Category Archives: Real Estate News
Taking it to the streets — more on mobile
By JOEL BURSLEM
The first part of this post covered the strategic opportunities for brokers to reach out to mobile users. We talked about the types of mobile users, where they sit in the funnel, and gave some broad ideas for how and where to engage them.
This week, I want to get more tactical and offer tangible ways to focus your mobile efforts in three main areas: the mobile Web, native applications and mobile marketing.Mobile Web
Every broker should be optimizing their site for mobile browsers. After a few years spent monitoring analytics accounts for major brokerages around the country, one thing is clear: Mobile Web traffic — those visitors coming to broker websites from smartphone or tablet devices — has steadily marched upwards. I suspect your numbers are no different.
Scratching below the surface, what’s also interesting is where that traffic is heading.
Homebuilder confidence dips from a 6½-year high
LOS ANGELES – Confidence among U.S. homebuilders slipped this month from the 6½ year high it reached in January, with many builders reporting less traffic by prospective customers before the critical spring home-buying season.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Tuesday dipped to 46 from 47 in January. It was the first monthly decline in the index since April.
Readings below 50 suggest negative sentiment about the housing market. The last time the index was at 50 or higher was in April 2006, when it was 51. It began trending higher in October 2011, when it was 17.
The latest index, based on responses from 402 builders, comes as the U.S. housing market is strengthening after stagnating for roughly five years after the housing boom collapsed.
Steady job gains and near-record-low mortgage rates have encouraged more people to buy homes. Pri
Real Estate Headlines for the Week of Valentine’s Day
RISMedia unveils a growing trend that has people turning real estate trash to treasure.
Fox News has a list of the latest real estate buzzwords youll need to know.
The LA home from A Nightmare on Elm Street is up for sale for $2.1 million. No word if the deed has to be transferred from Freddy Kreuger.
The Guardian explores how housing markets are fairing around the world.
USAToday examines whether it is better to rent or to sell a house.
The Wall Street Journal showcases a $100,000 closet. And no, its not a bank vault.
Inman has a list of 5 aesthetic issues that turn off buyers.
CNN Money warns if youre remodeling your kitchen, check costs first.
And finally, you have to check out this amazing home with incredible architecture and eco-friendly design called, Edgeland House. (image above)
Best Chocolates, Sweets, and Desserts in Charlotte NC
Charlotte is a city of sweet Southern charm! Southern accents drip from our mouths like honey and our sweet personalities will charm the socks off your feet. True Charlotteans pride themselves in indulging themselves, and providing hosting with only the very best pastries and desserts representative of the sweetness found in the people of the Queen City.
Charlotte has some wonderful bakeries that provide delicious pastries, cakes and breads sure to satisfy even the pickiest of sweet indulgers. Novas Bakery has been a favorite in Charlotte since 1996 when the Novakovic family opened their doors and released the amazing scent of fresh bread onto the city. Located on Central Avenue, South Boulevard and The Farmers Market on Yorkmont Road, Novas bakes their breads fresh daily with no preservatives. The bread is as fancy as brioche and as comforting as country sour dough.
Overseas forces driving puzzling rise in interest rates
The sustained rise in long-term rates in January has stabilized for the moment, and its causes are becoming clear.
Mortgages have risen from 3.50 percent or below in the prior five months to roughly 3.75 percent, and the almighty 10-year T-note from a centerline near 1.75 percent to almost 2 percent.
The rise has been puzzling.
The Fed committed just last fall to buy $40 billion a month in mortgage-backed securities to keep mortgage rates down. Then in December, the Fed announced it would continue buying $45 billion in long-term Treasurys each month.
The stated purpose of both programs — which together are increasing the Fed’s holdings of long-term securities by $85 billion a month — was to hold rates down until our economy turns sharply better. Which it hasn’t.
Today’s employment report had its usual ambiguities.
Indian Mango Wood Furniture – An Excellent Choice
One important aspect when considering the purchase of Indian Mango wood furniture is the fact that this tree grows much faster than other trees harvested to make furniture. Traditional wood furniture choices like oak actually take much longer on its journey from a sapling to a piece of furniture sitting in your home. Additionally, mango trees are harvested in large numbers, thus reducing the resources and energy needed to obtain the wood originally. Furthermore, supplies of the Indian mango wood can be grown quickly in order to meet any anticipated demands. Get more info…
House prices up 1.8 % in Cleveland area, according to key index
CLEVELAND, Ohio — House prices held onto their recent gains in November, showing few signs of holiday torpor.
A key housing index, updated Tuesday, shows that prices in the Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor area were 1.8 percent higher than a year before. Across 20 major cities, prices were up 5.5 percent from November 2011. The only city that lost ground was New York.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices showed prices softening slightly from one month to the next — not surprising, at a time of year where sales slow and prices tend to fall. But the monthly declines were modest and based on data that isn’t adjusted for seasonal patterns. And the annual growth rates show that prices are still crawling out of the hole they fell into when the housing market crumbled in 2006.
“Housing is clearly recovering,” David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a written statement.