Have you had a heart-to-heart with your traffic statistics lately?

If not, I suggest you schedule some time soon – and do it regularly.

Traffic statistics can tell you all kinds of things that will help you to fine tune your website to make it as effective as it can be.

Here’s a real-life example from Lisa Udy from Utah.  Follow the link.  If you aren’t paying much attention to your traffic statistics, Lisa’s post might just convince you to start doing so!

I finally got around to transferring the photos I took of some of the local waterfalls to my computer, so I thought I’d share a few with you:

Take a good look at the photo on the right.  It’s on the private property of a place called Falling Waters.  And, no, you aren’t seeing things.  It’s a gazebo suspended in the middle of a river just down from a small waterfall.

From what I understand, the place is a private residence.  Amazing how the other half lives.  The gazebo is supported from only one side of the river.  The supports underneath look like wood, but it’s got to be just wood covering huge metal beams.

Even still, it reminds me of an airplane or a bumble bee.  You see it, but you can’t imagine how it works!

Stay tuned for more information about “monetizing” the $8000 tax credit which will make it usable for a downpayment.

Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, made the announcement today at a day-long session devoted to the economy at the REALTORs® Legislative Meetings and Trade Expo in Washington DC.

You probably already know the details of the First-Time Home Buyer Credit.  If not, the post you’ll see when use use the previous link will fill you in.  What is new is the concept of using the tax credit as a downpayment.  A press release at the Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch site notes:

• “According to Donovan, the FHA’s approved lenders will be permitted to “monetize” the tax credit through short-term bridge loans. This will allow eligible home buyers to access the funds immediately at the closing table.”

This could be another compelling reason for those who qualify for the tax credit to buy now.  Naturally, no one wants to promote using the tax credit in a way that would get a home owner into debt they can’t afford.  But, used wisely, this downpayment assistance could be another step toward getting your buyers off the fence.

Sellers Across the Country are Contracting Rehab-Mania

I was talking to an agent the other day who was very  frustrated with one of his sellers.  Evidently, the seller had updated some things in his kitchen, and assumed that the value of the house must have risen $40,000 as a result.

Rehab-Mania can be a problem in any market.  But, it’s especially contagious in a market like today’s.  Sellers are often grasping at any opportunity to justify an overinflated value for their homes.

Is There a Cure for Rehab-Mania?

Unfortunately, there is no real cure.  But, arming yourself with the facts can slow the spread of the disease.

Step 1:  Start by providing consistent doses of Remodeling magazine’s 2008–2009 Cost vs. Value Report.  That link will take you to a slick report showing national averages.  You can also click on your part of the country for regional statistics.

Step 2:  Reduce your sellers Rehab-Mania further by pointing out that national or regional averages don’t apply in every situation.  Different neighborhoods will see different results.

If your Seller is showing early signs of developing Rehab-Mania, start preventative steps immediately.  One of the best ways to do that is to provide them with a list of simple home updates that can quickly make a difference in how well a home will sell.

And, don’t forget the best fix of all – an immaculately clean home!

I subscribe to the RISMedia.com newsletter.  Every one of those newsletters contains the following announcement:

Free News Feed — Now you can have Real Estate’s #1 News Feed automatically appear on your Web site every day. Impress your customers with real estate news right on your home page! It’s fast and easy to do.

There are two things wrong with that announcement. 

First, whenever a statement like that is made, there should be a link in the statement somewhere that takes you to the place where you can quickly and easily take advantage of the offer.

Keep that in mind for your websites, too.  NEVER write something like “Try our advanced Atlanta Home Search” unless the words Atlanta Home Search (the keyword phrase Anchor Text), is linked to your search page.  If you’re telling your visitors to do something, make it easy for them!  And, it builds your internal linking structure at the same time.  But, back to RISMedia.

The second thing wrong with that announcement is that the Consumer-facing RSS feed on RISMedia’s website has been broken since February 2, 2009.  If you want to check that out for yourself, take a look at the feed page.  Notice that I gave you a link.  I didn’t make you run over to RISMedia and poke around until you found it.

I think the RISMedia consumer RSS feed would be a great addition to any real estate website.  Therefore, I think a lot of people would want to take advantage of the feed.

If anyone knows anyone at RISMedia, please ask them to either 1) fix the feed, which is the recommended approach, or 2) remove the announcement from the newsletter since it is exceedingly annoying for those of us who have contacted RISMedia several times since February 2 with no results.

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By the way, the Build Real Estate Results with Getting It Write, Inc. organization is moving.  In fact, there are just 10 days left before the big day.

So, for the next 10 days, the postings on this blog will be a bit spotty.  And, since I hate moving, probably a bit testy, too.

If you enjoy this blog, that’s perhaps bad news.  If you’re a client, it’s actually good news because client work will proceed uninterrupted during this time.

Well, actually, the office will be closed on Thursday, April 30 and Friday May 1, 2009.  But, schedules for completing client work will be adjusted accordingly, avoiding any unpleasant surprises.

Our telephone numbers will not change, but the address will.  Stay tuned to this blog, as further announcements will be made over the next week or so.