Q: I have always heard that real estate is the best investment. What kind of real estate is best?
A: The word “investment” used to mean stocks and bonds to most people. Now, to many more, it means real estate.Look at how much homes have appreciated in value recently, and it’s easy to see why. They’ve shot up since 2000, with the average single-family home gaining 50%, according to the National Association of Realtors. That’s remarkable if you consider some places have done even better, and during the same time the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index has risen just 15%.
21st Century Farming
For several years Realtors have been trying to figure out the “online neighborhood” solution to effective marketing. There have been a number of attempts at creating sites that drill down to very local targeted markets. At the same time, it appears that more and more large size broker/owners are coming to the conclusion that in order to effectively marry these online attempts at neighborhood marketing with effective lead management, they need to involve their Agents; i.e., take an Agent-centric approach.
Blogging Systems Group believes it has the most effective solution to this opportunity and it takes the form of using a blog as a farming tool. In particular, using a Community Blog, which consists of content from a wide variety of participating local civic minded organizations, can be a remarkable way to network with dozens of organizations and their members.
Real Estate Festivities are Ending
After a five-year party, the real estate festivities are ending. Creative financing has fueled the housing mania as millions of home buyers ogled properties, then bought more house than they could afford. Disturbing fact, from the Mortgage Bankers Association: Last year adjustable rate mortgages hit a record fraction of home buying loans, at 37%. Something close to $500 billion in ARMs will reset this year, which means that millions of Americans will see their monthly payments skyrocket.
As borrowing costs rise, the National Association of Realtors forecasts 2006 sales of existing homes will fall 7% and new homes 13%. Housing starts are expected to slide by 9%.
Realtor.com
Realtor.com is the official web site of National Association of Realtors. The website allows you to search for new home, mortgage rate quotes, find real estate agents and access information about relocation services throughout the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The interface of the website is very easy to use. Right after you come to the website, from home page you will be able to find a property anywhere in the US. After locating the property you are interested in, you can either e-mail the information to your own Realtor or contact the office that listed the property.
Technical Aspects of the Website:
The website is well designed and is most visited Real Estate estate website on the Internet. The download time can be improved. If you are connected to the Internet via 56K modem, your “waiting” time at Realtor.com can be as long as 45 seconds. If you have T1 1.44Mbps connection, Realtor.com will download under 2 seconds.
Reviews and Feedback:
It is not clear if Realtor.com offers thier visitors to leave feedback on their site. At least we could not find this option. There are few reviews available at Amazon.com written by visitors as well as by Real Estate Agents. To read all the Realtor.com reviews go to Amazon.com
If you feel that information above is incorrect please send us e-mail or leave your commets.
Housing downturn only temporary
The Business Review (Albany):Â
David Lereah told a gathering of about 400 real estate agents at a hotel in Saratoga Springs Monday morning that the decline that started in August 2005 was needed to bring equilibrium back to a residential real estate market that had tilted too heavily toward sellers.
He predicted a rebound in the next three to six months in most parts of the country, provided the Federal Reserve doesn’t start raising interest rates again. Some areas in the South and West will take longer to recover because the boom of the past five years was much sharper than in New York and other states, he said.