Sean Cutright's blog on Delta Media Group

Delta Media Group at REAL Trends Gathering of Eagles conference

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Thu, 07 May 2009 08:46:49 -0500

Delta Media Group is attending the 2009 REAL Trends Gathering of Eagles conference in Irving, Texas this week.

Delta Media Group Vice President Jonathan Blood was invited to speak on a panel at the Gathering of Eagles conference for the second consecutive year, on the topic of real estate websites.

The REAL Trends Gathering of Eagles is one of the real estate industry's most exclusive conferences for executives of top 500 residential real estate brokerages.

View Delta Media Group's Blog for more Gathering of Eagles conference details.

LeadingRE conference begins today in Scottsdale, Arizona

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 04:11:56 -0500

The Delta Media Group team be departing shortly for Scottsdale, Arizona to attend the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World 2009 Annual Conference, where I'll be speaking Friday morning.

My speaking panel is FutureTense: Fundamentals of Building a Killer Web Presence, scheduled for 8:45am, March 27. During the session, I will discuss improving your real estate Web presence, traffic and lead generation through Search Engine Optimization, an integrated Web marketing plan and Social Networking. I will be joining LeadingRE's Jennifer Sciortino, Towne & Country Realtors' Gerry Bourgeois, and Realty Video USA's Stephen Schweichart on the panel.

If you'll be at the conference, I'd love to meet you. If you can't attend my session, please stop by booth #15 to meet myself, Jonathan Blood and Lee Shaw of the Delta Media Group real estate technology team.

If you won't be at the conference, please visit www.SeanCutright.com or contact me at scutright@deltagroup.com for more information on my speaking session or on Delta Media Group's real estate website and lead management systems.

The numbers behind the existing home sales increase

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:25:02 -0500

From Sean Cutright's Delta Media Group blog:

The Wall Street Journal takes a closer look at the February existing homes sales increase I blogged about this morning.

According to the WSJ, "home resales climbed to a 4.72 million annual rate, a 5.1% increase from January's unrevised 4.49 million annual pace, the National Association of Realtors said Monday...

"The February resales level of 4.72 million reported Monday by NAR was above Wall Street expectations of a 4.48 million sales rate for previously owned homes. The 5.1% increase was the largest since 5.6% in July 2003."

The article went on to discuss the decline in median price for existing homes. Though this is being portrayed by the media as a bad thing, I've yet to talk to a real estate broker or owner that would agree. Most believe home prices needed to come down from the over-inflated prices we experienced from 2004-2006. The decline in prices should help "reset" the housing market, and home sales should continue to increase as result.

I'm sure this and many other real estate market topics will be discussed this weekend at the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World conference in Scottsdale, AZ, where I will be speaking. I'll keep updates of the happenings there...if you'll be in attendance, make sure to stop by booth #15 for more information on Delta Media Group.

-Sean Cutright

Home sales increase, surprising analysts...again

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:22:56 -0500

Existing home sales have unexpectedly increased again, helping boost the stock market this morning.

Yahoo! Finance has the story, which briefly mentions the exisiting homes sales increase, stating:

The [stock market] advance gained momentum after a surprise increase in sales of existing homes. Home prices fell sharply but traders were encouraged to see sales pick up rather than fall. That's the second bit of good housing news over the past week -- last Tuesday, the government issued a better-than-expected housing starts report.

Yahoo's first edition of the story was not very detailed, but I'll track down and post some better info and stats soon.

For more information on Delta Media Group's real estate website and lead management systems, contact Sean Cutright.

Another ERA Real Estate brokerage signs with Delta Media Group

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:58:43 -0600

It was a big day for Delta Media Group and ERA Real Estate brokerages.

The Canton, Ohio real estate website and lead management developer set one ERA Real Estate brokerage website live, and contracted with another ERA Real Estate company.

Delta Media Group launched ERA Lincoln Realty's new real estate brokerage website this morning, and, this afternoon, welomed ERA United Home Realty.

ERA United Home Realty is based in Cary, NC, just outside of Raleigh. The brokerage will be the first in the Raleigh, NC real estate market to use Delta Media Group as their real estate company website and lead management developer.

I'll post more information on ERA United Home Realty soon.

Contact Sean Cutright for more information on Delta Media Group's real estate company website and real estate agent website solutions.

Delta Media Group hosting one training Webinar today

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:55:52 -0600

From Sean Cutright's blog:

Delta Media Group will host one real estate training Webinar today: Introduction to the Agent Delta System.

The Webinar is aimed for beginners to the Delta Media Group real estate website and lead management system, and will teach many of the basics on the system.

The Webinar description reads:
Associates will become familiar with DeltaNet features, functions, and navigation. Topics covered during this session include Agent Login & Navigation, Lead & Contact Management, Listing Management, Preferences & Passwords, and key system features that are important to buyers and sellers.

This session is recommended for all agents that are new to the Delta Media Group System.

For more information or to register for any of Delta Media Group's Webinars, visit www.deltagroup.com/training.

If you missed the Webinar, Delta Media Group will hold another on the topic next week.

Delta Media Group launches new website for ERA Lincoln Realty

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 06:19:30 -0600

Delta Media Group just launched ERALincolnRealty.net, the new online home of ERA Lincoln Realty.

ERA Lincoln Realty's new real estate website was custom designed, complete with IDX property search, Atlas Search interactive property search map, national property search, strategic lead generation, My Home Finder portfolio system, and more.

The website is integrated with Delta Media Group's renowned real estate lead management system, which includes full lead and contact management database, drip marketing, listing optimization, eCards, company intranet, reports and analytics, and more.

ERA Lincoln Realty is an 11-agent real estate brokerage based in Ruston, Louisiana. Headed by owner Dicky Nealy, ERA Lincoln Realty specializes in homes and real estate for sale in Ruston, Louisiana; homes and real estate in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana; and homes and real estate throughout North Louisiana in Lincoln County.

ERA Lincoln Realty joins dozens of ERA brokerages using Delta Media Group as their real estate website and lead management developer. For more information on Delta Media Group's real estate website and lead management systems, contact Sean Cutright.

Delta Media Group training Webinars this week

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:56:04 -0600

Delta Media Group will host multiple training Webinars this week, starting tomorrow.

I'll post more details soon, but check Delta Media Group's Training page to follow the up-to-date schedule of training Webinars. Delta Media Group hosted four Webinars last week, and finished the week with their first Broker Advisory Committee meeting.

Not included on the Delta Media Group training page is an exclusive Webinar for Leading Real Estate Companies of the World members. The Webinar will be held Thursday, and more details will soon come.

For more information, contact Sean Cutright.

Update on Broker Advisory Committee meeting

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:52:00 -0600

Delta Media Group's first Broker Advisory Committee meeting, held Feb. 20, was a large success despite some sound issues with the Webinar software. I have a lot of good notes from the meeting that I will soon post, and will share details on the next Broker Advisory Committee meeting as soon as they are released.

Contact Sean Cutright with any questions on Delta Media Group's Webinars, Broker Advisory Committee, or real estate website and lead management systems.

Social Media usage up amongst Baby Boomers

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 08:05:31 -0600

Economies like the one we are currently in require companies to take new and creative steps to generate new business. This is especially true in the real estate industry.

It is for this reason that I've recently dedicated a good amount of time in my blog to sharing different marketing tips, articles and success stories on Social Media, and its growing role in the real estate industry.

One such article was posted a couple days ago and can be found here. It shows a large increase in Social Media usage, particularly amongst Baby Boomers, a generation many people don't necessarily associate with Social Media use.

The article states:

In 2007, the percentage of Boomers consuming social media was 46% for younger Boomers (ages 43 to 52) and 39% for older Boomers (ages 53 to 63). By 2008, those number increased to 67% and 62%, respectively.

It goes on to provide additional usage stats and how this can translate to business. The included statistics are very important, particularly for those in the real estate profession. Social Media is playing an increasingly important role in marketing to all generations, and can open up a whole new marketing opportunity to real estate brokerages and agents.

Follow www.dripmarketingblog.com for more information on how Social Media can help improve your online business, or contact Sean Cutright for more information on how real estate brokerages are using Delta Media Group's real estate website and lead management systems to increase business.

UPDATE: Broker Advisory Committee details

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 10:50:49 -0600

From Sean Cutright's real estate technology blog:

Delta Media Group will launch their first-ever Broker Advisory Committee meeting today at 1pm Eastern.

The Broker Advisory Committee Meeting is open to all owners, brokers, administrators, trainers and marketing personnel of real estate brokerages using Delta Media Group as their real estate website and lead management partner.

The Broker Advisory Committee will meet monthly via Web conference, and will offer a valuable way for real estate professionals to network and share dialogue with colleagues.

Delta Media Group posted a blog entry about the committee last month, stating:
During the Broker Advisory Committees I will be sharing and facilitating discussions on topics such as: Generating more leads now; Getting your agents to close more business; How can the company generate more business for the agents; Getting more web traffic; etc.

Click here to read Delta Media Group's blog entry about, or register for the Broker Advisory Committee meeting. Contact Sean Cutright with questions at scutright@deltagroup.com.

Broker Advisory Committee to hold first meeting today

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 08:18:00 -0600

From Sean Cutright's real estate technology blog:

The Broker Advisory Committee will have its first-ever meeting today.

This is exciting news on the Delta Media Group front, as the committee will put some of the greatest minds in real estate together to discuss ways they have used technology to increase their business.

The meeting is scheduled for 1pm Eastern, and more information will be coming soon. The committee is exclusive to those using Delta Media Group's real estate website and lead management systems. Watch www.dripmarketingblog.com for more info, or contact Sean Cutright at scutright@deltagroup.com.

$15,000 home buyer tax credit to return in original form?

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:39:08 -0600

From Sean Cutright's real estate technology blog:

Much has been said about the housing market since last week's conception, acception, reduction, deposition and, eventually, inclusion (albeit reduced) of the home buyer tax credit.

Today, President Obama spoke about a plan to address foreclosures. But rumor has it, the home buyer tax credit may resurface in its original form as a separate bill from the now signed economic stimulus bill.

You may recall that the initial proposal offered up to a $15,000 tax credit to any primary home buyer. By the time the stimulus bill was signed, the tax credit had been reduced to $8,000, was only good for first-time home buyers, and only applied for homes purchased by the end of August (later reports pushed that date back to December 1).

Johnny Isakson (R-GA), who initially proposed the bill, intends to bring it back up, according to an Arizona real estate blog. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, and www.dripmarketingblog.com will keep you updated on the details.

Increase your real estate business by blogging

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 09:42:56 -0600

If you find yourself questioning how blogging can help your real estate business, you need to take a look at this New York Times article published in October.

It's a few months old, but the information is still applicable. Essentially, it shows how real estate blogs provide consumers some of the best and easiest to find information available about real estate.

Consumers looking for homes for sale are turning more and more to real estate blogs to read up on the community, and more. Of course, this is even more effective if you're in a destination area, but even if you're not selling ocean-front properties, there are unique aspects to every region. It's up to you to correctly communicate those to your prospective buyer.

If you're looking for help on your current blog or how to get a blog started, contact Sean Cutright at Delta Media Group. We are offering several free live Webinars to train real estate brokers and agents on everything from blogging to Social Networking to enhancing the presence of your real estate website.

Last chance! Sign up for real estate training Webinar

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 11:53:26 -0600

This is the last opportunity to sign up for today's real estate training Webinar by Delta Media Group!

The "Introduction to the Agent Delta System" Webinar begins in roughly 15 minutes...click here to register.

Delta Media Group's Webinars are aimed to best train real estate brokers and agents using our real estate website and lead management systems on how to improve their online profits.

Delta Media Group will host two Webinars tomorrow. Click here to see Delta Media Group's entire Webinar schedule. Contact Sean Cutright for more info.

Delta Media Group launches new website for RE/MAX brokerage

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 08:10:19 -0600

Delta Media Group recently launched several new real estate website and lead management systems for brokerages across the country.

One of the more recebt real estate websites to go live is RE/MAX The Producers' site, at www.theproducersrealestate.com.

Specializing in Omaha, Nebraska homes and real estate for sale, RE/MAX The Producers is a forward-thinking real estate brokerage applying some of the latest tools in real estate website technology. In the short time their website has been live, RE/MAX The Producers has already seen a great response, including increasing traffic, leads and compliments from customers that found their site on search engines.

RE/MAX The Producers works in Omaha, Elkhorn, Bellevue, LaVista, Ralston, Papillion, Waterloo, Gretna, Millard and Fremont, Nebraska; and Douglas and Sarpy Counties of Nebraska. Owners Don and Valerie Keeton, or any of RE/MAX The Producers' 10 other agents can help with all your Omaha real estate needs.

For more information on Delta Media Group's real estate website and lead management systems, contact Sean Cutright at scutright@deltagroup.com or 330-491-2003.

Real estate training Webinars to continue this week

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:12:25 -0600

Delta Media Group's Webinar training series will continue this week, following a week off.

The first Webinar of the week is the "Introduction to the Agent Delta System," which will be held Tuesday at 1pm Eastern. Click here to register.

Delta Media Group will hold two additional Webinars Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 1pm and 3pm Eastern. Wedneday's Webinars include "The Agent Web Site System in Depth" and "Bring Your Website Alive With Audio," respectively.

To view Delta Media Group's entire Webinar schedule or register for any upcoming Webinar, visit www.DeltaGroup.com/training. If you have questions on any Webinars or Delta Media Group's real estate website and lead management systems, contact Sean Cutright at scutright@deltagroup.com.

Sneak peak at Delta Media Group's new headquarters

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:49:36 -0600

I've mentioned in the past that Delta Media Group is building a new headquarters, scheduled to open in early March. Last week, we posted a video of the building on Delta Media Group's Blog. The video is actually a couple weeks old, and a lot of progression has been made since. The video is of the second floor of the building, which is 15,000 square feet. The first floor will be a 15,000 square foot data hosting center, which will be unveiled in two phases. We are very thrilled about the new building, and the many new opportunities having an in-house data hosting center will bring. Check back to Sean Cutright's blog for further updates as we move closer to the official opening. Click here to see Delta Media Group's blog entry about the building. Comments on the video? Questions about Delta Media Group's real estate website and lead management systems? We'd love to hear them. Contact Sean Cutright at scutright@deltagroup.com.

11 percent of online Americans using Twitter, are you?

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:07:47 -0600

If you're considering getting more involved in Twitter and other Social Networking sites to improve your online real estate marketing potential, what are you waiting for?

A new report shows that 11 percent of online Americans are now using Twitter. The study, conducted by Pew Internet & American Life Project, shows that the percentage of online Americans using Twitter has increased from 9 percent in December and 6 percent in May. Odds are, it will continue to increase.

Though 20 percent of online Americans age 18-to-24 use Twitter, the median age of Twitter users is 31. That's above the median age of 27 for MySpace users and 26 for Facebook users, but below the median age of 40 for LinkedIn users.

I'll soon be releasing more about the top Social Networking tools and how members of the real estate industry are using them to improve their online business and marketing, and increase traffic to their real estate website and lead management systems.

In the meantime, you can follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/seancutright. See my website at www.seancutright.com or click to view/friend/follow my accounts at the following Social Networking sites: Facebook, Trulia, ActiveRain and LinkedIn.

Senate votes down 4.5 percent mortgage rate proposal

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:55:10 -0600

From Sean Cutright's blog on real estate news and technology:

It appears the $15,000 homebuyer tax credit wasn't the only housing proposal that Congress recently shot down. They also nixed Amendment 353, a Senate plan that would have encouraged banks to lower mortgage rates to 4-4.5 percent.

A Los Angeles Times story on the amendment's vote states:
"A plan by Republicans in the Senate aimed at pushing mortgage rates lower has gone down to defeat at the hands of Democrats.

The plan by Nevada Republican John Ensign would have encouraged banks to issue mortgages with interest rates of 4 to 4.5 percent. The government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would have bought the mortgages on the secondary market. Jumbo loans would have been ineligible.

Democrats killed the idea Thursday night by a 62-35 vote.

The plan also contained an assortment of expensive tax cuts such as cutting the bottom 10 percent income tax rate in half for two years.

New York Democrat Charles Schumer said the plan was too expensive and would provide a windfall to banks charging fees to refinance mortgages."

Will Congress re-work the amendment? It's tough to say now, as it seems to have been over-looked by the homebuyer tax credit proposed as part of the economic stimulus bill. The homebuyer tax credit was initially proposed at $15,000, then was said to have been "wiped out" of the bill, only to resurface at $8,000. Details are still being worked out on the tax credit, including an update that the credit will only be good for homes purchased through the end of August.

I will keep you posted with any new updates on these topics and other real estate news.

Sean Cutright

Delta Media Group

AP: Homebuyer tax credit only good for homes purchased by the end of August

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 09:12:10 -0600

From Sean Cutright's blog:

In digging through the scattered details of the homebuyer tax credit in the economic stimulus bill, I have occasionally found a new update here and there.

The latest? That the now-$8,000 homebuyer tax credit is only good for homes purchased by the end of August.

The article, which can be found here, states:

"A $15,000 tax credit for anybody buying a home over the next year was dropped; instead, first-time homebuyers could claim an $8,000 credit for homes bought by the end of August. Car buyers could deduct the sales tax they paid on a new car but not the interest on their car loans."

I'm not sure why the credit is only good for homes purchased within the next seven months, but I'll be looking to find out.

-Sean Cutright

UPDATE: Homebuyer tax credit NOT REMOVED, but reduced

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:23:28 -0600

From Sean Cutright's blog:

In an interesting turn of events, a Bloomberg.com article is reporting that the homebuyer tax credit was not removed from the economic stimulus package, but was reduced from $15,000 to $8,000 max.

The article, which was updated just after 7pm Eastern on Wednesday, stated:

"Negotiators all but eliminated the biggest tax cut for businesses, a provision that would let companies convert losses into tax refunds, Baucus said. He said the provision, which would have let companies claim an estimated $67.5 billion in tax refunds this year and next, was sacrificed to help keep the final package under $800 billion. A proposed $15,000 tax credit for homebuyers was reduced to $8,000, Baucus said."

So we've gone from a $15,000 homebuyer tax credit, to a possible reduction of the credit, to a rumor of the credit being removed entirely, back to the credit having been reduced to $8,000, and all in a span of eight hours.

I wouldn't be surprised if there are more twists to this story by the time the bill makes it to President Obama's desk, IF it makes it to his desk. If so, I promise to keep you updated.

Questions or comments? Contact Sean Cutright at scutright@deltagroup.com.

UPDATE: $15,000 homebuyer tax credit wiped out?

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:13:11 -0600

From Sean Cutright's blog:

A new update from the Associated Press suggests that the $15,000 homebuyer tax credit may have been taken out of the economic stimulus package entirely.

The AP story with this update is the same as one I linked to here, but the wording in the story has been changed. The new story states:

"Working to accommodate the new, lower overall limit of the bill, negotiators effectively wiped out a Senate-passed provision for a new $15,000 tax credit to defray the cost of buying a home, these officials said. The agreement would allow taxpayers to deduct the sales tax paid on new car purchases, but not the interest on loans for the same vehicles."

The previous article stated:

"[Max] Baucus had said earlier that $35.5 billion to provide a $15,000 homebuyer tax credit, approved in the Senate last week, would be cut back. There was also pressure to reduce a Senate-passed tax break for new car buyers, according to Democratic officials."

How quickly things can change in Congress.

Without the $15,000 homebuyer tax credit, will the bill revert back to the $7,500 tax credit? The updated verbiage of this story opens a lot of new and discomforting questions. Contact Sean Cutright at scutright@deltagroup.com if you have any.

BREAKING NEWS: $15,000 homebuyer tax credit to be scaled back?

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:22:10 -0600

Yesterday, from Sean Cutright's blog:

Will the $15,000 homebuyer tax credit be scaled back in the final versions of the recently-approved economic stimulus package?

Reports say so, as can be seen in the eighth paragraph of this Yahoo! story. According to the article:

"Baucus had said earlier that $35.5 billion to provide a $15,000 homebuyer tax credit, approved in the Senate last week, would be cut back. There was also pressure to reduce a Senate-passed tax break for new car buyers, according to Democratic officials."

"Baucus" refers to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Senator Max Baucus, Democrat from Montana. So far, Baucus is the only member of the committee to reportedly make such a statement publicly.

I promised to deliver the most up to date news on this topic, and will continue to do so as updates come. Contact Sean Cutright with questions and comments at scutright@deltagroup.com.

To read previous and future updates on the homebuyer tax credit, visit Sean Cutright's blog at www.dripmarketingblog.com.

Further updates: $15,000 home buyer tax credit

Sean Cutright (Delta Media Group) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:21:10 -0600

Yesterday, from Sean Cutright's blog:

RISMedia takes a good look this morning at the details of the proposed $15,000 home buyer tax credit, approved by the Senate as part of the economic stimulus bill.

The article is lengthy, and mainly political in its first half. The second half gets into the specifics of the home buyer tax credit, how it will work, and the impact it should have on the real estate industry. In short, RISMedia repeats the National Association of Home Builders' estimates that the tax credit "will boost home sales by almost 500,000, create more than 255,000 jobs, generate $12.3 billion in wages and salaries and increase federal, state and local tax revenue by $8.7 billion."

Read the RISMedia article by clicking here

The article also says the home buyer tax credit would:

"Create a $15,000 home buyer tax credit available to all purchasers of a principle residence for one year after its date of enactment. The tax credit would not have to be repaid and buyers could claim it against their 2008 and/or 2009 tax returns.

"The $15,000 home buyer tax credit would replace and sunset a much narrower tax credit that was enacted last year. Available only to first-time home buyers, the current $7,500 tax credit works like an interest-free loan that must be repaid over a 15-year period. It is set to expire on July 1."

As promised yesterday, I will keep updates on news and opinion of the home buyer tax credit and its implications on the real estate industry. Please contact Sean Cutright with questions at scutright@deltagroup.com.