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The Real Estate Marketing Insider‘s Tobias Nergarden continued his weekly “Top 3” series with a list of three traits that help make an effective, high-traffic blog. The list was prompted by an analysis of twenty real estate blogs that are updated regularly.
One of the best methods for real estate sales marketing in an internet-driven market is to create an engaging, easy-to-read blog. Blogs are often neglected and dismissed by realtors as a waste of time and mental energy, but the statistics show otherwise. Small businesses that keep regularly-updated blogs receive 50 percent or more hits on their websites than businesses that don’t. And as Joe Heath of Reality Biz News pointed out this week, those hits can become real home sales and commissions in a hurry. This week, Heath published a list of 20 real estate blogs that are regularly updated and easy to read, as a model for realtors who want to start or improve their own blogs.
Heath’s list is a great starting point, but for realtors who want to take a blog from good to great and increase their traffic, REMI has put together a set of three traits that these highly effective blogs have in common:
- Regularly updated. This is a no-brainer. People will only return to a website or a blog to see content they haven’t already seen. As REMI has said before, the content does not have to be linked to real estate all of the time.
Easy to Locate. This is a multi-part task involving a clear blog name comprising both the target market’s city and some variant on “home” or “real estate”. This can include a short, easily-remembered URL, and ideally, individual posts tagged and search-engine optimized, that can appear on simple searches for “real estate.” A simple, attractive format. Most free blog hosts like WordPress or Tumblr have ready-made blog formats specifically designed so that they’re easy to read and have an attractive color scheme that doesn’t hurt the eyes. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it – choose a ready-made template and worry about making the content the centerpiece of the blog. The Real Estate Marketing Insider publishes a “Top 3” feature that focuses on traits of successful, high-traffic real estate blogs. REMI recommends that blogs be updated regularly, be easy to find online, and have a presentation format that is simple and non-distracting.
About the Real Estate Marketing Insider:
The Real Estate Marketing Insider brings the real estate industry breaking news, insider information, and analysis. Based in La Jolla, Calif., the online journal caters to real estate professionals and clients alike.
CLEVELAND — Seriously delinquent mortgages and foreclosures remain a much bigger problem in Greater Cleveland than in the rest of the nation, as new numbers from Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington D.C. show that one in 10 local homeowners was 90 days’ past due or in foreclosure in the fourth quarter.
Cleveland’s rate of 9.5 percent is 40 percent higher than U.S. rate and the average for the top 25 metropolitan areas. Greater Cleveland is defined as the Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor region.
Overall, the U.S. delinquency rate dropped to the lowest level since 2008, declining about 4 percent from the third quarter and about 22 percent from a year ago.
“This is movement in the right direction,” Michael Fratantoni, vice president of research at MBA, said in a conference call.
The numbers in Cleveland, however, remained flat from the third quarter. This could stem in part from the jobs picture.
While the region’s unemployment rate of 6.7 percent is lower than the U.S. average of 7.8 percent, there is concern that the employment picture is skewed. Statewide, the labor force decreased by 8,000 in December, so the declining unemployment rate could reflect people who have dropped out of the work force and therefore don’t show up on state unemployment reports.
Cleveland also jumped up two spots among the 25 largest metropolitan areas, with the fifth highest level of homeowners who were 90 days’ past due or in foreclosure. Ranking higher were Miami, Tampa, Nassau/Suffolk, N.Y. and Chicago.
Cleveland’s rate of 90-day delinquency/in foreclosure was 9.5 percent. Miami’s was 20.7 percent. Chicago’s was 10.1 percent.
The percentage who were 90 days’ delinquent remained unchanged for Cleveland, at 3.7 percent. The percentage in foreclosure was 5.8 percent, down slightly from 6 percent in the third quarter.
Ohio, meanwhile, remains at No. 9 for the highest percentage of homes in foreclosure, at more than 4 percent. The rate is 12 percent in Florida and nearly 9 percent in New Jersey.
The Mortgage Bankers’ data covers 42 million first mortgages, or 88 percent of all such loans nationwide.
“We are seeing large improvements in mortgage performance nationally and in almost every state,” Jay Brinkmann, MBA’s chief economist and senior vice president of research, said in a statement.
The 30-day delinquency rate and incidence of new foreclosures decreased to their lowest points since 2007. The total in foreclosure is at the lowest level since 2008.
Brinkmann noted that the foreclosure start rate dropped by the largest amount in the nearly 50-year history of the MBA survey and is half of what it was at the peak in 2009. The percentage of loans in foreclosure also enjoyed a historic drop.
This is only the second quarter that MBA has broken out numbers for Cleveland and the other larger metropolitan areas. So there are no long-term trends that can be backed up with numbers.
Many homeowners have been able to catch up financially in part because mortgage interest rates have remained near historic lows. This week’s averages were 3.6 percent for a 30-year loan and 2.8 percent for a 15-year loan, according to Freddie Mac.
Fratantoni said it’s encouraging that delinquencies normally jump up in the fourth quarter, because of the first winter heating bills of the season and the holidays, but they decreased this time around.
Not surprisingly, the lowest overall delinquency rate (at least 30 days’ past due) is lowest among borrowers with the best credit ratings and fixed-rate loans. That delinquency rate of 4 percent is nearly half the U.S. average of 7.5 percent.
However, the overall delinquency rate is worst, at 23 percent, among borrowers with adjustable-rate loans aimed at people with bad credit.
Brinkmann noted delinquency rates for FHA loans are higher than for prime loans, but said the rates show improvement if you look at FHA loans originated in 2010 or later, when lending standards started tightening.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) –A former New York City police commissioner has been recruited to kick off a Westchester County program to protect schools and communities from violence.
William Bratton, who was NYPD commissioner from 1994-96, will be the main speaker at symposium next week on school safety, said County Executive Robert Astorino. Bratton also served as police commissioner in Boston and chief of police in Los Angeles.
School leaders and police departments are invited.
Astorino is also tapping the county police and health departments, plus clergy and local leaders for a “Safer Communities” initiative.
He said it is meant to prevent tragedies like the school massacre in Newtown, Conn.
On April 9, the departments of Health and Community Mental Health will hold a “Community Violence Prevention Forum.”
Astorino said Wednesday he wants to educate the public about existing county resources and improve inter-agency communication.
Prospective buyers at a property sale in Beijing.
HONG KONG (CNNMoney)Property prices ticked up last month in many Chinese cities, raising the chances of further government action to cool the housing market.
Prices jumped in 54 of the 70 cities tracked by the government in January, according to data released Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics.
The average price change was an increase of 0.6%, the first year-on-year acceleration in 11 months. Compared to the previous month, prices rose 0.5%, which is the fastest rate of growth since January 2011, according to economists at Nomura.
China has gradually eased property ownership restrictions in recent decades, and its citizens have responded by pouring money into housing.
The resulting growth was so red-hot that many analysts feared a bubble was developing. But more recently, China’s real estate market had slowed amid government efforts to rein in speculators and control prices.
The measures include higher down payments, tough qualifications for mortgages, residency requirements and limits on investment purchases.
The slowdown spurred developers to offer discounts to unload their unsold inventory. Spooked by falling prices, would-be buyers stayed on the sidelines, and investors mourned declining valuations.
January’s increase is likely attributable to looser monetary policies and an abundance of liquidity — general stimulus measures taken by Beijing recently to combat a slowing economy.
But Beijing is still wary of rising property prices, and will likely respond with cooling measures.
“We believe the recent rise in property prices will pressure the government to tighten policies,” economists at Nomura wrote Friday.
Chinese stocks: ‘Not for the faint of heart’
And indeed, the government is already signaling some action.
China’s State Council said Wednesday that cities where prices have “soared too fast” will be asked to “introduce timely curbing measures.”
And in a bid to maintain supply, the council said it would guarantee land supplies for housing projects at no less than last year’s level.
First Published: February 22, 2013: 1:38 AM ET
