The Official HomeRoute Blog

Surprise! Pop Quiz: Test Your Internet Marketing IQ

Recently I was looking through the local paper and noticed one of the retail companies already advertising its “Back to School” promotions. Back to School?  Already?  I can hear the moaning of disappointed kids resonating from breakfast tables everywhere. 

The idea of returning to the learning environment got me thinking about education and how essential it is, in any career, to be continually learning and improving our skills.  For those of us who make real estate our career, the need to “keep up our skills” has never been greater.  Thanks to the power of the internet in the hands of home buyers and sellers, real estate agents are experiencing a great transformation in how we connect to and communicate with our clients and prospects.   If you’re not keeping up with the world of internet marketing, your competitors are.   Wondering how you measure up?  Need a little review or “refresher course” of what is working to attract more business online?  This is the idea behind our new HomeRoute eMarketing quiz. 

HomeRoute is in the business of helping real estate professionals become great at what they do.  It seems only fitting then that we launch a quiz which tests agents’ knowledge of internet marketing and their ability to effectively integrate online advertising into their marketing strategy.  Although a HomeRoute eMarketing grade won’t go on any permanent record, the score you earn may help you identify your strengths and discover new ideas for improving your strategies to see a greater return from your marketing dollars.

The quiz is short (24 questions) and fun but it’s packed with valuable information.  What’s even better about taking the quiz is the reward at the end.  If you do know something about internet marketing, you will not only have bragging rights in your office, but you will receive great promotional tools to help generate more business and web-exposure as a “Certified eSavvy Real Estate Agent.”   

I challenge you to take the quiz today.  Once you do, challenge a colleague to do the same.  We all could use a little “Internet Marketing” refresher course; let’s take a little time to make ourselves better agents.  Of course, if your internet marketing is already perfect, you don’t need to gain any new business, right?

Take HomeRoute’s new eMarketing Quiz Now!

--Steve Nickerson

Neighborhood open house

This is an interesting idea from the Detroit News.

In an effort to stimulate local real estate sales, four neighborhoods in the two-square-mile Grandmont Rosedale area of Detroit will hold a joint open house from 1:30-6 p.m. Sunday.

I’m not sure if this is something that’s done in other states or areas, but I’ve never heard of it before. As a homebuyer, I think the idea is fantastic. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve visited a neighborhood, went to an open house and noticed another house for sale but weren’t able to see it. And yes, I could request a showing, but once we travel an hour in the car with two small children, I want to make as few trips as possible.

As a seller, I could see where someone might not like the idea if a prospective buyer likes your neighbor’s house more. But that’s something that could happen regardless if you both have an open house on the same day or not.

-- Tonja Deegan

Bubble or burst? It depends on location

BusinessWeek’s latest cover story attempts to explain where the housing market is going. The basic conclusion is that it’s unpredictable. And it says it’s an emotional process to determine buying and selling prices. So, nothing really new there.

On BusinessWeek’s Hot Propery blog, Peter Coy asks readers to vote on the bubble/no bubble debate.

And Toddi Gutner blogs about real estate agents blaming the media attention for turns in the market.

You can find a different opinion each and every news article and blog you read. The best way to figure out your local market is to talk to the people who are in it and working it.

-- Tonja Deegan