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

The cover story in the March 2008 REALTOR® Magazine is "Welcome to Real Estate 2.0." While the issue hasn't hit my mailbox yet, it is available online.

The article leads with a few paragraphs about ActiveRainers Teresa Boardman and AnnMarie Clements, then outlines some of the components of Real Estate 2.0. In a section called "Networking 2.0", ActiveRain gets a prominent mention, along with a few quotes from co-founder Matt Heaton.

The best parts about reading online are that we save a couple of trees, plus get the benefits of all of the hyperlinks. So take your mouse over to REALTOR® Magazine Online, read "Welcome to Real Estate 2.0" and follow the links. You'll be glad you did!

You know that social media is gaining some solid traction when BusinessWeek gives it a few pages. In "Social Media Will Change Your Business", writers Stephen Baker and Heather Green explore the impact of social media on the business-consumer relationship.

Major companies like General Motors are using blogs to augment or sometimes bypass the mainstream media, and start dialogues with consumers. In response, the article offers a prediction that "mainstream media companies will master blogs as an advertising tool and take over vast commercial stretches of the blogosphere."

Will this still leave room for the individual, niche bloggers or will they be pushed aside by corporations with huge financial and personnel resources? Read the article, and let us know what you think!

The weather was perfect today in Henderson, NV for the "Cadillac Through The Years" car show. More than 70 models from 1917 to the latest 2008 editions were on display at The District at Green Valley Ranch.

The 3rd Annual show was sponsored by the Las Vegas Cadillac & LaSalle Club, Findlay Cadillac, and The District at Green Valley Ranch. The free event drew a great turnout of all ages who reminisced about and appreciated these spectacular automobiles as they strolled under sunny skies. Enjoy the photos!

1959 Eldorado Biarritz Convertible
New Price: $ 7,401

1957 Fleetwood Sixty Special
New Price: $ 5,539

1959 Cadillac Coupe de Ville
New Price: $ 4,892

1917 Cadillac Type 55 Phaeton
New Price: $ 2,240

The District at Green Valley Ranch is a mixed-use development of retail, restaurant, office space, and 88 flats and lofts that opened in 2004. Phase II followed in 2005 with additional retail space. For a list of stores as well as upcoming events, visit www.thedistrictatgvr.com.

The challenges presented by today's real estate market require a return to fundamentals along with a certain amount of innovation. Recognizing that many agents have never faced a market like this one, the educational staff at Keller Williams has published a new series of twelve Agent Guides:

• Gaining Mind Over Market
• Upshifting Your Lead Generation
• Lead Capture and Conversion
• Internet Lead Capture and Conversion
• Seller Pricing Strategies
• Seller Staging Strategies
• Creating an Urgency to Buy
• Financing Solutions
• Bulletproofing Transactions
• Short Sales, Foreclosures and REOs
• Expense Management
• Effective People Leverage

The guides will debut at Family Reunion 2008, and will be for sale at Keller Williams University beginning February 18.

Thanks primarily to the efforts of our ECO All-Stars, I've increased my awareness of the importance of building homes that are energy efficient and environmentally friendly. To extend my knowledge of Green Building Trends even further, here are some additional sites I'm reading:

• Green Building on Wikipedia
• Green Building Today
• GreenByDesign
• Greener Buildings
• GreenStrides
• Jetson Green

I'm also working on the EcoBroker® Certification which has provided some great information on renewable energy, sustainable design, and other eco-friendly topics.

If you have other favorite resources for green building, please list them in the comments. Together we can spread the word and Go Green in 2008!

Photo: Molasky Corporate Center in downtown Las Vegas. This building was designed to meet LEED gold certification standards.