Archives of real estate blog entries for September 29, 2006

Featured blog posts


Google Backlink Update - 04:06 PM
I was reading through Matt's post about the Google Page Rank Update.  Woo Hoo!  I was wondering what page rank member profiles went up to.  Ours went to a 3 for the http://activerain.com/lasvegasrealestate profile and 2 for the http://activerain.com/blogs/lasvegasrealestate section.  Google also updated the back links for AR as well. Our site stayed at 5 but most of the community pages went to 4 and the state link pages to 3.
The profile is showing 89 backlinks and the blog is showing 55.  Not bad considering how new the site is. You can check them using the google toolbar by pressing the … (2 comments)

Realtor membership reduction - 10:12 AM
It’s that time of year again in our association where all of the annual dues are now payable. Local, state, NAR, MLS.
  There was a post a day or so ago by another Realtor suggesting the state should increase the licensing fees for real estate to $1000 in order to force people out that do not really positively contribute to our profession. This really will not be necessary whereas the annual dues will probably have the same effect. The general opinion, of those in the know, expects a Realtor membership decrease throughout the State of Florida well in excess of 30% … (31 comments)

Keeping ActiveRain Blogs - 06:04 AM
There are some terrific blogs on ActiveRain that are really worth keeping. I don't always remember who wrote them, or when, so I want to keep them myself.  Print them out? Not only does this waste trees, but I never get to filing and the page is effectively lost forever. 
If you have Adobe Acrobat (the whole program, not just the reader), you can just "print" the article, but change the printer from your designated printer to Adobe .pdf  and then save it.  I have a big folder called Articles, then subfolders labelled by topic, and then save the blog there. In … (29 comments)

Page Rank: The Trust Factor - 05:09 PM
Today it seems is the day to post about search engines, page rank and backlinks.  Matt put up a post about the Google page rank update and I had put up some posts about MSN Live and Google Backlinks as well. For those of you wondering what the big deal is about a page rank update, here is the reason why. Page rank is google's way of rating a page on its importance regarding the topic its about. PR is still updating, so you may get several different values, depending on which data center you hit. Good page rank doesn't necessarily equal high … (2 comments)

Active Rain - From the Consumer Perspective - 11:12 AM

Kristal Kraft wrote a most informative Blog Bloging for fun or profit and made a very important statement about push vs pull marketing and how Blogging is very much there and ready for the consumer when they are ready to discover it.  That by us BLOGGING we are putting information out there that the consumer wants when they want it. 
So imagine my surprise yesterday when I had a customer call me and say I checked out Active Rain and although it is great for a Realtor what benefit does it have for me?  (Some of my agent marketing is … (41 comments)

2006 and 2007 Market Data Forecasts - 01:21 PM
We just finished up our 2006 NH State Convention, and we were fortunate to have Terry McDermott, retired CEO/EVP of NAR, now a consultant for NAR, speak to us in one of our General Sessions.  He gave us lots of data about the 2006 market, along with his predictions for the rest of this year going into next year based on current data.  Quite interesting!
The revised numbers for the finish of this year are showing that 2006 will likely finish up as the 4th best year on record for home sales.  His data shows that a correction was, indeed, necessary for … (15 comments)

Home Inspections: Necessary Landmines - 06:27 AM
How many times have you found the “perfect house” only to discover during the home inspection that there are $Thousands of dollars of deferred maintenance? With each negative finding you see the contract slipping away and the home search process starting over again?
It doesn’t always have to be that way. Depending on the skill of the home inspector and your preparation of the purchaser for the home inspection, you can save a lot of grief, time and keep the transaction moving toward settlement. Prior to the home inspection, I always discuss the purpose of the inspection – to make certain … (10 comments)

FTC vs Michigan MLS could change everything across the country! - 05:00 AM
Realcomp II Ltd., the largest multiple listing service in Michigan, is preparing for a legal battle with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over an MLS policy that blocks some property listings from display on public Web sites such as Realtor.com and an MLS-owned home-search site.
Many times local boards over step their boundaries and become involved in issues that are on a national level then local.  
These cases have been popping up all over the country. It appears that NAR is knee deep in law suits throughout the country dealing with the exact same issue. In this case I have to agree with … (19 comments)


Blog posts


Just waitin' for the Fax - 09:36 PM
I'm here in the office on a Friday night waiting for the listing agent to fax me back the seller's response to my clients' offer. He said he'd fax it around 7-ish. Now, I could just be out doing my own thing waiting for his call, but in western Washington, communication is still officially ruled by the fax machine. My buyers are presumably biting their nails for the details of the seller's response and the agent will likely call me to let me know when he's physically faxing it. But, I didn't want to aburptly leave whatever I'd be doing so … (11 comments)

SOME COMPANIES ADVERTISE HOMES THAT MAY NOT BE FOR SALE - 10:57 AM

A woman called me yesterday about a house she saw advertised through Reply.Com.   She couldn't find the property so she called me for help.  She sent me the link so I could see what she was looking at (nice picture, selling price, bed/bath, and address).  I tried finding the home through Northwest Multiple Listing Service and it wasn't there.   I called Reply.com and their employee said the home may not actually be listed.  One of the services they provide is to contact a home owner and tell them "they have someone that would like to buy their home."  After I spoke … (1 comments)

Most of Washington State Counties are Experiencing Double-Digit Price Increases - 11:40 AM
 
Many of my clients are relocation folks and they want to know about our market.  There are also a lot of people that live in my area (Seattle/Bellevue/King County) that think the prices will come down so they are sitting on the sidelines.According to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service:Prices on sales that closed last month jumped 14.3 percent from a year ago, with most of the 17 counties in the NWMLS market area experiencing double-digit increases. Inventory shows significant improvement – up 43 percent area-wide compared to last year -- but brokers caution there are still shortages in many close-in neighborhoods … (0 comments)

Do You have Twins Fever? - 10:27 PM
It's back!  And it's contagious. 
So how do you know you have it?  Do you find yourself painting slogans in red or blue on your body.  Or how about buying Homer Hankies and wave them wildly.  If you get into the Metrodome you will find yourself screaming and cheering until your voice is scratchy and your hearing is gone.  Is it contagious?  Yup - and it's starting to spread.  Unfortunately, there is no cure.  You just have to let it run its course.  GO TWINS!
… (2 comments)

RealEstateVoices Offers Social Real Estate News - 03:09 PM
Further to my post several weeks ago, Where Do You Get Your Real Estate News?, I was contacted by Niki Scevak, founder of Homethinking.com about a new project he was undertaking.

RealEstateVoices is a social real estate news website that officially launched today. It’s a Digg-like site based on the open source project Pligg, that replicates much of the popular technology site’s functionality.
Click here to read more about RealEstateVoices... 
… (1 comments)

mRealty: House Shopping by Phone - 03:10 PM
Browsing through RealEstateVoices this morning and I stumbled across this article from MSN Money, Cell-phone service puts ‘a realtor in your pocket’.
Smarter Agent, through a new partnership with Sprint, promises to display recently sold home data through a GPS-enabled phone. The premise is intriguing, but I’d have to see it firsthand before I become a believer. I’ve yet to be terribly impressed with too many mobile applications (the exception being Google Maps Mobile, which has saved my bacon a number ot times).
But reading that article reminded me of another service that I’ve been meaning to write about for a … (0 comments)

No Time To Blog? Bloggers' Block? 5 Strategies To Developing Quick and Beneficial Blog Content - 04:28 PM
Being consistent with your expected posting schedule is crucial when it comes to maintaining an audience.  Below are 5 strategies for populating your blog when you find yourself short on time and creativity.   We use the top 4 to ensure the Tomato is fed its daily article.
No Time To Blog? Bloggers' Block? 5 Strategies To Developing Quick and Beneficial Blog Content1. Store Content for a Rainy Day
2. The 101 Blog Post Challenge Method
3.  Have Someone Write It For You
4.  Post Revisited
5. Saved By A Listing 
To read the full article and the complete breakdown on all 5 techniques, follow … (5 comments)

No such thing as a free lunch! - 03:46 PM
Google Base, Trulia, and many other online players want your listings. They claim it's free advertising for your sellers. Wait just a second, free? I remember being taught that there is "no such thing as a free lunch". Also remember that "if it looks to good to be true it probably is". 
Simple life lessons that we know and teach our children. Yet for some silly reason many agents aren't living by these simple rules. My question is Why? 
Why do we trust trulia?Why do we think that Google Base is a good thing?Why do we think that there will not be a … (12 comments)

Northbrook IL Single Family Homes Market Conditions - 10:53 PM
The single family market in Northbrook, IL currently has 309 homes on the market and there is about a 29 month inventory. This is a buyers market for sure at this point. With over 2 years of inventory your home better be priced right, clean, and staged to get a sale.
Currently listed: 309Under Contract: 28Sold in last 90 days: 31Low Price: $349,900High Price: $3,950,000For more information about Northbrook real estate visit SuburbanHouseHunters.com … (2 comments)

Northbrook IL Condo Market Conditions - 10:59 PM
The condo market in Northbrook, IL currently has 49 condos on the market and there is about a 20 month inventory. 
Currently listed: 81Under Contract: 10Sold in last 90 days: 12Low Price: $143,500High Price: $597,620Sellers need to be prepared for long market times and need to keep there condo clean and ready to be shown at all times. If you want your condo sold make sure to make as easy as possible for potential buyers to see it. That means never turning down a showing and always having the condo ready to be shown before leaving the house in the morning.For … (0 comments)

Shaq and Real Estate - 12:28 AM
The O'neal Group, a Real Estate Company created by Shaquille O'Neal will develop communities throughout the country.  First project is in Miami, Florida.  Plans are to build a 3-tower condominium, hotel and office space scheduled for completion in 2009.  Shaquille is already a major holder of real estate in many states.
Fort Lauderdale Real Estate Fort Lauderdale MLS Active ListingsFort Lauderdale CondosFort Lauderdale Rentals
… (6 comments)

MSN LIVE - 05:31 AM
Microsoft in an effort to stay relevant in the search engine wars, made a big stink about converting the exisiting MSN search engine (you remember it, don't you.  It's the one that was going to give google and yahoo a run for their money) to the "NEW" Windows Live engine. It terms of news, it was welcomed with a whimper rather than a ROAR (a nod to the lovely wife). I'm wondering if the change has made a drastic difference, good or bad, to anyone as far as traffic from MSN is concerned. Hopefully the results will be more stable than … (3 comments)

Google Backlink Update - 04:06 PM
I was reading through Matt's post about the Google Page Rank Update.  Woo Hoo!  I was wondering what page rank member profiles went up to.  Ours went to a 3 for the http://activerain.com/lasvegasrealestate profile and 2 for the http://activerain.com/blogs/lasvegasrealestate section.  Google also updated the back links for AR as well. Our site stayed at 5 but most of the community pages went to 4 and the state link pages to 3.
The profile is showing 89 backlinks and the blog is showing 55.  Not bad considering how new the site is. You can check them using the google toolbar by pressing the … (2 comments)

Page Rank: The Trust Factor - 05:09 PM
Today it seems is the day to post about search engines, page rank and backlinks.  Matt put up a post about the Google page rank update and I had put up some posts about MSN Live and Google Backlinks as well. For those of you wondering what the big deal is about a page rank update, here is the reason why. Page rank is google's way of rating a page on its importance regarding the topic its about. PR is still updating, so you may get several different values, depending on which data center you hit. Good page rank doesn't necessarily equal high … (2 comments)

Active Rain - From the Consumer Perspective - 11:12 AM

Kristal Kraft wrote a most informative Blog Bloging for fun or profit and made a very important statement about push vs pull marketing and how Blogging is very much there and ready for the consumer when they are ready to discover it.  That by us BLOGGING we are putting information out there that the consumer wants when they want it. 
So imagine my surprise yesterday when I had a customer call me and say I checked out Active Rain and although it is great for a Realtor what benefit does it have for me?  (Some of my agent marketing is … (41 comments)

Realtor membership reduction - 10:12 AM
It’s that time of year again in our association where all of the annual dues are now payable. Local, state, NAR, MLS.
  There was a post a day or so ago by another Realtor suggesting the state should increase the licensing fees for real estate to $1000 in order to force people out that do not really positively contribute to our profession. This really will not be necessary whereas the annual dues will probably have the same effect. The general opinion, of those in the know, expects a Realtor membership decrease throughout the State of Florida well in excess of 30% … (31 comments)

Realtor membership reduction = assocation lost revenue - 04:23 PM
In a previous post of mine I spoke to the serious impending drop in Realtor membership. Some associations are reporting as much as 40%. Those “in the know” in southeast Florida are predicting at least 30% in our area. Our association over the past 5 years has almost double in membership size. They’ve cut membership fees and added many value added no fee services especially in the area of technology.
  This anticipated drop in membership is going to quickly equate into a major loss of revenue for all of the associations.
  I was asked by one of our association’s directors recently … (2 comments)

PMI - Can I avoid it? - 10:34 PM
Is it possible to evade Private Mortgage Insurance all together?
The simple, Reader’s Digest answer is yes.
One way to avoid PMI is to wait until you have adequately saved the 20% you will need for the purchase of your new home.  This, however, is far easier said than done.  Alternatives to PMI are available, but very few.  These substitutes for PMI should also be approached cautiously and intelligently. 
 
Private Mortgage Insurance can put a halt to your home buying process, or diminish the loan amount you may qualify for.  Should this be an issue for you, inquire about an 80-10-10 … (1 comments)

Bankruptcy - Will I Lose My Home? - 10:44 PM
Bankruptcy is a huge decision and one that will worry you day in and day out until it is over.  The largest concern that many people have is whether or not they will lose their home in the process.  Bankruptcy, by a simple definition, is the wiping out of your debts so that you can start fresh again.  The process is not as simple as the definition though.  When it comes to your home, you may be able to keep it, on several conditions. There is no law that says that every single one of your debts must be cleared through bankruptcy.  … (2 comments)

Are your signs legal? Heads up... - 04:34 PM
Recieved an e-mail today from our board that says a Statewide sweep of signs will be done this week.  Be sure your signs are positioned on property legally or you could be in trouble.  Just a heads up for all Florida Realtors.
Here are two paragraphs of a lengthy notice...
As you will see in today's article, many cities and counties around Florida have joined forces and designated this weekend as "clean-up the clutter" time. Any signs placed in the "right-of-way" or placed illegally may be picked up. This will include any real estate sign on private property that is placed illegally, i.e., in the right … (0 comments)

Related links

New Members for 2006-09-29

 Archives:

30 Sep
29 Sep
28 Sep
27 Sep
26 Sep
25 Sep
24 Sep
23 Sep
22 Sep
21 Sep
20 Sep
19 Sep
18 Sep
17 Sep
16 Sep
15 Sep
14 Sep
13 Sep
12 Sep
11 Sep
10 Sep
9 Sep
8 Sep
7 Sep
6 Sep
5 Sep
4 Sep
3 Sep
2 Sep
1 Sep
August 2006