ECB

Groundbreaking of the new premises of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany

The groundbreaking of COOP HIMMELB(L)AU’s new premises of the European Central Bank has been celebrated yesterday in attendance of Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, Petra Roth, Mayor of the City of Frankfurt, Wolf D. Prix, Design Principal and CEO of COOP HIMMELB(L)AU, the Governing Council as well as the Governors of the National Central Banks on the site of the future new premises of the European Central Bank.

During the ceremony Wolf D. Prix said in his speech for the groundbreaking: “The task of architecture is not only to provide a shell for functions, but through its architectural aesthetic it must also enable to establish three-dimensional cross-references in the culture of our globalized society without denying its location. The dialectic of old and new – the carefully renovated Großmarkthalle and the new ensemble of towers – will mirror this synchronicity.”
Furthermore, he describes the towers as archetypes of architectural history, which are symbols and convey overview. In the case of the European Central Bank the towers are aligned on the new site in visual connection to Frankfurt’s city centre and – due to their new typology with its precision and significance of form – will become an icon, a three-dimensional symbol of the European Union, Mr. Prix explained.
He describes the groundbreaking as an important and decisive moment – both for the owner and future user and for the architect. “After all, it is a moment that takes us across a threshold. The threshold from the blueprint to the building: a thought building becomes a real building.”

Further groundbreaking events will take place on May 31, 2010 for the House of Music in Aalborg, Denmark and on June 18, 2010 for the Martin Luther Church in Hainburg, Austria.

“All the law did was give salespeople a push into the 21st century,” says Allan, author of If You’re Not Having Fun Selling Real Estate, You’re Not Doing It Right (Bluegreen Books, 2010).

Here are Allan’s rules for reaching out to prospects without being a nuisance.

Leave people alone. Whether it’s their use of TiVo to skip the commercials or caller ID to avoid sales calls, people have made it clear they have little tolerance for being sold to. Even if they’re not on the no-call list, you risk irritating 95 out of every 100 people you call if you solicit their business with a cold call. And irritated people don’t refer business to you.

Get them to call you. People like to get to know you in a non-pressure environment, and then when they need something, they call you. Social media is perfect for that. Use the Web to keep your real estate expertise front and center without making it explicit. Answer people’s questions in a way that showcases your expertise without trying to sell anything.

Keep it personal. When you blog and send e-mails to your sphere, only focus on real estate if you have a good story to tell: An interesting listing or a video clip of your interview with the local TV station are good examples. Mostly focus on things that can help people, like a reminder of street-sweeping day so that they can move their car and avoid a ticket.

Go for the quality. When you cold-call, you play a numbers game in which you try to get five leads for every 100 calls. Rather than go for the quantity, and risk alienating people, go for the quality. Get outside, meet people, and form relationships that your new contacts will value. “Get out in the world with your antennae up and a smile on your face,” Allan says.

With the first quarter behind us, it is important to think about where the GTA housing market is headed for the remainder of 2010. After all, a lot happened during the first three months of the year that will likely impact the housing market.

Jason Mercer, TREB’s senior manager of market analysis, points to increasing consumer confidence in the first quarter as a positive for the housing market moving forward.

“As GTA households have heard an increasing number of positive economic reports, they have become more confident in purchasing a home. Expect confidence to remain strong as the economy continues to strengthen this year and GTA employment remains on the upward trend,” Mr. Mercer says.

Economic recovery is clearly an important factor behind this year’s record home sales. But it is also important to point out that the stronger-than-expected recovery has also resulted in upward pressure on consumer prices, or inflation. The broadly held view is that the Bank of Canada will start to raise its rates in the second half of 2010 to make sure that rate inflation remains at acceptable levels.

“Interest rates will be rising later this year. In fact, longer-term fixed mortgage rates recently increased in anticipation of future Bank of Canada rate hikes,” Mr. Mercer says. “Historically low interest rates have been a key factor keeping ownership housing affordable on average, not only over the past year but over the better part of the last decade. As interest rates and home prices climb this year, the cost of home ownership will increase, but a [family] with the average household income in the GTA will still find home ownership affordable. Sales in the second half will not be as strong as in the first half, but will remain strong.”

It is also the largely held view that homeowners in the GTA will continue to list their homes in greater numbers. Strong price growth generally attracts more listings, as homeowners become more confident they will receive offers in line with their asking price. As the market becomes better supplied, home buyers will have more choice. This will see the average annual rate of price growth moderate from the double digits into the single digits.

It is safe to say that the first quarter of 2010 was much better than the first quarter of 2009, not only for the housing market, but also for the economy as a whole. While some changes are certainly in sight, on the whole it seems these changes are weighted toward the positive.