By: Brad Horner

Though new technologies may have emerged, external e-newsletters are still one of the strongest marketing channels that businesses have in their arsenal.  The intimacy of e-newsletters foster personal relationships better than other communication vehicles.

Your network is used to sharing things via e-mail and checking e-mail multiple times throughout the day.  A visitor’s inbox is their trusted zone, and when you appear there on a regular basis – providing good content – you increase your company’s awareness and position the company as an industry thought leader.  Epsilon’s February 2009 branding survey found that 57% of consumers feel they have a more positive impression of companies when they receive e-mail from them.  And the Direct Marketing Association found that e-mail’s ROI in 2009 was $43.52 for every dollar spent on it.

NRT Development Advisors regularly sends its newsletter, Developing News, to inform our network of clients, prospects, brokers and more about industry news, helpful tips and our clients’ successes.  And I’m proud to say that we have a much higher than average open rate for the real estate industry.  How?  We follow the below five rules:

1. Get input on useful content. Deciding to write an e-newsletter is easy.  Deciding what to write about is much more difficult.  Visit the websites and forums that your audience typically frequents to learn what topics seem to generate the most interest and coverage.  Blog search engines can also help you identify relevant themes and topics.  And don’t forget to take advantage of opportunities to personally ask your potential readership what they’re most interested in.  Your sales teams and others who deal with customers on a daily basis are great sources of such information.
2. Send only when you have something interesting to say. There is no set rule about how often you should send an e-newsletter, but it should be often enough that your readers don’t forget that they subscribed to your list, but not so often that they are annoyed when they hear from you.  And, your readers want substance, not self-promotional messages.  Establish your e-newsletter as a thought leader with relevant industry topics, as editorial copy is a better read than advertising.
3. Make it aesthetically pleasing. You only have once chance to make a first impression, and with e-newsletters that first impression comes in the form of good looking content.  Ensure that the e-newsletter’s template matches your corporate branding.  Put the most interesting, relevant information on topic (where it can be seen in an e-mail preview window).  And, use graphics strategically.  Photos can break up cluttered text; bullets and highlights make e-newsletters easy to skim.
4. Build trust and credibility. To build trust when asking people to sign up for your e-newsletter, you must be able to clearly answer if you will share their e-mail address and how difficult it will be to unsubscribe.  Consumers are, understandably, leery of companies asking for e-mail addresses because they don’t want to be spammed in the future.  Provide an obvious and painless way that people can unsubscribe.
5. Consider each e-newsletter a test. Carefully analyze the distribution results that e-newsletter programs offer to determine what makes your audience respond.  Do e-newsletters that are sent on Mondays receive a higher open rate than those sent on Tuesdays?  Are more people opening it in the mornings or afternoons?  And what subject lines prompt the quickest action (those with a question or a statement)?  Did particular article topics cause readers to click for more information?

If you’d like to be added to our e-newsletter list, you can sign-up here.

By: Brad Horner

500 million people.  Let me repeat: 500 million people.  That is how many people are actively using Facebook, as the company announced this week.  If Facebook were its own country, it would be the third most populous nation in the world (following China and India)!

According to Facebook, 50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day (in total, spending more than 500 billion minutes per month on Facebook), so it’s no wonder why marketers are increasingly realizing the large number of leads that Facebook can provide.  It’s an excellent platform to build lasting relationships and “remarket” (Facebook’s term) to customers.

NRT Development Advisors has had great success with Facebook ads on behalf of developer clients.  In fact, the Facebook ads placed to promote clients’ new home communities actually increased referrals to their websites by 30%!

Today’s Friday Five includes tips for marketing real estate via Facebook ads:

1. Set goals. What do you want to accomplish with the ad?  Are you simply hoping to increase the number of new fans for your company’s Facebook page or do you have more traditional goals such as direct sales?  Think through these goals first, as they will impact all future decisions (ad copy, images, links, reach, etc.).
2. Create eye-catching, relevant ads. Include questions, testimonials and calls to action in ad copy, as they make for compelling content.  And include an image in the ad, as the click-through rate is much higher for ads with pictures than those that are text-only.  Consider creating tailored ads for different demographics.  You don’t speak to a potential homebuyer and a Realtor the same way when selling homes, so why would you in an ad?
3. Identify target demographic. One of the best features of Facebook advertising is the robust targeting options; target factors include location, age, birthday, sex, keywords, education, workplace, relationship, interests, language and connections.  Some of the factor selections may be obvious based upon your product (such as location and age), but you can be a little more creative when selecting other factors.  For instance, target people who are already fans of your competitors, as it shows that they are interested in similar product.
4. 4. Frequently rotate ads. Even the best ads can become tiresome after multiple views.
5. Analyze ad performance and adjust accordingly. Just like traditional advertising, it’s important to regularly monitor ad performance and make tweaks based upon results.  Facebook makes it easy to do so by offering reports about each campaign, including responder demographics, responder profiles and conversion data.

Have you had success marketing homes with Facebook ads?  If so, please share your story by leaving a comment.

By: Brad Horner

As we mentioned earlier this week, NRT Development Advisors recently released its Q2 2010 Development Advisor, a quarterly view of metro-Atlanta’s real estate market (including absorption, current inventory, sales price, distressed sales, consumer sentiment and more).

In that blog post, we teased you with an overview of the findings.  But in today’s Friday Five I wanted to take the opportunity to highlight five specific stats that demonstrate the largest adjustments in the metro-Atlanta market from Q2 2009 to Q2 2010.

So, without further ado, below is today’s Friday Five:

1. Inventory: Inventory of new construction condominiums/townhomes fell 31.1%; inventory of resale single-family homes increased 62.7%.
2. Absorption: Absorption of resale single-family homes increased 27.6%, but absorption of new construction single-family homes decreased 16%.
3. Sales price: The average sales price of new construction single-family homes dropped 11.6%, while the average sales price of resale single-family homes increased 12.4%.
4. Distressed Sales: Absorption (closed units) of distressed* new construction single-family homes dropped 16.9%, however absorption (closed units) of distressed* resale single-family homes increased 14.4%.
5. Distressed Sales: Absorption (closed units) of distressed* resale single-family homes increased 14.4%, while absorption (closed units) of distressed* resale condominiums/townhomes decreased 9%.

* Distressed sales include foreclosures, corporate-owned, lender-owned, and short sale pre-approved listings.

By: Brad Horner

I was recently interviewed by a reporter from Urban Land magazine about the future of Atlanta’s real estate market.  I told him that national and international companies continue to look to the city when considering relocation, therefore Atlanta and its surrounding areas still have a promising long-term growth outlook. NRT Development Advisors foresees that this ongoing trend will continue to bring single professionals and families to the city, which will fill the intown multi-family developments as well as the suburban single-family communities.

So today’s Friday Five is a two for one – we listed a few of Atlanta’s, as well as Georgia’s, top accolades that tout reasons transplants love living and doing business in Atlanta.

Atlanta:

1. No. 1 City for Recent College Graduates (based on housing, job prospects, culture and lifestyle) Sources: CareerRookie.com and Apartments.com, May 2010
2. No. 2 Least Expensive City to Live In (of U.S. Cities with population of more than 2 million) Source: KPMG’s Competitive Alternative Study, March 2010
3. No. 2 America’s Most Wired City Source: Forbes Magazine, 2010
4. No. 4 City with Most Fortune 500 Companies (tie with 14 companies) Source: Forbes Magazine, 2010
5. No. 7 Best Start-Up City Source: Entrepreneur Magazine, 2009

Georgia:

1. No. 1 State for Entrepreneurial Activity Source: Kauffman Foundation, 2009
2. No. 1 Best Managed State in the Southeast (overall Grade B+) Source: Pew Center in the States and Governing Magazine
3. No. 3 State with the Best Business Climate Source: Development Counselors International
4. No. 7 State for Job and Business Growth Source: Chief Executive Magazine, 2010
5. No. 9 State with the Best Economic Outlook in the U.S. Source: American Legislative Exhcnage Council, June 2010

By: Brad Horner

I will be the first to admit that I have been guilty of getting caught up in the whirlwind of ups and downs in the past two years.  It can seem that many business and personal decisions are dictated by elections, the stock market, government regulations and numerous other economic factors that are out of our control.  And that can bring about a helpless, overwhelming feeling – a feeling that may experience from time to time, as well.

Sure, the last two years have been challenging for all of us, but the future is still to be determined.  What lies ahead of us is what we want to make of it, so decide what to be and go be it.

Remember this 4th of July weekend that we all have the ability to pursue and live out our individual American Dreams.  Though the phrase “American Dream” wasn’t popular until historian James Truslow Adams coined it in his 1931 book Epic of America – in which he wrote, “The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.“ – the concept dates back to the beginning of our country.  The American Dream is rooted in the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence, which states that “all men are created equal” and that they have “certain inalienable rights” including “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

So I dedicate today’s Friday Five to a few of my favorite quotes about life, freedom and the American Dream.
1.    “The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage.” – Thucydides
2.    “The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.” – Flora Whittemore
3.    “One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.” – Unknown
4.    “Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.” – George Sheehan
5.    “The best things about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.” – Abraham Lincoln

I wish you and your family a safe and fun 4th of July and hope that you take time to think about and celebrate your own American Dream.

By: Brad Horner

Please allow me to brag on NRT Development Advisors’ talented sales and marketing teams in today’s Friday Five.  I know that the Friday Five column is typically dedicated to industry findings and advice, but this news is just too good to keep to ourselves.

Trendgraphix, Inc., the leading provider of market trending and market share reports to brokers and MLS organizations nationwide, recently released its June 2010 report (which includes data through the end of May 2010).

In this report, NRT Development Advisors was ranked for Residential Attached:

1. #1 office for Trend Over Time Listings Sales by $ Volume (January – May)
2. #1 office for This Vs. Last Listing Sales by $ Volume (Year to Date Vs. Previous Year to Date)
3. #1 office for Standard Report Listing Sales by $ Volume (Year to Date)
4. #1 office for Standard Report Current Inventory in Units (Year to Date)
5. #1 office for New Multi-Family Sales (Year to Date)

This means that in all FMLS counties combined, NRT Development Advisors not only sells the most multi-family, but we also have the most inventory in our pipeline to sell. A winning combination for future success!

By: Brad Horner

Following lobbying from Realtors and other real estate professionals, the U.S. Senate voted 60-37 on Wednesday to approve an extension of the homebuyer tax credit.  Under the amendment, house purchase contracts would still have had to be entered into by April 30 in order to qualify for the tax rebates, but buyers would now be given until Sept. 30 to close the purchase.

Throughout the credits’ lifespan, real estate professionals and consumers have expressed mixed views about their impact.  Some have said that this surge of buyers provided the boost that the market needed.  Others have said that it simply delayed the inevitable bottoming of the market.

And, still more are withholding an opinion until after the summer home buying season to determine if the incentives increased, or just shifted, demand.  Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtors’ chief economist, said that he had “no doubt” that there would be some temporary fallback in the market this summer (following the credits’ expiration), but added that the improving economy has increased consumer confidence, which should help support sales.

Below are the top five ways the tax credits impacted the spring real estate market:

1. Number of homes for sale: The number of homes on the market in April surged by the most in a decade, reported the National Association of Realtors.  Even with the rise in sales, the inventory of unsold homes increased in April to 4.04 million units (which would represent 8.4 months of supply of homes at the April sales pace).
2. Home sales: Stan Humphries, Zillow.com’s chief economist, said one in five homebuyers who used the tax credit wouldn’t have bought a home without it.  Sales of previously owned homes jumped 7.6% to a 5.77 million annual rate in April, the highest level in five months (beating market expectations of a 5.65 million unit pace), reported the National Association of Realtors. The South experienced an 8.6% increase in previously owned home sales.  New-home purchases, which account for about 10% of the housing market, jumped 15% in April after surging 30% the prior month, Commerce Department figures showed.  Sales of newly built, single-family homes surged 14.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 504,000 units in April. Three out of four regions posted substantial gains in new-home sales in April, including the South, which registered a 10.8% gain.
3. Sale prices: The increase in sales sparked a rise in home prices. The median price for a new home rose to $173,100 in May, up 4% from the previous year.
4. Type of buyers: First-time buyers accounted for an estimated 49% of existing home sales in April after 44% in March, 42% in February and 40% in January.
5. Mortgage applications: The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that mortgage applications were up 24% in April over March, driven by significant increases in conventional and government purchase applications. The Government purchased 50% of all home purchases in mid-April, which is the highest percentage in two decades.

By: Brad Horner

On Wednesday, local real estate data experts SmartNumbers and ViaSearch jointly hosted their semiannual Atlanta Housing Market Summit. 

The good news from the event: The worst is considered to be behind us and Atlanta’s housing outlook is improving. 

The not as good news: Atlanta is not out of the clear just yet.

Below are the top five findings from the event, as covered in Michelle Shaw’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution article Housing outlook better, but still mixed:

1. Home prices are at 2003 levels and lot prices are akin to what developers paid in 2002.  New homes tend to be smaller, with less-expensive standard finishes — as once was the norm in a starter home.
2. Almost 40 percent of all homes selling in 2010 are under $100,000.
3. New home sales historically claimed nearly 50 percent of closings, but last year the segment accounted for 20 percent.
4. Existing home sales will hold up the market until conditions change.
5. The Atlanta market, before home prices skyrocketed, was fueled by first-time buyers during the boom years. Their numbers dropped sharply when the economy dived and housing tanked. A resurgence of the trend means the market is stabilizing.

By: Brad Horner

Even after living in Atlanta for decades, I still call Florida “home.”  I grew up in Jupiter and proudly attended Florida State University.  And, many of my fondest memories took place on Florida’s sandy white beaches.  That’s why today’s Friday Five is a hard one for me to write, as I – along with millions of others who live and vacation along the Southeast coast – are struggling to come to terms with the long term and catastrophic effects  of the BP oil spill, which has already been called the “worst oil disaster in US history.”

Within the first six weeks following the spill, the real estate industry is already feeling the repercussions. Homeowners and buyers along the coast who have yet to see or smell oil are understandably concerned about what the future holds for their properties.

Many are worried that beach access and views will be compromised once the oil gets closer and that home prices will drop even lower following what was considered to be the recession’s bottom.  (Housing Predictor forecasted that, “Homes along the immediate path of the Gulf Coast oil leak are forecast to decline at least 30% in value as a result of the environmental catastrophe produced by British Petroleum’s gushing oil well.”).   And, WINK-TV in Tampa, AL.com, Business Insider and many other media outlets have recently quoted Realtors who have seen real estate transactions fall through along the Gulf Coast because of buyers’ concerns.

Feeling helpless is a pervasive thought amongst homeowners in light of the recent tragic events involving the BP oil spill, however, proactive measures can be taken.  Wall Street Journal reporter June Fletcher listed steps homeowners should take if trying to sell a home along the Gulf coast in her recent article, “On Florida Coast, Homeowners Jittery”:

1. Address fears preemptively and honestly on your property’s website, and don’t try to gloss them over.  Say “We realize you may be concerned about the oil spill; we are, too.”  Then link to local news stories, blogs and beach webcams to show conditions less dire than those shown on national media, which focus on hardest-hit areas.
2. Visit your property, talk to your neighbors and take date-stamped pictures of the beaches nearest your property. Upload your findings as often as possible.
3. In your advertising, focus on non-beach attractions, like live theaters, water parks, zoos, and golf courses.
4. Remember that bad news brings out bargain hunters, so be prepared to negotiate. But don’t let them take advantage of you by going below the discounts that other sellers or landlords are giving.
5. Document any losses that you incur. If you’re a landlord, keep track of cancelled reservations; if you’re selling, get an appraisal or broker’s price opinion now to serve as a baseline should property values fall. You’ll need evidence if you pursue compensation from the government or BP.

By: Brad Horner

There is an air of excitement in our office today as the team wraps up for an extended Memorial Day weekend.  As such, I thought today’s Friday Five should take a lighter tone than usual.

How about a few laughs at the expense of the real estate market?  Below are five sites that are sure to make you smile.

1. Lovely Listings This photo blog shares “the wonders of bad, bad real estate listings.”  And “bad” doesn’t even begin to describe some of these incredibly odd and outlandish – yet hilarious – home listings.
2. Life of a Realtor Two creative Conejo Valley Association of Realtors members created a parody of a real estate transaction, as told by song.  They say that the parody “speaks to the grit, determination, perseverance and optimism of Realtors,” but they clearly forgot to mention “creativity”, as these two Realtors are talented.
3. The Realities Of Real Estate Everyone involved in a real estate transaction – including the homeowner, lender, buyer, appraiser and tax assessor – often view the same home very differently based upon their role in the transaction.  This short photo montage shows just how different those views can be.
4. Funny Definitions for Real Estate Jargon For those who have been in real estate for a while, you know there is a fine art to translating home listings.  This list of definitions pokes a little fun at real estate advertising lingo.
5. Funny Real Estate Jokes This site houses many funny real estate videos, misleading MLS typos, comics, jokes and more.

Have you seen any funny real estate sites that should be added to the list?  Please share by leaving us a comment.