Leadpile’s Blog

In recent conversations with many of my affiliates, the conversations about the economy and the housing market have been very popular. The housing market as we all know has impacted those around us in a very dramatic way. There are short sales, foreclosures, and home sale conversations going on with those on the internet, and with those in our every day lives. If you are one that is in the market to buy a house, this is certainly the time to do that. However, knowing what a short sale , foreclosure and FSBO (for sale by owner) are is very important. To help with finding homes to purchase AND becoming educated on these terms, there is a list of websites that Hitwise.com considers the highest ranked real estate websites ending the week of 3/21/2009:

1. Realtor.com
2. Yahoo! Real Estate
3. Zillow
4. ZipRealty
5. RE/MAX Real Estate
6. US Department of Housing and Urban Development
7. Rent.com
8. Homegain
9. Trulia.com
10. ServiceMagic
11. Homes.com
12. Apartments.com
13. Century 21 Real Estate
14. Foreclosure Store
15. Foreclosure.com
16. Reply!
17. RealtyTrac
18. Coldwell Banker Real Estate
19. RealEstate.com
20. MyNewPlace

Leadpile Lead Exchange is always looking for new partnerships with websites such as these, and any other websites that are looking to be monetized. However, we are also looking for those sites that are great resources for consumers to learn information from, such as the ones listed above. Being educated on a large transaction, such as buying a home, is key to making that transaction that much more successful. These listed websites can certainly help with accomplishing that, so you might want to take a look!

Many people are wondering if buying a home is a good idea right now. A recent article on CCNMoney revealed that RealtyTrac announced that the banks are the most desperate sellers.  Lenders report 197,800 homes were foreclosed in the from Jan 1, 2008 – April 30, 2008.

So is it a good time to buy? Yes! And a  good place to look may be homes that are bank owned.  Banks are trying to get rid of many homes, and they may be willing to take less than what they are worth.  Many people say to look for homes that are at least 90 days old.  Definietly hire a broker to assist you.

Also have the home inspected to make sure the value of the home is truly there.  Consider any maintenance or renovations that would need to be done and deduct that from the asking price.  Hire an expert!

What does this mean for the Real Estate Brokers! More business!! Obviosuly they can get leads for first time home buyers at the lead exchange, and sell homes even in tough times.

I saw a news story last week that reminded me of something else I had recently read on Andy Jacob’s SuperCloser that I had to check out. Mr. Jacob stated that he read in the LA times a story about a San Diego Developer that was giving away a house in Escondido to whoever purchased a house in the San Pasqual Valley.

 Ironically I then heard an ad on the radio about a Phoenix builder, giving away a Toyota Prius if you purchase “green” home in Queen Creek, Arizona, or in a 55+ community in Peoria, Arizona. No other upgrades just a new Hybrid car.

 There was then a man that was trying to sell a 2 million dollar home. As an incentive he partnered with a local BMW dealership to let the buyer choose 1 of 6 of their $65,000.00 BMW’s, and the homeowner was going to pay for it.

 These are all genius ways to get their names out there to the public.  These stories have been done in the news or on the internet in hopes to generate some interest in selling some homes in this slumping housing market. Is this a new and creative way to generate interest in selling a home?  Other ways of selling the home were not successful?  I guess the logic is the more people talking and reading about this interesting scenario, the more their name or brand will get out there to people who may not have heard of them. Free advertising? …….or is it really desperate measures to get rid of a home that would not sell any other way?  I will say one thing:  very creative!  They caught my attention.