New Home Marketing

The Orchards Group Announces Home of the Week

2012-01-12T11:30:00.004-05:00

The Orchards Group’s “Home of the Week” is truly a great buy. From its lush, landscaped yard to its unique interior, the Ashewood at The Orchards of Habersham Grove in Cumming has much to offer an active adult homebuyer. Originally priced at $262,175, the home is now attractively priced at $199,990. Due to this fantastic pricing, this home won’t be on the market long. It is also one of only two remaining homes in this completed neighborhood of 88 homes!

After entering this maintenance free ranch condominium, buyers will see the details that make the home special. Two spacious bedrooms and two full baths make it easy to have guests or even grandchildren stay the night. The second bedroom can even be used as a home office or craft space. Both bathrooms feature dark maple cabinets, granite vanity tops and upgraded plumbing fixtures.

Forget about carpet stains with beautiful, glistening hardwood floors in the foyer, kitchen, dining room, living room and sunroom. The sunroom is perfect for impressing guests, sipping lemonade during the summer and watching leaves fall during autumn. During the colder months, turn on the gas burning fireplace and keep the large living room feeling cozy.

The home’s kitchen is a chef’s dream. It boasts 42” dark maple cabinets, granite countertops and a walk-in pantry. The kitchen opens to a large, formal dining room that easily sits family and friends. With enough space to hold pots, pans and guests too, the kitchen and dining room are great for entertaining.

Additionally, the Ashewood includes upgraded interior paint throughout the home and a true walk-up attic for storage from the two-car garage. The garage also has space for a workshop, large enough to hold all of those tools and gardening supplies.

Residents of Habersham Grove do not have a shortage of amenities. They enjoy the pool, exercise room and even an activities room for playing cards, socializing and more. With a vibrant Homeowners Association, yards are able to be maintenance free and residents have more time to have fun.

The community is only minutes from shopping, restaurants, entertainment, Northside Hospital, Lake Lanier and GA 400. With so many opportunities, make your next move to Habersham Grove!

The model is open on the weekends or by appointment. To take a tour, please call 678-455-8101. Also, visit www.orchardsgroup.com for more information on all of our active adult communities.

Only Two Opportunities Remain at Haywood Village at Charter Colony

2012-01-06T14:49:00.001-05:00

Communityof luxurious Richmond new homes with Energy Star features

Final Opportunities at Haywood Village

BooneHomes, known for building custom Richmond new homes in desirablecommunities, announces the final opportunities at Haywood Village at CharterColony. Only one home and one home site remain at this luxury community inChesterfield County.

Theremaining standing inventory home features The Dovercroft design. Spanning3,049 square feet, this floor plan offers five bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. Convenientlynestled on a cul-de-sac lot, the home boasts many luxury interior finishesincluding a columned entrance that opens into a formal living room; a formaldining room with coffered ceiling, crown molding and wainscot molding detail;first-floor study; and a spacious owner’s suite with retreat, his and herswalk-in closets and bathroom with tub, separate shower and tile floors.

Theexpansive designer kitchen leaves nothing to be desired and includes a largepantry, island, granite countertops, tile backsplash and stainless steelappliances. For added convenience, the home offers an insulated, two-cargarage.

HaywoodVillage at Charter Colony is composed of four and five bedroom single-familyhomes with Energy Star features priced from the $400,000s. Floor plans rangefrom 2,700 to 4,800 square feet and boast many popular interior features suchas hardwood flooring in the primary living spaces, granite countertops in thekitchen and chair rail and picture frame molding in the formal dining room. Aswith all Boone Homes communities, buyers are invited to customize existingplans to suit their needs and lifestyles.

Inaddition to the community’s beautiful new homes in Richmond, residents enjoy anexpansive amenities package that includes tennis courts, pools, walking trails,tot lot, playground and a multi-purpose field. Haywood Village at CharterColony’s sidewalks, close proximity to YMCA and adjacent county parks providemore recreational opportunities for residents.

Childrenresiding at Haywood Village at Charter Colony attend J.B. Watkins ElementarySchool, Midlothian Middle School and Midlothian High School.

TheHaywood Village at Charter Colony sales office is located at 14130 CharterLanding Ct., Midlothian, VA 23114. Office hours are Monday through Thursday byappointment only and Friday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

Formore information about the Artisan home available at Haywood Village at CharterColony, call Chris Parks at 804-218-7760 or visit http://www.boonehomes.net.

About Boone Homes:

BooneHomes (www.boonehomes.net) is an award-winningVirginia new home builder with offices in Richmond. With 30 years ofexperience, Boone Homes builds traditionally styled homes with livable designsin luxury and maintenance free neighborhoods in the best locations. For moreinformation, call our Richmond office at 804-784-6192.

Boone Homes Announces Final Opportunities at Founders Bridge

2011-12-19T11:49:00.001-05:00

Only five Richmond new home sites remain at luxury community

Boone Homes has only five remaining lots at its Club Villas at Founders Bridge community in Powhatan County. These Richmond new home sites boast no maintenance living, and three of the sites are conveniently nestled on the community’s Independence Golf Course.

“From the active adult to the busy professional, all buyers will love this no maintenance golf course community,” said David Owen, president of Boone Homes. “With all of the exterior maintenance taken care of, homeowners have more time to enjoy the community’s Independence Golf Course.”

New homebuyers may choose from five home designs at Founders Bridge including The Blairshire II, The Hampstead II, The Hedgestone, The Westbridge and The Westcott II plans. Homes offer all-brick exteriors, three bedrooms, as many as four bathrooms and up to 4,600 square feet of elegant living space. All floor plans feature the master suites, laundry, kitchen and living, dining and family rooms on the first floor. Popular interior features include hardwood floors, bathrooms with cultured marble countertops and ceramic tile flooring and gourmet kitchens with granite countertops, islands, 42-inch designer cabinets, GE stainless steel appliances and hardwood floors. As with all Boone Homes communities, buyers are invited to customize existing plans to suit their needs and lifestyles.

The Club Villas at Founders Bridge is an intimate, no maintenance community of 16 two-story homes priced from the $500,000s. Each home boasts single-level living that is perfect for both active adults and busy professionals. No maintenance services provided at this community include lime treatment, fertilizing, aerating, irrigation, mulching, trimming of the shrubs and trees, snow removal and leaf removal.

In addition to the community’s beautiful new luxury homes in Richmond, residents enjoy a variety of amenities that include walking trails, sidewalks, tennis courts, swimming pool, playground, clubhouse and lower Powhatan County taxes. Homeowners also have access to Independence Golf Course and Club. Featuring a Tom Fazio design, the golf course has been named in Golf Digest’s Best Places to Play since 2004.

Children residing at the Club Villas at Founders Bridge are served by Flat Rock Elementary, Powhatan Junior High and Powhatan High schools.

For more information about the five remaining home sites at Founders Bridge, call Chris Parks at 804-218-7760 or visit http://www.boonehomes.net/.

About Boone Homes:

Boone Homes (http://www.boonehomes.net/) is an award-winning Virginia new home builder with offices in Richmond. With 30 years of experience, Boone Homes builds traditionally styled homes with livable designs in luxury and maintenance free neighborhoods in the best locations. For more information, call our Richmond office at 804-784-6192.

Bob Adams Remarks on the Homebuilding Industry in Builder Magazine

2011-12-12T16:25:00.001-05:00

Highland Homes’ president remains optimistic despite a harsh economy

Although many builders are struggling in the face of touch economic times, Highland Homes proves to be recession proof; and Builder Magazine is taking notice. Recently, the magazine interviewed Highland Homes’ president Bob Adams in its article, “One Step Ahead” where the Lakeland-based builder remarked that it still sees a profit in its Lakeland, Orlando and Tampa new homes despite the current harsh economic situation.

“We are excited to have the opportunity to share our story with Builder Magazine,” says Bob Adams, owner and president of Highland Homes. “For more than a decade, we have strived to be a leading homebuilder in Florida by constructing quality homes in the best locations throughout Central Florida, always putting buyers first with our focus on customer service and offering customer-friendly mortgage programs.”

The article highlights Adams’ expansive career in the homebuilding industry as well as Highland Homes’ key to success including excellent customer service, the use of social media to stay connected with prospects and homeowners and extensive, ongoing employee training.

Founded in 1996 by Robert J. and Joel Adams, Highland Homes has spent more than a decade establishing its commitment to providing Florida buyers with quality homes at affordable prices by putting a focus on excellence and family values. Dedication, strong leadership and personal commitment have made Highland Homes a leading builder in Central Florida.

Highland Homes constructs new single-family homes in communities throughout Central Florida that range from 1,210 to 2,827 square feet with three to five bedrooms and many popular features such as covered lanais, open layouts and master retreats with walk-in closets and garden tubs. The Central Florida home builder is a value leader with new home prices starting from the low-$100,000s and a $99 out-of-pocket move-in offer.

For more information about Highland Homes, visit http://www.HighlandHomes.org or call 863-619-7103.

To read more about Highland Homes in Builder Magazine, visit http://www.builderonline.com/local-markets/one-step-ahead.aspx?cid=BP:111811:FULL.

Congratulations to Kimberly and Traton Homes

2011-11-25T21:24:00.002-05:00

The 31st annual OBIE Awards were the icing on the cake of a great year for Traton Homes’ Marketing Manager Kelly Garwood. Garwood took home the honor of Marketing Director of the Year and a gold OBIE.

This year, Garwood developed a new blog for the premiere Atlanta home builder, www.TratonHomesBlog.com. The blog won the Best E-Marketing, Best Interactive Tool gold OBIE Award. In addition, Garwood also helped Traton tap into social networking as she established Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube accounts. In her spare time, she also helped facilitate the builder’s philanthropic efforts.

Above all, Garwood was instrumental in opening several new Traton Homes communities, and did so often on small budgets and tight deadlines.

Traton’s founder Bill Poston was especially impressed with Garwood’s ability to communicate Traton’s excellence through effective social media and public relations on a limited budget. Poston said, “Kimberly brings a special passion to every aspect of her work at Traton.”

Garwood’s colleagues at Traton Homes say she is a talented lady who is wonderful to work alongside. She possesses a unique ability to see the "big picture" and still keep up with managing daily tasks, and her advice is frequently sought by her colleagues. She has won Traton Homes’ Dunning Award, an award given annually to the employee who has a consistently positive attitude and plays a large role in making the company successful.

For more information on Traton Homes, see the Traton communities that took home OBIES and to get connected with the builder, visit www.tratonhomes.com.

Celebrate the Holiday Season in a Boone Homes No Maintenance Community

2011-11-18T13:28:00.001-05:00

Maintenance Free Richmond New Homes Free Up Time

Boone Homes knows that the holidays are busy enough without having to worry about a home’s exterior maintenance. From decorating, baking and cooking to shopping for the perfect holiday gifts, there is little time left over for lawn care and home maintenance. To help alleviate some of the stress this holiday season, Boone Homes offers Richmond new homes in five no maintenance communities.

“The holidays are a wonderful time that should be spent enjoying family and friends, not raking leaves and shoveling snow,” said David Owen, president of Boone Homes. “Our no maintenance communities take care of all exterior maintenance so families are free to spend their holidays as they choose.”

Services provided by Boone Homes at its no maintenance communities include lime treatment, fertilizing, aerating, irrigation, mulching, trimming of the shrubs and trees, snow removal, leaf removal, annual gutter cleaning and exterior painting.

Each of the Richmond builder’s no maintenance communities are perfect for retirees and busy professionals. With amenity-filled homes and the luxury of a “Lock and Leave” lifestyle, these communities are designed for buyers who are looking for more out of life. Whether it is planning a holiday party, shopping for holiday gifts, wine tasting, football tailgating parties or winter travel, homeowners are free to enjoy each activity knowing that all outdoor maintenance will be completed.

Boone Homes Henrico County maintenance free neighborhoods include Bellingham in Twin Hickory, priced from the upper-$300,000s and Villas at Grey Oaks, priced from the mid-$400,000s. The homes at Bellingham in Twin Hickory span 1,800 to 3,500 square feet and feature hardwood flooring and Solaris kitchen countertops. The Villas at Grey Oaks homes boast floorplans that range from 2,600 to 3,800 square feet with luxurious crown modling detail and 42-inch kitchen cabinetry. Both communities offer luxurious amenities in addition to no maintenance services including swimming pools, tennis courts and sidewalks.

Coach Homes of Kinloch, Club Villas at Founders Bridge and Courtyard Homes in Tarrington on the James offer Richmond custom homes that range from 2,600 to 4,500 square feet. Priced from the $500,000s, all homes in these communities feature open living spaces, kitchens with granite countertops and hardwood flooring.

All homes are designed for single-level living with the master suite, study, living room, formal dining room and kitchen on the first floor and additional rooms and space on the second floor.

For more information about Boone Homes or the builder’s no maintenance communities, visit http://www.boonehomes.net or call 804-218-7760.

To stay up-to-date with the latest company news, subscribe to the blog at http://www.boonehomesblog.com, interact with the company on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/boonehomesva or follow the builder on Twitter @BooneHomes.

The Link Between Credit Cards and Mortgages

2011-11-17T08:36:00.001-05:00

Do you currently have a mortgage on your home? If so, chances are good that credit card companies will be targeting you. According to an article by Janet Dedrick on the Equifax Finance Blog, consumers with mortgages are statistically better risks for credit card companies.

Her article, “Credit Trends: Mortgages and New Credit Cards” explains that consumers with mortgages are usually overall lower risks. She also observes other credit trends for 2011 that may surprise you.

People with mortgages represent 42 percent of new cards issued.
Almost 60 percent of new credit went to consumers with mortgages.

According to Dedrick, a majority of new credit card consumers have equity in their homes. Roughly half of them have property values estimated at $200,000 or below, with 35 percent falling in the $100,000 to $200,000 range. Even consumers who are underwater on their mortgages are still receiving new credit. Of the people with a credit score above 700, 30 percent have mortgages that are underwater. Credit card companies seem to understand that people can't control falling home values.

The number of people applying for and getting accepted for credit has increased slightly in 2011. Of course, credit limits are still tight and lenders remain cautious.

If you have applied for a new card this year, were you accepted? How do you compare with the statistics mentioned in the article?

To read Dedrick's full report, visit the Equifax Finance Blog.

Boone Homes Offers Showcase Artisan Home at Tarrington on the James

2011-10-21T16:52:00.003-04:00

Luxury Community of Estate Homes in Chesterfield County

Boone Homes, known for constructing quality luxury homes in Richmond for more than 30 years, has an available showcase Artisan home ready for an immediate move-in at Tarrington on the James. Located in Chesterfield County, the Estate home features the elegant Toddbury plan and newly reduced pricing.

“The showcase inventory home is perfect for families who want to buy before the holidays,” said David Owen, president of Boone Homes. “Not only can you move in immediately, but you also get a home that is perfect for entertaining family and friends.”

Now priced at $799,950, the home boasts five bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms and 4,500 square feet of living space. Large enough to accommodate any family’s lifestyle, the floor plan offer a bevy of popular features and finishes including a family room with gas log fireplace, hardwood floors, first-floor study with private porch, formal dining room, designer kitchen with cozy breakfast area and granite countertops and an oversized master suite on the second floor with a private sitting room and window seat.

In addition to the floor plan’s interior features, the home sits on a spacious private half-acre lot and features a low-maintenance aggregate patio.

The Estate Homes at Tarrington on the James offer floor plans that range from 3,400 to 6,000 square feet, priced from the $600,000s.These luxury, brick Richmond new homes feature open living spaces, two-story foyers, kitchens with granite countertops and GE appliances, two- and three-piece crown molding and hardwood flooring.

Residents enjoy a bevy of amenities including a 10-acre park, three pools, fitness center, clubhouse, sidewalks and newly completed river front park.

Children residing at Tarrington on the James are served by Robious Elementary School, Robious Middle School and James River High School.

The Tarrington on the James sales office is located at 3307 Fullbrook Dr., Midlothian, VA 23113. Office hours are Monday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information or to schedule a tour of the showcase inventory home available at Tarrington on the James, visit http://www.boonehomes.net or call new home specialist Chris Parks at 804-218-7760.

Alabama Builder Offers Facebook Specials

2011-10-16T21:46:00.001-04:00

Alabama homebuilder, Geordan Communities is showcasing Facebook only specials on their Auburn and Dothan homes this month. All you have to do to participate is "like" this home builder on Facebook – www.Facebook.com/GeordanCommunities. If you want offers from them but don’t want to fan them on Facebook, just send them an email at info@GeordanCommunities.com to be added to the email list.

Geordan Communities is known for luxury at a price you can afford. They take this a step further with the specials and deals they ore offering. Here are a few of the recent ones that you still have time to act on.

The Christal at Southern Hills is located at 42 Riverbirch Lane on lot 37C in Dothan, Ala. This home is in Rehobeth School District. With an accepted contract by Oct. 26 Geordan Communities will reduce the price to $197,200 and offer the following:
- Seller will pay up to $5,000 closing cost
- FREE pack and move (up to 30 miles)
- FREE fence
- FREE lawn maintenance for one year (which is a pretty big deal since it is a large yard)

Another Geordan Communities homes is located in Auburn at Stone Creek. They are offering a special Facebook only price on lot 2B the Chesapeake. Get this house for a special price of $255,900 (instead of $269,800). Best of all the seller will pay up to $5,000 for closing costs and include FREE pack and move (up to 30 miles). This home needs to have an accepted contract by October 23 using a preferred lender and their closing attorney.

If you are looking for a new home special in Auburn or Dothan, Ala. “like” Geordan Communities.

Highland Homes Announces New Lynford II Model Home at Ten Oaks

2011-10-13T10:02:00.003-04:00

Highland Homes is pleased to announce the opening of their professionally designed and decorated Lynford II model home at Ten Oaks, a community of Tampa new homes located in Zephyrhills, in Pasco County.

“Buyers will love this wonderful home designed and decorated by our Selection Studio consultants, Stacey Antonakos-Perez and Linda Samhoury,” said Kathie McDaniel, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Highland Homes. “The Lynford II features a front porch and styling which give the community a nostalgic feeling of old Florida.”

The Lynford II is a three bedroom, two bathroom home. Spanning 1,599 square feet, the floor plan features a large front porch, spacious great room with cathedral ceiling, open great room layout and luxury bathroom in the master suite.

In addition to the Lynford II, Ten Oaks is composed of unique three to five bedroom home plans with a variety of layouts. Priced from the $130,000s, floor plans span 1,250 to 2,031 square feet and offer fully-sodded home sites with landscaping, gourmet kitchens with Whirlpool appliances, volume ceilings and master baths with ceramic wall tile and garden tubs per plan.

Ten Oaks is a peaceful community that boasts flourishing landscapes. Featuring a lake and nature trail, the community offers lakefront home sites that showcase Ten Oak’s quiet sophistication. Conveniently located on Eiland Boulevard in Zephyrhills, residents have easy access to downtown Tampa and nearby necessities.

As always, Tampa home builder Highland Homes offers Florida real estate priced from the low-$100,000s and $99 out-of-pocket for qualified buyers. For more information or directions to Ten Oaks, visit the Highland Homes website at http://www.highlandhomes.org/community.php?cid=84 or call 813-395-8977.

Highland Homes has been Central Florida's value leader for more than a decade. When it comes to building your new home, you can trust the Highland Homes team to deliver the best in new home choice, quality, value and satisfaction. Highland Homes has new home communities throughout Central Florida, including the cities of Bartow, Davenport, Ellenton, Lakeland, Leesburg, Mulberry, St. Cloud, Zephyrhills and Winter Haven. For a complete list of new home communities and more information, visit the Highland Homes website at http://www.highlandhomes.org or call 863-619-7103.

Sterling Custom Homes Warns to Carefully Choose Your Austin Real Estate Builder

2011-09-29T10:29:00.002-04:00

For more than 22 years, Sterling Custom Homes has helped Austin luxury real estate buyers create cutting-edge custom home designs to suit individual needs. However, the luxury home builder warns that not all Texas home builders are created equal. In fact, many consumers are not aware that the state of Texas does not license and regulate home builders. For this reason, buyers must carefully look past marketing techniques to discover a builder’s true qualifications.

“There’s a saying in my industry, ‘When the housing market is good, everyone with a cell phone and a pickup truck calls himself a builder’,” said Duke McDowell, president of Sterling Custom Homes. “It’s a sad reality and it waters down the quality and professionalism within the industry that we and other quality home builders in Texas have worked so hard to achieve.”

Sterling Custom Homes has built its career and reputation on building the highest quality custom homes while developing streamlined systems that make the homebuilding experience enjoyable for all parties involved.

The Austin builder constructs new homes in many of the Austin area’s premier custom home, private gated and resort golf communities. Buyers can find Sterling’s custom creations in a variety of communities including Lakeway, Village of the Hills, Rough Hollow, Caslano, Seven Oaks, Barton Creek, Mirador Drive, River Place, Spanish Oaks and The Reserve at Lake Travis.

For more information about Sterling Custom Homes or the communities in which buyers can find the builder’s new homes, visit http://www.sterlingcustomhomes.com.

About Sterling Custom Homes:

Sterling Custom Homes, www.sterlingcustomhomes.com, builds quality custom homes in many of Austin’s premier custom home communities, private gated communities and resort golf communities. From Lakeway, all up and down Lake Travis and into Westlake, Sterling is known as one of Austin’s premier custom home builders, with a reputation for exceptional quality, integrity and service.

For more information on Sterling Custom Homes, visit http://www.sterlingcustomhomes.com.

To stay up-to-date with the latest company news, subscribe to the blog http://www.sterlingcustomhomesblog.com, interact with the company on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/sterlingcustomhomes or follow them on Twitter @sterlinghomes.

Biltmore Floor Plan Nearing Completion at The Trails of Dawson Creek

2011-09-27T16:29:00.002-04:00

To keep up with current market demands, Gerstad Builders recently introduced The Biltmore floor plan; a smaller, more affordable ranch-style home at The Trails of Dawson Creek. The Biltmore is now nearing completion at the community of new Poplar Grove homes and is slated to open Sept. 30.

“The Biltmore is the perfect home for both first-time buyers and empty-nesters,” said Roger Gerstad, president of Gerstad Builders. “It is efficiently designed, lending plenty of room for a family without unnecessary space, and its single-floor design eliminates the need to climb stairs.”

Priced at $167,990, the home boasts 1,382 square feet, three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a two-car garage. From inside, out the floor plan offers buyers a low-maintenance lifestyle with exterior features that include vinyl siding, aluminum fascia and soffit and vinyl windows and interior finishes such as a large great room and spacious eat-in kitchen.

The home also includes some of today’s new energy-saving standards including R-38 ceiling insulation, 90+ furnace, house wrap, low-e windows and a fully-insulated basement.

In addition to The Biltmore, The Trails of Dawson Creek offers a bevy of single-family homes including ranch, two-story and tri-level floor plans. Homes boast two to five bedrooms, up to three baths and partial basements. Standard features include GE appliances, Colonist doors and trim and furniture quality cabinetry. Ranging in size from 1,300 to 3,200 square feet, the homes are priced from $156,490 to $258,990.

Located in Central Boone County, The Trails of Dawson Creek is convenient to I-39, I-90 and Metra. Families residing at The Trails of Dawson Creek enjoy a summer Farmers Market hosted by the Village of Poplar Grove. Children are served by North Boone School District 200.

Currently, The Trails of Dawson Creek is featured in the Chicago Tribune’s Festival of Homes, http://chicagofestivalofhomes.com/homes/gerstad-builders-at-dawson-creek-in-poplar-grove/. The feature offers information about real estate news and showcases new construction from the Chicagoland area’s top builders. In addition to the website, buyers can find the Festival of Homes feature in the Chicago Tribune every Friday from Sept. 16 to Oct. 21.

In addition to the affordable homes at The Trails of Dawson Creek, Gerstad Builders constructs Williams Bay new homes at Bailey Estates, McHenry new homes at Liberty Trails and Richmond new homes at The Trails of Pheasant Ridge with huge buyers’ incentives: the first 10 buyers who close on a new house at any Gerstad Builders community in 2011 will receive 10 percent off the cost of their homes.

The Trails of Dawson Creek sales office is located at 112 Dawson Creek Trail in Poplar Grove. For more information about The Trails of Dawson Creek, visit http://www.gerstadbuilders.com or call 815-547-0800.

Gerstad Builders is one of the largest homebuilders in McHenry County and was voted the No. 1 builder in McHenry County in 2003, 2004 & 2009. In 2008 the company received from Professional Builder Magazine the AVID Diamond & AVID Cup Awards for Best Customer Experience in the United States and North America. Gerstad Builders is currently building houses in Richmond, McHenry, Poplar Grove, Ill. and Williams Bay, Wis.

Stonecrest Homes Atlanta, Inc. Reduces Prices on Townhomes in Cobb County

2011-09-23T15:24:00.002-04:00

Stonecrest Homes Atlanta, Inc. has only seven move-in ready townhomes available in Palladian Manor in Smyrna. Plus, the builder has just reduced pricing. Homes are now priced from the $250,000s, making Palladian Manor one of the best values in the Smyrna-Vinings area.

Homes have 3,025 square feet of space with four bedrooms and three-and-a-half baths. Open layouts are perfect for entertaining. Standard features include grand entry foyers, large open kitchens with bar seating areas, separate keeping or family rooms, formal living and dining rooms, fully finished terrace levels with media rooms or dens, spacious master suites with oversized walk-in closets and rear decks.

In addition, all homes have Home Price Protection™ through EquityLock Solutions. This gives homeowners a financial return if their local House Price Index, as reported by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is lower at the time of sale than when the contract was purchased by Stonecrest.

Palladian Manor is conveniently located near shopping, parks, hospitals and other recreational opportunities. Residents can enjoy attractions such as Cumberland Mall, Vinings Jubilee and the Chattahoochee Trail Park.

Students residing in Palladian Manor attend Nickajack Elementary School, Campbell Middle School and Campbell High School.

For more information on Palladian Manor, contact Stonecrest at 678-310-5304 or Palladian@StonecrestHomesGA.com.

Sterling Custom Homes Designs Austin Luxury Real Estate for a View

2011-09-19T15:37:00.002-04:00

Texas custom home builder carefully considers home design before construction

For more than 22 years, Sterling Custom Homes has designed and built new homes for its Austin luxury real estate clients. The Austin builder uses this experience to help buyers carefully layout the footprint of their new homes to augment the surrounding landscapes’ natural beauty.

“At Sterling Custom Homes, we love to be involved with our clients from the very start,” said Duke McDowell, president of Sterling Custom Homes. “We understand the impact important design decisions have on our clients’ overall satisfaction with the finished product and work hard to guide buyers to the layout that best fits within their budgetary and aesthetic goals.”

To maximize a particular view corridor, Sterling Custom Homes takes several factors into consideration including sun orientation, slab heights, trees and access. Once these variables are discussed, Sterling Custom Homes and its client assess which views are most important to highlight in each room.

Sterling Custom Homes is one of the leading home builders in Texas with new homes that boast cutting-edge custom designs and unique floor plans in many of the Austin area’s premier custom home, private gated and resort golf communities.

The Austin builder designs and constructs new homes in a variety of custom communities including Lakeway, Village of the Hills, Rough Hollow, Caslano, Seven Oaks, Barton Creek, Mirador Drive, River Place, Spanish Oaks and The Reserve at Lake Travis.

For more information about Sterling Custom Homes, the communities in which the builder constructs or to schedule a consultation, visit http://www.sterlingcustomhomes.com.

Great Lifestyle and Amenities at Millstone at Little River in Cherokee County

2011-09-15T10:50:00.004-04:00

Want to live in Woodstock? Now, you can own a new craftsman style home on a large lot in the beautiful swim and tennis community, Millstone at Little River! This Woodstock community, built by Edward Andrews Homes, offers homes from the high $300,000s. Plus, Millstone at Little River offers amenities such as a cabana, pool, fishing pond, tennis court, playground and nature trails--perfect for everyone in the family!

The craftsman styled homes at Millstone have hardwood flooring, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, oil rubbed bronze lighting, plumbing and door hardware, professional landscape packages with zoned irrigation and brick, cedar and stone accents.

One of the three available showcase homes, the Orchid “H” plan, has 3,173 square feet of space and five bedrooms and three bathrooms. Priced at just $399,900, the home includes a three-car garage with side entry, mudroom, media room and basement.

The Camellia “G” plan has 3,747 square feet of space with a price of $429,600. The home features four bedrooms and three baths, a butler’s pantry in the kitchen, media room, bowed wall of windows and a three-car garage with side entry.

Another home, the Jasmine “G” plan, sits on a cul-de-sac lot and has 3,020 square feet of space with four bedrooms and three-and-a-half baths. The home includes a three-car garage with side entry, hardwood flooring and granite countertops and is only $336,800.

Millstone at Little River has easy access to Lake Allatoona, Town Center Mall, Cobblestone Golf Course and downtown Woodstock which offers a selection of quaint shops and eateries.

Students at Millstone attend Arnold Mill Elementary, Mill Creek Middle School and River Ridge/Sequoyah High School.

To visit the community, take I-575 N to exit 8, Towne Lake Parkway. Turn right, and go through downtown Woodstock and over the railroad tracks where the road becomes Arnold Mill Road. Go six miles. Millstone at Little River will be immediately past Arnold Mill Elementary on the right.

For more information, contact Kristy Corrigan at kcorrigan@aboutsalesinc.com or Judy Dougherty at jdougherty@aboutsalesinc.com. Also, visit www.aboutsalesinc.com.

Sterling Custom Homes Supports Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Central and South Texas

2011-08-30T10:41:00.002-04:00

Austin home builder, Sterling Custom Homes, recently presented a $2,500 check to the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Central and South Texas in support of an employees’ fund raising goal. The $2,500 gift is a matching donation by one of the company’s employees, Gary Grambley, Sales and Marketing Director at Sterling, for his support of the nonprofit organization that grants wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions.

“Supporting our employees is about more than giving them time off and good health benefits; it’s about supporting them on all levels and in all aspects of their lives,” says Duke McDowell, President of Sterling Custom Homes. “I strongly believe that supporting our employees in their efforts to help the local community through charitable acts and giving improves employee morale and satisfaction. But more importantly, I just feel that it is the right thing to do.”

Grambley is combining his fundraising for the Make-A-Wish Foundation® with training for the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon, which will be held November 13. “Several months ago I met with Mr. McDowell about my goal of raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation® in conjunction with my training for the San Antonio Marathon this fall,” explains Grambley. “I went into the meeting with the intention of soliciting a $1,000 donation. When I told Mr. McDowell about my plans and that a $1,000 donation would help me kick off the program, he offered, without hesitation, to match the first $2,500 I raised for the charity. I was blown away by his generosity!”

With his company’s backing, Grambley contacted friends and associates for donations. He created a fundraising website and quickly after spreading the word about his efforts, his friends and clients were eager to help. “The incentive of the matching contribution was a great motivator. My friends and past clients jumped on the opportunity. I now keep them informed through a weekly update which talks about our fundraising status and gives them some insight into my marathon training. It has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life and it’s largely due to the generosity and support I get from Sterling Custom Homes.”

To date, Grambley has raised $5,740 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Central & South Texas through these efforts.

Those interested in joining Austin luxury real estate builder Sterling Custom Homes in donating to Grambley’s fundraising efforts may visit https://secure.wish.org/ourfriends/031-000/garygrambley.htm.

Maintain Building Momentum with the Sterling Custom Homes Cookbook™

2011-08-12T16:47:00.004-04:00

When designing and building a custom home, it’s important to know what you’re getting into. What are you responsible for, what will your builder handle and what are the steps in the construction process are all questions that you may be wondering about. Well, Sterling Custom Homes has the answer. It’s called the Sterling Cookbook™ and it has all the information you need and want to know when building your Austin luxury real estate.

The Sterling Cookbook™ is just like the cookbooks you have at home in your kitchen. It provides custom home buyers with a recipe for building their homes. Sterling Custom Homes tailors its cookbook specifically for each client and project with step-by-step instructions on every aspect of the building process.

Information you’ll find inside your custom-made Sterling Cookbook™ include what selections you have to make, which trade partners you should meet with and where those trade partners are located. The cookbook also outlines each step of the approval process and what you’re responsible for at each step as well as a reference section about the care of your completed home.

Sterling Custom Homes has been perfecting the home building process for more than 20 years with new homes in custom communities throughout Austin including Lakeway, Flintrock Falls, Rough Hollow, Caslano, Seven Oaks, Barton Creek, Mirador Drive, River Place, Spanish Oaks, Bellagia Estates, The Bluffs at Steiner Ranch and The Reserve at Lake Travis.

As one of the area’s top Austin home builders, Sterling Custom Homes can help you design the stress-free, cost-effective home of your dreams.

For more information, visit the Sterling Custom Homes website.

Liberty Trails Recycling Drive Drawing to a Close

2011-08-08T16:59:00.004-04:00

What have you been doing with your aluminum cans all summer long? Well, if you’re a resident of Gerstad Builder’s Liberty Trails, a community of McHenry County real estate, you’ve been collecting cans to raise money for a local food pantry. However, residents of Liberty Trails have only a few more days to collect cans for the neighborhood’s recycling drive that ends Aug. 26.

“We’d like to remind all of our residents at Liberty Trails to continue collecting cans,” said Roger Gerstad, president of Gerstad Builders. “This is the last leg of the drive and we want to make sure that we have done all that we can to support the McHenry County community.”

After finishing every tasty ice cold beverage this summer, residents chose to skip the trash can for the recycling bin and the cans were collected and stored at the community. After Aug. 26, Liberty Trails will sell the cans for cash and the proceeds generated will be donated to a local food pantry.

Feel inspired by Gerstad Builder’s fundraiser? You can plan a recycling event for your community. Or, be a part of Liberty Trails by calling the builder for a tour.

Nestled in a quiet community with rolling landscapes, Liberty Trails is composed of ranch and two-story homes that are perfect for any buyer. Floor plans are spacious and boast two to four bedrooms, as many as three bathrooms and up to 3,200 square feet.

Buyers will love these homes with standard features that include GE appliances, Kohler fixtures and Colonist doors and trim. You get all this and more with prices starting at just $190,990.

The McHenry County builder also constructs new homes in Poplar Grove and Richmond as well as Williams Bay new homes in Wisconsin.

For more information about Gerstad Builders, visit the website.

Enter to Win $100 Home Depot Gift Card When You Like Signature Homes on Facebook

2011-08-05T15:25:00.006-04:00

Signature Homes loves their Realtors and new home buyers. In fact, the builder takes pride in building strong, lasting relationships with their real estate agents and buyers of Bay Area and Sacramento homes and would like to take the opportunity to say thank you. That’s why they are giving you a chance to win a $100 Home Depot gift card just for simply “liking” the Signature Homes Facebook page and leaving a comment on the wall. However, you must act fast: you only have until Aug. 15 to take advantage of this offer.

In addition to their Facebook page, Signature Homes uses a variety of social media tools to help you stay connected including the Signature Homes Twitter account and the Signature Homes blog. By visiting these sites often, you can stay up-to-date with the builder’s latest news, incentives and information.

You can also share what you’re looking for in a new home, and Signature Homes can help connect you with the perfect community.

So, head over to the Signature Homes Facebook page today to start receiving information about the builder’s Sacramento and Bay Area homes.

For more information about Signature Homes, visit the website.

New Home Marketing: Bigfoot Sighting in Reflection Lake Nantahala.. the burger, that is

2011-07-30T21:31:00.000-04:00

After a day spent fishing, boating, swimming, hiking, mountain biking and rafting at The Village at Reflection Lake Nantahala, you'll have an appetite like Bigfoot’s! Anticipating hungry diners, the Lakes End Diner has come up with the perfect solution.

The Bigfoot Burger is made with two-and-a-half pounds of hamburger meat, and is a full five servings. The burger comes with a nine-inch bun, fries and all the fixins you want.

The Bigfoot Burger is a tasty and satisfying meal when shared with five family members and friends. However, those who’ve worked up a serious appetite from their day full of lake activities can tackle it on their own. For $14.99 you can take on the massive burger and fries. If somehow they manage to devour the burger in less than one hour, the champion eater receives fame throughout the community and a “Tame the Beast” shirt.

If you’re unable to "Tame the Beast" on the first try, that’s alright- most people can’t. Have a can-do attitude, come back for future attempts and make The Village at Reflection Lake Nantahala your favorite vacation
destination.

The community’s 13 exclusive home sites are selling quickly, and only 11 remain. The remaining lake- and mountain-view home sites are priced from $94,900.

Visit The Village at Reflection Lake Nantahala for more information on the exclusive gated community and start planning your vacation home today!

Social Media for Home Builders 2.0: It's Easier Than You Think

2011-05-28T19:31:00.000-04:00

Home builders who have embraced social media strategies for marketing their business, have seen extraordinary results. According to the second edition of Social Media for Home Builders 2.0: It’s Easier Than You Think, builders have seen results ranging from a 25-300 percent increase in website traffic, to increased customer referrals through using social media. This popular resource recently released by BuilderBooks, the publishing arm of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) teaches builders and residential construction professionals how to use social media tools such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube, to increase their visibility and improve their sales results.

Social Media for Home Builders 2.0: It’s Easier Than You Think, by Carol M. Flammer, MIRM, CAPS, CSP is designed to help readers understand social media and construct a strategic plan for attracting more prospects, following up on leads and closing on more homes. This book speaks specifically to the needs of the real estate industry, and teaches home builders how to build a social media presence from the ground up. The updated edition includes even more examples, details and strategies than the first edition, featuring examples of specific social media campaigns and their sales results by builder type; sample tweets and Twitter campaigns to draw foot traffic to homes and communities; and new research on how people are using social media.

“Social media has become increasingly important to businesses as a marketing and sales tool”, said NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen, a home builder from Reno, Nev. “With this new resource, builders and remodelers can learn how to use these tools to more effectively market their business, increase visibility, and make more sales.”

Author Carol Flammer outlines in a clear, concise style how to engage consumers through social media. She provides content suggestions for creating and maintaining a blog, and includes real-life examples of successful blogs that have attracted readers. Flammer also provides details on how to:

• Improve search engine optimization (SEO)
• Gain Facebook friends and Twitter followers
• Find the right social media groups
• Run social media campaigns
• Optimize websites, blogs and other social networking sites
• Track, analyze and improve results

Carol Flammer is a public relations and social media marketing expert, strategist and consultant. With 20 years of experience, Carol has established herself as the “go to” person for real estate and construction products public relations and social media. Carol is the founder of the online Atlanta Real Estate Forum, president of Flammer Relations, Inc., and managing partner of mRELEVANCE, LLC, an Internet marketing, social media and public relations firm with offices in Atlanta and Chicago.

Social Media for Home Builders 2.0: It’s Easier Than You Think is available for purchase at www.BuilderBooks.com or by calling 800-223-2665. Soft-cover/264pages, $19.95 retail, $17.95 NAHB member, ISBN 978-0-86718-675-8.

Acadia Homes and Neighborhoods Offers Pre-Sale Homesites at Bakers Farm

2011-05-19T17:04:00.002-04:00

Acadia Homes & Neighborhoods is excited to announce it is now offering pre-sale homesites at its Bakers Farm community. This community features Braselton new homes with three to five-bedrooms and large yards and not to mention gorgeous resort-style amenities.

“Bakers Farm offers homebuyers an opportunity to get large Jackson County homes on huge lots with resort-style amenities at fabulous prices. We are now pre-selling several available home sites which mean the buyers who act now will have the first pick of the most desirable sites and the flexibility to choose the home plan that fits their lifestyle,” said Sam Bass, sales manager for Acadia Homes & Neighborhoods.

Homes are offered in various ranch-style and custom basement floorplans with optional upgrades including master-on-the-main and three-car garage plans. Boasting 2,700 to 3,150 square feet of quality craftsmanship, each home offers large spacious rooms with hardwood flooring and plush carpeting with 9-foot ceilings with crown molding.

Community amenities include resort-style pool with separate children splash area, four tennis courts, golf putting green and a playground. The large two-story clubhouse features a fully-equipped kitchen, exercise room and living area –perfect for throwing a party!

To visit Bakers Farm, follow these easy directions: take I-85 to exit 126, Highway 211. Turn left on Highway 211, right onto Liberty Church Road, then right onto Charlie Smith Road. The community is located on the left-hand side.

For more information on the Bakers Farm community, please visit the Acadia Homes & Neighborhoods website or call 404-788-7392. For continual Acadia updates “Like” our Facebook page www.Facebook.com/AcadiaHomes.

Acadia Homes & Neighborhoods Announces New Sales Manager

2011-04-25T09:46:00.006-04:00

Acadia Homes & Neighborhoods recently welcomed a new Sales Manager, Sam Bass to the Acadia team. Sam will direct the sale and marketing teams to aid in the growth and expansion of the company.

"Our goal is to expand Acadia Homes & Neighborhoods throughout metro Atlanta. Sam has been added to the leadership team to play a vital role in the growth and development of our company,” said Gregg Goldenberg, President and CEO of Acadia Homes & Neighborhoods. “I believe Sam will thrive in his new position while making new advancements for Acadia Homes & Neighborhoods.”

With 26 years experience in the housing industry, Sam has worked for a number of Southeast homebuilders in South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida and Georgia. Sam attended The University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill where he majored in Marketing.

“I am truly excited to be a part of this great group of homebuilding professionals, says Bass. “We have high goals here at Acadia. We are all striving to make this small, dedicated company into the premier home building company in Atlanta.”

For more information on Acadia Homes & Neighborhoods, please visit their website.

Homesites Now Available at Reece Farms

2011-03-24T08:32:00.006-04:00

Acadia Homes & Neighborhoods is offering homebuyers another great opportunity at Reece Farms in West Cobb. This neighborhood has 40 four and five-bedrooms homes that are priced from the $170,000s and are located in estate-sized wooded lots.

“Reece Farms offers homebuyers a rare opportunity to get large Cobb County new homes on huge lots at a fabulous price for a brand new home in this area. We’re in the pre-construction stage which means that buyers who act now have a choice of the most desirable lots and the flexibility to choose the home plan they want to go on that lot,” said Tom Stokes, sales manager for the community.

Interested homebuyers have several great floorplans to choose from, including the Manchester. This four-bedroom, three-bath house has a spacious family room that opens into a gourmet kitchen with an island, breakfast area and built-in desk. Upstairs, the owner’s suite includes trey ceilings, a large walk-in closet and a sitting bench. Homeowners have the option of turning the fourth bedroom into a bonus room and loft, a study area or a sitting room.

Other plans at Reece Farms offer options like main-level master suites, basements and side-entry garages.

Residents have easy access to dining and shopping on Barrett Parkway and will soon have a direct route to I-75 once the Windy Hill-Macland Road limited access connector is completed.

Children attend Dowell Elementary, Tapp Middle and McEachern High.

For more information on Reece Farms, visit the Acadia Homes & Neighborhoods website.

RealtyJoin Launches Version 2.0

2011-03-09T14:59:00.006-05:00

RealtyJoin recently announced version 2.0 of the website, which adds several upgrades and enhancements to the popular social and business networking site.

Users will now have access to individual WordPress blogs for better interaction and networking within the community. The website also allows members to upload photos and videos and post status updates. And everyone who signs up will enjoy a new enhanced profile that lets other members see who they really are.

For those unaware, RealtyJoin is a website that launched in 2010 as a social marketplace dedicated solely to the real estate industry - a place where individuals can connect, advertise and network potential opportunities.

While there may not have been excessive demand for this type of site before launch, users like Ilyce Glink see that a need did in fact exist. (Glink is an award-winning columnist and best-selling author who recently joined the RealtyJoin team to oversee content strategy)

“In just a few short months, RealtyJoin proved there is a real need for a place where real estate investors and the companies they work with can connect and share information,” said Glink.

Even though the site just went through a massive update, users should expect more changes in the coming months. While the introductory level membership remains free, users who want the most out of the site should upgrade to the premium and executive levels.

For more information on real estate networking, visit the RealtyJoin website.

Boone Homes Communities, All Play and No Work

2011-02-21T09:02:00.004-05:00

Beautiful spring weekends should be for fun, not yard work. That's why Boone Homes offers five no maintenance communities where residents no longer have to worry about lawn maintenance. Instead, homeowners can enjoy all the wonderful activities that spring has to offer.

Spring lawn maintenance provided by the Richmond home builder includes lime treatment, fertilizing, aerating, mulching and trimming of the shrubs and trees and repair to irrigation systems. When spring is gone, Boone Homes doesn't stop working. The builder also provides snow removal, leaf removal, annual gutter cleaning and exterior painting services.

If you're shopping for new homes in Henrico County, Boone Homes has two no maintenance communities including Bellingham in Twin Hickory, priced from the $300,000s and Villas at Grey Oaks, priced from the $400,000s. The luxury homes in Richmond offered at Bellingham in Twin Hickory offer 1,800 to 3,500 square feet, hardwood flooring and Solaris kitchen countertops. At Villas at Grey Oaks buyers will find 2,600 to 3,800 square foot homes with three-piece crown molding and 42-inch kitchen cabinetry.

If your family needs a bit more room, the Coach Homes of Kinloch, Club Villas at Founders Bridge and Courtyard Homes in Tarrington on the James offer buyers 2,600 to 4,500 square feet priced from the $500,000s. All homes offer open living spaces, kitchens with granite countertops and hardwood flooring.

For more information about these no maintenance communities, visit the Boone Homes website.

Simplify Your Life with Home Builder University

2010-12-30T10:28:00.003-05:00

Technology can sometimes be a double edge sword: We have access to so much knowledge, but the constant bombardment can lead to information overload. This can leave many builders feeling overwhelmed when searching for continuing education courses. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a comprehensive website for home builders and other industry professionals that made searching for information about continuing education and industry specific classes simple? Well, you’re in luck. mRELEVANCE, a home builder marketing leader, recently launched www.HomeBuildersUniversityBlog.com; a new interactive site that helps busy professionals like you find the information you need at a pace that fits your lifestyle.

Built by mRELEVANCE, the blog provides industry professionals with information about how to improve building and business skills, what industry specific training you need to stay current in your field and new classes for continuing education requirements.

The Home Builders University is a web-based interactive learning platform that offers many benefits including:

Access to courses online at any time.
Train at your own pace.
Start, stop and restart your courses as necessary.
Save time and travel expenses.

Plus, registration on the site is simple. Just visit the Home Builders University website to view classes or to get started.

mRELEVANCE,LLC is an Internet marketing, social media and public relations firm that operates at the intersection of social and search to build online and off-line relationships. To learn more about mRELEVANCE, visit the website or call 770-383-3360 or 847-259-7312.

Traton Homes' Community of Paper Chase Farms Has Great Homes Available Still

2010-10-25T09:56:00.004-04:00

Atlanta home buyers, act fast because Traton Homes' popular The Pointe at Kirk Farms community has sold out already, and only 19 home sites are still available at their Paper Chase Farm community. Don't miss your opportunity to own a home near prestigious Marietta Country Club in Cobb County, also located close to I-75 and Highway 41.

Paper Chase Farm is a comfortable neighborhood of 50 luxurious homes, and some homes feature golf course or lake views. Homes started at up to $1 million, and now have been brought down to a huge discount, with pricing in only the mid $300,000s.

Also, you can save even more money, with Traton Homes giving you $7,500 toward closing costs, 50 percent off options up to $20,000 on pre-sale homes, and on homes under construction now up to $10,000 toward closing costs.

The elegant new homes in Paper Chase Farm feature three sides of brick with cedar shake and/or stone, brick driveway aprons, and architectural roof shingles. Home buyers love the space for multiple vehicles, with homes that have three-car garages with carriage-style doors as well. Inside each home there is a decked-out gourmet kitchen with granite countertops, and stainless steel Whirlpool appliances with maple cabinets. You'll also have plenty of areas for entertaining and family time, with spacious floor plans with large family rooms.

To visit or inquire about the Traton Homes' Paper Chase Farm community, visit www.tratonhomes.com or call 770-499-1715. For more information about home builder Traton Homes, also visit the website or call 770-427-9064.

Launch of New Website for Acadia Homes & Neighborhoods by mRELEVANCE

2010-10-20T09:20:00.003-04:00

Atlanta home buyers, get ready for a sweet surprise, because the new highly interactive website for Acadia Homes & Neighborhoods is here to help you. This site is designed in all aspects to be simple and intuitive to navigate, designed by home builder marketing agency mRELEVANCE. On Acadia Homes & Neighborhoods trendy new site, you can also easily mouse-over areas of different pages to reveal additional information, or select from interactive and advanced search features as well.

For new home searches on the site, you get instant gratification with both interactive home search capabilities and real time. "The prospective buyer simply selects their search criteria and the list of matching homes adjusts and displays instantly. It works like the new Google Instant providing fresh results instantly and it refreshes when the criteria changes," says Mitch Levinson, managing partner of mRELEVANCE.

There's also no problem pinpointing communities where available homes are, with an interactive map. This map allows you to mouse-over a community on the list, which immediately becomes highlighted on the map, or in reverse if you mouse-over a community on the map, it becomes highlighted on the list.

"We are excited about our website and feel like it offers our online traffic an informative and fun place to learn about our company, communities, and home plan offerings. The mRELEVANCE team took a lot of pride in their design and execution of the site and were great to work with," says Gregg Goldenberg, President and CEO of Acadia Homes.

Acadia Homes & Neighborhoods new site also has a simple web 2.0 design, and works well and looks attractive on mobile devices such as Smartphones. The database is also built to be user-friendly, search engine friendly, and to grow as Acadia Homes does as well.

Visit the new cool interactive site for Acadia Homes & Neighborhoods at www.acadiahomes.us, and you can find additional information about internet marketing, social media and public relations firm mRELEVANCE, by visiting www.mRELEVANCE.com, fan them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, or call 770-383-3360 or 847-259-7312.

What Does Caffeine Mean to You?

2010-10-03T22:37:00.000-04:00

Have you been keeping up with the latest search engine updates?Google has recently released a faster browser known as Google Caffeine and, even if you haven't noticed more relevant results from the release of Caffeine, you have probably noticed that the new Google Instant seems to know exactly what you are thinking as your type.

Because of these changes, it is more important than ever to have a sound SEO program. Luckily Atlanta home builders can "perk" their search results by sharing their Atlanta real estate news stories on Atlanta’s favorite real estate blog, Atlanta Real Estate Forum.

With 20,000 unique site visitors a month, Atlanta Real Estate Forum is the perfect way to connect your homes and communities with the home buyers looking for thme. The site provides the industry with fresh search results helping their communities show up higher in the search engines. And best of all, Atlanta Real Estate Forum provides home buyers with information on Atlanta’s hottest new home communities, home builders and home buyer incentives.

Greater Valley Group Increases Online Presence

2010-09-24T21:41:00.000-04:00

Greater Valley Group now has several different ways to connect online. GVG is actively engaged with buyers and Realtors on Facebook, Twitter and through their blog, www.GVGRealEstate.com.

The blog is the centerpiece of the builder, who specializes in West Point Ga new homes, social media marketing program with frequent updates and stories on homes and communities, as well as information on area activities and events. The Greater Valley Group social media outlets are a great source of information for home buyers, as well as a good forum for asking questions related to home buying and home building.

The Greater Valley Group approach to social media is a comprehensive team approach with numerous participants blogging. Having numerous bloggers gives readers a variety of voices, while at the same time allowing many Greater Valley Group employees to showcase their expertise.

Greater Valley Group is pleased to partner with new home marketing agency mRELEVANCE, LLC on its Internet marketing and social media campaign.

Connect with GVG online:
Blog: www.GVGRealEstate.com
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/GVGHome
Twitter: http://Twitter.com/GVGHome

Hunting Preserve Now Open Near Quail Run

2010-08-29T16:43:00.003-04:00

A new and exciting feature is close at hand for residents of Quail Run, a community of new homes in West Point Ga., Twisted Pine Hunting Preserve is complete and almost ready to open. It's first day of business will be September 4th, the first day of dove season.

With over 2,100 acres of pristine hunting land in east central Alabama and western Georgia, Twisted Pine is sure to become a hunters’ mecca in the Southeast. The preserve is split into two properties, one which is 1,700 acres in Chambers County for deer and turkey hunts, and a 45-acre field in Harris County for dove hunts.

The preserve is managed by Kyle Farner, a livelong hunter with a degree in Fishery, Wildlife and Conservation Biology from Colorado State University. Kyle oversees the operations of the reserve, which include controlled burns, supplemental feed, mineral stations, food plots, predator control and selective harvests, to ensure ideal hunting conditions as well as mature bucks, turkeys and dove.

Riverside Estates and Quail Run are both conveniently located to Twisted Pine Hunting Preserve. Quail Run is a master-planned community with terrific amenities, and Riverside Estates is a beautiful golf-course community. For more information on either of these communities, visit the Greater Valley Group website.

HBAs Compete for Social Media Seminar

2010-08-19T21:31:00.003-04:00

Football season is about to start and soon teams will be pitted against each other to win regional titles. A similar competition is going on at Home Builders Associations around the country as they compete against each other for a free hands-on social media seminar from me (Carol Flammer).

The Social Media for Home Builders Contest launched earlier this month at the Executive Officers Council convention in beautiful New Mexico. So far, more than 25 HBAs have registered. The rules are pretty simple, sell the most copies of "Social Media For Home Builders: It's Easier Than You Think" and win the seminar.

Now, I'm certainly not playing favorites or trying to stack the deck, but I wonder. . . . Is Hawaii participating? Or what about Alaska?

There is still time to register to participate if you have not, but hurry HBAs must register by Aug. 20 to compete. Visit www.nahb.org/socialmedia for more information.

Order your copy of "Social Media For Home Builders: It's Easier Than You Think" today!

What Do You REALLY Want to Know About Atlanta Real Estate Forum?

2010-07-09T22:09:00.003-04:00

Atlanta Real Estate Forum is Atlanta's top real estate blog for Atlanta new homes news. Find out about the latest incentives from Atlanta home builders. Search by area of town, by builder or by a specific category. From trends to events to the latest videos from Atlanta's Best New Homes TV, this is Atlanta's source for real estate news and information.

There are lots of ways you can keep up to date with the latest news from Atlanta Real Estate Forum. Sign up for the sites daily emails or RSS feed - http://feeds.feedburner.com/AtlantaRealEstateForum

Follow the site via Twitter http://twitter.com/AtlantaREForum

Follow the site on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/atlantarealestateforum

Escavera Preview Party a Success

2010-07-02T09:23:00.003-04:00

Recently, Sterling Custom Homes, an Austin custom homebuilder, hosted a Realtor and client gathering at the exclusive community of Escavera at Flintrock Falls. With only 15 remaining estate-sized lots available, Escavera offers the best in golf course living in the heart of the Texas Hill Country.

Sterling has reserved these premier lots with the intention of building an outstanding custom home community surrounded by the Nicklaus designed Flintrock Falls golf course. Those who attended the event were able to walk through a finished home and see a custom residence in the framing stage.

Homesites are aggressively priced between $265,000 and $295,000 and are sure to move fast. Lot 14 even sold at the event!

For more information on Sterling Custom Homes, visit the website.

How your credit report can help you buy your new home

2010-06-11T22:10:00.003-04:00

Interest rates may be low, but it could be harder to get a home loan with the Financial Bill currently in Congress. As of June 10, 2010, a section was added to the bill to impose more restrictions on mortgage lending. These restrictions include making sure borrowers actually have the ability to repay the loan (bet you thought that was already part of the process) and requiring lenders to maintain part ownership of every mortgage they sell, including second mortgages. That way, maybe they’ll be a little more careful about selling to people who will have both the capacity and the inclination to repay.

And how will lenders know if you have the inclination, the likelihood, the moral fortitude – whatever you want to call it – to repay and to make payments on time? They look at the credit reports they usually will purchase from one of the nation’s three major credit reporting agencies. They also look at your credit score, which is calculated by plugging things like your payment histories, employment history and all manner of things about you into a complicated mathematical formula. The higher your score, the more likely you are to pay back your loan.

Your credit report is your opportunity to demonstrate to lenders that you are earnest about your promise to repay your loan. It’s best to view it as a tool that can help you and learn how to make it work for you. A recent post about the Four Myths About Your Credit History on the Equifax Personal Finance blog puts to rest some of the intimidating myths we’ve all heard about credit reports and could be your first step toward looking at your credit report in a new way and making it work for you as a new home buyer.

Welcome to New Homes Camp

2010-02-10T12:29:00.000-05:00

Welcome to New Homes Camp where social media marketing and the new homes industry meet in an explosion of information. This fun-filled camp will provide you with all the tools you need to effectively blog, use social media and other tech tools to create a competitive advantage for yourself. Everyone's invited, you just need to be attending REtechSouth. Haven't purchased your tickets to the largest real estate conference in the Southeast yet? Go ahead and head over now, we've got a discount code!

REtechSouth is set to take place March 25-26 at the Gwinnett Arena and New Homes Camp is scheduled for March 25 at 9:30 a.m. The camp features social media greats like Carol Flammer, mRELEVANCE, Meredith Oliver, Meredith Communications, Tice Burke, Trulia, Mitch Levinson, mRELEVANCE and Paul Chaney, Author of the Digital Handshake. It's not often you'll have the opportunity to speak with the industry's leading experts in social media marketing as it pertains to the new homes industry, so make sure you purchase your ticket today. Last year the conference sold out and you'll want to reserve your place at the session now.

For more information about REtechSouth head over to Atlanta Real Estate Forum, the leading source for all the information in the Atlanta real estate industry.

Is Social Media a Good Use of Time

2009-12-12T21:28:00.003-05:00

There has been lots of debate and discussion lately as to whether social media marketing is a total waste of time. Like any element of a good marketing program you need a plan for your social media efforts. Once you have identified and set goals, make sure to measure your progress on a monthly basis.

Spending countless hours on social networks posting and Tweeting without a plan can be a huge time suck. To make the most of your time, make sure to create a social media marketing plan and stick to it. Figure out what target audience you want to engage and them determine where to engage them.

Can social media sell real estate? More importantly, can social media sell houses? A really hot post on the topic can be found on Atlanta Real Estate Forum. Titled Social Media Doesn't Sell Houses the post has attracted comments from marketers in the Atlanta Real Estate market as well as around the country.

mRELEVANCE Creates Award-Winning Social Media Programs

2009-11-28T00:41:00.004-05:00

mRELEVANCE won seven awards at the 2009 Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association's OBIE Awards Gala in November taking home the lions share of the awards for E-Marketing.

Pictured are mRELEVANCE managing partners with the award for Atlanta Real Estate Forum (front) Carol Flammer and Mitch Levinson with the the mRELEVANCE team (L-R) Michelle Serra, Mike Rieman, Jill Wise and Bo Gilbert.

mRELEVANCE won the following awards:

Gold OBIE for Best Print Ad – Magazine
Gold OBIE for Best Interactive Application for http://www.atlantarealestateforum.com/
Silver OBIE for Best Website Associate for the company’s website http://www.mrelevance.com/
Gold OBIE for Best Website for Heron Bay Golf & Country Club
Silver OBIE for Best Social Media for Heron Bay Golf & Country Club
Silver Awards for Best Marketing Campaign/Promotion – Developer for Heron Bay Golf & Country Club
Gold OBIE for Best Social Media for Bowen Family Homes

For more information about mRELEVANCE and their programs and services, visit http://www.mrelevance.com/ or call mRELEVANCE team member, Jill Wise at 770-383-3360 x22. You can also become a fan on Facebook or follow along on Twitter @mRELEVANCE

mRELEVANCE Launches Blog for Circle 75

2009-08-20T15:59:00.003-04:00

mRELEVANCE is once again helping home builders and communities reach out to buyers through a corporate blog. In this particular instance, the Atlanta internet marketing, social media and public relations firm partnered with Circle 75. Circle 75 is a luxury Cobb County townhome community with a coveted Atlanta address and desirable live, work, play environment. Since the community is located in one of Atlanta's most vibrant neighborhoods - Smyrna - the blog will be a resource for locals on area events as well as community-specific news.

The Circle 75 blog will be updated frequently, allowing resident to find timely information on happenings in their community and surrounding area, as well as allowing Circle 75 to announce relevant community news and current incentives and promotion for prospective home buyers.

A highly-optimized blog is the cornerstone for any social media campaign, and mRELEVANCE is happy to help Circle 75 improve their traffic, both online and on-site.

mRELEVANCE Managing Partners to Present Social Media Seminars at NAHB's EOC Conference This Week!

2009-08-11T09:53:00.000-04:00

Once in a Lifetime Opportunity!!! Okay, it's not really a once in a lifetime opportunity, but it will be a very special treat. mRELEVANCE Managing Partners Carol Flammer and Mitch Levinson will be presenting seminars together on social media at the 2009 National Association of Home Builders Executive Officers Council (EOC) Conference August 12-15 in Louisville, Ky.

These seminars will be jam-packed with helpful information and brought to you by the industry's top experts on how to use social media to sell homes. Carol Flammer is an award-winning public relations and social media marketing expert, strategist and consultant with 20 years of experience. Mitch Levinson is an Internet marketing expert and real estate pro. Together, they will bring two exciting programs to teach executive officers and senior staff from state and local associations how they can use social media in their associations.

The seminars are titled Social Media: Engage in the Online Conversation and Social Media Lab: Building a Social Media Program from the Ground Up. Engaging in the Online Conversation is an introduction to social media and will give attendees a better understanding of this means of communication. The lab will be a hands-on, interactive session that will actually walk participants through setting up some of their own social media tools, including Facebook and Twitter. This session will also present attendees to a new social media tool launched by mRELEVANCE – it's top secret though – attendees will get the sneak peek and first opportunity to experiment with it.

If you are attending the EOC seminar, be sure to attend these two sessions. Get full information on the EOC web site.

mRELEVANCE Partners Present at EOC Conference

2009-08-11T00:14:00.003-04:00

mRELEVANCE managing partners Mitch Levinson, MBA, MIRM, CSP and Carol Flammer, MIRM, CSP, CAPS, will be conducting two seminars at the 2009 National Association of Home Builders Executive Officers Council (EOC) Conference August 12-15 in Louisville, Ky. The EOC Seminar provides high-level association management education and motivation specifically related to the home building industry. Levinson and Flammer will be presenting two programs on social media: Social Media: Engage in the Online Conversation and Social Media Lab: Building a Social Media Program from the Ground Up.

Social Media: Engage in the Online Conversation will give participants a better understanding of social media tools and how to utilize them for a competitive advantage. The program will also address social media's influence on search engine optimization and teach participants how to target and interact with buyers. Social Media Lab: Building a Social Media Program from the Ground Up is a hands-on program that will teach the steps to launch an effective social media program and/or ways to improve an existing one, including how to launch a blog, Facebook profiles, Facebook company pages and a Twitter account.

Flammer is an award-winning public relations and social media marketing expert, strategist and consultant. Levinson is an Internet marketing expert with expertise in search engine optimization, Web site development, email marketing, social media and CRM consulting services.

The EOC represents executive officers of local home building associations and strives to enhance the professionalism of its members through innovative services, training, education and networking opportunities. Their 2009 seminar will allow executive officers and senior staff of state and local home building associations to meet and connect to share best practices, successes and plans for the future.

Is Social Media working for Real Estate?

2009-06-24T11:37:00.005-04:00

I have been asked a lot lately to comment on the efforts of individuals and companies on the value of social media to real estate sales and marketing programs. The team at mRELEVANCE has posted numerous articles across our social media network on using social media and the effects it has on the overall marketing program for a home builder, a community subdivision, a condominium project or even a master planned community.

Blogging can be done by anyone. Facebook pages are created every day for businesses and new home communities. More and more people have started tweeting on Twitter. Its great they are trying, but I have seen a lot of sites that NEED HELP!

Have you changed your colors on YouTUBE? See the mRELEVANCE channel at YouTube
Have you made the most of facebook? See mRELEVANCE on facebook

The big questions we get the most; "Are we doing it right?" "How do we know if its working?" "How do I make it prettier?"

Most professionals in the industry are new to social media and the power it has in generating exposure. Its not a magic bullet that will instantly solve all your problems. Its not going to completely turn everything around, but when its done right and tracked correctly, it sure does have an impact.

Do you need help? Contact our team at mRELEVANCE

Sell More Homes with Social Media

2009-04-21T13:12:00.002-04:00

Social media is not just for teenagers anymore. An effective social media marketing plan can give you a competitive edge in the home building industry. On June 4, 2009, national speakers and mRELEVANCE founders, Carol Flammer and Mitch Levinson will present "Sell More Homes with Social Media" at the 2009 Southern Building Show. The class will touch on a variety of topics from social media to social networking, blogging and social bookmarking. Attendees will see case studies of how builders, developers and new home communities are benefiting from social media optimization as well as find out how to incorporate a blog and sites such as Active Rain, FaceBook, My Space, Blogger and others into an effective Internet marketing program.

The Internet is rapidly evolving. Do not miss this opportunity to learn how to maximize your return on investment (ROI). Social media marketing and optimization, search engine marketing, an effective Web site, email marketing and social networking are all components of a successful Internet marketing program. Learn how to take your traditional public relations online as an integral part of reputation management. "Sell More Homes with Social Media" will last from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta. Don't miss out on your opportunity to learn more about social media.

Highland Homes Experiences Success

2009-04-10T15:36:00.004-04:00

Central Florida home builder Highland Homes continues to see success with social media. With 61 homes sold in March, the builder has had four months in a row of record sales in a down market! Finding your first home has never been easier or more affordable. This builder offers 19 new home communities to choose from in Tampa, Lakeland, Davenport, Winter Haven, Lake Wales, Wimauma, Zephyrhills and more. Find the home that suits your lifestyle and your budget.

Bowen Family Homes Launches Corporate Blog

2009-03-18T10:05:00.003-04:00

The premier Atlanta home builder Bowen Family Homes recently launched a corporate blog. This is a big deal for a few reasons.

First and foremost, it shows that Bowen Family Homes is doing all that they can to reach out to their buyers. It's a known fact that home shoppers do most of their shopping online. They search for communities and homes in the areas they want to live and choose which homes to visit in person based on what they find online. Thus, if they can't find your homes online, you miss out on the potential sale. By launching a corporate blog, Bowen Family Homes is doing everything in their power to make sure shoppers find them online.

Secondly, this is a great customer service tool. A blog is much more interactive than a Web site. Visitors can leave comments and ask questions, and will get feedback to help guide them in their search for a new home. Making themselves more accessible to their customers will only increase customer satisfaction.

And thirdly, the blog is a great news source. This is the opportunity for Bowen Family Homes to publish information about everything going on in their communities and corporation. Many times incentives and grand opening events don't get the proper publicity, but by having the blog, the public can be informed of every important event and milestone.

If you would like to follow in Bowen Family Homes' footsteps and become social media savvy yourself, contact mRELEVANCE, LLC to see how Internet marketing for home builders can help you!

Bowen Family Homes Offers 2.75%

2009-01-28T21:50:00.002-05:00

Bowen Family Homes is pleased to announce the extension of their unbelievable interest rate offer of 2.75 percent*. The low interest rate was originally set to expire on Jan. 15, 2009 but the Atlanta home builder has decided to continue offering home buyers Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans at the 2.75 percent interest rate on qualifying 30-day closings only.

This is a great opportunity for Atlantans to buy their first home and live the American dream. It is a GREAT time to buy and this amazing rate won't last forever.

Bowen Family Homes’ low interest rate offer is based on a full-term 30-year standard FHA loan at a 4.75 percent interest rate and a sales price of $200,000. The first year interest rate is 2.75 percent and second year interest rate is 3.75 percent with years three through 30 at 4.75 percent. To take advantage of this limited time offer, call 1-877 MY BOWEN or email Bowen Family Homes at mybowen@bowenfamilyhomes.com for details. For locations and directions to communities in metro Atlanta visit www.bowenfamilyhomes.com.

Bowen Family Homes has 26 affordable single-family and townhome communities located in the most sought-after locations throughout metro Atlanta. Homes are priced from the $110,000s to the $500,000s and include the best in today’s home features and finishes.

Flammer and Levinson Present Basics of Social Media

2009-01-15T14:21:00.011-05:00

Are your prospective buyers finding you where they expect to find you? Digg, Delicious, Active Rain, FaceBook, MySpace, Blogger, YouTube, Twitter and more. The Internet is rapidly evolving and on Wednesday, Jan. 28 don't miss out on your chance to learn how to maximize your return on investment (ROI). mRELEVANCE founders, Carol Flammer, MIRM and Mitch Levinson, MIRM, will present the basics of Social Media at The Housing Center on Wednesday, Jan. 28 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The class will focus on Social Media program basics, Social Media's influence on SEO and how to use Social Media to relate to buyers. Attendees will learn how to utilize Social Media for a competitive advantage. Whether you are planning a simple news blog on your website or implementing a full blown Social Media campaign, Flammer and Levinson will demonstrate how Social Media increases key words and enhances search engine optimization.

The cost to attend the class is $75 for Greater Atlanta HBA members and $150 for non-members. Attendees need to bring their laptop because this hands-on workshop will include setting up a social bookmarking account. To register for this class, call 770-939-9900 or visit http://atlantahomebuilders.com/education/classes-events.cfm. If you have any questions, send an email to education@atlantahomebuilders.com or call 678-775-1469.

Two Can't Miss Seminars at the International Builders Show

2009-01-08T16:08:00.004-05:00

Carol Flammer and Mitch Levinson, the founders of mRELEVANCE, are both presenting seminars at IBS that will help home builders get the most out of their Internet marketing dollars. For the builders, developers and other new home building industry professionals that have yet to embrace Web 2.0, attending these seminars will help teach you how to take your Internet marketing to the next level.

Mitch is presenting "Internet Tracking-What your Web Site Visitors are Telling You." At this seminar, attendees will learn how to analyze their tracking reports. Tracking reports tell you how visitors find your site, which pages they spend the most time one, how long they are spending on your site and more. By understanding these reports, builders can increase traffic to their site and keep visitors there longer. This is obviously extremely beneficial information for anyone in the new home building industry, so be sure to put this seminar on your IBS calendar. See Mitch on January 22 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

While understanding Internet marketing for builders is important, it is just as important to know how to put your Web site in front home shoppers. This is why you need to put Carol's seminar, "Sell More Homes by Becoming a Social (Media) Butterfly," on your IBS calendar as well. She will be discussing different tactics that help increase search engine optimization and also search engine results page. Be sure to mark January 23 from 10:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. on your IBS calendar to see Carol's seminar.

Need Better SEO?

2008-12-29T09:08:00.005-05:00

Atlanta Real Estate Forum offers Atlanta Home Builders a great way to improve SERP results.
Next time a potential buyer searches for your building company. . . what will they see? Here is a great opportunity to influence your results -- Corporate Profiles and Community Profiles.

Two examples are already up:
Bowen Family Homes
Heron Bay Golf & Country Club

The proof is already online. Google Bowen Family Homes or Heron Bay Golf and Country Club to see where these profiles fall in the search results.

Now is the best time to engage in a proactive reputation management program. Contact mRELEVANCE.com to consult on strategies and tactics that will work best in your Internet marketing mix.

Want to Attract Homebuyers to Your Web Site?

2008-11-26T14:25:00.009-05:00

Happy 2nd Birthday to Atlanta Real Estate Forum.

Atlanta's most popular real estate blog is celebrating the big 2.0 with a new look. AtlantaRealEstateForum.com is Atlanta's favorite real estate blog for Atlanta new homes and community news. Dedicated to Atlanta home buyers, home builders and generally anyone interested in what's happening in real estate, the site reports everything from community grand openings to real estate news and trends.

Home builders, developers and others in the industry have new opportunities to participate on the site. Unlike most real estate sites, AtlantaRealEstateForum.com sends links directly to participants' Web sites, increasing their exposure and search engine optimization (SEO).

AtlantaRealEstateForum.com has the highest Alexa ratings of any real estate blog in the city and generates search engine traffic from more than 8,000 phrases. Its internal analytics show site traffic up 14%, with more than 35,000 visitors per month.

Celebrate Atlanta Real Estate Forum's big 2.0 with us. Contact us to schedule an appointment, contact mRELEVANCE at 770-383-3360 x30.

mRELEVANCE to Promote 2009 Southern Building Show

2008-11-19T23:19:00.005-05:00

mRELEVANCE, LLC has been chosen to promote the sixteenth annual Southern Building Show and Conference through public relations and social media. The Southern Building Show is the Southeast’s premier event for builders, remodelers and design professionals. The 2009 Southern Building Show is sponsored by the Home Builders Association of Georgia (HBAG) and the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association (HBA). The show will be held June 4-6, 2009 at the Cobb Galleria Centre.

Connie Burney, Vice President of Association Affairs & Operations for the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association says, “RELEVANCE is the perfect marketing partner to promote the Southern Building Show. Their proven ability to reach the industry through traditional public relations and social media outlets such as Atlanta Real Estate Forum.com will greatly enhance the show’s exposure.”

With offices in Atlanta and Chicago, marketing RELEVANCE can connect your company with buyers and build relevant relationships nationwide. For more information, visit www.mRELEVANCE.com or call 770-383-3360 or 847-259-7312.

Heron Bay Selects mRELEVANCE

2008-10-04T22:26:00.009-04:00

Heron Bay Golf and Country Club, a master-planned development in Henry County, has selected mRELEVANCE as its Internet marketing, public relations and social media firm of record.

“mRELEVANCE uses multiple channels to bring awareness to Heron Bay,” said Lisa Brutvan, Marketing Director for Heron Bay Golf and County Club. “Their use of Internet marketing and social media combined with their traditional public relations expertise spreads the word through a wide range of outlets to reach a variety of consumers.”

Heron Bay Golf and Country Club is made up of many different neighborhoods, each built by a top Atlanta new home builder. All of the homes at Heron Bay offer a wide variety of options. Architectural styles include Traditional, European, Cottage and Craftsman designs, while plans range from active adult cottages on small, low maintenance lots to custom golf or lake-view homes on lots ranging from one half of an acre to over 1.5 acres. Homes are priced from the high $100’s to more than $1 million.

As Heron Bay has discovered, maximizing marketing dollars is more important than ever in today’s market. mRELEVANCE thoughtfully analyzes Internet traffic and traditional media messages to target relevant audiences with relevant messages for maximum results.

Named the “Community of the Year” in 2005 by the Greater Atlanta Homebuilders Association, and awarded the 2006 Grand Award for Outstanding Development by the Georgia Urban Forest Council, Heron Bay Golf & Country Club, developed by Minerva Properties, is a master-planned community that is setting new standards for development in the Atlanta marketplace. Heron Bay includes a variety of neighborhoods designed for every life stage and features a full complement of unparalleled amenities in a resort-like setting in Locust Grove, Ga., just south of Atlanta. For more information, visit www.heronbayinfo.com or call 770-957-5633.

Contact mRELEVANCE to find out how we can help you with new home marketing for builders.

Baby Boomers use Social Media

2008-09-19T08:59:00.002-04:00

Mitch Levinson with mRELEVANCE recently commented about an article on BrandWeek.com discussing Social media and Baby Boomers

Future of Search Article

2008-09-18T15:49:00.004-04:00

Google Search is so important to marketing on the Internet. Questions come up in every Internet Marketing seminar I have ever been to about how to come up better on google search. Builders and developers are all asking the same question "how do I come up better on google?"

I read this article about the future of search on Google's blog recently.

Official Google Blog: The future of search

There is a lot to consider. Decisions are being made on how to design and build sites to get the most from the search engines. As search changes change, so should your strategy about how to interact with the search engines.

Latent Semantic Indexing and SEO

2008-08-08T22:53:00.003-04:00

Have you naturally structured your homebuilder website to include Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI)? Does your site cover topics that are helpful to your customers or is it stuffed full of keywords that aren't relevant?

Does your site rank where you want it to rank for specific keywords and phrases? Or do other builders and developers always seem to have better SERP - search engine results page?

Attract qualified homebuyers to your website by utilizing LSI.

Optimized relevance can help you make your goals and reach your buyers. This online SEO and internet marketing package incorporates keyword research, LSI, competitive analysis, link building and more.

Contact mRELEVANCE to discuss ways to enhance your online reputation.

IBS Speaker News

2008-07-31T18:14:00.003-04:00

mRelevance managing partners Carol Flammer, MIRM and Mitch Levinson, MIRM have been selected to speak at the International Builder Show in Las Vegas. Look for more details on dates and times as we get closer to the show.

Carol is speaking on Social Media. Her program, "How to become a Social Media Butterfly" demonstrates the power of social media and an Internet optimization tool for homebuilders and developers.

Mitch is presenting Internet Tracking. His program is "Internet Tracking: What your Web site visitors are telling you." Learn how to maximize your online exposure, increase your SEO, keep visitors on your site longer and more.

Online registration for the International Builder Show is now open. We will see you in Vegas, Jan 20 – 23, 2009.

Request Information Contact Forms

2008-07-25T08:02:00.003-04:00

Website Contact Forms? Request for Information? The goal of most real estate websites is to generate a lead. How do you want that lead to come in? Ideally that person would just show up at the sales center and announce they were on your website. They could pick up the phone and tell you up front, " I am looking at the community information on your web site". Lastly they could fill out your email lead form or send you an email directly. Most builders and real estate agents would rather have one of the first two leads to happen, yet most websites assume the only way they can get a lead is the last option.

Look at your website. Are you asking them to visit you? Are you making the phone number prominent on the website along with a reason to call? The next time you look at your website, think about the consumer and the goals you want to accomplish. Decide if the web site is helping you to accomplish those goals or if something can be changed to direct the traffic on your website along a path you want them to follow.

Three MIRMs form new Marketing Company

2008-06-07T09:56:00.009-04:00

mRELEVANCE, LLC, a joint venture of Flammer Relations, Inc. and MLC New Home Marketing, launches next week (June 11 - 13) at the Southern Building Show in Atlanta.

Founded by three MIRMs -- Carol Flammer, Mitch Levinson and Bo Gilbert -- we think this might be the most MIRMs working together in one marketing firm anywhere!

This new web 2.0 centered marketing firm offers relevant solutions for building relationships in today’s changing world. By combining the talents of public relations and social media agency Flammer Relations, Inc., with Internet marketing agency MLC New Home Marketing, the resulting marketing firm is equipped to identify and implement the strategic marketing tactics that create relevant relationships for home builders and developers. Services will encompass both traditional public relations and Internet marketing to include search engine marketing, social media, email marketing, Web 2.0 tools, blogs, tracking, analytics and business intelligence.

Back to the Basics of New Home Marketing

2008-05-29T10:35:00.003-04:00

New home builders and developers are continuing to refine marketing budgets and look for ways to differentiate themselves in a tough market. This is a great time to evaluate your marketing budget and go back to the basics of marketing. Take the time to review this simple exercise with your team and refocus your efforts where they will most benefit your company's goals.
Seven basic steps of marketing
1. Know your company
2. Know your market (top 3 competitors)
3. Know your buyers
4. Be ready to do business
5. Reach your buyers (target market)
6. Sell and manage sales
7. Monitor and control results
Once you have reviewed the 7 steps of marketing, look for ways to improve. Does your sales training have the tools and training they need to sell your homes? Are you doing a good job of differentiating your homes and communities from your competitors? Are there unmet needs in the market that you could fill? What are your core competencies? Can everyone on your team give the two sentence elevator speech on the company? How can you improve your marketing mix to reach your target market? Are you employing low cost solutions such as public relations, social media and Internet marketing.

Does Social Networking Confuse You?

2008-04-25T14:33:00.003-04:00

Social Networking is rapidly being embraced by builders and developers seeking ways to interact with online buyers. From business networking on LinkedIn, to Realtor networking on ActiveRain and anything and everything on Facebook and MySpace, social networks provide opportunities to build personal and corporate brands while building online networks.

Still don’t get it? Here is a great video showing how Social Networking works - Video: Social Networking in Plain English

Target your Social Networking campaign to drive traffic to your website. Contact MLC New Home Marketing to learn how.

How Quickly do You Respond to Buyers?

2008-03-11T06:26:00.006-04:00

Recent Internet Marketing surveys show that homebuyers expect a faster response time from email. According to the California Association of Realtors Internet vs. Traditional Buyer Survey (2007- 2008), 94-percent of Internet buyers expected a response within 4 hours or less in 2007. This compares with 67-percent expecting a four hour turn around on response in 2006.

Is your current email marketing program set up to respond this quickly? Do you have a system in place to work a homebuyer lead through the system to become a sale? Does your Internet marketing program inspire homebuyers to take action?

Home Builders and Developers wishing to take their email marketing and Internet Marketing program to the next level should contact MLC New Home Marketing.

eBlast Management

2008-03-03T12:30:00.004-05:00

It is important to stay in touch with clients, vendors and potential clients through the use of eBlasts. These are a powerful tool that can help homebuilders and developers reach their desired audiences when used effectively. However, when used improperly eBlasts and email marketing can become flagged as SPAM.
We recommend that you use a program such as iContact or Constant Contact for your eBlasts. Programs such as this provide you with many necessary features. You can time the release of your email, check to see who opened it, see the website links they opened and more. Best of all these programs provide one touch unsubscribe -- an important feature in today's world.
For more information on how you can use eBlasts to gather business intelligence on your homebuilding company, visit MLC New Home Marketing.

Stage Coach Bandits Take the Internet. . .

2008-02-25T21:15:00.003-05:00

Stop applying the shotgun approach to your marketing efforts.
Identify your target through sound Internet Marketing strategy.

Pictured: The MLC New Home Marketing Internet Strategy team and Carol Flammer with Flammer Relations hold up the Wells Fargo Stagecoach at the International Builder Show in Orlando, Fla. earlier this month.

The MLC team attended several Internet marketing seminars at the show. Many homebuilders were discussing launching new sites or revamping old ones. Much focus continues to be placed on generating traffic and leads via the Internet. Many builders seem to be abandoning traditional media in favor of Internet marketing and online advertising.

Builders will still need to do their research to uncover progressive Internet concepts as many of these concepts are not yet in use by mainstream ad agencies. Both the technology and know-how exist for builders and developers who seek fresh interactive ideas. Interactive ideas that will bring them the traffic they seek.

Tracking - What Are Your Site Visitors Telling You?

2008-02-24T08:18:00.003-05:00

What do visitors to your site really think?
Are they finding the information they need?
How long do they stay?
What do they do on your site?
Where do they leave your site?

Answers to these questions and many more can be found in your tracking reports. It is important to have more than just a pretty website. Are you potential homebuyers finding what they need on your homebuilding or development site?

Tracking provides you with more than just the number of visitors on your site. A good tracking program and educated analysis provides the information you need to improve your Internet marketing program, as well as give you information on page views, lead generation, best referral sources and more. Tracking is an excellent way to streamline your Internet marketing dollars.

Mitch Levinson of Mitch Levinson Consulting and MLC New Home Marketing recently gave a presentation to the Atlanta SMC on tracking. A copy of the power point is available at MLC New Home Marketing.

Get Home Atlanta Campaign

2007-10-08T09:21:00.001-04:00

Most of the people reading my posts here at New Home Marketing are located in the Atlanta Market. For those that are not in Atlanta, I want to mention what the home building industry supported by the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association (GAHBA) is doing as a reaction to all the negative press out there about buying and purchasing new homes. They have launched a public relations campaign called 'Get Home Atlanta'. Read all about 'Get Home Atlanta' at the Atlanta Real Estate Forum.

Should Builders Blog?

2007-10-02T16:32:00.000-04:00

There is a lot of confusion about what a blog is and what it is for.. Some TRUE bloggers claim that blogs should be informational and not advertorial. I see blogs as both. For builders and marketing professionals, its a good way to get information out there so that people can find it.

Carol Flammer with Flammer Relations has recently launched a new service for homebuilders and developers - Read more about TopBuilderBlogs.com at the Atlanta Real Estate Forum

Read the article "Announcing Top Builder Blogs"

You can survive in this real estate market

2007-09-05T07:30:00.000-04:00

I was recently sent this list via email of things to do to survive in this current real estate market. I tried to find it posted somewhere on the net with no luck. I don't know who wrote this list, if it was you, please let me know and I will be happy to give you credit. Not everyone in the new home industry can abide by everything on this list, but its a good list to consider.

10 Things You Have to do to Survive in Real Estate Right Now

1) You have to get and stay positive
You have to see the opportunities! You have to stay motivated now. You have to think good, clean, powerful thoughts. You have to stay away from negative people. You are going to see some pretty tough things happening in the real estate industry. An all out, and unified negative media blitz is underway on housing. YOU have to stay positive. It will continue for many months to come. You will see real estate companies biting the dust, merging, failing. YOU have to stay positive.

Tensions are running high. People are scared. Angry. Confused. Uncertain. Apprehensive. Your co-workers are, your Broker or Sales Manager would have to be clueless not to be chewing their nails a little right now too. YOU have to stay positive.

You will see massive job losses throughout the entire housing sector, from loggers to construction workers, to retailers, to finance, people are losing their jobs. YOU have to stay positive. How you get your motivation matters little to me, but now is the time to get back to it. And I cannot tell you how serious I am about this attitude thing. It is the foundation. Everything emits from it. YOU have to be positive every day, and that will take some concentration.

2) You have to get and stay focused
You can't just wander through the day, now you have to plan and execute. You have to break your physical work cycle and find a different, more effective process. You have to work on those things that further your goals and eliminate time wasting and meaningless activities and motions. You have to learn to say, "no!" You have to learn to keep your mind of "finishing" the transactions you're on and working on those transactions that have a high probability of closing in your pipeline.

3) You have to get and stay competitive
One of the things I have always kind of felt bad about in my career is that we are hired, literally, to help a company and its agents take business away from other companies and other agents. Companies don't hire us to continue to get what they have been getting, they hire us to get what they haven't been getting. And the only way-let me say that again in a more emphatic way-the ONLY WAY we can help them take business away from their competitors is to get them in a far more competitive mode. And if you're going to be successful in this business now, and in the near future, you need to really think this through. HOW are you going to be more competitive? WHAT are you going to do that is different? All of them, all of the who, what, why, when, where and how have to be covered now. YOU have to be better in salable, identifiable, and meaningful ways.

4) You have to get and stay creative
You can't do more of what's not working. You have to think! You have to think about what the consumer wants. Not what you want. You will get what you want when you help enough other people get what they want. (Zig Ziglar). But none of that will happen in the old school way. You need new ways to do old jobs. It's just that simple my friend. You have to come up with a truly better way of doing business because your way isn't working.

5) You have to get and stay smart
You have to work with the "haves" now. You have no choice about this. You have to work with buyers who have down payments, and 700+ credit scores, and jobs. And if they don't, you have to walk. This is not the time to be a bleeding-heart, help everybody out, agent. You're in a tough market, you're going to have to toughen-up if you're going to be successful in it. That means rules, with few or no exceptions.

6) You have to get and stay picky
You have to take listings that will sell and walk away from those that won't. You have to find sellers who really want to sell, enough to cooperate with you in every way, and they have to live in a home that is salable, and that home has to be in the price ranges that are selling-or walk away. You're going to have to take better listings, not just more listings.

7) You have to get and stay involved
Now, buyers are nervous about the financial side of buying a house. Stop sending them to the lender first. Sit down with people, talk to them straight about finances, credit, down payments, monthly payments, assets, liabilities, income, debt, all of it. Then, based on your determination, send them to a lender who can help them. But stop saying to people, "have you seen a lender yet?" two minutes after you meet them. Work with people, solve their problems. You'll get paid.
8) You have to get and stay realistic
The market is going to be tough for a while, work harder and smarter. You are now as much in the finance business as you are the real estate business. If you need to learn more about finance, do so, now. In everything you do you have to ask yourself, "does this make sense?" The new, post credit crunch economy will require mostly that things make sense.

9) You have to get and stay visionary
This will fix itself eventually. And housing will become a stronger economic force with a more solid foundation, which will add up to even better things. There will be far fewer active agents you'll actually have to compete with, big companies will grow in terms of the number of licensees that call them home, but their structure is suicidal in this market. Smaller is the new bigger and Broker/Owners will have a very hard time making this paradigm shift, they are so stuck on "body count" - their vision has to change, or they will go under, that's all there is to it.

10) Most importantly, you have to get started
Enough of the dull-witted, ambiguous speculation as to why all this happened. Figuring out why your buyer can't get a loan won't earn you a commission. Now it's about working on what will work, and getting started. What has happened, has happened, now what are YOU going to do about it. You have to get started at least thinking about these things. Sorting them out, prioritizing them and getting rolling in the new real estate economy.

Web Site Article Published

2007-08-27T12:18:00.000-04:00

Mitch Levinson and I co-authored an article about Builder Websites that was recently published in the NSMC eNews. See the article posted in their archives by clicking over to Your Web Site: Is it working for you?

A lot of the information was covered in an article I posted on my blog last September.

Search Engines - SEM vs SEO

2007-07-08T09:24:00.000-04:00

The phrases search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) are often misunderstood in the new home marketing industry. SEM is a form of marketing that includes SEO, paid placement (PPC) and paid inclusion.

SEO is related to your website and how it is viewed by the search engines. Optimizing a website to get more quality traffic is the goal of search engine optimization.

SEM incorporates SEO as well as the pay per click model of advertising; bidding on keywords in the sponsor areas of the search engine websites. It may also include paying for links on high traffic websites or paying for guaranteed consideration. None of the major search engines will guarantee a rank in the organic search. They may not even consider your website for their ranking. Most of the sites offer a payment plan to at least guarantee a review of your website for inclusion.

Increase online sales

2007-06-07T16:24:00.001-04:00

I was over at Mike Lyon's blog. He has a great article about increaseing your online sales. Check it by clicking here

Mike has been very successful with his online sales efforts in Tulsa, OK.

You don't come up on Google?

2007-05-28T10:03:00.000-04:00

Getting your site to show up on Google's organic search is important for your marketing efforts. In many cases, Google will find your relevant site and show it in their index for searches in time. You should be able to come up for a specific search of your site pretty quickly. For example, if your company or community name is included in your domain and the title and meta descriptions are set-up to reflect your company or community name, a search for that company or community name should return your website in the first few pages. If it is not showing, do a search for your exact domain name and see if Google even knows about it. If it doesn't, you may need some professional assistance. I have had clients tell me that their webmaster said it could take 4 to 6 weeks to get Google to index their website. Some web designers do a great job with graphics and design. Many of them are not designing sites to be search engine friendly. They are not offering services to get your site noticed and listed quickly.

It would be ideal to be on the first page of Google's organic search in the first position. Sometimes this is difficult, especially when you choose a name that has competition for the search. If you decide to name your website "Atlanta Real Estate", you are going to have problems getting that to come up on the first page of Google without a tremendous amount of time and money being spent.

Being indexed by Google and ranking high for desired keyword phrases on Google are different. For more information on getting your site noticed and listed, please contact MLC New Home Marketing for a website analysis of your website.

Pay Per Click Model of Advertising

2007-04-16T09:56:00.000-04:00

There are a lot of builders and developers doing PPC advertising.

In the PPC advertising model, you have three core elements – keywords , ads , and bids . These three elements are combined with ‘ placement ' to create an advertising model that displays ‘relevant' ads on search engines (in response to keyword searches), portals and websites that opt to display such ads on their pages (the ads to be shown are determined by a keyword analysis of the page).

For a PPC campaign, you need to know the keywords that you are targeting. For example, for a niche site that promotes a time management product, I would create a list of keywords that included keyword groups containing terms related to time management, productivity, saving time, self improvement and maybe even business soft skills. As I've told you before about keyword research, you should have a big list so that you capture most, if not all, of your target traffic.

The next step is to write the ad copy for the ads that will be displayed for your searches. The ad copy is extremely important because along with your bid amount, this will determine the ‘conversion rate' (explained below) of your ads. Write concise, compelling ad copy that highlights the benefits of your website / product, and avoid fluff.

Once you've written your ads, it's time to bid . The bidding mechanism differs from PPC engine to engine, but the idea is the same – your bid amount is the maximum cost (usually calculated in U.S. dollars) that you are willing to pay for each keyword. It's important to know how much you can afford in terms of bidding costs so that you avoid going into bidding wars with your competitors, and also so that you don't spend more than you make through this campaign.

Cost-Per-Click

Cost-Per-Click ( CPC ) is the amount you pay each time a potential customer ‘clicks' on one of your ads that they see on their search engine results or on websites. This is often less than the maximum bid amount you set for each keyword.

Conversion Rate

Conversion Rate is the ratio of clicks over impressions (the number of times your ad is displayed on searches or page loads on websites). A typical conversion rate is between 2 to 3 percent – that is, for every 100 impressions, you get 2-3 clicks on your ads.

Conversion Rate is closely tied in with the quality of your ad copy , and also with Placement , which I'll discuss next.

Placement

If there is more than one person bidding for a keyword (as is almost always the case), the placement of the ads (which ad comes in on the first slot, which comes in on the second, etc.) is determined by bid amounts of each competitor. The higher your bid, the better your placement (Google adds the conversion rate into their placement calculations, and I'll tell you how later). Your conversion rate to a certain extent depends on how high your ad is placed on the ‘rankings' and this leads advertisers to place high bids just to rank at the top. The trouble with this approach is that you might enter into a bidding war with your competitors and lose a lot of money.

Tracking

Tracking refers to measuring which keywords are bringing you the best leads or sales, and which keywords are bringing you ‘window shoppers' – people who are ‘compulsive clickers' and don't buy or sign up. Tracking your ad campaign will help you further fine-tune your ads and improve your ROI.

ROI

Your Return-on-Investment (ROI) is determined by how much you are spending over how much you are earning in net profits from your ad campaign. It's important to establish a base ROI before your start your ad campaign – assume a conversion rate of 1 percent – so that you don't over-spend and are able to run this campaign within your budget.

The Pay-Per-Click World

Currently, there are two major PPC engines, Google AdWords and Overture (now known as Yahoo! Search Marketing ). While there are many alternatives such as Espotting (now Miva), MetricsDirect and Kanoodle, the top two PPC engines are a class apart when it comes to delivering results.

However, one of the first pieces of advice you'll hear from most people is that bigger PPC engines such as AdWords and Overture are too ‘expensive' to break into (with CPC for top positions easily passing $3-$4 for many keywords, and reaching $10 for really competitive keywords).

In reality, if you are just starting out, it's critical that you pick one of the top two PPC engines. Why?

Traditionally marketers judge PPC engines on the following criteria:

Reach – How large your potential target market is.
Cost-per-click
Quality of traffic – Do the leads fit your customer profile? Are the willing to spend on your products?
Quality of service – The tools and help offered by the PPC engines.
Overture and AdWords beat their competition on all of these metrics except CPC. However, the benefits of ‘cheaper' clicks are more than compensated for by the ease of use of the big two, and more importantly, as any PPC expert will tell you, the quality of traffic from Overture and AdWords is far better than from other PPC engines.

New Home Sales and Marketing Companies

2007-04-05T10:05:00.000-04:00

Many builders and developers lack the resources to keep a full time sales force on staff. Some may choose to list their homes with a general broker. There are situations when that is sufficient to get the homes sold. For bigger projects, it is usually best to go with a company that is focused on the sales and marketing of new homes only. You want someone that is focused on your project and not worry about them taking the leads and prospects that your marketing dollars generate to another more profitale or quicker closing property. One of my biggest clients is the leading new home sales and marketing company in Atlanta.

Here is a video that Morris and Raper Realtors recently had produced for a presentation.

Thanking your Builder for the Job

2007-04-04T22:05:00.000-04:00

Most people that have been in the industry and been active in developing their career have heard of Myers Barnes. I read this post about being thankful for the opportunity your builder provides you. A lot of people think builders make a ton of money. Sure! some do quite well, but do you have any idea what kind of risk they put out to make this money? Many put the money out hoping to be successful and find themselves losing a lot of money.

If you are in new home sales and start to wonder about the opportunity that has been granted to you, please check out this post by Myers at his blog about thanking your builder

Internet Marketing

2007-03-26T15:22:00.000-04:00

What is Internet Marketing?

Many things come to mind when someone uses the term Internet marketing, especially when you are applying it to Real Estate and new home construction. It could refer to placing a new home community on an Internet listing site like move.com or Atlanta New Homes Directory, bidding on keyword clicks at sites like google and yahoo or it could be altering the title and meta tags to make the website come up in search engines. Being found on the Internet is the most important thing for a website. You spend money to have the website designed and hosted so that it can provide the story, the information about the new homes you have to offer, but if no one ever sees it or they can't find it, you have probably wasted your money on building a website in the first place.

Internet Marketing begins with proper website design and functionality. Using the search engines, the listing sites, tracking statistics, email marketing programs, and lead management software are all parts of effective Internet Marketing strategies.

Does your website get home buyers to respond?

2007-03-12T08:28:00.000-04:00

If you have noticed, my lasts few posts are continuing with the same theme.

There are a lot of fancy websites out there that are built to market new homes and condos. I find many of them are using the latest and greatest techniques to wow the site visitor with flash, graphics, or sound. They lack the marketing message. What are you selling? Where is it located? How much does it cost? When will it be ready? What do you want me to do next?

The most visited new home real estate websites are the Internet Listing Sites; sites like Realtor.com, Move.com, NewHomeSource.com. These sites provide a basic search feature to allow the home buyer to search by city, price, number of bedrooms, and number of bathrooms. A list is given with lots of information. These sites are all in the business to make money from advertising. They provide a service to get the site visitor to your website that should give more information about the home they just saw. In many cases, websites advertised on these listing sites do not even answer the basic questions. How much do your homes cost? When will they be ready? I have had to hit the back button sometimes to get back to Realtor.com to figure out if I was on the right website.

Homebuyers on the web are searching for information. Holding it back will get a few people to contact you and ask the questions; "How much do your homes cost?", "When will these homes be ready?", "Where exactly are you located?". I feel that many homebuyers will simply move to the next website where their questions are answered.

Look at your website. Ask yourself the basic questions. Would the website make you want to go to the next step? Make a phone call? Visit the sales center? Request more information via email? If not, it may be time for a new website or at least some website modifications.

Contact Form needs Contact Information

2007-03-05T14:47:00.000-05:00

This is pretty simple, but often overlooked. I frequently run across new home community websites with no contact information on the Contact Us Page. The person could be looking for a phone number. If they have to search very long, they will probably just move on to the next website or try to find the information they are looking for somewhere else.

I typically recommend putting the phone number, the sales center address and preferably a link to get directions or a link to location map on the Contact Us Page.

If you are trying to sell new homes, make sure the person knows how to take the next step. Tell them to call the sales agent, visit the model, schedule an appointment, or request information via a contact form sent via email and tell them these things often, not just on one page.

The basics apply on the web too.

2007-02-21T08:33:00.000-05:00

How many times do you run a print ad for a new community and not tell them something about the product? What is it? Where is it? How much does it costs? When will it be ready? These basic questions should be answered on the website. You have a lot more space and ability to educate the consumer about your product. I can't figure out what so much is left off the website.

I am often asked to analyze why websites are not performing. In most cases, its because the website does not answer the simple questions. I have seen so many websites recently that are designed to entertain the consumer. They are not doing what they should be doing, which is generating interest, leads, traffic and sales.

Why would you have a website if it is not even going to provide as much info as the media that sent the consumer there? Imagine a print ad that says "Condos from $200,000 now pre-selling with delivery in 4th qtr 0f 2007 in the heart of Atlanta's Buckhead District" visit our website at www. communitywebsite . com ...The community website makes you hunt to figure out what is being sold, never mentions buckhead, never tells you what the costs are, has annoying music that makes everyone in your office look up when you visit the website, and does not provide a contact phone number. What are the chances the website is going to show any value in your overall marketing? You would be better off just putting the print ad on the web and supplying a good contact form. This is not the best scenario, but would probably generate better results than a website that does not answer the simple questions.

Home Shoppers do their hunting online

2007-02-10T17:28:00.000-05:00

USA Today ran an article on February 9th, "Home Shoppers do their hunting online" I like Mike Lyons comments at his blog , Online Sales Talk. See his comments on the article by clicking here.

International Builders Show in Orlando

2007-02-04T13:40:00.000-05:00

The Internation Builders show is this week in Orlando, Fl. This is the largest show of the year and from the information sent to its members, it will be largest show in history based on exhibitors, vendors and registered attendees.

The Nation's Building News features a preview of the show.
http://www.nbnnews.com/NBN/issues/2007-01-08/

“Professionals from all walks of the housing and light commercial construction industries who are considering attending the most important building trade show of the year will find this publication an invaluable resource for planning their visit,” said NAHB President David Pressly, a home builder from Statesville, N.C.

Why post this on my new home marketing blog? I will be one of the attendees this week in Orlando. The show is an excellent way to interacty with builders, sales and marketing professionals and suppliers from aorund the country. Being exposed to the various produucts and services give me a chance to stay on top of market.

Do you BCC?

2007-01-26T10:25:00.000-05:00

"Do you BCC?" That kind of sounds like a song from the early 90's. The process of sending email to prospects using the BCC feature could be considered naughty in many cases.

I am kind of shocked by the number of agents that use this BCC feature of their outlook or another email program when following up with homebuying prospects. When you send a generic email to yourself and BCC a bunch of people, what you are essentially doing is saying, "Hello Mr/Mrs HomeBuyer, I am following up with you because I want to make a sale and want to touch every contact I have because my manager may be watching, but you are not important enough to me to personally send you an individual email. I have other things that are more important."

There are a lot of software programs and services available to handle mass emails. Many of them provide tracking statistics of opens and clicks. If you are looking for tips or training on how to be a better e-sales agent, ask your manager or the person that handles your marketing for some assistance.

The 3% Discount

2007-01-23T09:15:00.000-05:00

Have you, as an onsite sales agent, ever offered a discount based on the fact that the person does not have a cooperating broker? Knowing that the builder will not have to pay the 3% if they buy from you? Myers Barnes has a great post on his blog about how to kill your broker coop program

Search Engine Marketing 101

2007-01-11T12:51:00.000-05:00

I ran across this article on Search Engine Marketing. Pretty good information about the search engine models. I agree with most of the article. I disagree with the multiple submissions to websites. I rarely ever submit to google through their url submission form. I think its much better for Google to find your site linked from a similar highly relevant website.

Check out the article by clicking here

Move - Who are they?

2007-01-05T14:22:00.000-05:00

If you are selling homes, you have probably heard of Realtor.com. The parent company is now called Move - They changed their name from Homestore, Inc. last year as a rebranding initiative. Their site provides a lot of advertising opportunities.

I recently ran across this blog at Inman News

History of Move at Inman

Self Training - Do you read enough?

2007-01-02T11:04:00.000-05:00

Hopefully if you are in new home sales, you have at some point been told to read as many new homes sales books as you can. I know I have read a lot of them.

These books offer a wealth of information to assist new home sales agents as well as marketing directors in the advancement of their career in the new home industry.

Some of my favorites are those by Myers Barnes, Bob Schultz and Bill Webb.

My Recommended list of sales training books.

Cost of Traffic Units

2007-01-01T16:30:00.000-05:00

How do much do you spend to get a person to walk in the door of your sales model? I know that's a loaded question. In many cases the actual number is all over the place. A lot depends on how you categorize costs. What is included in that number? Most companies will agree that print ads, magazine ads, internet advertising, radio advertising, billboards, sign placement, and tv advertising would all be part of that number. This number is usually referred to as the media budget. How about creative costs? The creation of these ads are all cost associated with running the ads. Some companies include them, some include them in another part of the budget.

What about incentives? bonuses? giveaways? Are they put in the budget with the other costs of generating traffic or is that put somewhere else in the overall budget?

How about real estate agent costs? In most parts of the country Real Estate Agent Coop is a must. The Real Estate Agents have the buyers, so therefore they need to know about your product. Are agent lunches and Realtor events included in the cost of generating traffic? Do you figure in any extra commissions and bonuses in those costs? Its all part of the cost to sell homes.

Advertising on the Internet is CHEAP compared to most other forms of advertising. Are you doing enough to get your community exposure on the Internet?

Email Marketing Bad Words

2006-12-17T11:32:00.000-05:00

When emailing contacts, especially when you mass email a contact list, there are certain words and phrases you should try to stay away from using. Its hard to promote your new home community without using these phrases.