Housing News
Kim Wood Now Part of Agent Genius
Kim Wood
Kim Wood is a Realtor in West Chester, Chester County, PA where she was born, moved as a child and returned to in 2001. Kim and I have talked a great deal over the phone about what she does for a living and she always hesitates to call it a job because she loves it to much (call it cliche, it doesn’t matter- it’s true). She’s a very upbeat person who has an optimism that is highly contagious!
Kim has been blogging on her WestofPhillyBurbs blog for over a year, she is active on twitter (where she does do business by the way) and is an advocate for social media in her community. Kim is adamant in her stance on being yourself in your blogging and social media efforts and in reading her blog for so long, it is something she practices, not just preaches. Please take a moment to welcome Kim in the comments!
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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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Jay Thompson
September 26, 2008 at 3:35 pm
wOOt! Welcome aboard! Had the pleasure of meeting Kim at Connect SF. She’ll rock.
Nick Bastian
September 26, 2008 at 3:37 pm
saweeettt! Hi Kimmeee.. Oh yeah, “hey kim, i luv you” congrats to all.
Antoinette Scognamiglio
September 26, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Sending much love to Ms. Kim! Congrats, what a fantastic forum to be a part of! Big hugs to ya! Looking forward to more big things from you girl!
Chris Shouse
September 26, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Hi Kim, it will be soooo fun reading you here Love ya girl:)
Rocky
September 26, 2008 at 3:44 pm
What a huge score! Kim, gald to have you here on AG… now you get moved over to my AG Twitters on Tweetdeck!
By the way, I HATE VISTA!
Looking foward to your post.
Rocky “ROCKS ON”
Jason Farris
September 26, 2008 at 3:57 pm
The most valuable thing that came out of Inman Connect SF for me was meeting Kim Wood! Now I get to read more of her take here at Agent Genius.. WooHoo!
Derek Overbey
September 26, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Very awesome Kim. Now I get to read something from you that is more than 140 characters! lol Very well deserved. AG has some of the best writing out there and you just add more juice to the fruit. What in the heck did I just say?…….McLovin
Matt Stigliano
September 26, 2008 at 4:51 pm
What can I say…
Yuengling and cheesesteaks all around!
(Damn, I really miss Philly sometimes.)
Welcome Kim from a guy who once lived on Matlack Street!
Lisa Sanderson
September 26, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Kim-You KNOW I’m psyched but here is my hearty congratulations anyway!! Can’t wait to hear what you have to say and hopefully we will meet IRL very soon. There really IS NO excuse for us not to. xo
Robert D. Ashby
September 26, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Kim, congrats on making it to the genius level.
Faina Sechzer
September 26, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Kim, congrats on joining the big league:) You would do great work. Can’t wait to read it.
Bob Carney
September 26, 2008 at 6:46 pm
All these great things happen on my Birthday. Kim will be a wonderful addition to this crew. She truly has been the Social Butterfly in the SocNet. Congrats Kim.. MWA to you too.
ines
September 26, 2008 at 10:30 pm
OMG!! and KIM!! this is awesome!
Bill Lublin
September 26, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Welcome Kin ;
I always knew you were a Genius 😉
First the Phillies, then the Eagles, and now we’re together at AG – that rocks!
Bill Lublin
September 26, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Kim- you know that was a dumb typo (though you are like Kin to me)
Missy Caulk
September 27, 2008 at 5:21 am
Kim, Yea remember our talk on the deck? yippe I am so excited to connect with you again here. LOL at Derek’s comment.
Paula Henry
September 27, 2008 at 7:52 am
Kim – Welcome to AG! Now you can write more than 140 charachters and really speak your heart and mind.
Jeremy Hart
September 27, 2008 at 10:02 am
The VAR Convention has had Genius all around this weekend. Congrats to Kim, just had the pleasure of meeting her!
Heather Elias
September 27, 2008 at 10:40 am
Yahoo Kim! Was great to be able to celebrate with you.. =)
Ginger Wilcox
September 27, 2008 at 3:34 pm
about time! Welcome triple b!
Kim Wood
September 27, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Thank you so much, Friends! And the couple of people ^^ up there I haven’t connected with yet – believe me when I say, I look forward to !
I am honored to be a part of a wonderful group of Agent Genius writers and readers !!!!
Onward!
Sandy Shealy
September 28, 2008 at 8:37 am
CONGRATULATIONS, Kim! You are amazing!
Kudos for sharing your knowledge and experiences with the world!
YOU GO, WOMAN!
Rich Jacobson
September 28, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Oh GREAT! There goes the frickin’ neighborhood now!….
Welcome to the party, Kim! You’re an awesome addition!
Matthew Rathbun
September 28, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Let me tell you the only thing that isn’t perfect about Kim, is that she is not from Virginia. I just got the chance to meet her “in person” this week and she’s just as awesome in person as she is on-line. Kim, is the epitome of a social networker. I’ve appreciated her friendship over the past year and can’t wait to read more from her here!
Elaine Hanson
September 28, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Totally cool, Kim! I’m looking forward to your posts. You will be great!
Cyndee Haydon
September 28, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Kim – Congrats on becoming a GENIUS – you’ve got a great voice – can’t wait to hear it here! Love Paula’s comment about being able to do it in more than 140 characters – lol 🙂
Kim Wood
September 29, 2008 at 8:53 am
Jay- You rock, Jay! I was *so* happy to meet you !
Nick- Saw that on twitter, hope you mean it, lol.
Ant-Sweetie, Ant! Thank you! Hope to see you soon!
Chris-(hugs) I miss connecting with you, hope you are well.
Rocky-You will always be my I HATE VISTA man! And I won’t forget it.
Jason-Thanks for being here, Friend! I’m glad to have connected with you at Inman – but still need the IRL hug!
Derek-McLovin’ you silly, McLovin’ you! You got the car rides – most people can’t say that!
Matt-You need to come back! Bill & I *plus* cheesesteaks & Yuengling – come on! (lol, I’m always on Matlack St)
Lisa-Nice to connect with you- yes! IRL soon!
Robert-Thank you so much – look forward to it.
Faina-(hugs)
Bob-Social Butterfly, love it! You were my first IRL meetup!!! MWA
Ines-Yes it is! Cheers!
Bill-And SFO too- remember we met there although live 30 miles apart. lol
Missy-Deck talk… yes… I wish ….
Paula-Yes! Get ready for more than 140, lol.
Jeremy-So nice to meet you and hang!
Heather-cheers, girl!
Ginger-Yay! For real – the Triple B’s at Agent G.
Sandy-aka Mom – thanks for stopping by. *love you*
Rich-Yep. There it goes…. wait… no!
Matthew-What a sweet comment. I wish we’d had some ‘talk time’! So happy we got to meet IRL at least!
Elaine-Thanks, Elaine!
Cyndee-mwa Girl! You are an awesome friend!
Jeff "I Want You To Have To Write Another List" Turner
October 10, 2008 at 12:49 am
Kim… wow. Congratulations. I’m thrilled for you and know you’re going to make a great addition to Agent Genius!
Tina McManus
January 19, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Kim is just one of those people that makes you feel happy just by talking to her. She helped me start my own blog and encouraged me to find my voice. An outstanding teacher and all-around great person.
Lani Rosales
January 19, 2010 at 2:55 pm
I agree! 🙂