Inman

Realty brokers add clicks to their bricks

Hop aboard the paid search wagon

Paid search advertising racked up more than $2 billion last year, according to a report eMarketer released this week. The trend is pumping life back into Web advertising, which crashed and burned just a few years ago. With Google logging 500 million realty-related searches this year, it’s easy to see the huge opportunity for realty brokers to add clicks to their bricks. So what’s the next big thing in Web search? All hands point to local search. This presents a whole new side to online real estate ads. Now the smaller brokerages that weren’t convinced of search ads’ effectiveness on their local clientele may see the light. Better grab a spot before prices climb. –Jessica Swesey

10x and 57 degrees

The current price for an ounce of gold is about $220; an ounce of sugar sells for 40 cents. The most expensive housing market in the U.S. is La Jolla, Calif.; Binghamton, N.Y., has the least expensive, according to Coldwell Banker. Based on a 2,200-square-foot home, the average per-square-foot price of a home in La Jolla is $619 versus $55 in Binghamton – about 10x.

We generally understand the difference between gold and sugar, but what about the economic spread between two identical products, one in Binghamton and one in La Jolla?

Today, it is 5 degrees with the wind chill in Binghamton and 57 degrees in La Jolla. – about 10x.

Too simplistic? Maybe not.

Do you care?

Approximately 33 percent of homeless men are veterans, although veterans comprise only 23 percent of the general adult-male population. The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans estimates that on any given night, 299,321 veterans are homeless. However, the homeless veteran problem is not necessarily related to combat military experience. In fact, homeless veterans are less likely to have served in combat.

Vietnam-era veterans do not represent most homeless veterans. Instead, the greatest numbers are those who served during the late Vietnam and post-Vietnam era. These vets rarely faced combat, but have higher rates of mental illness and addiction disorders, possibly due to recruitment patterns.

Now what?

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