Code of Ethics hits 100
The year 2013 marks the centennial of the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice for NAR. The first Code was written before license laws and most other regulations governing real estate existed and was seen as a declaration of the industry’s principles and beliefs. The Code, a living document that today undergoes annual review and revision, has been called a “golden thread,” uniting those devoted to raising the standards of professionalism and service in real estate. Here’s a look back at a few defining moments in the life of one of the industry’s most important documents. Read More.
Be careful out there
The latest headline about crimes against agents:
Man Charged With Plotting to Attack Real Estate Agents
A Bucks County, Pa., man has been charged with allegedly trying to lure real estate agents into model homes with intentions to sexually assault them, police say.
Frank A. Yeager, 29, is in policy custody and has been charged with one count of criminal attempt rape, a first-degree felony, as well as several misdemeanor charges.
On Nov. 25, a Pulte Homes real estate rep told police that a man entered the office requesting to see a model home. The woman told police she had a strange feeling about the man since he was not asking for any information about the home to purchase and so she allowed the man to tour the home himself. Read More.
Agents: do you have your email address handy?
Inman News’ Katie Lance spends a lot of time on real estate sites and there is one thing that drives her bananas.
Is it…
…a really awful agent photo from 20 years ago?
…links that take you nowhere?
…a tacky template?
Yes, all of these things. However, the number one thing that drives her really crazy is not being able to find your email address. Read More.
Take your photo strategy beyond listings
Old school still photography is not dead, and it has not been replaced by video. Still images are a must have for anyone using social media on the Internet because they are media.
Digital cameras keep getting better and less expensive, and there are more photo sharing sites, apps and social networks than ever. Smartphones have built-in cameras, and so do tablet computers and laptops. Most of us have at least one camera with us at all times. Read More.
Top 10 threats facing real estate
Big-picture perspectives of the real-estate market are rare, as professionals tend to focus on their corner of the real-estate world—be it residential or commercial, funding or construction.
But that’s exactly what the Counselors of Real Estate, an international professional group, assembled recently, identifying the top 10 issues facing all real estate in the next three decades. The group of high-profile thinkers came up with a list that focuses on themes from demographic trends to global uncertainty and their effects on real-estate markets. According to the group, these are the top 10 issues affecting the real-estate market in the next 10 to 30 years. Read More.
Top 10 issues affecting real estate
As the condition of the global economy continues to cause uncertainty across all industries, The Counselors of Real Estate, an international professional association of top executives in real estate, asked its members to identify the “top ten” broad structural issues that will define the real estate industry over the next 10-30 years. Many of the issues have strong interrelationships and are common across industries:
1. Aging Population: The aging of the population will broadly and dramatically affect the real estate markets from housing, retail sales, health care, and myriad factors that define the success of different geographic areas. Read More.
Should you buy a house now?
The author has written in the past why buying a house is a great investment. He says it got some good attention, some bad attention, and plenty of controversy. As he puts it:
As real estate prices keep sliding, I’m still actively in the market looking. It is simply amazing how upgrading where I live is, overall, roughly the same price as renting right now — including average home repairs and maintenance.
In this article, we’ll look over the basic reasons buying a house isn’t a bad investment, and everyone should at least consider it to see if it mixes with their long-term portfolio strategy. But first, let’s discuss the most basic question of all — is a house really an investment? Read More.
4 bad habits of subpar real estate agents
Are you engaging in bad habits that annoy both your clients and other agents as well? In many cases, agents aren’t even aware that the actions they are taking are hurting their businesses. If you want to have better relationships with your client base, friends and other real estate professionals, it may be time for you to “raise the bar.”
The Raise the Bar Facebook group is engaged in an ongoing discussion on how real estate professionals can improve their own business practices and thereby improve the overall quality of the real estate industry. Author Bernice Ross asked the group about what practices annoyed them most, as well as what action steps to take to eliminate these practices. Read More.
7 mobile trends shaking up real estate
Mobile technologies are revolutionizing the way real estate is being conducted at every level of the transaction. If you’re not part of the mobile revolution, the time to get involved is now.
What are the mobile trends that will influence your business in the not-too-distant future? Here are some of the most important ones:
1. Everyone has a mobile phone (well, almost everyone).
Real estate strategist Stefan Swanepoel, in his Trends Report 2012, points to a number of important mobile trends that are changing how the real estate industry will conduct business in the future. One of the most important trends is the explosion of mobile phone users. Read More.
5 habits of highly productive real estate agents
With so many distractions, it’s a wonder real estate agents are productive at all. Working to become a highly productive real estate agent is an ongoing process. Creating habits that produce consistent results allows you to achieve your maximum potential.
Time management has always been a real challenge. Between phone calls, a barrage of emails, listing presentations, prospecting calls and buyers appointments, how do you stay productive?
Keep yourself focused, alert and on track with these five habits. Read More.
Subscribe
MVP Offer from NAR
Subscribe to our RSS Feed,