Prudential Rubloff Launches Proactive SEO Platform

Prudential Rubloff Launches Proactive SEO Platform

Tue, Feb 28 2012

Michael and Chris are pleased to announce the launch of VHT ImageWorks, a comprehensive SEO platform designed to drive even more traffic to Rubloff.com. The platform takes the online buyer directly to the source of the listing information, the brokerage that is listing the property.

“Prudential Rubloff is extremely pleased to offer VHT ImageWorks,” said Pierson. “The platform drives online traffic, giving our agents and their listings a clear competitive advantage in the marketplace. This aggressive and proactive Search Engine Optimization (S.E.O.) program is the latest innovative marketing tool Prudential Rubloff provides to agents and their clients.”

VHT ImageWorks was designed by Internet entrepreneur and Orbitz founder Alex Zoghlin. It is the first marketing platform that produces measurable results by significantly improving brokers’ search engine-generated traffic and sales conversion rates. Brokers using the platform elsewhere in the country experienced a 37 percent average increase in web visits from search engines.

Prudential Ruboff’s ImageWorks platform consists of powerful components to drive traffic to listings. Patrick Bergner, Senior Vice President and Director of Marketing, explains, “With the implementation of this visionary program, Rubloff.com affirms its place among the top real estate websites serving Chicagoland and Southwest Michigan,” said Patrick. “Through the platform, each Prudential Rubloff listing receives special SEO treatment allowing it to appear higher in searches than was possible in the past. As a result, we anticipate a significant bump in web traffic from search engines within the next few months. We view this as a considerable benefit to agents and consumers alike, and it all happens seamlessly without any action on behalf of the listing agent. This progressive marketing initiative is the latest enhancement to our website, Rubloff.com. But, as always, we are looking to the future!”

Chicago-area home sales post best January in five years
http://ping.fm/Z5vAU

Just got inducted for 4th yr. into 2011 Rubloff Honor Society....highest affordability index@ an all time high while interest rates@an all time low.."the perfect storm"
Carpe Diem.. Great time to buy from motivated sellers and uplifting and realistic time to sell to educated buyers

 Check us out@

http://www.chicagoluxuryrealty.com/

The Chicago Multi-Family Perception vs. Reality for Non-distressed Properties

My good friend Kevin Rocio of @Properties spoke last week on the state of the Chicago Apartment Market and shared some eye-opening facts that I thought I would pass along…

Apartment buildings are once again expected to be the best-performing commercial sector. For the second year in a row, the absorption of 170,000 existing units is far outpacing the completion of 38,000 new units. In 2010 the spread was even wider. As a result, vacancies have continued to drop with Chicago being the 8th market with the largest drop while rental rates continue to rise.

The Co-Star forecast is for Chicago multifamily vacancies to drop to 4.6% in 2012 from 5.3% in 2011. The rental rate, at a median of $1,066 per unit, is expected to increase 3.5% this year and 3.8% in 2013.

Foreclosures are not the major cause for the drop in vacancies as many suspect. Instead, it is the increase in the formations of new households which are expected to total 7 million over the next four years.

With regards to pricing, it’s important to understand that cap rates are expected to 4% by year end for non-distressed assets in the Chicago A-markets (Streeterville to the Central Business District to River North to LakeView). The 3-month trailing cap rate in these markets at the end of Jan, 2012 was 5.5%. Just 12-months ago, the average hovered around 10.25%. That’s the biggest drop in in the last 40 years. (see attached graph)

What this is going to do, is force investor to look at the suburban markets because this is where the value play is expected to remain, at least for the near-term.

(sources: Co-Star & Real Estate Investment Journal)

 

Moving to Northbrook? Moving to Bucktown? ..@ fantastic new listings Priced right!

Colleagues..Check out these great new listings. If you’re in the burbs..Doing a brokers open this Wed. from 930-12..Come and chat..

 2563 Melanie Northbrook, IL. $649700 PRICED TO SELL! 5BR.3.5ba..Amazing value on great newer colonial on interior lot in Stonegate. Natural Light filled 2-stry foyer & fam rm w/frpl & custom blt-in entertnmnt centr. LP/DR combo, 1st flr finished basement w/full bath. Chef's kitchen open to fr. Spacious master w/2 walk-in closets & dual vanities. Underground sprinklers, lg yrd. Carpe Diem-This is living!

  

  2089 Wabansia. Chicago..$39975- Light filled/smartly upgraded 2BD+den in boutique elevator bldg in the heart of Bucktown. Steps to public trans, new parks, library. Grnte/cherry isld kitchen w/brkfst bar opens to sep din area & LR w/fplc & huge deck; cherry/stone/grte bths w/sep shwr & whirlpool; W/D; tons of newly done clsts; 2 indoor garage spots incl. Carpe Diem-This is living! 3rd br is open & is used as a den, can be easily closed.

 

Email rgoldstein@rubloff.com for more info. or private showing

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Ron Goldstein, MBA
Transnational Referral Certified(TRC)
Quality Service Certified(QSC)
Broker Associate
Prudential RUBLOFF Real Estate
cell (312)771-7190
office(312)264-5846
rgoldstein@rubloff.com
Carpe Diem(Seize the Day!) Today is your day!...
Certified Eco-Broker
www.chicagoluxuryrealty.com
Check out my blog@
http://www.carpediemrealestate.blogspot.com

Dancing. Celebrating life today!

Curb appeal!

By TIM McKEOUGH

Q. How can I make my front porch more appealing to buyers?

A. It’s worth putting some extra effort into sprucing up the front porch, because potential buyers spend a lot of time there, chatting with real estate agents and waiting to get into the house during showings, says Cindy Shea, a vice president with Sotheby’s International Realty in the Hamptons.

“It’s about first impressions,” she said, noting that an unkempt porch is a poor introduction to your house. “I hate to say that it could kill someone’s interest in going inside the house, but it’s really the portal through which they’re going to enter, so it’s very, very important.”

Kimberly Renner, owner of the Austin, Tex., design and construction company the Renner Project, made a similar observation. “From a marketing standpoint, you know that potential buyers tend to linger outside the house and talk,” she said. “They stand at the curb and stare at the front of the house, talking about what they’ve just seen. You want to take full advantage of that.”

As a first step, Ms. Shea and Ms. Renner stress the importance of getting the front porch as clean as possible.

“One of the first things to consider is power-washing off any dirt or mold,” Ms. Shea said. “You want to have clean surfaces, especially after a long winter or a wet summer.”

If the paint is peeling, touch it up. “Look at the trim and the railings,” she added. “If they’re rotted, you might want to get rid of them.”

Ms. Renner’s list of essential basic maintenance also includes making sure the doorbell works, washing the windows and clearing away unused flowerpots. In addition, “make sure the porch light isn’t full of bugs,” she said. “These things are so familiar, you almost stop seeing them. But to have a nice, bright, sparkly light fixture, sparkly windows and pretty flowerpots is actually really important.”

Sellers should also consider replacing tired hardware, she says, as well as the house numbers and the mailbox. When selecting replacements, she notes, there’s an opportunity to update the look of the house. For a contemporary home, for instance, she suggests Design Within Reach’s crisp Neutra house numbers. For a traditional home, she recommends classic brass numbers from Restoration Hardware.

A fresh coat of high-gloss paint on the front door also goes a long way toward making the whole exterior look better, she says, adding that black is a “classy, safe” color choice in most situations.

To go beyond the basics, Ms. Shea and Ms. Renner recommend thinking about the porch as an outdoor room and adding furniture. For a durable outdoor rug, Ms. Renner suggests a woven floor mat from Chilewich. For seating, she likes Crate & Barrel wicker Summerlin rocking chairs or West Elm outdoor Wood-Slat armchairs.

For the finishing touch, consider a large-scale planter. “One large pot with an abundant arrangement of flowers or one sculptural bush makes a better statement than multiple small ones that clutter up the steps,” Ms. Renner said.

The reward for all the work, Ms. Shea said, is a porch that can help seduce buyers: “As they stand there, it’s creating that first feeling.”