trulia

East Bay Real Estate: Home Value Estimate Websites Creating False Expectations!

Have you ever checked out your home’s estimated value on Zillow.com, Trulia.com,  Homes.com and many others?  Have you been shocked by what one of these sites estimates as to your home’s current value?  My guess is your answer is YES.  And, millions of other visitors are having the same reaction.  The challenge you are having as a home seller is that potential Buyers for your home are also using these websites to determine what to offer as a purchase price for your home, and most of the time the estimated values are wrong.

And, no matter if these estimated home values are correct or not, over 100 million monthly visitors are going to these sites to search for home values.  None of the 100 million visitors may notice the posted disclaimers that each of these websites post which state,  “Estimated home values are just that—an estimate. We urge home-price hunters to consult appraisers or real estate agents to refine the actual results.” The fact is that these disclaimers are not easy to find, AND potential home buyers are using them for their purchase negotiations. Read more

trulia

2010 ReBarCamp – East Bay: Best Practices Of Social Media Marketing

Last Wednesday, the East Bay had it’s first REBarCamp held at the brand new condo complex at 555 Ygnacio Valley Road in Walnut Creek. BarCamps have been produced all over the country for the last several years by dedicated volunteers.  But, none have been delivered to the East Bay until last Wednesday with Nate Ellis from Keller Williams Realty as one of the key leaders of the event.  It is a very odd “non-conference” of exchanging ideas of the latest technologies related to internet marketing and the effective use of Social Media as part of creating relationships with people who need to Buy or Sell real estate, or are in need of any other service related to the transaction such as escrow/title, mortgage services, and various suppliers.

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