Technology, Tools and Tidbits

Silver Lining and Happy Holidays

Goomzee — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:04:51 -0800

Hi All, I thought a positive message going into the holidays was needed. May everyone take time to recharge and plan and execute towards a successful 2009 season. Austin Smith is an active blogger on our team and I loved his most recent post and felt inclined to syndicate it here - Happy Holidays!

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By Austin Smith, Product Specialist - Goomzee.com more...

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

Another Online Community for Real Estate

SWANEPOEL — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:05:49 -0800

Last weekend, real estate agents and brokers got introduced to yet another social and business network to participate in when online real estate news service, Broker Agent Professional, launched Broker Agent Social (www.brokeragentsocial.com). Within the first 100 hours after launch they exploded to 2,000 members - adding a new member every few minutes.

Broker Agent Social enters an already crowded field dominated by players such as Inman Community, ActiveRain, RealTown, Zillow Community and RealSeekr. more...

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

Change Is A Reality - Learn To Deal With It

SWANEPOEL — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 20:51:27 -0800

Real estate professionals need to think differently about the future. They need to do more and they need to move faster. It has now been more than 10 years since my first book on trends, Real Estate confronts Reality, and many of the changes that we have been writing and speaking about are now coming to fruition. Things are definitely changing, and on a large scale. Within the next five years the real estate brokerage industry will significantly have changed and brokers and agents that don’t adapt now will not enjoy the benefits of the next economic upswing. more...

Alternative Business Models

Information You Can Count On - 2009 Trends Report Opens for Contributions

SWANEPOEL — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:46:28 -0800

Change seems to be the buzz word this year, with Barack Obama touting “Change We Need,” John McCain promoting “Real Change” and even Hillary Clinton saying “Change you can count on.”

Every year the Swanepoel TRENDS Report identifies, analyzes and then details out the imminent changes that are expected to impact the real estate industry over the coming 12 – 18 months. The 2009 Report is currently in the final 60 days of research and writing and obviously with all the recent financial disasters, the energy crisis, the housing collapse and foreclosure catastrophe this has made 2008 the worst year in real estate and financial history. more...

Alternative Business Models

Are mobile web and mobile search ready for real estate?

Goomzee — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:34:38 -0700

As real estate professionals, nationwide, search for sales and marketing tools to better advertise their listings to consumers, talk of mobile advertising capabilities continues to rise to the top of discussion.

We've seen MLS and Associations swarming around the idea of mobile MLS search, in attempt to meet real estate consumer demands and provide easy access to listing information from mobile phones. The only question is, are we ready to start marketing campaigns via mobile web search? If you are trying to reach a large audience, wireless user reports point to "No". more...

Real Estate Marketing 2.0

The Future of Mobile Marketing for Real Estate

jbernheisel — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:51:52 -0700

Coming soon to a cell phone near you: The ability to project images and videos via a built in micro sized pico-projector on any surface up to 100 inches. more...

Real Estate Bloggers

Big, Bigger, Biggest - Furnished Homes Real Estate Images Explode!

GoFurnished — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:54:01 -0700

Big, Bigger, Biggest Real Estate Images!

Tired of terrible images? Yep, so were we.

We begged, pleaded, coaxed, and nagged our development team for excellent image presentation for vacation rentals and real estate images. We so appreciate their patience and expertise in finding a solution for better images! We think they delivered in a big way! Check these incredible pictures for this snow-bird vacation home listing - they speak for themselves and just check out how many sizes are displayed here! more...

Vacation Rentals and Furnished Homes

Listings via Text Message and Mobile Phone

knovolo — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:03:41 -0700

Hello All,

I joined Inman recently in an effort to immerse myself in conversation with realtors about technology they use or want to sell houses, with an emphasis on mobile phones.

I work for a company (Knovolo) that uses mobile phones as a channel for marketing campaigns. We've been focusing a lot on the Real Estate industry recently, and we've had a pretty strong response from realtors and builders.

Let me explain our Text Link service. Our clients add to their For Sale signs a message that reads:

"For more information, text DEMO to 732589 (REALTY)" more...

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

Another September to remember: September 2008

SWANEPOEL — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 10:38:06 -0700

The Financial Market Disaster of 2008

September 2008 is exactly two weeks old today, but what a September it has already been. The events of late are unsurpassed in living history and I think that 9/08 may very well be remembered as the worst financial disaster in history. more...

Alternative Business Models

11 September 2001

SWANEPOEL — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:47:57 -0700

Today we remember the brave men, women and children who lost their lives seven years ago and the heroes that responded to the emergency. There are many different video tributes of that day but I thought that this one was particularly well rounded. http://attacked911.tripod.com/

God Bless America!

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

The importance of Local.com to real estate agents

mikeoue — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 07:52:54 -0700

If you are not familiar with Local.com, they are localized online search tool specializing in helping people find large and small businesses within their local area. Unlike other local search tools out there Local.com contains rich review content submitted by actual customers as well as free listings within their directory.

According to Compete, Local.com’s traffic has been steadily increasing over the past few years as well and they are now just under the 10 million visitor per month mark. more...

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

…and the Winner is…

SWANEPOEL — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 16:36:31 -0700

The results for the XXIX Real Estate Olympiad are in.

Wow, what a huge undertaking it has been to tally the scores, taking all factors into consideration, weighted scores, removing highest and lowest scores and of course double checking the hanging chads. Thank you to all paticipants, nominees,voters and judges!

So the Medal Winners of the 2008 Real Estate Pacesetter Award, as voted by the Inman Real Estate Trends Group, are: more...

Alternative Business Models

Are you branding with the college aged crowd? You should be... but how?

Goomzee — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:08:33 -0700

Today my colleagues and I took our first trip to the new Hooters that opened just last week (the first Hooters in Montana!). While there we were talking to our lovely waitress and making conversation asked where we worked. On Monday, we hired a new member for our sales team. This gave him the chance to give his first live spiel about Goomzee and what we do. HE DID SO GREAT! more...

Real Estate Marketing 2.0

Vote for the Real Estate XXIX Olympiad!

Goomzee — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:10:37 -0700

Last week over 40 participants entered to be considered for the Gold, Silver or Bronze award as one of the real estate industries premier pacesetters for 2008. Over the weekend, the nominations were narrowed down to 8 finalists!

You can see more information and finalists posted in the Technology, Tools and Tidbits group as well as the Real Estate Trends group. However, for your vote to count, you must be a member of the Real Estate Trends group! more...

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

THE XXIX OLYMPIAD

SWANEPOEL — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:56:42 -0700

This is in follow up to the post last week titled Real Estate Olympics

Recap of Beijing

Mark Spitz's 36-year old record of 7 gold medals at one Olympic event, across all Olympic sports, was shattered when 23-year-old swimming machine Michael Phelps grabbed his 8th gold in Beijing and 14 all-time gold medals. Who will ever forget his 0.01 of a second photo-finish with Serbian - Wow. more...

Alternative Business Models

The psychology of managing your professional schedule

Goomzee — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:29:25 -0700

As a real estate professional you have an important task of keeping your clients satisfied. One of the key factors in keeping your clients satisfied requires you to be available to your client when they are available. After all, they've chosen you to work for them. (I know, I should be nicknamed "Captain Obvious"!) However, there is a fine line that can be crossed, and that's the line between your personal and professional life. When that line is crossed, it can eventually cause small sparks that lead to a fire in the relationship between you and your clients down the road. more...

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

Politicians Text to Stay in Touch - Do You?

Goomzee — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:23:28 -0700

I've noticed politicians making an extra effort to reach-out to more young adults with campaigns such as the get out and vote programs by companies like MTV. Other sources for news, information and events have been implemented this year, and if you haven't already heard, one of the biggest has been text-messaging. People can sign up to receive the latest news from their favorite politicians to keep in touch and updated. more...

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

Real Estate Olympics

SWANEPOEL — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:54:24 -0700

With the XXIX Olympiad - The 2008 Summer Olympic Games - officially underway in Beijing China I thought it would be interesting to have a small online real estate olympiad of our own. more...

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

Technology Review Request - Free Patent Pending, Web 2.0 Technology that makes it easy for REALTORS to sell new construction

lu — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:57:54 -0700

Hello everyone. We have just launched our new version of Agent Shield. This is a free web 2.0 tool that makes it easy and safe for Realtors to sell new construction properties.

Please visit www.AgentShield.com.

Would you take a look and give it a try. I would really appreciate your feedback. Thank you in advance for your time and assistance.

Sincerely,

Real Estate Marketing 2.0

How do you keep motivated? Be a leader and help each other out!

Goomzee — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:33:06 -0700

As we all know, technology continues to evolve by leaps and bounds, and the role it plays in the real estate industry is a vital one. We, Goomzee, was recently invited to attend an event that's premise was meant to motivate customers and keep their marketing minds going. As we continue to hear of the market downturn, although we may not necessarily all agree with it nor be affected by it, we need to have a way to keep motivated. How can we keep selling our properties? What tools are available and which of those will best fit my marketing portfolio? more...

Hot off the Press!

Is Real Estate the Next Big Target?

SWANEPOEL — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:36:32 -0700

IDENTITY THEFT AND THE STEALING OF CONFIDENTIAL DATA

“Identity theft is one of the fastest-growing crimes in the nation - especially in the suburbs,” says Congresswoman Melissa Bean. The FTC receives over 250,000 reports of identity theft every year and USA Today reported that in 2007 an estimated 260 million records were stolen - that amounts to 8 records stolen every second of every day.

In real estate this is also a growing concern. Here are three possible vulnerable areas of our industry that I see: more...

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

Inman Conference - we're missing out!

Goomzee — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:09:37 -0700

If you are reading this blog, chances are you are just like me and MISSING OUT on all the great information available at the Inman Conference!

I have a co-worker who is attending and has been keeping in contact and sending me text messages (rubbing it in that I'm not there), letting me know all the of the industry names who he's mingled with. He sure knows how to make a person jealous! He just informed me that he's off to begin the day again to meet some more! more...

Real Estate Events

It's all about what my seller wants - or is it? It's YOUR job to EDUCATE!

Goomzee — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:43:43 -0700

"It's all about whatever my seller wants to hear."

Recently I've read some interesting comments in some of the blog posts about agents adopting new marketing tactics - or not adopting them for that matter.

What stands out in my mind the most is a comment that read, "It's all about whatever my seller wants to hear." Stop there. Isn't it also about the buyer? These comments triggered an irritation that just needed to be scratched. So here we go. more...

Real Estate Marketing 2.0

What does Weight Watchers and your Marketing Plan have in common? More than you think!

Goomzee — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:50:28 -0700

Some things in life seem so different; but when you break them down to the core, they end up being much more alike than you'd ever have imagined. There seems to be a similar cycle in many of life's challenges and feats.

I got to thinking today about comparing a marketing plan to the Weight Watchers diet. Sound strange? Hear me out here and then let me know what you think.

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Goals

WW: You want to lose weight and eat healthier. You decide what your goal weight is and now you need to define the best path to get you there. more...

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

Real Estate Online Communities and Networks: Novelty or Necessity?

SWANEPOEL — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:25:19 -0700

Congratulations to both ActiveRain and RealTown that have reached that magical six figure membership number of 100,000 people.

Add to these two frontrunners the re-engineered Inman News that now includes an online real estate community (where we are having this discussion right now) and the rapid expansion of the real estate side of LinkedIn and the evidence supports that social networking and community has officially taken hold of real estate. It is here to stay and is on the short list of major contributors to shape the residential real estate industry. more...

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

RETS and Syndication

CTO — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 06:06:18 -0700

I wanted to provide an example of how RETS has benefited us and our members as an MLS.
There are many reasons, but the Inman news article this morning regarding Prudential partnering with Google and cyberhomes lit a spark. Here is the latest instance of how we have utilized RETS as an MLS to provide a FREE enhancement for our members: (Although any data feed would probably work, the integration because of RETS, was easy, quick, and flawless.) more...

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

Just when you thought you had a real mobile office...

Goomzee — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:21:55 -0700

Sick of driving around in your vehicle (the office away from the office) looking for a WiFi Hotspot?

Now you can really set up a "mobile office". Chrysler has announced they will add wireless routeres to some of their 2009 Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge models. What a great service for REALTORS and road warriors alike!

Now I know what you're thinking... How much is it?
Not as bad as you'd think!
The router - $449
Installation - up to $50
Mobile Web access - about $29 per month ($35 activation fee)
Service will be provided by Autonet Mobile.

Feel free to check out the full article: more...

Real Estate Marketing 2.0

MLS Standardization Underway

joshcarney — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:16:27 -0700

Does your website appear at the top of real estate-related search engine results?
If so, enjoy it while it lasts.
The adoption of a universal MLS data language could hike the demand for real estate search-engine keywords online.
NAR has mandated that all MLS companies nationwide adopt a standardized language called RETS (Real Estate Transaction Standard) by June, 2009.
RETS will allow approved Realtors & industry vendors to gain third-party access to MLS listing data like never before. more...

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

E-mail marketing

jason.holstein — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:04:25 -0700

Hello. Since this is my first post here, I'll briefly introduce myself by saying that I am not a Realtor myself, but rather I work in the marketing department of a large residential brokerage in Orange County, California. I am working on developing an e-mail marketing campaign for our agents and I thought this might be a good topic of discussion.

What types of experiences have you had with any of the many vendors out there offering e-mail marketing services and software? more...

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

Identifying your tech-savvy customers

Goomzee — Thu, 29 May 2008 09:18:36 -0700

Nielsen is preparing to report their Q1 2008 findings for mobile buyers, according to the Mobile Marketing Association. http://www.nielsenmobile.com/

"One is Five US Consumers Has Interest in Using Text Messages to Purchase Goods or Services"
* Total = 20.9%
* Male = 25.8%
* Female = 17.3%
* Ages 13-17 = 24.1%
* Ages 18-24 = 22.7%
* Ages 25-34 = 24.6%
* Ages 35-54 = 19.3%
* Ages 55+ = 15% more...

Real Estate Marketing 2.0

Introduce yourself!

Goomzee — Tue, 20 May 2008 11:13:13 -0700

Since I have started this group, I have meant to keep up on writing a personal note to welcome each and every member. Well, the amount of requests to join was overwhelming (I'm not complaining) and I didn't get the chance to email each one of you. I'm Sorry!!

Anyway, I thought I would write this post and allow each and everyone of you to share with our group who we are and what we do. So, here goes! more...

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

Your top 3 marketing tools you can't work without

Goomzee — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:06:38 -0700

Alright, we all have our favorite, and most effective technology tools. However, your favorite may not be your most effective, and your most effective might not be your favorite. But they do something for your business and you would definitely miss having them if they were to disappear one day. more...

Real Estate Marketing 2.0

Create your own RENTAL market widgets!

bogdancirlig — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:26:10 -0700

Zilpy released a new tool today, widgets builder for Rental Market. Builder allows you to create a custom widgets for Cities, States, Neighborhoods.

http://www.zilpy.com/widgets

Go ahead give it a try.

I would appreciate your feedback.

Thanks,

Yelena

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

SocialSpark.com - Will it be relevant to the Real Estate Industry?

lackiem — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:10:05 -0700

I'd like to see what everyone thinks about this service. Will it be relevant to Real Estate? The site is www.socialspark.com

The service, as far as I can tell, connects businesses and bloggers. There are two main components to the site:

1) Bloggers - they build a profile and can have others rate them on their previous work or experience (similar to LinkedIn profiles), and

2) Businesses/Services - they post their blogging needs on the site and have bloggers bid to write (market) about their brand or service. more...

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

Craigslist Limiting HTML

markedspot — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:15:33 -0700

Since I think just about everyone uses craigslist to market their listing I was wondering what everyone thought of Craigslist's proposal regarding html?

Basically what they are saying is:
"Unfortunately, much of the HTML in postings these days is used by spammers for harmful purposes, such as cloaking spam links, embedding false keywords, and overriding the flagging system." more...

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

What's Your Great Idea?

lackiem — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:47:42 -0700

We just started this group and want to get the idea juices flowing!

Do you provide or know of a great tool or service to help those in the Real Estate industry flourish? We are hoping for some truly successful, original, cutting-edge, and creative ideas and services.

Does anyone out in Inman world want to throw their idea, service, or tool into the ring? more...

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

Real Estate Photo Philosophy - Phact or Phiction

Goomzee — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:42:04 -0700

This morning Realtor.org posted an RISMedia article on the importance and benefits of presenting listings with photos. Their research identified the DOM shortens from 70 days with one single photo, to 40 days with six photos. Not only did the DOM shorten, but the listing actually sold closer to the asking price with just one photo.

Check this out for yourself!
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Daily Real Estate News | April 2, 2008

How Photos Help Sell Homes more...

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

Were you one of Verizon's 20 billion in February?

Goomzee — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:49:01 -0700

As popularity continues to increase, I wanted to share Verizon's press release information regarding their nearly double growth in text messages sent in just 6 months. We are beginning to see the increase of national advertisers using this marketing tactic to reach more of their customers in a more personal way, by using their cell phone; something that rarely leaves their sight.

As posted by Fierce Mobile Content 3.31.08: more...

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

Do you Twitter and how is that working for you?

stacey108 — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:02:22 -0700

I don't Twitter yet, but I'm probably going to fairly soon. I've heard it described as an "ambient community" and I'm intrigued by that concept but not sure how it translates practically for real estate agents. Any agents out there Twitter and how do you find yourself using this in your business? Do you use Twitter IM screen or mobile app predominantly? Do you use Twhirl or any other app for Twitter and how? Thanks for any comments. I'd like to advise our real estate agents in the future...

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

www.1234yourstreet.com - What's the value of this service? Am I missing something??

Goomzee — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:16:48 -0700

This morning I was in deep thought about the newer service available, which allows you to create an individual domain for each of your listings. As the domain name, you list the address of the home, then hang a sign rider at your listing with the website address: ex: www.1234yourstreet.com more...

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

Wordpress as a Brokerage site.

BracCoy — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:10:07 -0700

Can anyone here point me to a real good example of a brokerage using WP as a company site? You know, something more along the lines of having static pages with great graphics and a blog incorporated.

Technology, Tools and Tidbits

Mobile Phones, Mobile Advertising and Real Estate - an Overview

Goomzee — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:04:41 -0800

age demographic using text messaging continues to rise as well. It’s not only the younger generations that are using it anymore. The older generations are finding the ease, and some find that the only way to get a hold of their kids. more...