Ryan Ward's Blog: All Categories

Warning! Warning!

Many of us saw it coming and they just said it wasn't true. You may remember a post I wrote about Trulia and other third party real estate website listing services and how it will end up being nothing but bad news for the consumer in the long run. well, you may be interested in an email I just received from Trulia about PAID ADVERTISING. Here is an excerpt from that email:

Greetings Ryan Ward,

Thank you all for your hard work and participation on Trulia Voices! Trulia has been hard at work the past month putting together our first ever agent advertising product and we want to make sure Voices users get something special. In the holiday spirit, we would like to gift all the dedicated Voices users a $100 coupon for our Agent Featured…

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I have a few blogs. A couple free standing WordPress blogs that I enjoy using just don't seem complete without a way to add a professional way to market my listings to consumers who may come across my blog posts. Well, I have searched and searched to no avail so I set out to come up with a solution on my own. I think I have found it and you can see how it looks here:

http://www.ryanwardrealestate.com/WordPress/listings/

Now if you like the way it looks and would like to install this on your own WordPress blog, I wrote a post on my new real estate test blog with, what I hope, are pretty solid instructions on how to recreate this on your own. You can read the instructions…

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Real estate agents today utilize various methods of marketing homes for sale for their clients. Virtually all agents now listings on a number of online resources to increase exposure of listings directly to buyers. Few however, have been able to harness the internet with their own personal and local real estate websites to market homes for sale.

What sets us apart from other agents and brokers in the market today is our unique ability to market Sandy Springs homes for sale directly to buyers from within our own website which provides buyers with a local source for not only finding your listing, but, extensive information for buyers so that they can freely speak with a knowledgeable professional when they find your home.

We have taken additional steps to…

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I received a phone call yesterday and the gentleman asked me this. I have heard this and a few other myths that I thought I should try to dispell about Alpharetta. So here they are:

Myth Number 1: Alpharetta traffic is horrible- this is simply not true. Well, it's no worse than any other part of Atlanta and it is better than most.

Myth Number 2: Alpharetta is snobbish - Really? If you think Alpharetta is snobbish then perhaps you should drive through some of the other "exclusive" communities in Atlanta.

Myth Number 3: Alpharetta is too expensive - Nothing could be farther from the truth.

So, myth number one that I hear more than any other is related to traffic. I drove from I-285 and GA 400 to Exit 8, Mansell road yesterday in the middle of rush our in…

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The sales in 2007 started off higher in Alpharetta than they were for the same time period of 2006, but, have been declining every month since April. the question is when will we reach the bottom. It's clear that we are in a buyers market in that buyers definitely have the upper hand in negotiations, but, buyers are still sitting on the sidelines, waiting for the right opportunity.

So really, when is the right time to buy? The answer should be quite clear and the statistics indicate that right now is the answer. I just put together a comprehensive report on the Alpharetta real estate market, and, from the data contained in the report, you can clearly see that right now buyers have more leverage than they have had in years and still they sit.

Waiting for…

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As it has become more difficult to sell real estate in the current market, it has become more important that your home be in excellent condition if you are to attract a buyer for your home. Curb appeal remains very high on the priority list of items that should be addressed and improved prior to listing your home for sale. As a homeowner, it is sometimes difficult to objectively review all of the parts of a home that have slowly lost the luster and newness associated with them. One item of particular importance is often overlooked when addressing the exterior of a home and preparing it for sale. Gutters may seem like a boring, utilitarian device of little consequence, but, the truth is that gutters are found on nearly all homes and act as a sort of jewelry…

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So the guys on the TV tell us that it's a bad real estate market. Really? I disagree. Not just with the premise, but with the idea that this type of reporting is relevant, accurate or even news to begin with. Let's start with the premise of a "good" or "bad" real estate market. There is no such thing. It's really quite simple and to say a market is good or bad in and of itself is irresponsible at best - especially when they don't put in perspective whether they are talking about it from the perspective of a buyer or seller.

You need to understand that if it is a bad market for sellers that this means something else as well. It means that it is a good market for buyers. They always leave that part out and it makes the entire report worthless.

I just put…

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Open houses in the Intown Atlanta condo market can be hard to find and even more difficult to visit because of parking and a lack of easy access to view the available condos. Not this time and not next weekend.

Next Saturday, October 20th from 2 - 5 p.m.at The Art Foundry at Atlantic Station in Midtown Atlanta will be your chance to get out and see what the Intown Atlanta lifestyle is all about. Agents representing about 20 sellers have collaborated on a one day one time event to showcase the fabulous condos in Atlantic Station - a city within a city. If you have considered making a move on a new condo in Midtown Atlanta, now is your chance to come out and see what's available.

View photos, get directions and find out more information about our Intown…

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