Posts Tagged ‘Video’
The Incredible Shrinking House
Posted by tblefko on April 25, 2010
Posted in Buyers, Construction, Consumers, Harrisburg, Market Conditions, Sellers | Tagged: Amy Hoak, Builder's Show, Buyers, MarketWatch, National Association of Home Builders, Real estate, Sellers, Statistics, U.S. Housing Market, Video | Leave a Comment »
The Keys to Success
Posted by tblefko on November 8, 2009
Every once in awhile I see, hear or read something from outside of the real estate industry that just strikes a chord with me. This video was one of them. Here’s a guy who took a product as simple as soda and turned it into a success for himself. The twelve minutes that you spend watching this will be worth it’s weight in gold down the line. Enjoy!
So what are the lessons to be learned here. If you want to be a Success, follow these rules:
- Be passionate about your job or chosen field of endeavor. Whether you’re negotiating for your client, chopping wood or parenting, do it with vim and vigor.
- Become educated about your product or service. You should be a sponge that sucks up knowledge so that you become known as the “go to” guy or gal in your field.
- Be honest in everything you do. Continually ask yourself the question when faced with tough decisions, “What’s the right thing to do?”
- Provide exceptional customer service. Anyone can sell you a widget. But not everyone sells you the widget, delivers it to your home, shows you how it works and follows up to make sure that you’re happy. Go the extra mile. It pays off.
- Find your niche. Stop trying to be the best at everything. In the end, you’ll be good at nothing.
Now that you’ve read this post, go have a cold, banana nut soda. You deserve it!
Related articles of interest:
- Schwab Bank Gives Man Excellent Customer Service [Above And Beyond] (consumerist.com)
- Lessons from AiMA: Big Brands Discuss Social Media (socialmediatoday.com)
- What Questions Do You Have On the Pursuit of Passion? (celestinechua.com)
- Your Call is Important to Us: Why customer service must improve (thatcanadiangirl.co.uk)
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Posted in Consumers, Motivation | Tagged: Customer Service, Education, Galco's Soda Pop Stop, Honesty, John Nese, Passion, Success, Video | Leave a Comment »
Home Prices Continue to Strengthen Nationwide
Posted by tblefko on September 29, 2009
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:
- A Look at Case-Shiller, by Metro Area (September Update) (blogs.wsj.com)
- Home prices gain for 3rd straight month (money.cnn.com)
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Posted in Agents, Buyers, Consumers, Market Conditions, Sellers | Tagged: Business, Buyers, Case-Shiller index, David M. Blitzer, Media, Property Values, Real estate, Reports, S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, Sellers, Standard & Poor, Statistics, Tax credit, U.S. Housing Market, Unemployment, Video | Leave a Comment »
How To Explain the Accuracy of Zestimates® To Consumers
Posted by tblefko on August 15, 2009
Image courtesy of Flickr
I remember a couple of years ago when Zillow first hit the real estate scene. Consumers embraced the web site almost immediately because of the web site’s cool, on-line tools. One tool in particular caught their fancy: the Zestimate. This single, funny-sounding word would grow to strike fear in the heart’s of REALTORS® everywhere.
But what is a Zestimate? A Zestimate is an estimated market value of a home based on Zillow’s proprietary, mathematical formula. The home data they compile to generate a Zestimate home valuation varies by location. Some geographic areas provide all the data Zillow could hope for, but others are lacking such key things as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, or, in some cases, the square footage of the home. The theory says that the more data Zillow has, the more accurate the Zestimate. They even made it easy for users of the site to help them improve accuracy by incorporating edited home facts into their Zestimate calculations. In some areas, Zillow can’t produce a Zestimate at all, but they do have some basic information on the homes.
Why did REALTORS® dispise Zillow? Because they claimed that the tool that produced Zestimates oversimplified the valuation process and gave inaccurate results. Regardless, Zillow shot up the popularity charts and in no time at all it was firmly entrenched as one of the top ten real estate web sites in the world. REALTORS® looked at the new kid on the block as a threat to their own personal fiefdom as experts on property valuation. They exclaimed, “How dare they hand out FREE property estimates! They’re misleading consumers. Why can’t consumers see that the accuracy of Zestimates is atrocious?”
Posted in Agents, Lancaster, Market Conditions, Sellers | Tagged: Agents, Charts, Lancaster County, National Association of REALTORS, Property Values, Sellers, Statistics, Video, Zestimates, Zillow.com | Leave a Comment »
Is the Social Media Revolution a Passing Fad?
Posted by tblefko on August 15, 2009
more about “Social Media Revolution“, posted with vodpod
A couple of weeks ago I posted a video to this blog which showed the impact that social media is having on our society, and in particular, on the real estate business. Still aren’t buying into this phenomenon? Wake up and smell the coffee!
Related articles of interest:
- How to write your firm’s social media policy (futurelab.net)
- Social Media, What Do You Want From It? (newmediachatter.com)
- Balancing Client and Social Interactions in Social Media (kylelacy.com)
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Posted in Agents, Technology | Tagged: Advertising, Flat World Knowledge, Google, Media, Newspapers, Real estate, Social media, Social Networks, Society and Culture, Statistics, Twitter, Video | Leave a Comment »
Tryin’ to Understand the Economic Crisis
Posted by tblefko on July 27, 2009
Everyone and their brother has an opinion or theory on how the country got into this economic situation. Some people blame Wall Street, the financial institutions and banks; other people take direct aim at REALTORS®, builders and mortgage companies; still others impugn the American consumer and their fixation with obtaining easy money with no strings attached.
I found this short video enlightening, insightful and explains the economic predicament about as well as any that I have read, heard or seen.
Related articles of interest:
- The lesson from CIT for future financial rescues (blogs.ft.com)
- The Looters(andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com)
- Obama’s financial industry reform: business as usual (isiria.wordpress.com)
- FASB Poised to Give Firms Leeway in Valuing Assets(abcnews.go.com)
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Posted in Financing, Legislation, Market Conditions | Tagged: Bailout, Financial institution, Foreclosures, Media, Obama, Property Values, Regulators, Statistics, Stimulus Package, Stocks, U.S. Housing Market, Video, Wall Street | Leave a Comment »
Are We Listening?
Posted by tblefko on July 18, 2009
I regularly browse the web reading and listening to ‘Stuff’ that I think would enhance my business or make me a better REALTOR®. When I stumbled upon this short video about contacts, leads, et al – - - it made me stop and think.
In a nutshell – stop telling the consumer about YOU and start listening to THEM. After all, they’re opinion is the only one that counts.
If you liked this video and want to listen and read more ‘Stuff’ like it, go to 1000 Watt Consulting’s Blog where you will find other thought provoking ideas.
Have a great weekend!
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Posted in Agents | Tagged: Agents, Listening, Video | Leave a Comment »
Fasten Your Seat Belt!
Posted by tblefko on July 13, 2009
Now go out there and make things happen. Happy Monday!
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Posted in Technology | Tagged: Google, Media, Predictions, Social media, Statistics, Technology, Video | Leave a Comment »
Google Maps Enter the Real Estate Search Field
Posted by tblefko on July 7, 2009
Image via CrunchBase
Google just upped the ante in the competitive field of real estate listing search engines. In a move that certainly had a few established players (i.e. REALTOR.com, Zillow, Tulia, et.al.) do a double take, Google Maps incorporated a new tool into its site that links buyers and renters to available properties. The feature was only launched in Australia and New Zealand yesterday, but I understand that selected metropolitan areas in the United States are already able to utilize the service.
The following is an instructional video on how to utilize the service:
So what’s the big deal?
Posted in Agents, Buyers, Sellers | Tagged: Advertising, Agents, Buyers, Google, Google Maps, Media, Realtor.com, Sellers, Video, Web Sites, Zillow | Leave a Comment »
The Distant Drums
Posted by tblefko on March 24, 2009
Posted in Agents, Buyers, Market Conditions, Sellers | Tagged: Buyers, Interest Rates, National Association of REALTORS, Predictions, Property Values, Sellers, Video | Leave a Comment »
Basics of Preparing Your Home For Sale
Posted by tblefko on January 4, 2009
I saw this video clip on another blog and had to borrow it. As a real estate professional, it is my job to inform a potential seller how to prepare their home for sale. Sometimes it involves telling them some things that aren’t always pleasant. This video, while humerous, still manages to get the point across. Enjoy.
Posted in Sellers | Tagged: Humerous, Sellers, Video | Leave a Comment »
