Western National Bank reported this morning that its prime rate has dropped 50 basis points to 7.75% in lockstep with Tuesday’s Federal Reserve decision to lower the fed funds rate a half-percent.
Bank of America made a similar announcement yesterday.
What does this mean to you? Check out Dan Green’s take on The Mortgage Reports blog.
Technorati Tags: Prime rate, real estate financing
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For those who haven’t panned through the archives to see the little hints, I thought I’d provide a very, very brief version of my journalistic chops.
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Telecommunication, Arizona State University, BA ‘90
Part-time agate clerk/sportswriter, Tribune Newspapers, 1985-1990
Full-time sports/business/schools/politics reports, Sun City Daily News-Sun, 1990-1995
Full-time political reporter, Arizona Capitol Times, 1995-96
Free-lance sportswriter, Associated Press, 1992-present
And off the top of my head, my byline has appeared in the New York Daily News, Kansas City Star, Houston Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, Tampa Tribune, Fairfax (Va.) Journal, Escondido Times, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, College Sports magazine, the ASU Alumni magazine and probably a couple of others that I’ve forgotten over the years.
Not that this is of great importance. My sole point is this … when I talk about journalism, or about the demise of the print industry in the face of online media, or other such related topics, I do know from which I speak. I’m not a common real estate agent tilting at the closest windmill. I’ve been there, done that and have the T-shirt. (Literally.)
Proper attribution matters. Creating unique content matters. The details matter.
End of diatribe.
Technorati Tags: Phoenix real estate
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You can find all the details on John Cook’s Venture Blog, as well as a more complete Q&A with Zillow chairman Rich Barton.
In a related note, I’ll be happy to accept venture capital for my Ventana Lakes Real Estate site. While the Web 2.0 startups are just now focusing on some semblance of profitability, our sister site for Westbrook Village has posted a 6,000% return.
(Past results are not indicative of future performance. Please review the full prospectus website before investing.)
Tuesday night’s poker game netted me another $14 but it’s a less reliable fund-raising method than venture capitalists opening up the ATM.
Technorati Tags: Zillow, Phoenix real estate, real estate technology
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After reading some of the new blogs being touted by Realtor.Com as “the best in real estate” as well as the how-to videos that explain the basics, I thought I’d suggest a handful of how-to themes myself.
1) Spell check: Why it’s vary important too look for typeos.
2) Comments: We know you love the sound of your own voice, but blog writing is about building a community. No comments, no community.
3) Funny Designations and You: It’s great that you’re a B.S. We could tell immediately.
4) Why Your Next Blog Post Needs to Arrive Before Halley’s Comet: Congratulations on front-loading your blog with five articles. It’s been a month. What’s next?
5) Truth in Advertising: Careful when you brag about how much you’ve sold. People can check the numbers to see what you’ve really done.
The one piece missing from the entire “you’ve got to blog” conversation is the why and the how - most importantly the why. If you’re attempting to build a community, to engage your readers in conversation, to educate the public then you’re on the right path. Even if you’re blogging for leads, you can do so and still meet the above criteria.
If you’re starting a blog because everyone else has one, save the time and the domain name and try another marketing strategy. It’s more or less that simple.
Want additional pointers? Check out Real Estate Weblogging 101. It’s not the alpha and omega of real estate blogging, but it’s damn close.
Strive for greatness and take solace in the effort if you fall short. Strive for mediocrity and you’ll likely achieve it with little effort at all.
Technorati Tags: real estate marketing, real estate blogging
Popularity: 6% [?]
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