RECoach Cites Best Aggregators
Do you find it takes too long to keep track of all the good real estate/technology information that’s passing through the Internet? Save time by setting up a Tweetdeck and following the industry’s power tweeters. Check out RECoach Eric Bryant’s “Top 10 Human Aggregators.”
(Oh, and don’t forget to add @realtormag.)
Check Out Recent and Upcoming NAR Webinars
As many of you know, REALTOR® Magazine regularly offers webinars on some of the hottest trends in real estate, for free. (For example, we have one on how to use your knowledge of real estate to make investment decisions for your retirement coming up on Thursday, Feb. 25.) What many of you may not know is that other groups within the National Association of REALTORS® are producing webinars on important industry topics too.
Thanks to the Right Tools, Right Now initiative, several of these events are available at no cost to members. For example, REALTOR® University is offering archived webinars for free until Feb. 26 through Right Tools, Right Now. Topics include an economic forecast for 2010-2011, top REALTOR® tax write-offs, and money-making tech tools for real estate.
Also, as part of its quarterly webinar series, the REALTOR® Safety Program has an event coming up on Feb. 18, “First Meetings: How to Lay the Groundwork for Safety,” which will cover what you should do when meeting clients for the first time, danger signs to look for, and much more. To register for free, go here. (Additional REALTOR® Safety information, office forms and more are available at www.REALTOR.org/Safety.)
Check Out “Realtormag” – REALTOR® Magazine’s New Home Page
By Stacey Moncrieff, editor in chief, REALTOR® Magazine
The magazine’s mission is to be “the business tool for real estate professionals.” Over the last few months we’ve worked to redesign REALTOR® Magazine’s home page to give you easy, anytime access to our practical, how-to content.
At our newly redesigned home page, you’ll find sales scripts, quizzes, videos, polls, blogs, and articles to guide you in your business.
We’ve added several items to our home page to make it easy for you to get the information you need all on one page, including:
Quick Scripts: Know what to say when reaching out to a new customer or answering a prospect’s objection.
‘More Patients Than We Could Keep Track of’: Good Neighbor Pat Moore Reports From Haiti
Below are more updates from 2007 Good Neighbor Award winner Pat Moore, who is aiding earthquake survivors in and around Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Bon Repos, Haiti – 9:45 p.m., Feb. 2, 2010
Today may have been the most productive day thus far on this trip. We packed our medical bag with all of the essentials and set out on foot with a couple of EMTs from Minnesota to help those who were ill or injured in and around Bon Repos. Almost as soon as we left we started seeing people in need. The need ranged from simple scrapes and bruises in need of cleaning and bandaging, to missing fingers and gashes that were severely infected that required much more serious attention. Read more
‘Today Was a Great Day’: Good Neighbor Pat Moore Reports From Haiti
Here’s the latest update from 2007 Good Neighbor Award winner Pat Moore, who is currently assisting relief efforts in Haiti following the earthquakes that struck the country. (To see the previous updates, go here.)
Ruuska Village Orphanage, Bon Repos, Haiti – 9:30 p.m., Feb. 1, 2010
Today was a great day. We were able to feed 20 orphans and their caretakers for about another two months. Their building, which we will post a picture of, was taken down by the earthquake. Rebuilding of the orphanage here has started—the NW front wall is almost done. Again, thank you to all who donated to make this possible. Read more
‘No Aid, No Military, No Nothing’: Good Neighbor Pat Moore Reports From Haiti
Pat Moore, who was honored with a Good Neighbor Award in 2007 for his extensive charity work in Haiti, arrived in that country on Friday, Jan. 29, to assist with relief efforts. During his time there, he’ll be sending regular updates that will be posting here on Speaking of Real Estate.
This is Moore’s 64th trip to Haiti since 2001. Each time he goes, he brings food, installs water filtration systems, and provides medical care using his training as a firefighter. In Port-au-Prince, he supports an orphanage/foreign adoption agency and a shelter for men and women run by a local priest. He also makes regular trips to provide aid to three remote mountain villages.
On this trip, he brought a dozen tents, high-protein foods such as tuna and peanut butter, and hundreds of doses of antibiotics. He is focusing on helping to rebuild the damaged orphanage and providing food, clean water, and medical care wherever he can. He plans to stay for about two weeks and then return in March.
NAR and Good Neighbor Award Sponsor Lowe’s donated $50,000 to his non-profit, The Harvest of Haiti. The REALTORS® Relief Foundation has donated another $500,000 to relief efforts in Haiti and is continuing to raise funds at http://www.realtor.org/about_nar/haiti_relief.
Updates from Pat:
What’s the Key Age Demographic for Real Estate in This Decade?
By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
A recent report from the Urban Land Institute outlines a few important demographic groups in real estate going into the new decade. (The Teens? The Tens? Are we going to have another debate about decade labels after we failed to definitively resolve the last one?)
Anyway, according to ULI, the following three generational groups will shape the fortunes of the housing market over the next 10 years: Read more
Right Tools, Right Now – Extended into 2010!
The Right Tools, Right Now initiative is back in 2010 to help you and your business find continued success. In the coming year, you’ll find even more great free or at-cost offers, updates to existing NAR products and resources, and valuable tips on how to make the most of Right Tools, Right Now. If you haven’t taken advantage of Right Tools, Right Now yet, visit http://www.realtor.org/righttools to find out more. New offers are added every month, so be sure to check back regularly.
For Home Sales, It’s About Jobs, Not Fed MBS Purchases
By Robert Freedman, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
Watch our videos for economic research updates further down the post.
In the midst of the mortgage meltdown it was hard to keep track of everything the federal government was doing to keep the credit freeze from sinking the economy. There was the massive bank rescue, with the idea that an equity infusion from taxpayers would shore up banks so they could start financing mortgages again; there was the temporary increase in loan limits in high-cost areas for loans backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA; and there was the first-time home buyer tax credit, now expanded to include move-up buyers.
But one federal effort that never received quite the same attention as the others, probably because it doesn’t lend itself to a term that rolls off the tongue like “tax credit” or “bank bailout,” is the Federal Reserve’s massive intervention in the mortgage-backed securities market. Read more
Have You Checked Into Foursquare?
By Katherine Tarbox, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
While attending Inman’s Real Estate Connect in New York two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to hear from the young, somewhat geeky, somewhat hip founder of Foursquare, Dennis Crowley. I’ve become of a fan of Inman conferences, but the truth is, sometimes it takes me some time to digest how the presentations relate to real estate.
Foursquare is a social media application that you load on your smartphone, which allows you to check into the locations you’re at. If you’re at Panera Bread, you’d hit a few buttons on your phone to “check-in” and you could see the profiles of other people that are also there. If you want to see which bar your friends are hanging out at, just look at your Foursquare app. Read more
