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.
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- askNAR: RT @REALTORS: Today, our thoughts are with those impacted by the tornado in Moore, OK. #staystrongOK
- askNAR: @amberdolle @RealtorAction may have a call to action or petition one could sign
- askNAR: @amberdolle Here's some of what we are doing: http://t.co/iafek3vWBL And here: http://t.co/U9X2oiHw2i
- askNAR: What We’re Reading: May 11 – May 17 - Your own Dreamhouse, Chinese buyers in FL, and Star Trek science blooper... http://t.co/msx1cV0XLx
