Instinct and Apple iPhone - REALTOR level ease of use!
July 30, 2008
Most technologists put the iPhone in a class by itself and CRINGE when people bunch it with products like the iPhone…justifiably so. The iPhone is becoming a full blown software platform and one that developers are starting to target, at that.
For purposes of this review, though, I’d like to look at the two of them together. Instinct and iPhone. They both do one IMPORTANT thing that the others do not. They are EASY to set up! A REALTOR can set these up in minutes.
As the technologist for an office of 120 agents, I get the opportunity to handle quite a few phones. Many of them have been cussed and discussed quite a bit. The biggest cause of frustration? (Hint: it was NOT that they did not have enough features) You need a rocket science degree in order to use the things!
The goal with any phone is to make it drop dead simple to use. When compared with older offerings such as the Treo, these little numbers are a breeze to activate, configure email, and surf the internet.
If you have not yet had the opportunity to play with one for a few minutes, it is well worth your time. They REALLY are simple. They are easy to be efficient with. Most of all they do not waste our most precious commodity. Time.
LA Times has published its last Sunday Real Estate Section
July 29, 2008
Well, its official: The Los Angeles Times has published its last Sunday real estate section of its newspaper. This real estate section has been a part of the newspaper since 1901. Reasons for the removal are cited as staff & space reductions. From an outside perspective, it would appear that the newspaper recognizes that it needs to cut costs to remain profitable, and that real estate is being taken overwhelmingly to the internet rather than by traditional print media. It will be interesting to see if this trend is followed by the other major newspapers in the other metropolitan areas. I have a feeling that this won’t be the last newspaper that cuts its real estate section from the news.
28% of all Real Estate Agents found by Internet
July 29, 2008
An interesting story that reveals some up to date statistics that 28% of all home buyers found their real estate agent on the internet. It goes to show that the trend of the internet playing a dominant role in real estate and home sales / purchases is continuing to gain strength. The internet is a boon to the individual realtor as it provides a level playing field and can be used as a means for them to compete with the big brokerages and brands that have big advertising budgets for more traditional forms of media (like TV, radio, etc).
President Bush No Longer Opposes Housing Bill
July 23, 2008
In a dramatic change of position, President bush no longer opposes the Housing Bill currently under discussion in Congress. This is a big change especially relative to the majority of Republicans view that the bill helps bail out irresponsible home owners and unethical lenders. The current legislation proposes a $3.9 billion of funds to help those areas that have been hardest hit by foreclosed homes and real estate. If approved, the money would be utilized to help those persons acquire new loans with better terms that would allow them to get out from under their current higher fee loans.
Best Places to Invest in Real Estate
July 21, 2008
Interesting article that details the best places to invest in real estate in the world. The top 10 globally were as follows: Hong Kong, Sydney Australia, Munich Germany, Singapore, Tokyo, Shanghai, Paris, Washington D.C., London, New York New York. As you can see, Asia dominated the mid and lower end of the list - while 2 of the top 3 spots were held by the United States.
This week’s blog watch digest
July 18, 2008
Blog watch takes us to a housing rumble, to some very cheap houses, a carnival and last, it seems there might be some issues at RSS Pieces this week. Always a few good reads…
Matt Carter writes on Inman about where you can find a good deal on a home as well as what websites you are likely to find misinformation like Trulia and Yahoo! Especially of interest, he points out how in Detroit, the commissions might actually be more than the house for sale. Check out Matt’s story here.
Another great one for us to follow this week is a “Housing Rumble” as Jay Thompson is calling it. Jay has been invited to battle it out at U.S. News and World Reports with Greg Healy, Vice President of www.forsalebyowner.com. This should be something great to watch and Jay, if we see him getting the upper hand - check your email inbox for some unsolicited tips. I’ll definitely be keeping my eye on this one. You can follow the story on Jay’s blog here and here is the U.S. News Post.
Over at the Zillow Blog, the Drew talks about the Carnival of Real Estate(CoRE) getting ready for its 100th event. Good going guys. Consistency and perserverance means alot. Check it out.
Finally, it seems Mary Mcknight has changed positions or is gone over at RSS Pieces. The comments on this post are a bit unflattering. Worth a quick read though if you are interested in their products.
Marnie Blanco from RE/MAX on REMAX.com
July 18, 2008
Marnie Blanco
Marnie Blanco joined RE/MAX in July 2003 as Manager of Information Technology Marketing. She was promoted to Senior Manager of eBusiness and IT Marketing in December 2005 and was named Vice President of eBusiness in June 2006.
Eric Blackwell, from Real Estate Industry Watch, interviewed Marnie about how REMAX.com’s network of broker sites and listing aggregation initiative is doing now that it is over two years old.
Read more
Senate Approves Home Mortgage Rescue Plan
July 14, 2008
The Senate approved a home mortgage rescue plan for those homeowners that are attempting to stay out of foreclosure. The belief and motivation behind such a plan is that if those homeowners did end up defaulting on their home mortgages, that it would further exacerbate the already soft national real estate market. It is hoped that such aid will help cause a faster turn around for the real estate industry by providing Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans that would be more affordable to those home owners in need. The amount approved is a whopping $300 billion, which would assist potentially as many as 400,000 home owners.
Syms Clothing earns more from Real Estate than Clothing
July 11, 2008
Real estate remains a good investment, particularly for Syms clothing. The CEO of the store recently announced to its shareholders, that Syms Clothing earns more from real estate than from clothing. The company had approximately $2 million in income from its real estate ventures, and yet only saw a little over $800,000 in profits from clothing sales. Despite that admission, the CEO insists that Syms is not a real estate investment trust (REIT).
Australia may be entering softening real estate market
July 11, 2008
Over the past several decades, Australia has looked very favorable on real estate investments, and particularly the operating entities for those investments known as real estate investment trusts. But it appears that the softening real estate market in the United States, is starting to spread. Australia may be entering a softening real estate market. Several of those Australian real estate investment trusts are now cutting earnings, and their share prices are plummeting. Some long standing and reputable groups have cut as much as 25% off of their earnings forecasts for the year. Hopefully its a momentary pause for what has traditionally been a safehold for many real estate investors.
Real Estate Quote of the Week
"I often hear remarks from agents like, “the bank sold that house really cheap - 30% below market value”. I don’t agree with that kind of statement. If various banks are the only sellers selling in an area and they are selling all of their houses at a perceived “below market” sales price - perhaps that IS the market for that product in that area. A good price fixes any of the various bad conditions. There is no good reason to take (or keep) a listing that isn’t going to sell."
Russell Shaw - in AgentGenius from Phoenix AZPolls
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