The Voice of Downtown Chicago

Posted by Diane on November 10, 2007  in Coaching

Chicago’s Home Weblog by Geno Petro is a must-read. His colorful, conversational prose covers everything from the state of the industry to what’s happening in his local market to global warming, the corner cafe, his beloved broker, six degrees of separation, the credit crunch and media’s role in it, his barking dog, the latest cool loft listings, not to mention the adventures of Mr. and Mrs. Climbladder. I am not even doing him justice in this lame attempt to describe all that’s going on.

My favorite blog feature he’s added is a running collection of all the nice things anyone has ever said about him in the lower right-hand column… a nice touch that makes him seem like a respected, well-loved professional with instant credibility.

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Another Fresh Voice

Posted by Diane on November 8, 2007  in Coaching

This roaming around the web looking for cool agent blogs is becoming addictive. My latest find is The 680 Blog by Doug Buenz, a broker with Alain Pinel Realtors in Pleasanton, CA. Doug is not afraid to deliver the truth about the marketplace, even if the picture isn’t so pretty. He provides a good mix of market data, stories from the street, and the occasional off-topic humorous piece. His market meter is fabulous… a great tool for understanding the market at a glance, and his video and cartoon of the week add a creative touch. But my favorite was his bio, where he freely admits that he doesn’t really like his cats because they ignore him.

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See You at NAR

Posted by Diane on November 6, 2007  in Coaching, Events

Next week, I’ll be at the National Association of Realtors annual convention in Las Vegas for a speaking engagement at the Newspaper Association of America’s Real Estate Advertising Forum, held concurrently. The topic will be Real Estate Blogging… how it affects our business and theirs.

Damon Pace over at Incredible Agent will be hosting a series of informal blogger presos at their booth on the show floor, and I’ll be on stage Thursday at 3 pm. If you’re curious about blogging and want to know how to use it to build your business online, stop by and see me… I’d love to help!

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Naked Market Truths

Posted by Diane on November 6, 2007  in Coaching

One of my Reno Realty Blog readers introduced me to this local blog: Bubble Info written by Jim Klinge in San Diego, CA. What I love about this blog is that it’s just the naked truth, no holds barred… the market is what it is, and he’s just there to tell you about it.

As Jim himself says, “I sell homes. I am a real estate broker, a 23-year veteran of the business and sell homes in the San Diego North County Coastal region. I take great pride in providing detailed and comprehensive opinions and advice about the marketplace - not from some ivory tower but from being actively engaged with buyers and sellers on a day-to-day basis. What you read here is based on what’s really happening in the marketplace, not theory or speculation. I have no investment in the bubble, I’ll be selling homes whether the market is going up or down, so I’m not looking to influence one way or another.”

This is exactly what any good local blog needs to be. The source of truth.

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