Archive for September, 2009

KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY – THE RAWLS GROUP BECOMES THE ONLY LARGE REAL ESTATE COMPANY NAMED AMONG ATLANTA’S BEST PLACES TO WORK

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 
Wanted to share this great news with all my clients. I am very glad I made the change to Keller Williams and The Rawls Group! I am want to make sure I provide the best service to all my clients and working with Keller Williams helps me to provide this service to you! 
The Rawls Group Takes the #2 Spot in Prestigious List
 

September 25, 2009, Atlanta, GA — Atlanta’s leading business publication, the Atlanta Business Chronicle, named Keller Williams Realty – The Rawls Group, to its list of “Atlanta’s Best Places to Work.” The Rawls Group ranked No. ­­­2 on the 2009 list of Atlanta’s best places to work for large companies and is the only top 10 real estate company.  

 

Shaun Rawls, Operating Partner noted “It is truly an honor to be recognized on this list and to be No. 2 is outstanding. It is because of our real estate professionals and our staff that we are being featured and I see this as an opportunity to thank them. To be recognized for providing culture, service and for building trust in our company is extremely rewarding as we strive for this every day. When real estate companies are closing their doors, The Rawls Group continues to provide services to our agents, add value through education and coaching and gain Atlanta market share.”

 

“We are so fortunate to be surrounded by talented people who have built an organization to be proud of. Through the models at Keller Williams Realty, businesses have been created that can survive in any market. We believe that by providing a powerful and productive work environment and sharing our profit with our agents, the individual sport of real estate has become a team sport where everyone benefits. We are grateful and humbled to appear on this list,” said General Manager, Jeri Moran.

 

Atlanta Business Chronicle, in partnership with Quantum Market Research Inc., recently surveyed the metro area’s businesses and organizations to find those that have discovered how to be among Atlanta’s Best Places to Work. More than 500 companies participated.  Independent research firm, Quantum Market Research conducted anonymous employee surveys to tabulate the results. Best Places to Work winners are ranked based on numerous topics including, manager effectiveness, trust in senior leaders, alignment with goals and team effectiveness, among other criteria.  To find Atlanta’s 2009 Best Places to Work, the Chronicle asked readers to nominate workplaces in metro Atlanta. Nominations were accepted during June through the Chronicle’s Web site. From July to mid-August, employees of the nominated organizations filled out online surveys containing 37 questions about their work environment, co-workers and managers. All answers were evenly weighted using a six-point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree, 6=strongly agree). 
 

Led by Operating Partner Shaun Rawls and General Manager Jeri Moran, Keller Williams Realty First Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Road, Keller Williams Realty Smyrna/Vinings, Keller Williams Realty Buckhead, Keller Williams Realty East Cobb, Keller Williams Realty Perimeter North, Dunwoody and Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Battle, The Rawls Group offices are “Changing the way you THINK about Real Estate”. Keller Williams Realty is the fastest growing and third largest residential real estate firm in the United States.

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Recession Over???

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
I got this article from The Realty Times which is a great source of real esat information! I am not sure I agree that the recession is over but I hope the worst of it is over.  The following article by Kenneth R. Harney gives us good news and that is what I like to pass along. Enjoy the read!
Real Estate Outlook: Recession is Over
by Kenneth R. Harney

Now it’s official. The chairman of the Federal Reserve Board himself has said it publicly that it looks like the recession is over.

Here comes the recovery.

But there was a big footnote in Bernanke’s speech on the economy last week in Washington: Don’t look for a dramatic recovery.

It’ll be more like a slow moving, plodding sort of improvement where the economy inches toward expansion. But there’ll be no sudden, splashy return to economic boomtime anytime soon.

Bernanke’s point about the end of the recession was underscored by a 2.7 percent jump in retail sales for the month of August, according to the Commerce Department.

That’s an important indicator because the key to pumping up the economy again is to get consumers spending, and that appears to be happening. Not just for auto sales, which got a big boost in August from the government’s “cash for clunkers” program, but also for other key categories, like food and clothing purchases, department store retail, entertainment and restaurant spending, sporting goods.

They were all up for the month, after having been mainly down for well over a year.

One reason for the pick-up in consumer spending: People feel more confident about the direction of the economy in the months ahead. They see the stock market up, so their retirement funds and 401 K plans are bouncing back.

They see home values stabilizing or growing in most areas, so their equity is beginning to increase again.

The one big negative — and it’s definitely a drag for housing — is the unemployment rate, which Mr. Bernanke said won’t be coming down fast, even with the end of the recession.

Nonetheless, the vast majority of Americans who do have jobs have seen their real wages rise this year, up five percent. That’s the largest annual gain in fifty years.

All of this is feeding into the housing sector in key markets, such as southern California, where August sales were up 11 percent compared with the year before, according to MDA DataQuick. Even prices are rising slightly.

In the combined markets of Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, San Bernadino-Riverside and Ventura, the median price of homes sold gained 2.6 percent in August, which is very encouraging for one of the hardest-hit boom-to-bust areas of the country.

Meanwhile, the mortgage market continues to be exceptionally positive for housing sales and values: 30 year fixed rates averaged just above 5 percent last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, and 15 year loans averaged 4.4 percent.

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Special discounts on Hawks, Thrashers season-openers

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

I found this on the AJC blog and wanted to pass it along to all my friends. I just went to my first Hawks game last year and had a blast!! I definitly want to put it on my calendar again this year and what better way than to do it at a discount!!!

3:15 pm September 22, 2009, by Rana Cash

The Atlanta Falcons are just getting started and are off to a 2-0 start. Still, it’s never too early to start thinking about the Hawks and Thrashers, who get their seasons underway next month. It’s hard to catch your breath with all of the sporting activities, but slow down and take in these deep discounts for the Hawks and Thrashers first two games.

Both offers for select games are for purchases made this week only, using promo code ‘gtsui’:

Purchase lower level tickets for $30 and upper level tickets for $15. Lower level tickets normally start at $50.

The eligible games for the Thrashers are opening night Oct. 3 against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Oct. 22 against the Washington Capitals.

Hawks games include the season-opener Oct. 28 against the Indiana Pacers and Oct. 30 against the Washington Wizards.

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