Our Connected World is About to Get More Intertwined

June 4, 2011 Leave a Comment

I came across this short video that made me think about how we are going to conduct business with our customers in the not to distant future.  In just a few short years we have evolved into a society that has embraced mobile connectivity.  And guess what?  It’s about to get a whole lot more mobile.


Links of interest:
- How mobile devices are changing community information environments (Pew Research Center)
- Apple vs. Google (Bloomberg Business Week)
- Tablets – The Future of Mobile Computing? (WATBlog.com)

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There Just Might Be Something to This Social Media Stuff

April 23, 2011 1 Comment

We’ve all heard that Social Media is something that we should be involved with because it’s where internet browsers are spending their time.  But do most of us really buy into Social Media?  Do we look at it as a waste of time?

 There is mounting new evidence within Prudential Homesale that not only is Social Media not a waste of time, but it may be even better than anything we had previously imagined.

 In recent internet traffic numbers gathered by Rod Messick, Chief Financial Officer with Prudential Homesale Services Group, he stated that in January of 2011, “Facebook surpassed Trulia, REALTOR.com, and Zillow as a referring source” to PrudentialHomesale.com.  A referring source means that traffic comes to our website from another website instead of a user typing in our website name into their browser or finding us on a search engine.  It’s also known as a click-through.

 How much is Facebook being used by the general public and Prudential Homesale agents? 

 According to the most recent website rankings (week ending 1/29/11) by Experian Hitwise, a leading global information services company providing data and analytical tools to clients in more than 65 countries, 10.35% of all internet traffic lands on Facebook.  That’s the highest ranking of any website.  (Yes – it even beat Google which came in at 7.52%.)

 “Visits to PrudentialHomesale.com from Facebook are up 143% as compared to January 2010,” said Messick.  Based on this new data, Prudential Homesale agents can expect to see training developed by the company so that they can utilize social media to a greater extent in their personal marketing and advertising campaigns.

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Four Strategies to Put You on the Right Path for 2011

January 12, 2011 Leave a Comment

Are you ready for 2011?

Are you looking forward to 2011 with grand anticipation or tempered trepidation?  Here are a couple of thoughts and ideas to get you started on the right foot and make sure that it is your best year ever!

You wouldn’t know it from all the pundits who bombard us daily with doom and gloom but lots of homes are trading hands in the real estate industry.  When the numbers are tallied for 2010, approximately 4.7 million homes will have been SOLD in this country.  If we look back at historical data from the National Association of REALTORS® prior to the bubble (i.e. 2003-2008), this number was considered about ‘normal’.    To further illustrate my point, the stock market experienced year-over-year gains and the holiday shopping season produced a healthy increase of 15% from last year.

The bottom line – - – products and services of all kinds are moving!

In order to be a ‘mover and shaker’ in the upcoming year, a lot will hinge on your mindset and what you do NOW to prepare to be successful.  Don’t be afraid to shed old sales methods and outdated marketing approaches in favor of new skills and tools.  Here are some strategies to get your creative juices flowing:

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Social Networking Becomes More Entrenched In Our Lives

October 9, 2010 Leave a Comment

© 2010 Experian Information Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved

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What’s Really Happening in the Real Estate Market?

September 2, 2010 Leave a Comment

The national media is constantly bombarding its readership and viewership with stories that will scare the you know what out of you.  Here’s a slideshow that presents facts on what is happening right now in the real estate market.  No fluff or unsubstantiated wild statements.  Just facts!

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Forbes.com Names the Harrisburg/Carlisle Area as One of Top Metro Areas

May 6, 2010 Leave a Comment

A national business website, Forbes.com, just named the Harrisburg/Carlisle metropolitan area as one of its ten most livable cities in America.  The following is the entire news article that appeared on the front page of The Patriot News on May 4, 2010:

Guess Who Lives in America’s Fifth Most Livable City?  You Do.

Forget the Big Apple, Boston and Seattle.

Harrisburg ranks fith in a Forbes.com list of America’s most livable cities.  Pittsburgh is first.

“By and large, the cities on the list aren’t big tourist destinations, but they are places where costs are relatively low and quality of life is high,” said Francesca Levy at Forbes.com.

Levy said the list doesn’t intend to suggest one metro area is better than another.

“Rather, we developed a measure to judge one aspect of cities: livability.”  And she siad Forbes.com defines that as “one where you can get through the day-to-day business of life witht he fewest obstacles.”

“That means, on average, having a good balance of job security and opportunity, safety, and a decent amount of stuff to do, and everyday costs aren’t out of control,” Levy said.

The ranking comes as good news for those who serve as the region’s cheerleaders.

“I think it speaks very well about our region, particularly when we’re in competition with metro areas of all sizes,” said David Black, president of the Harrisburg Regional Chamber.

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The Incredible Shrinking House

April 25, 2010 Leave a Comment

The average sized home in America is starting to shrink.  No longer are homeowners demanding square footage and soaring open vaults in their living spaces.  McMansions are OUT – - – efficiency and versatility are IN.  MarketWatch’s Amy Hoak recently reported on this fast-evolving building trend.

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Home Prices Continue to Strengthen Nationwide

September 29, 2009 Leave a Comment

 

Another month – another positive sign!  The Standard & Poor‘s/Case-Shiller home price index rose 1.2 percent from June to August which reflects a positive trend for the third month in a row.

Before we all go off the deep end and declare “happy days are here again”, we should probably temper our enthusiasm just a bit.  David M. Blitzer, the committee chairman for the Case-Shiller index said, “We do need to be cautious in coming months to assess whether the housing market will weather the expiration of the federal first-time buyer’s tax credit in November, anticipated higher unemployment rates and a possible increase in foreclosures.”

Stay tuned – - -

Related articles of interest:
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