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Each year, the Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council (REBAC) conducts a survey to gauge member satisfaction and stay ahead of the current tips and trends related to buyer representation. This year’s survey showed us that from text messaging to mobile websites, today’s agents are incorporating the latest technology to reach ...

The emphasis on video production quality has never been greater. High def and even 3D now bring incredible quality and detail into our viewing experience. But if you think picture quality trumps all, you have a very short memory. ...

Sometimes global opportunity lies where people least realize—not in large, urban markets known for being magnets to multinational organizations and immigrant communities—but in small metro and rural regions. It might not be immediately apparent, but numerous international opportunities may exist in your own market. Taking a closer look at your state and region could reveal a treasure trove of global business. Knowing the right places to dig is the key.

Sales of newly built, single-family homes held virtually unchanged in July with a 0.7 percent dip from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 298,000 units, according to newly released data from the U.S.

The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties increased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 8.44 percent of all loans outstanding as of the end of the second quarter of 2011. This is an increase

What are the critical factors that contribute to the retention of top producing salespeople? Why are some sales managers able to consistently recruit and retain quality salespeople, while other managers have a revolving door? Excessive personnel turnover is not only unhealthy for the morale of a sales force, but it is also costly in terms of time and money. Perhaps less obvious, but just as detrimental, is the negative impact excessive turnover has on eroding customer confidence and loyalty.

This week’s headlines from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® include: a free guide for marketing to mobile consumers, get the facts on the Ifbyphone advantage, and homeownership tax benefits must be preserved.

Recently, I wrote about homeownership being under attack. Since that article, NAR and a broad range of industry partners have taken a multitude of actions to defend the American Dream. Housing has led the economy out of six of the last eight recessions. The weakness in housing is probably a significant factor in the lack of zest to what is being called an economic recovery. It just makes no sense to attack homeownership further. At a recent meeting, NAR President Ron Phipps made an excellent observation with regard to the mortgage finance system.

According to NAR’s 2010 “Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers,” almost 50% of buyers used open houses as a key part of their home search.

We all know the NAR stats: • 87% of consumers start their search online, yet 48% of Internet leads are not responded to • 90% of consumers would use the same agent again, but only 11% do • Add these, and other equally dismaying stats, to the ability for consumers to access information without our involvement, and then mix in our industry’s reputation for less than stellar professionalism, and you come to an undeniable conclusion: to be successful in the future, you will either have to compete on price or you will have to deliver an incredible consumer experience.

(EMC)—While website performance is usually the purview of IT, marketing plays a major role in how fast a site loads. All the great online campaigns and social media plug-ins marketers put on their sites come at a price—each one contributes to slower site

Take a moment and try something. Fire up your Web browser and bring up Google. I am sure we can all agree that Google is like a window into the universe—if something exists, like pink polka-dotted frogs, it will show up when we search for it there. So what happens when we search for “real estate?” Not surprisingly, our industry shows up in force. A half-dozen national real estate firms: RE/MAX, Coldwell Banker, Keller Williams, Century 21, Prudential, ERA, Zip, BH&G and ERA. Also, a half-dozen national real estate websites: REALTOR.com®, Zillow, Trulia, RealEstate.com, etc. Everyone you would expect, since they have spent enormous energy, brain power and dollars to make sure their SEO is in tip-top shape.

(EMC)—Lifecycle messaging is a hot topic of conversation these days. It meets the fundamental needs of email marketers to be timely, relevant and efficient. However, many are deterred by the undertaking due to a commonly held belief that it will be

Did you know that every successful professional has one thing in common? They all possess a strong level of emotional resilience. Were they born with it? No. In most cases they learned it as a skill necessary for survival in business. What is emotional resilience? It is the ability to quickly return to a state of poise, confidence and ease no matter what curves are thrown your way. Here are seven steps to gaining emotional resilience: 1. Have a high level of belief in yourself:

According to the 2010 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, for the last three years, about 90% of home buyers used the Internet in their home search. And while the survey suggests that buyers may begin their home search independently, many turn to the Internet to find a qualified agent to help them with the process. It makes sense then, that agents that are finding the most success in today’s market are those that are taking a proactive approach to managing their reputation online.