Real Estate Sales

Chicago Agents Find New Television Marketing Opportunity

If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Chicago television station WBBM has developed a new marketing program for real estate agents. They are creating advertorials for 22 agents across the city to run during the programming day.
These agents will be presented on both the television station [...]

9Jun2008 | Tom Royce | 1 comment | Continued

1 in 4 Homes Sold in 1st Quarter Was A Distressed Sale

An interesting AP article discussing how banks are dealing with the foreclosure had this nugget in it.
One out of every four homes sold in the United States in the 1st quarter of 2008 was a distressed property.
Think about that when you are trying to market a used home. Or if you are a [...]

7Jun2008 | Tom Royce | 1 comment | Continued

All Real Estate Is Local - Even More Local For Appraisers And Realtors These Days

If you have ever sold a home you have heard your Realtor tell you about the comps in the neighborhood. This is how real estate agents determine the price of your home. But with falling prices and slow moving sales the job of an appraiser to determine the local comps, or comperative prices, is getting much [...]

3Jun2008 | Tom Royce | 2 comments | Continued

Connecticut Conveyance Tax Causes Battle Between Government and Realtors

Who is the fool that believes once a new taxes is created the government will ever let it go?
For once those affected by a tax are fighting back. Connecticut passed a real estate conveyance tax back in 2003 that was scheduled to sunset, or in real world terms end, on June 30th of this year. [...]

2Jun2008 | Tom Royce | 1 comment | Continued

News Flash: As Home Prices In Tucson Come Down, Buyers Emerge

The lesson of the day is buyers are not stupid, no matter what the latest advertisement from the National Association of Realtors would have you think.
The Tucson, Arizona market was a typical market during the real estate bubble. Logical pricing all of a sudden exploded into a gold rush mentality and pricing increased significantly. Hordes of [...]

2Jun2008 | Tom Royce | 1 comment | Continued

Patchwork Nation - A New Demographic Study Of The United States

Patchwork Nation is a new initiative by the Christian Science Monitor to break the country into 11 demographic units by county that best represent the population that lives there. The report has been done primarily for political purposes but the implication for housing and real estate are also included in the report.
These categories are:

Boom [...]

29May2008 | Tom Royce | 3 comments | Continued

Inventory and Sales Almost Equal, Is This The Bottom?

Look at this chart from Calculated Risk carefully. If you need to see a bigger version, click on it or here.
This is the scary part. It looks like we may hit a point where the inventory of homes for sale in the country will exceed the sales for the year.
I wonder if that [...]

24May2008 | Tom Royce | 2 comments | Continued

New Jersey Realtors Mad At NAR Over Inflated Numbers

The public who follows real estate reporting, i.e. my readers, have long been amused and baffled at the overly optimistic numbers that the National Association Of Realtors has put out. Well, a new group of folks are getting annoyed at what is perceived as grandstanding by the NAR.
Actual dues paying New Jersey Realtors.
The [...]

23May2008 | Tom Royce | 1 comment | Continued

Certified ‘Preowned’ Homes - Or Selling Homes Like Cars

You got to give ZipRealty credit.
First they treat their employees like car salesman, now they are treating the homes like cars.
According to Luke Mullins at US News and World Report, ZipRealty is offering a Certified Preowned Warranty on homes that pass a 24 point inspection. While it is not a bad idea and will appeal [...]

17May2008 | Tom Royce | 4 comments | Continued

Some Classic Ideas On Word Of Mouth Marketing For Real Estate Agents

If you are a real estate agent, you have uttered the less than memorable phrase, “Please tell your friends about me.” But the question that you need to ask is why should they?
Seriously, did you go that extra mile in marketing, consultation, or execution that would make you memorable? For someone to talk about you [...]

16May2008 | Tom Royce | 2 comments | Continued