Washington Real Estate Blog

Free IDX Search Tools (feedback request)

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Tue, 27 May 2008 17:07:24 -0500

We're reviewing the usability of a free generic version of our IDX search tools located at www.nwrealty.com/washington prior to official release later this week. Due to the increase of Buyers seeking owner terms we've included easy access to listings that offer "Lease/Purchase" and "Owner Financing" options. These are provided via buttons at the top right and how we should display results is where I would appreciate your input.

Right now the results are limited to 200 listings which are currently sorted by list price (high to low). About half of the available listings are in excess of $1 million. Since few Buyers are interested in this high price range I'm wondering how to best provide useful information in this free format.

I'm inclined to only display the 200 most recent listings below $1 million and sorted from low to high. I really appreciate your feedback.

Thanks,
Larry

nwRealty Web Trends for Spring 2008

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:56:49 -0500

Spring 2008 update of traffic trends for Washington real estate web sites as observed by third party monitors at compete.com. So far this season most sites received about the same number of visits as this time last year. We are VERY pleased that our growth continued to improve in April when others experienced a significant drop.

Washington Only Real Estate Sites:
This data does a good jog of demonstrating the seasonal "post holiday" spike that occurs every January ... followed by a short slump in February before the spring season gets going in late March.

My Crystal Ball:
Compete.com provides about 4 weeks of relative growth data for the month of May. Based on this information it looks like the CB Bain site and our site at www.nwrealty.com will both realize growth compared to the previous month of April. The other sites look like they will hold at about the same rate of vistors.

Reports for May should be available in a couple weeks. Thanks for stopping by!

WA Web Site Trends Spring 08

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:06:47 -0500

My last web trend report was posted in January so this post reflects the end of our winter season and the beginning of the spring buying season. The websites below are for companies based in Washington that also cross the border into other states (mostly in the western states). You'll recognize the names and know that they have very substantial Internet marketing budgets.

Multi-State Sites:
Even with the mortgage meltdown and decline in sales most sites finished the month of April very near their traffic levels a year ago.

My Crystal Ball:
Since the month of May is nearly over there are several weeks of data available at compete.com that reflects relative growth for the month. Today it looks like Redfin and Brio Realty will finish the month with a nice increase of visitors compared with last month. The other sites will probably hold steady, near the number of visitors they had in April.

Thanks for stopping by! May's reports will be available in a few weeks and we'll see if my predictions are correct. Let me know if you're interested in data for national sites.

nwRealty Network Performance 12/18/07 thru 1/17/08

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:36:58 -0600

Although the frequency of buyer leads remained the same as during the Thanksgiving - Chrismas holiday period, total exposure reflected the traditional New Year spike. This seasonal surge of activity usually lasts well into February.

Listing agents and brokers continue to benefit the most from our marketing system. Since December 18th 2007 we've delivered the following results to our Network Members ...

Lead Generation:
On average each member real estate agent/brokerage received 3 leads (same as last month) with brokers and agents in South King County and Pierce County receiving an above average number.
Web Site Visitor Referrals:
On average we referred 11 visitors (up from 9 last month) to each member's real estate website. The rate of visitor "click-thrus" was noticably higher for our network members in the San Juan Islands and Okanogan County seemed to receive a slightly higher performance.
Personal/Brokerage Promotion:
Each member's promotional image (photo or logo) was displayed an average of 1458 times (up from 1010 last month). Our best results were provided to our members in the Seattle and Tacoma markets. Our true "Buyer's Agents" (no listings) received 375 instances of personal promotion (down from 884 last month).
Listing Features:
Each member's real estate listings were promoted in the premium "top center" and "left margin" positions an average of 5316 times (up from 3853 last month). Our strongest results were provided to members serving Seattle, Gig Harbor and Oak Harbor.

Please contact us at 253-927-2229 if these benefits are of interest to you (Washington licensees only). Pricing begins at $39/month.

Washington top performing real estate markets Dec 07 - Jan 08

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 13:48:38 -0600

This report represents our mid-January update compared with numbers from our mid-December update of our highest demand real estate markets in Washington State. These are the markets where we feature the most listings and rankings are impacted by where the most buyers are currently looking for on-line real estate information.

Top Ten Washington Counties ...
Buyer attention continues to returned to the Seattle Metro, of Pierce, Snohomish and King County urban areas.

Mid-Dec 2007

Pierce
King
Island
Skagit
Snohomish
San Juan
Okanogan
Grays Harbor
Lewis
Whatcom

Mid-Jan 2008

Skagit
Pierce
Snohomish
King
Island
San Juan
Grays Harbor
Okanogan
Lewis
Whatcom

Top 50 Washington Cities ...

Mid-Dec 2007

Oak Harbor
Seattle
Gig Harbor
Sedro Woolley
Mount Vernon
San Juan Island
Marysville
Tacoma
Puyallup
Arlington
Center Island
Maple Valley
Burlington
Concrete
Packwood
Everett
Coupeville
Yelm
Omak
Hoquiam
Stanwood
Aberdeen
Port Orchard
Chimacum
Tulalip
Decatur Island
Lopez Island
Anacortes
Cle Elum
Issaquah
Redmond
Snohomish
Sammamish
Auburn
Greenbank
Lakewood
Gold Bar
Spanaway
Bellingham
Tonasket
Riverside
Okanogan
Montesano
Renton
Federal Way
Maple Falls
Randle
Raymond
Bow
Grayland

Mid-Jan 2008

Mount Vernon
Oak Harbor
Gig Harbor
Sedro Woolley
Tacoma
Marysville
Arlington
Seattle
Maple Valley
San Juan Island
Concrete
Everett
Stanwood
Packwood
Puyallup
Omak
Center Island
Spanaway
Gold Bar
Hoquiam
Aberdeen
Burlington
Granite Falls
Snohomish
Tulalip
Port Orchard
Chimacum
Decatur Island
Issaquah
Sammamish
Yelm
Fife
Montesano
Anacortes
Coupeville
Kent
Cle Elum
Lakewood
Graham
Lopez Island
Okanogan
Tonasket
Elma
Federal Way
Riverside
Ruston
Chelan
Randle
Renton
Bellingham

We'll update this again in February. When winter gets you down just remember that Catchers and Pitchers (baseball) report just after Valentine's Day.

WA Web Site Trends Dec 07

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 18:06:25 -0600

This report compares websites for companies based in Washington that also cross the border into other states (mostly in the western states).

Multi-State Sites:
Most sites reflect the traditional holiday drop off that occurs seasonally every year. redfin.com was able to pick up a gain in traffic while most other sites decreased by 13% - 26% compared with November counts.

Thanks for stopping by! We'll have January reports in a few weeks.

nwRealty Web Trend for Dec 2007

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:52:01 -0600

Update of traffic trends for Washington real estate web sites as observed by third party monitors at compete.com. For the month of December, most sites display a drop of between 13% and 26%.

Washington Only Real Estate Sites:
The decline of traffic for the larger sites reflects the traditional holiday slump. It is a pleasant surprise to see the smaller sites experienced an increase of traffic traffic.

Reports for January should be available in a couple weeks. Thanks for stopping by!

nwRealty Network Performance 11/16 - 12/17 2007

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:13:46 -0600

Leads and exposure dropped slightly due to the post-Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping diversions. We anticipate the seasonal spike to begin on 12/26 and last into early February.

Agents and brokers with listings continue to benefit the greatest from our system. Between November 15th and December 16th 2007, we've delivered the following benefits to our Network Members ...

Lead Generation:
On average each member real estate agent/brokerage received 3 leads with brokers and agents in Tacoma and Pierce County receiving an above average number.
Web Site Visitor Referrals:
On average we referred 9 visitors to each member's real estate website. Visitor "click-thrus" remained consistent across all market areas but our network members in the San Juan Islands and Aberdeen seemed to receive a slightly higher performance.
Personal/Brokerage Promotion:
Each member's promotional image (photo or logo) was displayed an average of 1010 times. Our best results were provided to our members in the Seattle, King County markets. Our single "Buyer's Agent" received 884 instances of personal promotion.
Listing Features:
Each member's real estate listings were promoted in the premium "top center" and "left margin" positions an average of 3853 times. Our strongest results were provided to members serving King County.

Please contact us at 253-927-2229 if these benefits are of interest to you (Washington licensees only). Pricing begins at $39/month with REALTORS receiving a 25% discount and qualifying link partners receiving a 25% discount.

Washington top performing real estate markets

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 14:36:41 -0600

This report represents our early December update compared with numbers from our late November update of our highest demand real estate markets in Washington State. These are the markets where we feature the most listings and also where the most buyers are currently looking for on-line real estate information.

Top Ten Washington Counties ...
Buyer attention continues to returned to the Seattle Metro, of Pierce, Snohomish and King County urban areas.

Mid-Dec 2007

Pierce
King
Island
Skagit
Snohomish
San Juan
Okanogan
Grays Harbor
Lewis
Whatcom

Late-Nov 2007

Pierce
King
Island
Skagit
Snohomish
San Juan
Okanogan
Grays Harbor
Whatcom
Lewis

Top 50 Washington Cities ...

Mid-Dec 2007

Oak Harbor
Seattle
Gig Harbor
Sedro Woolley
Mount Vernon
San Juan Island
Marysville
Tacoma
Puyallup
Arlington
Center Island
Maple Valley
Burlington
Concrete
Packwood
Everett
Coupeville
Yelm
Omak
Hoquiam
Stanwood
Aberdeen
Port Orchard
Chimacum
Tulalip
Decatur Island
Lopez Island
Anacortes
Cle Elum
Issaquah
Redmond
Snohomish
Sammamish
Auburn
Greenbank
Lakewood
Gold Bar
Spanaway
Bellingham
Tonasket
Riverside
Okanogan
Montesano
Renton
Federal Way
Maple Falls
Randle
Raymond
Bow
Grayland

Late-Nov 2007

Oak Harbor
Gig Harbor
Seattle
San Juan Island
Puyallup
Sedro Woolley
Mount Vernon
Arlington
Marysville
Tacoma
Maple Valley
Burlington
Camano Island
Everett
Concrete
Packwood
Omak
Anacortes
Hoquiam
Stanwood
Aberdeen
Chimacum
Tulalip
Cle Elum
Port Orchard
Issaquah
Redmond
Edgewood
Sammamish
Snohomish
Bellingham
Auburn
Lake Stevens
Lakewood
Greenbank
Granite Falls
Coupeville
Federal Way
Montesano
Riverside
Okanogan
Renton
Grayland
Raymond
Maple Falls
Kent
Randle
Shaw Island
Spanaway
Blaine

We'll update this again in late-December. Merry Christmas everyone!

WA Web Site Trends Nov 07

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 13:35:53 -0600

This report compares websites for companies based in Washington that also cross the border into other states (mostly in the western states).

Multi-State Sites:
Most sites reflect the seasonal drop that occurs every year during the holidays. johnlscott.com managed to hold rather steady while briorealty.com actually increased their rate of visitors.

Thanks for stopping by!

nwRealty Web Trend for Nov 2007

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 13:26:51 -0600

Here's our update of traffic trends for Washington real estate web sites as observed by third party monitors. Contrary to this report, our server logs actually recorded about a 3% increase of visitors and page views. But I'm still convinced that compete.com provides the most accurate reports.

Washington Only Real Estate Sites:
The decline of monitored sites demonstrated on the graph below reflects the anticipated seasonal drop.

Reports for December should be available in a couple weeks. Thanks for stopping by!

Paralyzed by Blog Daze

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 11:35:00 -0600

I was in blog oblivion this morning as my wife left the house. While I was viewing source code and commenting on another blog she stepped into my office to let me know she was heading out. I verbally acknowledged without loosing focus and just now realized that I missed out on our daily farewell kiss. We did have time this morning for conversation and flirtations but my blogging paralysis has cost something that can never be replaced.

Sorry Deb! I'll make it up to you when you get home ... promise!!!

Washington Weather and Floods

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 22:02:11 -0600

Well ... our weather made national news again but I had to snarl at all the reporters fixated on the landslide damage in Burien. Yes it was dramatic but it was apparently the only camera worthy event convenient to Seatac airport and every reporter scrambled to get an angle that didn't look like everyone else's. The real tragedy is a couple of hours South of Seattle where hundreds are homeless and sleeping in the cold tonight. Too bad the television news media didn't bother to report the real story.

Real Estate eFlyer Complaints

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:25:15 -0600

The NWMLS recently advised its members "be selective when sending out emails regarding your listings to other members and agents" noting numerous complaints from members receiving unwanted emails from other members regarding listings. Most complaints are from members receiving emails about listings out of their service area.

An example of abuse is an agent from the Bellevue workingprimarily on the eastside of King County receiving eflyers abouta listing in Bremerton which is in Kitsap County. We frequently receive eflyers about Olympia properties while our immediate area is Edgewood and Puyallup real estate. Agents don't want these "junk" eflyers especially for distant listings.

The NWMLS emphasized that our registered email accounts are for official communication purposes like ebills, and notices, and for communication with clients and other NWMLS members and agents. I understand that many agents feel this is an effective real estate marketing technique ... but I believe the NWMLS notice should be taken as a warning that continued abuse will result in new rules prohibiting eflyers and possibly resulting in hefty fines for offenders.

Before you contract an eflyer delivery please consider the repercussions on our industry.

Real Estate related bankruptcies

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:48:46 -0600

Over the weekend the news media reported better than a 10% increase of bankruptcy filings this year in Oregon and Washington State, attributing them to builders, contractors and developers suffering from mortgage market woes. But I must disagree. The last 18 months have been increasingly tough for real estate sales and I think the current mortgage conditions were just the final straw.

I've observed standing inventory in many new developments just sit there for at least a year while the builder continues to build. Without sales, the builders are just living off the draws of their construction loans and it was only a matter of time before they hit the bottom. While lenders are analyzing their policies towards mortgage loans they should really take a close look at their construction loans too!

Post Holiday Real Estate Rush

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 22:35:57 -0600

I've observed the end of year real estate phenomena since 1996 and so far it has proven a reliable event. Buyers that need to make a move but for unknown reasons haven't seem to come out of the woodwork when the traditional celebrations are over.

The decrease of real estate activity for this holiday season is more apparent every day. If past trends apply, this decrease will continue until the 5 or 6 days before Christmas when it virtually bottoms out for the year. But the day after Christmas the phones miraculously begin to ring again ... and email software begins chiming again marking a spike of activity that usually lasts well into January.

Since most agents find themselves with a little extra time on their hands I encourage them to plan ahead in preparation for this little serving of gravy that comes around every year. Submit copy for print ads, schedule open houses and floor time, and take care of all the mundane chores that interfere with your face time in front of prospective clients. It will get harder and harder to generate new business over the next three weeks. But if you're ready you can reap a little early winter harvest and get a jump on the new year.

Washington Real Estate Commission Meeting

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 11:09:08 -0600

The agenda for Washington State's Real Estate Commission meeting arrived earlier this week. I've been interested in these meetings for some time and plan to attend.

The meeting is 0:00 AM next Monday, December 3rd at the Double Tree Hotel in Seatac.

I am particularly interested in the Education Sub-Committee's Report and meeting those commissioners. Future issues have my concern more that the current items on their portion of the agenda.

The Changing Business Practices Sub-Committee is also reporting on the potential use of Licensee Finger Printing and we'll hear from the Mortgage Sub-Committee.

You can sign up to receive Commission notices at the WA DOL Real Estate Home page ... www.dol.wa.gov/business/realestate/

Washington real estate top performing markets (Late-Nov 07)

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 21:00:34 -0600

I'm back on schedule for our bi-monthly market updates. This represents our November end of month update compared with numbers from our mid month update of our highest demand real estate markets in Washington State. It indicates the markets where we feature the most listings and also where the most buyers are currently looking for on-line real estate information.

Top Ten Washington Counties ...
Buyer attention returned to the Seattle Metro areas of Pierce, Snohomish and King County.

Late-Nov 2007

Pierce
King
Island
Skagit
Snohomish
San Juan
Okanogan
Grays Harbor
Whatcom
Lewis

Mid-Nov 2007

Island
Skagit
Pierce
King
Snohomish
Okanogan
San Juan
Thurston
Grays Harbor
Lewis

Top 50 Washington Cities ...

Late-Nov 2007

Oak Harbor
Gig Harbor
Seattle
San Juan Island
Puyallup
Sedro Woolley
Mount Vernon
Arlington
Marysville
Tacoma
Maple Valley
Burlington
Camano Island
Everett
Concrete
Packwood
Omak
Anacortes
Hoquiam
Stanwood
Aberdeen
Chimacum
Tulalip
Cle Elum
Port Orchard
Issaquah
Redmond
Edgewood
Sammamish
Snohomish
Bellingham
Auburn
Lake Stevens
Lakewood
Greenbank
Granite Falls
Coupeville
Federal Way
Montesano
Riverside
Okanogan
Renton
Grayland
Raymond
Maple Falls
Kent
Randle
Shaw Island
Spanaway
Blaine

Mid-Nov 2007

Oak Harbor
Gig Harbor
Seattle
Marysville
Mount Vernon
Sedro Woolley
Omak
Burlington
Tacoma
San Juan Island
Maple Valley
Puyallup
Yelm
Camano Island
Everett
Coupeville
Packwood
Concrete
Chimacum
Riverside
Olympia
Issaquah
Hoquiam
Port Orchard
Arlington
Lakewood
Aberdeen
Auburn
Ocean Shores
Grayland
Anacortes
Greenbank
Redmond
Snohomish
Lake Stevens
Bellingham
Sammamish
Granite Falls
Stanwood
Shaw Island
Maple Falls
Blaine
Elma
Randle
Raymond
Renton
Moses Lake
Bow
Montesano
Fox Island

I plan to update this again in mid-December.

Holiday SPAM

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 19:48:36 -0600

Have you noticed a dramatic rise in SPAM email recently? Ours seems to have increased substantially. A significant amount of these are related to holiday solicitations and Christmas shopping. I've also noticed some new spoofing attempts disguised as Ebay, Bank of America, etc.

One of our property management Broker customers just let us know that he is receiving about 30 SPAM emails per hour. Up until the last few days he received very few of these nuisances. To help him reduce this we're tightening up his SPAM filters a couple of notches and eliminating his "catch all" email capabilities. This increases the chance that he may miss a legitimate business related message but he is willing to accept that risk. It is a shame that we have to resort to extreme measures just so he can better manage his business.

Reasons NOT to use Widgets

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 10:41:28 -0600

This morning the widgets plugged into a blog I wanted to comment on caused my computer to lock up for quite some time. So I thought that I'd start a list of reasons to not use them ...

Most Widgets choke search engine spiders and defeat the SEO value of your blogging efforts (MOST IMPORTANT REASON).
Most Widgets plant spy-ware and tracking cookies on your visitor's computers (YOU DIDN'T REALLY THINK THEY WERE FREE DID YOU?)
All Widgets decrease your blog's usability by slowing down the load time of all your blog pages ... decreasing the number of visitors and amount of time spent on your blog.
Some Widgets interfere with Virus Protection software and conflict with Firewalls.
Some Widgets create an unprofessional impression about you ... even so far as making you look silly (NUFF SAID)

Please excuse my ranting. Feel free to add more reasons with your comments.

Internet Connection Troubleshooting

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 16:59:38 -0600

We commonly receive calls from customers having problems connecting to the web or email even though that is part of their ISP's support role (we're just easier to call). The usual symptoms are "connection" errors returned by Outlook or "cannot find" errors returned by Internet Explorer.

Before navigating your ISP's support call center you may want to follow these steps ...

Power down your PC, modem and router (if you have a network). Modems and routers usually have a 12 volt power adaptor that is easy to disconnect.
Wait a few seconds and plug in the power to your modem. After a minute it should be reset and the lights blinking normally.
Plug in your router ... depending on the model it should be reset within 30 seconds.
Turn on your PC and wait for it to fully start up. Try checking your email or viewing a web page.

If this doesn't work give your support techs a call. When they ask you to stop and restart your PC, modem & router you can reply that you have already done that. This will speed up the call and resolution of any other problems.

Remember that you're the boss and your computer is supposed to do what you tell it.

Black Friday

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 00:01:17 -0600

The retail looks forward to this day (Black Friday) with anticipation of taking their profit and loss balance sheets from the "red" and into the "black".

I have another view of today. This is the first business day of the holiday season and the market traditionally plummets. There will be very little there for agents to scratch up until December 26th. On the day after Christmas real estate activity usually spikes and continues to surge until mid January.

This isn't the time to beat your head against the wall trying to rustle up new business and likewise it isn't the time to just quit and take four weeks off. Take the pulse of your business by contacting your past clients and reevaluating your marketing plan. Make adjustments now so that you're in good position to exploit the bonus activity occurring around the new year. If you wait, you'll miss out on a serving of gravy.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 19:55:51 -0600

I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday. Like many people, we spent a very significant portion of the day on the road. First with a two hour trip to Aberdeen visiting the aging segment of our family. This whirlwind gathering was capped off with a delicioussandwich and salid brunch followed by another two hour road trip back home.

Our returned home initiated the relaxing portion of our day ... celebrating with a feast that would rival any Thanksgiving meal prepared by our ancestors. Our meal began with a traditional sharing of what each of us are thankful for. In their own way everyone voiced that we are blessed with abundance and extremely wealthy when compared to the average inhabitant of our planet.

Like most buyers and sellers, each of us will become overwhelmed with holiday events for the next month. Don't forget that the simultaneous slump is over on Christmas Day. At the same time remember to enjoy the season to it's fullest.

DRIPs

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:26:18 -0600

I'm curious if many agents are getting results from DRIP marketing campaigns. (results in the form of closed transactions)

I've always held that ours is a "people business" that requires relationships. Most DRIP real estate marketing material that I've seen is obviously canned and not at all personal. It's hard for me to grasp how any bonding with the recipients can occur. Granted that your name and number may be handy for them but without some deeper commitment there isn't anything to prevent them from dealing with the first REALTOR that crosses their path.

With the tightening of the mortgage industry the first thing that must occur with new Buyers is loan prequalification. Without face to face contact and confirmation from a loan officer odds are that we're just wasting time with Looky Loos.

I appreciate any success stories you can share.

WA Web Site Trends Oct 07

Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com) — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:11:15 -0600

This data compares websites for companies based in Washington that also cross the border into other states (mostly in the western states).

Multi-State Sites:
The Windermere and Redfin sites held steady while the other sites slipped somewhat. It always surprises me when the Windermere and John L. Scott sites behave oppositely. They are so very close in many aspects. The usual seasonal trend predicts a substantial drop from now until January. It will be interesting to see how this graphs out for the rest of 2007.

Thanks for stopping by!