Brokers are facing new challenges in today’s economy.  Traditional firms have often focused on advertising or co-op advertising as a primary benefit to agents who join their firms.  The new broker model is different.  Brokers are turning more and more toward training agents and the offering of technology services that are vital to the success of real estate professionals today.  When brokers look at implementing technology services today, they face pricing challenges from vendors who are slow to understand the broker’s business model.  Companies who offer CMA products charge monthly fees per agent rather than bulk service fees – making [...]

The Supreme Court made a significant ruling today that says the government may not ban political spending by corporations in candidate elections.  It is a great victory for the National Association of REALTORS' lobby group. They can spend as much as they want now. The case brought to the court was a residual of the McCain-Feingold Law that banned the broadcast, cable, or satellite transmission of 'electioneering communications' paid for by corporate or labor unions from their general funds in the 30 days before a presidential primary and in the 60 days before the general elections.  The Supremes ruled that [...]

For years, many in real estate have established their marketing around niches.  Chief among them is the development of Luxury Home marketing.  New Research released by PR firm Edlemansuggests that Eco-Frienddly is replacing Luxury as a preference for consumers.  Here is a summary from their research provided by Marketing Charts. More than twice as many global consumers say they would rather drive an eco-friendly car (67%) than a luxury car (33%), and an even larger percentage would prefer to live in an eco-friendly house (70%) vs. merely a big house (30%), according to results from this years goodpurpose study, conducted by PR [...]