Entries from March 2008 ↓
March 31st, 2008 — New Construction, Real Estate, Real Estate Technology
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If you are a fan of big buildings expect to be thrilled because Prince al-Wahid bin Talal of Saudi Arabia is planning on building a tower that will stand a mile high into the sky.
No, that is not a misprint.
If you do not think that the 100 dollar barrels of oil are creating a windfall for the Saudis then this will change your mind. In the Red Sea port town of Jeddah they are planning on building the largest building in the world, doubling size of the Dubai Tower that is nearing construction and tripling the size of the CN Tower in Toronto.
On a clear day, the view from the top will take in the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian Ocean - providing you’ve a head for heights.
Plans for a mile-high tower in the Saudi Arabian desert have been unveiled by the billionaire owner of London’s Savoy Hotel.
At 5,250ft, the £5billion project, masterminded by two British engineering consultancies, will be twice as high as its nearest rivals, skyscrapers under construction in Dubai and Kuwait, and almost seven times as high as the Canary Wharf tower in London’s Docklands. via the Daily Mail.
March 31st, 2008 — Housing bubble
This is a phrase I never thought that I would read about housing, buying in bulk.
But with Detroit is a cataclysmic housing free-fall that is now how the banks are selling their foreclosed upon homes. Not one at a time but in bulk often at prices in the twenty thousand range. So when you read that the Detroit’s housing sales are up dramatically, do not get too excited.
What you are seeing is the vultures swooping in and buying up the inventory at extreme bargain basement prices. My question is with the declining economy is whether there will ever be enough demand for the housing that is there presently or if the homes will be stripped for parts like in Buffalo?
Or the Drive Thru Realtors opening up? I will take a dozen ranches and 4 two stories. Please hold the detached garages? Bulk real estate, what a concept.
Sales were up dramatically in Detroit in February, rising 49% from a year before, and realty watchers say foreclosure properties played a key role in the increase.
Some see significant risk to investors who could get low-end properties without being familiar with pitfalls of the market. “Real estate is not a commodity. You have to know what you are buying,” said Mark Nagy, a broker and consultant for RE Investments Inc. in Southfield. “What typically ends up in bulk sales is stuff that has sat on the market for more than six months.”
Banks see Detroit as a sore spot, Nagy said, because they cannot move the properties and there are so many. “Bulk buying will become more commonplace by the end of the summer,” Nagy said. “Right now, so many properties in Detroit are like a hot potato. Whoever ends up with it will be crushed.” via the Detroit Free Press.
March 31st, 2008 — Mortgage Fraud
The tangled web of the housing market and politics is getting deeper. Hillary Clinton is proposing a 30 billion dollar bailout of the housing market. This obviously is a move to gain a populist edge in the coming election. Typical politics, nothing to see here, right?
Well not so fast. Her campaign manager and chief adviser, Maggie Williams, was a director of one of the largest subprime lenders in the country. Delta Financial was the 8th largest subprime lender and had a track record of lending in urban areas that were hit hard with foreclosures.
So as the politicians fight over who has the high ground in the housing debate, be very cautious. But when Hillary Clinton will there was a lot of fraud in the housing market take her word for it.
Her chief adviser was in the middle of committing some of the worst of it.
Hillary Clinton spends considerable time on the campaign trail bemoaning unscrupulous lenders who have left millions of Americans scrambling to keep their homes but all the while her campaign manager, Margaret “Maggie” Williams, has sat on the board of one of the nation’s once-largest and now-bankrupt sub-prime mortgage lenders.
Clinton Communications Director Howard Wolfson told FOXNews.com late Sunday that Williams, a longtime Clinton ally, didn’t join Clinton’s Democratic presidential campaign as a volunteer until after Delta Financial Corporation — for which Williams is a director — went bankrupt in December 2007.
…
But as it turns out, Clinton’s top aide is on the board of what had been — until its bankruptcy — the ninth-leading sub-prime lender in the nation, handling almost $800 million worth of sub-prime lending in the third quarter of 2007 alone, according to National Mortgage News. via Americas Election HQ.
March 31st, 2008 — 2008 Real Estate Predictions, Foreclosure, Housing bubble, Mortgage, New Construction, real estate indicators
Alphonso Jackson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, is expected to resign his post as head of the Cabinet Department. The timing of this resignation is not a great indicator of how the White House and Congress are dealing with housing issues.
There have been reports that one of the stumbling blocks is the relationship between Jackson and the Democrats in the Congress. While this can not be a surprise, the Democrats want huge spending programs enacted to counter the housing issues while the administration is fighting for a market solution, it will put back any agreement between the two.
One of the problems facing the housing industry right now is they do no know how Washington is going to react to the housing and credit problems out there. Companies do not want to make the hard decisions if there is a bailout from Washington coming.
Mr. Jackson, a former top housing official in Texas, Washington, D.C., and Missouri, has consistently denied any improper behavior while leading HUD. Still, his poor relationship with Democrats has hurt the White House’s efforts to broker deals in response to the housing crisis. For example, Democrats have criticized the way he handled public housing after Hurricane Katrina, an issue that has dogged him ever since.
HUD, usually out of the spotlight among the federal agencies, has been at the heart of the administration’s attempts to ease problems for homeowners. Mr. Jackson has been the junior partner to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in that effort. At events, the HUD secretary generally stressed the human cost of the nation’s housing-induced financial woes, while Mr. Paulson handled the technical details. via WSJ.com.
Hat tip to the Industry Report.
March 29th, 2008 — Real Estate
Lots of cool updates in it but I would still recommend not putting it on your main blog sites for a couple of days till things shake out and any bugs that are in it are found.
Wordpress 2.5 Link (1.2 mb download)
March 29th, 2008 — 2008 Real Estate Predictions, Top 10 Real Estate Lists
With all of the dire news on the real estate front, many areas are still growing hand over fist. Much of it is organic population growth but relocation also plays a big part.
Dallas Fort Worth led the way in growth between July 1st, 2006 and July 1st, 2007. The city grew by over 162 thousand residents with Atlanta close behind at over 150 thousand new folks. Out of the top 10 areas for growth, 8 are in the south. Who is going to tell me that air conditioning isn’t one of the most impactful housing accomplishments in the history of housing.
This report provides even more fuel to the fire that much of the housing crisis that has been created is a combination of over building and speculators in these markets. Once inventory is under control, normal markets will follow shortly thereafter.
Top 10 Metropolitan Areas With Biggest Population Gain
- Dallas Fort Worth Arlington – Texas 162,250
- Atlanta Sandy Springs Marietta – Georgia 151,063
- Phoenix Mesa Scottsdale – Arizona 132,513
- Houston Sugar Land Baytown – Texas 120,544
- Riverside San Bernardino Ontario – California 86,660
- Charlotte Gastonia Concord – North Carolina 66,724
- Chicago Naperville Joliet – Illinois 66,231
- Austin Round Rock – Texas 65,880
- Las Vegas Paradise – Nevada 59,165
- San Antonio – Texas 53,925
via CNN
March 27th, 2008 — Real Estate
Participants:
Discussion:
Widgets are easy to install is the opening salvo of the discussion. As Dustin said, if your webmaster is telling you that adding the widget is expensive, you probably need to get a new webmaster.
Business Benefits of Widgets:
Michael says the widgets will answer questions that people visiting your site are asking without you having to be an expert in it. Talks about the Meebo widget to allow chat. This will improve conversions dramatically.
Mark talks to the relationship benefits of widgets. Depending on what your focus is will be the toolkit of widgets that mesh with your business.
Kevin talks about the chat widget as online floor time. It may not convert often but it does allow you to interact and be available for potential customers. Interesting analogy.
Dustin talks about the cousin of the widget, the Google Analytics code, which allows you to see who is coming your site for what reasons.
Do the Widgets hurt SEO?
Because most widgets use javascript they do not affect SEO according to Dustin, but Michael says that they may make the site stickier, or use text to draw people in via SEO to see the benefits of the widget.
Talk About Your Favorite Widget:
Mark talks about his Rate Window Widget and allows people to see the rates that will affect the purchase and get the information that they need for getting the best loans available.
Michael is talking about the Altos Widget, telling people how the market is doing right now. The widget shows the trends in the market they care about. He also uses a chat widget that is revenue positive.
Dustins favorite widgets include takes people into a home search. Make things as simple as possible for users. YouTube is a great widget that he uses on Rain City Guide.
Michael is talking about a new site by Trulia called housingwidgets.com. Interesting.
Dustin has a very good point, that you have to go to the source for the widgets.
March 27th, 2008 — Real Estate Video
Participants:
Session:
The talk is about using video to sell homes. The need for quality production is an important part of the theme.
An interesting interview by WelcomeMat that shows the power of a professional presentation and a testimonial.
Fun video from AtlantaDwellings.tv. Tara is a local reporter and comes across on the screen well. Interesting and very much like one of our sponsors RexNet.tv
Trulia had a fun post as a take off of Apple.
Rudy says video is a great way to set your self apart as long as you focus on your neighborhood and local interviews. Keep it simple when you start out.
Christian says this is a good first step, but then it will become time to hire the professionals when it is time for the homes. The growth curve is fantastic.
Bob Stewart talks about being comfortable. He brings out his Flip camera, which came in the mail for me yesterday, is dead on. Video can be a tool not only for sales but educational and informational.
Tony talks about how when HTML came out the tools were weak and it was a craft. As the tools improve, as the tools have improved so has the best players. Video is in the same paradigm, the tools now are tough to use and you need a pro. Down the road the tools will make you look much better.
Tara talks about how video can really sell the home. The difference between an amateur and a professional is huge in the final product.
Matt talks about how photography can be done for using the right tool for the right job.
Using video gets the listing according to Christian. Buyers win but listers will do better by getting the job.
Bob is talking about how ActiveRain will be releasing a new product to help the agents create and learn to shoot video. Is this breaking news?
Rudy talks about driving traffic to your site is another great reason to use video.
Christian brings up the example of videos being used to show your expertise on a community. The example is a Tennessee agent who did local school tours.
(battery really dying)
The discussion is going towards SEO and video.
Tony announces a plug in for Wordpress that will be released today or tomorrow.
Interesting watching the two types of personality that are on this panel. One one side is Christian, Tara, and Tony for more the professional video development. On the other side is Bob and Rudy that are more user orientated and trying to go viral.
This is probably what makes video in the real estate sphere so hard to work with. On one hand the traditional media is hard to produce and more expensive, but conveys the professional image. On the other hand, there is a great risk to going with a looser but more user friendly format.
Great panel and you can see that video is its early days of adoption.
March 27th, 2008 — Real Estate
Participants:
- Kevin Boer Moderator, 3 Oceans Real Estate
- Jason Benesch. Real Estate Tomato
- Matt Dunlap, RealEspace.com
- Desiree Scales, Bella Web Design
- Bo Gilbert, MLC New Home Marketing
- Mary McKnight, RSS Pieces
Session:
Jason talks about how Google looks at content as a research paper. Layout of posts is very important.
Matt gives an overview of SEO as a part of your total web strategy.
Desiree says that being on the first page of Google gives you credibility. I have referred to it that the Gods of Google will create expertise.
Bo makes a point that if you have to focus on relevant terms. Instead of trying to get broad terms getting specific is more effective.
Mary talks statistics on Atlanta and how important it is to get high placement.
Is it helpful to have a blog for SEO purposes.
Mary talks about how blogs use a Content Management System creates the ability to create new content.
Woohoo Desiree, she understands that Google is a popularity contest! I always refer it to as high school.
Matt talks about making friends, it is so important. He is right.
Jason talks about the long tail. Winning the long tail for your niche is better for your business. He is right. Businesses will be built on long tail. Check out Chris Anderson who wrote the book on it.
Kevin shows a good chart on long tail sales.
He goes on to talk about how Atlanta Real Estate has 2.4 million results. He then shows a search on a specific home. It shows the benefit of a long tail search and how local disappears as Trulia has the top spot. Hmmm…
One SEO Tip
Desiree talks about how to focus on the tools that can take you to the next level. Excellent
Jason recommends posting to the Carnival of Real Estate. Also Delicio.us and Digg.
Bo talks about using title tags as the most important factor in SEO.
Mary talks about SEO backlinks and getting the right links that have page rank.
Matt talks about linking to partners. Says to forget about SEO and build relationships. EXCELLENT Advice!
Some of the information was excellent, but some of the discussion was off base. I am not an expert but have been studying this for 3 years and it SEO is fairly easy yet complicated and time consuming. The best advice I can give you is write specifically to a point and have some passion. Success will follow.
(Links will go up later to the site.)
Batteries dying. need to recharge.
March 27th, 2008 — Real Estate
Participants:
- Kevin Boer Moderator, 3 Oceans Real Estate
- Pat Kitano, Transparent RE
- Dustin Luther, 4Realz
- Rudy Bachraty, Trulia
- Jason Benesch. Real Estate Tomato
- John Washburn, Active Rain
- Carol Flammer, Flammer Relations
Session:
Kevin Boer starts things off with Is blogging a waste of time? Great question for realtors.
John Washburn is recommending that hyperlocal is the way to hit the market and become the top of the food chain. Carol Flammer talked to the point that 90 percent of searches start online.
Dustin says “Blogs are an email to the world.” That is the advice that I recommend to real estate agents looking to get into blogging. Use your past emails as the basis for your first 100 posts if you are looking to post locally.
Hyperlocal is a geographical niche as opposed to another focal point such as types of homes, community styles, ect. Pat Kitano riffs on the fact that blogs are just a web site. Use of widgets are going to be a huge benefit for the bloggers.
Rudy Bachraty reiterated that niche blogging is the key, he uses the example of green buildings is a great way to get to consumers that have a passion for that.
Jason Benesch talks about the importance of finding your voice.
Great point, I have found that trying to start many different sites that you will only continue those that you are passionate about.
Where is Blogging Going?
Dustin Luther says it is simple, niche sites. He talks about Rain City Guide focusing on people moving to Seattle. He talks about the challenge of focusing on all of Seattle instead of just a couple of communities in the city.
John Washburn talks about video and using Google Universal Search. Video for a community will be a big land rush. That is why I bought my new Flip Camera. Also goes into multiple profiles out there.
Jason Benesch thinks that the future will create 3 different blogs to create their own social network interacting with many other blogs over time.
Interesting that an editor type concept will work. Hmmm. The name The Real Estate Bloggers would be a heck of a place… 
Pat Kitano talks about that blogging should be the wave of journalism. The idea of the printing press is archaic and that there may be only 10 papers left in the future. The demand for content is being felt by many.
Rudy Bachraty talks about microblogging. Lots of links to other sites. Another great idea and something you will see here in the coming weeks. In the political spectrum, Instapundit.com has been a leader in this field.
Interesting question, can you copy a full post or article. The answer is a resounding no! You can excerpt but you can not copy the whole thing.
Are people getting leads online. Dustin’s wife gets all her business from online and referrals.
