Rep. Coble seeks to amend $8k tax credit

The legislation propsed by NC Republican Congressman Howard Coble would extend the $8000 tax credit that was originally passed as part of the “2009 Stimulus Package” to all home buyers – not just first-time home buyers. In addition, there would be no income limit on who would be eligible for the tax credit. Click here to read the current qualifications.

The main features of the bill include:

Rep. Coble’s news release also stated, “As we have seen in the past, when the real estate market is thriving, so is the rest of our economy,” Coble stated. “Now we are experiencing the dire consequences of a slumping housing market. I believe our HOME Act of 2009 would convince many who are sitting on the fence right now to climb down and purchase a new home. Our entire economy would be the beneficiary of these new sales. Extending the tax credit to all home purchases could be just the boost our housing market needs.”

Photo Quality Attracts Buyers

RealEstateJournal.comA recent article by Dana Mattioli at the Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate site offers tips for taking home photos that will draw buyers.” Mattioli introduces the idea of “pix appeal” that is fast replacing curb appeal in marketing real estate. Since most real estate buyers are beginning their search online, the quality of the property photos play an important role on whether the house is added to a person’s “favorites” list. If a house is not marked for later reference, it surely will not get seen in person and another sale may be lost.

“Without pictures I am much less likely to go see a house,” says house hunter Dan Dillbeck of Grand Rapids, Mich. In most cases — 85% of the time — online photos are his first view of a home, he says, adding that poor pictures tend to turn him away. Read more

Parade of Homes

Welcome to TourTheTriad

Tour the Triad is a professional real estate photography and high-end virtual tour design firm helping residential real estate sellers to connect with qualified buyers.

Eighty percent of people across the country who bought a new home last year used the Internet while house hunting according to a survey of buyers and sellers by the National Association of Realtors. Furthermore, The Realtors’ association survey found that when it comes to Web features that buyers considered “very useful,” 83 percent cited pictures, 81 percent cited detailed property information and 60 percent cited virtual tours. Tour the Triad is poised to capitalize on the growing trend of quality real estate photography that buyers’ want and sellers expect from the agent marketing their property.

To create a relationship with dozens or even hundreds of local real estate agents, Tour the Triad has signed a reseller agreement with RealEstateShows.com. RealEstateShows.com is an Internet marketing and presentation tool used by Realtors to show properties for sale on the Internet. It is in the category of presentation tool known as “virtual tours.” RealEstateShows.com has many technology advantages over its competition and an inexpensive annual subscription model that allows realtors to create an unlimited number of Shows.

Many Realtors who enroll in RealEstateShows.com will also choose to engage the photography and design services of Tour the Triad. Some do not have the time (or do not want to take the time) needed to shoot photographs for their listings. Others will see professional photography as a powerful way for them to differentiate themselves from other agents in the area.

As the popularity of TourtheTriad.com grows, we aim to create a “destination website” of all local virtual tours (regardless of who produced them). The goal will be to market this site to corporate relocation offices, chambers of commerce and to the general home buying public as a resource to view take a virtual tour of area properties as well as see local attractions and amenities (such as area schools and hospitals).