Check out Coastal Realty on Facebook

Coastal Realty Group, is a Real Estate Brokerage located in Monarch Beach, CA serving the Coastal Communities of Southern Orange County, CA
http://www.facebook.com/groups/coastalrealty

Check out Coastal Realty on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/coastalrealty

13 of the best websites for Advertising to Realtors

In my team’s quest to find the best place to advertise to Realtors, we complied quite a an extensive list and supporting data.  We thought it might be helpful to share with our followers the results of our study.

We did all of our research online and found a lot of articles written about the best sites to sell a home and then targeted those sites for potential advertising opportunities. All of the sites we found were paid services with the exception of CraigsList of course.  We were also surprised that some of the web’s leading sites for real estate did not allow advertising, Refin.com being one of those sites.

As we shopped for potential advertisers, we based our results on key word searches, organic results, and links from other sites and articles.  The list below is what we believe are the best places to advertise real estate related services (in no particular order):

1. Realtor Magazine Online
2. Zip Realty
3. Realtor / Move.com
4. Trulia
5. Zillow
6. CAR
7. OCAR
8. NAR
9. LinkedIn
10. Facebook
11. ActiveRain
12. CraigsList
13. AgentsOnline

Some of the services above are Social Media and we find that a powerful medium to advertise on.  Sites like Facebook and LinkedIn are excellent vehicles to promote your services.  We are a firm believer in also using Twitter and Content Syndication tools like OnlyWire to also spread the word on the web.  And better yet – they are free.

We would love to hear your feedback and send us any sites or services you feel we should further explore.

8 Top Social Media sites for Real Estate Marketing

There are a lot of Social and Professional Media sites available (probably hundreds), but which are the best and most relevant for Real Estate professionals?

I currently use the following 8 sites to market to both potential and current clients, communicate with the Team and connect with my Professional Network.

Add to this, these are very powerful tools to not only assist with Networking and Communication, but more importantly build Awareness, your Brand and drive Traffic.  Most Real Estate Professionals look at Social Media for just communication and over look it as a way to drive traffic back to your Site, your Content, your real estate Listings and your Networks.  Social Media should be used by all traditional “Brick & Mortar” companies – especially Real Estate Brokerages.

List of Sites:

1. Active Rain – This one is probably the most used by Real Estate Professionals and a great networking tool.
   1. Likes/Dislikes: I like that there are a lot of Real Estate professionals using it, but dislike a lot of the site’s clutter and noise (Ads, etc.)
2. Facebook – Build Fan pages and User Groups to quickly inform clients and sell real estate on through Ads and Marketplace.
   1. Likes/Dislikes: Facebook is the #1 tool to network, but can become a distraction with all that you can do – message, post, follow, etc.
3. OnlyWire – Bookmark and Content aggregator and syndication Tool to all the top media.
   1. Likes/Dislikes: OnlyWire is HUGE time saver to post to all the Social Media sites, but it only allows 1 service provider per user (1 Twitter, 1 Facebook, etc.).
4. The Flipping Pad –  Build Networks (Network), Ask Questions (Discuss) and Market (Pads).
   1. Likes/Dislikes: I like the ease of use, but it can be a bit difficult to navigate and find pertinent information.
5. LinkedIn – Build Client and Realtor Networks and Groups.
   1. Likes/Dislikes: This site is the leading tool for professional networking, but has many limitations unless you upgrade.
6. Twitter – Quick updates and promotions to my current and potential clients.
   1. Likes/Dislikes: This tool is the easiest way to update followers, but I am finding more and more Adult Entertainment users using it to get business (porn, etc.).
7. Trulia Voices – Questions, Blogs and Guides for Real Estate professionals and buyers and sellers.
   1. Likes/Dislikes: I like the ability to easily post questions and find blogs, but the user interface is a bit distraction and cumbersome.
8. Plaxo – Besides being an excellent Networking tool, it also allows Groups and enables email marketing.
   1. Likes/Dislikes: Plaxo is a great tool to stay organized, but we get spammed by other users a lot.

This list of course is not inclusive, but are the ones we use and found productive.  Please message us and let us know your favorites.

Is the Foreclosure Crisis over?

Is the Foreclosure Crisis over?   I don’t think so…..

There seems to be a lot of conflicting news available  regarding the foreclosure crisis and if it is over or still looming.  I truly believe we are not “out of the woods” yet, but I of course found many articles conflict.  It seems most Real Estate related websites claim it to it be over or going to be over soon, whereas the news sites not related to RE, differ.

Here are just a few articles I found:

California Foreclosure Activity Declines Again http://ow.ly/1FlrE

Strategic Defaults and the Foreclosure Crisis http://ow.ly/1Fnpq

Foreclosure Folly: http://ow.ly/1Fntf

The Growing Foreclosure Crisis http://ow.ly/1FnyP