|
Headlines
Increase Your Sales and Productivity
"The 4 Most Overlooked Touch Points to Grow Your E-mail Database"
"Three Steps to Digital Marketing Success"
"QuantumDigital, Inc. Uncovers New Real Estate Marketing Trends and Strategies"
"7 Tips to Motivate Your Sphere of Influence to Refer to You"
"Effective Price Versus Value Counseling"
"REALTORS® Looking for Special Bond With Consumers"
"Are You Making a $16M Mistake?"
Wisconsin Real Estate News
"Big Builders See Hope in Rising Home Starts"
"For Generation Y, American Dream Becomes an Apartment in the City"
"Loan Money Available to Home Builders"
"Mayor Praises Sturgeon Bay Comprehensive Plan"
More Wisconsin and Midwest Real Estate News
"Singles, Especially Women, a Growing Share of Homebuyers"
"Builders Get Back in Game"
Increase Your Sales and Productivity
The 4 Most Overlooked Touch Points to Grow Your E-mail Database
RISMedia (03/01/10) Kaiser, Clint
Most real estate professionals already have optimized their Web sites, call centers, and other online activities for e-mail list growth; but they may have overlooked the potential to expand their databases through Facebook and Twitter. It would benefit agents to highlight their e-mail programs on their Facebook and Twitter sidebars; and they can use the body of these social media tools to promote their e-mail programs as long as they focus on relationship building, promotion, and/or customer service. They also should ensure that their e-mail messages feature a direct link to the sign-up page for their e-mail program, as recipients often forward messages to other people. Finally, they should take advantage of their mobile program for data exchange, sending an e-mail address to a short code and offering incentives via e-mail to boost conversion and data quality.
Three Steps to Digital Marketing Success
New England Real Estate Journal (02/26/2010) Fanaras, Linda
To boost market share, real estate agents would be wise to make digital strategies a part of their marketing plans. A successful digital marketing plan includes a Web site that is attractive, user-friendly, regularly updated, and content-rich; it also will feature mortgage calculators and other useful applications. Web sites additionally should direct visitors to local banks, title companies, home inspectors, and other professionals who could assist them during the home buying and selling process. Strong search engine optimization is another important component to digital marketing plans, as Web searchers rarely go further than the first page of search results and few scroll to the bottom of the page. To boost their search engine rankings, agents should strategically place keywords throughout their content and ensure that relevant keywords are present in their URLs. Finally, agents should have an e-marketing plan that includes regular e-newsletters with local marketing information and links to their Web sites.
QuantumDigital, Inc. Uncovers New Real Estate Marketing Trends and Strategies
PRWeb (02/26/10)
QuantumDigital Inc.'s 2009 market research survey of close to 2,800 real estate brokers, agents, and executives indicates that e-mail, Web site marketing, direct mail, and print advertisements were the four most common real estate marketing channels used last year. Respondents noted that most of their new business came from networking and a focus on their sphere of influence and that they devote about 10 percent of their gross commissionable income on marketing. While 48 percent of those polled believe that is a good percentage to stick to in the coming year, 65 percent expect to scale back marketing due to the effects of the economic downturn.
7 Tips to Motivate Your Sphere of Influence to Refer to You
RISMedia (02/27/10) Bailey, Maya
REALTORS® often are hesitant to contact their spheres of influence to seek referrals because they do not know what to say, have no reason to call, or worry about pestering them. However, agents should make contact as a means of motivating them to make referrals. They should have a script so they know what to say to each contact, varying the conversation based on whether they are speaking to a friend or an acquaintance; and they should think about what they could give to the contact, such as offering to be a cross referral partner. Agents should send their sphere something of value on a monthly basis, such as a colorful postcard featuring upcoming local events and their contact information, and initiate phone conversations by asking whether they received the postcard. They should assume their sphere of influence is happy to hear from them; remember to sound excited about their business; and use the Law of Attraction, which requires them to think positive thoughts to reap positive rewards.
Effective Price Versus Value Counseling
Realty Times (02/26/10) Zeller, Dirk
When sitting down with clients to discuss the CMA, real estate agents need to distinguish between price and value, though many use the terms interchangeably. Agents must understand that price is all about marketing, while value relates to the real worth of the home in the current marketplace. Thus, agents would be wise to ensure clients agree about the value of the property before they discuss price and strategic marketing. By differentiating between price and value, agents can eliminate upfront any unrealistic expectations on the part of the seller.
REALTORS® Looking for Special Bond With Consumers
Chicago Tribune (02/26/10) Podmolik, Mary Ellen
As part of its first ever attempt to cultivate a direct relationship with consumers, the National Association of REALTORS® has introduced its Houselogic.com Web site. While the online destination aims to educate the public about their homes -- from shopping for appliances and which remodeling projects offer the best return on investment to tax deductions and insurance issues -- it also aims to win consumer backing for its legislative campaigns. The Chicago-based organization historically seeks support in this area from its member groups, but now plans to occasionally ask the public to contact lawmakers on issues of interest to NAR. "We're a big voice in Washington, and we would like to develop a relationship with consumers," according to NAR executive Frank Sibley. "We call it a marriage of common interests. There is a sense of benign hopefulness that consumers have. They want to know that there's an entity out there protecting their interest as homeowners. They like the idea that there's someone between them and the federal government protecting their interests."
Are You Making a $16M Mistake?
Inman News (02/25/10) Ross, Bernice
Vanessa Fox, formerly of Google and Zillow, gave attendees of the Real Estate Connect conference some tips to help them better establish their brand identity online. She encouraged agents to use video, as YouTube is the world's second-biggest search engine following Google; determine which search terms generate the most leads and use them multiple times on their home pages; and use focused terms in URL and Web site descriptions. Agents also should place important keywords on the upper-left corner of the site, since that is the most often scanned section of Web sites. Fox urged agents to keep in mind that television, radio, and print ads drive people to Web sites. Additionally, she said agents should add "how to" pages to their sites, improve search-engine ranking through the use of detailed local terms, avoid programs that use reciprocal links or link exchanges that could lower their Web ranking, and quickly respond to any problems.
Wisconsin Real Estate News
Big Builders See Hope in Rising Home Starts
Wisconsin State Journal (02/27/10) Rivedal, Karen
Housing starts are beginning to increase in Wisconsin after five straight years of decline across most of the state. Several factors are contributing to the reversal of this trend, including cheaper land prices and less expensive homes being built. While experts note that a full-on rebound is not imminent, this is definitely a step in the right direction. "We just have to wait for people and banks to get confidence," said Mike Vilstrup, owner of TimberLane Builders in Cross Plains. "I think [business] will be slow and steady." In Dane County, housing starts increased over the previous year by 5.7 percent in November, 225 percent in December and 100 percent in January. To put this in perspective, housing starts have dropped nearly 74 percent between 2005 and 2009. Statewide, home remodelers and sellers of existing homes reported better conditions as sales of existing homes increased by double digits in every region of Wisconsin over the last few months of 2009. "There's lots of challenges that still lie ahead, but people are more optimistic and there is pent-up demand [for new housing]," said owner of Degnan Design Builders in DeFores Abe Degnan.
For Generation Y, American Dream Becomes an Apartment in the City
Journal Times (Wis.) (03/02/10) Glauber, Bill
Generation Y, roughly characterized as those individuals born between 1980 and 2000, are showing different habits than their parents when it comes to homeownership and where they want to live. John McIlwain, a senior resident fellow with the Urban Land Institute, says Gen Y will be renting "far longer than past generations," especially since they have witnessed the mortgage meltdown. Many other considerations factor into this ongoing trend, such as economic restrictions like high unemployment and debt from college loans. Many people in this age range simply don't have the resources to get started on homeownership right away, so rentals and apartment sharing will be common in the short and medium term until they look to buy homes and settle down. "It's only a good investment if it fits in that lifestyle you're leading at that time," says 26-year-old Milwaukee renter Clarissa Mankus. "I'm not ready to sacrifice certain things, like travel and graduate school." However, many people just prefer the urban lifestyle to owning a house in the suburbs. As a group, twentysomethings and recent college graduates anticipate higher job turnover and getting married later than their parents, so they like to have flexible living arrangements in lively, urban areas.
Loan Money Available to Home Builders
WXOW-19 (LaCrosse, Wis.) (02/26/10)
The USDA Rural Development Wisconsin Guaranteed Rural Housing (or GRH) loan program allows applicants to finance not just the purchase price of a house, but also the closing costs and repairs valued up to 100 percent of the residence. The program lent over $400 million to approximately 3,700 individuals and families last year as part of a continued effort by the federal government to improve rural areas by assisting those who want to build or purchase a home. Loans made are quite simple with no down payment and a fixed interest rate with a 30-year amortization. With no purchase limit, Private Mortgage Insurance or minimum credit score required, loans are only limited by the applicant's ability to repay the loan. Loans are financed through banks, credit unions and mortgage brokers and are guaranteed by the Federal Government, and USDA Rural Development does charge a one-time fee of 2 percent of the loan amount to the lender.
Mayor Praises Sturgeon Bay Comprehensive Plan
Door County Advocate (02/27/10) Bintz, Ramelle
In Wisconsin, Sturgeon Bay's new comprehensive plan has received high marks from city officials and the mayor's office and appears headed for adoption. Marty Olejniczak, community development director, remarked, "Most of the city is already built up. It will mostly affect areas of future growth." Those areas -- along Sturgeon Bay's highway north and south corridors -- are likely to conflict with the nearby towns of Nasewaupee and Sevastopol, whose comprehensive plans call for expansion of commercial and residential growth. Sturgeon Bay's plan, by contrast, aims to limit sprawl and maintain agricultural parcels on the city's perimeters. Olejniczak added that Sturgeon Bay's comprehensive plan extends 1.5 miles out into the neighboring townships. That is because in two decades, most cities will have expanded. To allow for this projected growth, the new plan calls for more mixed use so Sturgeon Bay can be more flexible as land-use issues arise. All communities in Wisconsin were to have new comprehensive plans in place by Jan. 1. At a Feb. 16 city council meeting, City Attorney Randy Nesbitt said there was no provision as to what happens if communities do not have a new plan in place. Once adopted, he noted, the plan can be changed. But it would come to the council as an ordinance change.
More Wisconsin and Midwest Real Estate News
Singles, Especially Women, a Growing Share of Homebuyers
Chicago Tribune (02/28/10) Podmolik, Mary Ellen
The National Association of REALTORS® reports that 21 percent of home purchases from June 2008 to June 2009 involved single female buyers, while single men accounted for 10 percent of home sales. Although first-time home buyers are receiving a lot of credit for helping to bolster the housing market, experts say singles with steady jobs and good credit also are moving the market toward recovery. Some experts believe women account for more single home buyers because they are more organized and focused on getting what they want. According to Catherine Dugan LaBelle from La Grange, Ill.-based Prime Property Partners, "We have a stronger economic base, we're renting on our own rather than living with our parents. There's a greater confidence." A survey of local buyers in Chicago by the National Association of REALTORS® indicates that single women earned less money than single men but spent about the same on their first home, and 72 percent of single women and only 50 percent of single men purchased homes no bigger than 1,500 square feet. Additionally, the poll reveals that women are more willing to compromise and want more help from agents with negotiations than men.
Builders Get Back in Game
Wall Street Journal (03/03/10) P. C9; Wotapka, Dawn
REITs are expected to break ground on nearly $1 billion in new multifamily housing in 2010, reports Green Street Advisors. While still below average, the estimate is a marked jump over the $100 million of construction starts last year. Apartment operators are betting that limited new supply, coupled with a mending economy, will produce ideal market conditions nationwide beginning next year or in 2012. From then until 2015, REIT analyst Haendel St. Juste reports, "Apartment REITs may generate the best property net operating income growth that they've seen in a very long time, maybe ever."
Abstract News © Copyright 2010 INFORMATION, INC.
To be removed from future WRA e-mail messages, please visit our e-mail preference page at www.wra.org/myEmail.
|
