Bill and Dave Talk Real Estate Marketing

My friend and marketing mentor Dave Newton now lives in Yakima, from which he renders judgment upon the planet. I asked Dave to give me some thoughts on real estate, from a non-real estate guy’s point of view. By the way, you can follow Dave at www.3rdActs.com.

Memo to Bill: I used to tell my marketing clients, "You want free publicity? Do something newsworthy." I’m sorry, the opening weekend of your standard condo cluster won’t bump Afghanistan off the front page. Remember, to become a sensation, you’ve got to be sensational. Be the first home marketer to squeeze fifty-seven view condos onto the summit of Queen Anne Hill, priced in the low three-hundreds, without moving a TV tower. Build homes with automatic technology upgrades every three years. Build the first condominium with no condo board. Get crazy. Make news.

La’Cee Talks About Green

The great (and large sample) survey that John Burns Consulting did for the National Association of Homebuilders continues to fascinate. Do today’s buyers want green? Yes. And will they pay for it? Sort of. The survey said that 70% would pay $5K more for green technology, but 100% of the respondents said they expected this technology in their new home. I’m not sure what this really means, but, at the least, we ignore the green movement at our peril.