hyperlocal
Even the Internet can be clunky at times like an old typewriter
I can’t think of how many times I’ve sat down with people and discussed adding content to their website only to find out, they really can’t.
Know why? Their sites are clunky. You might think you are tech-savvy with a website that is five years old, but guess what, in terms of Internet technology, your site... Read More
When someone hands you a gift, use it!
If you’ve been on the planet a few years, you notice there are two types of people in the world.
Doers and semi-doers.
The semi-doers drive to work, do what they’re told or what they’ve always done, drive home, eat dinner, pass out.
The doers, on the other hand, can’t stand the... Read More
News Alert! Home Junction announces you can now get their popular SpatialMatch Lifestyle Search App for FREE
Sometimes I think we tend to forget that the incredible allure of the Internet is that it offers so many items for no cost at all.
You can search for free, listen to music for free, watch funny videos for free, play games for free, talk to your friends for free, read the news for free, etc. and etc.
Then there are all the plug-ins and widgets and what-nots you can add to your site for free.
With all this free stuff, the real challenge is in choosing which feature to download and which to ignore. Because many of the items turn out to be worthless or something you never,... Read More
Be thankful for uptick in real estate outlook
If you can cut through all the noise out there – politics, taxes, jobs – there are some promising indicators in real estate that make this Thanksgiving a time to stop and appreciate the signs of hope.
First of all, speaking of noise, the election is finally... Read More
One item that will help you with the Silver Tsunami
Oh, it’s coming all right. Seventy-seven million baby boomers are getting ready to retire. Currently, 10,000 retire every day.
Just like the Woodstock era, the dot.com boom and the housing boom, this giant bubble will create a profound effect on retirement in America.
What does this mean for... Read More
How ready are you when a company opens or relocates?
One major discussion that has taken center stage in this presidential election concerns jobs.
And one thing that real estate professionals do well is to keep their ears to the ground for the sound of economic development in their area.
When a new manufacturing plant opens up (they are in some southern states) or when a company relocates their headquarters it means one thing to a broker or agent – people are going to be buying homes, quickly.
There is a battle going on between states, even counties, for economic development. They have departments devoted solely to... Read More
How to market properties in today's coupon economy
It’s no secret this country has gone through some tough economic times and is on the slow road to recovery.
A few years ago, jobs disappeared. Housing dropped. Wallets and pocketbooks shrunk.
Things appear to be getting better – the unemployment rate is declining and the demand for real estate listings in... Read More
How to market properties in today’s coupon economy
It’s no secret this country has gone through some tough economic times and is on the slow road to recovery.
A few years ago, jobs disappeared. Housing dropped. Wallets and pocketbooks shrunk.
Things appear to be getting better – the unemployment rate is declining and the demand for real estate listings in... Read More
What's the "tipping point" when it comes to hyper-local real estate?
It’s not often you are credited with creating a new or popular phrase in the English language.
Writer Malcolm Gladwell took the term “tipping point” to a whole new level with his book of the same name published in 2000.
He pointed out there are three characteristics of a tipping point – one... Read More
What’s the “tipping point” when it comes to hyper-local real estate?
It’s not often you are credited with creating a new or popular phrase in the English language.
Writer Malcolm Gladwell took the term “tipping point” to a whole new level with his book of the same name published in 2000.
He pointed out there are three characteristics of a tipping point – one... Read More
WordPress gains in popularity with real estate pros
By now, real estate agents have gotten the message about networking with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
These sites have really become part of the mainstream, I guess you could say, media or marketing.
You have something to say – you put it up on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
But there are some new platforms rising as well.
One of those is WordPress and it’s rising like a space shuttle.
For example, in a recent study, more than 15% of real estate agents now market themselves using WordPress. More than YouTube at... Read More
This grade school subject is critical for real estate pros today
Back in the days of our youth, most of us probably thought geography was just another one of those obscure classes, like algebra, or chemistry that we would never use in real life.
Then you grow up and you realize, whoa, maybe those teachers were right after all.
As an adult, you can’t help but see the... Read More
Forced registration improves conversion rate by 300%
Nobody likes to be forced into anything.
But as you know, on the Internet, the rules are different.
Web users are now becoming more accepting of “forced registration.”
It makes sense. Sites are better at providing useful information.
But if you want that information, you need to give a little too.
That request could be just an email address. Or a name. Something simple.
SpatialMatch, the IDX and Lifestyle search engine platform, provides a simple registration form that you can tweak to your preferences (see below).
Don’t be afraid to... Read More
WordPress themes for real estate are like a new suit of clothes
Themes are fun.
Take parties for example.
In an instant you can transform mild-mannered suburbanites into crazed Parrott Heads or 40-year-olds into little Halloween-loving kids.
We don’t know if you noticed, but WordPress is like that.
We don’t mean it will turn you into a Margaritaville maniac.
What we are referring to are the WordPress themes.
It’s an amazing advancement in web design.
When you created a site in the old days, it was a ton of back and forth with the web designer. What goes where, what color... Read More
Use "hidden gems" to increase your Facebook followers
We were sitting around the other day with a bunch of friends who lived in our area for quite a while.
I mentioned a funky and delicious restaurant we checked out recently.
They had never heard of it.
And they were quite impressed with our local knowledge.
This got me thinking about how real estate brokers and... Read More
Use “hidden gems” to increase your Facebook followers
We were sitting around the other day with a bunch of friends who lived in our area for quite a while.
I mentioned a funky and delicious restaurant we checked out recently.
They had never heard of it.
And they were quite impressed with our local knowledge.
This got me thinking about how real estate brokers and... Read More
When it comes to personalization in real estate, how “sick” is your website?
I thought about this the other day while I downloaded an app on my smartphone. There’s a major underlying shift taking place with consumers.
Take iPhone apps for example. Okay, you might enjoy photography apps, someone else might like games and someone else might prefer weight loss... Read More
When it comes to personalization in real estate, how "sick" is your website?
I thought about this the other day while I downloaded an app on my smartphone. There’s a major underlying shift taking place with consumers.
Take iPhone apps for example. Okay, you might enjoy photography apps, someone else might like games and someone else might prefer weight loss... Read More
How to walk the talk when it comes to value-added selling
Do you consider yourself to be a value-added real estate broker or agent?
Naturally, if you ask this question to those in the business, they will all respond, “Heck yeah.”
Let’s first look at the definition. Here’s one we like from Tom Reilly: “Value-added selling is a proactive philosophy of seeking ways to enhance, augment or enlarge your bundled package solution for the customer.
“It’s promising a lot and delivering more, always looking for ways to exceed the customer’s expectations.”
... Read More
To get the gold, be like Gabby and go outside your comfort zone
By now, everyone is probably familiar with the Gabby Douglas story.
How at 14 years of age the American Olympic gymnast moved from Virginia Beach to West Des Moines in Iowa and changed coaches.
There’s more to it than that.
Not only did Gabby move, but the teenager moved halfway across the country... Read More
Location is more important today than ever in terms of a home as an investment
You may have noticed the headlines recently about how in 2010 the net worth of the American family dropped by nearly 40%.
Of course, it’s not surprising considering we were coming off the Great Recession.
But you can imagine how this has changed the mindset of most Americans.
When it comes to buying a house, more than any time in history, Americans are very concerned about the value of their home as an investment.
And you know how location plays an enormous role in that investment.
There’s an interesting article in... Read More
Why WordPress is great for real estate in one word – speed
How fast are you?
No, I’m not talking about a foot race. There comes a point in your life where your own kids or the neighborhood kids can outrun you and your days as a sprinter are over.
But that doesn’t mean you can slow down.
If you are in business, especially the real estate business, speed... Read More
Offer something positive to sellers under pressure to cut prices
When I watch the HGTV show “Real Estate Intervention” it makes me think of another show, the WWE Raw Wrestling.
That’s because in the mind of the home seller, the pricing suffers a major beatdown.
But does it all have to be about reducing the price?
What about approaching... Read More
Competing against the big boys of real estate
There’s a strategy in the military that says when you are battling a larger army, don’t fight them head on. Find their... Read More
Data is "lighter these days" so load it up on your real estate website
While there is always the usual amount of bad news going around, there was one major bit of great news recently that few people seemed to notice.
And this bit of news has implications for anybody who owns a website.
IBM just announced the launch of their Sequoia BlueGene Q supercomputer and its stature as the fastest... Read More
Data is “lighter these days” so load it up on your real estate website
While there is always the usual amount of bad news going around, there was one major bit of great news recently that few people seemed to notice.
And this bit of news has implications for anybody who owns a website.
IBM just announced the launch of their Sequoia BlueGene Q supercomputer and its stature as the fastest... Read More
Are you still cruising the information highway in that same old clunker?
You know sometimes a website can feel like car.
For example, if you’ve been driving the same old bucket of bolts for the past several years, you’re probably getting tired of it.
It’s getting worn around the edges – coffee stains on the seat, leather cracked on the door handle, air doesn’t blow cold.
The darn thing just doesn’t seem to have the same pep it had when you bought it.
Then, you see the new cars that are out there. Bluetooth embedded in the dashboard for taking calls in your car. Pre-installed XMSirius radio providing every conceivable... Read More
Agents on “Million Dollar Listing” emphasize “lifestyle” and you should too
Have you ever watched Million Dollar Listing? It’s a show on the Bravo network where three 30-somethings sell real estate in Malibu and Hollywood.
With their luxury cars, weird haircuts, and super-wealthy clients, this almost seems like a fantasy reality show.
Their names are even trendy – Madison, Chad and Josh (what, no Biff?).
I watched it the other day and almost fell off the couch when one of the young men proudly declared, “I don’t sell just real estate. I sell a lifestyle.”
Like nobody, including the rich, has ever... Read More
Agents on "Million Dollar Listing" emphasize "lifestyle" and you should too
Have you ever watched Million Dollar Listing? It’s a show on the Bravo network where three 30-somethings sell real estate in Malibu and Hollywood.
With their luxury cars, weird haircuts, and super-wealthy clients, this almost seems like a fantasy reality show.
Their names are even trendy – Madison, Chad and Josh (what, no Biff?).
I watched it the other day and almost fell off the couch when one of the young men proudly declared, “I don’t sell just real estate. I sell a lifestyle.”
Like nobody, including the rich, has ever... Read More
Some say give sellers a reality-check to secure listings
Real estate professionals Liz and Bill Spear have a point about getting real when it comes to prospective listing clients.
Basically they say, don’t necessarily count on us, or any one listing agent to get you the right buyer, Mr. and Mrs. Home Seller. The reality is, they will probably... Read More
There are winning features for your site and then there are truly WINNING features
I read a few words the other day in an article on Realtor magazine that just popped out at me like a geyser gushing from a broken water main on a seller’s front yard.
The title of the article was “Winning Features For Any Real Estate Website.”
Now, I know the writer used the words in a broad sense to make a point about how to improve your web pages.
But as Mark Twain said, the difference between the right word and the almost right word is like the difference between lightning and lightning bug.
Before I tell you the... Read More
You can now be the source of custom maps for home buyers
The deejays on the radio posed an interesting question the other day: “What are some of the items you used five years ago that you don’t use today?”
The pay phone is one. I challenge you to find one. They’re all gone. Phone books are going by the wayside. Record stores are rare these days. Video rental places like... Read More
How promoting local business will get you business
I don’t know if you noticed lately, but there seems to be this new obsession with an old commodity.
I’m not talking about oil or gold. I’m talking about bacon.
People are crazy over this pork delicacy. There’s bacon ice cream, bacon wrapping paper, bacon-flavored candy necklaces.
So how would a savvy Realtor take advantage of this trend? Or any trend for that matter? Or any subject of intense interest?
Put a local spin on it. Tie it into your blog.
Follow me here.
For example, say you found a local restaurant that just makes the best bacon,... Read More
Win the battle for buyers and sellers with the latest real estate technology
If you watch the History channel about famous battles, you might notice that many times it isn’t who has the most troops who wins, but it’s some form of new technology that actually makes the difference.
Crossbows could fire an arrow 350-400 yards, better than a conventional arrow.
Chain mail could lessen a deadly blow from a... Read More
Retirees make shorter-distance moves; want services close by
The American Dream used to be: find a decent job, raise some kids, support your community, fix up your house and then when you retired, dump it all and move to Florida.
Retirees are still moving to Florida, but surprisingly not so much.
According to US Census data, in 1990 one of... Read More
When a development provides 'no amenities,' use a positive spin
It makes sense that real estate would be booming in a city that never sleeps – NYC.
Believe it or not, some experts say those insane housing prices in New York City are a bargain.
Sure, they are high, but they are not hysterically high like in Tokyo or London or Paris.
There are other factors causing the boom – super low interest rates in the US, inquiries from overseas investors and a scramble by Wall Street wonders who now apparently have more faith in real estate than in the stocks they sell.
This has caused some interesting trends, including a rush to... Read More
When a development provides ‘no amenities,’ use a positive spin
It makes sense that real estate would be booming in a city that never sleeps – NYC.
Believe it or not, some experts say those insane housing prices in New York City are a bargain.
Sure, they are high, but they are not hysterically high like in Tokyo or London or Paris.
There are other factors causing the boom – super low interest rates in the US, inquiries from overseas investors and a scramble by Wall Street wonders who now apparently have more faith in real estate than in the stocks they sell.
This has caused some interesting trends, including a rush to... Read More
Is your approach to real estate stuck in the dark ages of 2001?
I just love those commercials where the two mobile phone users seem to know everything that is going on at a football game or in their office before anybody else does.
Their saying is: “Oh, that was so 17 seconds ago.”
The commercials are amusing. And Read More
You can enhance the traits of what it takes to be a successful Realtor
Business philosopher Jim Rohn once said, “Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals.”
Everyone knows the old sports adage, when things go wrong, it’s time to get back to the fundamentals.
Steve Gutstein, a certified... Read More
This year, use the right technology to farm a neighborhood
When it comes to farming a community, there’s one guy in Daytona Beach, Fla., who is a real pro.
According to RealtorMag, of the 649 residences in the Fairway Estates community, Ed Savard has either listed or sold one out of three of them.
One out of three! That’s not a farm, that’s a gold mine!
The article says his strategies are simple: Pick a Target (hopefully a place not too oversaturated with agents) Read More
Vague resolutions are worthless, specific action is priceless
Here we go again. A new year. A time to reassess where we are and where we want to be.
It’s funny how we as humans all seem to come up with the same resolutions every year.
I’m sure you’ve seen the list.
1) Quit smoking
2) Get fit
3) Lose... Read More
How the newest tech trends in 2012 will affect your real estate business
The tech gurus at Mashable came out with their 10 trends to watch in 2012 and savvy Realtors will pay close attention to the list.
It’s rather obvious that most new trends coming up make it is easier for web users to reach out to each other.
As a result, you are going to see much more... Read More
How to truly motivate agents in your office in 2012
Have you ever dragged your employees to listen to a motivational speaker?
Or tried to pump them up with lunch or some other promotion?
And then got frustrated because after a few days it didn’t seem to work?
There’s a new year coming and everybody naturally wants to do better in... Read More
Leading Plano real estate team adds SpatialMatch to their site
Broker Tom Branch knows data. As a former computer programmer back in the 70s, Tom can appreciate what’s involved when you are crunching huge amounts of information.
That’s one reason why he decided to embed the SpatialMatch IDX and lifestyle search engine on his site for The Branch Team with RE/MAX Dallas Suburbs covering the north Dallas suburbs.
“It’s amazing what you can overlay,” Tom observed. “(With SpatialMatch) you have the ability to combine all this data so the home buyer doesn’t have to go to several different web sites to find... Read More
Let’s give them something to Tweet about
Everyone knows that famous Bonnie Raitt song “Let’s give them something to talk about.”
For real estate brokers and agents in 2011, it should be “Let’s give them something to Tweet about.”
Yes, a site that amazingly only... Read More
Let's give them something to Tweet about
Everyone knows that famous Bonnie Raitt song “Let’s give them something to talk about.”
For real estate brokers and agents in 2011, it should be “Let’s give them something to Tweet about.”
Yes, a site that amazingly only... Read More
Put some muscle in those real estate links
There are links…and then there are links.
Imagine you are talking to a seller. He or she wants to know how you are going to promote their property.
Sure, you can send a prospect a link from your listings showing the usual beds, baths, blah, blah, blah.
Or you can tell the seller, that when you interview a prospect, you are also going to find out their neighborhood preferences and coordinate all this listing and neighborhood data together on your neighborhood and lifestyle search engine.
Then when you send that prospect a link, that... Read More
How to generate new ideas for your hyperlocal real estate blog
They call it “Death by blogging.”
It’s the unfortunate time when a blogger drops their head on their keyboard in frustration because they have just run dry of ideas. In fact, studies show only 4% of people who start a blog are still... Read More
SpatialMatch adds IDX real estate listings to lifestyle search engine
Today is another huge milestone for SpatialMatch in particular and the real estate industry overall.
SpatialMatch now features IDX real estate listings along with our 104 consumer information layers of lifestyle search engine data.
How does this appeal to home buyers?
Follow these... Read More
How to create "buzz" about your real estate business
People who take the time to research products online are not only a great segment of the market because they tend to buy big-ticket items at a higher rate than other adults.
They also like to talk about it.
According to BIGresearch, about half (47%) will give advice to others on what they found, compared to 29.4% of all adults who might tell others.
“Consumers who research products online appear to be more knowledgeable and eager to share information,” said Gary Drenik, of BIGresearch. “Because they are likely to tell a... Read More
How to create “buzz” about your real estate business
People who take the time to research products online are not only a great segment of the market because they tend to buy big-ticket items at a higher rate than other adults.
They also like to talk about it.
According to BIGresearch,... Read More
Your lifestyle is what I say it is! Oh really?
Did someone ever tell you about this great, must-see “art” exhibition appearing at the local museum? So you traipse all the way down there, pay your admission, look at the piece and think: ‘Wow. This really is a piece of garbage. What were they thinking?”
We all know that “Art” has a different meaning to everyone. So do other... Read More
SpatialMatch is the first neighborhood search platform to feature Facebook Share technology
This week marks the release of the movie, “The Social Network.” It’s the story of how some college kid created a program to help students find a way to hook up with one another, and a few years later 500 million people joined the party.
You guessed it. The movie is about Mark Zuckerberg and social gathering phenomenon we know as... Read More
How Realtors can work their way into hyperlocal news sites
Remember that song “Everybody is doin’ a brand new dance now. Come on baby, do the locomotion?”
With all the big players jumping into the hyperlocal content arena, it makes me think of a new version: “Come on... Read More
Specific strategies on how you can use SpatialMatch to retain early-stage home buyers
Last week we talked about some hyperlocal strategies to keep control of those early-stage buyers and avoid the horror of them traipsing off somewhere else and ending up with another company …and you lose the sale.
In today’s market, we highly recommend you put added emphasis on keeping in contact with the early-stage buyers. There’s so much competition out there, not just from other agents, but on the national level.
Now you have popular real estate sites including Google, Zillow, Trulia, and even Realtor.com which can pull those buyers away from you.
This is one... Read More
Buzz starting to build about SpatialMatch’s neighborhood/lifestyle search tool
It’s all smiles around the office this week as we received a tremendous boost for SpatialMatch with both a plug on national TV and coverage by a leading real estate technology columnist.
We’ll start with TV. A Fox Business reporter interviewed Joseph Vranich, a business relocation coach, about how businesses are... Read More
Buzz starting to build about SpatialMatch’s neighborhood/lifestyle search tool
It’s all smiles around the office this week as we received a tremendous boost for SpatialMatch with both a plug on national TV and coverage by a leading real... Read More
The great debate – how Realtors should promote themselves on Facebook. Got ideas?
Last week we ran a blog with some tips for Realtors on how they should use Facebook to promote their business. It elicited quite a few comments, many of which were posted on Linkedin groups.
There are a few items up for debate concerning the use of Facebook and we thought we would continue the conversation.
First, we’re still hearing from some in the biz that Facebook is useless. Well, we hope to change the mind of those folks y saying... Read More
Realtors: Use Facebook to establish yourself as the hyperlocal expert
I have to laugh. I recently saw an old comment from a Realtor complaining about Facebook.
It went something like this: “Facebook is useless. “It’s just a bunch of 18-22 year olds looking for the next hot party.”
That... Read More
Inman News features the benefits of SpatialMatch and "hyperlocalism"
Geez, we couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
The popular real estate technology web site, Inman News, recently posted an article by columnist Bernice Ross touting SpatialMatch and the importance of “hyperlocalism.”
Bernice is no neophyte to the real estate profession. She has more than 30 years experience, is a Certified Master Coach, and is the author of two books. Including her latest one – “Real Estate Dough: Your Recipe for Real Estate Success.”
When it comes to marketing an entire lifestyle, rather than just a home, Bernice sees the pixels on the... Read More
Inman News features the benefits of SpatialMatch and “hyperlocalism”
Geez, we couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
The popular real estate technology web site, Inman News, recently posted an article by columnist Bernice Ross touting SpatialMatch and the importance of “hyperlocalism.”
Bernice is no neophyte to the real estate profession. She has more than 30 years experience, is a Certified Master Coach, and is the author... Read More
