Did you happen to take notice about what happened yesterday? 

Google unveiled their new real time search...  what's that you ask? It's what's happening right now.  Right there in your search results!

OK so it's only for hot trends right now like the Tiger Woods stuff but soon, as you run a Google search you could start to see something new in your results.  Dynamic real time feeds coming from Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace. 

So what's next?  Blog posts streaming live in a Google search?

Yup - I read where they will also be pulling in other data not only from blogs, but videos, new websites, and images. 

All to show you what's happening right now.

I know there are still nay-sayers out there about Twitter - but let's stop and think about how it's changed stuff for us in just a very short time frame.  Our world is changing and it's changing right now...

So it won't be long before you'll be able to Google just about anything you want to know - about something happening right now... take a look at this video and see what's new.  I had to watch it a couple of times myself.  Personally I think this is big ~ really big...

Not to mention what it could do for us here in Active Rain as -  we 166,293 strong and counting are out their blogging...

Ok all you TweetDeck fans out there - you won't want to miss this new version! TweetDeck v0.32 just got better!

I downloaded the new version yesterday and have been overwhelmed with the new features!

New features like a quick the new retweeting button that puts both images on the retweet with a quick click...

Tweetdeck now seamlessly integrates other social networking platforms like LikedIn & FaceBook now too.

But there's much more so I best just pass on the video below for you to see & learn for yourself! 

Lately the news about the extension of the $8,000 First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit and it's expanded reach to all home buyers is getting a lot of attention and questions.  President Obama has approved the Housing Tax Credit Expansion and Extension. I've gotten a few questions about it over the last few days so thought I'd set out the details of the bill.

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, qualified first-time homebuyers may receive a tax credit up to $8,000. President Obama’s bill extends this program into 2010.

• Eligible for homes with purchase agreements signed by April 30, 2010, and closed by June 30, 2010

• Available to first-time homebuyers who have not owned a home during the past three years

• Credit amount up to 10% of the home’s value, not to exceed $8,000

• Buyers qualified for full tax credit are single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and joint filers with incomes up to $225,000

President Obama’s new bill also provides up to $6,500 tax credit to current home owners who purchase a new primary residence.  Eligible for homes with purchase agreements written by April 30, 2010, and that close between November 6, 2009 and June 30, 2010

• Qualified home buyers must have lived in their current home for 5 consecutive years of the last 8 years

• Maximum purchase price of the home is $800,000

• Single tax filers who earn up to $125,000 are eligible for the total credit amount. Partial credit can be granted for incomes up to $145,000.

• Joint filers who earn up to $225,000 are eligible for the total credit amount. Partial credit can be granted for incomes up to $245,000.

It's the $6,500 Tax Credit for Current Home Owners that's really news.  Right now with interest rates at an all time low, inventory is still healthy here in the Triangle but the competition (other listings) starts to dwindle during the holiday months leading up to the end of the year.  It will be interesting to watch what our market does in January. 

If you have questions or would like to find out more about the tax credits - let's chat...

Time to take a look at the Wake County Market Report for October 2009.  

Below are the final numbers for detached homes as reported in our Triangle Multiple Listing Service which includes Apex, Cary, Fuquay Varina, Garner, Holly Springs, Raleigh, Wake Forest areas. 

Remember the graphs below in this Wake County October 2009 Market Report  are ONLY for detached homes in Wake County... 

Active Detached homes during the month of October

Detached homes that went under contract during the month of October

Closed Detached homes (sold)during the month of October

The Market Indicator still points to Wake County being a buyers market

One of the things I like to watch is the showing activity for our area.  How are we doing with showings?  Below is the report from CSS (Centralized showing service) indicating the total number of showings for all of the TMLS area (Triangle Multiple Listing Service) for 2009 showings:

The graph to the right represents everything Active & SOLD in Wake County for the past 3 months.  As you can see the average list price when taking into consideration all types of properties comes down to just over $240,00 (as opposed to just over $388,000 for detached homes)

The graph to the left represents the average price per square foot for all active detached listings Active & SOLD in Wake County for the past 3 months. 

*The sale price per square foot is computed by dividing the sale price for each property by the number of heated square feet for that property.  The sale price per square foot computations are summed and then divided by the number of properties sold in a given month.  

If no sale price is recorded, that property is not included in the calculations.  The Average Sale Price Per Square Foot report may be computed for a location specified by state, county, city, subdivision, or street. 

Let's explore just who's inquiring into the Triangle Real Estate Market?  Below you'll see just who's making the most inquiries and from which states...

We'll continue to watch as the news of the 1st time home buyers $8,000 tax credit has been extended and the tax extension to include everyone starts to seep in.  I think we could see a very active market here during the first quarter of 2010.

Here's a great video that shows just what all this social networking/marketing is actually doing in today's terms.  You can't pick up a magazine, read an online post, or sit through a marketing meeting without the topic coming up.  Just who IS making money using Social media marketing?  AND just what is the ROI for all the time it takes to become proficient using this marketing platform.

The truth is it's not just the real estate market that is catching the social scene.

Take Gary Vaynerchuk from New Jersey for instance.  He took his small family run company from $4 million in sales to $50 million using social media in about 3+ years.  He  reports that back in 2006 having spent $15,000 in a direct mail campaign brought him 200 new clients.  Today he spends $0 on Twitter and he attracts 1,800 new customers.  What's his product?  WINE!  Check him out at WineLibraryTV.com.  He's a wealth of information.

Want more?  This video will set the facts straight...  just check out some of these impressive stats from heavy hitters like Lenova, Burger King, Dell, Ford, VW,  Susan G Komen for the Cure, intuit (turbo tax), and of course Barack Obama.

Thanks to rainer Kathy Drewien for sharing this video - I hope it makes as much of impression on you as it did me...

Thanks Katerina & Nestor for finding this for us!  There isn't a person in AR that won't want to send their postcard - just think - that's 165,103 postcards off to our brave men & woman serving us! 

Reblog, retweet, or use whatever way you can to get this message out! 

Xerox prints out the postcards and then these cards go into the care packages that Givetothetroops® sends to our soldiers.

Brilliant Xerox - simply and truly brilliant!!!

First of all let me start off by saying I am NOT an expert on Twitter by any means!  But like you, I'm hearing so much chatter over and about Twitter these days.  The comments I hear range from I just don't get it to I set up a twitter account but now what... to the I've sold XX number of homes using Twitter.

There doesn't seem to be a shortage of people out there tagging themselves as "experts" these days.  They boost about their successes and knowledge on Twitter.  And that's great.   You'll find them feverishly tweeting through meetings, family gatherings even classes about Twitter.  I really hope that what they say IS true.  It's really important because twitter is such a misunderstood business tool.

But I needed a way to find out how can I substantiate those claims?  As someone that has started learning about how to use twitter in my business as a Realtor® I would like to learn more ~ but from where and from whom?  How can I find out if I'm measuring up?  How do I compare to others that do have more experience than I do on Twitter?

Well I found a fantastic site called Twitter-Friends.com.  It's a tool that I can use to monitor how I'm doing on twitter, learn where I need to improve, and even check on those so called "experts" before I start to listen to their teachings...  Jason Annas @jasonannas does a fantastic job of explaining more about what really matters on Twitter in his blog Steps to Successful Twitter users.

So I hope that you'll find this site useful as you analyze your habits, improve, and become better on twitter. 

And I'd love to connect just follow us @RaleighOnline.

Wow - this is the best news I've heard in a long time.  Now let's make sure that the Senate passes this House resolution bill #3548.  Remember that is still takes 45-60 days to close once you've decided on that perfect place to call home. AND that in order to qualify for this terrific tax credit this time there is an added stipulation - YOU MUST BE UNDER CONTRACT BY APRIL 30TH.

Thanks Penny for a great article: