Mediaboss Marketing

By Paul Owers March 15, 2012 07:00 AM

That open house you want to schedule actually will help your real estate agent more than you, according to a feature in Reader's Digest.

The iconic magazine is out with a list of 13 things your agent wont tell you.

With just about everybody house-hunting on the Internet, most open houses no longer are magnets for serious buyers. The events typically attract neighbors looking to see how your house compares to theirs.

While an open house makes the seller feel good my Realtor is marketing the property! -- its primarily a chance for your agent to drum up new business by passing out business cards.

Other things Reader's Digest wants you to know: Check the contract for administrative fees on top of the commission and if your agent is new to the business, he or she might list family and friends as references. So be sure to ask the reference about his or her relationship to the agent.

In fairness, though, some of the 13 things aren't exactly state secrets. Such as: Don't skip the final walk-through, and rooms without furniture don't look bigger. Most real estate agents would be happy to share those tips with you.

OK, agents: It's your turn. What do you think of the list? Tell us about it.

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Reader's Digest: 13 secrets your real estate agent is keeping

PARSIPPANY, NJ--(Marketwire -03/14/12)- An outsider might think that freeways, fax machines, and Facebook have nothing in common, but real estate agents and brokers know these innovations have played a critical role in advancing the real estate industry since its formal beginnings in the 1800s.

As ERA Real Estate commemorates its 40th Anniversary, it identified what it believes are the Top 40 innovations in history that helped to shape today's real estate industry and will continue to influence the industry for decades to come. Click here to view a slide show of the full list, which is detailed below.

"For 40 years, innovation has been an integral part of ERA Real Estate's DNA," said Charlie Young, president and CEO of ERA Real Estate. "There are many lessons to be learned from history, which is clearly reflected in our Top 40 Innovations list. As we look to the next 40 years, we will continue to monitor the business, technological and social landscape for new ideas we can leverage to drive value to our customers and propel our business forward."

ERA Real Estate, an innovator in its own right, was the first real estate franchise to use the fax machine to transmit listings across the country, the first to expand internationally and the first to post listings online.

According to ERA Real Estate, the Top 40 Innovations in Real Estate History are, chronologically:

1. 1863 - The London Underground, the first subway, opens. Built as a way to reduce traffic congestion in the city, people now don't need to live in walking distance of their jobs, offering expanded choices in where to live. Today, proximity to a train station can increase a home's value in many markets.

2. 1880s - The Multiple Listing Service finds its origins in this decade. The concept upon which it is based -- help me sell my listing and I'll help you sell yours -- serves to unify and connect real estate brokers as a group of professionals.

3. 1889 - The first Land Run took place, providing hearty, would-be land owners with an opportunity to claim unassigned lands in the United States, primarily in Oklahoma. Under the provisions of the Homestead Act of 1862, a legal settler could claim 160 acres of public land, and those who lived on and improved the claim for five years could receive title, paving the way to the economic prosperity long-associated with owning land.

4. 1890 - The first automatic electric fire alarm was invented in 1890, but it was not until 1969 that the first battery operated smoke detectors came to market.

5. 1908 - What would later become The National Association of Realtors is founded as the National Association of Real Estate Exchanges with the purpose of uniting real estate brokers to represent the combined interests of the profession.

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From the Fax Machine to Facebook, ERA Real Estate Reflects on 40 Innovations That Changed the Industry

Date: Wednesday Mar. 14, 2012 10:54 AM ET

Toronto's real estate agency is launching a full-court attack against a plan to make more information available online, including the names and addresses of home sellers.

The Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) claims will invade the privacy of home sellers and buyers and may result in more fraud against its clients.

The country's largest real estate board says Canada's Competition Bureau is planning to release sensitive information about online real estate sales by removing safeguards used by its agents.

The Competition Bureau is demanding TREB release more information about its listings online, in a bid to even the competitive balance for online real estate websites.

In 2010, federal Competition Commissioner Melanie Aitken successfully fought to give private home sellers access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), which is the primary service through which homes are bought and sold in Canada.

The real estate industry has grown its online presence in recent years. The industry's main site, Realtor.ca, allows clients to browse homes over the Internet. Some information is restricted on the site and a real estate agent must grant access.

The Competition Bureau now argues that TREB's information wall is unfair for independent online real estate sale sites and should be made publicly available. The case is expected to go before a competition tribunal in the fall.

If the change is implemented, the name and address of real estate sellers will be made available online, as will property floor plans and other information about homes for sale.

Negotiated sale prices and details of buyer mortgages would also be made publicly available, TREB said on Wednesday.

Link:
Online real estate listings invade privacy: TREB

SAN FRANCISCO, March 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Wired Real Estate Group Inc.("WiredRE"), the nation's leading data center advisory firm, has completed the placement of a national colocation company in a 43,000 square foot California data center. The site has 5 MW of existing utility service, and the site is expected to garner over $20 million in investment as a Tier III colocation facility over its useful life.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120221/SF56023LOGO)

The California colocation market is the largest in the world, and it has seen significant data center finance activity over the last several years. Colocation and property firms deploying new capital in the region include Latisys, Alchemy Communications, Digital Realty Trust, Equinix, Vantage Data Centers, DuPont Fabros, Scale Matrix, American Internet Services, Fiber Depot, RedIT and others.

"While other advisory firms struggle, we have grown our team and market share throughout the downturn, doubling our revenues in 2011," commented Everett Thompson, CEO of WiredRE. "With consolidation and renewed investment in the market, the industry has never been stronger, and we expect 2012 to produce accelerated growth for ourselves and both public and privately held colocation firms."

For more information about WiredRE and its data center research and advisory services, visitwww.wiredre.com.

About Wired Real Estate Group Inc.

WiredRE is the nation's leading cloud, colocation and data center real estate advisory firm. WiredRE uses its data center knowledge to advise enterprises on data center design, planning, brokerage and finance. The firm has completed over 200 engagements in the last 36 months with leading enterprises, including numerous members of the Fortune 200. Nationally, the firm represents nearly 1 M square feet of colocation and data centers, including major data center developments in Chicago, Denver, Colorado Springs, Pennsylvania and San Francisco. For more information or to search over 1600 data centers, go to http://www.wiredre.com.

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Wired Real Estate Group Brokers 43,000 Square Foot California Data Center

Please find attach ed a website ranking of the top ten channels in the Nielsen Market Intelligence Real Estate category for average daily unique browsers total traffic (from New Zealand and overseas) for February 2012*.

The top three in the Real Estate category for total traffic are trademe.co.nz/property, realestate.co.nz and trademe.co.nz/flatmates. These rankings can be customis ed to the ne ed s of your publications and articles. Additional information outlining data on unique visitors, page impressions, visit durations, and demographics of visitors can also be forward ed for incorporation into articles.

In regards to the Real Estate market and the ever increasing use of the online m ed ium as a means for buying and selling properties, Nielsen is now requesting subscriptions for the upcoming seventh annual Real Estate Report for the New Zealand market:

2012 Nielsen Real Estate Report

This report has proven successful in helping New Zealand real estate site publishers gain an insight into what buyers and sellers want out of a website, and with the ever-changing online landscape perceptions can change quickly. In this regard, the report also outlines for the first time, trends in the use of mobile internet enabl ed devices to search for property information online, as well as the kind of information requirements and application provision such users would prefer.

In addition, the Real Estate Market Report helps marketing professionals understand their brand perception and provides a clearer understanding of how the Internet is us ed with other m ed ia when looking to buy and sell properties.

The 2012 report gathers data from real estate website users and identifies trends over the past seven years, providing expert commentary and analysis, and unlocking valuable insights to help you gain a competitive advantage. The report also includes a confidential site satisfaction survey to help you understand users true perceptions of your specific website and establish their ne ed s.

ENDS

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Market Intelligence Ranking Feb 2012 - Real Estate