The 2008 Report from National Association of REALTORS provides some interesting perspectives and lessons in real estate marketing.
If you click the table to the right then you will see a larger version.
Drive-by Buyers Remain Consistent
Whilst other aspects of the industry move up and down, the proportion of buyers who seem to jump in their car and essentially drive around the neighborhood to find a house they like is remaining constant at around 15%.. Of all the methods that were measured this is the only one that remains constant.
Found via a …

There is now a capability to pick multiple designations for your Profile and display them with your contact details on each listing site you create.
These include designations such as CRS, CyberStar and so on.
To do this - go to MY ACCOUNT / USER PROFILES.
One of the options for profiles is now to set “Designations”
Let us know if there are any you need.
Here are some examples!..

There’s no question about it - there are tons of exciting tools out there for agents. When we were down at NAR in Orlando, it was fascinating to walk around the expo and see the technology available for agents. Everything from mobile marketing to property slideshows were on display - a full spectrum of ideas agents can use to market their home.
But walking around, we also noticed a lot of agents were looking overwhelmed. With so many different ideas and concepts, it’s difficult for agents to figure out exactly where …

Who’s in control of your listings?

It was a question on the minds of a lot of agents we talked to at NAR, and there’s no good answer. As an REALTOR, you certainly hope that you are in control of your listings, but the explosion of listing syndication sites and technology make it so that is not always the case.

Today’s home buyers want more.
It’s easy to think that’s about home features. But their desire for “more” extends to the whole home-buying process as well. Computer-savvy buyers are concerned about HOW they buy, not just WHAT they buy. After all, these are the same buyers who are accustomed to going online and using search engines for any type of purchase. It’s only natural that they’d do the same thing when it comes to finding the home they want.
Consider this –
Buyers look for:
• More convenience in how they locate homes
• More uniqueness in …

What is ‘Real Estate’ as a ‘Business’ if it is not really, and mainly the ‘business’ of ‘marketing’?
For example, if we can successfully win listings then for most agents that’s half the battle. ‘My Listings’ then become ‘my referral tool’ - the listing ‘markets me’ even more in the neighborhood .. and I get more listings.
This is the primary purpose of putting effort into a marketing approach like a single property site - it’s a fabulous way to impress the socks of the Seller and then get the inquisitive neighbors …

For all the benefit it has for agents, the Internet can also be a brutal place. And agents wbo blog are agents that put themselves in the center of the storm. Blogs take a while to mature, and along the way, every real estate blogger will deal with languishing in obscurity, cutting criticism, and a lack of motivation. Here’s a guide to handling the growing pains along the way, but keep this in mind too: the payoff is worth it. Those bloggers that can weather the rough, early days, will be rewarded with a collection of strong content that attracts new readers, promotes discussion and feedback, improves search engine ranking and ultimately generates new business.

In Part I of this article series, we explored how the mobile market in the United States is poised to grow dramatically in the coming years.  Both Europe and Asia are already ahead of the curve when it comes to mobile technology - abroad, people use wireless technology more, text more and respond to more marketing offers than in the United States.  But this will change in the coming years as the U.S. market catches up.  And this means more opportunities for you as a Realtor to take advantage of …