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Digest of real estate news & other interesting stuff for week ending June 25th

Joe Spake — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 04:03:19 +0000

June 25th

	Published Why I am not following you back on Twitter.
	Posted Banks Manipulating System.
	Published Happy Father’s Day!.
	Posted Greenline has economic impact.
	Posted Think Outside the Box: Dome Homes for Sale.
	Published June 21, 2011 – Summer Solstice – First day of summer.
	Posted May Existing Home Sales: 4.81 million SAAR, 9.3 months of supply.
	Posted Irvine: Luxury Condos become Rental Apartments.
	Posted Florida community sends in bulldozers to clean up Prince Mongo’s property.
	Posted Is Being Lazy Costing You Money?.
	Posted Couple Served Foreclosure Notice Via Facebook.
	Posted Memphis goes back to drawing board with Madison Avenue bike lanes.
	Posted Change Comes Hard for Some in City Government.
	Posted Snakes, meth and trash oh my! Foreclosure buyers beware.
	Posted Cash Remains King in Weak Market.
	Posted Real Estate Agents Hate it When Buyers ….
	Posted When mortgage fraud gets violent.
	Posted What housing recovery?.
	Posted Vacant, Overgrown Homes Becoming Haven for Rodents in Memphis.
	Reviewed Sam’s Club (2/5) on Yelp.
	Reviewed Tom’s Bar-B-Q & Deli (3/5) on Yelp.
	Posted Center City Name Change – 2.0.
	Posted NAR say housing is in a recovery period, we strongly disagree.
	Posted ’90s Pop Icon Offers Up Real Estate Tips.
	Published About time for a new website I guess.

Thanks you for reading Digest of real estate news & other interesting stuff for week ending June 25th. For similar Memphis Real Estate articles visit Memphis Real Estate Buzz ,

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Does anybody read this blog?

Joe Spake — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 22:11:59 +0000

According to Agent Genius, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that only 10% of its members blog; and sometimes I wonder why that 100,000 or so of us bother to blog at all.

I am often frustrated over topics for this blog. I mean, how many stories can you write about the dismal real estate market? Or real estate consumer posts, like those “5 things to look out for…..” stories, that seem to appear over an over? Other than an occasional rant about something that irritates me professionally, like buyers who waste a lot of my time, only to stray away and buy a FSBO, or sellers who have had their house on the market for 318 days turning down a showing, and, of course, the mandatory monthly market report, there really isn’t a lot to write about real estate that is engaging to the public in general.

Just take a look over at real estate networking portal Active Rain. Popular bloggers there get lots of comments – from their peers. If real estate blogging is done with some round about intention of generating income through building affinity with those in the audience, I am not really excited about my ~~competitors~~ colleagues in the business being the audience. I would much rather have an audience of motivated real estate buyers and sellers or people from the general public who might be interested in what’s going on in the world or real estate.

It has been my theory for the past few years that ~~most~~ many realtors who adopt social media, including blogging, are not looking for engagement as much as they are at continuing their 20th century push marketing techniques. Sure Facebook, Twitter, and blogging are great tools for broadcasting listings and shameless boasting about your sales prowess. They are great for selling your sure-fire get rich in real estate “system” to struggling agents too. And with the market we have had the past few years, there has been plenty of time to figure out how to manipulate the new media to push out the message, whether you connect with anyone or not. After all, it’s free!

So, if you are reading this post, please take just a minute to comment and let me know if you are a real estate pro, a real estate consumer, or other interested party, AND what you expect from a local real estate blog. I am always open to content suggestions, even if they include suggesting I spend more time working on my much more popular personal blog.

Joe Spake is a Memphis, Tennessee based Consultant, Real Estate Broker, and Blogger. Call 901.214.5563 for a consultation or click to make a social connection.
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Practical use for QR codes in real estate

Joe Spake — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 14:11:01 +0000

QR codes are a hot topic these days. I see QR code gurus emerging to drive this new mobile technology bandwagon. Actually the little 2 dimensional matrices have been around since 1994. The Wikipedia history of QR codes provides lots of info about their history and how they work. One thing’s for sure, you are going to see a lot more QR in a lot more places. You will see them showing up in irrelevant settings; you will see them embellished with embedded pictures and logos; and you will find some that are not compatible with your equipment, but that is all something to be covered in another post.

I just wanted to share one of the ways I use QR in real estate. I have been experimenting with QR codes for over a year, but am now using them actively due to improvements in the scanners currently offered. I am adding a 4″x4″ code to my for sale signs. The code is optimized, and not as complex looking as some others you might see. It can be scanned with your with your smart phone camera (with Quick Mark Scanner App) from about 4 feet away, and starts loading a property-specific, mobile optimized URL within 3 seconds. I hope we will see this technology replace those (mostly empty) flyer boxes agents like to attach to For Sale signs.

Here’s a quick video to show you how it works for me.

Do you see QR codes in your future as a professional or a consumer? What do you think some good uses of this technology would be?

QR code engages (flatworldbusiness.wordpress.com)
Ideas about how to use QR codes in my massage and skin care biz? (ask.metafilter.com)
How to Create QR Codes and Share Them (lockergnome.com)

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Is your real estate agent a Realtorasaur?

Joe Spake — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 02:49:16 +0000

I continue to be amused at the number of real estate companies and agents who still rely on the old (snail)mail-outs, cold calling, and extensive print advertising to get their message out. They seem apprehensive about any new technology that might make the prospecting and client relationship management process more of a 2-way interaction. They live for the Tuesday sales meeting, and sip lots of coffee (“Coffee’s for closers,” you know.), but….

Realtor Sue Eller narrates this “Mockumentary” about The Vanishing Realtorasaur, a real estate spoof that satirically looks at what will happen to the Realtors who don’t adapt to technology. Sue Eller is a Realtor at Dilbeck Real Estate in La Canada California. To see more fun and interesting uses of video in her business visit www.ellertheseller.com.

Now could you pass me my MLS book, and direct me to the nearest bus bench, please?

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Thanks for making this blog #1

Joe Spake — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 15:36:43 +0000

Thanks to everyone who voted for Memphis Real Estate Buzz as Memphis’ best Real Estate Blog in Zillow’s People’s Choice Awards.

I am really thankful for your continued support! I always appreciate your comments and suggestions. I hope to hear from you soon!

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Memphis Real Estate Buzz » social media

Digest of real estate news & other interesting stuff for week ending June 25th

Does anybody read this blog?

Practical use for QR codes in real estate

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Is your real estate agent a Realtorasaur?

Thanks for making this blog #1