (YTD): ▲ +9.5% to to $75,779
• New Listings (YTD):▲ +15.2% to 242

Jackson County:

• Sales (YTD): ▲ +3.0
• Avg. Home Sale Price (YTD): ▲ +10.3% to $122,253
• New Listings (YTD): ▼ -0.8% to 1,457

Clay/Ray Counties:

• Sales (YTD): ▼ -6.4%
• Avg. Home Sale Price (YTD): ▲ +5.6% to $145,433
• New Listings (YTD): ▲ +0.3% to 604

Platte County:

• Sales (YTD): ▲ +0.6%
• Avg. Home Sale Price (YTD): ▲+5.6% to $188,780
• New Listings (YTD): ◀▶ 0.0% to 277

Click here to download the April 2013 MLS statistics report and summary.

It's so exciting to see the list of qualified agents for the Club Trip continue to grow! The current tally is going on 120 sales professionals, with 62 of them making the list just since July

Those most recently qualifed include:

• Mary Fox - Plaza
• Tom Hatfield - Leawood
• Erika Kauffman - Plaza
• Margy Ronning - Prairie Village
• Mary Edwards - Prairie Village
• Roberta Kranz - Blue Valley
• Kathy Robinson - Prairie Village
• Rick Misemer - 8101
• Carol Brown - Prairie Village
• Ceila Huneycutt - Prairie Village
• Anita Fichman - Leawood
• Joanne Stallone - Plaza
• Judy Johnson - Plaza
• Suellen Dice - Plaza
• Bonnie Williamson - Blue Valley
• Jeannette Klinkenborg - Blue Valley
• "Chad" Chadwick - Blue Valley
• Shannon Connealy - Blue Valley
• Audra Heller - Northland

Want to join the list and come on board for a Royal Caribbean cruise? Only about 40 days remain before you'll have to say Bon Voyage to your chance to go on the trip in November. You have until June 30, 2013 to meet the qualifications. If you have questions about what it takes to qualify, just ask your broker.

The housing bubble might have been one catalyst that contributed to the financial system imploding in 2008 which led to more than a million people losing their homes, but the American dream of homeownership is alive and well among Millennials, experts say.

With interest rates and home prices sitting at such low levels, now is a great time to buy a house, experts claim, because mortgage payments may be cheaper than what it would cost to rent a space—and Millennials are taking note. But it’s not their parents’ house that they are looking to move into.

According to a Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate (BHGRE) survey of 1,000 18 to 35-year-olds, this new generation of homebuyers is reinterpreting traditional norms, seeking customized purposeful homes to fit their values. Read complete story.

Source: Barbara Mannino, Fox Business, Tuesday, April 2, 2013.

Home prices are rising at the fastest rate in years, with some areas even seeing double-digit increases.

"Nobody that I'm aware of anticipated the kind of price growth that we've had," says Budge Huskey, chief executive of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. "It's simple supply and demand."

“Supplies have dwindled as banks have pushed fewer homes through foreclosure and because many home owners are either unable or unwilling to sell due to a variety of factors related to the housing-crash hangover,” The Wall Street Journal reports. “Meanwhile, demand has picked up as the economy has added jobs, which has boosted household formation. Rising rents and falling mortgage rates have made ownership more attractive.” Read complete story.

Source: REALTORMag, Thursday, May 2, 2013.

Announcing DISTINCTIVE COLLECTION, a quarterly, online magazine containing the very best high-end homes for sale in the Kansas City area. The opportunity to be included in this magazine is exclusively available for BHGRE Kansas City Homes sales professionals and their luxury home sellers.

This piece creates two new opportunities for you:

1. It's a unique way for you to share high-end homes with potential buyers - The inaugural issue of the magazine is now live and available to share with your COI. Here is a sample email to help introduce your buyers to DISTINCTIVE COLLECTION. Just copy and paste it into your email, then personlize it.

2. It gives you potential to attract additional listings over $600,000 - A seller book page outlining the program is now available here. It will be added to the Seller Book on the "Working with Sellers" tab later this week.

If you have any questions about this new resource or how to submit a home for future issues, please contact your broker or the Marketing Department.