Sunday, November 19, 2006

Hamptons Real Estate Blog Moved to Wordpress



the Hamptons Real Estate Blog has moved to Beachamptons.com
Beachamptons Blog

Monday, November 13, 2006

All the Discussion That's Worth Discussing..


...about Zillow, Intermediation and the Purity of Real Estate is here:

The Bloodhound Blog

and

Sellsius Real Estate Blog

Check them out. If you are a true real-estate-issues junkie (like me), you won't be disappointed. md

Builders & Agents: Know Your Customer

As much of a pain as it is to post on Blogger Beta, this one was worth it!


"When you were born says a lot about your idea of the perfect house. Here's a review of the features that appeal most to boomers, Gen X and Gen Y, plus tips on how to sell to homebuyers in each generation."
By Christopher Solomon, MSN.com
"Observers say attitudes about homes do change as people enter different stages of their lives: Witness the Gen X-ers who want high-end kitchens now that they're nesting, just like their boomer parents before them."
More Here :'Dream homes' vary by generation

Sunday, November 12, 2006

HELP!!! BLOGGER BETA IS KILLING THE HAMPTONS REAL ESTATE BLOG!!!!


Someone out here, please help me...I began the Hamptons Real Estate Blog nearly a year ago on Blogger. Sure, I read all the comments that Blogger was inferior, but I just figured that was feedback from "techno-snobs" who wanted greater functionality and didn't mind paying for their blog hosting.

After all, I began developing relationships with my blog, made blogfriends, even got linked by colleagues whom I respect greatly. Gosh, one of my new fav blogbuddies even brought Barbara and me a couple dozen fresh, delicious clams (thanks again, Joe). My ranking on technorati was climbing, not exponentially, but consistently. I was just about to break the 100,000 ranking.

Then, as I was posting sometime in September, my eye caught the invitation to switch to Blogger Beta.
BETTER (they said),
IMPROVED (they promised),
BLAH, BLAH, BLAH (they tantalized).
Well, I might just as well have clicked on a porn site that is in partnership with a Viagra'd dating community. I'm stuck, bombarded, and can't get out.

I have been sending email to the Blogger Help gROUP, hELP AT bLOGGER bETA, ANYONE i CAN. aLL i WANTED TO DO WAS GO BACK TO THE original bLOGGER (look I'm so upset, I'm not even paying attention to my caps button). But there are NO INSTRUCTIONS on Blogger or Blogger Beta whatsoever to do this!!!

THE "BLOG THIS" BUTTON ON THE GOOGLE TOOLBAR DOESN'T WORK WITH BLOGGER BETA!

BLOGGER HELP GROUP WON'T LET ME JOIN FOR SOME REASON!!

I CAN'T LEAVE COMMENTS ON NON-BETA BLOGS!!!

I'M STIFLED!!!!

THIS IS NOT WHAT BLOGGING IS ALL ABOUT!!!!!

THE HAMPTONS REAL ESTATE BLOG IS DYING!!!!!!

IT'S NO FUN BLOGGING ANYMORE.

I just want out of Blogger and Blogger Beta.

If anyone can suggest how to transfer my Hamptons Real Estate Blog to another blog host, I'm all ears. I'd prefer not to join a pay service, because I'm now up to about $2,000 per month with all the $39.99 services that have been adding up in today's "pay-for-what-used-to-be-free-or-things-that-you-don't-need-that-didn't-previously-exist" world.

Any ideas? I'm fading, folks...really. md

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Say It IS So!

The parade of real estate agents to Gosman's Dock over the years, sitting before "the family" (or parts of it, anyway), has been legendary. Many a broker has gone asking for the listing and has gotten it, only for it to be rescinded a day, a week, a month later.

Maybe it's for real this time?

The Gosman's Dock property is a great compilation of resources that, with the right touch and investment, will be a world-class destination and change the face of Montauk - The End.

Montauk Landmark Up For Sale

Don't Just Sit There - DO SOMETHING!!!


As discussed here, in Hamptons Deer In The National News Headlights, so many agents and brokers are paralyzed by the softening of business this past year. Matt Carter, the newest member of Inman News, has brought a refreshing, solution-oriented and "call-it-like-it-is" approach to the Inman Blog, and he posts on a recent panel discussion at the NAR convention in New Orleans. Thanks, Matt. md
Click Your Heels and Repeat After Me - Inman Blog

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Cha-Ching! Hamptons Real Estate Open For Business


The news has not been very good as of late. Nationally, real estate sales are down and values are dropping. The press loves the sensational, the dramatic. Good news isn't a draw. Who slows down on the highway to look at a car on the side of the road when there hasn't been an accident, right? Add some twisted metal and a few emergency vehicles and cars line up for miles to catch a peek. Sad, but true.

Here in the Hamptons, the news has not been all bad. Sure, there are stories of motivated sellers, price drops and more inventory than we have experienced in recent "high-flying" years, and there are data reports showing the number of sales are down from 2005, but the median and average sales prices are up. That's not bad news.

Well, the Wall Street bonuses are coming.
"For a fourth consecutive year, year-end bonuses are forecast to be highly lucrative, with the payouts rising 10 percent to 15 percent from 2005, according to Alan Johnson Associates, a leading executive compensation consultant."

And the Hamptons spring real estate market is right around the corner.

Read more below:

New York Times - Big Bonuses Seen Again For Wall Street

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Hamptons Real Estate Blog

Interesting, when I did a search for my Hamptons Real Estate Blog on Google, the results showed several other sites that have referred to this blog, and links to post comments on the blog with no way to actually get to it...but it did not come up with a link to the blog itself!?! What's the deal? Gotta figure that one out. md

Heard it all before - Brad Inman, Inman Blog

About Zillow having a complaint filed against them with the FTC, Brad Inman, founder of HomeGain writes the following in the Inman blog:


Zillow gets zinged, surprise, surprise. When HomeGain launched its home valuation tool in 1999, most consumers loved us but many hated us. We were estimating the value of an expensive and emotional asset: peoples' homes.
The service also scared Realtors, brokers and appraisers. It was new. Even new fashions make people mildly nervous, but new technology can send a sharp icy cold shiver up the spines of established companies.
The appraisers were particularly irked -- even though they had quietly become our power users ­ and a few of them went to state regulators to stop us. Two states came after me personally, threatening severe penalties. At the time, I said: "Bring it on, I cannot wait to stand on the courthouse steps and say that I will willingly go to jail for giving the public, public information."
-- Bradley Inman, Inman News

Brad-
Yes, there are some similarities, but the differences are attitude and presentation.
You have always been one to challenge the industry to be better. They appear to be trying to "cripple" it, with a smile.
You presented your info for what it was, these guys claim that their info is more than it really is. You're assertive and aggressive, they are arrogant and sneaky. That the difference, and I've heard it all before, too! See my post Chicken and Real Estate. Maybe it's all about PR? Maybe not. Time will tell. md