Our Brand-Spanking New Facebook Page

Finally I got around to making a Facebook Fanpage for the Blog. It has been on my mind since last November, and I must admit: I didn’t have a clue how to make one. But miracles do happen, and last week I belatedly uncovered the Facebook Fanpage Mystery. Now, it’s just figuring out what to do with it. I’m still pondering over that last one. Suggestions are, as always, gratefully appreciated.

You might think that having a blog is already enough work. And you’re right.
What I am hoping here is that -unlike the blog- the Facebook page will be self-supported. Of course, with the help of all the lovely fans!

I invite you to join. Yes, you. I know you have a Facebook account, and don’t pretend you don’t.
Let’s get the discussions going, comments and links to Real Estate related topics. It’s up to you.

And oh, before I forget…I’ve change the Facebook sidebar link to point to the page itself and not my profile anymore. Just in case you missed this post.

Google Maps the Next Real Estate Search Engine?

I guess it was just a matter of time before Google decided to monetize on the home search queries. A lot of real estate related websites are now using google maps (in the form of a plugin) as part of their listings, and so far is working out just fine.

I’ve noticed more and more properties appearing on google maps – or  Google Real Estate 2.0 as they are calling it- since this last summer, and the last time I checked there were a lot of listings from the west  coast of the US. But slowly is moving into Canadian territory. More and more Canadian cities are listing their properties online with google base. Agents and brokers are able to upload their listings via google base or RSS (I have yet to check into it). I was surprise to see that not many brokers/agencies listed from Montreal, there are 2 main websites getting most of the hits from google real estate map searches.

Will they compete with the MLS®, Realtor® website?
Compete, most probably. But they are neither a broker nor a MLS system, according to their disclaimer. The complete answer and explanation is found in their FAQ for Real Estate Agents and Brokers:

“Is Google a broker? A national MLS?

We’re neither. Our role is to connect users as quickly as possible with the information they need. People come to us looking for all kinds of information, including housing listings, comparable pricing, and how to find an agent or broker in their area. In all cases, we want to deliver these users to the industry experts who can provide the most useful answers.”

Well, as long as they don’t start crawling the MLS the Realtors.ca database -without permission- they will be lawsuit free. It makes me wonder if, say, 5 years from now, Google Maps -Real Estate 2.0 will be more popular than our Realtor’s site. We’ll have to wait and see.

What do you think?

McGill Immobilier is now Video Blogging!

I haven’t checked out my broker’s website in about a week, yesterday while browsing the new properties I noticed the very new addition to the site: McGill Real Estate Blog, it’s actually a Video Blog. and so far, Patrice has added 4 videos where different topics regarding the real estate market in Montreal.
This one I found it interesting, it discusses repossessed properties and the foreclosure market in Montreal.

Enjoy!

Les reprises de finances – Est-ce vraiment de bonnes affaires ?
(REAL ESTATE- Bank Owned house would be a good deal?)

“Premièrement, il faudrait voir les statistiques exactes, mais je sais qu’on est à des lunes du nombre des reprises de finance des États Unis & loin de la balance du Canada.

Ici les banques ne sont pas prises avec des quantités de propriétés invendables. Elles sont à but lucratif elles vont essayer d’avoir le prix du marché.”

I’ve added my comment on this video, if you like the information, voice your opinion by leaving them a little comment.
Welcome McGill Immobilier to the Blogosphere!

This Blog is Getting International Recognition

I wanted to share a little something with you…
Last Saturday I had the opportunity to talk about the blog and the use of social media with a radio station in Venezuela. Some of you may know, I was born and raised there (that would explain a lot all my grammar errors, eh?), so many of my contacts online are also from down south.

It was through a blogger-friend (thank you Croncho!) that I got referred to the radio station La Mega, to be interviewed with AnaIrene and Nacarid from La Makina on the subject of: How is the social media benefiting your business?
We had a great exchange of ideas and I was asked many questions regarding the way I use the web 2.0 (blog, facebook, twitter, etc..) to market myself and my services. As well as the different types of information we provide on this blog.

I was surprised to hear that not many people in my industry have been using (or being interviewed for using) social media. But even more surprised than me, they were astonished at the fact that here in Canada we’re a little behind (the Real Estate Industry) with the use of technology, web and social media to enhance our client communication and build new relationships. After all, we’re a developed country, n’est pas? I really hope that will change soon.
In any case, I took the liberty to record the interview, and will need to get the permission  first to publish it. But if I do, unfortunately it will be all in Spanish. Sorry in advance for those who: No Habla Español :)

It was a fantastic experience to be talking live in a radio show, about the two subjects that I’m very passionate about: Technology and Real Estate.

UPDATE (March 26,2009):
The program has released the interview in podcast version. The program is a little long and they talk about technology, you can find my interview almost at the end of the program itself. Here is the link. Again, is En Español.

Montreal Real Estate Board: Blogging as a Marketing Tool

Another video posted on the Montreal Real Estate Board about blogging as a marketing tool. While the first video talked about social media and web 2.0 in general, this one tackles the do’s and don’ts of blogging.

Here is the scoop:

1. Don’t expect any results for the first 6 to 9 months. [getting high traffic, readers, or potential clients]
2. You have to be a reasonably good writer. [gulp!]
3. Information you could offer as a blogger: local market, national trends, international real estate news and realtor gossip (Uh?) [I strongly suggest you stay away from this one unless, of course, your source of info is solid.]
4. How often you should update: Preferably once or twice a day. Minimum three times a week. If you cannot do the minimum, don’t even bother.- [We're doing a little more than the minimum here, so we're not so bad.]
5. Length of articles: you don’t have to write a novel on each entry, a few lines of words will suffice. [I'm taking the hint as well]

Opinions, rants and comments are welcome!

Happy blogging.

To twit or not to Twit?

For many many months I entertained the idea of joining the twitter madness.
I’ve seen news on big companies having their twitter accounts and twittering away, some of my favorite writers and bloggers also are using twitter. Was it the “peer pressure” that led me to finally sign up? Nope. It was mostly my curiosity. Just to find out what all the fuzz was about.
So there you have it: The Montreal Real Estate Blog, is now on twitter. Actually, it’s just me. Let’s correct that by saying: Deya is now on twitter. Care to know what I’m doing?

A better way to get your daily news

I noticed a large amount of our new readers are subscribing by email. While this is the most common way to receive updates from websites, it has its disadvantages. Let me explain: If you subscribe to a blog or a news site that publishes several articles a day/week, you’ll find yourself overwhelmed with an inbox full of unread articles, and racing to keep up with the new content. (Too much information, too little time). Most likely you’ll end up deleting unread mail, and finally unsubscribing from the site.

The good news: There’s a better way to get yours latest articles delivered to you without having to fill up your inbox.

Here is a little video explaining RSS in Plain English.

You’ve probably seen the RSS sign on the top of the blog’s column (the orange button). You’ve seen the icon on mainstream sites, major newspaper’s online are now aware of this way of sharing information and have implemented it. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication.Other feeds like this ones will be Atom, but let’s stick to the basics for now :)

Personally, I get all my news from different online journals plus all my favorite blogs using the RSS reader. It saves me tons of time, and it’s quite simple to do. The first time I used an RSS reader was through my Google account, they have a nifty little Blog reader you can add to your personalized Google homepage. Although there are a lot of feed readers out there, (and I’ve tried a few) my favorite one right now is NetNewsWire, which is the Mac version of NewsGator (windows). There is an online version or the desktop software (where you can go offline after you retrieve all news), they are both free. If you want, give it a try and let me know what you think!

Already using RSS reader? Let us know what’s your favorite one in the comments box.

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