Friday Facts Oct. 8, 2010

FRIDAY FACTS
October 8, 2010

RISMedia offers three lessons from 3 years of recession:
A house is a home, not a piggy bank. Agents need to match home with heart.
The old way is not going to cut it. Clients are now buying movie tickets and SUV’s online. They are texting not calling. Their lives are busier than ever, so your service had better fit within their lives.
It really is all about people. Put the people you are serving ahead of everything else.

Trulia reports 10 cities where its better to buy than rent: Minneapolis; Arlington, Texas; Miami; Fresno; San Antonio; Mesa, AZ; Jacksonville, Fl; El Paso; Las Vegas. The 10 cities where it’s better to rent than buy: New York; Omaha; Seattle; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco; Oklahoma City; Kansas City, MO; Sand Diego; Dallas.

$60 million has been set aside for real estate licensees in 5 states affected by the Gulf oil spill: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Applications for claims close 11/23/10 and the limit per claimant is $12,000.

From Inman News: Zillow-like Zoopla claims to operate the U.K.’s most comprehensive property search website. It provides listing, valuations, public property records and local market statistics. It also claims to have information on every property in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland (27 million homes) whether they’re for sale, rent, or off-market.

Kitchen design trends from RISMedia:
Counter tops: Stainless steel, antiqued marble, lava stone, wood, concrete, mosaics and flamed granite with a textured, matte finish.
Cabinetry: Fewer overhead cabinets, lift-up or sliding doors, self-closing drawers, glass-fronted cabinets and glass shelving, tracks inside doors for attaching storage accessories, pantries with multiple storage options, fresh finishes, from smooth, high-gloss and matte lacquer, to textured, horizontal-grain laminates.
Appliances: Free-standing accent pieces and fully-integrated designs that blend with cabinets, fridges with more crisper space and less freezer space, combination gas/electric ranges, designer range hoods, super-quiet dishwashers, specialty sink faucets, luxury items such as warmer drawers for coffee mugs.
Colors: Warm neutrals such as walnut, slate, sand, celadon and magnolia.