Author Archives: Joe Sesso

Will You Be in Line for the iPhone 5? Check Out These Statistics

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Will you be purchasing or upgrading to an iPhone 5?

Many people have said YES!  How many are actually expected to buy? The folks at Baird Research put together a comprehensive study and they came up with some interesting numbers as to who will be buying one. Here’s what they found:

* Apple estimates that it will sell at least 50 million iPhones in the next year, which is extremely conservative. Analysts predict that Apple could sell that many by Christmas of this year.

* With regards to poaching (taking users away from another brand)

  • 77% of iPhone users expected to remain loyal users
  • 48% of Android users will stay with Android
  • 17% of Android users will switch to iPhone
  • 5% of iPhone users have said they will switch to Android
  • 2% of Blackberry users say they will stay with Blackberry

What category do you fit into?  Homes.com wants to know, tell us below.

 

5 Simple Steps to Making the Best Real Estate Videos

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Real estate professionals know how important video has become to the industry.There are millions of video tours on Youtube today and video blogs have become all the rage for top real estate pros. The problem with many real estate videos is that the quality can be poor. Just because you are taking an amateur video doesn’t mean it has to look like an amateur video.

 

Here are five simple steps to making great real estate videos with your smartphone: 

 

  1. Step 1: Record Horizontally - Recording horizontally gives you a wider view.  Conversely, when recording in a vertical position, you’re only recording part of the image.  This looks okay if the video is viewed from a smartphone, but since most real estate videos also make it to YouTube and other websites, vertically recorded videos do not present as well as horizontal views.
  2. Step 2: Tripod and Tripod Attachments - There’s nothing worse than seeing a real estate video that is shaky or that moves around a lot. This can make people dizzy and it’s a huge turn-off for viewers. There’s a simple fix for this: use a tripod. Tripods are built for regular cameras, but there are low-cost adaptors available. Joby sells a great all-in-one tripod for smartphones called Gorillamobile for $40. There are other options for tripods as well. For adaptor and brackets, photo retailer Adorama has a $10 product called the Heavy Duty L-Bracket, that attaches to your tripod and holds your phone in place. Studio Neat Glif is available for $20, and does the same thing as Adorama’s product. These sites also have iPad options. Other websites to check out are Amazon.com and HDhat.com.
  3. Step 3: Sound - The microphones that are built into smartphones aren’t usually studio quality. The easiest way to fix this is to get a microphone that plugs directly into your smartphone. There are many options, ranging from very reasonable to quite expensive. One of best entry-level options is a lavalier mic from RadioShack that plugs directly into your phone. You simply clip the mic onto your shirt or lapel and you now have a much better sound to your program. Other options are audio recorders and mic cables. You can compare products and pricing at Amazon.com. Whatever you decide on, a microphone is a must for good video quality.
  4. Step 4: Apps - Recording the video is one thing, but developing it into a nice production is another thing. There are many apps out there for Apple and Android devices, but here are my favorites:
    iMovie (iPhone) and Clesh Video (Android): These apps are great for piecing together movie clips, editing, and importing music from your library to create great video. You can also easily post your video to Facebook and YouTube from these apps. Both are $4.99. 
    Filmic pro    : This app enables you to tweak exposure while shooting video. It’s $3.99 and available on both iPhones and Androids.
  5. Step 5: Accessories - You’ve bought the apps, the tripod, and the microphones, and now you’re ready to create great video. Is there anything else that you might need? Accessories can help a lot! This includes everything from specialty lenses to professional production equipment. Here are some of my favorites:
      • Lenses: The Olloclip lens add-on is the most popular. It slips right over your iPhone and gives you fish-eye, wide-angle, and macro views. It costs about $70 for all three. Check Amazon for pricing and other lens options. Another great site that specializes in real estate video equipment is hdhat.com.
      • Hollywood zip lines: These devices are used by Hollywood studios, but now there’s one available for iPhone. This is a zip line that attaches to your phone and allows you to walk with your camera seamlessly without shaking extra movement. It stays in a straight line. Tiffen makes one for regular cameras for $700, but has also developed one for iPhone for $149. Great for video tours!

Creating great quality video tours and video blogs doesn’t have to be expensive. You don’t have to hire a professional crew to do this work for you. All you need is the right equipment. These five simple steps should enable you to record high quality video for a very reasonable price.

Sales Continuing to Climb

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New home sales in May were the strongest in two years. This could suggest a modest housing recovery for the battered real estate market.  In late June, the Commerce Department said that sales of new homes increased by 7.6% in May from Aprilto a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $369,000, which is the best pace since April 2010.
This is significant because that was the deadline for consumers to take advantage of the $8,000 housing tax credit. Sales aren’t the only signs that things are getting better in the housing market – builders across the country are building more homes. Inventories of new homes are near all-time lows. But it’s not just new homes that are doing well. In Miami, a mini-condo boom is taking place as investors from overseas are looking to put their money into good real estate investments.

At NAR Midyear in Washington, D.C. in May, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun personally told me that the first quarter of 2012 was the best quarter we have seen for transactions in five years. In April, prices rose in most of the country. The Case-Schiller Index reported that U.S. home prices rose by 1.3% for the month. Record low interest rates and fewer bank-owned properties being sold helped with sales volume and appreciation. So does this mean that it’s time to prepare for another housing boom? Many experts say not to get excited yet.

Most experts agree that things are indeed getting better for housing. This is great news for homeowners and real estate professionals. These same experts also warn not to get too excited yet, as the recovery process will be long and slow. There are many other factors that will come into play in the coming months: the Presidential elections, interest rates, the European Crisis, and China’s reported slowdown are just a few factors that could cause a setback.

Additionally, this year has been the strongest year for real estate sales since 2007, which is significant for homeowners, buyers and real estate professionals, because this stability and confidence can drive a real estate market up. With the controls that have been put in place to prevent future housing crashes, things are looking very bright for the housing market.

What do you think? Send us your two cents below in our comments.

An Easy Way To Share Property Photos!

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Homes.com

Real estate professionals are always looking for new and conveinent ways to share property videos with their clients, contacts, and friends. With today’s technology, it’s easy to record video from your mobile device. However, trying to share that video with someone is sometimes a bit more challenging. The files are usually too big for text or email, and posting a video to YouTube might not be the best solution when you want to share a property video with someone. So what can a real estate professional do that is quick, easy, and free? I suggest SocialCam, a new social video app for smartphones that can make sharing video content with clients easier than ever.

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The Facebook Effect on Real Estate (Eager for Public IPO)

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Facebook is finally going public, and that’s good news to many real estate professionals in Silicon Valley. As the hype has been building regarding the Palo Alto giant’s initial public offering, many sellers have held off until the flood of Facebook millionaires hits the market in the next few weeks.

The last few months have been tough for Silicon Valley real estate professionals. There has been an extreme shortage of properties for sale because many sellers have indicated that they want to wait until the Facebook IPO launches, so that they can be a part of the feeding frenzy of fresh-faced millionaires looking to spend their newly found money. Look for a lot of sellers to test the waters in the next few months to see what they can get for their home.

Sellers in Silicon Valley "like" the Facebook Effect on Real Estate

This region has without a doubt been the hottest place for real estate in the United States for a while now. Just how hot is it? Homes in Silicon Valley are selling at a brisk pace and getting multiple offers, with some homes getting as many as 50-60 offers in a weekend. Tear down houses that are less than 1,000 square feet are selling for over $1 million and getting multiple offers. The same size house that sells for about $200,000 in Seattle or Los Angeles is selling for more than five times that in Silicon Valley. It’s an amazing phenomenon, but is it another bubble? Most experts don’t think so.

The Silicon Valley has been home to the world’s tech industry for many years. With tech giants Google, Apple, HP, and Facebook calling the area home, plus many other mid to large players in the region as well, it will be a hot hub for real estate for some time. Silicon Valley has become the mecca for tech startups and talented programmers.
The only problem with the region is that with prices going up so fast, it’s pricing out entry and mid-level executives. This is good for communities just outside of Silicon Valley,since it will cause a rush in real estate there as well from people who work in the Silicon Valley, but can’t afford to live there. All in all, it’s could be a record-breaking year for real estate in this region of Northern California.

The Facebook IPO could do more than put more money in people’s pockets. It may cause a surge in real estate prices in Silicon Valley. It already has done this, but look for prices in this region to go much higher by year’s end. This is one place in the U.S. that is not feeling a housing slow down. It’s actually the exact opposite here.  Give us your thoughts below!