Hi-Tech Roundup

This link, pulled from The Inman Blog offers more insight into the novel and (maybe) revolutionary uses realtors are finding for web based searches and property information tracking using mobile devices. From automated information beamed to your phone or PDA via a text message to information retrieval systems using voice recognition, this post give a quick rundown of emerging real estate tech tools...

Does your Neighborhood Walk the Walk?

For all you urban evangelists out there, there's a new tool out there which allows you to graphically emphasize the convenience of downtown or neighborhood living. The site, called Walk Score allows users to see a given neighborhood's "walkability" ranking. Repurposing information fed to it by Google Maps, Walk Score, according to its makers "...helps people find walkable places to live. Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc."

With a 92 ranking, my neighborhood in Philadelphia should be a "Walkers' Paradise," where "Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car."

True enough, I know many of my neighbors live sans automobile. (But they usually tell me that's because of the high price for auto insurance and the parking problems in Center City, Philadelphia...)

Philly Finally Feelin the Heat of the Housing Slump...

Well, it's official. After months of guarded reassurances that this region has been somewhat immune to the effects of the tumbling housing market, this article in the South Jersey CourierPost confirms our darker suspicions. It seems that, though it may be less traumatic than places like Florida, the market in the Mid-Atlantic is indeed faltering. Southern New Jersey seems to be the hardest hit, with sales falling 13 percent in the first half of this year.

This skeptic was always unswayed by the numerous predictions made by industry luminaries which spoke of a "rebound" late this year. Usually the luminaries cited are executives within businesses who have a direct interest in the rebound itself, namely, lenders or home builders. Now many industry leaders aren't predicting an uptick until 2009. Unfortunately, for those of us in the field, historic real estate cycles feature mult-year downturns, as well as robust, multi-year gains. Sounds like the 2009 prediction, itself, might be a little optimistic. But, I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

When your client creates their own marketing challenges...

This blog is not principally concerned with the nuts-and-bolts daily challenges faced by real estate agents, but this story from New York Magazine's website had me smiling. From time to time, my staff and I regret the unfortunate (in our humble view) marketing or branding decisions our clients make, but, thankfully, we've never had to deal with these kinds of problems. Read the story here...

"The times they are a changin'.."

...
I came across this story in an interesting London real estate blog, The Rat and Mouse. The story actually references something which appeared on this side of the pond, in a Sixty Minutes story of earlier this spring.

The story chronicles the struggle of online real estate brokerage mavericks Redfin with the "establishment" real estate community. Essentially, Redfin's model offers brokerage services at a substantial discount below the traditional six percent commission rate. They use a flat seller's fee of $3000 and -- in a move that must be peeving a number of folks -- they refund two-thirds of the standard buyer's commission back to the purchaser of the home. You can watch the entire Sixty Minutes story here...

Leaving the Beaver...

As I was browsing this month's "The Real Deal" yesterday, an article caught my eye. "Musical Chairs for Condo Marketing Firms" notes that the development team behind the William Beaver House condo in lower Manhattan has changed marketing agents. That, in and of itself is not especially noteworthy; developers change brokers and marketers with some regularity,particularly in tightening markets. However, the fact that the project in question was the William Beaver did make the story newsworthy. "The Beave", so named for its location at William and Beaver Streets in Lower Manhattan, had one of the most ambitious and racy identity campaigns I've yet to see. (Okay, so I am usually holed up here in Philly, which, admittedly, is not known for risk-taking real estate marketing...) Andre Belazs, the brains behind the project, had pulled out all the stops for its marketing. The campaign's centerpiece is a fictional cartoon beaver who is also the project's namesake. William Beaver (or, as his French friends call him "Le Beaver") appears in various illustrations and videos on the project's website. The well-groomed (if somewhat hirsute) dam-builder also embodies many of the qualities that the young-bucks-of-Wall-Street target demographic for the project admire. He's fabulously successful, hardworking and, apparently, a Player. Sex appeal was skillfully used in the marketing of the project. Bathrooms, for instance, are advertised as being "big enough for three" and many of the original renderings for the project featured barely-dressed Manga babes. Behind all the identity work though, is a smartly conceived project, which seems tailor made to the lifestyle of the Financial District's up-and-comers. "Attache Kitchens" feature sliding door and counter elements that allow virtually all appliances -- sink, cooktop, etc -- to be concealed, creating extra temporary counter space in the process. A similar idea lies behind the "Murphy Offices" featured in many of the units. Small office spaces within the units are designed to be easily hidden from view by simply closing a pair of doors, allowing residents to entertain on the fly. Building amenities are likewise oriented to a younger, more active and aspirational crowd and feature a glass-enclosed Jacuzzi, a lap pool, basketball courts... the list goes on and on.

So why the change in sales agents for a project this well conceived? Surely, dear readers you don't actually expect to find the answer to that weighty question on a blog, do you? Scoring the real scoop on that one, after all, would require some primary research and, well, we all know that's not what bloggers are known for. Recent changes to the project's website however, do point to some sanitizing taking place in the formerly-racy illustrations that once appeared there. Gone are the barely-dressed babes and their undressed beaus. Most renderings now are simply absent those naughty revelers or their denizens are more discretely attired. (I'm not sure, but
John Ashcroft's bodice covering skills may have been put into service...) Whatever the reasons for the change in sales agents, it is clear that someone within the project's inner circle decided that the project's brand was too much "Animal House" and not enough "William Beaver House."