Welcome to the New and Improved Miami Condo Investments Blog and Website!
As you have probably noticed by now, there have been a lot of changes made to my website and blog. This is probably the fourth or fifth version of the Miami Condo Investments website but by far the one of which I am most proud. This project started back in October and the number of hours that were put into it, by myself and my website developer’s team, is quite incredible. Coupled with everything else I have had on my plate over the past couple of months, it is surprising that I have been able to get any sleep at all. First and foremost, I want to say that this website is still a work in progress. Long-term, it always will be. In the short-term, there are some bugs/issues that we are working through and some planned enhancements that you will see rolled out over the next couple of months. Regardless, your input and feedback is greatly welcomed and appreciated! Please let me know if you encounter any bugs or issues while navigating your way through the website.
The old adage says that buying real estate is all about the three L’s – location, location, location. That may very well be true but I think the flip-side to that is the three P’s to selling real estate – presentation, presentation and price. As everyone knows, the right price will always sell real estate but when marketing luxury real estate, it is presentation that matters most. That was at the foundation of this new website. Presentation matters most! Any real estate agent can sell real estate at the right price. My goal is to sell real estate at the right price for my client – provided it is realistic. In a market like Miami’s, selling high-end real estate is about eyeballs. The more eyeballs you get on a piece of property, the greater the chance you have of selling it. Miami luxury real estate has an international audience and, in order to get the most eyeballs on it, it needs to be presented in a glamorous, yet profound way.
Gone are the days of 500 pixel pictures to sell real estate. If you want to try to pawn your used Xbox 360 to the world, then that 500 pixel picture might very well do the trick. For luxury real estate, however, 500 pixels just doesn’t cut it anymore. Luxury real estate deserves to bask in all its glory. When weighing out my options for my new website, there was no better choice, by advice of my website developer, than to incorporate a responsive website design. It is the future! Any website developer who tells you otherwise is either too lazy to learn how to implement it and/or hasn’t figured out the intricacies for doing so. It can be quite complicated. Did I mention that this project has taken almost six months?
You might be asking yourself – What is a responsive website design? In a nutshell, it allows someone to show an image/picture at full resolution while taking into account the viewer’s display orientation and size. Basically, the image/picture transforms itself to accommodate the viewer’s display and therefore allows itself to be presented in the best way possible. Allow me to demonstrate:
The above picture is from the balcony of a $14.5M condo listing that my broker recently acquired. As you can see, the front row view you would have of the Atlantic Ocean and the beach down below is exquisite, to say the least. As a seller, wouldn’t you want this view to be captured in all its splendor for everyone who might be interested in purchasing? Of course! That is where a responsive website display comes into play. If you’re sitting at a desktop computer, then take the bottom right-hand corner of your browser and move it up to the upper left-hand corner. You will see the image above begin to transforms itself to accommodate your display. In fact, this entire website will transform itself. It is sort of like a Transformer Decepticon in digital form. If you are viewing on a mobile device, then the picture above is likely already at full capacity. Not much you can do because we have already got you covered.
In the coming weeks, I will write more about responsive website design because I really feel that I, and my website developer, have left all other real estate agents in the dust with this one. As a seller, you should gather your troupes and make sure that you are aligned with someone who has the technology to present your luxury real estate in the most fashionable way.
Coming Soon: A New and Improved Miami Condo Investments Website
Coming Soon: A New and Improved Miami Condo Investments Website
Behind the scenes, my business has seen a lot of big changes take place over the past couple of months. It has been an extremely hectic time for me with most days me getting only three to four hours of sleep. I’ll get into some of the other big changes at a later date. For now, I want to discuss a project that has been a little over three months in the making and something for which I am extremely proud of and excited. My website developers and I have been working diligently to put together all the pieces of the puzzle to create a masterpiece real estate website that will truly wow people. Our end goal when undertaking this project was to create a real estate website for consumers which is pleasing to the eye but also quick and easy to use. In a nutshell, we wanted to simplify my existing website and eliminate all of the clutter. The screenshot above shows what we came up with for the homepage.
It should immediately be clear that the Miami luxury real estate market will now be at the forefront of my business. That does not mean, however, that the mid-level market, which has been at the core of my business for years, will be abandoned. The new iteration of my website will continue to include the mid-level market but present it in a more sophisticated manner.
Below, you will see what we came up with for the building profile page. I like to think of this page as having a left and right panel. At all times, the left panel will display the picture slideshow for the condo development along with its description underneath. The right panel is where the magic and innovation happens. Clicking on the tiles in the right panel will cause content related to that tile’s description to suddenly slide into view. No new page to load and, most importantly, no need to scroll. All of the information is hidden off the screen ready to jump into view upon request by the user. When creating the design for this new website, we kept desktop, tablet and mobile users in mind. As a result, we went with a responsive website design. For those not familiar with responsive website design (RWD), the simplest way to explain it is that the design of the website transforms to respond to the size of the user’s display. See the third screenshot below to see what the second screen would look like on a tablet or smartphone with a vertical orientation. It is important to note that this is not a mobile-only version of the website. This is the exact same page but it has “responded” to the user’s display and has transformed itself automatically.
We plan to have the new website launched by the end of this month…so stay tuned.
The New Look of Miami Condo Investments
A few months ago, we decided to overhaul the Miami Condo Investments website. Our aim was to create a Miami real estate website with more content and functionality than its predecessor. Today, we’re pleased to present the new look of Miami Condo Investments. The website is still a work in progress but we hope to have all bugs fixed and new content published within the next 30 days. Below, you’ll find a list of a few of the features added to the new website:
- Message Board – Many of you have asked for a forum to discuss various topics related and unrelated to real estate. Hopefully many of you will make good use of it.
- Photo Blog – I introduced this feature last month. Here you’ll find real estate related pictures that we have taken in and around Miami and Miami Beach.
- Client Resources – Clients often have the same questions regarding the rental or sales process or questions regarding financing or closing costs. We felt that this would be a good section of the website to provide the answers to these frequently asked questions.
Earlier this afternoon, we also submitted our updated iPhone app to iTunes for approval. We hope that it will be approved and available for everyone to download by the middle of next week.
It’s amazing when I look back at the original Miami Condo Investments blog and realize just how far the website has come in terms of size and quality since that time.
Introducing the Miami Photos & Images Blog
Late Wednesday afternoon, we launched the Miami Photos and Images Blog. The new site gives us the opportunity to share great shots of Miami with locals and people from across the world as we capture the pictures throughout the week. As real estate agents constantly on the move, we consider ourselves ideal candidates to establish a grand collection of Miami photos. I can’t tell you how many times I am taken aback by a view or scenery and wish I could encapsulate the moment to share it with others. The Miami Photos and Images Blog will allow us to do just that. Our goal is to post at least one photo per day to the blog. That shouldn’t be a difficult endeavor to tackle given the advancement in mobile/cellular technology and the ease of sharing those pictures.
Every Friday, to keep the mood light and fun, we will post a “Funny MLS Picture of the Week” like the one below. You would be surprised by what some agents upload onto the MLS to “showcase” their listing. Then again, maybe we should be grateful that they were able to find the time in their busy schedule to actually upload a picture. It drives me crazy when I see a listing without any pictures. Anyway, my intention is to give you a laugh or two every Friday.
As mentioned in our last post, we’re planning to unveil the new Miami Condo Investments website some time next week. The Miami Photos & Images Blog will be one of the new features but we will also be introducing a way for visitors of the site to share their own photos with others.
Miami Real Estate Review FaceBook Fan Page
Yesterday afternoon, we launched the Miami Real Estate Review FaceBook Fan Page. We have big plans for the fan page so be sure to add us. Starting next week, we will provide daily updates in regards to the Miami real estate market. Important market news, recently closed sales and the best real estate deals currently on the market will be highlighted. The information will be provided in an abridged, concise manner to allow daily updates to be made possible. Of particular note to some, the Miami Real Estate Review Fan Page will have a discussion forum. Participants will be able to create discussion topics and provide their input.
Miami Condo Investments iPhone Application Now Available
I’m happy to announce that the Miami Condo Investments iPhone application is now available for download at the Apple iTunes store. Click on the image below to access it. Any feedback that you might have is much appreciated.
iPhone Application Release Update
Just wanted to give everyone an update regarding the iPhone application. It was submitted to Apple about two and a half weeks ago. Apple contacted me late last week stating that a few minor changes needed to be made. Those changes were made and the app was resubmitted this past Monday. We’re hoping that it will be approved within the next 2-3 weeks.
In preparation for the launch of the iPhone application I hired a graphic designer to create some marketing material. Here’s a peek at the business card design.
Design work by Erica Bartlett – [email protected] – 630.340.0300
New Screen Shots of the iPhone Real Estate App
We’re wrapping up the finishing touches on the Miami Condo Investments iPhone application. We should be done by the end of this week. We then need to submit it to Apple for approval. The submission process usually takes 2-4 weeks. I’m hoping that it’ll be available to download at the iTunes store by December 1st. Not sure if I mentioned this before but I’m not going to charge for the application; it’s going to be a free download. Below, you’ll find some screen shots of the Miami Condo Investments iPhone application. This is going to be a serious app!
The Future of Real Estate
A few months ago, I referred to a secret project that I was working on that would crush my competition. We’ve had a few delays, but after a little over 3 months of work we are now very close to completing it. Today, I provide you a sneak peek of that project. It’s an iPhone application that will revolutionize the industry. I’ve done a ton of research on the capabilities and flaws of the iPhone and have thought of everything. I won’t go into the features of the application at this point for obvious reasons but I must say that I’m very proud of this little pocket rocket. In the picture above, you see the start up screen. I didn’t want to reveal too much at this time but I will unveil other screen shots within the next two weeks and go into all of the features of the Miami Condo Investments iPhone application. I’m also preparing to launch the same application on the Android platform early next year.
Early next month, I’m also planning to launch a new website. It’s coming along very well and it has exceeded all of my expectations. I recently brought in an assistant and showing agent to help me during these months of expansion. I’m looking to bring in 1-2 additional agents within the next couple of months. My plan is to solely concentrate on this website and the iPhone application and crank out 5-6 posts per week. Unfortunately, that means that I won’t be able to do anymore showings. However, you can be rest assured that you will always meet with a quality agent who knows the South Florida condo markets as well as I do (well maybe not that well).
