Real Estate Trends by Stefan Swanepoel

Me and Stefan Swanepoel - Mega Agent Camp - Photoblog

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 13:05:54 -0400

Keller Williams Realty hits another home run this week when over 4,500 agents attended Mega Camp in Austin this week. I gave three talks with the focus this year being on Mobile Technology. You can watch one of my talks on You Tube right here.

Via Chris Alston (Keller Williams Realty, Cupertino California):

HA!

It seems that all of the real estate events I go to, I run into Stefan Swanepoel! And at this years Keller Williams Mega Agent Camp was no different!

Stefan was a keynote speaker during the event that is going on all week. Walking the halls, enjoying insightful and deep conversations and debates about current events that we are tackling in the Real Estate Biz. And of course, his presentation was packed!

If you have read the book, "Surviving Your Serengeti" then you know how amazing he can be with his knowledge on a diverse set of subjects.

-Chris Alston (Are you following me on twitter? www.twitter.com/chris_alston)

Chris Alston

CEO- Team Leader

Keller Williams Realty, Cupertino

20230 Stevens Creek Blvd, Suite E

Cupertino, CA 95014

408-850-6955

408-850-6956 fax

calston@kw.com

www.kw.com

Find me on:

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Surviving Your Serengeti: Published to National Acclaim

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 20:09:33 -0500

Surviving Your Serengeti is Published to National Acclaim!

#2 – Amazon Business & Investing
#2 – Amazon Religion & Spirituality
#1 – Amazon Business Life
#1 – Amazon Self Help
#1 – Amazon Spirituality
#1 – Amazon Outdoors & Nature
#1 – Amazon Health, Mind & Body
#1 – Amazon Personal Transformation

and #2 – Amazon Top 100 All Books (link currently showing #2 as of 2/28/2011)

The support from the real estate industry for my venture into business-fable writing has been incredible - from industry leaders, brokers and agents, companies and from friends like you here at ActiveRain!!

The ActiveRain Serengeti Challenge has not only contributed to the exposure and interest in Surviving Your Serengeti, but produced hundreds and hundreds of great reviews! I think I read them all, and from the bottom of my heart say thank you to each and every one of you.

Below are the eight blog posts that caught my attention and in some way made me feel that they really understood a part of the wisdom I was trying to share. There were so many amazing posts to choose from and no way to be able to highlight all the amazing posts. So again, thank you to everyone for starting the fable and I hope you get a chance to finish it.

Stefan Swanepoel

Author: Surviving Your Serengeti : 7 Skills to Master Business & Life

“I AM Surviving My Serengeti, Because I Have What It Takes” by William James Walton of Connecticut

“Truly a refreshing new perspective on how to see the challenging times” says Emily Medvec of New Mexico

“I am intrigued after reading the book's first two chapters” says Liz Lockhart of Missouri

“I did what I had to do to survive” says Chris Ann Cleland, of Virginia

“Pure enjoyment” says Craig Rutman of North Carolina

“How does having giraffe qualities help me in my real estate business” according to Leilani Souza of California

“A better adventure, into the Serengeti of my Life” says Barb Van Stensel of Illinois

“A best seller is about to hit the market” says Lee & Pamela St. Peter of North Carolina

For daily updates visit SerengetiBook.com

To enjoy a fascinating 3-hour read visit Amazon.com

The Serengeti Of Your Life

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 02:19:55 -0500

Have you ever woken up dreading the day ahead? Ever lost a job or thought you were in the wrong one? Ever struggled to keep your company afloat or balance household expenses? Ever struggled to raise a teenager or been a teenager with parents who just didn’t get it? We have all faced challenges similar to these at some stage of our lives, and many of us are there right now.

On a recent trip back to Africa, it struck me that there were strong parallels between life in the Serengeti plains and in the business world today. The animals of East Africa must migrate, they must keep moving forward and they must rely on their inborn skills to survive. The same is true in business; while it’s not usually a life-or-death scenario, as is the case in the Serengeti, people looking to advance their career or successfully run their own business – or succeed at any other challenge – must realize their innate skill and capitalize on it.

My new business fable, Surviving Your Serengeti, is about persevering over whatever challenging conditions you may be facing and surviving your own “Serengeti.” Whether you’re looking for a job after a long period of being unemployed, struggling to keep your job while balancing more projects with fewer colleagues to help you juggle the load, trying to keep your company alive through the recession or dealing with challenges in your personal life, this book provides a strong, and hopeful, message of survival – something I think we all need, particularly in today’s economy.

The metaphor in the book outlines seven skills.

No one skill is any more important than the others; in fact, each of these skills is essential in business and in life in general. What is important is that you realize which skill you instinctively turn to when facing a challenge. We are multi-facetted humans with multiple talents and skills. So while we are not limited to just one “Serengeti” skill, there is one skill that is the most dominant in each of us. Your task is to identify that innate skill that makes you, you!

This book is written for anyone who has faced, is facing or will one day face a challenge. This is a story that shows you that you can survive.

Know yourself. Accept yourself. Understand the skills that make you who you are. Maximize the skills and talents you have. Make sure you know and understand whom the other “animals” in your urban jungle are and what their skills are.

Start your journey by taking the short, three-minute online quiz at www.WhatAnimalAmI.com. This is not intended to be a complicated DISC analysis or an in-depth Myers Briggs assessment, but it is a fun way to open a discussion with a co-worker, a colleague or a friend about their skills and strengths.

Download and review the first two chapters of Surviving Your Serengeti this weekend and earn 2,500 points in the Serengeti ActiveRain Challenge - ONLY ONE MORE DAY.

Surviving Your Serengeti is officially released next week and you can get your copy at your neighborhood bookstore or online at Amazon.com.

Stories That Change Lives

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 10:46:56 -0500

A business or life fable is a parable that shares a lesson. Often primarily focused on an application in the business world the narrative often has a wider application in life. Parables provide a simple way to understand, enjoy, share and remember an important message.

Hugely successful authors/books in this genre include:

Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager and Leading at a Higher Level
Dr Spencer Johnson, author of Who Moved Your Cheese
Patrick Lencioni, author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

My new book, Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Master Business & Life, is a business fable and will available in bookstores nationwide on March 1st, 2011.

As a backdrop for the parable I decided to take the reader on a safari of self-discovery by using the mystique of Africa, the magic of wild animals and the epic saga of the Serengeti migration

For 1.5 million wildebeest of Africa, their Serengeti is a 1,000 mile-long migration filled with hunger, thirst, predators and exhaustion. The journey is impressive and so incomparably massive that is rated the #1 Natural Wonder of the World.

I believe the migration offers us a unique window on the very essence of life itself, and therefore the fable becomes a larger-than-life metaphor for the problems and struggles in our lives. As the story unfolds so it reveals the primordial skills each of seven animals have to overcome their life-and-death struggle. A sage and mentor shares how we each can discover our unique instinctive skill that will empower you conquer your fears, overcome your challenges and ultimately triumph.

I was privileged to have Ken Blanchard (author the best-selling “One Minute” series) read Surviving Your Serengeti and was thrilled when he said: “You’ll actually know more about yourself after you read this book—it’s one of a kind.”

Now you can read the first two chapters of Surviving Your Serengeti courtesy of ActiveRain and the publishers Wiley & Sons. Do it is this week and even 2,500 points in the Serengeti ActiveRain Challenge. Full details here.

A Decade in Words: What Words Describe...

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:14:37 -0500

The decade 2000 – 2010 is all, but over. In many regards, this has been a very eventful decade with many highlights, disasters, sorrows, unique personalities and innovation.

In your opinion which single word(s) – OK, not more than two word phrases and also acronyms – personify and will forever identify the first decade of the 21st Century?

To get your juices flowing, let me start us off…

9/11
WMD
facebook
tweets
Obama
bailout
foreclosures
green
BP
wikileaks

Commoditizing Real Estate and Disintermediation of Real Estate Agents

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 12:59:26 -0500

I am surprised that this discussion has surfaced again… that speculation on whether the real estate transaction will be completely automated and that like travel agents and book retailers, Realtors® have become a dying breed and will disappear completely.

Not true.

Yes of course, Technology, the Internet, Social Media, Mobile Media, Real Time, QR codes, Augmented Reality, and Location-based Services, etc, etc. have already and will continue to play an enormous role in the future of the real estate business. Few people have been a stronger proponent and a more prolific writer about the value of technology, change and innovation, than what I have been. (19 books and counting) ☺:)

But, a dash of realism, calmness and patience is also required.

Purchasing a home is a very complex transaction, almost like a tapestry woven together with many players. It takes into account multiple laws, while it dances around endless vested interests. Often its progression creeps forward over a long period of time as if it were a thriller novel shrouded in mystery and large sums of money. Making changes is of epic nightmare proportions.

Almost every dot com company of the late 1990’s, whether its an international franchise, a new innovative upstart, a national title company, a technology company or a VC funded real estate initiative all share two things in common. First, they have all burned through thousands of hours and millions of dollars, and secondly, they all have fallen into that same trap – that purchasing a home is still a very complex transaction.

I however still remain very positive that change is happening, just slower than you think. Understanding how commodities differ will help you understand why I think real estate will not go the way of travel agents or booksellers.

(I have a very interesting note that you must please read after you’ve read the below explanation of the four commodity types).

COMMODITY TYPES

Standard Commodities
The first category is “Standard Commodities.” These are the types of products that are similar and standard, regardless of the time or place of the purchase. Since they are usually mass-produced, multiple consumers can purchase and own the identical item at the same time. Acquisition of the commodity is a very simple and nominal transaction. The product usually has a uniform standard pricing structure, thus making the transaction very one-dimensional. Products are easily packaged and shipped anywhere in the world.

Examples: books, CDs, books, clothing, etc.

Choice Commodities
Second is the category “Choice Commodities.” Products in this category usually involve a non-physical transaction such as the offering of a service. These services, although reproducible, might have small differences. The commodity can usually be reproduced and be available to many people, but the time of purchase or use is frequently singular. The pricing structure is usually varied, determined by selection as well as timing and sometimes buyer criteria. The transaction is a little more complex and time sensitive and could therefore be referred to as two-dimensional.

Example: airline tickets. Many seats are available on any given flight, but there is a difference between first class and coach, between aisle and window, etc. Although the exact same seat becomes available either in a few hours or on the following day, and although a similar experience is offered, it could vary in price due to external factors (e.g., delays, weather, etc.).

Intangible Commodities
The third category refers to “Intangible Commodities.” These are still products that can be listed and catalogued but they are no longer pure commodities. They are usually personalized to accommodate the needs and/or criteria of the consumer. The customer’s profile (creditworthiness, financial history), as well as other external factors now are of equal, if not more, importance compared to that of the product. We could say that the external factors add a third dimension into the equation.

Example: Mortgage Loans.

Unique Commodities
The fourth category contains products and services referred to as “Unique Commodities.” These commodities can usually not be shipped by an overnight delivery service and are extremely difficult to Web-ize. The products and services are not standard at all, not really repeatable and cannot be owned by different people at the same time. Similar to “intangible commodities,” high emphasis is placed on external factors, such as the buyer’s personal choice and/or circumstances. The uniqueness of the product also introduces a new fourth dimension into the equation.

Example: Purchasing a home. Each house is generally a one-of-a-kind item, it cannot be shipped, nor can more than one buyer purchase it simultaneously. This purchase is significantly influenced by the buyer’s details, is subject to numerous outside factors, is time sensitive and above all, entangled in a plethora of forms.

INTERESTING FACT

What makes above analysis thought provoking is that it was written by me more than 10 years ago (1999) and was published in the whitepaper Real Estate Confronts Technology, before the dot com crash.

Real estate is very unique and commoditizing it is not simple or easy. If it were, someone would have already done it. Commoditizing real estate is trickier than what everyone thinks. That said, we have, and will unquestionably automate many components of real estate. Those components will come most likely, from the parts that are “standard” and “choice” commodities within the real estate transaction.

However, the chance that Realtors® are disintermediated as a whole, is very unlikely. Will Realtors® have to change, absolutely YES! … But disappear, NO!

Overview of NAR Convention in New Orleans

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 19:53:40 -0500

For those that were unable to attend the NAR convention this year in New Orleans I have just posted a detailed overview at http://activerain.com/blogsview/1964858/nar-new-orleans-2011-the-good-the-bad-and-the-interesting

Enjoy the read.

Kind reagrds,

Stefan

NAR New Orleans 2010: The Good, the Bad and the Interesting

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 19:12:54 -0500

I attended my first NAR convention in 1987 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Pity we have outgrown that location. This year’s event was however in a great location, New Orleans. It has been five years since the devastation of Katrina and you can see that the buzz in the French Quarter has returned with the beads, bars and Bourbon Street leading the way.

Here is my snapshot of the highlights of NARdigras 2010:

VIRTUAL BECOMES KING

Both the presence of Gen X and Y as well as various online boomers flexed their muscles to make social media a powerful mainstream addition to the NAR convention. Virtual became reality through events such as REBarCamp, TweetUp, ActiveRain, various NAR scheduled meetings, as well as at the Starbucks and in passages on the convention floor. Congratulations to the many individuals that kept everyone informed including people such as Todd Carpenter (@tcar), Eric Stegemann (@EricStegemann), Daniel Rothamel (@RealEstateZebra), Rob Hahn (@robhahn) Maya Paveza (@mayaREguru), Chris Smith (@TechSavvyAgent), Chris Nichols (@UtahREPro), Reggie Nicholay (@ReggieRPR), Michael McClure (@ProfessionalOne), Ines Hegedus-Garcia (@ines) and of course the ever present Sherry Chris (@SherryChris).

#1 AT NAR

Few technologies have ever grabbed the imagination of our industry as quickly as the huge explosion of mobile and wireless computing. The array of service providers, app providers, and other companies that offered services using iPhones, Blackberry’s, or Droids were everywhere. In less than a decade this device has become the most influential piece of technology in real estate and the potential seems limitless. Read more about the power of mobile technology in our upcoming 2011 Swanepoel TRENDS Report.

LARGEST BOOTH

Wandering where some of your tax dollars went? J Dwarfing all exhibits this year’s were the enormous booths by the financial institutions such as Chase and Wells Fargo. The largest booth, if you could call it a booth was the impressive Home Loans Opportunity Pavilion of Bank of America. Interesting to note is that even with the huge pavilion (larger than Google, HGTV, Homes.com and Rapatoni – combined, times two) that Bank of America still had another booth the size of (Keller Williams Realty and RE/MAX combined) at the other corner of the trade floor as well.

LARGEST AND MOST ANNOYING BUZZ

Unquestionably QR codes. I have been speaking and writing on tagging for about two years now, and obviously I think it’s important. But now it is also the most overrated and annoying product. In the last two weeks, I have also received more QR code spam emails and tweets than any other single product. Slow down everyone, it’s hot, but not the silver bullet to solve everything. Jeez!!

SINGLE BOOTH BUZZ

Garnishing a lot of attention was the Kodak booth this year with ongoing presentations by numerous leading technology trainers such as Nicole Nicholay (@Nik_Nik), Verl Workman (@verlworkman), and Terri Murphy (@terrimurphy). The draw seemed to be the special real estate offerings that included the snazzy Zi8 video camera, the Easyshare and Scanmate.

MOST AMUSING BOOTH

In past conventions I have seen many colorful booth brandings including one of my favorites, “Two Men in a Truck”, however, this year’s “3 Blondes and a Short Sale” may just take the cake as the most amusing branding. These three ladies seek to educate brokerages and agents to list, market and close short sales.

NEWEST BIZ MODELS

Every year we have a few entrepreneurs that espouse a new way of managing a real estate company. Many don’t last long, many stay small, but every now and then we see a new player with potential. The two I liked the most this year were Allison James Estates (@allisonjamesinc) and NextAge Realty (@nextage_realty). In the 2011 edition of my annual Swanepoel TRENDS report we will be detailing the 10 most exciting new business models started since the turn of the century, 10 years ago.

GLARINGLY ABSENT

The number of booths this year was clearly was significantly less this year. Even the isles were widened (12 feet as to 9 feet) to “spread” the booths out and to be more “green.” J Large franchises this year that did not have a booth included EXIT Realty and Real Living (GMAC / Brookfield Residential Property Services). Is that a sign of the tough economy or merely a prudent financial decision? Will be interesting to see if others follow.

MOST DISAPPOINTING

The attendance by international delegates this was down. Clearly the poor housing market is felt across the world. One country even shared that they have experienced a drop from over 100 attendees two years ago to less than five this year. This drop was also reflected in the International Pavilion, the networking center and the overall buzz.

EDUCATIONAL EXCITEMENT

The most exciting new training program this year was the Internet Marketing Specialist Designation (IMSD) created by Ben Kinney (@benkinney), a SEO addict and Social Media Futurist according to Twitter. The course is a hands-on training system that teaches real estate professionals proven techniques to manage an Internet marketing and social media strategy. On that same front, the ePro designation course was also just updated by the Social Media Marketing Institute - Ginger Wilcox (@ginerwilcox) and Bill Lublin (@billlublin). Social media has at last entered real estate education in a big way.

ATTENTION GRABBER

After many years it still ceases to amaze me how enamored people are with celebrities. This year the Guinness Book of World Record’s Most Watched TV Star “The Hoff” (David Hasselhoff) from popular shows Knight Rider, Baywatch and America’s Got Talent, garnished the most attention and the longest lines at the convention.

NAR FOCUS

Last year it was RPR (Realtor® Property Resource). This year is was Home Ownership. This new public awareness campaign is both timely and extremely important as the industry combats the onslaught of negative media.

Smarter Agent snatched the NAR Second Century Ventures Fast Pitch Innovation Contest with a man in blue and red tights and a cool service. You can watch the video clip here: http://bit.ly/NARdigras

As a final note to this year’s convention wrap-up, I want to wish Ron Phipps (see video on Ronnie at http://bit.ly/nardigras2010) the best of luck as he takes over as the new NAR president from outgoing president Vicki Cox Golder. You are now at the head of the 800 pound gorilla every respects and fears. J

Loved your statement: “We need to not merely be the voice of Real Estate but the architects and the engineers of the future of Real Estate.” I think you will be a great president in 2011!

Calling All Trend Spotters: Social Media facilitates your Input

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 14:58:45 -0400

Last year as we approached the annual National Association of Realtors® (NAR) conference discussion, the residential brokerage industry was centered around the Tax Credit, the growing number of firms that were struggling to stay in business, and the exploding number of Realtors® that had dual careers.

Then the surprise announcement in San Diego was made and RPR (Realtor® Property Resource) and AVM (Automatic Valuation Models) became the buzz of not only the convention, but also for the rest of the year.

Since then, we’ve seen that RPR has celebrated various milestones, we’ve seen mergers and acquisitions of real estate firms is at an all time high, and we’ve seen frequent debates on which national franchises are growing and which are struggling.

On the Social Media side, we actively started exploring augmented reality and location-based services. It has been fun to watch how these concepts develop from ‘startups’ and ‘games’ into fledgling but blossoming, business applications.

Well, one of the benefits of the Internet and Social Media is that researchers and trend spotters like us now can reach much further and wider to gain information.

So we are extending an invite to you.

If you have seen any trend, strategy or innovation that you think is substantial – meaning that it has a high probability of impacting residential brokerages business on a national level – we want to hear about it!

Drop in comments at the bottom, find me at the NAR convention, or alternatively, I also have a great team back at the office continuing the research. Just send an email to Tom at tom@realsure.com or to Tinus at tinus@realsure.com and share with us your thoughts. We don’t guarantee that we will necessarily agree or publish anything, but we will listen and follow up.

The 2011 Swanepoel Trends Report (160 pages) closes its research the first week of December and is scheduled to hit newsstands February 1st as it does every year.

Swanepoel Trends Report Opens Research for New 2011 Report, New Business Models at Top of List

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 14:07:11 -0400

Ever since the introduction of the Internet in real estate in 1995 speculation about a new business model for the real estate market has been rampant.

There was a surge of innovation in the late 1990s touting disintermediation, reduced commissions and a more automated and streamlined transaction by using the Internet. Most of that did not materialize as a result of the now infamous “dotcom” crash of 2000. Most of the new business models at the time disappeared although a few interesting companies made it through to the new century.

Then came Web 2.0 and the flood of innovations caused a second wave of new business models to emerge. This time the focus seems was more about quicker customer services, virtual offices and reduced fees to agents.

NEW BUSINESS MODELS

What we do know for certain is that the real estate business is amidst significant change, and that the traditional model born in the 1960s and 1970s is under severe consumer, Realtor® and technology pressure to reinvent itself. Some franchisors and independents will comply and many will not. During the process many new models will push forward in an attempt to find their new niche and place among the next generation of leading real estate companies.

As always, the Swanepoel team at RealSure continues to track, research and share change with the industry. We are working on detailing in the 2011 edition of our annual report (publication date February 1^st, 2011) a comprehensive study of the Top 10 best new business models started after the introduction of the Internet into our industry.

YOUR HELP

We are of course already aware of the usual suspects but can never be certain as to who should be otherwise included. So we need your help. Feel free to add to the bottom of this post on Facebook, ActiveRain and RealBlogging companies you think we should research or alternatively email us at Trends2011@RealSure.com.

A comprehensive discussion and summary of the 10 best new real estate models will be included in the 2011 edition of the Swanepoel TRENDS Report (RealSure; 160 pages, February 2011). The Swanepoel TRENDS Report is the leading annual trends report on the real estate brokerage business. For more information and testimonials visit www.RETrends.com.

10/10/10

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 10:17:32 -0400

Sunday is the 10th of October 2010, or 10/10/10, or 101010: Such a unique date.

It’s also a decimal day too and one of the few that is the same no matter which way around you write your dates. How will you remember today?

I wish you all the best of health, wealth & happiness in your lives.

Realtors® are NOT stupid, just slow…

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 13:34:08 -0400

Realtors® are not stupid, just slow to adapt to new technologies. Not because they cannot, but rather because in an industry comprised of independent contracts, the majority chooses to use the Frank Sinatra style – “My Way.”

Looking back through time clearly shows most real estate professionals are up to the task of adapting and implementing new technologies successfully. For example in 1973, almost 40 years ago, Electronic Realty Associates, a new real estate franchise at the time, (today known as ERA Real Estate) became one of the fastest growing franchises of the 1970’s by introducing new a technology into the industry. It was the fax machine and it was their competitive advantage.

Competitive advantage. Not anymore. Today everyone uses faxes. Many would even argue that the technology is old and that its newer counterparts, the e-fax, PDFs and email, all have eclipsed faxes.

In the following years, companies such as Century 21 and RE/MAX both expanded so rapidly that they extensively started using the Personal Computer to manage their national franchise network. So unique was the PC that for years it was the exclusive tool for brokers and management, not agents.

Today there is no successful real estate professional that doesn’t use the power of the computer, the Internet or even mobile devices like the iPad on a daily basis.

So what does that show?

It affirms that we as an industry have successfully introduced and mastered technology. Check out the innovations and the approximate dates of their introduction into the real estate brokerage business:

1975 – 80 Fax
1980 – 85 PC
1985 – 90 Real Estate Software
1990 – 95 Internet / Email
1995 – 00 Websites / Mobile Phones
2000 – 05 Broadband / Video
2005 – 10 Social Media / Real Time

Technology frequently takes around five years (depending on whether you track first usage, wide application, or universal implementation) to mature before the next follows.

Realtors® do – as general rule of thumb – resist innovation for 2-3 years, before they start accepting it. And then during the next 2-3 years they move rapidly to incorporate it into their business.

In recent times, think of the addition of photos on websites, IDX feeds, blogs, Facebook pages & links, the use of mobile phones, etc. etc. So no, Realtors are not stupid. They may dwell on taking a decision for a couple of years, but then they move quickly.

And that brings us to the next decision: Social Media. It is neither a passing fad nor the silver bullet to solve all our problems. During the last two years it has rapidly woven itself into the very fiber of our industry to become a tool that Realtors® use to reach out and touch buyers & sellers, recruit new agents and stay in contact with their customers for life.

Social Media is the next stage of technology evolution in our beloved industry and we will, as we have before, successfully master the use of using this new innovation.

PS. Don’t be too slow in staying up with change. The need for speed is increasing, as is the number and quantity of new technologies constantly being introduced.

Google Goes Instant

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:02:22 -0400

Just launched. Google Instant is a new search enhancement that shows results as you type.

The big benefit is that by scanning results as you type, you can get to the page you are looking for with greater ease and at much quicker pace as you no longer need to finish what you are typing. By predicting the correct results, Google claims that Google Instant will on average save 2 – 5 seconds per search.

Before you had to type a full search term, hit return, and review the results. Now with results appearing as you type you can zoom into finding the right information on the fly. This is very cool.

Go test it. You’ll love it! Soon we will forget that search ever worked any other way.

REALTOR® Member Survey on Foreclosures

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 10:50:01 -0400

REALTOR SURVEY:

A good friend of mine, Frances Flynn Thorsen, is currently working with members of the Arizona Foreclosure Coalition. They have designed a survey to determine the temperature of the housing crisis. Please participate so that they can get the most representative results possible.

Thanks
Stefan

Via Frances Flynn Thorsen (Frances Flynn Thorsen Real Estate School):

Please take a moment to answer this survey. Have you faced foreclosure? Do any of your family members know about foreclosure firsthand?
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The Step Child of Real Estate, Cyberhomes.com, Changes Hands

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 15:45:13 -0400

Cyberhomes.com

The Darling Step Child of Real Estate

One of the coolest and catchiest domains in real estate – cyberhomes.com – has just changed hands … again.

This successful national real estate website providing property data and valuations is in many regards one of the best real estate websites around. Yet somehow it has remained a step child in our industry, floating from one foster home to another.

Let’s explore its unique journey and the reasons why, at the age of 15, this time it may be different.

The Inside Story

Cyberhomes was launched in 1995 by Moore Data Management Services, which was the largest real estate and MLS provider in North America at the time. This came as a surprise to most of the industry allowing Cyberhomes to move into the lead as one of the first meaningful initiatives providing the Web with MLS properties for sale. Other dominant players at the time included Homes.com, HomeSeekers.com, HomeScape.com, HomeAdvisor.com and of course, Realtor.com.

This launch in 1995 was a very bold move by a MLS provider. At that stage the Internet was still a strange and threatening phenomenon and I ranked Cyberhomes in 1999 as one of the Top 75 most exciting companies to watch in the new online world of real estate. For a detailed list read Real Estate Confronts the eConsumer (page 305, RealSure, Inc. 2000 www.retrends.com).

In 1999 San Diego-based VISTAinfo acquired cyberhomes.com making them the largest supplier of MLS information management systems in the country at the time — serving over 100 MLS organizations and 350,000 real estate professionals.

In 2001 Fidelity National Financial and VistaInfo completed a merger forming a new company called Fidelity National Information Solutions (FNIS), but in 2002 FNIS pulled the plug on Cyberhomes only to rebirth it in November 2006 under Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions (FNRES) with a whole new look and feel.

FNRES allocated $50 million to repositioning of cyberhomes.com as a consumer portal to serve home buyers and sellers. They moved fast and quickly concluded some significant strategic partnerships that included snatching away the AOL contract from Realtor.com to become AOL’s exclusive real estate provider.

The site’s journey took yet another sharp turn when Fidelity National Financial (NYSE: FNF) sold off its interest in FNIS, FNRES and Cyberhomes to Lender Processing Services (LPS) in February 2009.

The high profile 10-year agreement involving the creation of the Realtor^® Property Resource (RPR) between the National Association of Realtors^® and LPS was strategized by Dale Stinton, Dale Ross and Marty Frame and included among other things cyberhomes.com. (For extensive details on RPR read the latest edition of the Swanepoel TRENDS Report (pages 165, RealSure, Inc. 2010 www.retrends.com).

Now in the latest move LPS (www.lpsvcs.com) is selling cyberhomes.com to North Carolina-based Listingbook (www.listingbook.com); agreement signed but not yet final.

Listingbook LLC, was founded by Bob and Joan Milman in 1999 and an investment in 2007 placed the company on a national expansion track. Listingbook connects real estate agents and their clients through an integrated platform of client management, sales productivity and direct marketing tools usually offered in association with MLS providers and local Realtor^® Boards.

Keeping them Honest

Listingbook chief operating officer Todd John says, “The acquisition of cyberhomes.com will enable Listingbook to generate more leads for our broker and agent clients and help them generate higher profits.” I am sure that is the case.

The cyberhomes.com website, once an industry leader, is still a popular and unique domain even though there has been a significant decline in traffic over the last year from about 1.1 million to about 160,000 unique visitors per month according to compete.com. Today the real estate industry is dominated by a few super sites such as Realtor.com (Move), Zillow, Trulia and Homes.com that boast three to seven million unique visitors per month.

It is interesting that John went to work for AOL in 2000 and later served as the Director of e-commerce and Advertising at Time Warner Cable’s Road Runner division before joining Listingbook in January 2008.

John says “Listingbook is very committed to staying true to the value proposition of making agents more productive.” This stems from founder Robert Milman, who foresaw that the Web could change the real estate industry and believed that the Internet would be the medium for an interactive, agent-centric community. Today Listingbook.com is a growing consumer-facing website that generates an undisclosed number of leads that is distributed at no cost to some 150,000 Listingbook users.

Maybe the marriage of cyberhomes.com with Listingbook is a good long term fit and the website can once again make a comeback. It already has “pre-dotcom crash” (yikes, that was 10 years ago) brand awareness; perhaps that doesn’t mean anything anymore, but then again maybe it does.

Let’s hope so – cyberhomes.com deserves a permanent home.

About the Author

During the last fourteen years, nineteen-time author Stefan Swanepoel has widely become regarded as the leading researcher on the business and technology trends impacting the real estate industry. For more information on his annual Swanepoel TRENDS Report and the annual Swanepoel SOCIAL MEDIA Report visit www.RETrends.com

(Nearly) Invisible Hotel Room

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:40:00 -0400

Going green takes on a new meaning as architects from Tham & Videgard in Sweden have built a "Tree Hotel" with one of six units operating as a Mirror Cube. The idea behind this visually amazing room is that the exterior reflects the surroundings giving it the allure of a camouflaged and almost invisible hideaway.

For more breathtaking photos on the mirror cube take a look here.

To look at the Mirror Cube on "Tree Hotel" site directly.

Enjoy the view!

From Trees to Tablets: The Evolution of Reading

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:10:31 -0400

In the Swanepoel TRENDS Report I regularly discuss trends in the printing and publishing world. For example trend #1 in the 2006 Report was titled “Electronic Devices Take Center Stage”, the 2007 Report extensively discussed “Web 2.0” and the in 2008 trend #3 covered “The New Digital Currency.”

My recent blog on ActiveRain titled “Is Print Finally Dead” drew over 150 comments with opinions from both sides of the isle, with the majority predicting the demise of newspapers.

Although it is true that newspaper circulation dropped from 62.6 million in 1990 to 49.2 million by 2008, it’s interesting to note that magazines subscriptions rose from 174.5 million in 1970 to 324.8 million in 2008, according to Magazine Publishers Association.

So is print dead or thriving?

No question the way we read has changed, but has technology signed its demise or merely fueled its growth?

Netbooks, Kindles and iPads

Don’t get me wrong, the Web is great. I dearly love my 3G-enabled iPad that offers me online access to the Wall Street Journal, Mashable and Wikipedia. And yes, my iPad may very well become the “magazine” of tomorrow. I have downloaded and read books on my iPad and do not find it surprising that Amazon recently announced that the Kindle version of its books now outsell their printed counterparts.

That said, I think the Web remains, at least for the foreseeable future, a source for quickly gathering and scanning information, rather than a source of extensive, long reading stints.

When it comes to reading, browser and search engines may have opened the door to more information, but they have not yet significantly changed the need or pleasure of a good read.

Unquestionably print will continue to evolve, but it does not appear that it will be disappearing anytime soon.

Who Will Win World Cup 2010? Lets Make Some Predictions.

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:08:41 -0400

We are two weeks away from the World Cup Final.

It is said to be the world's most widely viewed sporting event with an estimated one billion peoples expected to view the last finals on Sunday July 11th. In the last World Cup in 2006 in Germany, a European dominate field saw Italy snatching top honors over France and Germany beating Portugal for third place.

To date, the final of the 2010 World Cup has been dominated by European and South American teams with 11 of the 16 finalists coming from these two continents. For those statistic enthusiasts (like me) these two continents have each won nine titles apiece (of the total 18). Only seven countries have actually won the title: Brazil (5), Italy (4), Germany (3), Uruguay (2), Argentina (2), England (1) and France (1).

But the game always offers up surprises:

For example, this month defending World Champions Italy was sent home after round one, unable to win any matches and ending last in group F…even behind New Zealand, a country with no top 4 finish ever.

And then there are always disappointments:

Take yesterday as an example when Ghana sealed an extra-time win, repeating their 2006 2-1 win, over team USA to advance to the final 8, one win away from becoming only the third African team to ever reach the quarter-finals (the others were Cameroon in 1990 and Senegal in 2002).

But let’s look at the matches still ahead…and dare we make some predictions (this is so perilous but so much fun). Here goes:

Uruguay will win over Ghana to move in to the semi’s again Brazil who will in turn reach the semi after beating Holland.

Brazil will defeat the Dutch in the first semi-finals.

In the third group Argentina will overwhelm Mexico while Germany will convincingly beat the struggling English team.

When this two winning teams meet it could be anyone’s game, but I think that the Argentineans will win over the young German team.

In the fourth grouping Paraguay will crush Japan and Spain will snatch a narrow win over neighbors Portugal.

A Paraguay win could place four South American teams in the semi-finals, a far cry from 2006 when four European teams reached that stage. I however think that Spain will edge out Paraguay only to loose to Argentina in the other semi’s.

The result:

An all South American final with Argentina against Brazil. My prediction is that Brazil will revenge their 5th place finish last year (loss against France in the quarter finals) with a victory on July 11th.

But what do I know?

I am not a soccer expert. I just track real estate trends.

Rainers, share your thoughts on who will make it to the finals in this year’s exciting World Cup being held in South Africa.

First Major Australian Real Estate Firm Enters US - The Aussies are Here!

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:18:44 -0400

Trend #8 in the 2007 edition of the Swanepoel TRENDS Report discussed the likelihood of non-US real estate brokerage companies expanding to the United States. Countries that were identified to lead the charge included Australia/New Zealand, Canada, Germany and South Africa.

Harcourts Real Estate

This week, Australian-based Harcourts, with over 630 offices and 4,000+ agents in nine countries, became the third major non-US based company to validate this forecast with the announcement of a joint venture with one of California’s large real estate companies, Altera Real Estate.

Harcourts was founded in New Zealand in 1888 by John Bateman Harcourt, the patriarch of one of Wellington’s first families. Growth really only started 100 years later when under the leadership of Stephen Collins, Paul Wright and Mike Green the company decided to pursue franchising and globalization as a core strategy.The company expanded to Australia in 1997 and subsequently moved their head office to Queensland, Australia. Expansion continued in 2004 into Fiji, Indonesia in 2005, Singapore in 2007, China in 2008, South Africa in 2008 and Hong Kong in 2009.

2013 NAR President Makes Strategic Global Move

Altera Real Estate was formed in 2008 when Gary Thomas of RE/MAX Real Estate Services (Orange County, Southern California) and Dennis and Colleen Badagliacco of RE/MAX Valley Properties (Silicon Valley, Northern California) both left the RE/MAX International franchise network.

RE/MAX® Real Estate Services, founded in 1985 by Gary Thomas as RE/MAX® South County, is one of the Top 100 real estate companies in the US (based on dollar volume) according to Real Trends and RISMedia. The first office in Mission Viejo, California was followed up by seven other locations that total some 350 sales associates. Thomas, a second-generation Realtor®, was the 2001 elected President of the California Association of REALTORS® and is on track to become the 2013 President of the National Association of REALTORS®. He has a business management degree from Woodbury University.

RE/MAX® Valley Properties was established in 1980 by husband and wife team Dennis and Colleen Badagliacco. The Badagliaccos had some 85 agents in four San Jose/Silicon Valley locations. Colleen was the 2007 president of the California Association of REALTORS®. Combined Altera Real Estate today totals nine brokerages in three states – California, Hawaii, and Oregon – with 21 offices and approximately 700 agents.

The Harcourts joint venture with Altera follows a similar strategy they utilized in Southern Australia with Brock Real Estate and with HomeNet in South Africa. Both initiatives drove Harcourts in becoming one of the largest companies in each of those respective markets in a less than a year.

Canada and Germany

Two other large foreign companies have also affirmed the trend towards real estate globalization. First is Canadian-based Brookfield Residential Property Services (Brookfield RPS), a division of Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (Brookfield), and owner of Royal LePage, the largest Canadian residential real estate company. They followed a different strategy for international expansion by in 2008 acquiring GMAC Real Estate. In 2009 with the acquisition of Ohio-based Real Living, the two merging entities began rebranding as Real Living. Meanwhile German-based real estate company, Engel & Vöelkers expanded into New England, Florida and California by opening franchises under their Property Shop Concept.

In Closing

Competition in the US real estate business has not only tightened as a result of a the economy, but now non-US based real estate companies are increasingly seeking to carve out a piece of the market for themselves.

Do you think that international expansion, foreign buyers and globalization is a growing trend in your area?

Battle of the AVMs: An Online Real Estate War

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Fri, 28 May 2010 12:59:11 -0400

Last year November, the Realtor® Property Resource (RPR) announcement by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) shook the industry. NAR had just reached an agreement with Lender Processing Services (LPS) and announced their plans on launching the Realtor® Valuation Model (RVM) in hopes that it will become the “gold standard” used by financial in the majority of online valuations.

For a detailed account on Automatic Valuations Models (AVM) and the events that led up to the creation, the structuring, the benefits and the concerns of RPR read the latest edition of the Swanepoel TRENDS Report. In the Report we also discussed some of the leading contenders; Zillow, Google and First American. Zillow is of course widely known for its popular “Zestimates” and has been using an online automated valuation services since going live in 2006. It the lesser known of the bunch, Corelogic, that is now drawing attention.

Inside Story

First American is in the process of splitting its Information Solutions Group (CoreLogic) and Financial Services Group into two separate, publicly traded companies. The separation is targeted to close next week on June 1, 2010 and CoreLogic is set to trade under the symbol CLGX. Just as Corelogic is being spun off from First American Corporation (NYSE:FAF) so LPS was spun off last November from Fidelity National Financial (NYSE: FNF).

So what does that all mean?

Well, last week CoreLogic filed a lawsuit against eight companies, including Zillow and LPS claiming the companies’ automated valuation models infringe on their 1994 patent. CoreLogic is seeking an injunction against these companies to prohibit them from using or selling those types of services, both that they claim any products that according to CoreLogic fall within the scope of their patent. Other companies also named in the lawsuit include: Fiserv Inc., Intellireal LLC, Interthinx Inc., Precision Appraisal Services Inc., Real Data Inc. and RealEC Technologies Inc.

FYI, it appears that the first patent for an “automated real estate appraisal system” was granted on Nov. 1, 1994 (U.S. Patent 5,361,201) and was issued to the inventors Allen Jost, Jennifer Nelson, Krishna Gopinathan and Craig Smith. Subsequently those rights were assigned to Transamerica Intellitech Inc., then First American Residential Services and now reside with CoreLogic.

The patent application describes the algorithms and dozens of variables that could be used to generate valuations, and how predictive models could generate estimated property values based on individual property characteristics and neighborhood or area characteristics. Through a trial and error process the model “learns” and thereby improving the results.

So What’s Next?

Patent lawsuits are traditionally very difficult to prove and can take many years to resolve. Parties have to demonstrate that a patent is or isn’t unique, already in use, overly broad or vague. In this case I am sure there will be a huge debate.

As this whole debate develops, don’t think Zillow will stop offering zestimates or that NAR will back off RPR and their dream of creating the “gold standard.” No, for now it’s business as normal. First a lot of water has to flow under the bridge before either side will anyone will know whether this lawsuit will have a chance of succeeding or not. If it turns out that First American will prevail, a licensing agreement or changes to existing AVM models will most likely occur very quickly.

This recent legal action between major corporations is however worth noting because it underscores the growing online turf war surrounding real estate data. Remember in the most recent edition of the Swanepoel TRENDS Report real estate data was listed as the #1 trend for broker, agents and professionals to watch closely.

Whether it’s AVM’s, the MLS, IDX, RETS standards, RPR or any one of the many other technology initiatives or acronyms, it’s very clear that the battle lines have been drawn.

Why the fuss? Well the winner(s) will most likely dominate the very attractive and lucrative real estate data market for the next few decades.

Latest Social Media & Technology Trends

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Tue, 18 May 2010 17:11:59 -0400

Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, technology is overwhelming.

Yes, it’s exciting!

Yes, it’s dynamic!

Yes, it clearly creates awesome opportunities.

But alas, it is confusing, ever changing and hugely time consuming. With over 27 million tweets per day, 260 billion Facebook page views per month and 90 trillion emails sent in 2009, the mind struggles to comprehend the enormity of all the information.

BUT, don’t let anyone tell you that Realtors® can’t handle it or don’t change. That’s simply just not true.

Sometimes we can be a bit slow, as an industry, but when we decide to adopt something, boy do we move. As an industry we have not only mastered the fax, PCs, back office software, websites, email, e-newsletters, etc., we use them every day in our business.

So, can Realtors® master the latest changes in technology including social media? I say a resounding YES.

THIS FRIDAY

I am honored that ActiveRain University has invited me to be their Guest Speaker this Friday May 21^st to discuss with Rainers the latest technology and social media related trends impacting and shaping our industry. We will be discussing items such as:

Mobile Media
Real-Time & Backchannels
Augmented Reality
Social Gaming & Tagging
Location-Based Services

Join me this Friday at 10:00AM Pacific Daylight Time as we chat about the exciting changes ahead.

ACTIVERAIN UNIVERSITY

DATE: Friday May 21, 2010
TIME: 10:00AM PDT
LOG IN: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/152888000/

CHATROOM: http://www.savorchat.com/r/2qp (during the talk)
COST: Free to Rainers (registration in advance is highly recommended)

SEATS: Limited to first 1,000

About the Speaker

Nineteen-time author Stefan Swanepoel publishes the annual Swanepoel TRENDS Report and the annual Swanepoel SOCIAL MEDIA Report. His Reports are widely regarded as the leading research on the most important business and technology trends impacting the real estate industry. Stefan is a highly sought-after, high-energy speaker, weaving rapidly through complex subject matter in an informational and entertaining manner.

World’s Largest Real Estate Group Shows Positive Signs of a Recovery

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Fri, 14 May 2010 19:40:44 -0400

Realogy Corporation, the world’s largest real estate franchise group, last week reported their results through March 31^st. The one-liner is that the Q1/10 revenue of $819 million is up 18% over the same period last year.

The growth is principally attributed to the move-up, higher priced markets and a comparatively weak first quarter in 2009. According to Realogy president and CEO Richard A. Smith, the company also saw gains in the average home sale price during the last year.

Smith said that increased momentum in terms of home sale contracts opened during the months of March and April, due to the homebuyer tax credit, will have a positive impact on sales numbers in Q2/10. The balance of the year however, still looks uncertain at this stage due to traditional macro factors such as weak job growth and consumer confidence.

The Numbers

EBITDA for the period was $11 million, an improvement of $73 million year-over-year, while Realogy still recorded a net loss attributable to the Company of $197 million.

As of March 31, 2010, the Company’s senior secured leverage ratio was 4.51 to 1, which is below the 5.0 to 1 maximum ratio required to be in compliance with their Credit Agreement. Realogy’s current senior secured net debt is $2.92 billion; they have no balance on their revolving credit facility and had $175 million of readily available cash.

The company saw a changing composition of home sale price points. For example subsidiary NRT, a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation, the nation’s largest residential real estate brokerage firm, saw average home prices climb from $356,000 for the same period last year to $418,000 in 2010. In the first quarter of 2010, home sales at price points over $750,000 represented 43% of NRT’s sales volume (up from 35% in Q1/09) while REO transactions at NRT dropped to 11% (from 19% in Q1/09).

Inside the Company

Cendant spilt into four separate entities Q4/05 creating Realogy. On August 1, 2006 Realogy became a self-operating company trading on the NYSE.

By end of 2006 Realogy accepted an $8.5 billion buyout from Apollo Management and Realogy was delisted on April 10, 2007.
Today Realogy owns and operates the following well known residential real estate brokerage brands: Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, The Corcoran Group, ERA Real Estate and Sotheby’s International Realty.
Realogy claims to collectively have 264,000 sales associates operating from approximately 14,900 offices (95% franchises) in 93 countries around the world.

Realogy also owns NRT, is the largest residential real estate brokerage company in the nation. They company owns and operates numerous subsidiaries in some 35 of the nation’s largest metropolitan markets. Collectively the company owned stores have approximately 760 offices, 5,300 employees and 46,000 sales associates.

Whichever way you slice it, this is an impressive company, and with many excellent real estate brands in their stable, especially Coldwell Banker, Realogy remains the company to beat.

About the Author
Nineteen-time author Stefan Swanepoel publishes the annual Swanepoel TRENDS Report and the annual Swanepoel SOCIAL MEDIA Report. His Reports are widely regarded as the leading research on the most important business and technology trends impacting the real estate industry. For more information visit www.RETrends.com

Google on High Alert : New Strategy Changes the Rules!

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Fri, 07 May 2010 12:44:23 -0400

Could a Social Media Web site be a threat to the dominance of the Google Search Engine?

Facebook has introduced a new revolutionary shift in the evolution of the Internet with its announcement last week at the f8 developer conference of their soon-to-be-ubiquitous “Open Graph” initiative - a new form of “social links.”

The launch of this new platform allows Web sites to drive traffic from Facebook by including a "Like" or “Recommended” button on their pages. Facebook's Open Graph allows readers to like a topic or article, thereby sharing it with their Facebook friends and in some cases, creating a permanent link in their profile.

Will Like Replace Links?

It seems that the “Like” button could potentially become more popular than “Links” largely because the information shared is related to a specific user and carries with that their recommendation. According to Zuckerberg billions of "Like" buttons will shortly be scattered all over the web.

It is estimated that more than 50,000 Web sites have installed the new social plug-ins within the first week of the announcement. One of those companies, ABCNews.com, reported a 250% jump in Facebook referral traffic since adding the plug-in only a week ago. So overall the “Like” button seems to be great for creators of good content such as authors, publishers, top brands, etc. Good content can now be tagged, shared and indexed and the creators benefit from potentially a huge viral distribution.

Keeping them Honest

• The obvious concern is of course that Facebook becomes the gatekeeper of millions of people’s preferences…lots of very valuable information in the hands of one company. This is even a larger concern as Wired magazine reported that Zuckerberg stated he doesn't care about the privacy of Facebook users.

• Facebook has also made a very strategic move to become a very dominant “traffic cop” that directs and shapes a significant chunk of all web traffic.

• Google must be very concerned as this undermines their algorithm that uses links between sites to determine the order of their search results. If “Likes” becomes more popular than “Links” we could have a challenge for the leader board.

• Staying in the race Microsoft this week announced “Messenger Connect.” Their version of “Your Internet ID’” they claim with be all your social profiles rolled into one. Never count Gates and company out.

For now Facebook has clearly strengthened their position as the #1 social media network. As a matter of fact they are surging forward as one of the largest repositories of personal information in the world.

About the Author Nineteen-time author Stefan Swanepoel publishes the annual Swanepoel TRENDS Report and the annual Swanepoel SOCIAL MEDIA Report. His Reports are widely regarded as the leading research on the most important business and technology trends impacting the real estate industry. For more information visit www.RETrends.com and www.Swanepoel.com

IS PRINT FINALLY DEAD? Read all about it!!

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:17:56 -0500

December 2009 saw the demise of Editor & Publisher Magazine, which had been around since 1854. It lays claim to being the chief chronicler of the American newspaper industry and has presided over the business for 125 years and is a clear signal that an era is rapidly drawing to a close.

NEWSPAPERS

Daily newspapers have been losing between 2% and 5% per year of their circulation base during the last 10 years. In 1940 there were 1,878 newspapers in the U.S. with a total circulation of 32.4 million. While the number of newspapers continued to decline — 1,611 in 1990 — their circulation increased: 62.6 million in 1990. But by 2008 the number of newspapers had dropped again by a little over 200 to 1,408 while circulation crashed down to 49.2 million. In the first half of 2009 alone another 105 newspapers closed their doors — 10,000 jobs were lost. Even among the leader board 23 of the top 25 newspapers suffered between 7% and 20% declines in circulation this year (the worst slump since the Depression), and advertising revenue could be down as much as a 30% for 2009 when all the data is finalized. One of the most critical statistics revealed that only 27% of Gen Y read a newspaper, compared with 55% of the Silent or Greatest Generation. And as the consumers change so do their preferences so other print related industries as well.

MAGAZINES

There are no reliable industry-wide magazine ad revenue numbers that are publicly reported (for obvious reasons), but according to a report compiled by The Magazine Publishers of America's Publishers Information Bureau, automotive ads for the first six months of 2009 were down 21.3% and technology down 17.5%.

MAIL

The number of pieces of first class mail has steadily decreased and according to CEO Pat Donahoe, the USPS estimates a decline of 10 billion pieces in each of the next two years, dropping from a high of 213 billion pieces in 2006 to 170 billion in 2010. They are trying to cut costs in all areas to stop the bleeding: asking Congress to authorize reducing mail delivery to five days a week (approval unlikely), offering buyouts to 30,000 workers in 2010 to save $500 million and reducing the number of collection boxes across the country, of which in the past 20 years over 200,000 have vanished, more than the 175,000 that still remain.

SPAM

But it’s not just first class mail that is migrating to the Internet. The junk mail business is moving in that direction as well. Today there are 100 billion pieces of junk mail sent in the U.S. every year and 44% of it is discarded, unopened. Consumers respond to only 2% of all the junk mail sent and as a result one of the biggest producers of junk mail — the banking industry — has made getting out of the mail a high priority. Meanwhile it is estimated that 200 billion spam emails are sent every day.

DIRECT MAIL

Revenue from direct mail is also expected to fall from $48.7 billion in 2008 to $29.8 billion in 2013 — a decline of 39% — dropping it from the #1 ad revenue generator to #4, behind the Internet, broadcast TV and newspapers. In a mid-2009 study, Anthea Stratigos, CEO of Outsell, Inc., a media research and advisory outlet, predicted that $65 billion would be siphoned away from traditional advertising channels in 2009 and be spent on companies' own websites and Internet marketing.

THE SHIFT

According to Pew Research, fewer than half of Americans (43%) say that if their local newspaper closed it would hurt their community “a lot,” and even fewer (33%) say they would personally miss reading the paper. Over 68% indicated that they get their news from local television or television websites, 48% from print, 34% from radio and 31% from the Internet.

INTERNET

Ninety trillion emails were sent in 2009 – that’s 247 billion per day. Twitter send 27 million tweets per day, You Tube serves up one billion videos per day and Facebook enjoys 260 billion page views per month. No wonder the Internet is redefining every industry, including real estate brokerage. Real estate professionals have to redefine what they do and how they do; where they find their customer and how they stay in contact with them. Many progressive Realtors® have and continue to adapt every day uncovering new ways to use the Internet in their profession. However hundreds of thousands if Realtors® still remain stuck in a paradigm that is dead. The jury is still out on how many will survive and how many will retire over the course of the next few years.

READ ALL ABOUT IT

The changing arena of real estate marketing is but one of the key trends detailed by Stefan Swanepoel in the 2010 edition of his Swanepoel Trends Report. The 172-page annual report was published in February and is a must read for all Realtors® and real estate professionals.

Real Estate Newsmakers of the Year 2009

Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:54:02 -0500

Every year as part of the new edition of the Swanepoel TRENDS Report also looks back at the passing year and the people that made deadlines. We remember and salute them for their contribution during 2009.

Here are the Newsmakers of 2009:

# 10 John Bearden

As one of the most beloved executives of a national franchise, John’s sudden departure this year as President of GMAC Real Estate — shortly after the sale of the company to Canada-based Brookfield Residential Property Services — came somewhat as a surprise. Not because he has cited health reasons, but because his departure was rumored to be unpleasant. This after he had been largely responsible for salvaging the sinking franchise during difficult times when former parent General Motors Acceptance Corporation was less than excited about their subsidiary and much more concerned about their own mortgage woes. John, you did an outstanding job under difficult circumstances and we have no doubt that you will once again serve the industry in another important capacity. We salute you.

#9 Marc Davison and Brian Boero

Outside the box — way outside the box. If ever there was an “odd couple” in real estate these two are it. But just like Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau these two are top notch in what they do and have created an exciting and dynamic consulting and speaking practice. Marc has an extensive career in advertising with companies like Young and Rubicam while Brian served for many years as President of Inman News. They both worked together at a company they owned called VREO, Inc. before joining forces again to create 1000WattConsulting. Today they are contributing to the re-engineering of the real estate industry through their consulting engagements.

#8 Kevin Levent

Metro Brokers was started with one office and a handful of sales associates in 1979 and by 2009 it was the world's largest GMAC Real Estate franchise. Under the leadership of Kevin Levent, who became President and CEO in 1996, the company has grown to nearly 2,000 sales associates. It is, however, its departure as a franchise from GMAC under a legal cloud of disagreement and the move across in December 2009 to the newly re-launched and still relatively small national franchise Better Homes & Gardens, that makes Kevin one of the top 10 Newsmakers of the Year.

#7 Harley E. Rouda, Jr.

Many where surprised when we listed Harley and his wife Kaira as top 10 Newsmakers for the year 2007, but it had then and has now again proven to be accurate. Since then this couple has skillfully positioned and branded their regional real estate company — Real Living — to be the ideal acquisition company. In October 2009 that is exactly what happened when Canada-based Brookfield Residential Property Services acquired Real Living, converted its GMAC franchise to the Real Living brand and appointed Harley as the new President of the franchise division, which is estimated to have approximately 10,000 agents in the U.S. as a result of the merger and conversion.

#6 Sherry Chris

She may not be CEO of one of the country’s largest real estate franchises (yet), but Sherry is unquestionably the most visible one in the media. She is extremely active in the Social Media world of Facebook and Twitter and in attendance at an astounding number of real estate conventions and events. After skillfully climbing the ladder from Royal LePage to Real Living, to Prudential California and then to Coldwell Banker her accession as CEO of the relatively new re-launched Better Homes & Gardens franchise is nothing short of amazing.

#5 David Stevens

In late September 2009 the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced that it had hired David Stevens, a former executive with Wells Fargo, Freddie Mac and Long & Foster as its first Chief Risk Officer. The FHA has not seen a technology upgrade or any staff increases in a decade and the appointment of a Chief Risk Officer is the first in its 74-year history. David has already taken steps to shore up the agency’s credit position. The future is promising.

#4 Dale Ross & Marty

Frame Dale and Marty are the two drivers that, over an 11 month period, cobbled together the highest profile merger of the year, one in which the National Association of Realtors® acquired ownership to a copy of the source code of Cyberhomes. This merger, together with a long-term agreement with LPS to provide extensive tax data, hosting and data aggregation services, makes it possible to form the core of RPR, The Realtor® Property Resource, a key part of the NAR’s Second Century Initiatives.

#3 Andy Kaufmann

Andy Kaufman, a Keller Williams agent in Berkeley, California and a regular AgentGenius.com writer, is credited for founding RE BarCamp. Started in August 2008 to coincide with Inman Connect, RE BarCamp events have exploded in popularity. This “un-convention” is an ad-hoc gathering of people (real estate professionals from different facets of the business) to share and learn in an open environment. It is a dynamic and intense event with discussions, demonstrations and interaction between the attendees. In 2009 RE BarCamps were held in 20 major cities across the country with one held in San Diego just before the NAR 2009 Convention, that pulled in over 500 participants.

#2 Richard A. Smith

Richard is best known as the president and chief executive officer of Realogy Corporation, a global provider of real estate and relocation services and the parent company for real estate franchise brands such as Coldwell Banker, Century 21, ERA Real Estate, Sotheby’s International Real Estate and Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate. However, in 2009 it was not well known that Richard tirelessly campaigned and lobbied in Washington to get the first-time homebuyer's tax credit extended to April 2010. It was an extension that also included a $6,500 credit for qualified repeat homebuyers. Well done Richard, the industry thanks you for a job well done.

#1 Dale Stinton

Just three years into office and Dale has pulled the trigger to move forward on more bold and innovative projects than have been initiated in the previous 10 years combined. Many of his Second Century Initiatives were launched in 2009 and several are so large that they could individually have a significant and long-term impact on the entire residential real estate brokerage industry. The Realtors® Federal Credit Union started its first full year in operation and the Realtors® Property Resource, together with HouseLogic, was announced days before the annual National Association of Realtors® Convention in November. These are huge steps for the NAR and the industry.

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