Mobile Outlook 2009 – Sounds like Real Estate – It’s all about Location, Location, Location

According to the Mobile Outlook 2009, published by Mobile Marketer, a leading journal for mobile marketing, media and commerce, location-centric centric services are one of the key drivers of adoption to the mobile web.  Sure sounds like great news for the real estate industry. The study goes on to say that consumers are getting used to getting content online and they are even starting to trust the medium enough to transact banking business.  All good news for the future of mobile. The emphasis, however, should be on mobile’s complementary nature - it gives legs to other channels, including retail, online, television, [...]

By |2009-07-03T15:46:31-07:00July 3rd, 2009|Main category|0 Comments

Housing Economic Summary from Jim Welsh

In Jim Welsh’s June newsletter he offered the following synopsis of where we are heading in real estate.  I hope that he is wrong, but nevertheless believe it valuable enough to republish his thoughts.  He is offering his opinion based upon some pretty credible data sources.  Be sure to read the entire report to understand why he feels that “The combination of higher unemployment and underemployment, along with another round of mortgage resets will lead to another wave of foreclosures. This next wave will increasingly impact the mid to upper end of the price range.” […]

Cyberhomes and Glenn Roberts top winners list for NAREE’s 59th Annual Journalism Awards

The National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE) announced the winners of its 59th Annual Journalism Awards today.  NAREEs awards program recognizes excellence in reporting, writing and editing stories about both residential and commercial real estate. This year’s Robert F. Brennan Award for Best Overall Entry by an Individual went to Mara Der Hovanesian of Business Week magazine.  The best Freelance Collection Award went to Sharon Stangenes for her freelance contributions to the Chicago Tribune.  The James D. Carper Award for Best Entry by a young Journalist went to Polyana da Costa, Daily Business Review. The award winners were selected by a panel of expert judges from [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:26:24-07:00June 29th, 2009|Main category|0 Comments

Google Voice for Real Estate

Coming Soon, Google Voice will be available.  The service has launched, but only available to a selected number of alpha users.  Google Voice is simple to understand.  Google will issue you a phone number.  You can give that phone number to anyone – friends, family, work – everyone.  Then Google Voice will allow you to configure your preferences for which of your phones rings depending on the caller, time of day, or however you like.  Google will either ring all of your phones at once, or ring different phones for different types of callers.  This will be great for real [...]

Replacing your Palm Treo – choose Blackberry

Reading agent conversations in the Real Town and Active Rain communities has suggested that many real estate agents may be at a crossroads in mobile technology.  Real Estate practitioners have embraced the Palm Treo for years because of a single unique feature - the ability to use the Treo’s Infra Red port to open GE Supra Lockboxes. Now that the Treo has outlived its useful life, what will be replacement? Blackberry’s parent company, Research In Motion (RIM) has worked with GE to develop a work around called eKey for Blackberry, you can pair a key fob with your Blackberry to behave [...]

Would Brokers get better conversion on thier website with advertising?

I reviewed a report today conducted by the Online Publishers Association in cooperation with web traffic analytic company comScore. The report finds that display advertising on websites increases consumer engagement.  This may substantiate that Brokers may actually be able to convert more consumers on their websites if they offer advertising.  As a secondary benefit, brokers may also pick up a few extra dollars from advertisers. Historically brokers have believed that advertising cheepens thier site, and have recoiled from the concept of selling online advertising.  Companies like Cyberhomes have developed ad networks that allow brokers to choose who advertises on the [...]

MRIS, Nation’s largest MLS hires new CIO

Michael Belak Joins MRIS as Chief Information Officer Michael Belak has been appointed as Chief Information Office for Metropolitan Regional Information Services(MRIS) the nation’s largest multiple listing service. In this role, Mike is responsible for all facets of MRIS technology planning including providing the vision and leadership for developing and implementing information technology (IT) initiatives in a constantly changing, competitive marketplace.  In addition, he will ensure that MRIS systems and technology continue to lead the industry.  As a key member of the executive management team, he is also responsible for monitoring and validating the enterprises compliance with security policies. Mike [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:26:25-07:00June 26th, 2009|Main category|0 Comments

Closing.com Launches Online Source for Real Estate Closing Services

Consumers and Real Estate Professionals Can Shop and Save on Title Insurance and Real Estate Closing Costs at Closing.com San Diego June 24, 2009 – Closing.com, the most comprehensive source of information about real estate closing service providers ever assembled online, has announced the launch of its 2.0 Web site (in beta). Now consumers and real estate professionals can create instant closing cost estimates while shopping for and saving on all their real estate closing services. Visitors to the site can choose from a database of more than 140,000 companies providing real estate services in 11 major categories ranging from [...]

Along with the Newspaper, the News Letter is dying

Direct Marketing is causing a problem for consumers and causing challenges to print and electronic real estate property marketing. The number of online and email newsletters has jumped from 475% over the past five years, while print-only newsletters decreased 43% according to Mediafinder.com. The old consumer problem was Junk Mail in the Mail Box.  The new and growing consumer problem is Junk eMail in the Inbox.  As agents continue to SPAM consumers with drip marketing newsletters, they undermine their relationship with the very customer they worked so hard to attract.  The customer, who may very well like the agent, blocks [...]

By |2009-06-24T15:22:35-07:00June 24th, 2009|Broker-Agent Information, Main category|0 Comments

Real Estate Mortgage Rates likely to remain low until 2011

The United States is warned that interest rate hikes prior to 2011 could spell doom for any hope of a recovery in the economy. OECD Cautions Against Fed Hikes Prior to 2011. The OECD upgraded its growth outlook its 30 member nations for the first time in two years, forecasting that growth will only collapse 4.1% in 2009, as compared to its March forecast of -4.3%. Despite this “optimism", the OECD warned that the US and Japan should both keep rates on hold at least until 2011 and that the ECB should cut its target rate further. The key takeaways [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:26:25-07:00June 24th, 2009|Broker-Agent Information, Main category|1 Comment

Real Estate Social Networking sees dramatic growth

Social networks are exploding in popularity. Forty-three percent of the online community now uses social networking sites, including Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn. This is up from 27 percent a year ago, reports The Conference Board and TNS. Social networking spans all generations and clearly hits the target of real estate home buyers and sellers. Moreover, even older people are getting involved.  About 19 percent of those age 55 and over visit these sites, up from just 6 percent a year ago. Women are more likely than men to use social networking sites (48 percent versus 38 percent), but usage has [...]