Texas Realty Blog

'Tis a Vacation for Texas Realty Blog

SEASONS GREETINGS from DeeinAustin™ (Dee Copeland) and her guest bloggers.

We wish you and your family a happy holiday season! We will be back on THURSDAY December 27th.

In the meantime, enjoy some of our favorite posts from the trips and traveling section.

FAVORITE TRIPS AND TRAVEL POSTS

Texans should be Fed up with real estate doom and gloom

I have a small beef with the national real estate news media. I was reading an article from CoStar Group about the 2008 real estate outlook. I like Costar because they're pretty straightforward and reliable.

The article, entitled "Housing Outlook Dims for 2008", reminded me of the same doom and gloom headlines from other national news outlets.

WHY TEXANS SHOULD HAVE A BEEF WITH THE NATIONAL MEDIA

They're biased. Reporters chatter about housing "booms" and "busts", but not stability because middle ground is boring. California, Arizona, and Florida sellers are suffering after real estate speculators rushed to those markets and overpaid. Houston and other areas of Texas aren't suffering the way the headlines would lead you to believe.

They don't know our market. I reported yesterday that the Houston market was "ho-hum" because it's slightly declined, but hasn't gone bust. Was this sensational news? No, but it was the truth. Texas didn't severely appreciate so we were largely ignored during your news hayday of 2003-2005. Smart investors heard of our relative stability and are now flocking to us.

They don't report the full story. My friend from Berne, Switerzland said foreign consumers are pulling their funds out of America because our media's reports of the housing markets crashing "everywhere". Consumers in the U.S and other countries still do not understand why the subprime market failed and how banks will come back even stronger with better practices established. They also don't hear about many local markets (like Austin) that are doing well.

HOW TO SURVIVE REAL ESTATE IN ANY MARKET

Real Estate Marketing Goes Mobile

by DeeinAustin™

Austin entrepreneur, Dylan Schleppe created Drive Buy Technology to offer mobile marketing solutions to real estate professionals and other owners of service or sales businesses. I've been covering his mobile applications because I believe 2008 to be the year mobile technology takes off.

Mobile technology will change the way businesses communicate with customers, especially real estate brokers and agents.

KXAN picked up Dylan's story and are scheduled to shoot a segment at one of my listings this morning around 8am specifically about text message marketing of listings. If all goes well, the story should air tomorrow night.

I've been called the Mobile Marketing Diva™, not because I can sing and am overly-demanding, but because I am secretly becoming an expert in mobile applications by working with local solutions providers to deploy their technology in 2008.

(Update! This story was picked up by NBC National). Click to View Full Sized on Blip.tv or at KXAN Austin.

Click To Play

WHY MOBILE MARKETING OF LISTINGS IS A WINNING SOLUTION

Mobile Technology to Change How We Communicate Real Estate

By DeeinAustin™

I'm old enough to remember when computers first hit the consumer shelves. Personal computers revolutionized the way the business world worked and the way human beings communicate with each other. Then came cell phones, video chat and conferencing, and broadband internet, which further connected far ends of the continent.

I believe we're in another revolutionary time, where mobile technology applications will put our communication in warp speed (Star Trek term, for readers Generation Y and younger).

WHY MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES WILL CHANGE REAL ESTATE
I did an interview with Glen at Inman News last week to discuss the use of mobile tech in real estate. I made a bold statement, which was that any real estate agent, buyer, seller or investor who does not master the use of text messaging and other mobile applications in 2008 will miss the boat.

Some agents think having a "sticky" website or blog will put them ahead of the curve, but I think communicating with current and potential clients via a cell phone or PDA is an absolute requirement.

Texas Realty Blog Introduces Writer Carey Eskridge

We're happy to announce Carey Eskridge, a writer from Austin. Maria Scinto was introduced last week. Her focus is on the Houston Bay Area and Greater Dallas-Fort Worth.

I asked Carey to tell our readers more about himself.

I've lived in Austin for 15 years. It’s an amazing city. When I first moved here, I would ride my bike to band practice, cruising down the middle of Lamar Boulevard carrying a guitar in one hand. At 4pm. Without impeding traffic.

Eventually I migrated north of the river (backwards for most long-time Austinites) to settle down in central part of town. I dropped the guitar and picked up rock climbing and then competitive cycling.

Texas Realty Blog's Top Real Estate Investor Articles

We get a lot of questions from Texas real estate investors. They often want to know where to start, how to grow their current investment business, what the market is doing, etc.

I answered many of these questions in my recent interview with Jay Papasan, co-author of three New York Times Best selling real estate books and current VP of Publishing at Keller Williams. Our interview discussed how I got started in real estate, advice on getting started and how to invest in any market.

Jay inspired me to start work on a real estate investor handbook. Some of these articles may be included.

OUR TOP 6 REAL ESTATE INVESTOR ARTICLES

We cherry-picked the top  6 real estate investment articles that address the most frequently asked questions:

Texas Realty Blog Welcomes Maria Scinto

We wanted to make a very special announcement today. Texas Realty Blog is bringing on additional writers to help meet our goals of thoroughly covering existing communities, market updates, hot issues and upcoming developments in major cities in Texas. We wanted to take time to introduce one of the new writers, Maria Scinto.

Maria Scinto is a librarian turned freelance writer and researcher. She has written articles for online and print publications, has coauthored a book on takeout cuisine, and contributes a monthly feature to Northern Virginia magazine. Links to her articles and other work can be found on her site at Your Virtual Librarian.

Maria's interests are pretty eclectic! She's a member of the ALA (American Library Association) and NRA (National Rifle Association), which should tell you something. According to Maria, she is, above all things, the extremely proud single mom of a 4-year-old superhero and  shares her home with a Chow/Husky mix, 2 orange striped kittens, a hermit crab, and "dozens of action figures".

Read more about upcoming changes to the blog and tell us what you think!

Roll Call: Texas Realty Blog Wants to Hear from You

Some of you may not be aware that my mother suddenly passed away this summer. I wanted to share this with you, but have never experienced such a devastating loss. I didn't know what to do or how to handle my new life without her. Through the help of friends, family and writing, I now feel that I'm "back" to my old self.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Our eyes and ears are always open so we can create the type of blog that makes you want to come back each day. Please tell us what you like, dislike and want to see more of! Post a comment or simply email us. [email protected].

Keller Williams Realty Launches Luxury Homes Division

Austin Agent, Dee Schultz, has been promoted to Director of the New Luxury Homes Division at Keller Williams Realty International. Keller Williams was founded in Austin in the 1980s and rapidly grew to become the fourth largest real estate brokerage in the nation.

This new venture is in partnership with the well-regarded Luxury Homes Institute.

Dee Schulz has been in business for over two decades and came to Keller Williams about eight years ago. She provided the following top features in luxury homes.

TO FEATURES IN LUXURY HOMES

1. A gourmet kitchen is standard, but true luxury homes include a private Butler's kitchen for caterers.
2. A built-in high-end coffee maker with cup warming drawer is often requested.
3. The all-important Media room has become a standard in most luxury homes.
4. Smart features like a disappearing glass panel system that leads to outdoor entertaining areas have become increasingly popular.

I'd also like to include the following to Dee's list: outdoor kitchens with stainless appliances, zero-edge pools and remote-access security systems.

Keller Williams Agents who qualify to become members of the Luxury Homes Division will have additional training and networking opportunities, access to KWLuxuryHomes.com and preferred rates with partners such as the duPont Registry.

REALTOR.com Updates Site to "Web 2.0"

I came across an article in the REALTOR Magazine that talks about REALTOR.com's new look and feel.

The real estate industry is always changing and moving at a fast pace. Since the early part of the decade, sweeping changes in technology and internet use have re-defined how agents work with their clients.

The introduction of more interactive internet use (i.e. "web 2.0")  has once again reshaped how buyers, sellers and agents work together. REALTOR.com is the #1 real estate listing website in the world and although I have issues with them, they're making progress to create a more client-centric real estate experience.

NEW REALTOR.COM FEATURES

• REALTOR® Blogs
• Enhanced property mapping and search
• Detailed school and District information
• Community information and neighborhood search
• Increased site speed and web 2.0 technology
• Enhanced photo and video tours

View the video now on NAR: Tour the new REALTOR.com