Home Savi, RezList and Realicity: Will these 3 new real estate startups defy the odds? Wed, 28 Jun 2017 14:43:45 Real estate startups touting revolutionary low-fee models are coming out of the woodwork these days. Most of their predecessors have fizzled because they haven't provided the expertise and handholding that have proven time and again to matter to most consumers ... read more»
1 in 3 homebuyers making offers sight-unseen: Takeaways for real estate agents Wed, 28 Jun 2017 14:16:14 With properties selling like hotcakes, one out of three recent homebuyers made an offer on a home without seeing it in person, according to a new survey from high-tech brokerage Redfin. The finding underscores how leveraging new marketing technology and serving up as much property data and imagery as possible can benefit agents while marking a striking generational shift toward pulling the trigger from afar ... read more»
McMansion Hell blogger fighting back in Zillow listing photo battle Wed, 28 Jun 2017 11:00:42 Do you need permission to make fun of listing photos on the internet? That question has real estate pros divided and may lead real estate giant Zillow Group into yet another legal battle over listing photo copyrights. This week, Zillow Group, a company whose market cap currently stands at $8.9 billion, sent a cease-and-desist letter to 23-year-old graduate student and blogger Kate Wagner demanding that that she remove photos obtained from Zillow from her popular architecture criticism blog McMansion Hell ... read more»
10 things your clients should know before moving to a newly built home Wed, 28 Jun 2017 11:00:27 Getting clients into a newly built home can be thrilling, but there are things you, and they, need to know ahead of time to help them have the best experience possible. You'll be able to help clients move into their house feeling confident that you've done everything to ensure it will be a home by staying involved in the process with a little research. ... read more»
Property Panorama aims to give agent listings a big SEO boost Wed, 28 Jun 2017 9:16:14 The same search engine optimization tool used by Zillow, realtor.com and other aggregators is now being used by a major producer of virtual tours to allow agents to once again deliver homes for sale directly to would-be buyers ... read more»
NAR: Pending home sales plummet for third consecutive month Wed, 28 Jun 2017 9:11:29 “Monthly closings have recently been oscillating back and forth, but this third consecutive decline in contract activity implies a possible topping off in sales,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Buyer interest is solid, but there is just not enough supply to satisfy demand. Prospective buyers are being sidelined by both limited choices and home prices that are climbing too fast.”
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How a real estate broker added value to his business by launching the Seattle School Guide website Wed, 28 Jun 2017 7:19:45 Phil Greely, a real estate broker at Realogics Sotheby's International Realty in Seattle, understands better than most real estate salespeople that school ratings don't give a complete picture of any school. "I was going to be a high school teacher before I got into real estate; I have my master's in teaching from the University of Washington," he explained. "So the internet in general and websites like greatschools.com were becoming more prevalent, and it was pretty clear that anything that was online to evaluate a school was based on raw data, which typically translated into standardized test scores." ... read more»
36 useful items for real estate agents to keep in the car trunk Wed, 28 Jun 2017 3:00:42 Between the listing appointments, buyer showings, open house events, home inspections and office meetings, real estate agents tend to spend a lot of hours in their vehicles. And when you're accustomed to all that windshield time, your car becomes a stash spot for important items -- things that help you do your job and essentials you simply can't live without ... read more»
6 hard truths about buying a fixer-upper Wed, 28 Jun 2017 2:00:55 The lure of the fixer-upper is tempting for buyers. The “bargain” price of a fixer, compared to the price of an average house nearby, makes a real estate agent's phone ring off the hook with showing requests ... read more»
What goes into ‘quality’ real estate photography? Wed, 28 Jun 2017 2:00:09 With more than 90 percent of buyers starting their home search online, listing photos are your new curbside. And if you want buyers to stop and investigate further, your exterior photos, especially, need to create a positive first impression ... read more»
This marketing technique works wonders for Australian real estate site Wed, 28 Jun 2017 0:15:53 Domain, the Australian real estate site owned by Fairfax Media (ASX: FXJ), reckons its transformation from the “other” property site into a serious contender for the market-leading spot was due to a renewed focus on its parent company’s specialty: journalism ... read more»
First-time buyers hardest hit when it comes to low inventory Tue, 27 Jun 2017 21:01:10 We often hear about the burden of low inventory, but who does it actually affect and how exactly does it effect them? Those are the answers Trulia Chief Economist Ralph McLaughlin sought to answer in the latest Trulia Inventory and Price Watch report ... read more»
Brokerage punished with $5M verdict in agent poaching case Tue, 27 Jun 2017 15:41:08 Competition for agents, especially top producers, is par for the course among real estate brokerages. But a jury has found that one prominent firm crossed the line -- and is making the firm pay dearly for it ... read more»
Tick tock: Can this generation’s real estate agents prove their worth? Tue, 27 Jun 2017 14:39:03 A friend of mine just sold his company in the Valley and is dabbling in venture capital investing. He explained to me how tech will soon eliminate agents. Convincing him otherwise required a couple of cocktails and a description of the unpredictability and vast idiosyncrasies of the transaction, and the defensible relationships between consumers and one million-plus agents. He conceded. Agents will survive for one last generation before software proves its superiority. ... read more»
15 money-saving tips for first-time homebuyers Tue, 27 Jun 2017 13:04:43 To help make your clients' first home purchase a success we've put together a go-to checklist outlining 15 money-saving tips for first-time homebuyers ... read more»
