The Economic sky is not falling for crying out loud.

As of late there has been far to much negative press that has put a lot of people into a state of panic. This is totally unnecessary. There are many individuals I have run into that are not only panicked but in fear of our economic sky falling on us and not being able to get our from underneath it. Fear in many cases is due to ignorance and people who can’t seem to see that there is always opportunity if you look hard enough. Please don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that we are not in some ruff economic times but we are no where near the great depression and it doesn’t help to stick your head in the sand and not try to be smart about your finances.

I have heard everything from “well I’m just going to wait till it gets better”, or “I’m not sure whats going to happen to me this is terrible who let it get this bad”.  Keep in mind we have had some amazing economic years that have been UN-precedented and now we are  coming down off that high. Think about this I recently read a great article by Mark Riepe and it was comparing our economic times now to the great depression and here is just a snip it of that.

If you would like to read the whole article click here on Charles Scawab

My point is this, get informed, don’t panic and be smart about your finances. If you don’t have a great financial planner get one. If your in business look for the opportunities and push forward. What you don’t want to be doing is running around waiting for the sky to fall.

Google Analytics for Buyers and Sellers.

So recently I visited with some Windermere agents on Whidbey Is. who are really thinking out of the box and being very successful in the process.They are taking the tool of Google Analytics and taking it to a whole other level.

Recently I read how Remax is using Google Analytics to better track and understand the traffic they receive to remax.com, Windermere has been doing this pretty much from the very early days that Google offered this great free tool.  That said we didn’t stop there. It is one thing to track traffic to your company site it is a totally different concept to follow traffic right down to each photo on every single listing, and  then making sure the agent can use this data to do a better job at educating the Seller on the effectiveness of the  maketing programs and reach that that particular agents has at exposing this home to as many buyers as possible.

From the Geographic traffic maps to the vistor trending reports in the Google Analytics tool agents can now embed this code directly into each of their listing’s photo galleries. What is does is something amazing. Now when listings get activity on line you don’t just get a hit counter. What you get is a story that can be used to better explain how important, pricing is, how valuable a good search tool is, how the internet has far greater reach than any printed publication. You can track trends and market swings based on global activity. When was the last time you ran a real estate classified ad in the local newpaper and the following day you were able to automatically send out a heat map plotting the traffic that that add received from it’s distribution? With Google analytic you can do all that and then some.

One of the tools that is very popular is the ability to e-mail any report directy to your seller or buyer or better yet have it set up on a weekly automated push. With the market being as tuff as it is agents always need to have new creative ideas to articulate the value the can bring to the table. Google Analytics can provide then with just that.

To set up a free account today visit https://www.google.com/analytics/home/

How to create the best real estate multimedia presentation online

 

Recently Windermere did a study and In April 2008, we contracted  Hoi-Yin (Hoi-Yin Lo, is an independent consultant with a master’s degree in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) from the University of Michigan. She has been a user experience researcher for over 7 years and had served as a consultant at Microsoft, Intel, and Zillow. ) was hired by Windermere to conduct independent user research on what buyers look for in a real estate multimedia presentation (also known as virtual tour). She wrote a white paper  to help selling agents use their marketing money wisely by creating the best multimedia presentation online. The research also serves to advise Windermere on the best way to create real estate multimedia presentations.

I’m not going to go into great detail here but I want to make some points about marketing a home on-line and this is backed up by our recent studies.

Many agents today really focus on the Seller as to what is going to please them when it comes to how the home will get marketed. I think the we as real estate agents forget that what a seller wants to see is not what a buyer wants to see. Many virtual tours companies talk about how 9 out of 10 sellers love their features and there fore Mr. and Mrs. Real estate agent use our program. I have to tell you that Sellers don’t buy homes buyers do.

From our studies let me share with you what we found that buyers don’t like when they are on line looking at homes and images. Here they are.

Least desirable multimedia features

·         Auto-play slideshows

·         Background music

·         Audio commentary

·         Narratives instead of quick facts

·         Agent videos

·         Difficult-to-view videos

 

In many cases the number one viewers of virtual tours are the sellers not the buyers. So what do buyers want when it come to a good presentation here is what we found.

 

Most desirable multimedia content

·         Photos of different kinds and angles

o   Photos that show character of the property

o   Photos of closet spaces, flooring, garage and other details

o   Neighborhood photos

·         Detailed photo description that described amenities and dimensions of the room

·         Property and tax information

·         Neighborhood information

1.     Not all multimedia presentations are created equal – choose the best

To maximize chances of potential home buyers pursuing a listing, make sure to choose a real estate multimedia presentation that best accentuates the most desirable features and content of the presentation. The best-of-breed multimedia presentation will feature the following:

• Large, clear photos
• Photo description next to the photo
• Written descriptions of important facts about the property
• Floor plan or layout map
• Panoramic views of the property’s surroundings/neighborhood

TThe bottom line here is that as Real Estate Professionals we need to arm ourselves with information and then be able to articulate it to a seller as to how we are going to best represent their home to the pool of buyers that are out there looking. Remember just because the Seller thinks it is neat and fun doesn’t mean it will get more attention from a buyer.

 

Credit to Hoi-Yin Lo, User Experience Researcher

Fun on Lake Washington

Ok so finally this weekend the Sun was out and it was time to take the boat out on Lake Washington. Jack had been hounding me for some time and really really wanted to test out his new water tube that he helped pick out. The one he really wanted was far to big and so this is what we settled on. He also told me that he didn’t need me to ride with him because he know now to do this. Keep in mind he is almost 5 and has never been on an inner tube.  Well needless to say not only did he have a good time but so did I. We were out for about 4 hours and it wasn’t until about the 4th time when he finally said daddy I’m tired lets go get some pizza. So we did we hauled the boat in and had some pagliacci pizza on the beach. It was a great day.

 

Disneyland the happiest place on earth.

Ok so I took the family to Disneyland for 5 days last week. I have to say that we had a blast. I’ve only been to Disneyland a handful of times but every time I go it is new to me. My son Jack who is almost 5 was the most excited out of all of us. We also went with my parents and my sister and her son.

The first day there we needed to get our bearings so we quickly figured out the benefit of the fast pass. Wow this is a great thing. Lines were a bit long and being in line with a hyper 4 year old for 50 min can be a challenge to say the least. Fast Pass made it all bearable. I also found out that my son is adrenalin junky. Hi favorite rides were Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, and the Matterhorn, basically anything fast with lots of turns and drops. He actually had a melt down when he found out he was too short to go on the big roller coaster at Disney California.

My daughter Emerson had lots of fun in Toontown. She loves Minnie and Mickey’s house and the Roger Rabbit ride. Often she would be in a back pack on my back as were would walk from ride to ride. At one point she was on my back in a gift store, because after every ride they feed you directly into a gift store so you can hear your kids say to you “daddy look at all the stuff I want you to buy for me”.  Well Emerson being on my back was just at the right height to just reach out and take what she wanted without me even knowing until we had left the store. This was fun to go back in and tell the cashier “hey my daughter just lifted this Donald Duck and I’m bringing it back”, as she is screaming on my back “My Duck My Duck” I had to buy the duck.

 

New look and feel.

Ok so I finally decided to get serious about my blog. I switched from blog spot to WordPress. I switched because I like the format better and it works much better with Windows Live Writer. This way I don’t have to be on line to write my blog posts. I love that. Many times I find I’m not always wanting to hook up to the net to write.

I also wanted my blog to be more about me and who I am. I know that my role in my Job at Windermere is one where I talk about Real Estate and how we are a changing breed of business but believe it or not there is a lot more to me than working at Windermere. 

Don’t get me wrong I love my job and the people I work with. For those of you who know me I think it is pretty clear I’m passionate about what I do at Windermere. That said I have other passions and hobbies that keep me just as fired up.

I also have been asked to teach a blog class in March, I figured I better get my act in gear and learn what this blogging stuff is all about. (Kidding) I think I have it figured out and hope those of you who take my class enjoy it.

Leave a comment if you so desire, or tell me a bit about you.

PS my good friend and co worker Lans just showed me a cool new site called Pandora.com if your into music it is a pretty cool site.

The Anchor in Everett

Ok so it is Friday night and my son Jack and I are laying in bed he is trying real hard to go to sleep, “right Jack?” and I’m writing another entry in my blog. I’m excited for the weekend because I’m going to be playing at the Anchor Tavern this weekend with a really fun and crazy band called Nigel Mustafa.

These guys are a lot of fun. We have played with them in the past and it is always a show and a half. I always love when I have  a Saturday show over a Friday show because I can take it easy on a Saturday and hang out with the kids before I have to head out for the Show. When I play a Friday or week day show I always end up rushing out and feel bad when I don’t get good quality time with the kids. My son Jack however already thinks he is part of the band. His main guy (SURPRISE) is not me it is Rick our lead singer.  Jack always tells me when he grows up he wants to play a guitar and sing just like Rick. Oh well Rick is a good guy too. Ok looks like Jack is about asleep so I’m going to sneak down and run on the tread mill so I can keep my girlish figure, Kidding Nite.

Ski or Zip, line or maybe both?

So next week I’m heading to Whistler with my buddy Thadd to get in some skiing. While trying to find my edge pass for my lift tickets I noticed that Whistler now has a zip line.

So I have to just tell you my frustration on the whole ski lift ticket. So I start with the whole price for a gallon of gas  $3.69 now right (OUCH).

So Shell gas stations is offering a 2 for 1 pass for a ski lift tickets for every 10 gallons of gas you buy. My buddy Thadd and I are thinking this is a great deal so I’m filling up with gas and getting my passes, happy that I’m going to buy one lift ticket in Whistler and get the second one for free, what a deal. I’m looking into this whole zip line deal and find out that the passes that shell is handing out are blacked out up a Whistler. I’m really bummed. Now not only is gas way over priced but I’m going to get gouged on the lift ticket in whistler because apparently when you are having the Olympics in 2010 you can jack up your ski lift tickets by 20%. I’m not sure where I read that but someone running the whistler resort read it.

I’m not really upset because the skiing I’ll be doing will be great and being able to hang out with my great friend Thadd  is priceless.

Hi let me introduce myself.

I felt it was time to start my own blog. This blog is not a work nor a hobby blog it is just a blog about me and what i like.  It allows me to talk about things that interest me.  For starters I have a love of playing Drums. I’m currently the drummer for a great local Seattle SKA band called Natalie Wouldn’t , that is me second from the left we have been together  since 2000 and having a ton of fun playing.

I also work for Windermere Services and an E.V.P. where I work with some great people and I’ve been there for 12 years and really love my job. I also have some amazing kids, Jack and Emerson. My Kids keep me young and I enjoy every min that I spend with them. Sometimes we just hang out and watch TV, other times we are out bike riding or playing at the park.

 

Right now My wife is out on a friends tirp in Arizona so Jack and I are hanging out watching the Ninja Turtles and eating pizza too much fun.