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Web marketing 2.0 Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Thursday, October 16, 2008.
Image by <a href="http://www.lumaxart.com" target=blank>Lumaxart.com</a>

Are you stuck applying traditional marketing strategies to Web 2.0? If so, here's how to shift gears and do more business with today's Web-savvy consumer.

Former Realtor.com President Allan Dalton once observed, "The real estate industry has no trouble generating leads. Instead, the issue is converting those leads into closed business."  more...

Builder confidence crumbles

By Inman News, Thursday, October 16, 2008.

Home builder confidence hit a record low in October, a likely reflection of builders' assessments of the recent events on Wall Street, the rapid deterioration in job markets and the corresponding weakness in consumer confidence, an industry group said.

The National Association of Home Builders-Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) declined three points, to 14, after edging up slightly in September. If the index is above 50, that indicates more builders view sales conditions as good than poor.  more...

Fall checklist for a safer, warmer home

By Paul Bianchina, Thursday, October 16, 2008.

High energy prices are taking their toll on just about everyone this year, so it's important to do whatever you can to create and maintain an energy-efficient home. Fall is the ideal time for weatherization projects, so this year's fall checklist is centered around what you can do to create a warmer home that has less impact on your wallet.  more...

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'MLS' name dispute lands in court Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Thursday, October 16, 2008.

A dispute over a Realtor's use of "MLS" in his Web site address, which already has been reviewed by two arbitration panels, has erupted into a lawsuit in federal court.

Marc Rasmussen, a Realtor in Sarasota, Fla., who in 2003 registered TheSarasotaMLS.com as a domain name for his real estate Web site, has filed the legal complaint in an effort to keep that Web address, which he says is important to his business. The Sarasota Association of Realtors owns the SarasotaMLS.com Web site.  more...

Mortgage rates spike on market turmoil

By Inman News, Thursday, October 16, 2008.

Rates on traditional fixed-rate mortgages saw their largest one-week increase in more than 20 years this week, shooting back well above 6 percent on continued volatility in markets for investments such as Treasurys and bonds that finance mortgages.

Rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages hit at an eight-week high, averaging 6.46 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending Oct. 16, Freddie Mac said in its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey.  more...

MBA recruits lobbyist from HUD

By Inman News, Thursday, October 16, 2008.

The Mortgage Bankers Association has a new director of legislative affairs -- a former Bush administration official whose job was to push legislation on housing and mortgage finance through Congress.  more...

NAR pushes housing stimulus plan

By Inman News, Thursday, October 16, 2008.

The National Association of Realtors is calling on Congress to pass new housing stimulus legislation it says will "give a boost to the economy and help to calm jittery potential home buyers."  more...

California home prices to drop 32% in '08

By Inman News, Thursday, October 16, 2008.

Home prices in California are expected to drop 31.7 percent this year to a median $381,000, and to fall another 6 percent in 2009, according to a California Association of Realtors forecast released this week.  more...

'Price cutting hurts all homes'

By Inman News, Thursday, October 16, 2008.

Editor's note: The following is a comment on the Oct. 6 Inman News story, "Coldwell Banker promotes price reductions."

"This is more like a race to the bottom ... price cutting just gets more price cutting. This sounds more like a revenue hunt on the part of Coldwell Banker. While many homes are indeed overpriced, price cutting hurts all other homes on the market.  more...

Grow your real estate community

By Inman News, Thursday, October 16, 2008.

Real estate professionals are very familiar with their communities. It is from their communities that they derive much of their business. Sometimes, communties are linked by geographical ties, but other times, communities are formed around an idea, or even around a person. The classic real estate sales concept of the "sphere of influence" could just as easily be called "community."  more...