8/10/07

Blogs - 5 Reasons Why All Real Estate Agents Must Blog

Here are five reasons why all Real Estate Agents must blog:

Search engine optimization

Blogging helps your Real Estate website achieve a higher ranking on search engines. The key to search engine ranking is information-rich content. Blogging is the ideal format for publishing information on the Internet, and it’s really easy to update a blog. It’s just like writing an email only it’s to the whole world. Every Blog you post becomes its own web page adding yet another page of content on the web. The more content you have on your Real Estate website, the more you look like an information-rich website to the search engines.

Credibility

A blog helps to brand you as an expert in Real Estate. Blogs are the perfect place to talk about what you know, market updates, and Real Estate news and cost you practically nothing to post them. When you share your knowledge in a blog, you build the kind of trust that turns leads into clients for life. After a while, you will build up a huge inventory of postings which will be impressive, especially to the Generation X and Y home buyers.

Relationship Building

Blogs put a personal face on your Real Estate business. The personal nature of blogs makes them a powerful tool for building relationships with your clients and potential clients. There’s a lot of competition online and in Real Estate; a blog is one of the best ways to separate your business from the competition. Staying in front of these potential future clients is critical in staying in their hearts and minds when they are selling or purchasing a home.

Feedback

Your blog makes instant feedback possible. A blog is an ideal format for getting feedback from clients. Visitors can respond to your comments and link to your blog posts from their own websites and blogs. Hot topics can create a thread that engages dozens—or hundreds—of readers to post their replies. The replies will tell you a lot about what your customers want.

Up-to-date information

Blogs put information that is new and that helps you in a couple ways. First, it will give your clients and potential clients reason to come back to your site again and again. Also, the “spiders” that Google uses to crawl your site will reward you for the fresh and frequently updated content by giving you higher Search Engine rankings. Every time Google comes back to see “how you’re doing” and discovers that you and your site aren’t going to roll over and play dead after putting up your initial 8 page website, they will take note and give you an advantage over the other complacent website owners. Google is drawn to new content as a cat is drawn to catnip. Give Google all the catnip you can and reap the benefits!

Blogging helps you build the quality of relationships that can turn leads into clients for life. If you don’t have a blog, make launching your own blog one of your top priorities.

Dubai Real Estate Investment Forecast for 2007

The future prospect of real estate market of Dubai is quite good for 2007 and beyond. This is because of the fact that there is pretty intense and increasing demand for real estate in Dubai with around 5,000 new families shifting their base to Dubai every month. That is where, supply cannot keep up with demand, which in turn increases rental rates charged and of course the underlying value of completed resale properties.

Rental rates increasing
The pivotal factor here is that each and every individual, couple or family arriving in Dubai needs decent enough accommodation at the locality, which is near free trade zones, shopping malls, business areas and airport. Due to this demand, rental rates and property prices in Dubai is increasing.

New projects on hold in Dubai
Real estate prices in Dubai are also increasing because of severe construction delays. There is also tremendous shortage of construction workers in Dubai and with prices of building materials also increasing appreciably; lots of new projects are on hold. Initial signs are that supply is not about to flow into the market in the near future and therefore the profitability of the completed stock is bound to increase.

Good location
Recent studies has come to the conclusion that real estate investors who are interested in good performing property assets in Dubai require to purchase completed stock in a good location. By good location, one means the kind of location, which is not feeling the brunt of commuting issues. You may have heard in various newspapers and websites that commuting is fast becoming quite a serious issue in Dubai. If you manage to come up with a good location, then only real estate investors can be assured of brilliant returns this year and beyond.

Dubai’s off plan real estate property prospects
It has come into the notice that investors have been making brilliant profits from buying properties off plan in Dubai. If experts are to be believed, investors are just paying a deposit before flipping the incomplete units back onto a market where there is lots of demand for such kind of property stock.

Georgia Real Estate

As one of the fastest growing states in the U.S.A., Georgia is starting to attract a bit more attention than it has in previous years. The capital of Atlanta, is a thriving city, this state is gaining in both popularity and value. Georgia has a long and storied history, it was one of the original 13 colonies and one of the first to ratify the U.S. Constitution. Part of this state is occupied by the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains and this area is home to some fantastic and awe-inspiring homes. This is one of the best sites for mountain living east of the famous Rockies. This is also one of the more diverse states in that it showcases both mountain and seafront land and properties.

The Blue Ridge Mountains are simply spectacular. This area is a favorite spot for recreation, camping, hiking and many other activities. It is also a favorite spot for secluded mountain homes, retreats and vacation homes. All it takes is a quiet drive through the area and one gets this feeling of serenity that is impossible to find in a more urban setting. The mountains are really for those who seek a more laid back style of life. If you would prefer to wake up looking out onto a pond and forest than an intersection then the Blue Ridge Mountains are the place for you. So pack up that suburban home and head for the hills!

If you still need that link to the city and it's economic core then have no worry, the Blue Ridge Mountains are the ideal spot for a vacation home. Also as a bit of a tourist destination you could realize a nice profit by renting the home out on a weekly basis to others who want to explore all that this area has to offer. Whether you are seeking a smaller weekend getaway or a year round manor style home or just a secluded cabin in the woods, the Blue Ridge area has a wealth of properties to offer to any home buyer. Take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city and come and see what the mountain lifestyle has to offer you and your family. You may find that suddenly the city isn't as attractive as it once was!

Oklahoma Real Estate

There are many reasons to move to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Oklahoma City has the excitement of being the capital of the state of Oklahoma but yet can give you the hometown feel family members crave on some of their quieter residential streets. The city has so much to offer visitors and residents including political events, downtown activities including those of the Bricktown Entertainment district and the Myriad Botanical Gardens located in downtown Oklahoma City.

General Facts:

It is the 36th largest city in the U.S. with an estimated population in 2006 of 1,172,339. In 1993 the city passed a redevelopment package called: Metropolitan Area Projects which includes a baseball park, central library, a canal to the Bricktown entertainment district and renovations to the civic center, the convention center and the fairgrounds. The "Core-to-Shore project creates a connection between the core of the city and the shores of the Oklahoma River.

When deciding on whether or not to purchase real estate in Oklahoma City it is important to look at all the areas of interest including: Weather, schools and hospitals, sports and entertainment, demographic information including median price of housing.

Weather:

Oklahoma City weather has an average annual temperature of about 60 degrees with an average rainfall of 33.36" and an average snowfall of 9.1" per year and also the skies are usually clear.

Population and Education:

Oklahoma City is the 29th largest metropolitan city in the U.S. with 635,000-employed individuals. The Median age in years of a resident of Oklahoma City is 34.1 with 403,138 households and an average of 2.52 persons per household. The median household income is $32,286. Education is valued in Oklahoma City with 28% having a high school diploma or technical school certificate and 27% having a college degree or higher.

Schools:

Oklahoma has a mix of public schools, private and parochial schools, colleges and universities and also Oklahoma city Technology Centers.

Sports and Entertainment:

Oklahoma City has everything for family entertainment including - museums, liberated arts center, children's theatre, music hall, International gymnastics Hall of Fame, Martin Park Nature Center, National Cowboy Hall of Fame and the National Softball Hall of Fame, the city zoo, the Oklahoma Opry, parks and recreation department, the Philharmonic Orchestra, and White Water bay.

In the minor leagues Oklahoma City has the RedHawks a AAA affiliate of the Texas Rangers, Yard Dawgz of the Oklahoma City Lightning, of the National Women's football Association, City Blazers of the Central Hockey League.

The New Orleans Hornets of the National Basketball Association temporarily relocated to the Ford Center during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons.

When considering a real estate decision, cost of housing, location, education, job opportunity and entertainment are all major items to discuss. Oklahoma City has all your major points of interest in a big city style without forgetting about the hometown residential needs of those who seek those comforts.