I hadn’t really kept track of the numbers so far but noticed that as of today, the number one category that I post in is by far…Nature, followed by Community Feature, then Just For Fun, then Market Conditions and Downtown. Since this site leans heavily on photography and images, I guess it makes sense that ‘Nature‘ is the top one. What is more photogenic than Nature’s creations. I try to enjoy it whenever I can and just happen to have a camera with me usually. And I liked it that ‘Community Feature’ was #2. That’s my unstated mission here, to provide information and a look at our community from a different perspective. I’m also happy ‘Just For Fun’ was #3. That’s a window into my personality there. Even though I’m committed and serious about taking care of business properly, professionally, I think it can be enjoyable and fun at the same time. When I encounter others who know me or learn that I’m a Realtor, the number one question I get asked is “How’s the market?” So I also try to provide a snapshot of the market from my perspective with ‘Market Conditions’ posts. I’m also not surprised that ‘Downtown’ is in the top 5. From a local photographer’s perspective, there isn’t another place that is more target rich for photo subjects than downtown here. I haven’t even scratched the surface of possibilities there actually. My thinkng is…even though the population has spread out from the original center of Indianapolis to the suburbs, past Greenwood, Brownsburg, Zionsville, Carmel, Noblesville, Castleton, Lawrence, Fishers, McCordsville, Greenfield and Shelbyville… we all still are Indianapolis citizens. The mother ship. It’s what draws us all together and nurtures us all. My business pursuits takes me to all of those places, wherever my customers and friends are, but Indianapolis is something they all have in common. Finally, I noticed that ‘Video Link’ was in last place. I shot a few videos used in some of the earliest posts linked through YouTube. It was fun doing these, but I did them just fooling around experimenting with the video function of my still camera, and didn’t like the digital quality very much. Using a good video camera and adding more video is something I plan to do this year.
It’s fun putting IHB together. Thanks for being here.
As I logged in today I noticed that the spam blocker had detected 89 attempted spam posts to IHB since yesterday. That’s a new one day record. I think the old one was around 60. The professional spammers think they are leaving a comment on a post, the real purpose being to deposit a link to a website. They get paid a little bit for leaving each web link, that’s why they do it. It’s a business. They have a fake comment all ready to copy and paste, leave their link and move on to the next post, trying to disguise it as a different author. But not one of their comments has or will ever make it onto the site. The Blocker recognizes it as Spam and automatically puts it in a spam folder. Takes me about 5 seconds to delete all of them.
Ever so often, there’s something new that becomes the rage of the moment in technology. First someone pioneers it, then it begins to mainstream. Lately, it’s QR codes. To me it’s sort of like a two dimensional bar code. Their use and now growing popularity is possible because of iPhones and Android phones that have the capability of scanning the code and directing the phones browser to the web address described within the code pattern. A few Realtors I know are starting to implement them into their business. But I guess I’m not sold on there being a tremendous value. Some were saying they could put a QR code on their yard signs to send someone to their website. Yes but someone would actually have to stop so they can scan the code. Wouldn’t work well driving by at 45 mph. Some say the obvious is to put one on the back of their business cards, or in an ad in a publication, fliers or emails…maybe even on a web page like this one? Someone even suggested that as a sellers agent they could pin a QR in each room someplace, so when the buyers agent is showing a home, a web tour can provide explanations and benefits of each space within the home. Wow, people wouldn’t have to talk anymore. We could all just go around scanning and looking at websites on our little mini phone screens!
Market activity for residential real estate last month in the nine-county, greater Indianapolis metropolitan area can be defined by two words…normalizing and strengthening. The number of sales compared to last year during the same month are down, but that’s no surprise as April last year saw the end of Buyer incentives from the federal government, so sales were way out of proportion as people scrambled to purchase homes before incentives ran out. Activity is normalizing now that the government isn’t interfering with market forces. The inventory of unsold homes continues to decline, so Sellers are gaining ground as absorption rates also are normalizing into a more balanced market. And, the average sales price of homes purchased continue to increase, a sign of the market strengthening. For more in-depth market analysis, including real numbers, charts and graphs, take a look at my latest 