swanepoel trends report: Calling All Trend Spotters: Social Media facilitates your Input - 11/03/10 02:58 PM
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 … (0 comments)

swanepoel trends report: Swanepoel Trends Report Opens Research for New 2011 Report, New Business Models at Top of List - 10/11/10 02:07 PM
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 … (30 comments)

swanepoel trends report: Realtors® are NOT stupid, just slow… - 09/30/10 01:34 PM
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 … (17 comments)

swanepoel trends report: The Step Child of Real Estate, Cyberhomes.com, Changes Hands - 08/03/10 03:45 PM
 
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 … (25 comments)

swanepoel trends report: From Trees to Tablets: The Evolution of Reading - 07/23/10 03:10 PM
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 … (10 comments)

swanepoel trends report: First Major Australian Real Estate Firm Enters US - The Aussies are Here! - 06/21/10 12:18 PM
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 … (8 comments)

swanepoel trends report: Battle of the AVMs: An Online Real Estate War - 05/28/10 12:59 PM
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 … (14 comments)

swanepoel trends report: Latest Social Media & Technology Trends - 05/18/10 05:11 PM
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 … (36 comments)

swanepoel trends report: Real Estate Newsmakers of the Year 2009 - 01/08/10 10:54 AM
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 … (0 comments)

swanepoel trends report: Real Estate is Local, Buyers are Global - 3 International Trends Impacting Everyone - 03/25/09 01:48 PM
For a long time most international markets have felt far away, and many Americans didn't care nor were they very interested in foreign cities. Although the Web has brought us closer together as a people we still remain apart. Few products or services illustrate this better than the buying or selling of a home.
But today with air travel becoming increasingly more commonplace, immigration and living choices becoming more readily available and our own market in a recession, many smart real estate companies have turned toward international expansion as a new means of controlled growth.

At the same time many buyers … (7 comments)

 
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Stefan Swanepoel

Ladera Ranch, CA

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New York Times Bestselling Author & International Speaker

Address: PO Box 7259, Laguna Niguel, CA, 92607

Office Phone: (949) 202-5758

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Change, Business Trends, Technology and New Models.


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