The major information I want to point out is a demographic shift that is estimated between now and 2020. According to the report, there will be a surge in the first time homebuyers (less than 35 years of age) and empty nesters (ages 55-75). The same report also shows a projected decline in middle age trade-up homebuyers (ages 35-55).
This could have an impact as empty nesters decide to sell thier current homes to downsize. A decline in thier home’s target purchaser can result in a slower sale and longer time on the market. On the other hand, an influx of younger first time buyers eager to take advantage of a market in their favor should help to stabilize home values and start a more normal real estate market cycle.
All right, ladies and gents, let’s try this again. As promised, here’s the ‘re-do’ of the Blog Brawl semi-finals.
Here are the rules:
1. Behave ethically. Behave so that if everyone else found out what you did, you wouldn’t be embarrassed.
2. Feel free to beg or bribe for votes from others in the real-estate community (we know you will), but do not make wholesale offers or requests to the general public, other than through your blog. In other words, if you’re going to ask for votes, ask people you know or at least have a connection to.
3. Do not use any kind of tool, site, program, or whatever that casts votes on your behalf. This includes, but is not limited to, vote-automating scripts, messing with browser-refresh settings, and employing services that allow you to acquire votes.
If you do not understand these rules, or are trying to think of loophole-ish ways around them, please see rule #1 again.
We’ve discovered the source of the voting irregularities we’ve seen in the last few rounds of the Blog Brawl.
In the first round, we found that someone had written a script to automate the voting process. We were able to weed out those votes, and let everyone know about it — and how we felt strongly that it violated the spirit of the blogging contest. (Hence, our little ‘cheater’ videos.)
After that, though, we continued to find irregularities, but nothing as large-scale and obvious as the scripting. We did notice, though, that there were a large number of votes being cast from outside the U.S.
It turned out that there was a completely separate, er, process at work. We were tipped off by a person in Italy (!) that someone was paying people to cast votes for one of our competitors using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. While this is not cheating — you can’t cheat in a competition that doesn’t really have rules — we (and everyone we’ve talked to about it) think, like the scripting, paying the worldwide public en masse to cast votes violates the spirit of the Brawl.
After speaking with this competitor, we know for a fact that the system was set up by an outside party, not the blogger. Still, this person has agreed to withdraw from the Blog Brawl, and we appreciate the spirit of fair play.
Which leaves us with the question of how to finish the Brawl in a way that balances fairness with expediency (our winners will need to make travel arrangements, after all).
We have decided to re-run the Blog Brawl semi-finals. The contestants are…
Zone 1: Hampton Roads Virginia Real Estate (“Tina in Virginia”) vs. Virginia Real Estate News (Brian Block)
Zone 2: LoCo Musings (Heather Elias) vs. NRV Living (Jeremy Hart) [who would have advanced in the second round if not for the Turk votes]
The voting form will be up later this afternoon, and will end on Wednesday at 11:59 p.m., EST.
November’s Commonwealth Online newsletter was the widest read and best-clicked newsletter of the year! That Presidential election had a little something to do with it. Here are the top five most-clicked articles:
“You are in real estate. I feel sorry for you these days.”
I’ve lost count of how many times someone has said something along these lines to me in the past few weeks and months. Have you heard the same thing lately?
What with the daily news of the economy, devastating media reports about the real estate market, foreclosures, prices taking nosedives, etc. — what should people be thinking?
“You must have a lot of time on your hands these days.”
“Have you thought about a back-up plan or a part-time job?”
Is the real estate market really that bad? The market presents challenges, for sure, but there are also opportunities. It is not a bad market, but a changed one here in Northern Virginia and D.C.
After my $970,000 settlement on a luxury townhouse in Arlington on November 7th, I’ve had a new answer to this barrage of questioning for the last 10 days:
“Actually I just closed my biggest sale about a week ago — almost $1 million.”
Jaws drop. Bewilderment ensues. Misperceptions are shattered. Maybe the market really ain’t that bad.
Or maybe this guy Brian Block is doing something right.
While some other REALTORS spend their last days hanging on in the business complaining about the market around the water cooler waiting for their phone to ring, the strong agents and brokers are surviving, even thriving.
Action and attitude win out every day over media hype and complaining whining.
And while I continue to enjoy the afterglow of a big sale, I’m not bragging about it around a water cooler… I’m too busy this week with 3 new buyers.
This Thanksgiving I’m thankful that I never got that part-time job…
Henrico, Va.-based title insurance company LandAmerica has declared bankruptcy; some of the company’s assets — Lawyers Title Insurance Corporation, and Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company, and United Capital Title Insurance Company — are being acquired by Fidelity.
Hey! Voting is open! Both of our contestants are getting a free registration to Inman’s Real Estate Connect NY. So, what’s at stake in the finals? How about one thousand dollars and the overall number one seed in the national Real Estate Blog Brawl (March 2009)?
Remember, don’t be a turkey: One vote per IP address. Get your friends, family, neighbors and complete strangers to vote for your favorite finalist and send them to the Big Apple with a big wad of cash.
What follows is a story that was submitted for Commonwealth magazine. Most of me loves it, especially because of the point it makes. On the other hand, I know that these days people are particularly sensitive and easily offended. Will they ignore the underlying message (“work hard”)? Or will they take it in the spirit in which, I assume, it was submitted?
Let me know.
(Note: I’m not giving the author’s name, but it was written by a non-VAR employee. The piece was mildly edited, and I added the intro. Otherwise it’s intact.)
A conversation with Saint Joseph
It’s a common real estate superstition: Bury a statue of St. Joseph on a property you want to sell, and it’ll sell faster. There are disagreements about the details — Upside-down or right-side-up? Front or back yard? By the door? — but the basic idea remains the same.
So — at the risk of offending those whose sense of humor doesn’t extend to the ecclesiastical — we imagined how a conversation with St. Joseph might go. What would one of the most revered saints in Christendom think of the plastic statues available in “Home Sales Kits” from www.stjosephstatue.com?
* * *
Tell me, Joseph, how is it that you’re speaking in colloquial English?
That’s not what I’m speaking. That’s what you’re hearing. It’s a common problem.
I can believe that. So, here’s my question: You know things are tough in the real estate market—
Tough? Like, Darfur tough?
All right, times are relatively tough.
Perspective. Use it or lose it.
Well, my question is, does it really help to bury a statue of you in front of a house? Will that make it sell faster?
Think about it, really. I’m Jesus’ father…
Um.
Stepfather, whatever. The point is, do you really think that, with all that’s going on in the world, I’m spending a lot of time nudging people to a page in the MLS? I’m the patron saint of 10 countries and a dozen cities, of carpenters, pregnant women, and engineers.
…I can’t release them till Ben gets back later this afternoon.
Almost 1200 people voted votes were cast, which has to be some sort of record. I ran a couple of statistical analyses on them, and found that yeah, there was something funky going on. But there’s only so much time I’m willing to devote to figuring out whether and how anyone cheated.
Next time, though, we’ll have a different voting system to avoid any questions.
In the meantime, I’ve got my video editor fired up while I wait for Ben and Jovan (“the talent”) to arrive.
Stay tuned — I think at least a few people are going to be surprised by the results.
Every Vote Earns Toys For Toys $1.00! » Real Estate Marketing Blog wrote about "Virginia Real Estate Blog Brawl: Semi-finals voting is open!" in a post called "Dakno Needs Your Help".
…I can’t release them till Ben gets back later this afternoon.
