Blog
Social Media Marketing for Apartments Is about the Numbers
The social media gurus tell us that social media marketing is about listening to the customer, engagement and a variety of other soft metrics. The growth of social media has impacted the way organizations communicate. With the emergence of Web 2.0, the Internet provides a set of tools that allow people to build social and business connections, share information and collaborate on projects online. Social media marketing programs center on efforts to create content that attracts attention and encourages readers to share it with their social networks. A corporate message spreads from user to user and presumably resonates because it is coming…
‘Gimme Shelter’ with Daniel Gehman: Walkability
There is a great deal of discussion to be heard these days about “walkability” and “walkable neighborhoods.” Great! It’s a beneficial and practical idea to consider. But, like “sustainability,” everyone who uses the word probably has a nuanced meaning for it. What makes a neighborhood “walkable?” Is it just about destination? Or infrastructure? Or flattering urban appointments? I think maybe one of the most important elements of walkability is the attitude of the walker. Seriously. When I am working in our Irvine office in California, I have for a decade moaned that “there’s no place to walk to for lunch.”…
‘Foong on Finance’ with Keat Foong: The Apartment Market Recovers
The news looks good. The unemployment rate in December fell from 9.8 percent to 9.4 percent. However, the number of jobs added was only 103,000—less than the roughly 150,000 new jobs that are needed per month just to keep pace with entrants into the labor market. And everyone knows by now that half of December’s decline in the unemployment rate is attributed to those who dropped out of the labor force and are no longer counted in the unemployment rate. Still, the apartment market is due to have a good 2011, even it will probably take many, many years for…
‘On the Ground’ with Eric Brown: Email Marketing Can Help Fill Vacancy
There is so much low-hanging fruit for most apartment operators that even a few small changes can have a huge impact on occupancy. An easy place to start is email capture.
‘Foong on Finance’ with Keat Foong: Demography is Destiny
It does not seem that long ago that we took note the U.S. population had increased from less than 250 million to about 280 million. That was in the year 2000. The U.S. Census Bureau announced last week that its latest tally of the U.S. population, as of April 1, 2010, stands at 308,745,538. The South and the West are obtaining most of the population increase. The U.S.’s population growth rate in fact exceeds that of China’s. One would think a growing population generates greater demand for apartments, and is generally good news for apartment property owners. Where are the development sites to…
‘On the Ground’ with Eric Brown: Digital Domination
Bringing Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and Facebook into your marketing strategy has become essential to expanding your presence and communicating with your community.
‘Editor’s Notebook’ with Diana Mosher: Mid-Atlantic Update with Hickok Cole
Once you’ve put the name with the face, it’s great to catch up in person every now and then. Next time you’re planning a visit to New York, we hope you’ll schedule some time to stop by our editorial office. Besides an in-depth look at the upcoming editorial calendar with one or more of the MHN editors, the meeting will also result in brainstorming that can lead to other story ideas for MHN Online and MHN TV or perhaps an impromptu podcast. The same outcome can be accomplished by regularly touching base at one or more industry events during the…
‘On the Ground’ with Eric Brown: Why Blockbuster Is Bankrupt and Netflix Isn’t
With property management and marketing, it’s important to remember that it is about them, not you.
‘Foong on Finance’ with Keat Foong: Obama’s Tax Cuts Extension Package Passes Congress
The Bush tax cuts extension that Obama has very skillfully prepared for, and sheperded through, a Democratic Congress now awaits his signature. Joined-at-the-hip to unemployment benefits extension and middle class tax cuts, a long list of measures in the bill are pretty favorable to the real estate industry. The carried interest tax will remain at 15 percent. However, the housing industry failed to obtain an extension of the TCEP program that allows states to trade a portion of unused Low Income Housing Tax Credits for affordable housing grant dollars. Treasury rates increased in expectation of higher budget deficits and economic…
‘Foong on Finance’ with Keat Foong: Staying Alive
The final proposal from the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform was shot down at the end of this week. But don’t worry, at least some Republican and Democratic lawmakers, as well as probably the President himself, are eager to keep the the package’s ideas alive through next year. Recommendations from the President Obama-appointed co-chairs include: eliminating or limiting the mortgage interest deduction, taxing dividends and capital gains as ordinary income‑and eliminating the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. The proposal of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform co-chairs got only 11 votes, not the supermajority 14 votes…