March 2008

I get things like this every so often:

—–Original Message—–
from: REDACTED
date: 19 Mar 2008 12:41:20
To:Phoenixrealestateguy@gmail.com
Cc: REDACTED
subject: Your Domain, www.phoenixrealestateguy.com

I would like to purchase the domain www.phoenixrealestateguy.com. I would be willing to pay $2,000.00 for it. I have my own website (redacted) and make money by improving sites and getting advertising for them. Please let me know if you would be willing to let me buy your site by emailing me at xxxxxx or call me at xxxxxx.

I will forward a purchase agreement to you immediately. We have already deposited the funds for the purchase of your domain with SafeFunds.com.

Please visit their website for details regarding receipt of payment and transfer of ownership of the domain.

$2,000?

I think not. Add a couple of zero’s to that and I’ll give it some thought. (Hey, everything has a price.)

What is even more funny is this came not long after I responded to a comment on “The Case Against Blogging” on HomeGain blog that said (in part):

Michael Maher writes: “It’s time to call blogging what it is – a fun hobby. Businesses make money and hobbies cost money. In this case, time is money and this hobby is costing time. It’s okay. Some people mow their lawn. Some people do scrapbooking. Some people build model cars. And some people blog. Great! Have fun with it, but don’t substitute it for genuine assertive prospecting methods like handwriting notes, phone calls, and one-on-one meetings with potential clients and referral partners.”

Yeah, whatever.
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Stymied trying to figure out the “credit crisis”, “subprime meltdown” or whatever it is being called today?

Yeah, me too — though I’ve tried and learned a LOT lately about mortgage markets.  It’s a very complicated matter, involving things like “collateralized debt obligations” (CDOs), and “liquidity puts”.

Don’t know what a liquidity put is? Don’t feel bad. Even Robert Rubin, a former Secretary of the Treasury and current Chairman of Citigroup wasn’t familiar with the term until Citi got into trouble with them. (See Fortune article on why Rubin and Citi didn’t see the subprime mess coming.)

You can read for days on end about the crisis, and still sit there scratching your head in total confusion.

Enter the New York Times.

The Times has a great article out today, Can’t Grasp Credit Crisis? Join the Club.

It explains in relatively plain English much about the credit crisis.

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Hat tip to Scott Brunner at VAR Buzz.

Technorati Tags: Credit Crisis, subprime meltdown

One does not have to dig very deep to find the mainstream media reporting on the woes of the housing market.

I’ll be the first to admit the current Phoenix market is not in the greatest of shape:

There are a ton of short sales out there. 

It may not be a good time to buy a Phoenix Home (but, maybe it is)

Local economist says Phoenix real estate market will take 3 – 5 years to recover.

However; there is evidence, albeit anecdotal, that there are signs of life in the Phoenix market.

Our phone has been ringing off the hook recently — with serious buyers (and sellers) on the other end of the line. Email inquiries have increased in quantity and quality as well.

Apparently I am not alone in seeing increased activity. East Valley Tribune reporter Misty Williams ran a piece on Saturday, quoting a couple of my Phoenix real estate blogging buddies:

Dru Bloomfield:

“I’ve been seeing an increase in first-time buyers - people who have saved their money and ridden through the wave of escalating prices,” (Great pic Dru! )

John Wake:

“. . . calls from interested buyers have at least doubled in recent weeks.”

Over on the west side of the Valley, Jonathan Dalton just released some absorption rate data that show an increase in sales as well (hence a resulting decline in absorption rate in some areas of town).

While we are by no means clear of a messy housing market, there are some positive signs of change happening. Only time will tell if it continues, but hey, at least it is a start…

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Technorati Tags: Phoenix real estate market conditions, buyer activity

Those NoMoreDoorKnocking guys up in Saskatoon have released a Common Craft style video about social identity and reputation.

It’s important stuff. We’ve all seen someone’s on-line reputation get crushed with a few misplaced comments or keystrokes. And who knows how many fake personas there are out there on the various social network platforms?

The video hints at what the Vendasta team is up to… could be an interesting play inside, and outside, the real estate space.

Nomoredoorknocking is a small part of a much bigger solution that will ultimately allow professionals of all kinds to leverage their social graph (people they know and trust) to bring them business and referrals.

Technorati Tags: Social reputation, Vendasta, NoMoreDoorKnocking