Jeremy's Blog

A new Gearhart, Oregon real estate website is launched

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:01:02 -0700

I've always had a website or two (actually I own about 10) since I began in this business, and it's been frustrating at times because it seems that real estate technology providers often lag behind in innovation compared to other industries... And that leads us to the crappy template sites that nobody likes. My journey began with a linku template site in 2006 (the year I got into the business), and that lasted about 4 months. I still had not gotten indexed by google for any meaningful search terms, so I did some research and decided on an Agent Image site. It was great looking and I think the impression helped my business a little but after almost 2 years did not get any reliable search engine traffic. After a brief experiment with a typepad blog on the domain, I found it was pretty easy in that regard to get ranked for a term due to the inherant SEO benefits from blogging. In fact, another website I own was started as part experiment and part of a listing presentation and it gets great search engine traffic and has resulted in a couple of deals! It's a wordpress site that I have nothing more than the cost of hosting and some of my time into. In fact, newgearharthomes.com gets more search engine traffic than my main real estate domain jeremylinder.com. In fact the only downside to running a real estate website on a blog platform is the challenges of displaying listings and a IDX search. Both of those items can now be addressed using plugins if you have a wordpress site I'm told. I tried to get some increased function on my blog site to make it more real estate specific, but ran out of talent and patience and decided to explore other avenues. I had heard of Ubertor, and in fact had considered their platform about a year prior but never did jump in and try it out (it was dumb, they give you a month free) until recently. I signed up on a Saturday afternoon, and about 20 minutes later my phone rings and the owner of the company Steve Jagger was on the line to help me get going and answer any questions. Great service! The more I started to dig into the Ubertor platform the more excited I got. The functionality and ease of use is amazing, you must try it out! The added bonus to the great looking and highly functional site is that they are coded to be very SEO friendly. I confirmed this by using a tool call seo-browser that lets you see what a search engine bot sees. After adding some content and checking the results, it displayed almost identical to the same wordpress page I checked. I'm sure there are other differences that impact SEO but most sites don't come close to a wordpress in terms of search engine friendly.

I spend a lot of time in the evenings getting content written, and my new site configured. Take a look, and if you like what you see get one for yourself. You won't regret it.

**disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with Ubertor in any way, nor will I benefit from ya'll getting awesome sites from them**

Best agent IDX solution? Need recommendation please

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:03:07 -0700

I've been using the FBS smartlink on my site, but am wanting a true idx solution that would allow buyers to save searches, homes, ect. I've looked at idxpro and an eneighborhoods solution, but nothing that really tickles my fancy. I have seen several attractive idx searches on various company sites, is that the difference when you spend $5,000 on an idx setup?

Who do you use and why? For those that added idx to your website later, was the upgrade worth it?

Looking towards to Summer, how is your market?

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:41:46 -0700

The market in Astoria, Oregon and all of Clatsop County has returned to "normal" following a sharp inventory increase resulting from our December hurricane. I feel that 3 months of declining inventory is positive momentum moving towards our spring (the rain starts to slow here in May) and into Summer. Also, hopefully the Coast Guard buyers will begin to start buying for their spring/summer transfers here.

I'm hearing many areas markets are slowing stabilizing and improving. How's your market as we move into spring & summer? How many months of inventory in your market?

1362 Olney Avenue Astoria, Oregon 97103 $177,500

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:44:53 -0700

1362 Olney Avenue
Astoria, Oregon 97103

This Youngs Bay view townhome is truly move-in ready! It's an owner occupied unit, which means it has been very well kept and it shows. A very smart floorplan maximized the 1090 SF, which includes 3 bedrooms (including a master) and 2.5 baths. The upper level is a modified great room plan, combining the eat-in kitchen with the living room. The kitchen area offers the flexibility of dining at the breakfast bar or the nook, and offers lots of room and a great layout. The bedrooms are nice sized, with the 2 guest rooms on the lower level. A like new home at a fixer price, only $177,500.

Visit my website for details on this and other Astoria Oregon homes for sale.

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Does the Astoria Real Estate Market Lag Behind the Online Curve?

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 12:55:06 -0700

This article about the shift in advertising revenues from print and other traditional outlets to on-line marketing doesn’t surprise me. I have been preaching to my fellow Realtors about staying ahead of the curve and effectively spending your advertising dollars to the point that many are probably tired of hearing me quote response and effectiveness stats.

With more than 8 in 10 consumers starting their search for a home on-line, how can you afford not to have your home in front of the majority of buyers? Many Realtors are beginning to learn that an on-line presence is not optional if you wish to grow your business in the future, but some of the old school folks in my market have me scratching my head. I see some Realtors actually ramping up their print advertising, in a time where some of the local media is out of favor with some of the residents here, and certainly nationwide the subscriber base for newspapers is down. I certainly have no problem with the pretty ads in the newspaper with your lap dog that proclaim how wonderful you are and maybe even that you’re a “million dollar producer”, but don’t let that be your entire marketing platform. Please.

Read the rest on my blog.

How to sell your home: Part II

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:15:14 -0700

Yesterday I went over the first of three critical elements if you want to generate a quick sale in today’s Astoria housing market. You see, contrary to the belief of some Sellers today you want your house “sold” not “for sale”. The second ingredient is product. Our local market on the Oregon Coast is very competitive, especially in Clatsop County. We were cruising along at 8-10 months of inventory, but in the last three months residential inventory has nearly doubled. How does that effect somebody with an Astoria home for sale? It means instead of 20 homes directly completing with yours in terms of price and location, you would now have 35. That’s right, a Buyer for your home would have 35 other homes that also meet their search criteria. What now? If you priced your home correctly, you’ll have a slight upper hand on the competition.

The next element you can control as a Seller is product, or your home. The rest of the story

Want to sell your Astoria home? Here’s how in 3 easy steps

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 13:19:01 -0700

Most sellers, if given a choice of when to sell their home, would pick a much hotter coastal market than we have today. Here in Astoria, we’re much better off than many parts of the country but it doesn’t mean your home will sell itself. In my opinion, there’s three critical elements to generating a sale in today’s Astoria, Oregon real estate market.

The first and most important element is…. price. A wise man once told me any home in any market will sell quickly if you price it correctly. It’s true for most items, even non-housing related if you think about it. Read the rest here.

Today: Astoria Oregon among top 5 retirement destinations

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:26:37 -0700

Late last week in a segment on retirement destinations, Barbara Corcoran tells Ann why Astoria is among the 5 best places for retirees. In the segment, Barbara pretty much nails the high points of Astoria living, including a revitalized downtown and excellent health care. She does completely miss the mark on housing prices. You won’t find much more than a wood shed for $150,000, as the median home price in Astoria is over $250,000. The market here starts in the low $200k’s, and mid to high $200k’s gets you an average home. Maybe even a Columbia River view home.

Astoria Homes For Sale- Market Update

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:30:12 -0800

A quick look at the real estate market here in N. Clatsop County, more specifically Astoria, Oregon. I believe we're looking at the market continuing to improve as we move into spring, likely the rate will be dependant on what rates do.

In the last 30 days, the area of Astoria:

Active- 85

Sold- 4

Under Contract- 10

Back on Market- 4

Expired- 20

Clatsop County GIS, Real Estate Maps

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:10:28 -0800

The Clatsop County map system or GIS is something I use daily. You can access specific tax lot information and maps are your leisure. Searching can be a bit tricky, until you learn to master the map & tax lot key. A great exercise is to search by owner name, and examine the record of your own property. That gives you an idea of what is published online, and where to look for it. When trying to find the owner of an Astoria home, or specific info on a neighboring property the GIS website is an awesome tool.

Sunshine!

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:01:58 -0800

It's amazing how a person's attitude changes with the weather. We've had a couple of bright sunny days here in the last week, and you'd think everybody just won the lotto. People are out and about, in a pleasant mood and thinking towards the future. After a long, harsh winter I know I'm ready for spring to get here. I think this preview of what's to come will brighten the Astoria real estate market as well.

Market Update February '08

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 23:13:51 -0800

Here's some up to date stats on the market in Clatsop County. It includes Astoria and the rest of the county's homes for sale.

Period 1.1.08 - 2.18.08:

New- 132
Pended- 45
Sold- 27

Same period 2007:

New- 125
Pended- 49
Sold- 37

Same period 2006:

New- 106
Pended- 59
Sold- 52

Power of Video

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 23:32:35 -0800

Recently, I began to notice the trend of user produced video was moving beyond You-Tube and Myspace and into main stream Real Estate. There's several companies that are starting to provide a video service, similar to what many of us have used for 360 virtual tours. I've dabbled a little myself, but I don't have a production quality video camera (although that will soon change.)

Fast forward to this week. I have some clients looking to relocate to the Astoria area from the Rockies, and they have a few specific requirements. I've emailed every property that fits their base criteria as they come on the market, and even thought we'd found the right one. After a quick plane ride to the Oregon Coast, my client quickly learned the difference between a few quality photos and reality when it comes to Astoria homes for sale. Recently I emailed a new listing, and it sparked some interest with my clients, but only as much as a handful of photos could. I offered to shoot a little video, and was upfront about the fact I'm not Steven Spielberg but would do my best.

I went to both preview the property as I had not showed it, and shoot some video footage as well as take additional pictures. I put the short video clips together and uploaded the movie to Google Video. This allowed my clients who were a thousand miles away to get a first hand perspective of the property, both inside and out. Needless to say, a plane ticket was immediately purchased and travel plans were made to see this particular home.

Delinquent Home Owners Get Hope

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 21:03:10 -0800

Delinquent Home Owners Get Hope

I think the biggest problem with foreclosures is the the borrower thinks as soon as they get behind that it's to late. That is in fact far from the truth. There's probably several Astoria area homes for sale right now for the simple fact the owner is getting behind on payments or is behind. In my experience as a Real Estate Professional, most borrowers get into a pickle and just give up. This has led to Loss Mitigation Consultants becoming more and more popular. You see, the Lender still looses after a foreclosure is complete and the property re-sold. First, it takes several months after the borrower is in default for the bank or asset manager to get legal possession and ability to sell the property. While this is going on, the lender has to maintain the property to protect their interest. Of course the lender incurs additional fees in the sale, and an additional fee to the asset manager for coordinating the whole event.

Instead of going down the path towards ugly foreclosure, it's advantageous to everyone to work out a compromise. The bank wants monthly payments made to them, not to own Real Estate. And the borrower gets to keep their home and any equity in it. Six lenders including Bank of America, Citigroup, Countrywide Financial, Chase, WaMu, Well Fargo have extended an olive branch to delinquent borrowers. Instead of giving up once they fall behind in making their monthly payments, these lenders are offering terms to modify the original loan terms to keep the borrower in the house and the lender from having to foreclose. It's the best possible outcome in this situation.

Spring Home Selling Tips

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 09:29:24 -0800

If your Astoria home is going up for sale this spring, you'll want to see these great tips from About.com . The Astoria, Oregon Real Estate market seems to be improving, but if you want to maximize your dollar and shorten market time then every little detail is important. Remember that while these tips are aimed at getting a quick sale this spring, there's not substitute for the 3 P's: Product, Promotion, Price. (more on those later)

1) Wash windows inside and out / polish all mirrors

Sparkle is free, and sparkle sells homes. A potential buyer may not realize why your home seems so inviting but will feel drawn to it if the windows are spotless and your mirrors reflect sunlight. Cleaning is the first step to preparing your home for sale.

2) Rake the yard / trim back bushes

Clean out dead leaves and debris in your lawn. Don’t let overgrown vegetation block the windows or path to the entrance. Cutting bushes and tree limbs will let the sun inside and showcase the exterior of your home.

3) Mow diagonally and edge lawn along driveway / sidewalks

Artfully manicured lawns are edged and tell buyers you pay attention to small details. Diagonally mowed lawns make your yard appear larger.

4) Transplant tulips and daffodils or buy flowers in containers

Yellow flowers stimulate buying urges. After a long winter, everybody is anxious to see the first signs of spring. Yellow tulips and daffodils induce feelings of happiness and contentment. Arrange containers in groups of three or five near the entrance.

5) Clean drapes, curtains & blinds and open every window

Send your window coverings to the dry cleaners or wash, dry and press. Toss blinds into a soapy bathtub for a quick wash. Get rid of all accumulated dust and spider webs. Crisp linens and a spring-time breeze through the windows invites the season inside.

6) Set out fresh-smelling flowers such as just-clipped lilacs branches or peonies

Why not flatter your neighbors and ask if you can borrow flowers from their yards? Natural scents are more appealing than artificial and trigger fewer allergies among those susceptible. Peony vases are designed to hold peonies upright, but wash the flowers first to avoid carrying ants inside. Clever home staging brings color and fragrance indoors.

7) Polish floors to a high gloss

Your hardwood floors should be refinished, if necessary. Make your ceramic and linoleum floors twinkle and shine. Bleach dull grout. Thoroughly clean all area rugs.

8.) Utilize towels, throws, pillows in light colors – yellows, pinks, pale blues, lavenders

Even if it means replacing items, towels, linens, throws and sofa pillows are inexpensive accents you can buy. In soft spring colors, they will light up a room. Layer towels on bathroom towel racks and place rolled wash cloths on the counters in a fashionable pyramid.

9) Offer an outside mat for cleaning shoes & put umbrella stand at entrance

No matter where you live, spring weather is often unpredictable. In some states, it can be 72 degrees one day and snowing the next. If it’s raining, give buyers a place to stash umbrellas and wipe their feet before entering your home. Some sellers lay down plastic runners across floors for protection, but that tends to ruin the effect of a glittering polish job.

10) Buy brightly colored helium balloons

Stationery and party-supply stores sell helium balloons for about a dollar each. So, there’s no reason not to pick up a couple dozen balloons to tie to your open house signs. Balloons build excitement and will get your home noticed by home shoppers.

11) Set out four-color flyers & financing options

Don’t skimp on your marketing materials. You want home buyers to select your flyer among the dozens they pick up. Color sells better than black and white. Show home buyers how easily they can afford to buy your home by giving them two or three financing options. The first thing on buyer’s minds when considering a home purchase is the monthly mortgage payment. Don’t make them guess.

12) Use a color photo for display advertising

Spend a little more on newspaper and online advertising by including a color photograph in your ad. Remember: a picture is worth a 1,000 words. Look through your photo galleries for a seasonal photograph that flaunts your home to its best advantage.

13) Mail four-color postcards with UV coating

Call a local title company to obtain a free direct-mail list of your surrounding neighbors. Print four-color oversized postcards and include a UV coating to give the marketing oomph. Use first-class postage.

14) Fill sink with ice to chill bottled water for guests

Put a couple dozen bottles of water in a sink of ice for buyers. You can also tape labels to the bottles, printed from your computer, with your phone number, a photograph and address of your home.

15) Set out treats, individually wrapped in cellophane & tied w/ribbon

Touring homes makes buyers hungry. Give them a snack. It will give buyers an opportunity to linger in your kitchen and marvel at its elegant appointments, which might otherwise be overlooked.

Aromatherapy and Home Buyers

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 00:06:53 -0800

While curb appeal gets buyers to look at your home, the first thing a prospective home buyer does is take a breath when inside your Astoria home. The trick is to use wide appealing, mellow scents- Like the smell of fresh baked cookies or vanilla. You'll want to avoid very strong odors including certain spices.

Odors and Astoria Oregon Real Estate

New Limits- Who benefits?

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:11:19 -0800

While not everybody will like every single part of the proposed package, the fact that is on the way to the White House is a good sign that "it is what it is". The interesting part to me was the proposed changed to Freddie and Fannie limits, even if it is only through the end of the year. On the North Oregon Coast, we have relatively inexpensive housing compared to our southerly companion California.

For example, sold prices in 2007 for Clatsop County broken out by city:

note: I'd love to use median sold numbers, but our MLS is telling me median home prices are "zero".

Astoria $266,612

Warrenton $300,271

Gearhart $657,908

Seaside $385,194

disclaimer: info from Clatsop MLS, info deemed reliable but not guaranteed accurate.

My point is the majority of my own market won't see any benefit to the new limits, but I would think that higher priced markets like much or metro California would get a huge boost in those able to buy "starter" homes and re-fi the higher rate jumbo's that may have owners in trouble.

Any comments from those in a market that will benefit from this? Or am I missing a key component of this?

And you thought assembling Ikea furniture was hard

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:38:27 -0800

Ikea Homes

Interesting article about Ikea's new venture selling flat packaged, "some assembly required", energy efficient homes in Northern Europe. Proponents say the pre-engineered homes produce less waste, can be built faster and more energy efficient than traditional home building techniques.

Locally on the Oregon Coast, Columbia Pacific Homes LLC distributes a similar product manufactured by Pacific Modern Homes, Inc. Panelized construction isn't new, but can be very cost effective from my research. The biggest benefit I can see in Astoria and the surrounding area is the time savings in the number of days to go from poured concrete foundation to weather tight home. I've heard in as little as two weeks by a crew familiar with this type of construction.

Astoria & N. Oregon Coast market update

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:09:03 -0800

The change in the real estate market here that began Jan. 2nd has been incredible. It might just my business, but the attitude of Buyers seems to be better and more confident in the market. I thought I might pull some stats from the Clatsop MLS to back up my theory, but the numbers are to the contrary. I only pulled solds for the 97103 zip, which includes not only the city of Astoria proper but also Knappa, Svensen, Olney, Walluski, Lewis & Clark, Youngs River and John Day.

Residential Solds for 97103:

November '07- 20

December '07- 15

January '08- 5

One thing to keep in mind is there's a 30-45 day lag in activity from contract to close. So, the low number of closed transactions in January would coincide with the very slow and storm ravaged December. My instinct tells me that February will be much better and the action we're seeing now will result in the number of closed transactions increasing in the next few months.

Easy tips on how not to sell your home

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:07:31 -0800

With all the competition amongst Astoria homes to snare an elusive buyer, I'm surprised at some of the tactics being employed. In the spirit of educating my clients and the public alike, I' thought I should compile a list of tips to help you avoid having your home sell once it's been listed for sale.

- Pick a list price not substantiated by fact and professional analysis, but based on the dollar amount that affords you that Mexican cruise and new Caddy.

- Close every door and window in the house while deep fying seafood and smoking a pipe. The resulting aroma will surely leave a lasting impression with potential buyers.

- If you have a dog, encourage it to take care of business all across the yard and don't clean it up. Especially if Buyers would have to walk in the yard to see part of the house.

- Paint each room in the house a different shade of either lime green, pepto pink or burnt orange.

- When preparing for a showing, leave the dirty laundry on the floor and the clean laundry on the couch.

- Ask your neighbor is he'd like to store that cherry Trans-Am in the front yard while he's replacing the engine. Better yet, while he parts it out. Bonus: use it a yard art.

I could go on, but I won't divulge all my secrets up front.

What will '08 bring?

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 23:03:50 -0800

Storm cleanup continues in Clatsop County, many still have tarps covering wind ravaged roofs and most of us won't have any need to look beyond our yards for a firewood supply for the coming year. While the housing market statistically showed signs of improvement through the close of 2007, December proved to be the exception as inventory increased and closed transactions decreased. If you keep in mind December numbers were heavily influenced by the huge storm and holiday activities, market trends indicate that 2008 will be a "rebuilding year". As the market continues to correct, we're starting to see inventory levels begin to level off with demand and prices start to stabilize. While the last 18 months has been far from a hot market, the Oregon Coast has been pretty well insulated from the trends of FL, NV, AZ and CA. From where I stand, the first quarter will be similar to the last half of '07 and the market continue picking up through year end. The good news is most properties have continued to appreciate throughout all this, and will continue to do so. While the second home market has slowed some, the recovery of hard hit metro's in the West will increase buyers looking for investment properties and vacation homes here.

With all that said, it is still a buyers market here and sellers must remember that price is #1. Buyers have come to expect a home to be in perfect condition, or discounted accordingly. Buyer credits or allowances for carpet or paint just don't cut it any more, and if your home is in need of these it must be priced to reflect this. Also, most homes will benefit from a pre-listing home inspection to ease buyer apprehension over hidden defects and/or concerns over deferred maintenance.

Although it will still be sometime until the market is back to the boom years, I think 2008 is shaping up to be a great year. Rates are low, lots of great loan programs are still available to buyers and as the media begins to shift its focus from the doom & gloom of the housing market to election news consumer confidence should show an overall increase.

Storm

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:16:25 -0800

The storm is over, cleanup is underway and life begins to get back to normal for most Oregon Coast residents. The response of the city & county crews as well as the utility workers should be applauded, they were out trying to restore services before the wind & rain had even begun to slow.

The overall market picture here is showing signs of improvement, as inventory was starting to decrease in the last 3 months. The Buyer attitude I've been seeing has been mostly "wait and see", wanting to get through the holidays and see what changes the near year brings.

I got my new site up a few months ago, and aside from a few tweaks I've yet to complete it is mostly complete. You can find it @ www.jeremylinder.com . I've also started getting to the blog thing, you can go here and here.

Storm

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:15:49 -0800

Jeremy Linder v2.1 coming soon

Jeremy Linder (Kamali Sotheby's International Realty) — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 22:21:07 -0700

You always hear that the internet is shaping the world of real estate, but many of us think "yeah, but that will never work in my town". Well, let me tell ya... It can and will. I've contracted a well known 'net design company to build a website for me that will have my competitors paying attention. It's not enough to have a MLS search on your site with a few links to area attractions and a canned home buyers & sellers section (guilty!). So, coming soon is the new jeremylinder.com . Stay tuned!