Local phone numbers for each ad to track what is working May 3, 2007
John Vanhara
Using different phone numbers for each advertising is a great way to track what is working and what is not working. Our company is proud to announce a new service in Las Vegas market to real estate agents. We offer local 702 area code numbers with voice mails, which can be used for tracking advertising. The cost is only $45 per year.
Looking for local partner in Memphis, Tennessee to start real estate brokerage April 1, 2007
John Vanhara
I am looking for local partner in Memphis, Tennessee to start real estate brokerage. Broker license is required. I can offer total back office support (office space, Internet, hi-tech phone system, lead generation, websites & experience). I am planning to open branch office in Memphis for my other company and would like to attach real estate brokerage to the list of services. Please contact me with your qualifications & experience. This is not an employment, but rather business opportunity. info@eastbiz.com
Flat fee listing with upfront fee - the best business model for current times
John Vanhara
Agents always wanted listings. Listings always meant almost sure made money in hot markets. You just enter the house for sale in MLS, put for sale house in front yard and wait couple of weeks to get offers. Yes, it worked like that , but times changed.
It is quite easy to get listings, but it is very hard to sell them. You can wait year or longer to get the house sold. You will be spending money for advertising and trying to explain to seller that you are doing good service (which will be very hard).
What is probably the best business model for current difficult times? Flat fee listing with small, but upfront fee. For example charging upfront $399 and just doing contract and entering the house in MLS. You get money upfront. As an agent you don’t have to worry if the house is sold in a week or a year. You made your money on the volume. What do you think?
HouseValues is having problems March 10, 2007
John Vanhara
Instead of telling homeowners how much their homes are worth, the market is letting HouseValues (Nasdaq: SOLD) know how much it thinks the company is worth.
The answer? Not much. Less than twice the value of the cash on its balance sheet, and it could get worse. Last night’s fourth-quarter report showed a continuing slide in the company’s Realtor lead generating model. Revenue fell by 15% to $21.5 million, as real estate professionals bailed out of the HouseValues.com site, and those who stuck around spent less.
Read the whole story from MSNBC here. My opinion? If HouseValues business model works agents will be paying even more now when the market is very difficult. All agents need more business. If housevalues bring business to agents then they will be earning more and didn’t have problems. That’s my guess. I don’t their leads generation model is working. Their concept is flawed. They could be making 10x times more than they do if they take referral fees instead of upfront fees.
Easy platform for real estate video tours January 30, 2007
John Vanhara
If you are interested in doing virtual video tours of real estate properties than check out Welcomemat.com
WellcomeMat is the YouTube of real estate. It is an application that allows anyone to upload video, which it then converts to Flash. That’s much like what YouTube does. The big differences are that it is much higher quality and that you can add chaptering. Chaptering is the most innovative and compelling part of the application and allows users to skip ahead to view areas of the property that they are more interested in without having to watch the whole video chronologically.
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