Mark Buergin

It seems as if time and the real estate markets are beginning to get more in sync with each other. As the general decrease in sales volume is recognized by the sellers, they are beginning to realize that the market is “officially” off its peak. With that information confirmed and a motivation to sell at a realistic price, we are seeing sellers price their homes at much more attractive figures than previous quarters. Just like a stock does not satay at it’s peak price for very long, sellers are now admitting and following through that the real estate market is truly going through a cycle that cannot be ignored. This is a very healthy occurance for any economic cycle that lets all the excesses out of overheated markets and will eventually get back on track when buyers and sellers are closer in their buy/ sell prices. Since there has not been a correction of this nature on a nation wide basis since World War II, this notable drop in home sales is reported by the media with a hint of panic and pandemonium. New construction has all but halted and inventory is slowly being absorbed. The need for housing with the growing population will resume very quickly and right the markets back to a normal pace.

Mark Buergin
All we hear about today is the real estate and mortgage crisis with bailout pleas from the fed. In Reno Nevada there is currently a 25% vacancy rate in commercial office space as a direct result of all the major homebuilders cutting staff and pulling back on any new homebuilding as sales stagnate and buyers become scared. As time passes, the lack of home building as well as building of new commercial space will be absorbed until there is actually a shortage of homes and office space. Then as historical economics plays out will create a swing to the other side of the demand curve reversing the trend and righting itself. It seems to be that the contrarians or those trailblazing individuals who see the opportunity in this imbalance will start buying these “opportunities”. they will be the ones who will not only lead the way buy make a tremendous gain on these overreacting markets. The laws have been changed in Nevada to prevent loose lending policies and watchdogs have been set up to prevent this type of reckless debacle from ever happening again. If you are a person who will be looking to buy property with a 5 year horizon this may very well be the best opportunity that has come your way.

Mark Buergin
All we hear about today is the real estate and mortgage crisis with bailout pleas from the fed. In Reno Nevada there is currently a 25% vacancy rate in commercial office space as a direct result of all the major homebuilders cutting staff and pulling back on any new homebuilding as sales stagnate and buyers become scared. As time passes, the lack of home building as well as building of new commercial space will be absorbed until there is actually a shortage of homes and office space. Then as historical economics plays out will create a swing to the other side of the demand curve reversing the trend and righting itself. It seems to be that the contrarians or those trailblazing individuals who see the opportunity in this imbalance will start buying these “opportunities”. they will be the ones who will not only lead the way buy make a tremendous gain on these overreacting markets. The laws have been changed in Nevada to prevent loose lending policies and watchdogs have been set up to prevent this type of reckless debacle from ever happening again. If you are a person who will be looking to buy property with a 5 year horizon this may very well be the best opportunity that has come your way.

Matt Woolsey Oct. 5, Forbes.com
Forecasters predict that median home sales price drops with reach between 8%-9% in areas like hard-struck Detroit, Riverside California and Las Vegas according to data compiled by Moody’s Economy.com, a Westchester, P.A.-based research firm. Except for Detroit, many cities anticipating further declines were those that saw steep run-up in prices in the housing boom. There are now high foreclosures, and loss in many jobs that were related to home building.

Areas anticipated to decline the most include Detroit, Riverside, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Phoenix, and Orlando, all with drops of 8% or more. Read more on the weakest markets…

With a fantastic venue in the palatial halls of the Palace Hotel, over a thousand real estate and technology entrepeneurs and seasoned agents colluded in this 3 day event, each conspiring to conquer this new universe of social media soon-to-be-giants.

As a mignon in this world of collosal idea makers, I scan the registration hall and pick out whom I think might be some of the industry’s founders, CEO’s and heads of these newly emerging technologies, one even going by “Virtual Earth Technical Evangelist”. Of Microsoft, no doubt. I meet two guys who have flown from Australia for the conference, excited to be in San Francisco, if not somewhat jetlagged.

Blogging has become a new media outlet that real estate professionals are jumping into with both feet. Many view this as a way to share their voice with their clients, and clients begin to feel that they have come to know these writers they follow and it helps them choose who they would feel comfortable working with. Blogging has also brought news, market data and heated topics of discussion to the readers, allowing them to comment and lead the discussions.

With dozens of new outlets coming online daily in the areas of real estate listing sites, social media, multi-media, communications and blogging platforms, there was a wealth of information to be had. New API and Widgets allow users to incorporate useful content and tools such as mapping into their own websites. This open source revolution is putting access to great features into our hands, the users, and enabling our brands and services to become a part of the industries.

One of the notable leaders in new technology that I was especially pleased to talk with is Jason Spencer, Co-founder of Street Advisor. I stopped by the vendor booth for streetadvisor.com interested in the neighborhood ranking feature that they pioneered. Google’s satellite mapping combined with ortho-photography (3-D) mesh with the results and detailed narratives of neighborhood reviews, commenting on everything from schools and parks in the area, to the best cup of coffee (71 Irving Place in Manhatten), to notable neighbors- have you ever heard of Cyrus Field?

After coming upon a vacant computer, Jason walked up and introduced himself with a charming Australian candor, and offered me the tour through this user-based city and neighborhood guide. I was pleased to hear they are coming out with API to allow integration into user’s sites. He offered to email me when this feature comes out, and I offered to link to his site in the meantime. This one-on-one with the man behind this new, user-centric software renewed my admiration for the entrepreneur who believes in technology, but more importantly, takes the time to connect with users directly. How many people has he offered to email when new features come out? He must be very efficient in his correspondance!

Pete Flint, co-founder of Trulia, also engaged in such a personable manner which stood out in this mass of media display and technical nomenclature. I didn’t have anything specific I wanted to ask him, but just wanted to put a name and a voice behind a software that has made such a strong presence in the new Real Estate cache of tools.

Hugh MacLeod, of Scottish Highland ancestry, really showed everyone what was under his kilt (figuratively), in telling the sotires of how an English Tailor, a South African Winery, and a Kula-obsessed culture in the South Pacific turned simple “social objects” into cult-followings. He brings home the message that a story worth telling is one that is close to you and the things you love. His cartoonist depictions make their way into blog posts, and have driven multitudes of people to a small tailor in England and an unknown winery in South Africa.

Hugh told me one of the things he has embraced is never to denegrade competitors. The English Tailor he brought into the limelight was asked to set himself apart from another very good tailor down the street. He simply told the customer, “You should go to him and have him make you a suit, he is the best”. The customer came back to him later, and told him he really wanted a suit from not from this other tailor, but from him, yet the tailor would not sing his own praises. That, says Hugh, is how to be true to your own message.

There were speakers on SEO and Web Marketing, Video and New Media for Real Estate, Luxry Marketing, Real Estate Portals and much more. The idea of branding quality, consistency of presence in marketing your brand, and featuring your listings as a lifestyle were important messages.

Energy ran high in the conclusion of the event, with Innovators recognized in an award ceremony, and Brad Inman sending a strong message in this diverse conglomoration of techies and real estate leaders. I look forward to the next phase in the new world of Web 2.0.