The advertisement you see above is one that the National Association of Realtors in putting in a number of publications lately. Their intent is to make sure that people are aware that now is a good time for them to out house hunting. I don't have a problem with their intent but I believe their execution is very disappointing. As a real estate professional, I know the many reasons that now truly is a good time for certain consumers to be house shopping. Chief among them are, 1) the historically low interest rates, 2) the never before seen tax credits from the government, 3) the reduced h

Just a quick post to let you know that we're up to 39 of Louisville's best neighborhoods over on my real estate Web site. When I add another one next week, that will make 40 neighborhoods spotlighted in 3 years. I'm not always the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, but building Best Louisville Neighborhoods was a very good idea. I receive more compliments on it than anything else that I've built online. I'd love to hear your thoughts as well!

In an effort to keep Louisville home sellers on the leading edge of national real estate trends, I was happy to meet with Melissa Marshbanks of Center Stage Homes to talk about home staging and how it can be used to help homeowners better market their property and get a leg up on the competition. For starters, could you give us a quick overview of staging and what it entails? Home staging can take on many different forms. It can be as simplistic as removing clutter and reorganizing a home before it goes on the market or it can be as involved as bringing in furniture from an outside sourc

One of the prime tenants of marketing is to make your product or service "stand out from the crowd." So, when you hear about an opportunity to buy a hard-to-find Wii video game console and get a house thrown in for "free"... that's something to check out, right? I wager that this homeowner is getting more attention for his North Carolina house than are the other listings in his area. This kind of creative thinking can help people here in Louisville sell their homes as well!

There are more homes on the market this year than last—36% more nationally and 34% more in Louisville, KY. This, my friends, is what's known as a buyer's market. "But what about the sellers?" you ask. Isn't it obvious? Sellers need to get aggressive when marketing their properties so that their listings will stand out from the crowd. Sometimes this means a price reduction. Sometimes it means increasing the buyer agent's commission. Sometimes it means "offering a two-year lease on a BMW X3 SUV to the agent who finds a buyer." Well, that's what Courtney Tursi is doing to attra

Even though I wish Claudia Wicks wouldn't have broken her article up into four pieces (1, 2, 3 and 4) she does present some valuable information for Agents new and old. Are visitors to your Website lost or engaged? Her #3 point—"Failing to Follow Up on Leads"—certainly is a problem solved by an easy solution. Every lead should be categorized and then pursued in order of value. Don't let the Tyranny of the Urgent dictate which tasks you decide to attack first. I also believe "Not Knowing What You Get for Your Money" is an important concept to consider. Too many agents thes

When considering a new tagline, sometimes you just have to push the envelope. We know where you live. That's the tagline for Alhouse King Realty and it's not just a risky move, it's borderline criminal.