Real Estate Business

Over at naked capitalism.com is an article about the 12 reasons to hate the almost-done mortgage settlement.  What do I mean by "you" in the title here?  It seems that much of this is ending up as another bailout of the banks at taxpayer expense.  Go read it for an education.

Bernanke: Home prices have reduced spending - Detroit Free Press

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USA TODAYBernanke: Home prices have reduced spendingDetroit Free PressBy Martin Crutsinger AP WASHINGTON -- Ben Bernanke said declines in home prices have forced many Americans to cut back sharply on spending and warns that the trend could continue t ...

Improving metro Detroit home values may mean that housing crisis has bottomed out - Detroit Free Press

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Improving metro Detroit home values may mean that housing crisis has bottomed outDetroit Free PressWilliam Archie/Detroit Free Press By Kathleen Gray, John Wisely and Eric D. Lawrence A home on Dorchester street in Birmingham that got two firm offers ...

Bernanke Wants to Lend to Real Estate Investors - TheStreet.com

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National PostBernanke Wants to Lend to Real Estate InvestorsTheStreet.comBy Shanthi Bharatwaj 02/10/12 - 02:59 PM EST NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday that making loans more easily available to real estate inv ...

Social media use by business, and definitely by real estate professionals, is growing by leaps and bounds.  And, if you read here much, you know that I'm a big fan of Google+, the new social spot on the Web.  However, there's a lot of disagreement about how much to engage our prospective customers on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and now Google+.  Some would say, and they practice it, that if a little works then a lot must work better.  I do know that when I connect with a real estate professional in Google+, if I start getting multiple posts/day, especially if they're mostly promoting every tiny feature of their listings, I just disconnect.  After all, I'm in Taos, NM, and have very little interest in their new listing in Detroit.  (Another reason to learn to use Google+ Circles properly.)

Research recently published by ROI Research and Performics might shock some of us.  They asked consumers and users of social media how often they considered "often enough" for business connections to communicate with them in social media.  The top two response groups were 28% saying once per month or less, and 26% saying once per week was enough.

I know I'm doing more than that at times, as my blog posts here are fed to a Twitter account.  I do the same with my personal real estate site.  However, I don't think that it's about absolute numbers.  I think it's more about content and quality.  And, I definitely think posting up every one of your listings more than once is way too much.  First, if you're doing Social right, you're building a large number of long term relationships.  How many people who buy a home on average once every eight years want three listing posts every week for that eight years?  That's around 1200+ posts they endure that will have absolutely no value to them.

However, if at least half or more of your posts are market reports, sold property data, local and regional news and views, then it's more like a magazine or ezine of local information.  Your self-serving marketing posts can blend in without overpowering your contacts.  Think about your social media strategy and how you would perceive it as the acquaintance on the receiving end.

Just this week, Google+ became an integral part of Google Search results with "Personal Results."   It's creating quite a stir, some negative.  Twitter is in a snit because they think Google has an unfair advantage, and others just think it's not going to be useful.

I think it is just fine, and it allows a searcher to display partial or total results of posts, video and images posted to Google+ by people in their circles.  I've written about it and included an image here.  Check it out.  There's also a new feature in that article about recording video into a Google+ post.

The latest plan hatched by the government to help dig out of the housing mess is to sell government owned properties in bulk to large investors.  It's refreshing to see the more mainstream media like CNBC express doubts about this latest scheme.  Where there's enough smoke for the major media to smell it, there just may be some fire around somewhere.

The taxpayers are probably going to foot the bill to back loans and subsidize very rich and large investors in buying up foreclosure inventory in bulk and profiting from converting the homes to rental use.  Some of the smoke includes the statements of how much more expensive it is to manage properties that are spread out in location.  Then there's the statement that banks will not want to finance these purchases due to the lack of precedent and experience.

The foundation is being laid for another infusion of taxpayer funds into private enterprise.  Technically, it isn't a bailout yet, but it's certainly looking like it could be a handout to those who least need it.

If you're still trying to compare Google+ to Facebook, you shouldn't be doing that either.  It isn't a Facebook clone, and is only a competitor in some ways.  The fact is that Google Plus is growing, and it's providing businesses with a whole new way to communicate with prospects and customers.  I've set up several business pages, a very fast and easy process, and I'm slowly building a following on a couple of them.

I've written a summary article and set of article links about Google+ here.  You should be getting involved in Google Plus now, but only if you're going to do more than set up a page with no photo, About information or links.  The few steps that are required to make the most of your Google+ business page and personal profile will be well worth it as Google rolls in their other services and begins to give more value to Google+ pages in their search algorithms.

Daily News Articles | Realtor Magazine

realtormag.realtor.org1/5/12

Several real estate professionals say cash-back incentives that some lenders are using to tempt delinquent borrowers to do a short sale over a foreclosure are not very effective because it's not clear on who qualifies for the ...

Real Estate News: Refinancing Gets Even More Attractive ...

blogs.wsj.com1/3/12

Here is a look at real-estate news in the weekend's and Monday's WSJ:

Real Estate News: Mortgage Rates Hold Near Lows | Best Rate ...

bestratemoney.com1/6/12

Real Estate News: Mortgage Rates Hold Near Lows. Here is a look at real-estate news in todays's WSJ: Read more from the original source: Real Estate News: Mortgage Rates Hold Near Lows ...

Real Estate News: Big Funds Build Case for Housing ...

blogs.wsj.com12/29/11

Here is a look at real-estate news in today's WSJ: Big Funds Build Case for Housing: Hedge funds have been buying housing-related investments, betting on a rebound. Bulls have been burned in the past, but optimistic ...