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IN THIS ISSUE:
- A Message From Jason Kane
- Holding A Open House Is Good Marketing Strategy
- Get Ready For The Next Phase Of The Web
- Real Estate Remodeling Spend Smashes Record
Dear Friend,
I
hope you enjoy this issue of Connections. As always, I welcome all of your
comments. Please don't hesitate to contact me if I can assist you
in any manner.
Sincerely,
Jason S. Kane, Esq.
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Last Months Trivia:
What famous person said this? "Real Estate is the best
investment in the world because it is the only thing they're not
making anymore!"
Answer: Will Rogers
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by
Dian Hyme, author of "House Hunting"
Some sellers question the
value of having their home held open to the public. A common
complaint is that open houses mostly attract neighbors who are
looking for decorating ideas or who want to keep up on property
values in the neighborhood.
While
it's true that open houses attract neighbors, this is not harmful
to the marketing of your home. In fact it can help a lot.
Neighbors often know people who are interested in moving into the
neighborhood.
A
neighbor who casually walks through your home during an open
house--with no particular agenda--could turn out to be the
ultimate buyer. Recently, neighbors attended a public open house
in the desirable Crocker Highlands area of Oakland, Calif. They
weren't really looking for a new home. But, they were starting to
feel cramped in their present home.
The
neighbors scrutinized the house carefully and then called their
real estate agent. They ended up buying the house. It's impossible
to say if they would have bought it even if they hadn't attended
the open house. But, their real estate agent was not aware that
they wanted to move, so she might not have told them about the
property.
There's
no way to know in what way a listing will sell before it goes on
the market. A real estate agent might introduce the buyer to the
property. Or, the buyer might find the listing on the Internet, in
a newspaper ad, or at an open house. That's
why it's important that your marketing plan covers it all. A plan
that relies solely on the Internet won't reach people who aren't
tech-savvy. A plan that relies only on open houses won't reach
buyers who are gone every weekend.
Broad-based
exposure will make more buyers aware that your home is for sale.
Generally, the more interest your agent can generate for your
home, the higher the ultimate selling price. There are certainly
listings that aren't suitable for public open houses, like a house
full of valuable art. But, in most cases, you're curtailing your
market exposure if you don't have your home open.
HOME
SELLER TIP: To get the most out of public open houses, they should
be used strategically. A listing that's held open week after week
without a sale can become shopworn. You don't want your home to be
known as the listing that's always held open but never sells. It's
a good idea to have your home held open when it's new on the
market. This is when it's most marketable.
Last
year, the home sale market was so hot that well-priced listings in
low inventory markets often sold after only one or two open
houses. Now, with rare exception, we're facing a market with more
inventory and longer marketing times. If you're home doesn't sell
quickly, you and your agent should establish a reasonable open
house schedule. You want good market exposure, but not
over-exposure.
Some
agents like to hold listings open after the seller has accepted an
offer. While there's always the possibility that someone will want
to make a backup offer, you might be better served by holding off
on another open house until you find out if your accepted offer is
going to close. Then, if the deal falls through, you can start
fresh with a new open house.
THE
CLOSING: By using open houses strategically rather than
indiscriminately, you have a powerful marketing tool to use when
you want to get the word out that you've adjusted the price or
that your home is back on the market.
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Source: Inman News
The
Web is going atomic. But don't call Homeland Security just
yet.
It could be a good thing. "Something's happening with content
and the word is it's being atomized," said Gerry Campbell,
senior vice president of AOL Search at America Online. Campbell
spoke Tuesday during "Drilling Down on Local," an annual
conference focused on local Internet search technologies.
Tech
gurus have coined the term Web 2.0 to describe an evolution of
content and community on the Internet, and Campbell said an
underlying trend in this transition is the increasing atomization
of Internet content, communication and commerce. And all of these
things are driving toward an online presence that more truly
integrates with real life, he said. "Until the Web actually
permeates real life, everything we think of as community is not
really (community) - it's artificial."
The
real estate industry is waking up to the changing face of the Web.
Officials at Homestore Inc., soon to be Move Inc., announced last
month that the company's popular property-search Web sites will be
launching features that will allow real estate professionals and
consumers to post content and interact online. Other real
estate-related Web sites, too, feature social interaction and
user-generated content as tools toward building community.
Modern
music consumption is a good example of the atomic trend that
represents a next step in the Web's evolution, Campbell said.
Vinyl record albums eventually shrank to CD size, and the music on
those discs has been dissected into digital format for download
over the Internet. Now it's typical for people to purchase
individual songs rather than entire albums. "Now songs have
their own currency and their own transaction, to the dismay of
copyright holders," he said - the Internet has brought music
"down to the atomic level."
Communication
has been similarly deconstructed by this atomic trend. Internet
and other forms of modern communications have tossed aside many of
the previous formalities in favor of speed and clarity. Just as
the cavemen scratched the wall of a cave with simplistic symbols
and drawings, modern communication technologies have
"completely blown away" previous communications
techniques and etiquette, Campbell said. For example, a request to
meet for lunch might be conveyed today by a simple electronic note
that reads, "Lunch?"
Commerce
is atomizing, too, he said, as consumers can use the Internet to
buy specific parts and pieces that previously would have been
difficult to find without this resource.
The
Web's future will be characterized by increasing connectivity with
its users, Campbell said. Just as Web 2.0 trends represent a step
toward more social interaction, the "atomic age" of the
Web will be driven by a critical mass of people interacting
online, and more direct connections between the Web and
individuals.
"There
will be a time when we're having a constant conversation with
friends, acquaintances, information ... that's the future. Local
will pop. It's going to pop when this world comes. We've got to
stay focused on tapping into consumer intent." He
added, "Over time consumers are becoming more and more
empowered. Consumer control is growing very quickly. Consumers are
going to stay in the driver's seat."
There
are companies working toward this future Web in various vertical
markets, Campbell said, citing real estate and financial services
as examples. "Verticals are a huge part of the future. I'm
very bullish on verticals." Real estate is by nature a very
social experience, he said, and barriers still exist for consumers
who are searching for homes online. Some new real estate
technology ventures fit the mold of this next-generation Web by
offering mechanisms for social interaction, streamlined property
search methods and results and more instantaneous communication
with real estate professionals.
Campbell
said that Zillow.com, an online home valuation tool launched by
the founder of Expedia, is among his latest favorite sites to
visit on the Web.
Online search companies are working to better identify users'
intent and to produce search results that are more meaningful and
thorough for users, Campbell said. For example, a user who is
searching for a movie title might be steered directly to search
results that include detailed listings of the times the movie is
showing that day in a nearby theater. In this way, online search
may be moving toward "find."
While
the earliest stage of the Web served as a one-way information
resource, Web 2.0 represents a more interactive exchange of
information and rudimentary communication, Campbell said. And the
atomic stage of the Web will represent a time in which users can
more fully interact, gathering and passing along information and
knowledge.
In
defining this new atomic era of the Web, Campbell related a story
of his search for a good breakfast. He asked a stranger where he
should go to get a good meal. The man told him about a restaurant
with good food for a good price. Just as advertised, the meal was
good and filling and reasonably priced, Campbell said. The man
later went out of his way to check on him and see if he enjoyed
the meal. "That's how the Web should work. The Web will be
that guy who I met," he said. "The future looks nothing
like the past. It's not about (Web) pages."
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Source: Globe Newspaper Company
Passing
$200 billion for the first time, Americans spent an estimated $210
billion on residential remodeling in 2005, based on the National
Association of Home Builders' analysis of recently released
third-quarter remodeling spending from the U.S. Census Bureau.
In
addition, NAHB Remodelors Council forecasts the largest increase
in spending in 2006 in more than 10 years to a record $238
billion, a 13.2 percent jump. "The
devastating 2005 hurricanes, combined with a rebound in the rental
market, are expected to spur a historically high increase in
spending this year as repair work proceeds in the Gulf states and
apartment owners renovate properties to maximize rental
income," said Vince Butler, chair of NAHB's Remodelors
Council and a home remodeler from Clifton, Va. "The massive
owner equity and low refinance rates that fueled recent growth
will continue to drive strong expansion."
The
record industry growth forecast for 2006 is more than double the
pace of growth in 2005, when remodeling spending grew by 5.8
percent, in line with average annual growth of 5.3 percent from
1994 to 2004. The previous growth record was posted in 2004, when
spending jumped 12.2 percent due to a strong increase in the real
estate market.
NAHB's
Economics Department recently analyzed the local economic impact
of remodeling. For every $100,000 spent on additions and
alterations, the local community receives $54,200 in income,
$4,900 in taxes and other government revenue, and 1.01 full-time
local jobs. "The $200 billion remodeling industry is almost
exclusively small businesses that operate in local
communities," said Butler. "And we can now confirm that
money spent on remodeling stays local."
Regionally,
the South accounts for 31 percent of all remodeling expenditures,
with an average of $1,513 spent per household in 2004, the last
full year of Census data. The highest per-household spending
occurs in the Northeast at $2,185, with a 23 percent share of all
spending. The West spends $2,104 per household and accounts for 26
percent of all expenditures. The Midwest represents 20 percent of
the remodeling market at $1,530 per household. The residential
remodeling market accounts for approximately 40 percent of all
home construction.
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