USA Today contributor Andrew Frye shared statements from billionaire Warren Buffett’s recent letter to his shareholders including his forecast for the residential real estate market. Read the article here.
by Rob Wicker
Real estate agents don’t need to be graphic design experts; however, there are some basic design practices that can help you project a professional image in your advertising. Here are ten tips to help you look more professional:
A good practice is to occasionally go to Borders, Barnes & Noble, or another large book store and browse through the magazine section. Don’t just look at the House & Home section. Look at a variety of magazines, the more diverse the better. You’ll get a feel for trends and this may also stimulate your creativity in other areas of your real estate practice.
by Rob Wicker
It’s easy for a homebuyer to get a feel for the market. If a buyer actively looks at houses for a couple of weeks and he can afford approximately $600 thousand, it doesn’t take long for him know what a $600 thousand house looks like. There will be some variation of course based on variables like condition and location, but the buyer has a general idea regarding what he can afford.
This is why it is important for real estate agents to make sure they justify the price of the property in their advertising. Whether you’re advertising in a magazine, on the Internet or through direct mail—the advertised property needs to communicate full value. Usually, the reason the property does not reflect full value is the poor quality of the photograph. Maybe the angle is bad, the lighting is dim, or the agent did a drive-by photo shooting and the image is poor. Or perhaps the square footage of the house is less than expected and you fail to explain that the reason the smaller house is priced at $600 thousand is because it is in an extremely desirable area.
If you advertise a $600 thousand listing and after examining the picture and reading the ad the buyer thinks the property is worth maybe $400 thousand, is he going to contact you? Not likely.
Justifying the price should be a gate in your advertising model. If you run an ad that does not get the response you wanted, ask yourself this question: Did I justify the price of the property? Better yet, ask yourself this question before you actually run the ad.
by Adrian Amos
Michael Russer (aka Mr. Internet) recently wrote a feature story on a Realtor® with over 50,000 fans for his Facebook page. Douglas Newby of Architecturally Significant Homes in Dallas, TX specializes in modern homes and built his fan page to highlight unique architecture. Starting with 0 fans in September, 2009, Newby has grown to well over 50,000 in five months. (Realtor.com currently has just over 3,000 fans.)
Why is having this kind of Facebook presence important?
Traffic. Newby’s main website “saw an increase of over 5,000 new unique visitors. Almost all of that new traffic is directly related to his Facebook strategy,” Russer wrote.
And buyers. Newby himself said that “There has been a dramatic increase in the number of buyers contacting me about modern homes for sale or potentially for sale because they appreciate me sharing their passion for modern homes.”
Russer shares his four-step approach to building a successful Facebook Fan page and offers tips for building your fan base here.
Top Realtors® address local market trends and attitudes
Tallahassee, FL (March 3, 2010) – If you want to know something about local real estate, ask a Realtor®. Homes & Land, a provider of real estate media and marketing for over 37 years, recently launched Market Pulse. In an effort to develop a clear view of each market, in February Homes & Land asked over one hundred thousand real estate agents to report their opinions about their local real estate market. The national, state, and county results are published in the Market Pulse Survey Report. Overall, optimism is improving with most agents reporting an increase in homebuyer interest. However, in states with the highest foreclosure rates, buying appears to be driven by distressed home sales.
When asked if President Obama’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) “has reduced the rate of foreclosures in your market,” only 10 percent of respondents said ‘yes’. Initial details about HAMP became available on March 4, 2009 with the promise of easing at-risk homeowners. The plan makes available $75 billion in funding for up to four million homeowners, providing a modified interest rate and three months of a probationary period.
“Foreclosures and short sales still appear to be driving home sales in several states,” says Eric Adair, Business Development Analyst for Homes & Land. “Unfortunately, the data on the program to date and the responses from our survey show that HAMP has done little to help. Clearly respondents to our survey don’t believe this program is helping to reduce foreclosures.”
When asked, “How would you describe consumer interest in purchasing a home in your area over the past three months,” 58 percent of agents in the U.S. said, “increasing.” Regional responses in states with the highest foreclosure rates showed interest even higher than the national average.
In the top three states with the highest foreclosure rates, real estate agents who responded are seeing increased homebuyer interest. Arizona (71%), California (64%) and Florida (67%) agents are seeing more interest, but the increase appears to be coming in the form of distressed home sales. Only 14% of agents reported that the majority (50% or more) of their sales over the last 12 months came from distressed properties. However, Arizona (38%), California (35%) and Florida (26%) agents each reported sales of distressed homes much higher than the national average.
“Almost 5800 Realtors® and agents across the U.S. participated in the Market Pulse survey,” says Adair. “We will continue ‘taking the pulse’ of as many local markets as we can throughout 2010 to better identify trends and regional market conditions.”
The Market Pulse Report, located at www.homesandland.com/marketpulse, provides insight on regional real estate trends and attitudes across the U.S. For more than 37 years, Realtors® have counted on Homes & Land to provide the most targeted distribution channels to reach active homebuyers. Log on 24-hours a day to find homes for sale, real estate listings, home valuations, and gain insight and perspective into the home sales market.
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