And Charlottesville was represented well. We might not be the epicenter of real estate blogging, but to win the Carnival of Real Estate and the Odysseus Medal in the same week – wow.Daniel’s Carnival winning post on social media and mine on the Wharton School of Business’ ignorance of Buyer-Brokerage.I am humbled and honored to have been among the 12 finalists.
Browsing Category Shameless Self Promotion
Buying and Selling Real Estate in Central Virginia
That’s the title of Sunday’s “The Wake-up Call with Rick Moore” on WNRN.One of the beauties of writing a real estate blog (or any blog, for that matter) is the ability to react, expand on conversations and provide context – in this case, yesterday’s show on WNRN, Buying and Selling Real Estate in Central Virginia…. Time certainly flies in radio, and the host did a great job of managing the conversation.From CvillePodcast:This week on the Sunday Morning Wake-Up Call with Rick Moore, two guests from the real estate industry talk about tips and myths of the business, and deal with the recent accusations by the NAACP that Charlottesville has a racial bias in lending rates…. If you think that today’s interest rates are high – get some perspective.3) Much more careful analysis is required in today’s market – smart purchases can absolutely be found, but finding those takes more analysis, negotiation and experience.4) On the subprime market and the NAACP’s suit, note this one disclaimer from the NCRC’s study (PDF):The disparities discussed in this report reflect a number of factors including income, wealth, credit rating, and many others…. The disparities in this report do not necessarily reveal levels of discrimination in the marketplace; but they do reveal the presence of ongoing barriers associated with socioeconomic factors.There are problems (as noted when the story first broke), but to attribute them entirely to race is irresponsible.Doing radio is fun, having the opportunity to followup is crucial.Some of the issues we touched on:Excellent story on the NCRC’s/NAACP’s lawsuitPiedmont Housing AllianceCompass Home Loans/Matt HodgesHow to protect your home equity in a falling marketMarket Statistics section of this blogLimits on Fannie/Freddie could be lifted next yearI’m actually a Realtor with Century 21 Manley Associates, not “Jim Duncan realty” :)This article is directed primarily at the anonymous caller:One source of difficulty arises from a basic fact of real estate economics: about half of home purchases are by people moving within a metropolitan area.
The Fall Newsletter
I am doing the The Fall Newsletter a little bit differently this quarter. Rather than write more content, I linked to a page on my website with the below stories from RealCentralVA.com over the past few weeks and months.Market Statistics for the Charlottesville RegionHousing Appreciation in the Charlottesville regionHow to differentiate your home from the competitionWhat will the market shift do to real estate consumers’ psychology?There are no little dealsBuilder incentives in the Charlottesville area real estate marketJuly’s Housing Numbers for the Charlottesville regionSome of the factors impacting the Charlottesville real estate marketWhat if I see something the inspector doesn’t see?
Media appearance – WNRN this Sunday
Tune in at 1100 on Sunday morning to WNRN for a revisit of last year’s show. Matt Hodges, a local lender, and I will be talking about the local real estate market, the subprime market, the “Credit Crunch,” “Mortgage Meltdown” and any other nifty alliterations we can think of.
Perhaps the nicest thing ever written about me
It takes up a quarter-page in one of the two prominent weekly newspapers in Charlottesville.2…. It’s genuine.It’s also refreshing that Duncan doesn’t take the typical Realtor’s approach of basically shilling the properties that he lists. The way Duncan writes about real estate and the articles he links to make it clear that he is not just in the business to make a living; the man seems genuinely interested in real estate as a topic of intelligent discussion, in sharing what he knows and in learning more. Quite candidly, this review is one of the nicest things I think has ever been written about me, and I hope to live up to the clearly high expectations I have set. I’m humbled and grateful.
Blogging 101 for Charlottesville
My blog tracks the Charlottesville and Central Virginia real estate market, market statistics, real estate technology, real estate representation (for sellers and buyers), local politics, “and more.”… Google BlogsearchCvilleblogscvillenewsCvilleTomorrow is tracking the Charlottesville/Albemarle elections (interestingly, no local Republican candidates have blogs – why is that?)Charlottesville News Headlines, thanks again to cvillenews.Look at the “blogrolls” of blogs you come to know and trust (typically on the side of the page).Key parts of a blog:- Reverse Chronological Order of posts, updated frequently- Comments (some debate this, but it is a crucial component of blogging) – participation in the blogs is key. – RSS – Real Simple Syndication – a method of information distribution- Linking to other blogs and citing your sources- Transparency and accountabilityGenerally, reading blogs also necessitates reading in a different way; rather than visiting each individual webpage, the news can come to you.
…Finding the best ones takes time, but it’s worthwhile.How to get started with Google Reader.Slightly more in-depth about RSS readers.If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me anytime.Regarding the guy who called in after I left, who said his blog’s goal is to “destroy Republicans running for office” – surely there are a fair amount of blogs whose goals are to publish vitriol, and there are plenty of political blogs on either side (and all sides) of the political world.
Media appearance tomorrow morning
Listen to WINA (those of you from outside Charlottesville are just out of luck, unless they add it to their “On Demand”). I will be on from 0910 to 0927 talking about the history of blogging, referencing the Wall Street Journal’s recent article on the supposed 10-year “Blogiversary.” (temp free link) There are people out there much more qualified than I, but I’ll try to make the best of the opportunity.