by Roberta Murphy Blogging has become a key marketing tool for real estate agents. Michelle Mowad, a talented writer for the San Diego Business Journal, called last week inquiring about real estate blogging and the impact it is having on our San Diego real estate business and life. We talked about Web 2.0 social networking sites like MySpace and how blogging is such a natural communications platform for real estate…
by Roberta Murphy Todays real estate market is different for all, including luxury home sellers, their agents and home buyers. Though multiple offers have returned on a selected basis in the San Diego and Manhatttan real estate markets (well-priced, well-located and well-appointed homes), it is still a buyers market. And with many buyers returning to these markets, sellers and their agents need to be wary of certain types of…
The Carlsbad, CA discount real estate broker, ipayOne is no longer taking any new real estate listings and will be liquidating its assets. The once high-flying brokerage spent hugely on advertising, even purchasing for $2.5 million the five-year naming rights to the San Diego Sports Arena which was renamed the ipayOne Center. Their real estate business was primarily centered in the San Diego area, and there were reported plans to…
by Roberta Murphy The inevitable has happened. Fallen mortgage companies now have their own graveyard and we can also see those headed in that direction. Want to know which mortgage lenders are dead, struggling or being acquired? The Mortgage Daily has created a new online destination: THE MORTGAGE GRAVEYARD Here we can see the fallen, the failing, and those that have been acquired all the way back to 1999 -and…
by Roberta Murphy Well, sort of. Web 2.0 and interconnectivity has drilled down to a new level of local, with the online premier of Street Advisor this week. This fun site allows residents to rate and write about the streets on which they live. The reviewer can rate the livability of the street, the neighbors, convenience to shopping, medical care, schools and restaurants and more. But is it really gossip?…
by Roberta Murphy Some of the more difficult listing appointments our group encounters these days are ones that involve short sale conditions. In this situation, the seller owes more on the property than what it is worth in the current market. A year or so ago, we were having to explain how short sales worked to anguished sellers. These days, sellers call us, say they are underwater with their mortgages,…
by Roberta Murphy San Diego Vacancy Rates the Highest Since ˜95 headlines the San Diego Union Tribune. Those are words that should should send shivers down the spine of San Diego real estate investors, homeowners, home sellers, and potential home buyers throughout the county. But smart home buyers and savvy real estate investors should know by now to read between the lines and below the headlines. If we take the…
by Roberta Murphy I just returned from a meeting of top real estate agents in North County San Diego. There was much discussion about what is selling and what is not. Aside from market issues (luxury home market is strong here and multiple offers are not uncommon for buffed homes in the $1.5 million and up range), the issue of home presentation and staging was at the very top of…
by Roberta Murphy What if there were a wood treatment that not only disgusted termites, but repelled mold and fungus as well? This dream is now a reality at least for those fortunate custom home builders and remodelers who are able to demand their choice in wood. Though it makes for colorful framing (think Smurf blue), Bluwood has captured the interest of homeowners who wish to avoid the hazards of…
by Roberta Murphy There has been much discussion lately regarding the nefarious practice of agents cancelling real estate listings and relisting them at the same price the same day to create more attractive market times. That practice is forbidden by most MLS systems, including the San Diego MLS (Sandicor), but I am beginning to wonder if there might be a way to put this crime to good use. What if…
