If you are in the real estate sales business, wouldn't you like that to be your headline? Can you imagine tripling your income even though housing values are dropping through the floor? For most people the answer to the latter question is no. You see, in the midst of difficult times we tend to lose our vision and our faith. However there are REALTORS all around the country doubling and tripling their incomes right now and you don't have to be a brain surgeon to figure out how.



Here are a few techniques the savvy realtors are using to gain more market share and increase their incomes while everyone else in the real estate business is starving.

1.Short Sales - Many realtors don't realize they can help their clients sell their homes for LESS than they owe on the mortgage. That's right. If you owe $500,000 on your mortgage and your property sells for $450,000 most lenders will accept less money in order to manage their losses and get your loan off their books. As a matter of fact, Countrywide Mortgage Company has a link on their website giving you step by step instruction on how to do this. If you are a customer of Countrywide you can go to their website and log into your account. They will give you step by step instructions on how to complete a short sale, how to defer payments and how to modify your loan to keep you out of foreclosure.

2.Staging Properties - homes that are properly "staged," sell for much higher prices and sell faster. Staging basically means the set up of the home (what the home looks like when the prospective buyer is walking through the home) and whether or not the prospective buyer can "see and feel" themselves in that home. In most cases an investment of less than $1,000 can completely change the look and feel of your home and sell it faster. If you are a realtor, advise your clients to take down family pictures, make the entrance to the home spectacular and have the dining room or kitchen table set. Those three techniques alone can make the home sell, especially in a competitive market.

3.Investing in properties - Many real estate professionals are buying properties. Investors like Donald Trump load up on depressed properties at times like this and sell them later for significant gains.

4.Coaching Programs - The most savvy real estate professionals make significant investments in real estate coaching programs, especially when things get tough in the industry. The uneducated agents invest in coaching programs when the economy is good. Anyone can sell a home and be profitable in the real estate business when double digit appreciation is happening and interest rates are at all time lows. The great realtors however make higher investments in coaching and training when the market is turbulent. They know having a mentor or business advisor during the difficult times is one of the most important investments they can make.

If you are in the real estate business stop playing victim to the market and take control. When everyone is running for the hills and hunkering down for the winter you can have the best year of your life.