Does Sex Sell Real Estate?

January 2, 2009 at 8:34 am · Filed under Gulf Coast Housing

Using sex in advertising is about as old as advertising itself.  We have seen it in beer commercials, soda commercials, magazine ads, the super bowl halftime show, blah blah blah.  Anyone over the age of 12 knows what I’m talking about.

So, is the same true with Real Estate?

Well, I would argue that it depends on what kind of Real Estate you are trying to sell.  For a first time buyer in a family neighborhood, it is probably not appropriate, or even effective.  But, there are certain kinds of property that are inherantly sexy anyway.  Beach houses, high rise condos, resort properties - all of these types of properties have a certain sexiness to them - and it just so happens that Florida has more of this kind of property than most any other state (except maybe California or Hawaii).

Shaun McLane, an Orlando Realtor, saw this as a niche that (in a sluggish real estate market) just couldn’t be ignored.  He put together a video, and posted on YouTube, that got him into a little hot water and kicked up a little controversy at the same time.  Shaun posted this video, and because of its contents was given an ultimatum by the managing broker of his real estate firm.  He was given the choice of taking it down, or be terminated from employment.

Well…the video is still up, and he now works for a different real estate firm.  While I admire his tennacity (I am equally as hard headed), I also see her point.  As a real estate broker and owner of a real estate firm, she is responsible for all sales agents under her, and ultimately responsible for any advertising.

So, should she have given such an ultimatum?  If it were me, I would have talked to Shaun about how we could use that kind of “outside the box” thinking to make advertising that was as eye-catching, but maybe more appealing to a general audience, rather than a hardline stance.  The truth is, I was not in the meeting, so I don’t know exactly what was said or how it was said, but a more diplomatic alternative could have been more useful for both parties.

I could have posted the video right on this post, but elected to put a link to it on YouTube instead to avoid possibly offending some of my readers.  While I don’t see this as pornography, it is at the very least, racey.

Good luck Shaun, and keep thinking outside the box…our industry needs it.

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Twitter Me This…

November 20, 2008 at 10:58 am · Filed under Contact Me, Did You Know?, Pensacola, Perdido Key

For months now I have heard the “buzz” about Twitter.com and its ability to micro blog whatever you are doing at any given time.  I of course didn’t see the point.  But,  since it is free, I went ahead and signed up for an account about 9 months ago, and proceeded to do absolutely nothing with it.

Now, after getting asked repeatedly about twitter, and after getting my first confirmed real estate lead from there, I have had my light bulb moment.  If someone is following me on twitter, they know that I am a mortgage banker.  And, they will also get to see everytime I update something on my profile such as a new blog post, or today’s mortgage rates, or what the neighbor’s cat is doing in my yard.

The concept of Twitter is so simple, that I truly didn’t get why you would even bother, until recently.  I am by no means a “twitter-holic”, but I an trying to more frequently update what is going on with me for those interested in me or mortgages or real estate or all of the above.

You can follow me on Twitter by clicking the Twitter icon on the right side of this screen.

For your daily mortgage rates, go to SteveRussellOnline.com, or call me at 850-221-8334.

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Friday November 14, 2008

November 14, 2008 at 11:24 am · Filed under Affordable Housing, Gulf Coast Housing, Pensacola, Perdido Key Condo Deals, Residential, The Mortgage Market

This weeks financial news wrap up.

It is interesting the times that we live in right now.  The 500 point intraday swings in the stock market have become so commonplace that no one even gets excited about it anymore.  Even yesterday, there was an intraday low of -331 only to rally in the afternoon to +552, a nearly 900 point intraday swing.  What is even more curious is a buying rally after incredibly bad economic reports.

All of this leads to the conclusion that the markets are trading almost entirely on emotion.  Fundamentals appear to have no affect, and that uncertainty bleeds over to the bond market as well.

Mortgage bonds started the week on a downward slide, then recovered Wednesday and Thursday morning with a nice rally.  That rally began losing steam yesterday afternoon and continues to show weakness this morning.  Daily volatility aside, mortgage rates long term are better than they have been in about a month and continue to trade in a near sideways channel.

Conventional wisdom would lead us to believe that as poor economic data comes out, investors would pull money out of stocks, invest in bonds, driving up the yield and driving down mortgage rates.  But, as previously discuss, conventional wisdom does not appear to have a place in this market.

All in all, if you have a mortgage loan in process that you have not yet locked, my bias would be towards locking to protect against uncertainty.

For today’s mortgage rates, or to apply for a mortgage loan, go to SteveRussellOnline.com.  Or call 888-257-8383 for a free consultation.

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