So then you might say that you have a great IDX plugin where potential clients can search to their hearts content? Well, ok. but a key component of IDX is how interactive you can get with potential clients and how easily they can share info amongst those they care for. IDX IS important but never make a client feel like they are working for themselves.

What to do?

BLOG!

Maybe that is the solution? Short answer. Again, no. But you're headed in the right direction! You should be writing about things that matter to you and your potential clients in your market. Topics should avoid being overly generic or watered down and have a call to action.

Speaking of calls to action. In some circles, that means culling personal information from people who visit your blog, website or other media. What it should really mean is giving people a compelling reason to contact you versus someone else. What makes you the go to person? What makes you different?

Mail Marketing!

You might say that you'll cover your target market in pamphlets, flyers, cards, brochures and the like. Snail mail has dropped significantly in use over the years. You will see some top brokers using it but again it is a part of a larger scheme or campaign. So, by itself, not enough.

Are you starting to get a sense of where I am headed with this? 🙂

3rd Party Social Media Marketing

So, now you are thinking to yourself. Ah Ha! I'll market myself through companies that target what I am looking for and or a specific demographic. You are headed in the right direction and getting warmer, but you're still not there yet "young grass hopper". Being nuanced and targeting specific parts of a market is great. But, be clear on why you are targeting them. Make sure that your message is clear. Here is where the concept of A/B testing comes into play. That's fancy talk for if one message doesn't resonate, change it and test to see which is getting to your target audience. It's the results that matter.

Social Media Influencer

So then you say, I'll become a social media "influencer" and drive people to me from my amazing videos and still photography! Ok, wonderful thought but that is a percentage of a percentage of the overall social media market. The good news, this is definitely part of the right direction to head in, but you don't need to be a social media star to accomplish your goals.

The abbreviated answer to succeeding with a real estate website is: ALL OF THE ABOVE.

Yup. Look at successful realtors that do not have a specific network or started fresh in a market and you'll find all of the above methods and systems being employed with lots of personal tweaks and flare. And don't forget the old fashioned get to know your neighbors by physically meeting people. I know. Crazy! Meeting people physically in this day and age of digital nirvana is unheard of... At any given moment you will find someone somewhere, phone in hand, walking into a wall, pole or another person also on their electronic device while lost in their text, snapchat, etc. These folks need homes as well in "meatspace".

If this seems like a lot of things to handle or if you are not familiar with all this jargon, don't fret. If you are sincerely interested in being successful, then these are things you need to consider and or become familiar with. For some people, the best route is to team up.

This can take many forms but the main concept is finding a like minded person(s) with whom you can divide up the tasks and delegate those you can't stay ahead of. Ideally, you would want a brokerage that understands these things and can give you assistance. A brokerage firm that understands and can assist you in these endeavors is extremely valuable and important to your success. If you are a realtor in South Florida, contact us we might be your right fit! And there, gentle reader, is a shameless plug of my own real estate brokerage firm. We can make the real estate website process easier!

Combining the skills and knowledge of a proactive real estate brokerage with you and or your teams desire to succeed, and the likelihood of success starts to go up really fast. Remember, even though you are a business unto yourself, you don't need to go it alone.

So take that real estate website of yours and combine it with the above tools and you will have a hub and spoke system geared toward longterm success. Just remember, YOU ARE THE HUB. One tool by itself is usually not enough. Combining them and being flexible and true to your voice is the way to go.

Finally, there is no need to feel overwhelmed. Planning, organization and perseverance are your closest friends and allies. Effectively, you are turning yourself into a walking retail brand that people will recognize as relevant and worth contacting if you do things right. One of the things we as a brokerage do (or any brokerage should be doing), is to help you establish your brand. The end game is for you to become a point of contact that engages interested people looking for the help of a qualified Realtor.

To learn more contact us HERE

Old School Real Estate Marketing vs. Online Real Estate Marketing: Which is better?

An article posted on Florida Realtors website showed that yard signs and referrals (when one person who used your service recommends you to a friend, associate, etc.) were more effective than real estate marketing technology. Even more interesting was how low facebook and twitter use was.  Also of note was how well connected users were to various technologies (Google+, Facebook, Linkedin, etc.) for getting out the word or generating leads for their real estate practice.

But, there are a few chinks or weak spots in this article. The survey sample is based on a website called movoto and focuses solely on their users. So it may not be the most ample sample set but these are people marketing online. Curiously, even though all these persons are members of just about any electronic social median you can think of, few of them actually use any of them regularly? The article goes on to say that most of these folks had not posted or done anything in a month or more...?!

So is technology based real estate marketing supposed to market itself while you just sit back and relax? You might indirectly infer that from the results. My answer to that is a resolute no!

You get from your real estate marketing what you put in it

If there is one thing I can say with 100% certainty is that online real estate marketing works. I use it and have a growing real estate practice because of it. Do I get referrals? Of course. Do I use yard signs? Sometimes and depending on the clients request. But the truth of the matter is that my yards signs, referrals and clients have come in large part due to our firm getting the word out that we exist to persons all around the world who visit us online.

The research that movoto did goes to show what is very typical within the real estate industry and many professions in general. There will always be a handful of persons who do what is necessary to succeed. Conversely, there are also a larger majority who will not. It's not to say that people who don't jump into tech related real estate marketing are doomed to failure. There are a lot of very successful professionals whose marketing uses very little tech based marketing and they thrive. The point is that these stories are becoming fewer and fewer by the day.

There is no mystery to successful Real Estate marketing. You use the best of the old and blend it with the best of the new and constantly fine tune and adjust. There is no secret. It's just good old fashioned hard work and dedication.

Do you think old school real estate marketing is going the way of the dodo bird? Is new tech going to be the only way to market? I have my opinions on this. Some of it I already hinted at above.

What do you think?

As a Real Estate Broker and Real Estate Manager nothing makes me happier than to see investment dollars come into the Miami market. Especially in the form of a project that has the ability to redefine an area or create buzz as only we in Miami know and love to do. Resorts World Miami is one of those types of projects that come up every decade or so to much fanfare, hype and expectation.

I watched the video and it's impressive. The scale, the mass, the way Arquitectonica played with the lines of the building to mimic coral stone formations and some of the other more technical aspects of the project are very interesting and a draw in and of themselves.

As much as I might like the concept, Resorts World Miami will need some "concept" massaging before it's final form is truly revealed. Why do I say that? Beside the obvious political issue with gaming licenses and the like, there is the issue of what a project of this size would do to traffic, infrastructure and resources in and around the project. How do you handle a quarter of a million people in it's public space? Did they all take the metro mover to get there?

Does Resorts World Miami project outwardly to organically connect to the surrounding arts center, residences, park and museums? Or, does it pull you into it's space in such a way as to leave the surrounding properties as a backdrop eventually lessening their value?

Regardless of this first pass and the issues that come to mind I am happy to see Resorts World Miami arrive. I also like the idea that the Genting group who are already invested in Miami as owners of NCL (Norwegian Cruise Lines) continue to see Miami as way to build on their business. To me, it's a very logical fit. Destination city, cruise capital of the world and the largest destination facility a stones throw away from your ships is not a bad thing...

What do you think? What would you like to see come of this? Do you think it should exist at all? Too much urban density. Not enough density? What's your take on Resorts World Miami? Sound off below and here are a few more pics to get a sense of what is being proposed.

Update:

In the Herald yesterday was published an article showing revenue projections and that the design concept would potentially scale back from it's original size. But, it's intent of luring creme de la creme gamblers in a similar fashion to the most profitable asian casinos remains intact. Resorts World Miami has the potential to be the United States most profitable casino. Even more profitable than casinos in Las Vegas and Connecticut.

Post Script. 

It's now approaching the new year of 2019 and the current owners of the property, Genting Group, are holding tight to their investment and have actually purchased sizable chunks of additional land immediately surrounding the area as in the Omni Mall and Hotel. 

Brickell Key II at 540 Brickell Key Drive, Miami, Fl 33131. All real estate listings are updated daily. 

Brickell Key II on Brickell Key Island, was built in 1991. It is located next door to Brickell Key I which is it's sister building and architecturally similar. Brickell Key II is best known for being a very social and friendly building that is well maintained. The building is currently completing a major renovation of it's exterior including new railings, painting and structural improvements. Like many building on the island, Brickell Key II has 24 hour manned security with cameras both in the building and the parking garage. It is a very safe building. One other advantage to the building is ample parking should you need an extra space. The free-form pool is one of the largest on the island. The full gym overlooks the pool and gardens. There is a Tiki hut that can be rented for events as well as two barbecue stands for outdoor get togethers. Brickell Key II is situated on Claughton island that is a 40 acre enclave of exclusive condominiums, offices and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel & Spa. Just minutes away by foot is all that Brickell Avenue has to offer making this the perfect balance between urban living and a resort-like island lifestyle.

Here are a list of amenities and features for Brickell Key II:

• Built in 1991
• 18 floors
• 24 hour security
• All windows and doors have hurricane shutters
• views to Biscayne Bay, Virginia Key, Downtown Miami, Fisher Island, the Port of Miami and beyond.
• Studio apartments to 3 bedroom homes ranging in size from 360 to over 2700 sq. ft.
• Pet Friendly building (owners only)
• On site management (managementoffice@bk2condo.com or 305-381-7777)
• Pool, spa, gym, sauna, tennis courts, racquet ball, onsite food store, children's play room and community room.
• Assigned parking and ample additional parking available upon request.

Brickell Key II is a great place to call home and very competitively priced. To learn more about the area please call us at 305-349-3643 or via email at info@www.emh3.com.

540 Brickell Key Dr Miami Fl 33131 Real Estate for Sale:

So, Is Real Estate Really Better Than Gold?

Every Tuesday on Biscayne and 109th street.
Gotta check it out!

The closings map has a color overlay of household income to show the relationship between where closings are taking place and the average income in that area. As we drill down to the individual city and units, the model shows that not all closing activity in the area is the exclusive domain of higher income saturated markets as one might think. Another interesting thing to review but not reflected here is the numbers of loans to cash deals in these particular areas. I won't give away that result but will say that loan underwriting has increased and that lenders are expanding the number of deals they will write in the various submarkets.

The distressed map shows housing unit growth color coded on a percentage basis with active distressed condo activity shown in red clusters. It's interesting to note that not in all cases is the highest distressed sales activity in the higher growth markets. A lot of times buildings whose unit owners had a lot of equity built up in more stable non growth markets transferred that accumulated wealth into newer properties. Upon default, the owners stayed with the newer properties forsaking the older ones. This is not always the case but the overlay shows that the relationship between these two metrics is not absolute.

EMh3.com and it's parent company Sieckel LLC, have been doing business for quite some time in the South Florida Luxury Real Estate market. Receiving recognition by becoming a Google Maps Favorite Places participant is validation of the extra time and effort that goes into providing cutting edge luxury real estate marketing for our clients.

It's great to see the word get out on Google Maps.

Congrats to Adrian and we are looking forward to a new year with a lot of activity!

From the EMH3 Team.

What a great title! Here is the better news for homebuyers. Florida's median home (Single family homes) price last month was $142,00 compared to the national average of $177,500 making Florida not just a great place to live but a relative bargain and 19% cheaper than this time last year!

Beside Florida home sales posting better numbers, there were some other things of important note. Foreclosure activity and Short Sales (Distressed properties) were still pushing prices downward or to use the National Association of Realtors term "distorting values". As much as we would all love to put on our rose colored glasses and argue that short sales and foreclosures are not legitimate transactions (But distortions) upon which to value property; the fact remains they constitute the bulk of activity in key markets and beside being a great opportunity to buy are also REALITY. But I digress....

Other good news is that condo's are faring better as well. Almost twice the amount of condo sales took place (5088 units sold statewide versus 2870) in September. Couple that with the fact that the states median condo price is $102,500 versus $179,300 for the national average and the picture is becoming increasingly clear that the time is nigh to buy!

Specific, harder hit markets values will vary but the overall picture is looking better for us in the Sunshine State.

So, prices are down to incredibly low, lows. Transactions are up and interest rates on a 30 year fixed are hovering around the 5% mark. And you are waiting because....?