Real Estate Blog

Neighborhood boundaries are a fluid thing. My definition what encompasses my neighborhood (Multnomah Village in Portland) may vary greatly from the person across street.

It’s also one of the Holy Grails to online search. The ability to confine a search to a particular neighborhood. Roost does this particularly well, as does Estately and to a lesser degree Zillow.

Zillow also took the step of creating a set of neighborhood boundaries (over 7000 of them) that they released earlier this year in Shapefile format.

Another effort is slowly taking shape (literally) however. The popular photo-sharing site Flickr is also releasing Shapefiles of neighborhoods, using the data it collects from the geotagged photos in its database to accumulate a collective definition of what makes a neighborhood.

The project, which is in early Alpha, can best be viewed on the mashup site Neighborhood Boundaries. Simply punch in your neighborhood name (or city name) and see how the boundaries are being defined in your neck of the woods.

Again, this is early Alpha, so many markets won’t have much coverage. But the possibility of user-defined neighborhood boundaries is intriguing to say the least.

Ad:
Are you frustrated by a website that does not work? BREAK FREE! Trade in your old website and receive an amazing discount on the premier agent system! Make the change today and save!.

See the original post:
These Are The Photos in Your Neighborhood

The 2^nd Annual Open Web Awards is here and voting starts today! MyTechOpinion is a blog partner this year, along with 100 other blogs from around the globe! So we have a handy dandy voting widget available right here.  Scroll down and cast your vote now!

If you’re not already familiar with Mashable’s Open Web Awards, it’s the only multilingual international online voting competition which is centered around innovative Web technologies.  The Open Web Awards gives top honors to blogs in 26 categories (ex: blog plugins, social news, photo sharing, travel, sports & fitness, mobile applications, how-to, etc). Last year’s winners included Facebook, Digg, Google, Meetup, Twitter, and others.

Voting begins today, November 19^th and closes December 15^th.

Mashable Open Web Awards

Other posts you may enjoy:

• Real Estate Vlogging Contest Update
• New Feature from MyBlogLog Builds Your Contact Manager
• Kick Off To MTO Vlogging Contest!

Here is the original post:
Mashable Open Web Awards - Voting Starts Today!

Taking a page from the its search portal cousins and perhaps even its cross-town competitor Redfin, the new Windermere web site launched today, with a simple search box up front and center. Simple, slick and straight to the point.

Broker web pages are often cluttered with all kinds of extraneous information; programs on this and that. Windermere cuts right to the chase and puts the power of its IDX driven search tool up front and center. Just what I’m looking for.

Better still, the search experience gets even better once you dive in. Results return speedily are mapped quickly onto a Microsoft Virtual Earth map. Clicking on a individual listing and you get a nice big picture as well as the ability to read the entire property details, view all existing photos and print out a ready-to-roam flyer.

I suspect this is the model for the brokerage web site moving forward. A simple, interactive online destination that supplies the consumer with the complete search experience. If Windermere takes this to the next level and white-labeled this tool for its agents, they’d be on to a winning combination.

Windermere serves the Western US, in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington state and Wyoming.

Ad:
Are you frustrated by a website that does not work? BREAK FREE! Trade in your old website and receive an amazing discount on the premier agent system! Make the change today and save!.

View original post here:
New Face for Windermere

The idea of a completely wireless world keeps getting closer and closer to a reality. The latest step in this evolution is the ability to transfer photos and videos from your digital camera to your computer or even to photo sharing sites like Flickr and Facebook. No USB cable or card reader needed.

Luckily, you probably don’t need to replace your digital camera to get this amazing functionality.
Thanks to the Eye-Fi Wireless Memory Card, any digital camera that uses an SD card can become Wi-Fi enabled.

After a short configuration process, the Eye-Fi memory card will automatically upload your photos to your computer or a favorite photo sharing website. This can take place through your home or office’s wireless network or from anywhere internet access is available. As in this real life example, the photo transfer could take place even after the camera is lost or stolen.

The uses for this technology in the real estate industry are endless:

• Photos of a new listing could be transmitted back to the office for marketing pieces to be started on immediately.
• Make the digital photography easier for those real estate agents with an aversion to technology.
• Community focused bloggers, share photos quickly by posting to Flickr or any of more the 20 photo sharing sites.
• Not remember where a photo was from or what house it was in? Automatic Geotagging of photos will provide a quick answer to where the photo was taken at.

Eye-Fi Wireless Memory Card models range in price from $80 to $130 for 2-4 GB of storage. This is a lot costlier than a $20 standard 2GB SD card. If convenience and ease of use are important to you and your real estate business, the investment could be well worth it.

Other posts you may enjoy:

• No related posts.

Originally posted here:
Make Your Digital Camera Wireless

Keep it simple stupid…and that’s just what Windermere has done with the launch of their new homepage today! Finding homes is a snap as their search welcomes you to get started! I searched homes in Danville, CA for which a map quickly displayed clickable home icons. You can easily refine your search and access specific details for properties.  When you’ve found a home to your liking, simply choose to save, email or “clip it” (add to your favorites).  With an intuitive interface and great data, Windermere is sure to impress the consumer.

Other posts you may enjoy:

• Does Your Real Estate Blog Need a Side of Widget?

See more here:
Somebody Give Windermere a KISS!

For real estate buyers right now it’s a crazy time. The fear of making the wrong decision can be paralyzing at times, so having access to information is critical.

I thought I’d share some of the tools I’ve been using in my own search.

What’s Happening on the Ground?

Trulia.com

Trulia generates its reports from its internal database of property listings (most of which are pulled from its relationships with real estate brokers). Inventory is admittedly incomplete, but it’ll give you a good sense of the trajectories of the local markets.

Cyberhomes.com

Cyberhomes, on the other hand, gets its data from its records on over
100 million US properties. Their neighborhood overviews are a little slow to load but can give you a overview of what a zip code is doing and see the overall direction of the market.

Get the Big Picture?

Altos Research

Altos reports are real time market intelligence that deep dive in to what’s really going on in your market, right now. As a buyer, you can also get a snapshot of the trends in any given market. Altos founder Mike Simonsen claims their reports lead the Case/Shiller Index by three months.

Foreclosures

Understanding the volume of foreclosures, bank owned properties and auctions that are hitting your is key to gauging where prices might be headed in your local market.

RealtyTrac

The 800lb gorilla in the foreclosure space. RealtyTrac has a fantastic amount of information despite a clunky web site. There is a monthly charge to have access to this data - but it’s well worth it, especially if you’re looking at these opportunities seriously.

ForeclosureRadar.com

California buyers may want to look at ForeclosureRadar, a “professional grade” search tool that tracks all foreclosure activity in the state. Designed mostly for Realtors and investors, it’s a fantastic tool that gives you unparalleled data and analysis. Too bad it’s not available outside of the Golden State, yet.

Bonus - Find Homes on Auction

Also, if you’re interested in getting homes at auction, check out Zetabid.com. Right now they are running auctions in California, Florida and Illinois.

Trulia, Cyberhomes, Altos, RealtyTrac, ForeclosureRadar

Ad:
Are you frustrated by a website that does not work? BREAK FREE! Trade in your old website and receive an amazing discount on the premier agent system! Make the change today and save!.

Go here to read the rest:
5 Great Sites to Help You Better Understand This Crazy Market

When will the nation’s property values begin to appreciate again? This is the $64,000 question that real estate professionals, investors, and mortgage professionals would like to know. The truth is…

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

See more here:
When Will Real Estate Values Begin to Appreciate Again?

What is the key to getting noticed, being remembered, and getting referrals?  It’s simple actually, the answer is building strong, lasting client relationships.  The most effective way to do this is…

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Credit:
Real Estate Agents - How to Get Noticed

Have you considered better organizing your time on Twitter? Wait…before you call me a rigid “you know what” or send hate email telling me I’m ruining the spontaneity of Twitter, think first about how much of your work time and efficiency is affected by tuning into to Twitter all day. Maybe it’s not. Perhaps you are the type that can free flow all day, tuning in…tuning out. Or you could be a self-proclaimed Twitaholic, who can easily manage your twitter volume from your desktop on Tweetdeck and Twitterific Pro on the go…never missing a single tweet from your 1000+ followers! Good for you!

But now more than ever real estate twits are working twice as hard. Do you really have time to tweet all day while you’re showing 18 houses, writing multiple contracts, and consulting with your clients? If you do, great…don’t bother reading the rest of this article. The Real Estate Tweet Plan is only for twits looking to organize and better balance social media marketing strategies.

Recently, I wrote a Tweet Plan for Darren Rowse’s new blog, Twitp.com. This was a general Tweet Plan framework really, so I thought I’d share an example Real Estate Tweet Plan. And it goes a little something like this…

Real Estate Tweet Plan created for @RENonna:

(1) Choose Twitter Check-in Times - @RENonna checks in with Twitter every morning with her coffee from 6:30-7:00am and every evening after dinner with her glass of red wine from 7-8pm. During those times, she (1) learns about her followers and chooses to follow back or not, (2) selects new followers she’s interested in and can learn from, (3) updates her tweetlists, (4) looks for helpful resources/media, and (5) schedules her Daily 5.

(2) Start w/ your Daily 5 - @RENonna’s Daily 5 (which are her interest & expertise topics) include: (1) short sale advice & tips, (2) local events in her market area (Pleasanton), (3) seasonal homeowner tips, (4) great buys (deals uncovered while previewing), and (5) weekender attractions. Other real estate specific topics could include: blog post updates, neighborhood stats & info, local tax and legal updates, credit tips and advice, etc.

(3) Make a Tweetlist(s) - @RENonna creates a list of pre-planned tweets that she will either sporadically tweet or schedule throughout the day. Here’s her Tweetlist for a given day:

Tweet 1: Short sale tip: Remember to consult with your CPA - could make the difference between a tax consequence, or not.

Tweet 2: Pleasanton Holiday Food Drive, donations of non-perishables can be made here:  http://budurl.com/tat5.

Tweet 3: Winter Weather Tips for Maintaining Curb Appeal: http://budurl.com/bjvl

Tweet 4: Local steal found on tour! Pleasanton charmer- 1234 Rose Ave, 4 bd 3 ba, 2450 sqft, .25 acre lot, walk to downtown, bank-owned $325,000!

Tweet 5: Ice skating in downtown Walnut Creek begins this weekend 11/13, check here for details: http://budurl.com/erdd

(4) Schedule Tweets - Keep your tweetlist at your desk or on you if you’re mobile. If you don’t want to manually tweet, use Tweetlater or Twuffer to schedule your tweets. Schedule them for time periods you will be focusing on work tasks only (or if you are on a business trip, vacation, etc).  For example, @RENonna set up her Daily 5 to be tweeted from Tweetlater at: 9:00am, 10:30am, 1:15pm, 2:30pm, and 4:15pm.  @RENonna also created Bud URLs for all the resource links she shares so she can track her follower activity. If she notices that she’s not getting much traffic from the morning tweets, then she may choose to schedule more tweets in the afternoon.

(5) Create an auto-welcome message - @RENonna would like to personally review and choose her followers. But she won’t be able to do that working in the field showing homes most days. So she plans to investigate her new followers during her Twitter Check-in times. In the meantime, she would still like to send a basic ONE-TIME “thanks for following” or “welcome” message to her new interested party. So @RENonna composed a welcome message, “Thanks for following me.  Nice to meet you, virtually!” and set it up as an auto-welcome message from Tweetlater to all new followers. NOTE: @RENonna is only sending a quick welcome, NOT auto-following back. She waits until she can personally review new follower profiles, Websites, updates, etc. to make her choice on whether to follow back or not. OFF THE HOOK: Spice up your auto-message with a little transparency topper, a “Welcome Video“.

(6) Supplement w/ spontaneous Tweets - In between your scheduled pre-planned Tweets, you may find yourself with an occasional opportunity to conversationally tweet. Do it! Or if you have an experience or current event that you want to share, by all means, share away. You can also use your Twitter Check-in times to converse and share your most recent thoughts, ideas, ramblings, or happenings. The point is, when you can and want to share, get back in the Twitter conversation. Twitter will be there…most times.

ONE LAST TIP: Be sure to aggregate your Tweets on your real estate blog and other social profiles. Here’s my own example. You can get more mileage from your Tweets by sharing them beyond the Twittosphere - with your blog readers and other networks (Facebook, FriendFeed, etc.).

TWEET PLAN DISCLAIMER: This plan may work great for those with little time in their day to tweet. But for some, taking time to organize tweets may actually be more time consuming that just tweeting off the cuff. This is NOT a plan for spontaneous tweeters and those of us that have adopted Twitter as a member of the family. This plan is for twits that want to tweet but are finding it hard to do so during their busy work day.  Please Note: This is only one Real Estate Tweet Plan example, what does yours look like?

Other posts you may enjoy:

• Zipform Desktop Is Now Vista Compatible
• Zipform (Winforms) Is Fully Windows Vista and Apple Compatible
• Zip Code Facts for Your Real Estate Business
• Zillow Adds “For Sale” Listings
• Yugma Online Meetings for Real Estate Agents

Read more from the original source:
Organize Chaos with The Real Estate Tweet Plan

Would you like your blog on the iPhone? Well now you can! Start by visiting AppLoop and requesting a beta account. Their slick new tool will convert your blog to a fully native mobile application in about 2 minutes. The cool aspect of AppLoop is that you can brand your iPhone application and learn about usage through supplied analytics.

Also check out AgentGenius, they’ve covered another app called intersquash.com. This tool works slightly different, as it turns your RSS feed into a webpage that fits your iPhone.

iPhone Application Generator Demo from AppLoop on Vimeo.

Other posts you may enjoy:

• Trulia Sure to Impress Consumers with New iPhone App and More
• Real Estate Agents with Verizon: It’s Time to Upgrade
• MTO Vlog Contest, and the winner is…
• MTO Vlog Contest Finalists
• Mobile Agent Tip: Sync Microsoft Outlook Calendar with Google Calendar

Original post:
AppLoop Turns Your RSS Feed into a Brandable iPhone App

MRIS, the MLS which covers DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania and the Virginias and is the nation’s largest MLS, today launched HomesDatabase 2.0, its new public-facing web site.

It’s a pretty impressive effort. HomeDatabase takes its design cues from some of the big listing portals (Zillow and Trulia) but merges it with the extensive listing data available from its own databases, and effectively beating them at their own game.

Though, as pointed out by Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman (who himself operates in MRIS’ service area) in a comment on Techcrunch, it’s not the total market picture. HomesDatabase excludes foreclosures, bank-owned properties or for sale by owner from its results.

Despite that shortcoming, it is still a very nice search experience. Some of the notable features present in HomesDatabase are, foremost, its support for semantic search. Like Dothomes, you can do a natural-language query on the site, like this search I did for a colonial in Annapolis with a pool.

Personally, I also really liked the gallery view - which puts all the properties side by side and allows you to evaluate multiple properties from an esthetic point of view. HomesDatabase also apparently allows you to put selected properties into a “comparison engine” - but I was unable to figure out how to get to this feature.

Another nice touch were the “Amazon-like” recommendations on the listing pages of similar type properties viewed by other users.

As a pure search tool, Home Database drives all traffic back to the listing brokerage or the listing agent for free. MRIS believes that by creating a compelling destination it can help its members better service their customers, the consumers while, at the same time, consumers are looking for a trusted third party to help them find their next home.

MRIS chairman Adam Cockey puts it this way; “Consumers get easy access to all the listings without advertising. And real estate brokers and agents in our market get free exposure and traffic from a site that’s run by their own MLS.”

Not a bad deal in my mind.

mris, homesdatabase, real estate 2.0, real estate search

Ad:
Are you frustrated by a website that does not work? BREAK FREE! Trade in your old website and receive an amazing discount on the premier agent system! Make the change today and save!.

See the rest here:
MRIS Takes on the Search Sites

Got a map based real estate site? Vancouver-based lat49 lets you monetize that asset with its geo-targeted advertising network.

It’s pretty simple really, as a publisher you simply sign up to join their network, incorporate their API and then begin earning ad revenue passively. Think of it like Google Adsense for maps.

It raises the possibility for brokerages (many of whom have invested heavily in map-based real estate search tools) to develop an alternative source of revenue and offset some of those costs, by being able to bring advertising directly to their maps.

What would make this offering a real winner, would be the option to offer premium map-based ad space to ancillary service providers, vendors and even local merchants. The key aspect would be to be able to control who and what advertisements would appear on your site.

In addition, Lat49 also give real estate companies (even individual brokers or agents) a unique opportunity to create regionally-based branding campaigns across multiple web properties by embedding ads at a local or even hyperlocal level.

Lat49 gives advertiser several IAB approved sizes including a 728×90 Leaderboard, a 300×250 Medium Rectangle, and a 468×60 Full Banner ad.

Sites currently using this technology include Hotpads in the US and HomeZilla (see Neighborhood Search Comes Back) in Canada.

lat49, real estate marketing, online advertising

Ad:
Are you frustrated by a website that does not work? BREAK FREE! Trade in your old website and receive an amazing discount on the premier agent system! Make the change today and save!.

Read the original:
Lat49 Lets You Monetize Your Maps

1. Notifu

Trying to communicate with a group can be difficult! Particularly with the increasingly busy schedules of today’s real estate professional. If you’re looking for a product to address this challenge, you need to check out Notifu. This free web application lets you send a message by Email, SMS, AIM, Gtalk, ICQ, MSN IM, Yahoo IM even phone to a group of people without having an account on those services. With phone calls, Notifu will deliver to any phone number worldwide by converting the text you’ve typed in a voice message. After the messages have been delivered, you’ll know who has received the message and who has not.

2. Twiddla

Twiddla is a free tool for online group collaboration with no limit to the number of participants you can invite. The interface is cool because it’s different than most. Right from within the canvas you can search a web page and mark it up with your colleagues. Markup tools include lines, shapes and text. It’s also straightforward to add images (.jpg, .gif, .png, etc.) and documents (.doc, .xls, .ppt, .pdf, .txt) onto the canvas.

3. DabbleBoard

Dabbleboard is a free whiteboard application that works well for group collaboration. This interface is simple yet powerful. Start by creating a new whiteboard/canvas. If you want to invite others, click Share + Chat. DabbleBoard supplies you with a private URL and email invite feature. Once the collaboration has started users can upload images, work with freehand tools and adjust colors. When the canvas is complete users can download the project in PNG format. Also make the canvas public, to get listed in the “Public library” and obtain embed code for use outside of Dabbleboard.

4. MindMeister

MindMeister is collaborative online mind mapping software offering both free and paid packages. The interface is simple and intuitive. If you’ve built mind maps before you know the shape evolves as you get going. Having a canvas that can be adjusted is very useful. I also appreciate MindMeister for integrating with various gadgets and extensions. They understand that when thought happens you may not be sitting in front of a mind map. These tools are designed to fit into life where thought happens. Tools include a Gadget for Google Gears, Windows Vista Gadget, Mac Dashboard, Yahoo! Widgets Desktop, browser extensions and text/email.

5. Snipd

The idea behind Snipd.com is that you can clip parts of the Web including text, images, and videos…then share with friends. It has certain Twitter like characteristics, but it’s for “snips” you collect across the web.

Start by adding their bookmarklet onto your browser toolbar. Then as you surf the Internet and come across interesting content you would like to save or share simply highlight the text or object and click the Snipd bookmarklet. Then add some brief notes or comments. Back on Snipd.com your account has been aggregating recent snipping’s. These snips will be available via a custom URL you set up.

6. Stixy

Stixy is described as an online bulletin board, but that doesn’t capture the power of this application. To start Stixy offers a clean interface that allows for the dragging and dropping of objects called widgets. These widgets come in the form of tasks, appointments, files, photos, notes, and bookmarks. These widgets can be placed anywhere on the Stixyboard. Stixy also supports sharing of Stixyboards.

7. Oovoo

Turn your phone conference into a video conference. Oovoo is a free technology that allows face-to-face conversations over the web. Invite up to 6 participants into an Oovoo session. If your goal is to produce an interview for your website or blog, try Oovoo and then export the video to your favorite video sharing site.

Outside of the video, Oovoo also has a chat client. It’s setup much like the others. They’ve also got the ability to send files to your connections.

Other posts you may enjoy:

• Yugma Online Meetings for Real Estate Agents
• Want Free Online Meetings For A Year? Then Read This!
• Online Meeting Solutions for Real Estate Agents
• How I Stopped Paying For Online Meetings!

Excerpted from:
7 Apps to Improve Your Next Online Group Meeting!

HouseValues (SOLD), the 10 year-old lead generation company, shed it’s skin this morning and repositioned itself as a marketing and technology solutions company.

The new company is going to be called Market Leader and brings together a number of HouseValues’ recent acquisitions, including RealtyGenerator web site and CRM tool, under a new roof. They also have a minority stake in ActiveRain (see ActiveRain secures $2.75 million from HouseValues).

Along with the rebranding, they also launched two new products; Growth Leader, aimed at helping real estate agents manage their online advertising spending and Team Leader, which will help agents manage their teams.

Market Leader will trade on the NASDAQ until the symbol LEDR and will be featured in the closing-bell ceremony on November 24.

More coverage:

• HouseValues rebrands as Market Leader

market leader, housevalues, real estate marketing

Ad:
Are you frustrated by a website that does not work? BREAK FREE! Trade in your old website and receive an amazing discount on the premier agent system! Make the change today and save!.

See the original post:
HouseValues Retools as Market Leader

I’ve always been a fan of the email signature. If done properly, your contacts will know exactly how to get in touch with you. But they don’t exactly have a web 2.0 flare. Sure you could list out each social network with text links, but that’s looks boring and spammy. All those links my even trigger a spam filter. Check out Hyplet.com. They’ve created a free service to help you quickly create a signature or “personal ID” for your emails, website or blog. The service is similar concept to Retaggr but Hyplet offers much more customization.

Hyplet’s personal ID’s come in a variety of shapes and colors. Easily make modifications with drag and drop tools, even rearrange all contact information including phone, email, Skype, IM, Facebook, Flickr, Delicious, Twitter, your blog and others with the text editor. I did run into a small issue when using Firefox to customize my personal ID. In Firefox I was not able to apply formatting like bold or increase font size. I tried the same tasks in Internet Explorer and it worked fine.

In regards to compatibility, I’ve only used Hyplet with Outlook. Although, Hyplet says their ID’s work in many applications such as Gmail, Hotmail & IncrediMail.

Start creating a Hyplet now.

Other posts you may enjoy:

• No related posts.

See the original post:
New Choice for Social Media Signature: Hyplet.com