But it is a real problem. Just flip through this slideshow and tell me you’re not surprised:

Take Action

On September 13th, Austinites will gather for the First Annual HAM-Up benefiting the Capital Area Food Bank. What’s a HAM Up? Let me break it down: HAM = Hunger Action Month, Up= Tweet-up (which is a meetup of Twitter users). Everyone is welcome and we ask you to donate your time, talent and treasure as best you can. Will YOU be there??




House prices likely to bottom out in early 2009. Agree?

The above poll is open to anyone in the BuzzDash community (comprised of people creating and voting on hundreds of poll topics). Today, I’m not interested in asking anyone to take a poll, rather to see the results of this particular poll. They may change by the time you see them, but at the time of publication, the results show the following:

70% of voters agree
30% of voters disagree

Voters have not commented, so I can’t be sure of the reasoning behind their votes, but it is really intriguing what public perception (at least in this group of people polled) is regarding the bottoming out of housing prices.

Whatev, Why’s That Important??

This is crucial information because it shows that people see an end in sight to all the bad news. Despite the doom and gloom of any presidential election period and despite traditional media’s insistence that the real estate Armageddon is upon us, 70% of people believe that we’re soon to hit bottom. This is good news, y’all. People finally see an end in sight which makes practicing real estate easier because more time is spent with each client discussing their individual transaction rather than easing fears about the entire global market.

image of @dezdaniels, @gingerw and @nbostic, courtesy of kim wood

Ginger Wilcox of Blog By the Bay and Agent Genius fame has finally succumb to the pressure to be interviewed and mocked publicly. She’s not only gorgeous, but she’s a good sport, so let’s see what kind of damage we can do!!!

What were the first and last concerts you went to?

a. First- Oingo Boingo at Cricket Pavilion (formerly Desert Sky Pavilion) in Phoenix, Arizona

b. Last - Rolling Stones at PacBell Park in San Francisco

What celebrity do you see yourself being friends with in real life?

@respres, jeff turner, of course. President of his fan club.

What hair color do you think Jeff Corbett, Jeff Turner and Jeff Brown put on their driver’s licenses??

Isn’t bald a hair color?? Corbett- Brunette, Turner, Red, Brown- Bald at birth

If you’re in hell and someone pisses you off, where do you tell them to go?

Arkansas, sorry! I spent lots of time there growing up and have very vivid memories of water moccasins. Shudder…

Tell us what animal you want be if reincarnation happens to be true…

a dolphin- they are very social, take care of others, they are friendly, extremely intelligent, have a great sense of humor and excellent communication skills. The only challenge is that dolphins are very graceful and I ummm, am not.

Fave candy? PS: readers, Ginger added this one. She must want you to send her candy….

My favorite candies are junior mints and whoppers malted milk balls

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So there you have it. Ginger likes crazy flavors of music, adores bald dudes and dreams of their original hair colors, admits to spending time in Arkansas, and has fantasies of being a dolphin. Oh, and she wants you to know she needs candies. Now that you really know Ginger, what do you think??

What’s a vlog? It’s a video blog. Why do people vlog? For several reasons ranging from home tours, humorous videos (even if not meant to be funny), to blogging via video because some consumers are too lazy to read (what? It’s true!). Seriously though, with the advent of simple to use cameras, vlogging is becoming increasingly popular and more highly demanded in the real estate industry.

Oooh, Contest??

So what’s this contest (that I’ve already been told I’m not allowed to accept bribes for) that MyTechOpinion.com is hosting?

Your Task: Create a video that answers the following question: What technology product or service has made the biggest impact on your business? And why? (EX: blog, social network, mobile device, transaction management, lead generation tool, etc.) Then send us the link to your video. We will be featuring all entries on MTO. Be sure to get your video in by midnight August 31, 2008. Your video will be judged by us, as well as four celebrity expert judges (Lani Anglin-Rosales, Mike Price, Daniel Rothamel and Jeff Turner).

The Rules:

* You must be a real estate or mortgage professional.
* Answer the question in 5 minutes or LESS.
* Be creative
* Be professional
* Be yourself
* Prove your point!
* Submit a link to your video by midnight August 31, 2008.

AND there are PRIZES!!!

The winner will receive:
(1) A Flip Ultra ($149 Value)
(2) Obtain a Featured Video Section on the MTO Homepage for 6 months
(3) Score Custom Video Blog Integration (offered by Chad from DravenCreation Web Design)
(4) Video Broadcast Set Up and Distribution via MLBroadcast ($78 value)
(5) RealSeekr Premium Membership for 1 year ($249 value) and Logitech Quickcam for Skype ($35 value)

From the desk of NikNik:

original image courtesy of CarbonNYC

Thanks to Twitter, Luba Muzichenko (her twitter and her blog) recently became my friend and who wouldn’t follow someone with a bio like “San Francisco Realtor by addiction, San Francisco blogger by choice”?? Because I was suuuper late to REBarCamp in San Francisco last week (thanks, Southwest Airlines) our paths didn’t cross and I’m really sad about that. For the others of you who didn’t get the pleasure of meeting her either, get to know her now:

Why do you “put your 2 cents in” when it’s only “a penny for your thoughts”? Where’d the other penny go??

I’ve thought about this long and hard. Frankly, it’s rare that anyone really wants to pay a penny for anyone else’s thought. Therefore, the thought-giver (the one putting his/her two cents in) has to give the thought-receiver (the one paying “a penny for the thoughts”) two whole cents so that the person on the receiving end of the opinion is able to pay the thought-giver a “penny for their thoughts” AND profits (a penny!) as well. This exchange is done covertly so as not to raise eyebrows or start rumors. If you really think about it, this is the most logical conclusion as the missing penny, well, it is really a bribe.

Other than where you live now, what other city on the globe would you call home if you could?

Is that last question for me? Any place could be home for a few years: New York, New Orleans, Juneau–anything that has some mystery to it, but in the end it always comes back to San Francisco for me.

Tell us about the last time you ran into someone famous.

Does being at the same conference as TBoard, BawldGuy, The Real Estate Zebra, HouseChick and the Twitter gang count? I got goosebumps just being in the same room! Seriously, the web has turned regular people, who are willingly to share some if not all of their lives online, into celebrities. And strangely you can feel in awe of people from just reading what they have written and what they think about.

In fact, there’s a local photo blogger here in SF that has a secret blogging identity, and I got to meet and talk to him regarding buying a house with his fiance once they tie the knot. I was giddy to meet him–and giddier to know that I was a handful of select individuals who knows who he really is. It’s like knowing that Clark Kent is really Superman, but without the secret powers.

If a song had to play every time you walked into a party/social event what would it be? (What’s your theme song?)

Walk Like an Egyptian by the Bangles–for no other reason than I always have an urge to “walk like an Egyptian” every other time I walk into a room. And if the song played, people might think I was just dancing, which is a good cover for odd behavioral tics.

If that was taken (and if theme songs are like Web site addresses, I’m sure my first choice is taken) it’d have to be Born to Be Wild by Steppenwolf. It rings true even as I find gray hairs every few weeks inching their way up from my scalp.

What actress would play you in the movie of your life?

Probably Paris Hilton. It’d be a B movie and she’d be the only one desperate enough to accept the role. Humility is important. And it’s the only time I could look somewhat OK as a blonde.

If you had to be a professional athlete what would you be?

I’d be on the Olympic team gymnastics and be a gold medal winning ribbon waver.

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So there you have it. Luba believes that one penny is an acceptable bribe, is addicted to San Francisco (but she can quit any time she wants!!!), knows the kind of sort of Superman of San Fran, longs to cover up her crazies with theme music by the Bangles, is humble enough to cast Paris as herself in the Luba Life Story and dreams desperately of winning the gold in ribbonry. Now that you really know Luba, what do you think??

Starbucks’ National Closings

The recent news of Starbucks’ announcement of shutting the lights off in 600 of their stores across America has spooked many and buzz about it has echoed across the Internet. For years, many real estate speculators have looked to the deep pockets of companies like Starbucks’ research divisions for selecting store sites as indications of viable economic growth. Economists have watched their coffee prices as indicators of local economic success much commodities like gas, metals and others. With these store closings, people even locally are saying that it’s the armageddon. False.

Starbucks’ Texas Closings

According to Starbucks, Texas will be experiencing 57 store closures, two of which are in Austin (1007 South Congress and 5000 W. Slaughter) both nearby newly constructed Starbucks locations. To put that in perspective in the national scope, Texas only accounts for 9.5% of all closings and Austin only accounts for 0.3% of the closings nationally.

The Impact on Austin

How does this impact Austin? It doesn’t… that’s a tiny little blip; businesses open and close here every day, so for those measuring Austin’s economy based on coffee houses and prices, we’re still lookin’ pretty good (not to mention that within a mile of my personal home, two new Starbucks have had their grand openings in the past months).

original image courtesy of ak37

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The Original Mullet

This spring, I wrote about someone hating Southerners. I made an official apology and included an image of a fellow Austinite who I swear could be my uncle. I even called my mom who pointed out that Brad doesn’t have a mullet anymore and no arm tattoo like that and I’m sad to say I was really surprised. Here’s the original mullet:

The Email Response…

Rob wrote: FYI, I just saw the aforementioned post, and that is not your uncle. That’s my friend Jim, and believe it or not, he lives here in Austin. Check out jimahateswork.com, he has a new mullet posted. (link added by me)

The New Mullet

Yes folks, this is Austin news. Mullet guy and I are not related. Sorry to all of those who subscribed to this blog based on my new cool social status. I apologize. But Jim, you and my uncle should get together and have a mullet-off. Seriously.

I just got off the phone with a friend who needs your help. Like right now. Karyn Ford is in her early twenties here in Austin and she and her friend Bridget Novak are single moms. Recently, they have taken voluntary placement from Child Protective Services and because it’s voluntary, they do not receive any financial assistance. Between them, their families have grown to include one handicapped 14 year old, a 5 year old, 8 year old and an infant. Their needs are great, ranging from gas, food, clothes, entertainment to school supplies. Bridget’s car overheats on the way to the store up the street and isn’t big enough to fit the children!

Their focus is to provide a safe and healthy environment for the kiddos but they are humbly asking for help.

Ways we ask you to help:
(1) HEB Gift Cards for gas and groceries
(2) Target Gift Cards for clothes
(3) Simon Gift Cards for everything
(don’t get discouraged if any of these make you log in… remember, you’re helping a friend)

If you’d like to ship these or simply mail a check, please please do so:
Karyn Ford
417 Fantail Loop Unit A
Lakeway, TX 78734

We all read about “help” needed every day, but today’s hits much closer to home- my friend Karyn needs your help now! Karyn was one of the first to message me when my brother (who she was friends with) died last fall and the most vivid thing I remember about her is her smile and her selflessness which clearly have not changed over time. If you have $0 to share, please pause to pray for the well being of everyone involved.

We sincerely thank you!

One of the most amazing parts of blogging is the connections that we make with other people be they clients or fellow bloggers. Benn & I have had a friendship with Jeff Turner (President of Real Estate Shows, a product we do actually use) and Rocky Turner (Founder of Mothers Fighting for Others) and got a phone call the other day from Jeff that lasted about 30 seconds. Benn: “Hello?” Jeff: “Hey, we’re passing through Austin in a few hours, want to do dinner?” Benn: “It’s on!”

We arrived at Green Mesquite BBQ in Oak Hill (south of Austin) because it was on their way and there wouldn’t be a wait. Oh, and when I asked Jeff about dietary needs or if they were like vegan or something, he’s a self-proclaimed “opposite of a vegetarian” and would love to eat a slab of cow. So slab of cow we all had!

When Jeff & Rocky arrived, Benn met them at the car where each kiddo hopped out and impressed Benn by introducing themselves. I waited inside with Little B (because we still don’t have outdoor air conditioning installed yet). When the fam came inside, I got up to hug Jeff then Rocky (uh, we don’t do handshakes here in the South) and was met with the warmest, biggest, most sincere hugs I’ve had in ages- it was like family came to visit that we hadn’t seen in a long time! Their 4 boys and 2 girls who have been cooped up in the mega-truck for 12 hours all got settled and the boys commenced to very seriously studying the kiddo menu then creating art while the little girls impressed us with how sweet they were (”I’m hungry” one said with a cocked head very matter-of-factly to Benn as she sat next to him).

We all ordered various meats and talked about everything from real estate, blogging, the upcoming Inman Conference, meat, where each of us lives and I’m pretty sure the word “gas” was used at least twice (maybe by me, maybe by others, I’ll never tell!). When the time came to part ways (they still had quite a drive left for the night), we were sad. Like really sad. The whole fam functioned so well (we talked in awe about it all night!) and the Turners are ridiculously easy to get along with.

We hope they’ll come back soon (maybe on their way BACK through Texas next weekish?)! It was a rockin’ good time and we look forward to next time!

We’ve been watching downtown Austin develop for quite some time with mixed feelings as we’ve gone along. Last fall, I wrote about the massive tower called 360 Condominiums over on the corporate blog. No matter how you feel about the skyline changing, you have to admit that the view from 360 is amazing, check it out (complete with rock jamz):

Video courtesy of Austin’s own, onefivedoor