America remains predominately a country of automobiles. Only an average of 3.5 percent of commuters get to work by bicycle or foot. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but a new report from the Alliance for Biking and Walking extolls the virtues of the two modes of transportation as being within the public interest:
Where bicycling and walking levels are higher, obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes levels are lower. Higher levels of bicycling and walking also coincide with increased bicycle and pedestrian safety and higher levels of physical activity. Increasing bicycling and walking can help solve many serious problems facing our nation.
Other than updating policy issues and advocacy program, the report also ranks states and metro areas in terms of bicycling and walking levels. Oregon and Alaska are at the top of the list for cycling and walking respectively. In terms of cities, Boston tops the list in terms of walkers (13.9 percent of commuters walk to work) and Portland, OR is tops for cyclists (5.5 percent of commuters). The report also compares the US to other nations, looks at the income of bike commuters and pedestrians, and examines safety, funding and policies in place.
The full report is available at the above link as a PDF download.
click on the image to visit its flickr page
Our archivist saw my earlier post on the average REALTOR® and wanted to point out that NAR’s first member profile was conducted in 1949. While much has changed, several demographics – such as age – remain remarkably similar. Click on the image to the left to see a larger image on Flickr.
A member asked us this week how the ‘average’ REALTOR® has changed over the last few decades. The short answer is surprisingly not very much.
Member Profiles in published form go back at least until the mid-1970s, but it’s a bit tough to make an apples to apples comparison. Back then only agents with a broker or broker associate license could call themselves REALTORS® and the surveys reflected this. And even after sales agents were added as REALTORS®, up until the early 1990s, member profile reports divide data between broker and agent. So it is hard to get an overall sense of the average member and how it compares to today. However, a quick glance at some statistics is useful.
A few things have changed dramatically. Back in 1975, only 18 percent of brokers and only 37 percent of broker-associates were women. In 2011, 50 percent of brokers are women and 63 percent of sales agents are women. 36 years ago, only 70 percent of REALTORS® had at least some college education. Today the figure is over 90 percent. And finally, although race wasn’t reported in the print reports until 1990 when 95 percent of all REALTORS® were white, membership today has broadened so that only 82 percent of members are white.
But on the whole the ‘median’ or average REALTOR® has stayed relatively stable since the early 1990s: Early 50s, earning a median gross income of $34,100, and living in her own home. Initially the influx of new members in the mid-2000s brought the average income down (the high was in 2003 at $52,200). As the Great Recession dug in, that number has stayed down.
Hop, skip, or Gallup your way to work, but not while wearing headphones.
Every year, Gallup asks the American public to rate the honesty and ethical standards of various professions. This year’s poll numbers are in and real estate agents, while not topping the list, aren’t too bad. Or is it just that everyone else has gotten worse? Most notably: we’re ranked above lawyers, but somehow bankers beat us out.
Think twice before you drop in earbuds and blast music on your next outing. Recent statistics show an increase in injuries to headphone wearing pedestrians. The National Science Foundation offers some background and recent findings on sound safety.
As if we need more temptation to acquire an iPad… Apple partners with an Austin, TX real estate firm to show how the iPad can facilitate real estate sales. Another use for the iPad? E-file your taxes (it’ll make the IRS happy).
You’ve probably at least heard rumors of Congress’ SOPA and PIPA bills regarding online piracy. This Wednesday, in protest, Wikipedia and numerous others sites went “dark” while Google made a bold statement. New York Times technology writer David Pogue takes a close look at the implications.
With the economy remaining sluggish, enterprising individuals look for creative ways to raise income–including renting driveways.
What is the common thread for 2012 must-have smartphone apps? Fun.
Tax day moved back (a bit), 3D cameras, and resolutions
A report from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke called the weakness in the housing market a “significant barrier” to U.S. economic health and said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac might have to bear greater losses to stoke a broader recovery.
The 2012 due date for personal income tax filings will be Tuesday, April 17, the IRS said, delaying the deadline for a weekend and a holiday observed by the District of Columbia.
Books vs eBooks: Does one have to win?
Clever math could enable a high-quality 3-D camera so simple, cheap and power-efficient that it could be incorporated into handheld devices.
All eyes were on Iowa this week (or at least those within the beltway). One thing they might have seen if they’d looked closely is a recovering farmland real estate market. The state’s farmland has reversed a four-year trend in the property market, with prices rising to match levels last seen around the 2007 peak.
Even at its recent sky-high prices, people are still attracted to gold. This WSJ video explores how the metal’s long history, and association with wealth and beauty, plays on our emotions.
Nearly half of us ring in the New Year with visions of a thinner, fitter year ahead. Unfortunately, a recent survey found, 35 percent of Americans break their resolutions by the end of January. The key to success, according to the American Council on Exercise, is to swap grandiose ambitions for a sweeping health overhaul for two or three smart, specific and attainable goals. That means making promises you can keep. Here’s a look at five of the most popular resolutions—plus tips for making them work.
And if your resolutions tend more toward the tech, CNN rolls out its social media resolutions for 2012.
You might have spent part of the holidays in a movie theater (I know I did). Just in case you forgot who was directing what, here’s Time’s humorous look at how to tell you’r watching a Spielberg movie.
Last week we mentioned an article that compared Apple stores to Sears. This week, Forbes has an article that, in part, compares Best Buy to Amazon. Mostly the article is just about the gradual failure of another big box chain and the mistakes its made. While the author says that Best Buy’s main problems arise from internal issues, he contrasts them to his experience at Amazon, which is able to deliver superior service even without the benefit of immediate gratification, retail locations, and knowledgable salespeople.
How does this relate to REALTORS? As I see it, the failure of Best Buy to be customer-focused, its failure to take responsibility for its actions, and the squandering of its assets with limited technology all are applicable to the real estate experience. Is your website actually useful to consumers? Or do you make them jump through hoops to get at information? Do you provide all that home buyers and sellers might need – deep market knowledge, the latest technology, ease of access? You’re working hard to earn that three percent commission. Does the customer know and feel that?
I think there are some real lessons here for REALTORS. Either really do what’s best for your customers or someone else will swoop in and do it better. You don’t have to be the cheapest (see Apple), but you do have to offer value for service. Are you providing a three percent experience to homeowners or is it less? The choice is yours. Maybe on volume you can make it up, but volume in real estate is hard to come by these days.
Everyone seems to have an opinion about New Year’s resolutions. They’re an opportunity for thoughtful reflection and personal reform for some, or a review to undertake daily instead of annually, and still others see them as an exercise in futility. Whatever your thoughts on New Year’s resolutions, we present two here for every REALTOR® to keep in 2012.
First, though, we’ve set aside a collection of over 80 ebook titles to help fill your own list and realize your goals in 2012. You’ll find advice on everything from learning a new language to taking control of your finances, travelling the world to reducing stress. The eBooks Collection on REALTOR.org is a free service for NAR members — browse the site, borrow a title or two, and download them to your favorite device.
The first resolution every REALTOR® should put on their list this year: NAR requires every REALTOR® to complete their Code of Ethics training every four years — and Dec. 31, 2012 is the next deadline. If you haven’t done it already, take some time to get it out of the way well before the deadline. The online course is free and available anytime, or contact your local association of REALTORS® to inquire about Ethics training in your area.
And the second resolution: Seven decades ago, the songwriter Woody Guthrie jotted down his own list of resolutions for the year 1942 in his notebook. It’s a curious list of 33 resolutions, combining the easily attainable (“Change socks”) with more ambitious goals (“Love everybody”). After the wild ride we’ve had in 2011, and the vast array of predictions for 2012, #20 in Woody’s list is one for everyone to adopt as their own: ”Dream good.”
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