News You Can Use – July 17, 2012

The Housing Bust is Over

The Wall Street Journal has officially declared that the housing bust is behind us.

“Nearly 10% more existing homes were sold in May than in the same month a year earlier, many purchased by investors who plan to rent them for now and sell them later, an important sign of an inflection point. In something of a surprise, the inventory of existing homes for sale has fallen close to the normal level of six months’ worth despite all the foreclosed homes that lenders own. The fraction of homes that are vacant is at its lowest level since 2006.”

Milwaukee Area  ”Under Water” Mortgage Rate Drops in Q1 2012

“The number of residential properties with mortgages that are “under water” – borrowers owing more on their homes than they’re worth – is dropping in the Milwaukee area and nationally, another sign the housing market is slowly recovering.”

According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel article, the rate dropped from 22.7% in Q4 2011 to 20.9% in Q1 2012.

Internet Scams Use RE/MAX Brand

When you’re number 1, you tend to be a target. Online scammers hoping to cash in on the strength of the RE/MAX brand have attempted to gain access to people’s e-mail accounts and a fake rental ploy.

Inman News notes: “The online scams appear to be part of the larger milieu of Internet fraud, which, according to the FBI, increased 3.4 percent last year in the U.S. and totaled $485.3 million in losses.”

Create Emotional Marketing That Works by Getting Sellers On Camera

I’ve been stressing the importance of getting on the video bandwagon now to differentiate your listings from those of other agents. Inman News recently published an article outlining how one agent has been utilizing her sellers in these videos to increase the emotional impact of the marketing.

Chris Smith asked the agent: “Did the home sell? If so, can you attribute it to the video?”

Agent’s response: “Oh yeah. 26 offers. Many attendees at the open house mentioned the video. Some said, “Wow, that video of your is going viral- must be a smoking hot deal.”

If you’re not using video right now, be sure to sign up for our July 25, 8:30 AM Tech Forum to learn about how you can use YouTube to bring traffic to your site.

Microsoft Office 15 Now in Open Beta

If you want to check out what the new version of MS Office is going to look like, the wait is over. The link above will take you to the open beta site where you can download the free trial of the new software to tide you over until the release.

Johan Larsson via Compfight