*Note: This blog is posted to various Active Rain Groups as well as Localism because I am seeking the opinions of Active Rain members. At this time comments cannot be posted to Localism blogs.
FAQ's:
Why spend time Blogging? At this time my profile has been viewed 10574 times. At some point blogging may benefit my clients, whether they have a personal appreciation for blogging or not.
Conclusion: Someone, somewhere is interested in at least 1 or some of my posts. An average "post" statistic I look at is: views: ex-3410 clicks: ex-133 . Statistics confirm there is a MS Gulf Coast readership out there besides spyders, crawlers, and business to business folks wanting to improve my income with their products.
Blogging is my "me" time. It helps me to center and focus. Usually when writing a post, I will need to research. Research is a good thing; an investment of sorts.
I began my Active Rain Blog in 2006 as the Coast was still in a dreadful struggle to rise again after hurricane Katrina. I have learned a lot from the Active Rain membership at large. Over time, I also learned that some one, somewhere is tuning into my blog. From looking at Active Rain Statistics, I gather that whoever is tuning in is attracted to photos. My "photoblogs" usually get around 3000 views, even when I think the topic might be a bit lackluster.
Why would I discuss facets of Active Rain membership at Localism.com ? Sometimes there is cross over. Its that simple.We can only imagine what the makeup of the audience is. I figure that that both Localism and Active Rain have readers that are real estate professionals and/or individuals with a real estate need. Many of the super folks that I now work with are Go Zone investors across the United States.When I write for Localism, I write with these clients in mind and prospective MS Gulf Coast relocating households. I try to imagine what I would want to know.I try to give a glimpse of the nature of "Localism" for these investors and potential buyers or renters. Real life.
Because of the popularity of original photo-blogs, I also imagine that some of the people who left the area after Katrina are homesick and stop by for a photo fix.
*Now, just in case some of the investors I work with are tuning in--below are some excellent sites to review Section 8. The Landlord Association , Hud Groups: Landlords ,Hud Fact Sheet .
*For anyone tuning in for any reason--Section 8 Landlords are scattered about all over the place. Section 8 is not the same as the old idea of "projects". Section 8 tenants and land lords do not have any outward sign of help with government funding. In my opinion, the housing allowance for section 8 is at the upper moderate income level. This may be one reason why people without section 8 often seem to have difficulty paying the same rent as those with a section 8 allowance have. I repeat--Section 8 does not mean you are a slum, a project, or have run down property. NO one but you, the tennant, the property manager if you have one, and Uncle Sam will know that your particular property is involved with section 8.
Locally, the CAL Group is on both the SRAP (Small Rental Assistance Program) and Section 8 lists for investors that choose to be in either or both programs. Other than that CAL does extensive multi-media advertising.
I did find the Go Section 8 website interesting. Please check it out and let me know what you think.Go Section 8 Website Info
Why do I seem to change my mind about the market? Because the market changes. My visual definition: the housing market reminds me of the waves I watch when walking the piers along Beach Boulevard. The only constant thing about the waves is that they are there and will continue to be waves until the end of time.
How can you hear so many different interpretations of the current state of the market? Let's try a personal analogy to illustrate this. Data begins in the Field. Think of me as a Field Worker/Field Agent. I love the one on one contact and being at a place that I can personally observe what is going on. The data I gather, what is in my mind and sometimes comes out of my mouth--is related to raw data. This data has not been manipulated, caluculated, run through programs, analyzed or interpreted. It is what it is. However, few agents or field workers can have enough contacts to actually develop reliable, general, across the board theories. At most, we develop suspicions of trends. We take into consideration, current competition and what our soon to move prosepects and residents with pending lease renewals ask us to match or compete with. By the way, we are fortunate if they tell us what other offers they are contemplating. Some investors may care about the raw data the field agents are encountering; some may not.
By the time you see reports, the conclusions are likely a bit stale, although you have the numbers for reliability--except, even the government sometimes relies on NAR reports. NAR reports ofen come from multiple agents entering data on the fly. There is likely a bit of error in those figures, although the errors may be accounted for by standard deviation. So, you may be talking to people with different purposes using data gained in different ways in different time frames. You may be hearing from a field team with raw, in your face information VS a sales team that gains statistically valid data through various proven resources.
Who is to say which type of data is most useful? Or, that either type is right, or wrong in any way? I will say this--I am immensely grateful for the investors who respect both sides of the data story. Now, please excuse me as I have a Saturday showing and a raw data gathering opportunity.
*The CAL Realty Group Currently has move in ready vacancies in Long Beach, Gulfport, and Biloxi/N. Biloxi. Some of our Investors accept/Welcome Section 8 residents.
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