2015 Marketing Tips for Real Estate Agents

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If you are a real estate agent looking for marketing ideas, there a few ideas you should take into consideration for 2015. For starters, always put your customers first. Humanize your business as much as possible and find ways to automate as many things as possible.

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You’ll want to focus on retaining your current customers rather than spending money finding new ones. Here are a few marketing ideas for 2015 to help you grow your business:

1.  Make your website mobile friendly. While on the go, you should be posting on your website and on your social media profiles. You’ll need to make sure your emails are designed for all devices and all screen sizes as well. This way nothing interferes with your customers’ user experiences. This will create a positive business experience for your customer base.

2.  Work on automating your content marketing and content sourcing. You’ll want to craft interesting email newsletters for your customer base, but finding content can take time you might not have.  To find content for newsletters you can take advantage of sites like Scripted and Contently. These sites will put you in touch with freelance writers who will supplement writing for you.

3.  Take advantage of posting on Facebook. Boosting your Facebook posts on your company page and putting money behind these posts will guarantee you get exposure on them.

4.  Transform your email tactics. The content you are sending out needs to be personal and informative. You need to focus your content marketing strategy around helping your customers rather than trying to sell to them.

5. Expand your email list. You should keep up with past clients by sending them emails. In any situation, try to snag new emails in order to expand your client base. More emails equals a larger audience for your newsletters and will result in finding more potential customers.

 

 

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Rookie Homebuying mistakes|Giro Katsimbrakis

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You might have just realized you are ready to buy a home. That’s great, but don’t rush into purchasing the first thing you find. Follow these tips in order to ensure you make the right buying decision without rushing into a hasty or careless purchase.

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Avoid falling in love with a house. You might be tempted to walk into  well decorated home and immediately become attracted to it. But look below the surface and figure out if the home is worth the price and if it actually has everything you are looking for- beyond the pretty set up. If it is the right home for you, fall in love with it once you start paying.

Do not skip the home inspection. This is key. This will keep you from having to deal with home nightmares later on. Make sure to get a thorough and adequate inspection before buying any home.

Don’t overlook the hidden costs of home buying. Work with your realtor to get a pre-purchasing total cost estimate, so you know exactly what you are paying and there are zero surprises.

Avoid making those verbal agreements and definitely do no trust one. Sign all the necessary documents in order to make everything clear and set in stone.

Try not to allow your realtor to over influence you. Decide based on what you want, and don’t depend on solely your realtor’s opinion.

Don’t put off getting a pre-approved loan. Do this ahead of time and ensure you are prepared to buy with your loan in place.

Make sure you don’t make the mistake of not knowing the market trends happening around the time you are looking to buy. Bid according to what’s happening in the market.

Don’t forget to budget for those monthly mortgage payments that will be coming your way. Buying a home is a big step in your life, so you want to be sure to be adequately prepared to take the plunge!

Finding a Home for Multifamily Real Estate

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Giro Katsimbrakis Multifamily Real Estate

According to an article recently completed by Globe St, multi-family dwellings continue to be a popular piece of property amongst consumers.  The trend can be measured by looking in detail at real estate markets in major metros across the country.  According to Marcus & Millichap, in Atlanta, metro-wide vacancy has improved nearly five hundred basis points since 2009; this has brought the statistic to just shy of five percent.  In addition, vacancy in Miami sits at three and a half percent, whereas the same figure for Orlando has hit six percent.  This indicates that not only is multifamily real estate a strong trend nationwide, but it is also particularly popular in the southeast region of the United States.

Specifically, Kevin Finkel, executive vice president of Resource Real Estate, which focuses on the multifamily sector across 21 states, has studied the market’s growth in class B and C apartments.  B and C apartments are considered the home of the workforce, with rents typically amounting to around one thousand two hundred dollars per month.  For both of these class apartments, rent growth is strong in the southeast, especially in communities specifically tailored towards the workforce.  Overall, rent growth for class A apartments is slowing a bit.  Class A apartments tend to be more expensive per month, and are often not thought of as addressing those who consider themselves a part of the workforce.
However, Finkel says that this is not an item of concern for him; he believes that the multifamily consumer audience continues to develop.  The issue becomes a primary concern of construction, as the vast majority of new apartment construction is geared towards urban and high-end dwellings.  Typically, these are classified as Class A-plus, with rents averaging at or above two thousand dollars a month.  As a result, it is clear these new projects are not being created with the workforce in mind.  Essentially, those families buying apartments aren’t offered a supply that they can truly afford; there is a disconnect between the demand and the supply.  Finkel believes that real estate firms that are willing to invest in Class B and C multifamily dwellings could find a significant opportunity.

Some firms are already pulling on this opportunity, particularly in the southeast.  The Related Group has particularly sought to pursue this trend, starting four multifamily projects in South Florida in the last thirty days.  In addition to this, affordable housing developers are targeting Miami, the nation’s least affordable major city, according to the Center for Housing Policy.

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Investors Seek Multifamily Properties in NYC

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According to the New York Daily News, many investors in the Manhattan area have their eyes on multifamily properties in Washington Heights. There are three properties in the Heights, one near Amsterdam Avenue and two additional properties near St. Nicholas Avenue. In total these properties sold for an estimated $10 million dollars, which reflects the investors interest in particularly the Washington Heights area.

Across the country, investors are on track to invest more money in multifamily properties than ever before which is impressive because this year’s real estate investment continue to meet peak levels. In just the beginning of 2014 (the first 3 quarters to be exact), investors have spent 73.5 billion on apartment properties.

Certain cities and regions are experiencing peaks in real estate sales including Philadelphia, Orange County and Portland. Each of the places has doubled their volume at this point in the year in comparison to where they were last year.

Overall, it appears that investments in multifamily housing is on the rise and that the year of 2014 continues to see consistent sales rises.

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Decline in US Housing Market In August Affects Multi-Family Housing

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Decline in US Housing Market In August Affects Multi-Family Housing

During August, we began to see the housing market beginning to slump again after it was at the highest peak its been since the past seven years. This presented a slight setback for multifamily housing and current, ongoing projects. Although in July, the multi-family housing market rose 44.9 percent, by August it fell 31.7 percent according to a recent Bloomberg article.

In the current economy, many families, couples and singles have chosen renting is safer than buying property due to the slow pace of wage growth as well as the difficulty of qualifying for a mortgage. For this reason, builders have focused on developing more multi-family units and structures. During the past year, we have seen more multi-family units being built than we have seen since 2006. This has obviously led to many calling the last 12 months a multi-family housing recovery period.

The debt burden, a product of the recession, has led to numerous Americans choosing not to invest in home ownership, feeling renting is a better option until the economy fully recovers. On a different note, a recent study shows that less Americans are having to file for unemployment benefits, signifying that the job market is continuing to steadily improve.

Builders are constructing fewer single-family homes. Another report reveals that there are less construction permits for homes and for future projects. All four regions of the United States revealed that less groundbreakings were taking place. Fortunately for Americans, the cheap borrowing costs will help them put money down on a home or a piece of property.

The improving job and labor market is overall assisting Americans afford homes. According to the Labor Department’s numbers, the economy has gained around 215,000 jobs every month through August. This is a rise from the average 194,000 jobs from last year. The unemployment rate has also dropped from 6.6 percent to 6.1 percent.

Although the economy seems to be adding new jobs, Americans are still unpleased about their lack of wage earnings. They are seeing more jobs created, but they aren’t seeing their wages being increased. Without increases in wages, many Americans will continue renting over buying because currently it seems to be the safer financial option.

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7 Homes Worth More Than 20M Across the Globe

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Believe it or not, across the globe, there are numerous properties that cost more than twenty five million dollars. You’ll find these homes throughout the world including in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Portugal, Spain, the United States.

Australia

Located in Vauclose, this waterfront property features a pool, a tennis court, and a slipway and jetty. Price: 27.7 million

This home also has:

  • 7 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms
  • a glorious view of Sydney Harbour
  • contemporary architecture and design
  • terraces, verandas and balconies

Belgium

Located in Gestel-Berlaar, this home, also known as a type of castle, includes a massive living area and sites on a huge plot of land of over 41 acres. The castle was built during the sixteenth century in the Neo-FLemish Renaissance and Neo-Baroque style. The castle is also located near major cities like Antwerp and Brussels. Price: 27.7 million

The castle also possesses:

  • 8 bedrooms and 8 baths
  • gatehouse
  • the little castle
  • former bakery
  • farm complex
  • swimming pool
  • stables

Canada

Located in Montreal, the home has a beautiful exterior which matches its gorgeous interior. The mansion consists of a stone exterior and beautiful water views. Price: 23.2 million

It also features:

  • 6 bedrooms and 6 baths
  • a private island
  • private gated entrance
  • private gated bridge
  • pool house and in-ground pool

France

Located in Cote D’Azur, this home, known as a manor home, is located only 15 minutes from Nice. Price: 23.5 million

The manor house offers:

  • 1200 sqm
  • completely renovated interior and exterior
  • triple living room on the ground floor
  • home cinema
  • wine cellar
  • huge pool house
  • tennis court
  • 14 car garage

Portugal 

Located in Lisboa, this estate in Portugal boats a spacious interior with 10 bedrooms- built in the beginning of the twentieth century. Price: 24.9 million

Other features:

  • 10 bedrooms
  • surrounded by many city gardens
  • 8500 sqm plot size
  • three stories of rooms to live in
  • private gardens

Spain

This home in beautiful Ibiza is 10, 549 square feet with endless ocean views. Price: 24.9 million

The ocean front home has:

  • infinity pool
  • three levels of outdoor porches
  • private sea access
  • old light house
  • tennis court
  • staff quarters

United States 

Located in New York, specifically in Greenwich Village, NYC, this is one of Manhattan’s best mansions downtown.

The mansion has:

  • constructed of brick
  • pre-war construction
  • balconies
  • front garden
  • view of the World Trade Center

 

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