Tag Archives: Pound Ridge

Pound Ridge

Home builders buck market trend on Wall Street | Pound Ridge Real Estate

Leave a reply

According to MarketWatch:
Hovnanian Enterprises ($6.04 -0.06%) shares rose 2.7% after the Commerce Department said that sales of new homes rose 2.3% to 454,000 in April, the second highest post-recession level, on pent-up demand and low interest rates.
Toll Brothers ($36.75 -0.85%) closed up 1.4%, Lennar Corp. ($42.79 -0.61%) gained 2.6%, KB Home ($23.11 -0.29%) added 1.6% and Ryland Group ($48.46 0.36%) advanced 1.1%.
To see the full analysis by MarketWatch, click here.

 

 

Home builders buck market trend on Wall Street | HousingWire.

Hold Your Email Recipients Accountable | Pound Ridge Realtor

Leave a reply

Have you ever received an internet lead that only provided an email address?  You were diligent in responding quickly to this lead, and sent them a detailed emailed response

providing them with all the details they requested and a nice call to action to engage them.  Sometimes after you send that important follow up email, you mentally block that activity out of your mind and push it into the archives of your brain.  The problem is your leads can slip through the cracks without a gentle reminder, informing you if that person responded.

Yesware, a free(ish) email tool, just released a new update that will help you with all of your non-responders.  Draft an email, hit the reminder button and set a time.  It is that simple!

Watch the video below to get a quick 1 minute overview on how it works!

 

 

 

http://techsavvyagent.com

Agents More Bullish on Prices than Sales | Pound Ridge Real Estate

Leave a reply

Real estate professionals are more optimistic that prices will increase this year than they were last year, but they’re less enthusiastic about the outlook for sales increases in 2013 than they were in 2012.

For 2013, 84 percent of surveyed real estate professionals believe that real estate values and the number of transactions will increase this year over 2012. Whereas in 2012, one-third of real estate markets were forecasted to see valuation declines, no single market is expected to see a decline in valuations or transactions in 2013, according to a survey of more than 2,400 real estate professionals, all members of ActiveRain, the real estate industry’s largest social media network.

Some 28 percent more participants in the survey this year than last year expect values to improve and 21 percent more expect housing starts to increase. However, only 11 percent more expect the number of real estate transactions to grow and 12 percent ,more anticipate improvement in their local economies.

“The differences in how real estate professionals are seeing the market in the past 12 months is significant,” said Nikesh Parekh, CEO of ActiveRain. “Confidence in the real estate market has increased by 28 percent, and a rebound in both housing and construction this year is a great sign for the economy.”

A similar survey in early 2012 correctly predicted the bottom of the US real estate market, as the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) showed a 9 percent jump in existing-home sales over the previous year.

via realestateeconomywatch.com

‘Mysterious architecture’ creates drama, suspense | Pound Ridge Real Estate

Leave a reply

How many of us, as kids, could resist the temptation to climb the stairs in a strange house to see what was “up there”? Now that we’re grown, we suppress these kinds of urges for the sake of propriety, but they still exist in our subconscious minds, and can be drawn upon quite subtly by a clever designer.

In architecture, spaces that draw on the human sense of curiosity are said to have mystery — they foster the creation of drama or suspense by alluding to architectural spaces or features while keeping them partially concealed.

Mystery can subtly entice us toward a particular space. Let’s suppose there are two hollow 8-foot-square cubes about 10 feet away from you. The front of one is open, so that the interior is completely visible. The front of the other has only a 2-foot-square aperture at the center, so that the interior is largely concealed. Which cube will attract you more?

Most people will approach the enclosed cube precisely because they can’t see what’s inside. Likewise, an architectural space that’s immediately comprehensible presents little challenge to the mind — it simply isn’t as interesting as a space that keeps us guessing. And although entertainment is not a designer’s primary charge, an intriguing space is inevitably more memorable than one that simply functions.

via inman.com

3 Lessons for Bloggers, Gangnam Style | Pound Ridge Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

The PSY Gangnam Style video: you watched it … but missed some key points about blogging.

That’s right, blogging. As bloggers, we can learn extremely useful lessons from things that are unrelated to our topic.

Yesterday, I listened to the song. Replayed it, and replayed it again. I kept listening to the song for around half an hour.

Why did I keep listening to the song? Was there a marketing trick hidden in it?

I did some research and discovered three aspects of Gangnam Style which can be applied to your blog.

1. Innovate

Innovation was a major reason for my addiction to the song.

I’d never seen anyone getting inspiration from horse-back riders, and turn it into a dance move. That move is completely new, and people love new.

Look at your blog. Look at your competition. Is there a difference between you? When you are the same as others, how can you stand out of the crowd?

Innovation takes effort, but it doesn’t need to be difficult. Focus on doing something extra that can be loved by your readers. Yes, you will have to think hard, but if your mind is caught by the right idea, you will be on fire like Gangnam style…

2. Never take anything as insignificant, even if it’s small

Another big cause of Gangnam Style’s popularity is Gangnam itself. Gangnam is a city in Korea which is not big. People never proclaim that they are from there. But now, everybody wants to be from Gangnam, and to have Gangnam Style. It’s a case of the small thing gone big.

Most of the bloggers follow the big trends that are mostly created by the top blogs in their niche. Yes, those topics might be trending, but there is problem: everyone is writing about the same topic, so it’s difficult to get attention by writing on it.

If you start writing about something else that is given little importance, you have the chance to create a new trend in your industry. This also leads back to innovation. The more innovative your idea is, the better your chances are that it will go viral.

3. Inspire the influencers

PSY was not a big pop star before. The thing that took him to that position was the fact that he inspired the influencers in the music world, who spread it all over social media.

You made an innovation. You’ve spent time thinking about it and developing it, but now you’re wasting that effort by keeping it limited to your blog only. Step outside your blog! Tell the big names in your niche. They might like it and tell their audience, too.

In a nutshell: you can learn a lot of things from the famous song Gangnam Style including the importance of innovation, never under-estimating the power of small things, and the potential to inspire the influencers in your niche.

Tell me now. Have you learned anything from Gangnam Style?

 

via problogger.net

 

About 43% of Americans expect home prices to rise | Pound Ridge NY Real Estate

Leave a reply

The share of surveyed Americans who believe home prices will tick up in the next year reached the highest level to-date, at 43%, up 6 percentage points from November, according to Fannie Mae‘s December National Housing Survey results.

The Fannie Mae National Housing Survey polled 1,002 Americans to assess their attitudes toward owning and renting a home, mortgage rates, homeownership distress, the economy, household finances and overall consumer confidence.

Consumer confidence in the housing industry continued its upswing as home prices, rental prices and mortgage rate expectations increased in November.

Thus, the growing confidence that housing indicators will continue well into 2013 is expected to boost home price activity during the year.

“Combined with consumers’ growing mortgage rate and rental price increase expectations, the positive home price outlook could incentivize those waiting on the sidelines of the housing market to buy a home sooner rather than later and thus support continued housing acceleration,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist of Fannie Mae.

The average 12-month home price change expectation rose to 2.6%, the highest level since the survey’s inception in 2010.

The percentage of those surveyed that believe mortgage rates will rise continued to increase, rising 2 percentage points to 43%, the highest level recorded since August 2011.

About 21% of respondents suggest it’s a good time to sell, down two percentage points from last month’s record high. However, this is still a 10-percentage point increase year-over-year.

The 12-month rental price expectation hit the highest level since the survey’s inception in 2010, at 4.4%, up 0.4% from last month.

About 49% of those surveyed said home rental prices will go up in the next year. Also, the share of respondents who said they would buy if they were to move declined slightly to 66%.

However, consumer outlook toward the economy and personal finances due to the fiscal cliff and debt ceiling caused volatility in perceptions of the larger economy.

“This uncertainty seems to be prompting a growing share of consumers to expect their personal finances to worsen and may contribute to weaker near-term economic growth,” Duncan said.

Those who expect their personal finances to worsen over the next year increased to 20%, the highest level since August 2011.

About 37% reported higher household expenses compared to last year, a 3-percentage point increase from last month and the highest level since December 2011.

via housingwire.com

Mortgage Rates Seen Staying Below Four Percent | Pound Ridge Homes

Leave a reply

Though a number of critical questions face the US economy, from the unfinished business in Washington like the debt limit and spending cuts to lackluster growth, the outlook for mortgage rates is relatively predictable and not very exciting.

Rates will stay low, below 4 percent on a thirty-year fixed mortgage, predicts Bankrate.com senior financial analyst Greg McBride.  Even the prospect that Congress might finally act on reforming the GSEs does not deter him from his view that the Fed will not abandon QE3 in light of the fragility of both the national economy and housing economies.

With Fannie and Freddie originating 90 percent of new mortgages, removing the government guarantee that helps make these loans possible would ruin the recovery.  “Say what they want about ending the GSEs, it’s not going to happen,” said McBride.

Nor does he see significant changes in lending standards that many claim are making it too difficult for first-time buyers to get financing.  “Today’s median FICO of 750 and other financial qualifications are not insurmountable to young buyers with low debt and good jobs.” he said.

“Lukewarm jobs reports of 155,000 to 160,000 new jobs are not enough.  We need to see job growth twice that size before the Fed should even think about changing its policies,” he said.

This week on Bankrate.com’s  Rate Trend Index, 55 percent of the panelists believe mortgage rates will rise over the next week or so, 27 percent think rates will fall, and 18 percent believe rates will remain relatively unchanged (plus or minus 2 basis points).

Bankrate.com surveys experts in the mortgage field to see if they believe mortgage rates will rise, fall or remain relatively unchanged. The panel is comprised of mortgage bankers, mortgage brokers and other industry experts who provide residential first mortgages to consumers.

via realestateeconomywatch.com

How To Tap Into The Social Media Community Through SEO | Pound Ridge Realtor

Leave a reply

EMDs, Pandas, Penguins; Google has been in frequent action. Multiple algorithms were released this year, and they left a huge impact on the rankings of online businesses. No one really knows what Google wants at this point. However, there is one thing that no longer works: writing for Google. ‘Write for Google and Google will reward you’, this was the statement made by so-called SEO gurus and online marketing experts. While this statement did hold true in recent times where everyone was being rewarded (even companies creating auto-generated web pages), the trend has shifted. While some online companies saw their rankings declined, others have seen a boost in search engine results.

Website owners who saw an improvement in their rankings were the ones who had a community. The latest Google algorithms have given the advertising power in the hands of the customers. Strategies that were considered to be the most important are now given the

Businesses that got affected can get back to the search engine results by devising their strategies in line with the new trend. Rather than spending money on banner ads, link-building, and other search engine optimization strategies, they should focus on building a community that gives them constant mentions on social media, and even offline. Here are few tips for building a community.

1. Increase social media awareness

You may have been spending on social media already. The common thing most businesses do is focus on getting more followers. While followers do play a role, they won’t benefit in the long run if they aren’t engaged. Cough… Lady Gaga’s Facebook page. Try to attract followers that are really interested in what you have to offer (no, don’t go on organizing competitions). Start networking with people in your industry, offer free advice, answer as many questions as possible and network with your existing customers.

2. Be active on all channels

Yes, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+ have a huge member base and you’ll find many people interested in your brands. However, that doesn’t mean you should ignore the less popular social media channels. Referral traffic should come from as many channels as possible. You may never know that a customer coming from a less popular social media site may be more engaged.

3. Sign up customers

A simple pop up asking customers to sign up won’t cut it. You need to be different. Customers are signing up to be a part of your community, and they should have a good reason to do so. Your landing page shouldn’t be boring, and should have a well-organized hierarchy. It should match the desire of the customer. Additional things, if possible, should include a video and existing customer count.

4. Hire someone who can get people to talk

If you’re able to get someone who can get people to create a buzz, you’ll build and grow your community with ease. Content that touches the heart of the customer will get Liked, retweeted and Pinned automatically, getting more members for your community in return.  As opposed to investing in mercurial SEO tactics that can change overtime, hiring a good writer, as mentioned in this post on the Spread Effect content marketing blog, may turn out to be the best investment you ever made.

5. Involve others

You won’t be able to do this alone. You’ll have to involve others, and the best option lies in your staff. Give them freedom to talk about your brand, and answer customer queries. Hostgator was able to build a strong online presence through their live customer support. The representatives have the freedom to talk about the brand, give suggestions and solve any customer queries.

6. Attend events

The offline tactic has a part to play. Going to events will get you more mentions. Introduce yourself to others, and tell them about your company. Take interest in their business as well. You may be able to find people who aren’t related to your business, but have a strong online community. They may mention your company name, and who knows, the new referrals may already have interests related to your brand.

Be sure to attend online ‘events’ as well, and by this I mean stay connected to the overall SEO community. Many prominent SEOs keep up with social media networks as if they were the future of content marketing. And, in some ways, they are.

These actions will help you start and maintain your own place in the SEO community, which is going to grow over time if you stay on the right path. A strong community will have a strong voice, and the authority of your online business is going to increase. Search engines are now favoring website owners and online businesses that are authoritative. Once customers start giving you importance, and mentioning you on a daily basis, search engines would have no choice but to give you importance as well.

via socialmediatoday.com