TOP 5 Social Media Websites for Real Estate Professionals
By: Will Staney
•1. ActiveRain ActiveRain is a Real Estate Networking site for real estate professionals. As of me writing this post, there are over 150,000 members there. You can signup for a free membership, create your profile, and start interacting with the community.
Action Tip: Make sure you use their unique referral program. As of right now, the service is free. You can use the referral service to find the best real estate professionals, real estate leads and form local real estate relationships. One of the best parts of the referral service is the ability to search on a local level, right in your county.
•2. Facebook One of my favorite social media sites. I use Facebook on regular basis. Unlike Myspace, Facebook has developed a platform that prevents spam. It is a very professional network that is growing at an unprecedented rate. Everyone on Facebook is real. Their identities are real and because of their profiles, you can form great relationships in a much better way.
Action Tip: Create events and send invites to a specific group you have created or to all your fellow real estate professionals. Did someone say happy hour networking event? Great thing about facebook is its ability to interact with twitter and LinkedIn...I'll get to those next.
•3. LinkedIn Linked in is one of my favorite sites I use to form relationship among real estate professionals and other industries. This one site has provided me with many leads, different relationships and outsourcing opportunities. Sign up is free as well. Once you signup you can start networking and building relationships with others.
Action Tip: Make sure to build out your profile. When people search for you, they can find you by your keywords, places, employment, and experience you have in your resume. When searching for people, never spam others. When asking people to be added to your network, it is best to ask people you know first.
•4. Localism How would you like to own your neighborhood? The entire neighborhood! Well, here's your chance. Join this site and whenever someone goes over to their city on Localism, you'll be right there in front of them. So, become a neighbor at Localism and you are well on your way.
Action Tip: To become the Top Neighbor, make sure you provide quality information on your blog there. I've noticed that top neighbors are the ones who are most active.
•5. Twitter What the hell is twitter you ask? If you haven't already heard of this site, Twitter is a social media site that uses micro-blogging technology. Basically, you post short posts on their site, under 140 characters. You can follow and be followed by others. This site is focused more on building personal relationships than anything else. I am planning on experimenting with this platform in the next few months and will keep you updated.
Action Tip: Signup for twitter and you'll get addicted. Don't believe me, try it?
Want more information about using social media to increase your business? Contact me anytime!
My SNS's (Social Networking Sites):
Add me as a friend!
www.facebook.com - search for William Staney
My blogs:
activerain.com/blogs/willstaney
localism.com/neighbor/willstaney
Will Staney
Sr. Mortgage Consultant
WJ Bradley Mortgage Capital
9600 Great Hills Trail Suite 150W
Austin, TX 78759
(512) 502-1705 Office
(512) 644-1587 Cell
(866) 953-0155 Fax
This is a good article from yesterday that is finally positive for once on the housing market, but in a realistic way. Stay tuned for my updated opinion on the administration's HARP program...it has issues.
Will
Housing Market May Be Healing Itself
Maurna Desmond, 05.12.09, 07:20 PM EDT
Foreclosures could taper off before government mortgage efforts take hold. Just as the Obama administration's efforts to help troubled borrowers begin to kick in, the ailing U.S. housing market may be on the mend on its own.
According to Chris Mayer, senior vice dean at Columbia Business School, the foreclosure crisis may be near its peak. Following a springtime burst of bank repossessions--mainly due to the expiration of government moratoriums--seizures are likely to begin tapering off in the summer, he says.
As bank fire sales slow, home prices should stabilize. Assuming that the economy begins to grow in the second half of the year, as many expect, "We may be starting to see a leveling off," Mayer says.
Mayer, a chief architect of several Senate housing bills in the last year, says the real estate recovery was mostly due to market forces and "there is little evidence that this is a result of government actions."
This bold assertion comes at a time when federal interventions to aid mortgage borrowers are just beginning to get in gear. The $275 billion Making Home Affordable program, a two-pronged effort to modify or refinance troubled loans, launched in April and lenders have only closed their first batches of workouts. The Federal Housing Administration's $300 billion Hope for Homeowners program has resulted in just one refinanced loan so far, though a more robust version of the program was unveiled in April.
Meanwhile, the number of newly delinquent borrowers didn't increase in March, an encouraging new trend. And sales activity is picking up, albeit often on distressed properties. But just the same, some markets, like subprime-scoured San Diego, are considered by many to have hit bottom. And if the market can really heal itself to some degree, then the necessity of government intervention is called into question. Mayer did give a nod to the Federal Reserve for lowering interest rates to historic lows and noted that the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit seems to be having a positive effect. And government-controlled lenders Fannie Mae ( FNM - news - people ) and Freddie Mac ( FRE - news - people ), along with the FHA, have provided nearly all the funding for mortgages over the last year. So to say that Washington hasn't done anything wouldn't be fair, but to say that more interventionist efforts haven't mattered much would.
However, regardless of any forecasts for an end to the crisis, at the moment foreclosures are running at record levels and nearly one in 12 Americans were behind on their mortgage payments during the first quarter, according to the Mortgage Banker's Association.
Job losses--unemployment hit 8.9% in April--are also causing more borrowers to miss payments. The late-to-the-scene government foreclosure efforts might end up being crucial to stemming another wave of repossessions, which, unlike the previous wave spawned by loose lending standards, could be generated by the weak economy.
On Wednesday, RealtyTrac reported that one in every 347 homes received a foreclosure notice in April, only a slight uptick from the month before. While this rate has been high for two consecutive months, much of this is a result of the end of various state and lender-imposed bans on foreclosures.
"Basically the dam burst last month and we're still seeing the flood," says Rick Sharga, vice president of the Irvine, Calif.-based data provider.
I read over the press release and figured I would try and sum it up for ya:
This afternoon the Fed decided to leave rates unchanged. Although most thought this is what was going to happen, there was some unexpected optimism in regards to the economy.
Some key highlights from their press release were:
• ‘The pace of economic contraction is slower’ - The slowdown of our economy is easing.
• ‘Household spending showing signs of stabilizing’ - Households are looking healthier
• “Market forces” will also help revive economic growth
• The plans/actions implemented last month remain on track
Now they did list the mainstay concerns such as employment and plummeting business investment, but stated the economic outlook has improved due to the “easing” in the financial markets. These statements did prompt a late stock market rally, while the dollar fell against the Euro. Which is both bad for bonds.
This release may be signaling the crescendo for mortgage rates. With the Fed Funds Rate being held so low and the fact that the economy IS starting to recover – this is likely as good as it is going to get. The Fed’s next meeting is June 23 and, as long as the economy continues to “ease”, you can fully expect them to act in response to curbing high levels of inflation.
In other words, get your buyers off the fence and get your refi’s off the couch.
Jeremy Smith, Area Manager of WJ Bradley Company, Austin, TX
Mortgage rates are notoriously volatile when the Federal Open Market Committee meets and today is such a day. Today's meeting is one of 8 scheduled FOMC meetings this year.
The Federal Open Market Committee is a rotating, 12-member sub-group within the Federal Reserve that debates about financial and economic conditions around the county, and votes on new policies meant to spur, steady, or slow economic growth.
The FOMC's economic toolbox is big, filled with programs and policies that most laypersons have never heard of, or even thought of. The group's most well-known tool, though, also happens to be its most wielded -- the Federal Funds Rate.
The Fed Funds Rate is the rate at which banks borrow from each other overnight. The lower the rate, the less banks pay in interest costs, and the more money is available for lending. It's in this way that the Fed Funds Rate impacts the economy. When it's down, banks tend to lend more money, giving the economy room to grow. And, conversely, when it's up, banks tend to lend less, constricting economic expansion. This is one reason why FOMC meetings are such big news -- the Federal Reserve has a direct impact on the future of the U.S. economy.
The FOMC is expected with 100% certainty to vote the Fed Funds Rate unchanged from its current 0.000-0.250% target range at today's meeting. Therefore, it won't be what the FOMC does that matters to mortgage rates. It will be what the FOMC says.
With the economy flopping between growth and recession, and with the Fed pledging to keep the Fed Funds Rate low for as long as necessary, markets will break down the FOMC press release for clues about what's in store economically for late-2009 and 2010. As one example, if inflation is singled out as a threat, mortgage rates should rise because inflation erodes the value of mortgage bond repayments.
Given the current environment of low mortgage rates -- whether you live in Hyde Park, Cincinnati or Hyde Park, Chicago -- there's definitely more chance of mortgage rates rising this afternoon than falling. There's only so much lower rates can go, you have to believe.
The Fed's press release hits the wires at 2:15 PM ET today. If you're the cautious type, consider locking your rate prior to the release.
You are about to make what will most likely be the largest transaction of your life: your home mortgage. Unfortunately, many homebuyers do not take the time to research some of the small but weighty intricacies of mortgages. Researching the mortgage process takes little time compared to the tens of thousands of dollars it could save you.
I sincerely hope these tips and ideas will be of value to you. If I may be of any further service, please contact my office. I will consider it a privilege to be of service to you! If you would like a free consultation, call my office at 512-502-1705 or email @ will.staney@wjbradley.com
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