Some of Arizona’s most Successful Agents call John Hall & Associates home.

Monthly Archives: January 2011

Qwiki for Real Estate

by on Jan 31, 2011 | Careers and Training, REALTOR® Marketing, Technology

Qwiki = WOW. Watch this video introduction or jump to an example below…

Qwiki at TechCrunch Disrupt from Qwiki on Vimeo.

Qwiki quickly blends public information (like you would find on wikipedia) with a robotic voice to create an interactive, multimedia presentation of information.

Think about how this can be used on your real estate web site. Do you have city pages?

Information about Phoenix, AZ

Information about Scottsdale, AZ

Pretty cool, huh!?! Go to qwiki.com to do a search. At the end of the presentation is where you’ll find the embed code add to your site. Since it’s still in alpha testing, they are looking for your help to improve the info.

See Max Pigman and Chris Smith in Scottsdale February 9th

by on Jan 25, 2011 | Careers and Training, REALTOR® Marketing, Technology

A whole bunch of knowledge is coming to town in February!  Max Pigman, aka VP of REALTOR.com, is hosting a morning session from 9-1 pm at the Westin Kierland Resort in Scottsdale.  He’s going to share information on…

  • How to organize a network of social advocates – to work on your behalf
  • How to spot social media mistakes to avoid at all costs
  • 10 simple changes to your business that will help you gain more buyers and listings the moment you walk out the door
  • How to dominate the next three to five years of the smart-tech boom
  • Statistics and forward looking trends that will shape and change the way real estate is practiced over the next decade

Then Chris Smith, aka co-founder of TechSavvyAgent.com, is hosting his own session on facebook marketing from 1:30 – 3:30.  He’s going to teach you how to…

  • Navigate the new rules of engagement in a transparent world
  • Define who you are and develop your personal brand
  • Gain visibility in web search results and harness SEO tools
  • Use the latest Internet tracking methods and understand how information spreads online
  • Apply solid strategies for reputation repair when things go wrong

I’d be surprised if you haven’t heard of Chris since his facebook business page is creeping in on 14,000 likers!

Both of these sessions are $FREE.99.  If utilizing more social media or technology advancements are on your list of goals in 2011, you’ll want to hear what these guys are sharing.  For more information and to register sign up here.

Zillow and Yahoo Real Estate Changes

by on Jan 24, 2011 | Careers and Training, Selling, Technology

Yahoo Real Estate soon to be powered by zillow

I received an informative email on Friday from ListHub, our real estate listing syndication partner.  In the email they comment on some changes we can expect to see on Yahoo Real Estate.  The changes are all due to the Yahoo Real Estate/Zillow partnership.

In the first part of February Yahoo will be converting their real estate search over to a Zillow powered search tool.  In preparation for this move, at some point in the near future Yahoo will quit updating the listings that are currently displayed on their site.

I share this with you because in the event you have a price change, new listing on the market, change of status or any other important change within flexmls – your seller might be calling.  If they don’t see the changes reflected on yahoo real estate, please tell them not to worry Yahoo is in conversion mode and will be back up with current information mid-February.

Here’s a list of other web sites John Hall & Associates’s listings are displayed (PDF).

Shaw Shares Shecrets to Shuccess

by on Jan 23, 2011 | Careers and Training, Company News

flickr photo credit: PHX Photo

I received a call from Holiday Party sponsor Tracy Tolleson of Tolleson Family Mortgage telling me about an upcoming Paradise Valley REALTOR® Marketing Session meeting.  He informed me about the next PVRMS meeting because John Hall & Associates REALTOR® Russell Shaw will be a featured speaker.

You are invited to join them for breakfast and the talk.

When: January 27th 8:00am
Where: Marie Calendar’s (Cactus Blvd just west of Tatum)
Cost: $10

When I asked Russell what he was going to talk about, he responded with a laugh, “Whatever they need to know.”  I have a feeling REALTORS® will walk out laughing, a little more educated and a little more motivated.

Thanks for the heads up Tracy!

Google Cheat Sheet for REALTORS®

by on Jan 11, 2011 | Careers and Training, Technology

Google Profile: google.com/profiles

Why: Proactive ownership of google results for your name. Share the information you want people to know. Add links to your websites and social media sites.

Google Places: google.com/places

Why: Google Juice! Add a “Place” for your real estate business. Use your office address. Complete as much of the profile as possible. Include 10 pictures, 5 videos, payment types, etc. BE SURE TO SET YOUR SERVICE AREA.

Google Calendar: google.com/calendar

Why: Easily syncs with Android phones. Share calendar with your real estate team, family, or friends. You can also set reminders for important events.

Google Alerts: google.com/alerts

Why: Helps manage your online reputation. When you set up alerts for your name or community Google will automatically notify you when new results are found on the web.

Google Sites: google.com/sites

Why: Free website with multiple themes to choose from. Add unlimited pages. Add a free home search tool available from armls.diversesolutions.com. Add Cromford Report’s current market stats that are updated automatically – for free. (Visit http://johnhall.com/?p=3746 for instructions on how to link charts.)

Google Maps: google.com/maps

Why: This is a great way to showcase your neighborhood’s points of interest. You can build multiple maps if you work multiple communities and embed them on the neighborhood pages you’ve created on your free Google Site.

Google Voice: google.com/voice

Why: This handy call transfer/voicemail tool will provide you with a custom phone number that you can use for business. Or, if you’d like to have your voicemails transcribed into emails, google voice will do that too! (To watch a video interview with an agent using Google Voice visit http://johnhall.com/?p=6509)

Google URL Shortener: goo.gl

Why: Shorter links are easier to share. Copy and paste any web site or web page address into goo.gl to get a free, trackable shortened URL. Good for social media sites and print advertising. (Also a QR Code is automatically created for each shortened link.)

Learn to use Flexmls IDX

by on Jan 9, 2011 | Careers and Training, Technology

Flexmls IDX classes are scheduled this month!  Check out their IDX solution that allows your clients to “search like an agent”.  Here’s what they have to say about their product…

flexmlsIDX

The Greatest Secret of flexmls—A Fully Integrated IDX Solution!

In today’s world nearly every home buyer or seller looks at properties somewhere on the Internet both before and after talking with an agent. This trend has made it essential that every agent has a place of their own where clients and prospects can search for homes. The big question is how can agents today level the playing field against the large home search sites. The answer is right in our own flexmls system!

This workshop introduces agents and brokers to a little known feature of our own flexmls system—IDX. Because flexmls IDX is an add-on subscription the vast majority of users are unaware that it exists. In this workshop you’ll see examples of how features such as Live Searching, Accurate Status, flexmls Reports, flex Mapping, etc. make flexmls IDX totally unique. You’ll also see how flexmls IDX is completely integrated with Contact Manager, Web Portal, and Auto Email. Tips and tricks such as how to Activate flexmls IDX, how to set up pre-defined “One-Click” searches on your personal Web site, how to control your colors and branding, and how to choose which Search Fields are displayed, will also be demonstrated.

This is one workshop you won’t want to miss. Come and see some of the most advanced features of our flexmls system that you never knew existed. According to NAR studies over 90% of agents reported that they were not satisfied with their personal Web sites and Internet marketing efforts. The flexmls IDX technology could be just what you are looking for. After attending this workshop you will be thoroughly acquainted with the most accurate, feature rich, and powerful IDX solution available.

The Workshop presenter is Brett Woolley. Brett has been providing technology training to real estate professionals nationwide since 1992 and recently became the authorized flexmls IDX consultant for all of Arizona. He is a practicing REALTOR® and MBA.

Please join us to learn more about this IDX product…

Glendale Real Estate Office: Thursday Jan 13th 10-12
Scottsdale Real Estate Office: Thursday Jan 20th 10-12
Paradise Valley Real Estate Office: Wednesday Jan 26th 10-12

Phoenix Market Report by Jim Sexton

by on Jan 6, 2011 | Careers and Training, Real Estate Statistics

Video: Phoenix Arizona Real Estate Market Review

So I’m looking at my December numbers from ARMLS, but can I believe them? 8405 closings for December seem like a lot. Historically it is a lot as in #1 December of all time. Also if December’s number holds, it’s the #5 month of the year. The Year over Year increase is 10%; with a 24% increase from Nov/10. Obviously great news if the numbers hold.

So why won’t they hold? If agents had a short sale approved and put it in pending with a 12/31 closing thinking that was plenty of time to get it closed and they got distracted like many of us did last Thursday and Friday and forgot to extend it, the FBS system closed it automatically for them. Now over the next week or two they will discover the error and go into the system and correct the closing date. So the number of closings may fall over the next few weeks like they did in August of this year. Even if they fall to around 8000, 12/10 will still be the #1 December of all time.

So why or how did this happen? Price, interest rates and tax planning-but not necessarily in that order. On the price front-December’s Average Sales Price and Median Sales Price are at or near 10 year lows. The previous bottom (3/09) is being ‘revisited’ and the Median ($115,000) has slipped slightly below, while the Average Sales Price ($160,000) is within $1000 of 2009 low figures. This is happening primarily because of the increased percentage of REO sales. REO’s accounted for 48% (4062) of December’s closings.

Interest rates are being talked about, with the “they can’t stay this low for much longer”, comments being validated by the end of the year ½% bump. That might motivate ‘fence sitters’ to take advantage of the favorable combination of price and below 5% interest rate.

Tax planning-I think more and more sales are going to investors. Not just to fix and flip, but to hold-you remember when a single family rental property could be rented with a POSITIVE cash flow. Yes, at today’s sales prices, we’re back to those days. Wow, it sure has been a while.

So the December market takeaways-Record volume, double dip pricing lows, and REO’s increasing to 48% of the market. Add that to the 21% Short Sale volume and the Distress market is at or near all time highs.