Real Estate Connect Videos Now Available
Real Estate Connect is an incredible biannual event held by Inman news. This past event held in NYC last week was a great success, judging from the blog posts and buzz. Inman has released some video highlights of the program, for anyone who is interested… Keynote: Chris Smith & Katie Lance: Diving into the Mind of Today’s “Free Agent” http://shar.es/WN7r4 [incredible ground-breaking data revealed] New Kids on the Block: 5 New Start-Ups To Keep an Eye On http://shar.es/WNqMV Keynote: Fireside Chat with Evernote CEO, Phil Libin (and Chris Smith) http://shar.es/WNtrZ Keynote: Jason Baptiste – CEO of Onswipe “How Tablet Publishing is Transforming the Way We Consume Media” http://shar.es/WNttv Share...
Read MoreHere we go again with Patent Infringement Issues
After settling the patent infringment case about property map searching based on map, [Berkshire MLS paid selttlement to license this type of searching for all members], we learn of a new batch of lawsuits filed by Earthcomber (including NAR) They have patented technology that aides mobile device users in locating special interests nearby, by users manual entry of ZIP code or current intersection rather than through GPS or triangulation. Earthcomber files patent lawsuits against 12 real estate companies – AGBeat. Share...
Read MoreLet’s make sure they aren’t called Bored Meetings
A few interesting ways to make our Board Meetings more effective … Save time. Use a consent agenda to reduce reports by distributing them in advance and asking for one motion to accept the consent items. Consistent messaging. Take 5 minutes at the end of the meeting to decide on the main message that directors should communicate to members. Create an executive summary or ‘One Voice’ and distribute to directors so they deliver consistent messages after each meeting. Assess meeting effectiveness. Use the back of the agenda for 1 or 2 questions to ask before the meeting adjourns: a) Did the meeting advance the mission and serve the members; b) What can we do to improve our next board meeting?” Note: Bob Harris, CAE, offers free governance and...
Read MoreBerkshire Bank Donates Building to 1Berkshire
Berkshire Bank just annouced the news that our leadership heard at our Strategic Planning session late fall of 2011 – Berkshire Bank has donated its Allen Street, Pittfield building to 1Berkshire to house the countywide economic development agencies. The former Central Fire Station building will hold the offices of the collaborative efforts of the Berkshire Visitors Bureau, Berkshire Chamber of Commerce and Berkshire Creative in April. This collaboration of agencies and City Hall should be a powerful entity in our community, and with other organizations such as the Board of REALTORS in support, could truely hardness all of our collective power for prosperity. Berkshire Bank Donates Building to 1Berkshire / iBerkshires.com – The Berkshires online guide...
Read MoreThe Best SmartPhone Apps
I would say this site is worth every penny, but it is totally free! And doesn’t hit you with pop-ups and an annoying “cost” for getting great information. Lifehacker’s App Directory is a constantly maintained and updated directory of the best applications and tools for computers (Windows, Mac, and Linux) and smartphones (Android and iPhone). Want to make sure you’ve got the best of the best installed on your system? Simply click on your platform-of-choice below to get started. Apps News, Videos, Reviews and Gossip – Lifehacker. Share...
Read MoreBrian Solis Sums It Up Again
In a new blog post, Brian Solis sums up our technology / marketing headaches with social media. “Although the impact of technology on business and consumer behavior was widely reported, in-depth reports on what to do next or how this will affect their business specifically were scant at best. I’m sure you heard it from experts everywhere, “You need a Facebook brand page! Why are you not on Twitter yet? Have you checked-in on Foursquare? Hurry up and get set up on Google+. If you don’t get on social media, you’re going to go out of business!” And, here you are…still in business. ” It’s a good read… Share...
Read MoreThe Trouble with Salespeople Slideshow – Harvard Business Review – Harvard Business Review
A quick 9 slide report on the effective skill-sets of the three types of salespeople — Experts, Closers, and Consultants… the skill sets of those less successful, and the training needs of each type of personality to help increase successful closings. The Trouble with Salespeople Slideshow – Harvard Business Review – Harvard Business Review. Share this:EmailFacebookPrint
Read MoreBerkshire County, MA Market Watch Report, By Sandy Carroll
We’d like to share news about the current state of the Berkshire’s real estate market. Last year, the real estate market continued to settle since our all time record high of dollars transacted in 2005, and everyone has been trying to predict the exact “bottom of the market” to help made sound decisions. Berkshire County, Massachusetts land, multi-family and residential sales showed strong numbers in the first quarter of 2011 compared with the previous year. This strong pace slowed in 2nd quarter of 2011, and all markets except commercial showed losses when compared to the 2nd Quarter in 2010. The 3rd quarter sales reflect another adjustment and rebound that helped make up the 2nd quarter lags, yet was not enough to boost overall year-to-date sales...
Read MoreCity of Pittsfield Ordinance Takes Effect 1/1/12
The implementation of City of Pittsfield Blight reglations is January 1, 2012. Owners of multifamily units, vacant properties or non-owner occupied residential properties (including foreclosed homes or single family rentals) shall register on an annual basis with the City of Pittsfield. There are many requirements to this new regulation, so please see the following information for more specifics. Further, we've received clarification that the exterior posting requirement is to only affect rental properties (any number of units). Please see the copy of the letter sent to known property owners, real estate agents and our board office. Included in the letter are hyperlinks directly to the online registration form, FAQs and the full ordinance.
Read MoreHelp Families in Need At Thanksgiving
As the holidays quickly approach we reflect on all that we are so thankful for and our thoughts turn to those in Berkshire County who are less fortunate than ourselves. REACT (Real Estate Agents Charitable Task Force) is sponsoring a Thanksgiving Gift Card distribution this year. The donation amount is $25 per card sponsored. All funds collected will be used to purchase gift cards from BigY for distribution to food banks, veterans and human service agencies throughout the County. Your donation can be made here, by calling the Board Office at 413-442-8049 or by mailing a check to the Board Office: 99 West Street, Ste 200, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Please consider supporting this very worthwhile cause! If you have any questions you can contact Sue at the Board...
Read MoreHEADS-UP! Realtor.com Makes Major Marketing Changes
Realtor.com is making major changes to their lead generation products that surround free property displays. This program is called “Connections” and agents can now purchase zipcode leads, for listings that are not enhanced with a paid product (agent or broker package). If you pay for an enhansed package, all leads will continue to go directly to you. All members have the ability to “buy” zip code leads, provided they are in the same MLS. If you pay to enhance your listings on Realtor.com, your listings will not change (but you have additional marketing opportunities) If you do NOT pay to enhance your listing on Realtor.com, your free listing display will significantly change. Inman News had a great article about this with screen...
Read MoreEternal Cosmic Wisdom
Berkshire motivational speaker and ukulele player, Jerry Posner, recently released his latest book. It is available on Amazon.com. Deep, lighthearted, profound and fun … all the the same time! But most of all – practical. – Jerry Posner Kindle Version Hardcover Version Share...
Read MoreZillow Acquires IDX Vendor: Diverse Solutions
Zillow, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z), today announced it has acquired substantially all the assets of Diverse Solutions, an Irvine, Calif.-based company that helps real estate agents market their businesses and improve their personal websites, for approximately $7.8 million in cash and stock. Diverse Solutions’ software services include providing listings content and property search functionality for the Web and mobile platforms. With this acquisition, Zillow® adds another key set of tools to help agents grow their businesses and enhance their online presence. What Does It Mean? In FBS Blog (FlexMLS) by Michael Wurzer Zillow announced today that it acquired IDX vendor Diverse Solutions for $7.8 million in cash and stock. I’m interested in learning what others think...
Read MoreThe End of Business as Usual
Normally, I don't promote a book that I haven't read yet, but I make an exception for Brian Solis' book, "The End of Business As Usual". I'm compelled to share this book, because I'm a big fan of Brian's brain... his website is full of free and compelling content and his take on business use of social media is incredibly on target. His posts always inspire me to think about technology and online interaction as it relates to our business of service - our customers, our clients and ourselves...
Read MoreWind in the Berkshires
Here is a flyer for the Wind Turbine Informational session that Nancy Kalodner / Tim Lovett mentioned at the Annual Meeting yesterday. An important topic that all homeowners and Realtors needs to understand thoroughly. Tonight, October 27th in Lenox.
Read MoreGold Star Mother… MINE!
Another new piece of art added to my collection. Gold Star Mother is a moving oil painting by my brother Larry. He's a director living in Hermosa Beach, California and has directed hundreds of television commercials, many hours of television, award winning short films, and currently teaches at UCLA. He also paints and takes photographs on a daily basis. This piece is from his series of oil paintings titled “Soldiers” exhibited at the “Group W Artists” show in the Berkshires of Massachusetts.
Read MoreMLS Statistics: Available as a WordPress Widget
I thought I'd share a few Wordpress widgets for FlexMLS users... below you can see a sample of some of the cool, dynamically generated content that is available for an annual fee, directly from our vendor. For complete information, please see the FlexMLS page dedicated to Wordpress widgets
Read MoreBest Blog is in Berkshire!
Our recent Massachusetts REALTOR Awards banquet offered a nice suprise… Marlene Goldstein, Broker-Owner of Berkshire County Homes Real Estate in was named as runner up of ”Best Real Estate Blogs in MA”. Woot-woot to Marlene for offering home seller and buyers such great tips to help the in the transaction process! Berkshire Country Homes , LLC, 34 Silver Street, Great Barrington. Share this:EmailFacebookPrint
Read MoreSold & Pending Reporting for 3rd Quarter Stats
Calling all REALTORS – Please take a moment to enter all of your pending and closed real estate transaction data into the MLS database. I will be pulling data for a 3rd Quarter Market Report shortly and need all of the recent sales figures for the most accurate statistics possible. Thank you! (direct link to the 2nd quarter report) Share this:EmailFacebookPrint
Read MoreBerkshire County Kids’ Place benefit
Berkshire County Kids’ Place benefit “Moonlight Magic, An Evening of Surprises and Fun”. This is a great event to help a very worthwhile cause will be held on Thursday, November 10th from 6pm-9pm at Cranwell Resort. For more information, please see their Moonlight Magic Event Flyer or contact REALTOR Paula McLean for details. Share this:EmailFacebookPrint
Read MoreVolunteers Needed for The Breaking Bread Meal
The Breaking Bread Meal for those in need will be held on October 20th at the Legion Hall in Sheffield on the corner of Rt 7 and Cooks Rd. We need help setting up starting at 1:00 and then need servers starting at 5:00. An hour of your time would be soooo helpful. Please call Suzann Ward 413-329-3031. Thanks A bunch! Share this:EmailFacebookPrint
Read MoreAcademic Excellence at Richmond School
Good news to share about Richmond Consolidated School Congratulations to the students and the staff at Richmond School for outstanding performance on MCAS tests! The Mass. Department of Education recently released the scores for the 3rd Grade MCAS testing that took place in the spring of 2011. Richmond’s 3rd grade ranked 2nd in the state with a score of 91 out of a possible 100 in English and 10th in Math with a score of 86 out a possible 100. Share this:EmailFacebookPrint
Read MoreFuze Meeting: Multi-Party HD Video Conferencing
If you have a need to host multi-party online meetings that allow you to present material, interact with multiple attendees, track and record sessions, then this might be a good option to consider.
Read MoreThe Number One Least Asked Question in Social Media…Why?
When Brian Solis asked, “Why do you think it is that people line up for Apple products when they’re released?”, it really got me thinking. I’m one of those people who wants new apple products like a kid in a candy store – wide-eyed, impossible to resist. So taking that thought an applying it to the members I’m trying to serve…. The Number One Least Asked Question in Social Media…Why? - Brian Solis The number one least asked question in social media is also the most important… Asking “why” in all aspects of business and life in general is unexploited. Day in and day out I help businesses understand the opportunity that lies within new media, not because of Twitter or Facebook. I do so because opportunity is...
Read MoreAnnual Meeting
Call of the Annual Meeting of Berkshire County Board of REALTORS®and Multiple Listing Service, Inc. October 26th at the Country Club from 9:00 – 11:30 a.m. (doors open at 8:30 a.m.) The bylaws for the Board and MLS both require that the membership meet in October to vote in the coming year’s elected leadership, discuss goverance changes and to review the annual budget proposed. It’s an important opportunity for you to vote on governance and leadership, become informed about industry issues and learn how we are providing you with the tools you need to succeed. And, we’re planning a great breakfast, networking and a bit of fun too! We hope to see you there!If you haven’t already registered for the informational pre-meeting caucus on...
Read MoreFern Fronds Online!
Hurray! For everyone who has asked me about the custom jewelry my sister makes, she finally put up a Facebook page linked to wholesale prices for friends and family. Gorg stuff. Just thought I’d share… FernFronds: www.Facebook.com/FernFronds or www.FernFrondsDesign.com Berkshire Artisan Susan Carroll: ”Nature inspired me to create jewelry that has a unique and natural look and feel, but that also has elegance in its simplicity. I started making pieces using semi-precious stones, freshwater pearls, crystals, and real leaves that have been electroplated. Solid Sterling silver and copper are used on the majority of my jewelry and I’ve recently begun working with glass beads as well. Thank you to the glass artists for providing us with such...
Read MoreBerkshire Resident Hosts Heirloom Meals on PBS
Heirloom Meals, Savoring Yesterday’s Traditions Today in Stockbridge hosts a homemade ketchup-making class on Sunday, September 25th (1- 3 pm) led by founder Carole Murko. (also a REALTOR!) RSVP to Carole@heirloommeals.com or 413.298.0173 Carole just wrapped filming of Heirloom Meals Thanksgiving Special ….November is around the corner so check your local public television PBS listings to check out our Berkshire friend. Thankful, indeed! via Heirloom Meals. Share this:EmailFacebookPrint
Read MoreRE Technology launches VScreen Training Videos
RE Technology launches VScreen Training Videos by WAV Group Consulting Leading real estate technology media site, RE Technology, has partnered with VScreen to create agent training videos from top industry trainers. Arroyo Grande, CA (September 2011) – As a leading technology resource for the real estate industry, no one understands the value of video for websites better than the team at RE Technology. The company has partnered with VScreen, a leader in real estate training video creation and distribution, to improve their website’s home page: www.RETechnology.com. “We’ve published many articles about video on our website,” [...] Keep Reading Share...
Read MoreLeading from the Heart, With a Little Bit of Soul, Too
Presentation at the NAR Leaderhsip Summit in August, based on the book, The Leadership Challenge, written more than 25 years ago that still offers valuable insight for leaders today - By Otto Catrina, 2011 Vice Chair, NAR Leadership Academy. Conduct a Self Inventory. Each of us has to find our own voice as a leader. The best way to do that is to conduct a self inventory of our leadership skills. Do this on a daily basis, even though it’s hard to admit to making mistakes. It’s hard to be perfect. So be vulnerable, because that’s part of what constitutes being a human being. And, don’t try to compare yourself to others. Learn what leadership traits you have and where you are in your career. Each of us has to have his or her own voice. Recognize these four...
Read MoreI Live in the Future and Here’s How it Works
I Live in the Future & Here’s How It Works: Why Your World, Work, and Brain Are Being Creatively Disrupted by Nick Bilton. This is a great, quick read that can open your eyes to the speed and power of technology changes, and how it is impacting the way we have to provide service to our potential customers today and tomorrow. I felt like a dinosaur reading the hard cover book instead of the eBook… but now I can lend it to anyone interested! “Nick Bilton has written a rollicking, upbeat guide to the digital world—a peek into our near future, where news, storytelling, and even human identity are transformed. It’s a fascinating book from a man who has helped pilot the New York Times into a new age of online journalism. If you’re...
Read MoreAbout Me
Sandra J. Carroll
Chief Executive Officer
Berkshire County
Board of REALTORS &
Multiple Listing Service
99 West Street, Suite 200
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Phone: (413) 442-8049
Work Email
My Facebook
Work Facebook
Linked In:
Managed Websites:
www.SandraCarroll.com
www.BerkshireRealtors.org
www.BerkshireRealtors.com