Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas Real Estate: December 2008

The Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is bursting with lots of holiday light and color. Tin soldiers, reindeer (made of pecans), snowmen and brightly lit trees can be seen at the free exhibit through January 3, 2009. The Bellagio is at 3600 Las Vegas Boulevard South, on the world-famous Las Vegas Strip. Enjoy the photos!

His profile describes him as "Community Builder, Social Media Guru, Moving Target, Mediator, Referee, and all-around Nice Guy for the ActiveRain Real Estate Network" ... and for today that also includes Birthday Boy!

Rich Jacobson first stepped into the Rain in August 2006, and one of his first posts was "Why I Love Being A Real Estate Professional."

Long-time Rainers will remember Rich's 2006 birthday where all of the featured bloggers changed their profile pic to Rich's 'Happy Holidays' version. No matter what the topic, 'Rich' had a featured post about it!

In 2+ years, Rich has shown us all around Kitsap County, from the best place for sushi to where to get your car fixed. We learned he's a fan of the Kansas Jayhawks and Jack Bauer, and we've met his beautiful wife, Janice, and four children - Emily, Ben, Elliot and Luke.

With long-time friend and Silverdale lender Mark Flanders, Rich (AKA "Sparky") launched SoundBiteBlog. As a Social Media Guru, Rich founded the Social Networks group here in the Rain. You can find Rich on Facebook, Flickr, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Twitter and several other sites.

I was fortunate to meet Rich at REBlogWorld in Las Vegas this September. He's just like you would expect from reading his blogs -- big smile, instantly engaging, knowledgeable on a wide range of topics. Whether you know him online or off, I'm sure he's added something to your life.

Happy Birthday, Rich!!

There's no denying that Twitter has gained a loyal following among RE.net social media enthusiasts. But with tweets limited to just 140 characters each, can it really help our businesses or is it more like just a chat room with an emphasis on socializing?

On Search Engine Guide, David Wallace addresses this very issue in "Can Twitter Be Useful for Business?" He lists five categories of Twitter use starting with "Puts a human face on the company." There are several examples of this in the Twittersphere including ComcastCares, Dell, Jet Blue, and Starbucks.

But will Twitter work for real estate? Yes! Tomorrow afternoon I'll be showing homes to a buyer I met through Twitter.

To find out the other four business uses, read the full post at SearchEngineGuide.com. 

To say that 2008 has been an active year in the mortgage and financial markets would be an understatement. We've seen the mortgage meltdown, investment houses collapsing, changes to down payment assistance, and extreme volatility in the financial markets.

A great resource to help you stay informed about the fast-moving lending environment is HousingWire.com. This independent blog organizes financial news in three main categories: Origination/Lending; Secondary Market/Investors; and Servicing/Default.

How are state legislatures dealing with the housing crisis? When does Wells Fargo think the recession will end? What percentage of loan modifications result in lower monthly payments?

Find the answers to those questions and increase your understanding of current financial events at HousingWire.com.

Joseph Ferrara of the Sellsius° Real Estate Blog recently published his list of the Top 12 Women Real Estate Bloggers for 2008.

Selections were based on "exemplary efforts in publishing local consumer-centric content ... and most importantly, for their community involvement and service." All twelve women have blogs on ActiveRain, as well as highly successful outside blogs.

Sellsius is consistently ranked as one of the top real estate blogs, and was named one of the Top 25 Most Influential Real Estate Bloggers by Inman News in both 2007 and 2008. Please visit Sellsius and the individual blogs to congratulate these very deserving women bloggers!