From the monthly archives:

July 2008

Yesterday’s Newspaper

by Kris Berg on July 31, 2008

First we got the news that the San Diego Union Tribune is on the auction block. Now we hear about the demise of the Los Angeles Times Sunday Real Estate section.

Now, I do not profess to be a marketing genius, but I do have a couple of ideas about what might have gone wrong. I have some ideas because, in many ways, I am the newspaper.

Up until about a year ago, Steve and I were still money-bleeding, staunch supporters of advertising in the Sunday Real Estate section. My logic was that if there was one person out there still reading the paper, then it was incumbent on me as an agent to expose my client’s home to that one person. Further, I argued that our in-line ads could include our web site address, thereby cross-promoting our brand and our homes.

Here’s what went wrong. Because readership was down, the newspaper folks decided it was time to raise our rates. This flies in the face of supply and demand, of course. An analogy is the message we deliver to our selling clients along with our feedback reports. The buyers may be saying that your yard is too small, your kitchen is too dated, or your garage is too “two-car” versus three, but it is amazing how many objections are overcome the minute the price becomes compelling. If your home is not selling, you don’t raise the price; you lower it. The Union Tribune missed the memo.

Then there was the issue of the tail wagging the dog. When it suddenly became apparent that the Internet wasn’t going away, they made it mandatory that every open house ad placed be accompanied by a paid ad in SignOnSanDiego, their on-line companion. I couldn’t run one without the other. Now, I understand the goal. Seeing the writing on the wall, they wanted to populate their on-line site. Since all I really wanted at this point was an ad in SignOnSanDiego, not in the newspaper that no one was reading anymore, wouldn’t it have made infinitely more sense to give one or the other away for free? Then, everyone wins.

Finally, there was this ostrich mentality. With heads firmly stuck in the rocky, San Diego soil, they thought that they could ignore the Internet groundswell and make it go away. On numerous occasions, we submitted press releases only to see them published absent our web site or blog site addresses. This was presumably done thinking that promoting web presence might diminish the value of the print medium. All the while, ironically, the Real Estate section in particular and the paper in general were being filled with articles with a purposely negative slant; bad real estate news was embellished and, when there was none, seemingly fabricated. While the Real Estate section had arguably been their cash cow, they appeared to do everything they could to bite the hands that were feeding them.

So, I am the newspaper. The only difference is that I am not for sale, and I am doing what our newspaper should have done years ago. We still spend buckets of money on print advertising, but we have also had the foresight over the past couple of years to entertain and embrace new ways of reaching our audience. Our print materials will continue to be an essential as long as there is one person who isn’t comfortable with a computer, but our print efforts partner with our on-line presence (and the other way around). One hand feeds the other, and one doesn’t have to go away. If we can effectively integrate both, we expand our reach, our effectiveness, and our success.

The demise of our old ways of doing business makes me sad on some level, certainly. Steve still trudges to the driveway each morning for his news printed on stock of tree-origin, and he does this because it is familiar and comfortable, while I am at the same time booting my computer for my daily dose of goings on. But much like Steve with his newspaper and me with my laptop, Anderson Cooper with his computer in front of him while we watch him on TV, and the Ikea catalogue in my mailbox and in my inbox, we are at a crossroads. Those who are able to successfully marry the two media will survive. Everyone else will be yesterday’s newspaper.

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Now you can interact with your Scripps Ranch Homeowners Association.

by Kris Berg on July 30, 2008

The Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are out for May, and San Diego saw a 23.2% decline in prices year over year. That’s the bad news. The good news is that if you are looking to buy a home in Scripps Ranch, you now know who your management company will be.

It’s been quite a little project, but our interactive companion map to the table of Scripps Ranch Homeowners Associations (brought to you by EditGrid) is mostly complete. I say mostly, because I know of one subdivision for which we are missing information and another four which I somehow failed to include in the map, but at this point, finding the missing data is like a little game of “Where’s Waldo?”

This little labor of love was created using Google mapping. Ultimately, my goal is to include a photo for each subdivision. Of course, we have created a monster which we will have to continually update, but it beats the heck out of spending my time obsessing over those wacky Case-Shiller dudes.

View Larger Map

We have long been acquiring and posting floor plans on our web site for the various Scripps Ranch neighborhoods. Our newest creation represents our latest installment in our information overload series. This will permanently reside on our web site under the “Scripps Ranch ‘Hoods” tab, and now that we have more or less answered the question of who does or doesn’t pay Mello Roos, I am off to figure out what other useful neighborhood information I can provide that people don’t know they need or want.

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Just for the record… Another sign of our home selling times.

by Kris Berg on July 29, 2008

This Knoxville, Tennessee agent wants you to know that his client may be motivated, but he’s not, like, certifiably nuts — yet.

There is nothing I like better than a little truth in advertising.

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How do you explain Value Range Pricing to a Canadian?

by Kris Berg on July 28, 2008

It’s often called the elevator interview, but this one took place at the top of the escalator. Tomato, tomawto.

While at the Inman Real Estate Connect conference last week, I had the pleasure of meeting real estate agent Ian Watt. Not only is he first in the hearts of Vancouver residents, but we share a web site platform, so it was a thrill to talk to him about his business. Ian is carving out a fun niche with his video blog. His posts, shot using a Flip video camera, are typically accomplished while driving; he simply sits the camera on the dash and goes.

I love technology, of course, and am always on the look out for new applications lest I am rendered irrelevant by noon on Thursday, and while I have said here repeatedly that I know I must incorporate video to a larger extent in our marketing, Steve correctly pointed out that Ian’s driving method of production is not for me. I have visions of twelve car pile-ups and a lot of hand gestures coming my way from passing motorists suggesting I am “Number One,” if you know what I mean. Somehow, though, Ian pulls it off.

I borrowed this from Ian’s site. It is short and somewhat painful (painful in that Ian refused to provide pre-filming hair and make-up), but the man wanted to know about those wacky American value range pricing strategies, so what was I to do?

Thanks, Ian, and maybe this will inspire me to use one of the two Flip cameras on my desk collecting dust.

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An Exhausting Bloggy Break

by Kris Berg on July 26, 2008

I arrived back from my week at the Inman News Real Estate Connect Conference last night a beaten woman. The schedule is always back-breaking, and this year was no different. There were the panels, of course, and my suitcase made the return trip laughing in the face of the 50-pound limit thanks to my swag booty.

Most of my tireless compadres dutifully uploaded photos of the event throughout the week and even managed a blog post or two from San Francisco. This being my third Inman event, I made the determination early on that I would be declaring a bloggy break. While Steve held down the fort (and, by all appearances, we still have a business, so I thank him), I took in as many of the panels and events as I could without killing myself in the process.

Every day, beginning with RE BarCamp, continuing on to the Blogger’s Connect pre-conference, and culminating in the main event, a two-day “let’s see how quickly we can make heads explode” exercise in delivering information and technology solutions for the real estate industry, reminded me that I am not getting any younger. At past events, my mission was always to do it all, attend every session and party, foregoing only the non-essentials (eating and sleeping). With age comes wisdom, and I was able to just say no on more than a few occasions. While all of the cool kids were out enjoying the social functions until the wee hours, and recognizing my limitations, I unfortunately missed several professional networking opportunities.

But, not all.

While I suspect the nice folks at Trulia were not nearly as amused as Jay Thompson and I, we had fun only two geeks could by hijacking their Marker Man at the Trulia House Party. Of course, being a girl and all, I am fully aware of the dangers of over-accessorizing, so I let Jay wear the shoes.

So this morning I am attempting to rally and face the day. I am easing into it, still diverting my eyes from an inbox with 133 unanswered messages screaming my name, but I will be back to full swing in no time. It’s always good to be home.

Photo credits: Ines, Phoenix Real Estate Guy

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Altos Research continues to rock, and I don’t have a thing to wear: Sunday night two-fer post.

by Kris Berg on July 20, 2008

I’ll get back to the picture in a minute, but first I think Sunday evening is as good a time as any to make your eyes glaze over. My buds at Altos Research have rolled out a new offering which they have dubbed AltosXplorer.

I have been a subscriber for awhile to Altos’ listing market trend charts which serve as useful visual snapshots of listing trends down to the Zip code level. With Xplorer, subscribers now have more historical data at their fingertips and, for the blogger or web geek (or, even, novice), they are so “clickably” easy to import.

For my maiden voyage, I chose Carmel Valley (92130) and Scripps Ranch (92131). I often refer to these as sister communities since their demographics and housing stocks are so similar. The big difference, of course, is proximity to the Big Blue Wet Thing.

Note: All statistics are for homes currently offered for sale and represent 90-day rolling averages. Since data is collected weekly, certain statistics (such as “listings absorbed”) will reflect activity over a seven day period. As a refresher, the Market Action Index reflects listing versus sale activity, and an index of more than thirty is a “seller’s market” while less is favorable to the buyer.

Finally, I ran a chart of new listing activity (again, calculated on a weekly basis) for the two communties just to show how comparison charts are a snap with AltosXplorer.

So, wasn’t that fun?

I will mess around more with my new empowerment next week. First, I have to kick it into full commando packing mode. Tomorrow I fly to San Francisco for the bi-annual Inman Real Estate Connect conference. This is turning into a repeat performance of last year’s. Last July I wrote:

So, this morning, I am off to the Inman technology conference in San Francisco. I am off in theory, at least. I haven’t exactly packed. Packing Plan A always involves meticulously planning out wardrobes, including appropriate accessories, neatly laying out the items the night before, and then, the morning of the flight, casually arranging the military-folded articles in the suitcase. I’m going with Plan B. Within the next hour, I will be shooting every item of clothing I own out of a cannon into an undersized carry-on and hoping for the best. Pity the poor, random power cord. If it simply looks like it might fit into one end of a camera, video recorder, voice recorder, iPod, or laptop, it’s coming along for the ride. I will have enough electronics and peripherals to inspire the Port Commission to beef up staffing at the security check point, and I can all but guarantee that at least half that make the journey with me were designed to power the VCR I sold at a garage sale in 1993.

Yep, that’s me. Both the washing machine and the dryer are on Turbo setting. They are largely filled with items of clothing I have not worn since Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” tour, yet suddenly I feel the need to take these up north. I was closer to being packed and ready for this trip in 1984 than I am tonight. Every client I have every known or imagined has suddenly come out of hiding wanting to list or buy or appeal their property taxes, and every agent in San Diego County (agents presumably not trying to pair shoes and slacks, much less power cords with parent devices) has decided that today is the day their clients will make an offer on one of our seller’s homes.

This is all great, make no mistake, and very manageable (see Power Cord discussion above), yet I am living in a cauldren of multi-tasking mania. One daughter thinks she is going off to college in three weeks, and this involves not only wardrobe mobilization and dorm accessorizing foresight, but the uncanny ability to set up her college checking account at a bank least likely to fail by Thanksgiving break. Another just got her driver’s license, and I am feeling the social responsibility to post her departure times in the event that others in Scripps Ranch might be considering an outing that would coincide.

So, in times of multi-tasking, overload crisis I do what any sane adult would do. I decide that today is the day to add Facebook friends. You see, I am on a panel at Inman entitled “Get Social or Die.” I woke up with three Facebook friends, and I am proud to say that, between two offers, one listing appointment and numerous phone calls, I now have eight. Granted, their median age is fifteen, but it’s a start. OK, I’m dead.

So, Inman may have missed on this one, but at least they had the foresight to include me in another panel, “Creating Content that Hooks Readers.” Don’t worry; they aren’t allowing me to actually speak on this topic; I am only a moderator.

As for the thumbnail photo, that is a shot my Price Is Right-winning daughter snapped on the plane on our way to New Orleans. And, it captures the essence of how I travel. I will arrive in San Francisco fully briefed on the comings and goings of the Hollywood A-list, but with one shoe, a black blazer and brown skirt, and three earrings (among which, a pair can not be found), and absolutely no preconceived notion of what I am going to speak about or how, exactly, I might moderate anything other than my incoming text messages.

On the lighter side of things, I am able to leave you with a clearer picture of where our San Diego real estate market stands. And, I will be accepting new Facebook friends throughout the week — eight going on ten. There is no stopping me now!

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Off-topic Thursday - Looking Presidential

by Kris Berg on July 17, 2008

This is not a political statement, but just a couple of pretty cool pictures of my daughter and some of her friends from this past weekend. She was in Long Beach to help load someone’s luggage onto his private plane. And, I am told, she even got to carry his laptop.