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By the end of the decade, Hispanics will buy some 3 million homes, according to former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros. In fact Cisneros hopes to sell much of those homes thru his company.
Can anyone say the "riches are in the niches"? This Hispanics/Latinos are one of the three most underserved real estate niches (in my opinion).
Blanche Evan just penned a piece caled Positive Housing Reports, Consumer Confidence Up
I have been attempting to focus on good real estate news of late. Why? because I remember when I was in a down market as an agent, and I can recall that even I got sucked into the recession fever. Everyone it seemed, almost reveled in the receeding market.
Now understand, there is no way in a million years that I think the market is receeding. The only reason I write these for you my dear reader is so that you don't let the doomsdayers poison your performance.
Some quotes from Ms. Evan:
" buyers are pulling back out of uncertainty, but springtime sales will likely come close to previous national records. "
"All they have to do is live in their homes two out of five years of ownership, and homeowners can sell the property and pay Uncle Sam nothing in capital gains (up to $250,000 for singles, $500,000 for married couples.) So you can borrow the money to buy an asset that you can sell tax-free after only two years."!
She goes onto report that NAR has inked two months of rebounds.
From (MarketWatch) -- New home sales unexpectedly increased by 13.8% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.213 million, the highest level of the year, the Commerce Department estimated Wednesday.
You can get the rest of this positivity from realtytimes.com and Blanche, but suffice it to say it is your duty to sing the praises of the best assett God ever created.
More Good Economic News
Got my new Business 2.0 Magazine. The subheads read: New Studies say "Everyone's Out Looking"; & The Latest Data Says: "Everyone's Hiring"
Back when I was selling houses, the market dropped 30% in value. Over 10% interest was a normal loan rate, and unemployment was very high.
Today, unemployment is lower than ever. Rates are still historically low. So with great economic news, can real estate really burst? I doubt it.
I think a bigger problem with real estate is the competition than the real estate market. In California, there is 1 agent for every 75 people. This may make some agents feel like there is a tough market.
NAR says that there is only 6 sides represented per agent. That can make a market look worse than it really is.
I recently posted about how it is crucial to be your own cheerleader for your industry.
There are plenty of media and on line sites that post about the downside of real estate. In fact, many sites seem almost eagerly waiting for doomsday to occur in the real estate field.
I noticed a ton of referral traffic from the above linked site and wanted to find out why. Thinking that it was probably a reference to my "brilliant posts about the lack of a bubble". Instead, I found commenters pointing out my misspelling of "Shakespear (e)" (what the heck was I thinking to quote him?) and that I look like Fred Flintstone. lol Oh well you can't win them all!
But, I digress.
The point is that if you won't give good buzz about your industry who will? NAR? Please they couldn't sell ice to an Eskimo.
Now check out these articles from a recent newsletter from Broderick Perkins:
In his most recent newsletter, he points to these positive stories about buying and owning real estate.
What Bubble?
All that is proof only of the media hype that has surrounded real estate in the last year or so and not really evidence that a housing bubble even exists.Housing Markets That Are Hot...Or Not
Here's a look at what's new in real-estate markets across the U.S. from around the Web.Rising Foreclosures Point To Normalizing Market
As home-price appreciation has tapered off and mortgage rates have risen, foreclosures have started to pick up, with the Midwest region hit hardest. The rate of foreclosure -- the process by which banks can ultimately take back the properties that secure mortgages -- is a key indicator that real-estate analysts and investors use as a signal of market distress.Top 15 Locales To Retire If You Like Living Near A Metro Area
The characteristics that make a town the "best place to retire" will vary depending on who's doing the retiring, but it's a safe bet that those who want to stay near the cultural hubbub of a metro area will like an area that's a little quieter than most urban areas, with a low crime rate and a vibrant mix of residents. For those who like the sound of that kind of active retirement, a new report details the top towns for retirees in the country's 15 largest metro areas.
The lesson here is that this man is a writer that makes his money from the real estate business. He is a journalist. He writes in big realty websites like realtytimes.
Yet, although facts are facts, often times we can choose to see the "glass half empty, OR half full".
I applaud Broderick for seeing it half full.
There are other vendors that you pay good money towards. Offline and On. Many are not so complimentary and conducive for your well being as a realty agent. So why are you keeping them alive with your money?
Human behavior is a trip.
I just caught a recent Poll that found that 72% of the people found the economy to be unfavorable.
This is remarkable considering that home ownership is higher than ever and unemployment is lower than ever.
Some other conflicting facts:
Yet, 72% of Americans think the economy sucks.
However, the same poll found that 46% of the respondents thought their own finances were in excellent shape.
Do you not find this bizarre?
More curious news:
More than 70% of U.S. consumers believe a national housing bubble will burst and home prices will collapse within the next year, although 56% believe it's unlikely to happen in the area where they live, according a new survey.
Never mind that the Fed looks to not be raising interest rates much further. Never mind that NAR is predicting good times ahead. Albeit not so robust. Good times non the less.
The fact is, bad news sells. And it is in fact the point of this article. The power of the media is incredible. The reality is the Bush Administration has watched over the largest economic expansion ever.
This is not meant to spark a political debate, although I love politics.
If you are in real estate, and have benefitted form the current market, it was under the current Administration. Like them or not.
Now obviously we can thank the past Fed Chairman Greenspan -the so called shadow President.
However, it is usually The President that gets the credit for the economy.
The problem with this Administration is that somehow they have found the idea of selling repugnant. They have sucked at beating their chests at the job they have done.
Compare that to Clinton that beat his chest when his economy was robust and when the floor fell out after the dot bomb. They continued to sell how good everything was.
Thus, perception created by media is the reality. Today, people believe things suck. Even though they are doing great! It is extremely important fora conservative administration to sell even more than a left wing administration like Clinton's. Because the popular media does tend to throw softer at the Left point of view.
My question to you is that with all the talk of bubbles and so forth, what are you doing to popularize the idea of buying your assett, real estate? Like it or not, the Media is interested in proving this economy as bad. And, they just love bad news.
They would rather show a family losing their gorgeous home, than illustrating the glory of when they bought their gorgeous home. Bad news sells!
Will you let the same people that said the bubble would burst 5 years ago to convince people your prospects, that somehow today they will finally be right? Or will you take it upon yourself to create perceptions?
You know, you have that ability with a real estate blog.
Random stuff:
Did you know that users of MSN are 48% more likely to purchase a product or service online than the average Internet user according to a comScore Media report.
Chris was kind enough to post my response to : How is Real Estate and blogging alike?
Over at Rain City Dustin muses about the long tail. If you are interested to know what the long tail is check it out. I plan on writing deep on this very soon, but you can get my short commentary after his post.
Many of you have never been thru a soft market. I would argue that it is a softer market. Let's face it 15 offers on a listing would not last forever, right?
Guard Your Mind!
Industry writers are speaking about the slow down as if the bubble has burst. Notice the poison in my words. My sentence is implying that there was a bubble. And that this imaginary creation is BAD!And that this bad is bursting all over us.
Labels can do that as they are shortcuts for lazy thinkers.
My warning is that if we get just one more softer market report, the blood suckers are gonna jump on this like never before. And, you must carry on.
I have been thru this before and I assure you what we went thru in the early 90's was harsh. Personally it destroyed my business. Actually I destroyed my business, because I panicked after believing the news.
It wasn't until later that I relaized that all news is bad news. Otherwise, it doesn't get reported. I don't believe that it will get like the early 90's where my market experienced a 30% drop.
You are a salesman/woman. Go sell something. Hopefully after this recent market you haven't forgotten how to sell. You gotta know what to do in the recent market, and in a market that drops 30%.
Shakespear said "nothing is neither good no bad except which thinking makes it so". I was washed out of the last 'bad" market. Many of my friends were not. I guess they don't understand the word bad. And thats a good thing.
Over 60% of Websites Are Not Optimized for Internet Search Engines?
I have always found it interesting that for any given topic on Search Marketing, you will find at least two opposing opinons.
How does the saying go, "tell a lie enough and eventually its believed".
I had to laugh when a study/press release was recently completed that measured the use of metatags as an important indicator of web success.
When reading the "highlights" of the report, I thought they would qualify metatags to mean the title and description tag.
"Sixty percent of Web sites lack the programming to be ranked properly by search engines, according to a study released yesterday.If these same companies spent as much time revising their meta-tags as they do writing Google ads, they could pull customers to their Web sites for free," Front Page president Robert Hoskins said.
My point in all this is that disinformation is all over the web. Be careful about what is presented as gospel. I have seen reputable firms issue releases similar to this. I know full well they know the TRUTH. Why would they say anything else?
Either they do not know the truth, or they are spinning disinformation with a greater skill than the CIA. Why the disinformation? The only thing I can figure out is that when you have the " key to the kingdom", that you don't want the world to figure it out.
Metatags are at best a small part of the SEO game. Specifically, the most important tag is the Title tag. The key word tag is next to worthless.
This is one of the biggest reasons that I blog.
I believe that many of these firms do this disinfo game to act like they know what they are talking about without giving away anything.
Well, I have always said what you get for free is worth what you paid.
I don't teach my knowledge for free. However,the point of this blog is not to teach the how to.It is to teach the why so that you might consider using our service now or in the future.
I write enough so that you the reader will know that our company knows that which we talk about.
The blog used correctly, is the new brochure. However it is textual and informative.
I won't link to this release, however if you do a Google/Yahoo search you can find the source.
A study last month by Parks Associates, U.S. Internet adoption will grow only 1 percent -- from 63 percent to 64 percent -- this year.
In other words, the Internet isn't really growing any more.
DMNews points out that this means a" whole new level of competition. Because while the number of daily searches is increasing rapidly for now, the pool of available searchers -- the people who are online -- isn't growing. And so it's only a matter of time before the search population effectively expands to the entire Internet population and search marketing becomes a matter of the same marketers competing on the same search results pages for the same people (think dogs competing over meat)."
DM points out that the way to deal with this copetition will be one of two ways speed or increased budget. It is estimated the coming competition will be experienced anywhere from the next two to six years.
I have posted about Google being all things to all people as they have danced with being a portal of non-portals.
Goodness, they are even going after the MLS. But today, April the 1st, it seems they poke fun at themselves. Or us.
In the name of April Fools Day they have "launched" Google Romance Beta. Try to join and you get a "gotcha!" type message.
So Google is playing with us to keep us always curious about what will they do next? What image will they display with their logo to commemorate the day? For example during the Olympics they incorporated an Olympic like figure into their logo. And it changed daily.
This is to some degree viral marketing.
I wonder what kind of great changes our business would experience if we made it more fun to do business with us. What can you do to delight your clients and prospects. How do we get more personal and less Corporate?
Let's face it. Life in the big city can suck. As a Realtor, you deal with people daily that despite their good intentions, always come with inherant risks of litigation. This can harden our personalities that can leak out into our image.
I remember, my ex-partner once sold a condo in Marina del Rey and the buyer threatened a law suit because--get this--there was a tad of yellow discoloration on the tile beneath the fridge. It was not disclosed, and the buyer was shocked to find the tile a bit faded and yellowed.
He went out of pocket to solve the issue. And he got just a tad more skeptical and a little more jaded . This legal stuff can you get one to "Look over your shoulder", before going into each new deal.
If you have had any bit of time in this business then you can relate. And, if this market does go South ( I don't think it will, but thats a debate for another day) and you haven't been in a market like this before. Prepare for an ugly side of humanity that you never knew existed.
Greed is ugly in an up market. But survival turns the sweetest of honey into bitter foes.
So what can you do to make your people have more fun with you?
Have a happy person answer your phone. Be happy yourself. Insert your "happy" into everything you do and touch. Brainstorm ideas to be Google like. Such that your visitors and clients will feel a little better. Maybe all you give them is a smile.
Be careful not to be gimicky as that can seem cheap.
Like Google, make people want to gravitate to you to get some of that mojo.
On the topic of April Fools, some marketers warn against fooling your clients & audience. I have read conservative financial advisor newsletters who hyped up "world changing investments" that would make gasoline obsolete, only to reveal at the end that it was a joke.
I think there is right a wrong way and to play April Fools jokes. I think it makes sense in the Google example. But I also think there are scenarios where it would be a real bad idea.
So I wonder... What do you think? When would it be appropriate to run a Fools trick? When is it not?
Also, can you thnk of ways to delight your prospects and clients? How could this blog do that for you?
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