Real Estate News for Tuesday, April 10th, 2007

Blogging is the new marketing tool eh? I've been blogging for almost 4 years now, not just on TinaJan.com, but on other sites as well. Looks like everyone else is starting to catch up! :) And what's this? Northern California housing market is heating up? This bodes well for the rest of state, let's hope there's a ripple effect.

Real Estate Pros Not Getting Blogged Down By Negative Industry Trends. Blogging Has Become a Key Marketing Tool for Agents. Bloggers are offering an alternative voice in a turbulent real estate market. A recent national survey conducted by the Global Research Center and sponsored by the Blogging Systems Group reported that 68 percent of real estate agents said they would be focusing on blogs as a marketing tool in 2007. “Real estate blogs are an excellent way for real estate professionals to establish or expand their Internet presence,” said Richard Nacht, chief executive officer of Blogging Systems, a developer of community blog networks, in a release. “The Internet is now the number one place where home buyers and sellers go for real estate information. If realtors aren’t found online, there’s a good chance they won’t be found at all.” A recent report from the California Association of Realtors found that 63 percent of home buyers found their Realtor through an Internet search. CAR also found that a typical buyer is now an Internet buyer. It reported that the number of home buyers who used the Internet as an integral part of the home buying process increased significantly in the past six years from 28 percent of all buyers in 2000 to 70 percent in 2006. Click here to read more from the San Diego Business Journal.

NorCal Real Estate Market Heating Up, Realtors Say. For real estate agent Adriana Barriga, it's as if the storm clouds are brewing and the end of a long drought is near. Six-months ago, Barriga would have been uneasy putting a $500,000 home on the market in Tracy; at that price homes sit for months. But Barriga said buyers are showing signs of interest again. We would expect this from a real estate agent. But Dr. Chuck Williams, the Dean of the University of Pacific School of Business believes 2007 will mark rock bottom for the housing market. "We don't see a bubble bursting," William said. "Prices have dropped 5 to 10 percent compared to two years ago. Interest rates are low; there's a tremendous amount of inventory from which to choose. And if you're a buyer those are the three conditions that you want." Experts believe Northern California home prices will start to rise again over the next 18 months. Waiting for rock bottom, however, could be risky. Click here to read more from CBS5.com.

One of my guilty pleasures is catching up on celebrity real estate transactions. Avril Lavigne just bought a home in Bel-Air. Gwen Stefani is trying to sell her Los Feliz home after buying a new home in the Hollywood Hills.



Avril Lavigne is the "Girlfriend" next door. And Gwen Stefani is just a girl in the hills. While Canadian-born superstar Avril Lavigne was recording the chorus of her latest hit, "Girlfriend," in eight languages last month, she also was talking L.A. real estate. Lavigne and her husband, Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley, have bought a Bel-Air home for about $9.5 million. Click here to read more from the Los Angeles Times.



And when it comes to naming a lead singer of a rock band who is finding happiness in family life, Gwen Stefani would like there to be No Doubt it's she. She and musician-actor Gavin Rossdale, frontman for the grunge group Bush, were married in 2002 and had a son, Kingston, in the spring of 2006. That September, Stefani and Rossdale bought a 10,000-square-foot Hollywood Hills home for their little family, paying slightly less than its $15.5-million asking price. The contemporary-style house is on 2 acres in a gated community. Stefani has now put her Los Feliz bachelorette pad on the market at close to $4.8 million. It has six bedrooms and five bathrooms in 5,000 square feet. The grounds are about half an acre with a pool, spa, electric gates and a long, private drive. Mediterranean in style, the house was built in 1928 and has a two-story entry, hand-stenciled beams, a stone fireplace, an updated kitchen, an atrium with stained glass and a media room. Stefani, 37, has owned the Los Feliz home since 1998, when she bought it for $1.4 million. Click here to read more from the Los Angeles Times.

~Tina Jan~
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