Alex Paen guest blog's for Jessica!

Alex Paen of Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty guest blogs for Jessica Riffle while she is on Vacation.

Contact Jessica at JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com!

Click to visit TheCarolinasFinest for more info on Wilmington, NC area and real estate!

Twitter This....

I need your help. I want to like Twitter, to embrace it, and use it effectively....but it drives me insane! I cannot get excited about it or really like it at all to be honest. I don’t understand why it is common courtesy to follow someone back just because they are following you and I also don’t understand why other people care about articles online that people post all the time. Help! Make me appreciate Twitter....

If you disagree or have a comment please feel free to email Jessica at JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.

For more information on the Wilmington, NC area and real estate, click here!

Does buyer agent commission matter?

Yes! Make sure that you are creating a buzz or excitment for a buyer's agent to sell your home. No, they cannot steer clients toward a home with higher fees to the buyers agent, but let's face it, everyone is human and who doesn't want to get paid more to do their job? When selling your home you must sell it to the agents as well as the potential buyers. A higher buyer agent commission will only benefit you the seller and could mean you see more showings and sell your home faster!

If you have comments of disagree please feel free to email Jessica @ JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.

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Watch that price...199,900 may not be such a good thing. Wilmington, NC

There are several things to think about when pricing your home. We all know the most important like current market activity, but what about search ability? Typically, searches auto-populate the price ranges we can choose from. Meaning we, agents and buyers, search in increments of 25-50,000. Usually when someone's price range is 300-350,000 we all search up to say 360,000. I don’t think anyone ever thinks to search down by 5,000 or 10,000. So if you list you home at 299,000 you are potentially cutting out A LOT of buyers that are search at 300,000 and above. Don't miss out on potential buyers and make sure your price is optimizing the number of searchers out there!
Contact Jessica at 910-352-1043 or email JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.

8000 Tax Credit as Down Payment...Maybe, Maybe Not

It seems the announcement from HUD of the possibility the government allowing using the current 8000 tax credit as a down payment on a home purchase was a bit premature. They have now removed it from the website and it looks like it was more of a thought or an idea that comething concrete. Surprise, surprise....

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Contact Jessica at 910-352-1043 or email JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.

Is Print Advertising Dead? Web 2.0 and Social Media Marketing in Real Estate

As a Real Estate Broker and Realtor it is extremely important to keep up with the latest marketing trends and technology. I need to make sure that I am serving my sellers and marketing their homes in the best way possible. I need to be sure that by doing this we are getting those homes in front of buyers. As technology changes the way real estate is advertised I have to ask..."Is print advertising dead?" If over 84% of buyers start their home search online and if a buyer is 900% (9 to 1) more likely to find their home on the internet rather than in a newspaper, should Realtors be advertising homes there?

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Detroit, Final Four, and Real Estate

Right now I am in Detoit, Michigan for the NCAA Final Four. Go Heels! While here it is obvious to see how much Detroit is economically suffering. The people are friendly and the city is in much need of the tourism here for the weekend.

Foreclosed homes in Detroit are selling from $1.00 to $10,000 and foreign buyers are snapping them up, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune. Real estate agent Michael Shannon recently sold 30 homes in one day to one buyer. A trio of U.K. investors has bought a half-dozen and plans many more. "I thought it would be quite good fun to have a look," said Darren Veness, an investor from Brighton, England.

Detroit has been hit hard by the economic downturn and currently has one of the lowest home ownership rates in the country. Veness and his colleagues "have considered other U.S. cities," says the report, "but so far Detroit is it. For them, it's simple: The homes are cheap and plentiful."

....source realtor.org...

GO HEELS!!!!!!!!!

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