How Important is Privacy in the Home?

USA Today featured a story this morning about a New York City photographer whose latest work features the objects of his eavesdropping. The artist used a telephoto lense to zoom in on unsuspecting apartment dwellers who live in an upscale Manhattan apartment with a lot of windows.

The subjects are outraged at the lack of privacy, some are even suing (even though none of their faces are shown in the images).

This brought up a question for us from the real estate perspective. How important is privacy to your buyers? Living room layouts, number of bedrooms, square feet and which neighborhood, these are all a given in a real estate agent's conversation with a client, but what about privacy?

This may be a good factor to add to the initial conversation with a buyer. What role does privacy play in your home search? Would you like windows to only face areas not seen by any passerby, is it worth it if the view is spectacular? Be sure to have this discussion to determine the most ideal (and safe) setup for your client.

Click here to read the entire article.

*Photo via USAToday.com

Housing Increases Equal More Jobs

There's good news out there for some of the Western real estate markets. Three cities that are posting the strongest housing price growth are Phoenix, San Francisco and Las Vegas which have increased 20 percent or more, year-over-year, according to RealtorMag.com.

At the same time, those three markets are also experiencing more job growth than the national average. Now the question remains, are these real estate markets improving BECAUSE of more job growth? Or is the job growth coming as the result of improved housing prices. Either way, this is positive news for the three major cities.

Here's the breakdown of job growth according to RealtorMag.com:
Phoenix - 2.4 percent
Las Vegas - 2 percent
San Francisco - 3.6 percent

Go to www.RealtyExecutives.com to check out the inventory of houses in these markets.

Homes Selling Fast in the Wild Wild West

The west is making incredible progress in the real estate industry. As it turns out, it's the fastest real estate market there is right now.

According to RealtorMag.com, below are the five fastest selling markets...

Orange County, California

• Average days on the market: 15
• Homes that sell in seven or less days: 29 percent
• Average home price increase: 27 percent to $495,000

San Diego, California

• Average days on the market: 20
• Homes that sell in seven or less days: 25 percent
• Average home price increase: 22 percent to $390,000

Sacramento, California

• Average days on the market: 12
• Homes that sell in seven or less days: 30 percent
• Average home price increase: 31 percent to $210,000

Los Angeles, California

• Average days on the market: 15
• Homes that sell in seven or less days: 29 percent
• Average home price increase: 26 percent to $307,564

Las Vegas, Nevada

• Average days on the market: 12
• Homes that sell in seven or less days: 30 percent
• Average home price increase: 35 percent to $148,500

We can't help but note that all but one of these cities exist in California. And we're also proud to mention that we have a Realty Executives office in each of these major areas. We hope to see continued improvement in California and around the United States.

Click here to read the full story.

Unique Ways to Market Your Real Estate Business

Are you getting tired of marketing your business with typical door hangers and mail flyers? A hip young real estate agent in San Francisco took to the bar scene to reach out to potential consumers, according to Inman News.

The inspired entrepreneur had beer coasters designed with his information and distributed them to the most popular bars in the area. The establishments were happy to accept the free supplies, and for just the cost of the coasters and printing, the young agent was excited to have the additional exposure.

It makes us think, there are so many untapped places that real estate agents in today's market can reach out to. The real estate agent in the article recommended branded urinal cakes... Now that may be to far but we encourage you, next time you step out of your home, to look at the world from a different perspective. From your travels to the office, to lunch or to the grocery, what interactions with day-to-day life offer you the opportunity for branded exposure in your community?

Accept the challenge, and let us know where you make your mark!

Click here to read the rest of the article.

*Photo via InmanNews.com.

Wacky Real Estate News

The story we're featuring today is almost too crazy to believe. A real estate company in Manhattan has in place a 15 percent raise policy for employees that get the company logo tattooed somewhere (anywhere) on their bodies! In addition, the company's owner, Anthony Lolli even pays for the $300 tattoo for his agents and staff should they decide to go through with the committment, according to NYDailyNews.com.

We're not sure if it's absolutely genius or completely insane. On one hand, employees that are permanently branded with the company logo would probably feel pretty silly if they switched to another company which must improve retention. On the other hand, a 15 percent increase for an agent that isn't top notch, may not be the wisest financial decision.

What do you think - ridiculous or genius?

Click here to read the full story.

*Photo via NYDailyNews.com

Most Popular Places to Live

Did your hometown make U-Hauls cut for Top Places to Move in 2012? The moving company did a study on the most popular places to live in the United States. Here's how some of the top cities stacked up against the competition...

1. Houston
2. Orlando
3. Chicago
4. Las Vegas
5. San Antonio
6. Austin
7. Brooklyn
8. Philadelphia
9. Kansas City
10. Sacramento

Texas was the only state to make the list not just once but THREE times. The list was compiled based on one-way truck rentals. We're pleased to see that Realty Executives International has an office in almost every one of these markets. To view all of our offices, go to www.RealtyExecutives.com/find/.

*photo via U-Haul.com