So the light blogging lasted four hours.The National Association of Realtors has either gone too far or not far enough with their ambiguous dictate: (read it quickly before it goes behind Inman’s subscription wall)Directors amended an article in the NAR Code of Ethics to state that Realtors “shall ensure that their status as real estate professionals is readily apparent in their advertising, marketing and other representations, and that the recipients of all real estate communications are, or have been, notified that those communications are from a real estate professional.”How does one define “readily apparent”?…Â Do any readers of this blog not know that I am a Realtor?…Â Does every Twitter post have to have a Realtor disclosure/announcement?…Â This could be a step in the right direction, but will indubitably be confused/confounded/rendered useless or harmful in practice.Technology seems to be moving and evolving too quickly for the NAR.Is real estate blogging advertising?
Date Archives November 2007
Light week of blogging
I’m recovering from a weekend of coaching soccer – seven games in a weekend is exhausting (for coaches and players), as were the emotional ups and downs – winning one game on penalty kicks only to lose the next on penalty kicks. I’ve rarely been more proud of my team than I was this weekend. Coaching is a phenomenal commitment – of time, finances and psyche – but the rewards are such that the joy found on and off the field are immeasurable.This week I have several client meetings as well as the normal (typically stressful) preparations for Thanksgiving. Two interesting stories on foreclosures – Transparent and Moving Past Push PinsThe early halcyon days of Sesame Street – however did that generation recover from the trauma caused by Oscar, who was “irredeemably miserable — hypersensitive, sarcastic, misanthropic.”Revealing Peoples’ Predictability with Google TrendsLocal Search – the arms race defined and exploredMajor in English if you want.I hate when I can’t make time to write.
We’re all dealing with less money
And the local government should deal with it, too.Slutzky countered that the tax rate was only dropped last year to counter-balance the effects of large increases in property tax assessments. “Now that we’re not even close to that same scenario, I’m suggesting that a revisiting of the tax rate is going to be inevitable in the spring,†Slutzky said.Via CvilleTomorrow.
Add MLS Data to the mix, and you’ve got a winner
Thanks to the Lost Remote, I came across this story from Northwestern University’s Readership Institute site that unintentionally makes the parallel between how Realtors think of MLS data (we want to keep it in a box, and control access).One of the most striking developments in online news in the past year or so has been -the rapid proliferation of interesting database applications-…. newspapers have been leaders in this area, driven by the company’s “information center” initiative, which is yielding new organizational structures and approaches to information gathering and presentation. The “data desk” is one of the seven pillars of the company’s new approach to news.As Gannett realizes, data should be a driving force in online journalism, for at least the following reasons:- Data is “evergreen” content.- Its value to users does not end after 24 hours.- Data can be personal.- What’s more relevant to someone than, say, reported crimes in their neighborhood, or nearby property assessments?- Data can best be delivered in a medium without space constraints.Michael asks a similar question this week – Are Listings Information or Advertising?If Realtors could develop a product that had all of the information…. In the context of the Group I have been working on for the past year – what are the top 10 technological creations/developments over the past 12 months?
Rail coming to Charlottesville
It’s been more two years since I first noted CvilleRail.org’s efforts to bring commuter rail to the Charlottesville area, and certainly they’ve been working on it longer than that. Today brings good news – we could possibly have such a service in two years.To get some “historical” perspective, read the story from September of 2005 showing two points of view regarding rail – 1) It’s great!2) Keep it out, because then the yankees will have even better access to the Charlottesville/Albemarle areaSometimes I lament the naming of the advocacy organization – the name CvilleRail makes the “us versus them” arguments that much easier…. he asked….“Cooperation is better than competition†when the localities are asking state officials to help improve rail service, Gleason said.At the end of the meeting, participants agreed to keep the discussion going, and parted with a tacit acknowledgement that localities along the corridor needed to form coalitions with each other and within their communities so that each could become a stronger advocate for its interests.More at Lynchburg’s News & Advance, The HooK and The Daily Progress.Now – if we could see some progress on transit within the CharlAlbemarle area:Even if you managed to take most of the cville local residents off the road and put them in a bus- how much road space does that really free up when you’ve got people still needing to commute in to town? Once I’m here in town with my car- why am I going to take a bus?
Politics and the housing market
Spurred in part by Jonathan Miller’s post today, this comment on a story I wrote at the Bloodhound, and a premonition that next year is going to bring a 15-25% reduction in the number of Realtors locally, one wonders – will the Realtor lobby be as powerful in next year’s elections?… Where will the balance shift?”Like it or not, the NAR has leverage, they have infrastructure, and they have what it takes – our money – to get things accomplished politically.”This is NAR’s core competency…. Realtor organizations have won some significant victories for homeowners in recent years.From the Virginia Public Access Project’s homepage:VIRGINIA puts no limits on campaign contributions.Anything goes, as long as candidates disclose their donors…. In this battle, it will be important to see which industries will benefit from the real estate market shift and how they will apply their enhanced positions.
Recapping the Albemarle BoS Elections
For those who live in Albemarle, be prepared for a fascinating future – both short- and long- termed.What do the elections mean? David Slutzky says:”I think that the likelihood is great that there’s going to be significant curtailment of development options in the rural area. It could take the form of [transferable development rights], it could take the form of downzoning, it could take the form of a curtailment of property rights through a package of actions by the Board [like the rural area protections]. We may even say you can’t build on a private road, you have to build on the public road, unless you come to us for a waiver.”More on TDR’s at CvilleTomorrow.