“A 2% reduction in negative word of mouth boosts sales growth by 1%”
- London School of Economics and Political Science, “Advocacy Drives Growth” Study more...
Missoula MT Sept 8, 2009 - Agreements with Intermountain MLS of Boise and Northwest Montana Association of REALTORs in Kalispell, plus two others, continue to grow Goomzee’s nationwide footprint. Goomzee®, a leading text message marketing and lead generation provider that connects buyers and sellers in real time, announces agreements with four more multiple listings services. more...
"On 9-11-09 join a free motorcycle ride dedicated to the memory of the 343 FDNY Firemen, 61 Police Officers and all those who tragically lost their lives on that historic day. The goal is to draw Patriotic Americans together on a Remembrance Ride to honor these brave Americans. "The Ride" and public Ceremony is open to all."
Here is a link to a long standing 9-11 memorial ride here in SoCal: http://www.remember911ride.com
Please post other events you may be attending in your area - And remember:
All Gave Some - Some Gave All - NEVER Forget !!
Thank you, Danny
Thank you, more...
why for the love of all that is holy, that agents are starting to use HDR for houses that are, to put it plainly and simply, cookie cutter??? Yeah, HDR is cool. Sure it can be fun to muck around with photoshop and get a sort of gothic wonderland shot, but as the main shots for the interior of a 200k house? (average home price in the Austin area). Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. I think HDR shots should be saved for artists and not distract from showing the buyer the house. Of course, I could be wrong; I know at least one agent who disagrees with me.
What do you think?
Joe
http://www.affinityproperties.com
http://www.joecline.com
Below is a press release from my company, Goomzee. It was syndicated this very morning and discusses our latest product enhancement: Drag & Drop Photo Re-ordering. more...
URGENT HVCC UPDATE:
Thank you to everyone who responded to our article last month concerning the business-destroying HVCC legislation - And for signing our petition to overturn it.
HVCC continues to devastate home values across the US. The mortgage industry is now faced with EXPANSION of the HVCC fiasco with higher Fannie and Freddie loan limits.
HVCC will carry through to former “jumbo” markets forcing more and more downward preasure on homeowners real estate values. more...
As you may know, the holdings of Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions have recently been re-branded as LPS Real Estate Group. Some individuals in the industry instantly labeled the move as a “Fire Sale”, but in reality the situation is really nothing more than a simple name change. Well, maybe I shouldn’t have spoken so quickly. “Simple” is misleading, as the advent of LPS has caused a bit of confusion among Real Estate agents and RE tech vendors alike, many of which work with FNRES-now-LPS on a daily basis. more...
Press Release issued 10min ago:
OCALA, FLORIDA – TAYLOR, BEAN & WHITAKER MORTGAGE CORP. (“TBW”) RECEIVED NOTIFICATION ON AUGUST 4, 2009 FROM THE U.S DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, FREDDIE MAC AND GINNIE MAE (THE “AGENCIES”) THAT IT WAS BEING TERMINATED AND/OR SUSPENDED AS AN APPROVED SELLER AND/OR SERVICER FOR EACH OF THOSE RESPECTIVE FEDERAL AGENCIES.
TBW HAS UNSUCCESSFULLY SOUGHT TO HAVE THE TERMINATION/SUSPENSION DECISIONS OF EACH OF THOSE AGENCIES REVERSED. AS A RESULT OF THESE ACTIONS, TBW MUST CEASE ALL ORIGINATION OPERATIONS EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. more...
The Patriot Guard Riders (PGR) has been tasked with Hand-To-Hand delivery of a father’s memorial flag from SoCal - To his daughter (Jennifer) in Florida.
This ride will cover 6 states with stops to hand off the flag to the next group of riders for the next leg of the trip.
Day one / Riverside, CA to Ehrenberg, AZ / 177 miles
Day two / Ehrenberg, AZ to San Simon, AZ / 382 miles
Day three / San Simon, Az to El Paso, TX / 200 miles
Day four / El Paso, TX to San Antonio, TX / 553 miles
Day five / San Antonio, TX to Lake Charles, LA / 340 miles more...
This Wall Street Journal article illustrates how focused everyone is on the lender -- With little more than a glance given to distressed homeowners. It is interesting to note that while the various government bodies are cleaning up the "loan mod" industry - They still have not issued any sort of consumer guide to help homeowners needing assistance. Here are a few tips: more...
On July 30, 2009, some of the provisions of the Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act of 2008 (MDIA) go into effect and lenders, mortgage brokers, title agents, real estate agents, and real estate brokerages need be alert as to these new federal governmental regulations. Here are the details for the MDIA: more...
We just pushed our new interactive map search on my Hawaii real estate site. I would like to get some feed back if at all possible. I am sure there are still some bugs and would like to here about those as well so we can stomp them. Real Geeks team did the interactive map search and integrated IDX. In the spirit of full disclosure - I am one of the principles of Real Geeks, LLC.
Go here to do a search: www.rehawaii.com/refine/
1. Choose the location you want to search more...
Does anyone else find this ridiculous?
Former CW senior executives are now heading up a company with Fannie and Freddie REO contracts - Even though they have ZERO real estate selling experience.
(Is that why they are just now getting their real estate licensing in order...?)
They make Multi-Millions in salaries and bonuses at CW - Which certainly had a major hand in creating this real estate bubble - Only to turn around and profit again from the REO market.
Here is the link: http://blogcatalog.com/search.frame.php?term=countrywide+reo&id=c38dad1c... more...
We asked some AccuRecruiter clients to describe what this new recruiting tool has done to help them improve their recruiting. more...
According to Google Adwords there were 1.2 Billion real estate related searches in 2008. No-one doubts the growing power of the Internet and the increasing number of consumers searching for properties online.
So now, more than 2,600 geo-targeted domains names, the self-proclaimed largest real estate listing domain portfolio in the world, is for sale. more...
Many of you have heard about how the IRS has been targeting Real Estate Agents, and challenging the status of a "real estate professional" for an Agent.
To give you a brief background without getting into the details - a "Real Estate Professional" is someone who "materially participates" in their real estate activity. As a result, they are able to deduct real estate losses from other income that is not related to real estate.
The IRS had been challenging the "real estate professional" status for agents - stating that Brokers qualify, but Agents do not. And they were winning... more...
GOOMZEE INTRODUCES NEW TEXT MESSAGE MARKETING INNOVATION; INCREASES SALES OPPORTUNITIES
MISSOULA, MT May 11, 2009 – Mobile technology startup, Goomzee, introduced a new innovation to its text message marketing platform to further reduce lost sale opportunities. The new innovation, rightfully called InterAct, enables a text message chat conversation between potential buyer and seller. more...
Real estate investors are the most active buyer in the current markets. They account for more than 1 out of every 5 real estate transactions,and 75% of their purchases are single family homes, condos, and townhouses.
What are you doing NOW to grow your business with investor clients, and what actions can real estate professionals take to make investor clients want to do business with them? more...
It seems today that many vendors are enticed by the perceived ’sexiness’ of mobile applications.
“A mini-program I can access on-the-go, and it only costs $4.00? Sign me up!”
Or perhaps vendors are lured not by the app’s sexiness, instead drawn to the mobile platform after hearing consumer raves like the one above. Sadly, while the ‘quote’ may indeed reflect the way most Americans approach their cell phone, the facts don’t lie; and the facts are telling us that mobile apps have a market reach of 13%. more...
Engel & Völkers has just assigned its 555th license with the signing of the license region for Beverly Hills, Bel Air and Westwood by Michael Giorgio. He plans to open his first Engel and Volkers residential real estate shop in July 2009. more...
“It is impossible to predict the future.” That’s a statement I have made hundreds of times, both from the stage as well as in print.
Yet considering the most likely scenarios and then preparing for them lessens the shock when some variation of any prediction does materialize. Being caught off guard is just foolish. Why would you fight the future? The future is coming, no matter what. " more...
Whether you own a small real estate office or a franchise with multiple offices, real estate brokers have much in common with other small business owners during these difficult economic conditions. This economy affects all businesses and it doesn’t really matter if you are the local hair salon or the major department store, current market conditions are tough. more...
In just a few days (3/1), Fannie will start allowing investors to hold up to 10 mortgages and get Fannie Mae backed loans. The limit had been previously reduced to 4.
It's a good move - investors account for at least 22% of the market, and 75% of their purchases are single family homes, condos, and townhouses - so they can clear up some of the inventory.
There will be an increase in activity from investors who had been halted by the 4 property limit, and it's certainly a good time to market to them. more...
There's been a loud hullabaloo in the industry lately concerning IDX feeds. Unfortunately, the staggering amount of people who are unreasonably excited about IDX is equaled and possibly even surpassed by the amount of folks who couldn't tell IDX from their own left hand. I myself was included in the ranks of the un-knowledgeable until I received enlightenment not twenty minutes ago. Now, verily do I pass unto you: more...
It’s the first week of February and the time my annual Swanepoel TRENDS Report is released. The 160-page annual publication announces the official list of Top 10 trends, strategies, innovations and changes shaping and changing the business of real estate.
For the last several years we have been summarizing the events of every year and forecasting the most likely shifts in the industry that could impact our industry. We have discussed topics such as the sub prime and housing meltdown (detailed back in December 2005), the growth in global real estate sales and activities and even non-U.S. based companies expanding to the U.S., mortgage fraud, identity theft, the growth of online education, the growth of social media and blogs, and many more.
Here are some of the top 10 Trends included in this year’s Report: more...
In a shifting market your position in your real estate team changes from being a manager/owner back to being the lead generator. The things that worked in past real estate markets no longer work today. Your use of marketing dollars and time spent prospecting must change. Below is a list of the top ten sources for leads in a shifting market. Each topic will be discussed in detail in future posts. more...
I received a few emails indicating surprise that I included micro blogging (Twitter) on my Top 10 Events impacting Real Estate in 2008 so I thought I would provide a little more information for those that are not that familiar with the concept of short text-based 140 character posts. more...
As part of the annual Swanepoel TRENDS Report that is published every year during the first week of February, the research team wraps their four month study of the real estate industry by announcing the top 10 Newsmakers, Events and Trendsetters for the year.
The second list to be released is the top 10 events that during 2008 had the largest impact and influence on the real estate brokerage industry. more...
Hi All, I thought a positive message going into the holidays was needed. May everyone take time to recharge and plan and execute towards a successful 2009 season. Austin Smith is an active blogger on our team and I loved his most recent post and felt inclined to syndicate it here - Happy Holidays!
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By Austin Smith, Product Specialist - Goomzee.com more...
There are only so many original thoughts a team leader can come up with to motivate, inspire, and lead a real estate team to a higher level of production. I would encourage growing teams to add reading the same book as a group each and every month. more...
Real estate professionals need to think differently about the future. They need to do more and they need to move faster. It has now been more than 10 years since my first book on trends, Real Estate confronts Reality, and many of the changes that we have been writing and speaking about are now coming to fruition. Things are definitely changing, and on a large scale. Within the next five years the real estate brokerage industry will significantly have changed and brokers and agents that don’t adapt now will not enjoy the benefits of the next economic upswing. more...
Change seems to be the buzz word this year, with Barack Obama touting “Change We Need,” John McCain promoting “Real Change” and even Hillary Clinton saying “Change you can count on.”
Every year the Swanepoel TRENDS Report identifies, analyzes and then details out the imminent changes that are expected to impact the real estate industry over the coming 12 – 18 months. The 2009 Report is currently in the final 60 days of research and writing and obviously with all the recent financial disasters, the energy crisis, the housing collapse and foreclosure catastrophe this has made 2008 the worst year in real estate and financial history. more...
As real estate professionals, nationwide, search for sales and marketing tools to better advertise their listings to consumers, talk of mobile advertising capabilities continues to rise to the top of discussion.
We've seen MLS and Associations swarming around the idea of mobile MLS search, in attempt to meet real estate consumer demands and provide easy access to listing information from mobile phones. The only question is, are we ready to start marketing campaigns via mobile web search? If you are trying to reach a large audience, wireless user reports point to "No". more...
Coming soon to a cell phone near you: The ability to project images and videos via a built in micro sized pico-projector on any surface up to 100 inches. more...
Big, Bigger, Biggest Real Estate Images!
Tired of terrible images? Yep, so were we.
We begged, pleaded, coaxed, and nagged our development team for excellent image presentation for vacation rentals and real estate images. We so appreciate their patience and expertise in finding a solution for better images! We think they delivered in a big way! Check these incredible pictures for this snow-bird vacation home listing - they speak for themselves and just check out how many sizes are displayed here! more...
Hello All,
I joined Inman recently in an effort to immerse myself in conversation with realtors about technology they use or want to sell houses, with an emphasis on mobile phones.
I work for a company (Knovolo) that uses mobile phones as a channel for marketing campaigns. We've been focusing a lot on the Real Estate industry recently, and we've had a pretty strong response from realtors and builders.
Let me explain our Text Link service. Our clients add to their For Sale signs a message that reads:
"For more information, text DEMO to 732589 (REALTY)" more...
The Financial Market Disaster of 2008
September 2008 is exactly two weeks old today, but what a September it has already been. The events of late are unsurpassed in living history and I think that 9/08 may very well be remembered as the worst financial disaster in history. more...
Today we remember the brave men, women and children who lost their lives seven years ago and the heroes that responded to the emergency. There are many different video tributes of that day but I thought that this one was particularly well rounded. http://attacked911.tripod.com/
God Bless America!
If you are not familiar with Local.com, they are localized online search tool specializing in helping people find large and small businesses within their local area. Unlike other local search tools out there Local.com contains rich review content submitted by actual customers as well as free listings within their directory.
According to Compete, Local.com’s traffic has been steadily increasing over the past few years as well and they are now just under the 10 million visitor per month mark. more...
The results for the XXIX Real Estate Olympiad are in.
Wow, what a huge undertaking it has been to tally the scores, taking all factors into consideration, weighted scores, removing highest and lowest scores and of course double checking the hanging chads. Thank you to all paticipants, nominees,voters and judges!
So the Medal Winners of the 2008 Real Estate Pacesetter Award, as voted by the Inman Real Estate Trends Group, are: more...
Today my colleagues and I took our first trip to the new Hooters that opened just last week (the first Hooters in Montana!). While there we were talking to our lovely waitress and making conversation asked where we worked. On Monday, we hired a new member for our sales team. This gave him the chance to give his first live spiel about Goomzee and what we do. HE DID SO GREAT! more...
Last week over 40 participants entered to be considered for the Gold, Silver or Bronze award as one of the real estate industries premier pacesetters for 2008. Over the weekend, the nominations were narrowed down to 8 finalists!
You can see more information and finalists posted in the Technology, Tools and Tidbits group as well as the Real Estate Trends group. However, for your vote to count, you must be a member of the Real Estate Trends group! more...
This is in follow up to the post last week titled Real Estate Olympics
Recap of Beijing
Mark Spitz's 36-year old record of 7 gold medals at one Olympic event, across all Olympic sports, was shattered when 23-year-old swimming machine Michael Phelps grabbed his 8th gold in Beijing and 14 all-time gold medals. Who will ever forget his 0.01 of a second photo-finish with Serbian - Wow. more...
As a real estate professional you have an important task of keeping your clients satisfied. One of the key factors in keeping your clients satisfied requires you to be available to your client when they are available. After all, they've chosen you to work for them. (I know, I should be nicknamed "Captain Obvious"!) However, there is a fine line that can be crossed, and that's the line between your personal and professional life. When that line is crossed, it can eventually cause small sparks that lead to a fire in the relationship between you and your clients down the road. more...
I've noticed politicians making an extra effort to reach-out to more young adults with campaigns such as the get out and vote programs by companies like MTV. Other sources for news, information and events have been implemented this year, and if you haven't already heard, one of the biggest has been text-messaging. People can sign up to receive the latest news from their favorite politicians to keep in touch and updated. more...
