Austin's Blog

  Ever wonder what all those abbreviations mean behind a real estate professional’s signature?  We did too, which is why for the past year we have collected all designations and their definitions/criteria that have come across our radar.  We call this list “Alphabet Soup”. The list below may be u...

Home buyers in North Carolina will soon be able to receive for-sale home pricing information, and photos, sent directly to their phone using text messaging (SMS) thanks to Goomzee. The Wilmington Regional Association of REALTORS® recently joined the growing number of REALTOR® associations, multip...

A little bird fluttering about the office last week told me of a tantalizing opportunity for my 401(k).  For those of you in the dark, a 401(k) is a retirement savings portfolio and can be used to facilitate investments.  You may hear experts refer to it as a “four-oh wunk”; don’t be alarmed, thi...

“A 2% reduction in negative word of mouth boosts sales growth by 1%” London School of Economics and Political Science, “Advocacy Drives Growth” Study   If you are an active participant in today’s social media circles, you NEED to be monitoring and managing your reputation.  I’m not talking about ...

Missoula MT Sept 8, 2009 - Agreements with Intermountain MLS of Boise and Northwest Montana Association of REALTORs in Kalispell, plus two others, continue to grow Goomzee’s nationwide footprint.  Goomzee®, a leading text message marketing and lead generation provider that connects buyers and sel...

Missoula, MT - August 25, 2009 – Goomzee, a leading provider of text-message marketing solutions for real estate professionals, announced today one of its latest innovations for marketing professionals, drag and drop photo organizing.  This functionality is available within its web-based campaign...

As you may know, the holdings of Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions have recently been re-branded as LPS Real Estate Group.  Some individuals in the industry instantly labeled the move as a “Fire Sale”, but in reality the situation is really nothing more than a simple name change.  Well, may...

Everyone knows the importance of having ‘hyperlocal’ content on your blog, but how many people, I wonder, recognize the importance of being ‘hyperpersonal’?  Last week I was tasked to uncover some hyperlocal blogs in our current clients’ markets.  Most ‘experts’ will say the best way to get on an...

Last week’s team meeting produced an interesting tale of ‘overpricing woe’.  The parents of one of my associates listed their house in mid-2006 at $590,000.  The inaccurate list price was determined by their real estate agent, and the property sat on market for nearly 2 years, suffering a price d...

I am in no position to stand on a soapbox and preach a “How To” on revitalizing the real estate market. I can however let you in on today’s most un-secretive, yet still ambiguous headline that stands to be one of your greatest selling tools for 2009: The $8,000 First-Time Home Buyer’s Tax Credit....