Google+ More of the Same?

Published by John McClung on July 10th, 2011

Some Observations

Google+ could easily become more of the same. While I like the platform, the question is already coming up as to whether we will now see the same thing posted on Google+ as Twitter and Facebook. (Admit it, you’ve asked yourself this question.)

Currently, the sameness is heightened by the fact that many of the folks in my circles and I’m betting yours, are assigned to tweetdeck columns that make it easier to follow what they say.

newness has led to many seeking out the people I consider to be tech and/or social media guides/mentors/leaders such as Chris Brogan, Chris Voss, Seth Godin, Brian Solis and Mari Smith. Thankfully these folks are early adopters and freely share their insights so that folks that are 10 days and more younger on the platform can use it better faster.

I only have a few Facebook friends that are on Twitter, they are also on Google+, while my other Facebook friends are not. This is generally ok, as I have “real life” relationships with almost all of the folks that are my friends on Facebook.

Some Questions

Will we be posting for the next year about how we don’t or you shouldn’t add people to circles just because they add you?

Will, like I’m doing with this post, we cross-post everything to Twitter and Facebook?

Will Google add enough +s that we will eventually abandon our Facebook or Twitter?

Will we have different personas on Google+?

Will we focus on being social? Learning? Teaching? Marketing? Spamming? Scamming?

The stakes are huge for Google. I saw a tweet (sorry don’t know who to credit) that their valuation went up by $20 Billion due to +. They are just as high for the other players. So the BIG QUESTION is what are you looking for in Google+ as a tool to further your income, your goals, yourself? Ultimately that will decide whether Google+ supplants or supplements other social media
venues. I’d love to hear your comment here or any the SM venues.

No Comments »
Posted in Non Real Estate, Uncategorized

June Market Update

Published by John McClung on July 6th, 2011

Richmond Real Estate contracts Year over Year

Pending Sales & Sales Success

In the single family Richmond Tri-Cities market segment, Pending Sales for June are up by 34.07% to 1,149 versus June of last year at 857 that went under contract. With 2,133 newly listed homes this month and 1,149 under contract, the sales success index of 53.87% for June advanced 57.27% versus last year’s index of 34.25% in 2010.

Median Prices

According to the June 2011 statistics, this market area has experienced some upward momentum with the increase of average prices at closing. Prices increased 1.90% to $241,855 versus the previous year June at $237,352. This is a difference in price of $4,503.

New Listings & Months Supply of Inventory

New Listing in this area for the month of June yielded 2,133 available resale dwellings. This was a decline of 14.75% or 369 units in comparison to June 2010. The total housing inventory at the end of June dipped by 19.76% to 8,651 existing homes available for sale. At an average of 849 closed sales per month over the last 12 months (July 2010 – June 2011), represented an unsold inventory index of 10.19 MSI for this market segment.(Source – RealEstateStats)

No Comments »
Posted in Market update
Tags: , , ,

Proud and in control?

Published by John McClung on June 24th, 2011

Overall I think builders tend to be a fairly proud lot. They should be. When you build a home you are taking a piece of dirt and adding value. That’s value for the buyer, for the county or city that taxes it, for the neighborhood or area that surrounds it etc.

The process of building a home is, well, sometimes messy. After all, there are scraps and wrappers and spacers, and the people building the house create waste, because it is hot and they have gatorade and water and food etc. Even though it is done outside, it is a major manufacturing process. This process is complicated by the fact that much if not all of the work is done by sub-contractors.

So the question becomes; does the pride show up through out the building process? Is the site maintained the way the builder would want it to be? Because if it is not maintained neatly, broom swept on the inside daily, picked up and returned to a workmanlike manner at the end of the day; does the builder really have control over the process? If not does he/she really have control over the quality of work on the inside of the house?

No Comments »
Posted in Comparing builders, Lifestyle Builders
Tags: , , , ,

The Design Center at Lifestyle Builders

Published by John McClung on June 23rd, 2011

One of the reasons I chose to work with Lifestyle Builders is their committment to excellence in approaching the customer. One example of taking the commitment to a whole new level is the 2,600 square foot design studio. See for yourself:

The Lifestyle Builders Design Center

No Comments »
Posted in Lifestyle Builders
Tags: , , ,

Let’s create some jobs

Published by John McClung on June 21st, 2011

The news on jobs in the Richmond Virginia Area turned positive last summer. We can feel the improvement, but it is not happening as fast as we would like. There is a way to increase the creation of new jobs and have an impact on the economy – buy a brand new home. That’s right have a home built and create jobs, income and tax revenues for the local economy.

The thing about taking a piece of land from this 

to this  is that it takes people, money and time.

In the late 90′s the numbers indicated that it took over a 100 people placing 80,000 parts together to create a single house. Disregarding the fact that new homes tend to be even larger today how do we quantify that in terms of jobs? After all, some of those people only work on the house for a very brief period of the 4 – 6 months that it takes to build a home.

Speaking of HOMES, we know that it takes your additional parts, in this case furniture, rugs, appliances, electronics, keepsakes, artwork, photographs etc to make a house a home. We also know that some of these are new and others are replaced over the years that you live in the home. So how do we quantify these in terms of their economic impact?

Additionally we know that homeowners pay local taxes and use local services, so what impact does that have on the economy?

Dr. Elliott Eisenberg and his staff at the National Association of Home Builders, using numbers provided by the Chesterfield County Government, estimated the following 1 year impact to our area of building a single family home:

$211,418 in local income

$18,290 in taxes and other revenue for local governments

3.6 local jobs

The annual impact of having an occupied home in place of a vacant lot:

$36.036 in local income

$6,472 in taxes and other revenue for local governments

.67 local jobs

So help the Richmond area, help your neighbors, most of all help yourself. BUY A BRAND NEW HOME.

No Comments »
Posted in economy, NAHB
Tags: , , , , , ,