Happy day.  The first edition of our Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate iPhone app is live today (actually ,11.59pm last night.)  But it’s not a ‘real estate’ app in the traditional sense, ie: pushing listings to your iPhone.  It’s a buyer centric app designed to solve a few pronounced challenges faced during the physical expedition through open houses. And that’s the key with the iPhone platform-  pick a few things that are already challenges in real life. Take something you do manually today, and make it automated, seamless, instinctive.

I may be dating myself here, but I began my career in the world of software product marketing and was well schooled on the software architecture approach known as the Jacobson Use Case technique .   In a nutshell, this means you start with the human outcome a user is trying to achieve, and align the technology to do it.  You choose the key outcomes a user would want, and think like a human being,not a software engineer. (Not that they aren’t humans, I mean c’mon I married one…)

So what does it do?

So here’s an overview of what our app, known as the Home Selection Assistant, does for a buyer.

WHAT: The app enables ‘smarter home selection’ through the open house process, utilizing native iPhone technology.

WHY: This app fits our consumer brand promise, and will act as a long tail branding machine. It will help fuel the Groundswell as it builds both brand associations and brand experience.

WHO FOR : It’s designed for buyers… all buyer-, those using BHGRE agents, and those who will someday. Because it has been architected around pronounced buyer challenges, it gives our agents and brokers, something different to talk about, and a way to engage more deeply with buyers during the home search process.

Go to www.bhgrealestate.com/iphone to download our app and start testing it out! We look forward to your feedback and we will add updates and features as we release subsequent versions.

As far as lists of top social media people in real estate go, we’ve seen the same names recycled over and over providing us a limited view of what is ultimately possible through social media. Income Diary gives us this list of the 50 most influential bloggers outside of real estate. This is a special group of people who have used social media to build world wide success and set a wider tone for how far blogging can build a business and establish a brand

Posted by Joel on FOREM, the best real estate video ever. Oddly, I agree. There’s something fashionable about the the good, the bad and the ugly parts of truth. And compelling.

I like this advice as it applies to any brokerage looking to expand or create video content about their marketplace and want to create and/or increase the amount of views you get. This video offers a stack of things your marketing department can do to drive up your traffic on YouTube, which as you all know is the second largest search engine in the world.

“They don’t watch TV as much, they are not reading magazines as much, but instead they check Facebook, Twitter … where people are really drawn together over parenting issues,” said Baby Center’s editor-in-chief Linda Murray in this article titled Where The Mothers Are – The Internet published on Times Live. With all the talk regarding the amount of Gen Y on the Web, let’s not forget that’s where the boomers are flocking too as well.

From Askmen.com – tips on public speaking. I read these and thought of Irish Springs soap. You remember, strong enough for a man but I plan on using these tips too.

From years of observation, it is clear that phases in the real estate market can be tracked by changes in inventory levels, home prices and number of homes sold (sides) year-over-year. The ‘initial phase’ of a real estate recovery is indicated when three essential trends emerge.

• Inventory levels begin to fall, implying an initial increase in consumer demand
• Prices still have downward pressure as foreclosed and other lower-priced inventory sell first
• Sides flatten and even increase, as consumer confidence returns and more homes sell

With this information in view, please note the table below showing closed sales and average price in September and August 2009 vs. one year ago. You will observe that closed sales mostly flattened in August and increased in September year-over-year in all regions except the Midwest, while home prices showed some stabilization. It is important to note, however, that three of four regions in the U.S. actually experienced a year-over-year increase in closed sides during September.

Experts expect continued improvement through 2010

Based on a survey released by the National Association for Business Economics, home prices are expected to rise by 2 percent next year and 80+ percent of the economists surveyed by the NABE think the recession is over and recovery has begun. However, economists do warn that expansion will be gradual due to persistent unemployment. Additionally, sales of existing homes will rise by 11 percent in 2010, [Source: Associated Press, Alex Veiga (10/13/2009)] and Jay Brinkmann, Chief Economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association, recently predicted that sales of new homes will climb by a strong 21 percent in the new year. Finally, mortgage rates are expected to rise to 5.6 percent (low by historic measures) by the end of 2010, yet mortgage applications are still expected to increase by 12 percent [Source: Associated Press, Mae Anderson (10/12/2009)].

What can real estate professionals do to prepare?

All in all, the picture is clear. Recovery is upon us and the time to prepare ourselves for a stronger real estate market has arrived.  So what exactly can real estate professionals do in order to put themselves in the best position for success? Below are just a few suggestions to get the thought process going.

• Your confidence level is a self fulfilling prophecy – Keep in mind that market confidence is brought about largely by professionals bringing timely and accurate information to consumers. Your clients need your good guidance in order to navigate these positively changing waters.
• Consumer confidence doesn’t change overnight – Remember to be patient with one another. After all, we have truly been ‘through the mill’ over the last few years and changing consumer attitudes takes time. It is also true, however, that consumer awareness of trends often lags behind market realities, so some guidance now can help them make timelier and more cost effective decisions.
• Get more than one “no” from a mortgage company – Underwriting rules have tightened causing some mortgage applications to be denied. But nothing is preventing a determined buyer from seeking another opinion on their credit-worthiness. So don’t give up!
• If a property doesn’t appraise, look to get a second appraisal – In markets like the present one, banks and appraisers sometimes over react to the downside. Real estate professionals and consumers alike should therefore not hesitate to ask “why didn’t this appraise?” Open communication is the key here.
• Don’t hesitate to write offers – Resist getting tied up by traditional thinking and just make the offer! It’s kind of like baseball… once the ball is in play, anything can happen.
  
• “Do something today (that you did not do yesterday) to enhance your tomorrow” [Dominic Sacci, GM Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins and Associates] – This statement sums things up beautifully. Positive change is the key and we should all expect business techniques to keep evolving. So get comfortable with change, embrace the new and watch the magic happen.

Here’s to your success!

Brokers, you wake up and realize you are behind the social media marketing eight ball. You scramble to amass a social media marketing strategy. After all, everybody is talking about it as if it’s super easy. We know better. And while many have risen to become social media celebrities, financial success eludes them. I Media Connection published 10 ways marketers waste their time – a worthwhile insight into the mistakes many of us made that others can learn from.

There are some people just worth watching. Such as Twitter creator Jack Dorsey. So what’s he up to? Mashable offered some hints and it has smart phone written all over it. That should be of interest to pretty much everyone.

Sarah Palin’s reference to the average Joe will soon seem moot as Ad Age reports on the 2010 census and finds that the average American has been replaced by a “complex multidimensional society that defies simplistic labeling.” How in the world do we market our services to that demographic? Read more in the post titled: New U.S. Census to Reveal Major Shift: No More Joe Consumer .

Is your business using social media tools in interesting new ways? From Reporternews.com, some examples of how big business are using social media to connect with consumers that include Whole Foods and Dell.

When it comes to repositioning and modernizing your brand, nothing is sacred. Not even your logo. A logo revamp could go sideways or it can open you up to a whole new world of opportunities. Either way, the decision to perform an identity makeover has risks. Graphic Design Blog gives us a collection of 25 logos, from Master Card to Firefox, that underwent change in 2009.

You may have noticed this hashtag a lot over the weekend. It was the highest trending topic on Twitter. And that’s because a group of very clever people demonstrated the power of social media for social good.

The goal was to set a Guinness World Book record for the largest social mass media message distributed in a 24-hour period. And the goal was achieved!

The masterminds behind this mission were Tamara Knechtel from Everywhere, an Atlanta based social media company and CNN anchor Don Lemon. They came up with the idea over a casual conversation.

Don Lemon launched the concept at the Blog World/New Media Expo in Las Vegas on Friday. Attendees of the conference and people all over the Internet were asked to send Tweets, issue Facebook status updates and blog using #BeatCancer in their posts. And that’s exactly what they did.

EBay, PayPal and Miller Lite were major sponsors of the initiative and agreed to donate 1 cent for every Tweet, blog post or Facebook update during the 24-hour period. All money raised will be donated to non-profit cancer organizations. The social web jumped on board and over 208,000 mentions happened in a 24 hour period.

This is an amazing example of the power of social media. The ability to pull thousands of people together across the world with a single focus is inspiring.

There are many examples of that use the notion of 4 C’s of social media. #beatcancer demonstrates how social media can be used to :

• Connect. Every person involved felt an instant connection to one another and to the cause.
• Community. People not only at BlogWorld but literally all over the world instantly jumped on board to support.
• Conversation. The dialog extended beyond the new media realm into the traditional media sphere. With CNN featuring the event.
• Care. People engaged and cared about the outcome of this new media experiment and the positive impact it will have for those impacted by cancer.

The new media tools we all have access to can be used to make a difference. #beatcancer is a Guinness World Book record holding example of how new media has given us all an expaned playing field to use. Let’s not waste it.

Social media has now permeated much of our lives. You can’t escape it. CNN references Twitter streams on a daily basis, YouTube is the second most used search engine with over 100,000,000 videos and the 55 and older female crowd are in a Facebook frenzy. I’m not much for rules regarding social media. I lean more toward accepted practices versus those that have proven to not yield any results. Like these things The Oatmeal believes we all need to stop tweeting about.

No wonder a room full of designers sat nervously while Marissa Mayer gave her presentation at AIGA’s national conference in Atlanta last weekend.  Marissa is the guardian of Google’s home page. He presentation was on design. And the data the supports Google design decisions. But must data drive every decision? At what point does creativity and inspiration factor into the mix. Read more from Fast Company here

From SearchEngineLand.com 8 Tips for Getting Your Facebook Fan Page Found in Facebook Search.

Calculated Risk delves into the uncertainty of the housing market and attempts to provide a an outlook which at the end of the report provides us with a very uncertain outlook. They cleverly titled their post The Uncertain Housing Outlook. All kidding aside their overview is filled with good facts that provide any real estate pro good sound bytes and facts when presenting their outlook to buyers and sellers.

As Joel explains, in this post “Augmented Reality (AR) is definitely one of the hot new mobile technologies right now.” The possibilities for search and decision support for real estate are now expanding as a result. Brokers, smartphone technology is the next frontier for real estate. Set budget for some R&D here. This is a chance to ride the front of a very cool, new wave in technology and consumer engagement.

As the business continues to change and consumers demand a different type of interaction between themselves and the real estate professional the techniques and responsibilities of lead generation will also continue to evolve.

Seth Godin recently predicted that by 2011, 90% of all sales would be sourced from word of mouth and online promotion.

• What does the future of online lead generation in real estate look like?
• Who should be responsible for generating online leads: the broker, the agent or both?
• Should the next generation brokerage consider directing more attention to generating online leads for their agents? After all, when you ask agents what they want from their broker isn’t leads near the top of the list?
• Should broker/owners offer and manage robust lead management and follow up systems on their agent’s behalf? It is likely that consumers will research for longer periods of time before making the buying or selling decision so offering value during that long term relationship will be important.
• Is there enough trust between broker/owners and agents to allow these types of systems to work?
• Do real estate professionals (whether broker/owner or agent) have the expertise required to execute effectively online?

We are presently seeing examples of brokerages across the country that are surviving and even thriving on broker driven online lead generation models. These companies have taken on the responsibility of generating online leads for their agents. In return, they hold their agents accountable for response time, customer service and follow up. This is a fundamental shift in how most brokerages are operating today.

You might argue that the party who has the ability to generate the most qualified leads has the biggest advantage with the gen web consumer. One thing is certain, online promotion that turns to lead generation will be a huge part of our industry in the years to come.

As for word of mouth lead generation, you’d be hard pressed to hear a real estate speaker today who doesn’t somewhere in their training or presentation throw out the term “back to basics.” These basics of prospecting, follow up, customer service and relationship building are all important components that result in that word of mouth business. The tools and methods may have changed with the introduction of the Internet, but the concepts are still the same. Make connections with people who know, like and trust you. These people will then become advocates for you.

Combining tech and touch in lead generation will prove to a winning combination. 2011 is not that far away, will Seth be right?

The U.S. economy appears  to be on the road to recovery. Yet mortgage delinquencies continue to rise holding back any relative upbeat assessment since foreclosures keep the value  of nearby properties down while eroding the net worth of homeowners and the tax base for communities nationwide.

The Center for Responsible Lending says foreclosures are on track to wipe out $502 billion in property values this year. Its important we understand this and continue to maintain a level head as the media begins to go from one end of the sensationalistic news coverage (bad) to the other. Read more here on Reuters

Brian Boero of 1000watt lays down the logic gavel down in this brilliantly entertaining post about how social media seems to have been tailor made for real estate. Yet it appears that our industry hasn’t gotten it right yet as the echo chamber is louder and more more bizarre everyday.

From the Today Show, correspondent and real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran names her top ten places in the nation to buy a home. Sarasota came in at #1. Given how hard and how early in the downtown Florida was hit, we’re glad to see that things are picking up there and elsewhere. Who knows what this means for the long term but right now, a little good news is goes a long way.

On FOREM this week, a special guest perspective from Homefinder CEO Tim Fagan takes us on a well written journey through the past, present and future of real estate advertising in this post titled: It’s time to simplify real estate advertising

Generally speaking, weekly sales meetings were the norm in the archetypal 1990’s real estate office. These meetings typically consisted of some sort of information sharing and often ended with a tour of newly listed properties. Soon these meetings stretched out to biweekly. In some cases they just became new listing tours. Then biweekly became monthly. Office tours became MLS tours. Now, these meetings exist as quarterly, if not semi-annual or annual occasions. Busy independent contractors were just not interested in attending the weekly meeting.

Company leadership should take the blame for the demise of the sales meeting. Why would agents continue to show up for meetings that were typically unorganized and uninformative? The office manager was unprepared and ill equipped to offer value in exchange for the time invested by the agent to attend.

We are in a business culture over saturated with meetings, so I’m not advocating for the weekly sales meeting. But in its day, it was at the very least, an effective way for an office manager to see a good portion of their agents on a regular basis.

The demise of the meeting raises an interesting dilemma. How do you build culture and atmosphere with people integral to the company who rarely appear in the same place, at the same time for events built to cultivate culture and synergy? With everyone doing their own thing, how do you foster interaction and build rapport with your agents?

Regardless of the type of business model you choose, next generation real estate brokerages will have to face and solve this challenge. To begin, it might be helpful to understand what the agents in your company expect, want and would find most meaningful to their businesses. It will be important to focus on harnessing the strengths of every agent in your company and not trying to make your relationship with your agents fit into a one size fits all box. But lastly, it will be critical to find ways to engage your agents to contribute to your brand in new ways, using new tools born out of the social networking paradigm to create and instill a sense of placement within what might be considered your particular corporate social environment.

A mixture of online interaction utilizing social media, wikis, chat, email communication, video conferencing, WebEx, and office blogs may all serve to replace the physical get togethers that are fast becoming part of our past. Granted, in person meetings still reign supreme and should play a growing role in the sales meeting of the future. But I submit that these new ways might do wonders in helping create a culture that could inevitably look forward to the in-person meetings.

The next generation office manager will absolutely need to adopt the right mixture of communication and social interaction vehicles to extend the sense of company value back to their agents. Without this, they will not have an effective way of building culture and environment in their company. This leadership or lack thereof will separate the success stories from the failures.

Are you experiencing a real estate generation gap in your business and if so what is its impact on your agents and their productivity?

As a professional real estate trainer for nearly 25 years, I have the opportunity to come face to face with agents across the spectrum of professionals in our industry – an industry that has become largely diverse in both agent population and its approach to networking, productivity and long-term relationships.

As we look toward the future of our industry and the future professionals, we see promising, young and perhaps, virtual agents using the latest and greatest advanced methods of communications for inquiry generation and production (e.g. video, blogs, social networks, etc.). Yet, when we examine our current agent population, we have a majority of veteran professionals with ten or more years of tenure, production, and relationships that were built on handshakes, face to face conversations, and handwritten notes.

In fact, according to the NAR 2009 REALTOR® Technology Survey, a total of 16% of the respondents were between the ages of 25 and 35, collectively 33% were between 36 and 45, 41% between 46 and 55; and 34% of respondents accounted for agents 56 years and older.

And where the survey notes the ages of respondents, there is no correlation made between age and use of technology in networking and building business.

Further examination of the survey clearly indicates a combination of networking techniques is still needed for success. This brings several questions to mind:

1. To what degree does each form of networking contribute to a REALTOR®’s success?
2. How do we move our echo boomers, a generation raised on technological communication and hungry to tap into the benefits of the independent contractor status, toward reaping the benefits of one-on-one communication?
3. How do we coach our baby boomer population toward proficiency in the use of tools that are instrumental in our business today?

Clearly the real estate industry today indicates that we have migrated to a hybrid model that can be as volatile as it can be rewarding. Here are a few suggestions to produce a harmonious group:

• Poll your agents to determine their level of knowledge, expertise, and use of networking and inquiry generation methods.
• Provide training in all areas of inquiry generation and business building.
• Coach agents one-on-one to develop personally.
• Buddy agents for peer training and learning.

How are you bridging the generation gap in your office?