Housing News
Introducing the Stigliano Chronicles
What’s This About the Stigliano Chronicles?
Do you wish the blogiverse was big when you started practicing real estate? Wouldn’t it have been nice to ponder your brand, your identity, your tactics publicly and gain the wisdom of the crowd? Now don’t you wish more newer agents were more vocal about what they’re going through so you could share your lessons learned with them?
Today, we welcome AG’s newest writer, Matt Stigliano who is a newer real estate agent that will write the weekly Stigliano Chronicles where he will be publicly pondering his brand, marketing and business practices. Matt will draw from the audience so we all learn together as we add our wisdom in the discussion and learn from his choices which he’ll outline publicly how he comes to business decisions based on his writing and listening here at AG.
About Matt Stigliano
In his own words: “Born and raised in suburban Philadelphia, I spent 14 years in the music industry before turning to real estate. I started my love of real estate while living in Los Angeles, CA, where my wife and I bought our first home. After 3 years of living there, we decided to move back to PA where I grew up, which eventually landed us in sunny San Antonio. We wanted warm weather and a good quality of life and San Antonio beat every where else on the list we had come up with. Since moving here we’ve enjoyed the culture, hospitality, and gorgeous scenery of our area and I’ve made it my mission to promote, improve, and enjoy all that San Antonio has to offer.”
One of the things Matt is very humble about is his music career. If you don’t yet know what band he played with for so many years, I’ll leave it up to him to share that but let’s just say you WILL know of the band. What he is also extremely humble about is being the creator of one of the music industry’s FIRST band websites and at that time, he was laughed at for seeing the value of the web for the industry (ah, the irony). He has wicked music skills AND can write code, what’s cooler than that?
Stay tuned as Matt publicly ponders his business identity and brand as well as shares his real world experience and we hope that EVERYONE gets involved in the Stigliano Chronicles! Be sure to welcome Matt in the comments, he’s a brave soul!
Austin
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Housing News
Average age of houses on the rise, so is it now better or worse to buy new?
With aging housing in America, are first-time buyers better off buying new or existing homes? The average age of a home is rising, as is the price of new housing, so a shift could be upon us.
The average home age is higher than ever
(REALUOSO.COM) – In a survey from the Department of Housing and Urban Development American Housing Survey (AHS), the median age of homes in the United States was 35 years old. In Texas, homes are a bit younger with the median age between 19 – 29 years. The northeast has the oldest homes, with the median age between 50 – 61 years. In 1985, the median age of a home was only 23 years.
With more houses around 40 years old, the National Association of Realtors asserts that homeowners will have to undertake remodeling and renovation projects before selling unless the home is sold as-is, in which case the buyer will be responsible to update their new residence. Even homeowners who aren’t selling will need to consider remodeling for structural and aesthetic reasons.
Prices of new homes on the rise
Newer homes cost more than they used to. The price differential between new homes and older homes has increased from 10 percent traditionally to around 37 percent in 2014. This is due to rising construction costs, scarcity of lots, and a low inventory of new homes that doesn’t meet the demand.
Click here to continue reading this story…
Housing News
Are Realtors the real loser in the fight between Zillow Group and Move, Inc.?
The last year has been one of dramatic and rapid change in the real estate tech sector, but Realtors are vulnerable, and we’re worried.
Why Realtors are vulnerable to these rapid changes
(REALUOSO.COM) – Corporate warfare demands headlines in every industry, but in the real estate tech sector, a storm has been brewing for years, which in the last year has come to a head. Zillow Group and Move, Inc. (which is owned by News Corp. and operates ListHub, Realtor.com, TopProducer, and other brands) have been competing for a decade now, and the race has appeared to be an aggressive yet polite boxing match. Last year, the gloves came off, and now, they’ve drawn swords and appear to want blood.
Note: We’ll let you decide which company plays which role in the image above.
So how then, does any of this make Realtors the victims of this sword fight? Let’s get everyone up to speed, and then we’ll discuss.
1. Zillow poaches top talent, Move/NAR sues
It all started last year when the gloves came off – Move’s Chief Strategy Officer (who was also Realtor.com’s President), Errol Samuelson jumped ship and joined Zillow on the same day he phoned in his resignation without notice. He left under questionable circumstances, which has led to a lengthy legal battle (wherein Move and NAR have sued Zillow and Samuelson over allegations of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and misappropriation of trade secrets), with the most recent motion being for contempt, which a judge granted to Move/NAR after the mysterious “Samuelson Memo” surfaced.
Salt was added to the wound when Move awarded Samuelson’s job to Move veteran, Curt Beardsley, who days after Samuelson left, also defected to Zillow. This too led to a lawsuit, with allegations including breach of contract, violation of corporations code, illegal dumping of stocks, and Move has sought restitution. These charges are extremely serious, but demanded slightly less attention than the ongoing lawsuit against Samuelson.
2. Two major media brands emerge
Last fall, the News Corp. acquisition of Move, Inc. was given the green light by the feds, and this month, Zillow finalized their acquisition of Trulia.
…Click here to continue reading this story…
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Mike Lefebvre
September 15, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Great add Lani! With his musical past, Matt could have easily ended up writing on another leading real estate blog, huh?
Brad Nix
September 15, 2008 at 6:59 pm
rawk on!
Mark Eckenrode | HomeStomper
September 15, 2008 at 7:02 pm
hey matt, welcome. looking forward to the chronicles in a big way.
Matthew Rathbun
September 15, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Hey, awesome to have a brave new agent. It’s great to watch a new agent progress in their careers and to have someone willing to share their experience on this fantastic forum is a real bonus! Welcome aboard!
Matt Wilkins
September 15, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Another home run contributor choice for AG. If the past four months have been any indication I’m on the edge of my seat to see what you guys have up your sleeve next!
Danilo Bogdanovic
September 15, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Matt – Welcome to AG! I look forward to hearing the “thunder” you have to “riff” off to all of us “mammals”.
(I seriously want an autograph)
Bill Lublin
September 15, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Hey Matt – soon us Philly boyz will be outnumbering those Arizona and Virginia folk – Represent
SO glad to see you in the AG family! ;-)!
Jason Sandquist
September 15, 2008 at 7:39 pm
the roof is definitely on FIRE! Looking forward to hearing from you!
Matt Stigliano
September 15, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Gulp.
Wow, its real now isn’t it?
First off, thanks! I’m really excited. Just wait ’til you read the first installment, I hope you all like it. Many of you I know through here and Twitter and I look forward to hearing more from each of you as we get down to the bits and pieces of what it is we all do. I’ve already learned tons from all of you and let me thank you for that!
The cool thing about all of this is the opportunity is represents to me. A) I get to improve. B) What happens here might help a new agent that’s just come along to AG. When I first got here I lurked for quite some time before opening my big yap and next thing I knew I was trading emails, messages, and phone calls with people I thought (based on what I had read) were gods of the real estate universe.
Bill – Not everyone knows how to pronounce “Eagles” correctly, we stick together for that reason alone.
Lani – MAJOR huge thanks. I feel all sorts of special now.
Drew Fristoe
September 15, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Congrats Matt I cant wait to read your posts!
Ines Hegedus-Garcia
September 15, 2008 at 8:54 pm
How cool is this!! Welcome Matt ….not welcomematt….you know what I mean! The idea is “genius” but what else could we expect. Am I the only one that doesn’t know which band you played with? can you tell me, pretty please?
BawldGuy
September 15, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Hey Matt — Was finishin’ some killer stir fry when I saw you’d been corralled by the AG crowd. You must be the real thing. Welcome to the Bigs. 🙂
Rich Jacobson
September 15, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Matt: Welcome to the AG! Musicians are ALWAYS welcomed! I think half of the AR Staff has rock band alter egos. You’re gonna love it here!
Jay Thompson
September 16, 2008 at 12:21 am
Welcome the machine Matt! Your Chronicles should be interesting.
Are we following each other on Twitter?
This addition just makes me want to howl like a dog and set my beer on a coaster. Hooray!
Holli Boyd
September 16, 2008 at 5:22 am
Ok, Ines you aren’t the only one – but me thinks (thanks to google) that it’s the Bloodhound Gang. Am I right? What did I win?
Seriously – congrats on the ad Matt – looking forward to what you have to say. What is your twitter name?
Lisa Sanderson
September 16, 2008 at 5:34 am
Can’t wait to see whatcha got, Matt. I’m w/Ines…please disclose the band. Perhaps share a video or a blip? C’mon…don’t be shy!
Bob
September 16, 2008 at 11:37 am
Not sure everyone will know the band. It isn’t exactly mainstream.
Mike Lefebvre
September 16, 2008 at 11:48 am
Not mainstream? A #6 single on the US Modern Rock charts is pretty mainstream in my book. I know Matt is too humble to spout off for himself, so I’ll do it for him…..
Google his name (in quotes and Matthew, not Matt) and you’ll find his band, people…..Although I have to say Matt’s recent social networking and SEO work for his real estate career has successfully pushed his musical background off Page 1. The man is doing things right.
If he has half the success in real estate as he did in music, this guy will be a real estate “rock star” in no time as well.
(Is this too man-lovey???)
Mike
Bob
September 16, 2008 at 11:56 am
Successful isn’t mainstream.
Mike Lefebvre
September 16, 2008 at 11:58 am
What’s mainstream?
Jay Thompson
September 16, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Whether or not Matt’s former band is considered “mainstream” or would be known by most seems an utterly ridiculous point to argue. Does it really matter?
Mike Lefebvre
September 16, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Agreed Jay. It doesn’t matter. Arguing the “mainstream-iness” or relative recognizability of Matt’s previous endeavors IS a bit silly and has nada to do with his current gig. My apologies. Not the proper forum for debating definitions of success or mainstream in the music business.
But I do think Matt has a background that is uncommon and unique, which helps make up the person he is today. And the person he is today is why Lani and the folks at AG have welcomed him on board. At the end of the day we’re in the people business and the multitudes of personalities and characters we work with on a daily basis are part of what makes this career so appealing for me.
The more color the better, and Matt certainly brings an interesting spectrum to the palette. Looking forward to reading his stuff.
Benn Rosales
September 16, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Truth be told, we have had serious discussions about whether Matt would use his name in his branding, escape or use it to some advantage- either way, we didn’t care. Why I and anyone who has spent any real time with Matt can see value in him regardless of fame, is he’s a smart s.o.b. He still sees this profession from the perspective of a consumer which adds something to the aged wisdom of the professionals that read and input here that he can relate the two- that’s powerful stuff.
It will be interesting to see what comes from this, we love experiments.
Bob
September 16, 2008 at 1:43 pm
jeez!! I was just responding to Lani’s comment about everyone knowing the band. I knew who it was, while my radio listening wife and daughter don’t.
Jonathan Dalton
September 16, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Add me to the autograph crowd, baby … hopefully I can read your posts with my 9-year-old in the car, which sadly isn’t always the case for the music. Not that I care.
We don’t need no water let the (*#^(*#(* burn!
Missy Caulk
September 17, 2008 at 5:44 am
Matt will be a great addition to follow as a new agent. Welcome Matt. Hey that’s a video service !
Susie Blackmon
September 17, 2008 at 6:46 am
Lucky for Matt to have such a great platform, and lucky for AG! I sure have some things I’d love to write about as a new agent, but timing is everything! Looking forward to Matt’s posts!
Kim Wood
September 17, 2008 at 7:30 am
Matt! From the Western Philadelphia Suburbs myself (West Chester area) ….. welcome!! I look forward to reading about your experience getting started in the business!!!
And yeah, I’m thinking some tunes every once in a while would be great!
Matt Stigliano
September 17, 2008 at 4:11 pm
First, I’m looking forward to it too!
Second, I’m hoping that a lot of this will turn into a sort of “newbie’s guide” over time. I expect to make mistakes and come up with some great ideas, but all with the help and input of all of you. Benn and Lani have given me a great platform indeed and I thank them for it!
Benn – I’ll do my best for you in this experiment. Thanks.
Susie – Well I hope you add your ideas and suggestions as this moves along. Although I can’t wait to see the wisdom of the experienced players I also love the thought of new agents speaking up and shaping things around here. That’s how I wound up here.
Kim – I went to West Chester University for awhile. A brief while, but one none the less.
As for the band name, I’ll confirm the correctness, but won’t ever say it. There’s lots of boring legal reasons for that. Cool to see how many know it, that still amazes me to this day.