What’s more, the VA loan has emerged as the safest lending product on the market. VA loans have had the lowest rate of foreclosure and serious delinquency over the last 14 quarters and 11 quarters, respectively, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. That’s even including prime loans.

Thousands of soldiers are preparing to return home from the Middle East and Afghanistan in the coming months. Their return, coupled with a surging interest in refinance loans, may put 2012 in the VA record books when the fiscal year comes to a close this fall.

With valuations of brokerages MUCH lower than in recent memory, it seems that some franchises are taking the opportunity to build their brand with strategic mergers and acquisitions. For struggling brokers (or those who have decided that they just want to get back to selling), the opportunity to sell their business and get back to the sales side of the business can offer much less pressure and much less stress.

“Our agents are the very heart of our business, so it was important for us to create an ad that celebrates their capabilities,” said Bev Thorne, chief marketing officer, Century 21 Real Estate LLC. “The Super Bowl is the last great campfire for the American family. For most consumers, it’s centered in the home and the home is the center of the services we’re in business to support.”

The teasers, behind-the-scenes footage and the final Super Bowl commercial are on its website, century21.com/superbowl . The ad will be hosted as well as on a customized Facebook application and upgraded YouTube brand channel. In addition to the third quarter advertisement, CENTURY 21 is a broadcast sponsor of the 3:30 – 4:00 p.m. block of the pre-game show on NBC and will have more than a dozen other pregame commercial spots. The total cost of the ads was not available.

“The timing couldn’t be better for CENTURY 21 Real Estate to advertise in the Super Bowl, and I’m happy to be a part of it,” said Trump. “The truth is many Americans believe in the value of homeownership and for people who are in the position to buy, this is a great opportunity to either enter the market or move up into a better home.”

The shift in marketing from client focused to agent focused seems to be a growing trend in the real estate industry among franchisors.

In the video Jim Abbott, managing broker of Abbot Realty Group offers clear and detailed reasons about his objections to third party lead generating companies, even going to the point of describing how a “buyer lead” is often processed through a call center at a lead generator, and how most third party websites sell advertising space right next to ARG listings to other REALTORS who may or may not be experts in the area.

We have included their video in its entirety below so that you may view the case that they make AGAINST syndicating listings. We invite you to comment after viewing it as to what your views are for your particular firm and area.

According to a Las Vegas Sun story posted here, Wardley Real Estate has cut ties with franchisor Coldwell Banker and have aligned themselves with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, a franchisor that focuses less on national advertising and branding and more on creating a referral network between brokerages around the country.

“We strongly believe the money we would have spent with Coldwell Banker going forward can be invested much more productively here in the Las Vegas community,” Jeff Sommers, president of Wardley Real Estate, said in a company statement.

This reflects similar views of a number of franchisees who would rather pay marketing costs directly…and locally than work as part of a coordinated nationwide effort.

The sole remaining Coldwell Banker franchisee in Las Vegas is Coldwell Banker Premier Realty, whose owner Bob Hamrick commented that they are happy to be once again the only Coldwell Banker franchise holder in Las Vegas. He indicated that the strong Coldwell Banker presence in California aided their brokerage in sales in the Las Vegas market.

Yeah, this is a tough economy right now, but you have a choice. You can give up or change what it is that you do. That is the great thing about our industry. We are very much free to build our business how we want to. Don’t want to work with foreclosures? There are luxury homes. Don’t see the market rising for luxury homes, then there is relocation.

Under the terms of the deal as reported here, the organization will operate under the Coldwell Banker banner, the companies said. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage (who is the acquiring brokerage) is part of NRT, which is a subsidiary of Realogy, which is also the franchor. The brokerage currently has 3,300 sales associates and is the largest brokerage firm in the US.

“We are excited about adding this highly reputable group of real estate professionals to our company, expanding our city team and growing our already significant market share,” said Fran Broude, president and COO of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, in a statement.

Why Your Business Should Be There

Social Engaged Users:  Individuals from around the internet are sharing their likes, styles and know-how with each other and resharing.  This site isn’t about getting followers.  Pinterest is meant to simply find cool stuff and share it.  It’s a way for you to stay on top of what is trending with your audience.

Visually Building Links:  Talk about an SEO win! The site works by users sharing an image from a website but the image links back to the original website.  Even when something is ‘repinned’ the link still points back to the original website.

Branding Your Company’s Style: Pinterest is a great way to allow your audience to get a sense of your company style and direction. Also having others pin or repin your boards allows your brand to become marketed and raved about.  That says a lot about your brand to have a community sharing and talking about you.

Local Links & SEO: More and more people are using “Jupiter, FL” or “Your City, Your State” in comments and links whenever they can.  Featuring local links about your community will showcase your awareness of your market.

Marketing Tips & Pinning Etiquette

Think of the Audience: The Pinterest community has been mostly geared toward design, fashion, DIY & Crafts, photography, home décor, and interior design.  When categorizing your boards make them useful to your audience.  Some examples of a few boards might be: Wine & Food in City, City Name Faces, City Name Places, Kitchen & Dining Spaces, etc.

Your Pin Should Be Awesome: A photo that you use to pin to a board should be stunning.  Since pins take you back to the original website, you want people to be intrigued.

It’s Not All About You: A really bad strategy would be cramming your boards with your products (homes) only.  You should act as an individual, be helpful to others, and share with/for others.

So are you ready to using Pinterest? Pinterest is by invitation only.  You can go to the website and request an invite or if someone you know has an account, simply ask them to send you an invitation.  Once you are a member, invite as many people as you want from your sphere and network.  Pinterest does not allow businesses to blatantly promote themselves.

“ListHub’s Real Estate Network answers an industry need to promote listings on high-visibility franchisor and broker network websites in a way that maximizes and ensures broker control,” said Move CEO Steve Berkowitz. “As an organization committed to online property listing integrity and respect for the content owner’s rights, this is an industry-friendly initiative Move is uniquely positioned to lead. We are excited to expand the value we bring to our broker and franchise customers, as well as to our MLS partners.”

The new network will include over 376 MLSs and 43,000 brokerages who will have the opportunity to syndicate their listings to the network.

“ListHub’s Real Estate Network will enable us to offer accurate and timely information for display with a single set of nationwide rules so we can connect with more consumers and drive more value for our sales associates,” said Margaret Kelly, chief executive officer of RE/MAX. “The Real Estate Network is a welcome opportunity to compete on an equal footing with non-industry sites and provide broad exposure for listings represented by many different brokers.”

Is this a response to the ongoing debates at NAR regardling MLS rules? For large franchisors, this move appears to free them to compete on the same playing field as Zillow, Trulia and other synicators.

This is expected to bring in a revenue stream of roughly $500,000 in franchise fees across both brands. This appears to be a strong bet by Brookfield that the brokerage services market will have a reasonably strong 2012, that their new franchisees will be able to retain agents, and that the longer term looks favorable for the real estate market.