Philadelphia Realtor® publishes real estate book

John Salkowski

John Salkowski, broker/owner of the King of Prussia-based JRS Realty Group, released his latest book, SOLD! Listing to Closing, last month.

“I wanted sellers to have a comprehensive guide on how to sell a home successfully,” he said. “The book can also help agents explain the basics of selling and buying to their clients. We try to educate our consumers.”

Salkowski, who has published two other books on leadership, said that becoming a writer “has raised the bar, as far as my success is concerned.” He served in law enforcement for 15 years before turning to real estate, where he has since been ranked among the top 1 percent of Realtors® in the country.

“I had to make a career change, and I wanted to get out and follow my passion, which is working with people. I figured out how to work with people and impact my life in a greater way as well.”

In Pennsylvania, he said “there are certain areas, counties and towns, where homes are selling like hotcakes. Here in King of Prussia, we are a seller’s market. Ninety-nine percent of all homes sell very very quickly. The 1 percent are overpriced or not staged properly. There are some other sections outside of Philly that are also definitely seller’s markets, while other areas are still a buyer’s market.”

However, Salkowski said that homebuyers shouldn’t wait in this market, and should be “aggressively” searching.

“Get out and see what inventory is there, which will be helped by the real estate professional they are hiring. We want to close our buyer as quickly as we can. We have to sit down with them and go over must-haves and must-nots. This is the largest and most emotional transaction people are making. We don’t want to have a buyer still looking after three to six months. We need to narrow down what they want. They should look and see what they like. We recommend they drive by the home and neighborhood and make sure they like the area. They have to put work in as well,” he added.