Category Archives: Pound Ridge

Homes.com offers online reputation ‘playbook’ | Pound Ridge Homes

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A new white paper from Homes.com takes a look at best practices for using online directories, review sites and social media platforms to manage a brand’s “online reputation” and keep tabs on competitors.

“Maximizing Your Online Reputation: A Playbook for Engaging Consumers and Winning their Business” is also a plug for Homes.com’s social media marketing service, Social Impact, which is offered at a 30 percent discount.

Before diving into best practices, the 23-page report calls attention to the importance of maintaining a polished image on directory, review and social media websites.  

Citing marketing software developer HubSpot Inc., the white paper said 72 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Information technology research and advisory firm Gartner Inc. has found 74 percent of consumers rely on social networks to make purchasing decisions, the paper said.

Given that so many consumers use online chatter to learn about brands, those that cultivate an attractive online image may reap significant rewards, the Homes.com report said. The white paper pointed to a Media Post News report that said that brands with the highest “social media activity” boosted revenue by as much as 18 percent.

Developing the infrastructure for building an attractive online reputation, first and foremost, means creating an online footprint that spans the most popular directories, review sites and social media platforms, the report said. Those include Yelp, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and business directories on major search engines, it said.

via inman.com

SoCal home sales reach six-year high | North Salem Real Estate

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February home sales in Southern California reached their highest point in six years, according to a recent report from DataQuick.

While the median sales priced inched down slightly from January, it was up nearly 21% from a year earlier, representing the 11th straight month in which the median has shown growth year-over-year, according to DataQuick.

Down 0.7% from 16,058 sales in January, total sales in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties reached only 15,945 in February. This was up 1% from 15,780 sales in February 2012.

February sales totaled 17,680 units, the highest recorded level since February of 2007. However, sales last month were still 9.9% below the February average of 17,696 sales.

“Our January and February stats certainly indicate housing remains a big target for investors. But typically those two months don’t offer much insight into how the market will behave the rest of the year,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president.

Walsh says March and April will offer a better view of how broader market trends are shaping up this year.

“One of the real wild cards will be how many more homes go up for sale,” Walsh said. “More people who’ve long been thinking of selling will be tempted to list their homes at today’s higher prices. Fewer people will be underwater and therefore could at least break even on a sale. Some investors who’ve held for a while will consider cashing in. A meaningful rise in the supply of homes on the market should at least tame price appreciation.”

via housingwire.com

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

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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