Amazing Real Estate Marketing?

Well, I just ran across an article on Digg that was an uh...unusual type of real estate news. 

Seems that a 40ish Realtor in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida is divorced with kids and not doing so well in her chosen career...despite the California blonde look and size 36 DDD chest that genetics would be hard pressed to duplicate.  I know the real estate sales are a bit slow in Florida, but this about takes the cake.

According to ABC News, she's got an ad on Ebay and Craigslist to sell her house, along with herself as part of the furniture. In true Ebay style, the auction is complete with suggestive photos of the agent, the house, and two teenaged daughters that one might wonder about.

She writes in the ad that the buyer will live a "never-ending dream of real love and romance with the vibrant, outstanding woman of his dreams."  No pushing and shoving, now guys.  Everyone can apply.

Oh, and as an aside, the house is a 4 bedroom, 2000 sq.ft. deal with neutral colors and Berber carpet. 

I guess if you can't sell real estate the traditional way, it can pay to add some sex in the deal for added marketing potential.  In fact, mixed in the 600-plus Realtor "friends" I have on MySpace, about a third of the women look like strippers or ex-strippers.  They have photos of themselves in bikinis, mini-skirts, lingerie, you name it.  Have ya'll noticed that?

The Ebay auction hasn't gotten any bidders yet despite a starting bid of only 99 cents.  Must be the shipping cost of $500K that is limiting the interested bidders.  The article does go on to say that she's got some guy from Italy flying in to meet her though...Leave it to an Italian stallion to help a damsel in distress.

I have to say that this real estate crisis is frightening.  If the agents are getting this desperate, (or would that be the BUYER who is desperate?) they might start including their beloved pets in the sale too.  The thought of seeing pictures of a terrified and embarrassed persian cat in the nude makes me want to beg Donald Trump to help.

The Myrtle Beach real estate market is not quite that bad, and in fact prices are starting to rise again.  If you have been waiting to buy that cheap oceanfront property, don't wait much longer!  We unfortunately have an over-abundance of topless bars here that the city would love to shut down, and could be the next place that Digg makes famous for unique real estate marketing.  It could make our prices shoot to the moon.

Marketing Real Estate with Video

I've long been preaching to my Realtor friends that they need to buy a camera and start making short videos of their properties.  I've seen several agents doing it, and I think it's an excellent way to market your listings - or other listings if you don't have one yourself.  I don't understand why it isn't utilized more.  As a buyer's agent or listing agent, you always visit homes and condos for sale.  Why would you not bring a little camera and film the property?

I have a friend, Sunny Yates, who sells Charlotte real estate (North Carolina) and understands the value of video promotions.  She also has a top ranking website, www.sunnyyates.com.  I've seen a couple of the videos tonight, and was literally floored with them, and what an excellent marketing tool this can be.

One was a short, narrated video of some of Sunny's Charlotte MLS listings, and the other two are interviews with some of her affluent clients.

The first interview was with the NASCAR CHIC, who fell in love with and purchased a waterfront home on Lake Norman.  As a former Jersey resident, she expresses what she enjoys about living on the lake.  She and Sunny talk about her likes and interests, and of course, Nascar.  She shows some clips of the boats and describes their great life in the beautiful Lake Norman community. 

The next interview was promoting Charlotte real estate, again with a Lake Norman resident.  I really think videos like these would go a long way into convincing someone to choose that neighborhood when relocating to the area. 

Not only do these kinds of videos promote the property, but if a real estate agent has the looks and personality to be good on video, it can promote the agent as well.  Anyone who sees these videos cannot help but be impressed, and a potential seller would see that she can advertise their home in ways that most Realtors never even think about.

According to Nielson and CNN Money, YouTube had 69 million visitors during the month of May.  Is this not astounding?  I think you should promote the videos through emails and in print, but YouTube's ready made (and free) traffic is there for the taking.  There are also ways to make the videos show up in the search engines. 

The big engines are moving closer and closer to bringing mixed media into the search results - sprinkling videos, blogs, and news articles in with webpages.  As they work on perfecting the results that most please their users, the use of videos, and especially YouTube and Google videos are going to become extremely important to marketers.  With the real estate slump that is going on around us, anything an agent can do to attract a buyer should be utilized and learned.

Like a website, you should use your key search terms in the video title, put a link to your website in the video description box, and take the time to type in a couple of paragraphs describing your property, or your interview or walk-thru.  Better yet, make a transcript of the video and enter it in the place provided.

Use several good key-terms in the description as well.  Submit your video to the various social and bookmarking sites, with optimized titles and descriptions.  Have a section on your website that links to the videos.  Take the time to write a blog posting about them and link to them from it.

Done correctly, you can promote the video that promotes yourself or your properties, and gain a tremendous edge over 90% of the other real estate agents who sit in the office and wait on the phone to ring.  Truthfully, everything you do that promotes your website will reward you 10 times over if you take the time to do a quality job and learn how to get the search engines to notice.

Thankfully, there will be a need for real estate SEO providers for a while yet, and the good ones will teach their clients about videos, blogging, and all the other marketing methods that go hand in hand with websites and search engine traffic.  Choosing a "real" seo expert out of all the rip-off companies gets harder all the time. But it's well worth the effort to find one who is experienced in real estate marketing and can help you with ideas and techniques to make that sale.

Myrtle Beach Resorts Are Offering Gas Discounts

In an effort to offset the higher gas prices and boost vacation sales for Myrtle Beach condos and resorts, several are taking advantage of "gas rebates".

The Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce sent out a newsletter today that mentions some nice discounts and rebates being offered by Ocean Creek Resort, Grande Dunes, and others. 

Like the old-time marketing of timeshares, this would be an ideal way for anyone interested in looking at Myrtle Beach real estate to take advantage of the discounts to visit for a few days and view some properties.

Here are some of the vacation deals they mention in the newsletter:

Litchfield Real Estate Company is offering a $50 dining card to their vacation guests.  Pawleys Island condos and Surfside Beach vacation homes would benefit from this nice offering.

The Marina Inn at Grande Dunes says they will give a 10 cents per mile rebate to vacationers booking this elegant luxury resort.  If you're coming from far away, this would be the one to take advantage of!

Sea Watch Resort will accept a gasoline receipt for 24 hours prior to arrival, and refund up to $75 for a 3 night stay, or $100 for 4 nights or longer.  That is a great discount!

The beautiful Ocean Creek Resort is offering 25% off on stays of 4 nights or longer. Depending on the type and price of these North Myrtle Beach condos that you choose, this could mount up to a great discount package as well.

If you have been thinking of coming down to look at the best deals on real estate available in Myrtle Beach, this is an excellent opportunity to combine a wonderful vacation on the Grand Strand with your trip to look at some of our condos and homes.  Prices are at rock bottom lows right now, and you couldn't pick a better time to buy. 

If you Contact The Myrtle Beach Condo Store, we'll be glad to help you with finding a place to stay, and show you the best deals on Myrtle Beach vacation real estate to be found!  You can also call us toll-free at 1-877-839-0005 and let us help you find that perfect vacation home of your own.

See our other blog -  Myrtle Beach Real Estate News

Real Estate Marketing  by Myrtle Beach Web Design, Inc.

Foreclosure Woes - Paying Taxes on Real Estate You Lost

Although the federal government made a small concession for primary homeowners in crisis this year through tax exemptions on foreclosure losses, the average Joe who dipped into real estate investing and is now going for bankruptcy or just foreclosure will be in a world of hurt.

So many middle class families and individuals got into buying second homes or condos for vacation and investment during the real estate boom and are now victims of the mortgage crisis.  They are finding it impossible to keep - even with renters.  A huge ARM loan payment increase isn't going to be possible to meet in most cases.  If it's the home you live in, foreclosure is the only way out, sad but necessary in some cases.

With passing the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, which is effective from Jan. 1, 2007, through Dec. 31, 2009, a homeowner does not have to pay tax on debt forgiven by a lender (the deficiency balance) - if the loan is backed by the property the homeowner lives in.

Unfortunately, if you bought a vacation condo when you really couldn't afford it, and now you let it go, the difference between what the bank foreclosure sale brings and how much you borrowed is considered INCOME, and you are responsible for paying income taxes on it in 2007. 

The New York Times quotes a bankruptcy lawyer in Stockton, California who says that most attorneys, even those familiar with bankruptcy, aren't considering this when they are advising their clients to get out from under the debt.  For instance, say an investor borrowed $200,000 on an oceanfront condo in Myrtle Beach.  He qualified for the mortgage even though his income is nowhere near enough to support the true payments on such a loan.  The interest rate jumped up and now the payments are such that even our summertime rentals can't touch them.

The buyer now goes into foreclosure, and the bank gets $150,000 at an auction. That unfortunate investor-who-shouldn't-have-been is going to be paying income taxes on the $50,000 difference! Even bankruptcy doesn't help this nightmare.

The National Association of Realtors reports about 7.5 million vacation homes in the US, and says that those numbers rose 18 percent from 2002 to 2007.  The problem is compounded when those second homes go to foreclosure, and it lowers the value of all the other comparables...whether they are primary or vacation homes.  Condo sales will drop throughout the development with numerous foreclosures, and then even those living there can't sell with a profit.

In places such as Las Vegas, 60 percent of the foreclosures in 2007 were from investment real estate.  They report that so far this year, 60 percent of them are PRIMARY homeowners now...brought low by falling values from the investors bowing out.

Some attornies are hoping that talking the banks into signing an agreement that states "foreclosure fully satisfies all obligations under the loan" will prevent the IRS from treating the forgiven amount as income, but so far it's untested and there are no court decisions to decide until they try it.

If you are considering an investment in a foreclosure in Myrtle Beach, or any kind of Myrtle Beach real estate, the Myrtle Beach Condo Store offers expert help to locate the best property for your needs.  From 1031 Exchange to luxury homes on the golf course, we can assist.

See our Myrtle Beach Blog!

2008 Could Be the End of the Housing Slump?

Wall Street Journal columnist Cyril Moulle-Berteaux predicts the real estate slump will end in 2008, in his recent opinion column The Housing Crisis is Over.

He makes a very good argument for his opinion, reminding us that the current housing bust is now nearly 3 years old! 

Hard to believe, isn't it?  2005 saw the peak of it all, when we were getting 50 leads a day and realtors were little more than order-takers.  Here it is in mid 2008, and real estate agents everywhere have left their careers, many because they came on board when they didn't have to SELL, but do little more than answer the phone, reply to emails, and cherry-pick the leads.

According to the journalist, New Home sales are now down 63% from then, and new construction is less than 1/2 of what it was, back to the levels of 1982.

Mr. Moulle-Berteaux writes:

"The boom made housing unaffordable for many American families, especially first-time home buyers. During the 1990s and early 2000s, it took 19% of average monthly income to service a conforming mortgage on the average home purchased. By 2005 and 2006, it was absorbing 25% of monthly income. For first time buyers, it went from 29% of income to 37%. That just proved to be too much.

Prices got so high that people who intended to actually live in the houses they purchased (as opposed to speculators) stopped buying. This caused the bubble to burst.

Since then, house prices have fallen 10%-15%, while incomes have kept growing (albeit more slowly recently) and mortgage rates have come down 70 basis points from their highs. As a result, it now takes 19% of monthly income for the average home buyer, and 31% of monthly income for the first-time home buyer, to purchase a house. In other words, homes on average are back to being as affordable as during the best of times in the 1990s. Numerous households that had been priced out of the market can now afford to get in."

The author opines that in the past five major housing market crashes and corrections, when home sales bottomed, prices starting rising.  He says that in 1974, 1982, and 1991, total market inventory got to 11 months of supply, and within 6 months, price declines slowed.

He says that inventories will drop to 7 months of supply by the end of 2008, and although the magic number is 5 months (he predict by 2009) there will be a significant impact on the prices this year.

Also, mortgage rates are presently at 5.7% for a 30 year fixed rate.  In the 70's and 80's, it was in the teens - a big difference in payments and who can or cannot afford to buy.  With lower payment come less foreclosures.  Foreclosures lower market values which lowers prices, so everything working together will bring us back in the game.

Resort homes and condos in Myrtle Beach are traditionally more of an investor driven market, so may not follow the exact path of regular housing, but it's still a ray of light and hope in the horizon for Myrtle Beach real estate sales overall.

See our websites for the available Myrtle Beach MLS listings and find the best deals on Myrtle Beach condos for sale.  Coming soon, a new website for cheap oceanfront property on both coasts.

See our real estate blog for Canadians!

Myrtle Beach Real Estate Not the Worst

CNN compiled a list of the cities and markets that were suffering with foreclosures and lowered real estate values faster than the rest.  There weren't really many surprises, and thankfully Myrtle Beach homes and condos, though falling in price, are not yet on the list of the heaviest losers.

CNN says they used data from a San Francisco based MLS tracking service call Zip Realty to compile the following:

Number 10 on the list...
Atlanta GA with prices down 7.1%, blamed on overbuilding in the condo market and high foreclosure rates in other, poorer counties in Georgia.

Number 9 on the list...
Detroit, MI with prices down 7.7%, blamed on the cities economic woes as much as the market.  Also the subprime lending in the Detroit area was heavy.

Number 8 for losing market value...
Jacksonville, FL at 8.7%.  According to CNN, Jacksonville never had the price boom that the rest of the resort areas enjoyed, which meant less overpricing to accommodate for.  Still 8.7% is pretty bad in my book.

Number 7 is no surprise...
Phoenix, AZ down 9.5%.  Phoenix had the real estate boom like Florida and Vegas.  They say there are a whopping 51,643 homes on the market now...wow!

Number 6 was a bit of a surprise...
Miami Florida at 10.6%.  I would have guessed they would be in the top 2 or 3. They say there are 80,000 homes for sale and the sellers are refusing to drop the prices.  (Probably can't without a short-sale) The market in Miami is therefore stagnant with few deals to be had and buyers sitting on the fence.

Number 5 I would have guessed lower as well...
Los Angeles, CA down 10.7%.  From what I've read, California seemed to suffer the most from the sub-prime ripoffs and every kind of scam to go with it.  Los Angeles home prices are to the roof anyway, and foreclosures are high.  There are over 100,000 homes on the market in this city right now!

Number 4 highest in pricing woes...
Tampa Florida, with prices lowered to 11.7%.  Like most of Florida, the "condo flippers" were heavy here, and building escalated while prices rose too fast.  When the bottom fell out, most of the buyers were investors who tossed in the cookies and went home to sulk.  56,386 homes for sale.

Number 3 is no surprise from last year's headlines...
San Diego, CA at 17.1% loss of market value is paying for the unrealistic price climbs they enjoyed in 2005.  They do say that sellers are reducing the asking prices accordingly.

Number 2 - I would have bet it would be the top one...
Las Vegas prices dropped by 17.2%.  Vegas is still enjoying a good market, according to my realtor friends there.  But the foreclosures and short-sales are huge.  Vegas real estate was largely investor buying, and when that stops, it all stops.

They are, however, using up their inventory quickly, and in the long run it may help their overall market.  I was surprised to learn from my friend that the problem was affecting single family homes in nearby Henderson, NV as well as the luxury condos surrounding the strip.

The All-Time Number One Worst...
Sacramento, CA.  They say it was overbuilt to the hilt (pun and rhyme intended).  Foreclosures are extremely high, and almost half of the sellers have relisted with lower prices in an attempt to sell their homes.

It may seem to our local realtors that times are hard, but compared to these areas, we are doing very well.  According to Realtytimes.com, we are only at 2.5% lowered pricing, and 97% of sellers will get their asking price.  It is taking from 6 months to a year to complete a sale, however.   It's a great time to find cheap oceanfront property 

Oddly, I saw in the local paper, The Sun News, that some of the condos here were at almost a 20% lowering in price.  I suspect this difference is between the prices of the newer Myrtle Beach resorts for sale now, which were overpriced from the start, and the existing condos that increased dramatically, but not to the extent of the new ones.  Like always, though, the media loves to exagerate and cry doom all the time.

Myrtle Beach Web Design is now affiliated with the local Keller Williams Group, and we hope to help them increase sales and be the best Real Estate Agency in Myrtle Beach!  See our other blog for Myrtle Beach Condos for Sale .

Tax Deductions for PMI Insurance on Mortgages

According to the Wall Street Journal, there is a new tax break for 2008 that will help some home buyers across the nation.

Those familiar with mortgages know that we often get saddled with an add-on charge to a new mortgage called PMI, or Private Mortgage Insurance.

If you've financed a home AFTER January of 2007 and make under $100,000 in adjusted gross income, you can use this additional fee charged as a deduction on your 2007 income tax.

The usual reason lenders tack on the PMI fees is because you've put less of a down payment than they like.  Another little known fact is that as soon as the balance of your mortgage reaches the crucial point, usually 80% of the appraisd value, you can request the PMI be dropped, and if your account has been kept current, they are obligated to do so. This can really lower your payments as well.  The kicker is, YOU HAVE TO REQUEST IT.  They won't be suggesting it to you, by any means.  But until that point, if you financed your home with less than an 80% down payment, it will be nice to have that extra tax deduction.

All lenders don't require the PMI fees, and with this new constantly irritating habit they have of selling your mortgage multiple times, you can also get lucky and have the extra amount dropped by the new mortgage company that has purchased your contract.  Now if they would just lay down rules to prevent the lenders from swapping you back and forth at whim, I would be happy

Search the Myrtle Beach Real Estate MLS with our new websites.  Don't fill out any nosy forms until you need to contact us.  Have new listings of Myrtle Beach condos come directly to your email, and learn about South Carolina's best kept golf community secret, Pawleys Island Real Estate.

Pawley's Island Real Estate

Well, it's official that we (David, Mike and I) are now working to do marketing for our local Keller Williams Real Estate agency.  We haven't ironed out the details yet, but we're going to have a marketing company and do what we can to help the many KW agents in and around Myrtle Beach.

The first area we are going to target is Pawleys Island real estate and Pawleys Plantation.  There is a big KW presence in Pawleys and Litchfield, and I think we can help them to get some internet interest from buyers.

I've put up some pages just for Pawleys Island homes, and more will come.  It's one of the most beautiful areas in the Grand Strand, and anyone who doesn't want the hustle and bustle and tourist traffic should consider the Pawleys/Litchfield area to relocate.

I have a friend, Joe Russo that used to live in Willbrook before he moved back to Connecticutt, so I'm somewhat familiar with that development...and it is so impressive.  Golf course homes are some of the most beautiful places to live anyway, and those lowcountry plantation-designed courses in Pawleys are some kind of elegant.

More to come.  We have to choose a name for our company and have SOOOO much work to do!

Forbes Magazine Reports on "Moderate" Real Estate Markets?

Undervalued Markets?? Wow! Come to Myrtle Beach!

Forbes magazine has identified five cities where the economy is roaring but home prices are still moderate. MODERATE? By whose standards, I wonder?

You can buy one of the finest 2-3 bedroom Myrtle Beach oceanfront condos around for under a half million...WELL under, in many cases. I would say the average brand new North Myrtle Beach home about 3 blocks from the ocean will run less than $400K. Granted you aren't going to get a huge lot for that price...but who cares when you can walk to the beach?  Anyway, here is what Forbes considers a great bargain...

Charlotte, N.C.-
Forbes says this is one of the cheapest markets in the country on a per-square-foot basis. It is a career hub, and the market is still strong there...but it's not a "pretty" place to live. Not unless you can afford to be on Lake Norman. And that is probably a good bit more than what Forbes says a typical four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath home on a quarter of an acre is selling for - about $550,000. Not my idea of living in paradise.

San Francisco-
The technology and biotech sectors of the economy in the Bay Area continue to grow and there is no build up of housing inventory here. A typical four- bedroom, two-bath home sells for about $800,000. Now they have beauty...but all those HILLS! And if you are morally objectional to alternate sexual lifestyles, this won't be your favorite place...:-)

Seattle-
Seattle missed the condo boom because multi-family residential construction was slow in Seattle in 2002 and 2003. Now, Seattle condo real estate values are climbing at the fastest pace of any condo market in the country, according to Radar Logic, a real estate research firm. An attractive two-bedroom, two-bath, downtown condo property with panoramic views of city and Elliott Bay is selling for about $1 million. Now...let's take into consideration that you will spend over half the year enjoying rainy weather. And the winters are brutal. And I swear, I read somewhere many years ago that something like 80% of all the serial killers that are known are from Seattle!

Boston-
The housing market in the trendy Back Bay has slowed, while Boston's downtown and waterfront areas are attracting buyers interested in living near its booming tech businesses. A one-bedroom, one-bath condo with a view of Boston Harbor sells for less than $650,000. One bedroom for $600K???? Yikes! And I'm not sure about this, but it seems like I remember hearing the crime rate in Boston is nothing to twirl a switchblade at. And those cold winters??

New York City- We have a video of Donald Trump that I recorded off the Larry King Live show...and Trump elaborates on how Manhattan is in a world of its own as far as the real estate market is concerned. He says it's hotter than a firecracker right now. Forbes says a condo in a pre-World War I building with two bedrooms and one bath in the Financial District is selling for about $750,000. OUCH. But I guess if you enjoy a place like New York, and you have to work there, that's pretty good news. I guess...

Now, how about the closest thing to Paradise if you don't count Florida and some of the Caribbean Islands? Myrtle Beach is the place, compared to what I've read above. Our market is slow right now...all the better for a smart buyer! But you can have a luxury oceanfront penthouse in the fanciest Myrtle Beach resort for about the same price as that 2 bedroom yucky building that overlooks a dirty sidewalk in New York.

You can wake every morning to the salt air and the seagulls calling, too. Granted we don't have the nearby techo-jobs that pay in the 6 figure ballpark. But our cost of living is less. And there are plenty of jobs if you've a mind to look.

And if you can't afford a half million dollars, find a nice 3 bedroom home 3 or 4 rows off the boulevard and move in for around $300,000. Move out a mile from the beach and get a beautiful golf course condo from $100K to $250K. Look hard and you can find a one bedroom around for under a hundred thousand.

Our winters are mild. Our summers are HOT. Our springs and falls are heavenly. I think we've got attractions that rival anywhere except maybe downtown Manhattan.  Maybe the Forbes people need to pay us a visit!

Source of figures: Forbes, Matt Woolsey (11/13/2007), and Realtor.org (11/26/2007).
Opinion by Myrtle Beach Web Design