After the Fed cut the interest rate last month, many opined that it would do little to help out the housing situation and instead would only weaken the US dollar. Although one data point does not make a trend, in the immediate term those opinions appeared to be correct as evidenced by mortgage rates which for the most part held steady. Something interesting did happen as a result of the cuts however.

Within days of the Fed announcement, our phones starting ringing off the hook. Our real estate agent clients were calling us asking what we had changed with our online marketing because an abnormally high percentage of their real estate leads were coming from Canada. Of course we had changed nothing. Upon further digging and talking to clients, we estimated that real estate leads coming from our northern neighbors increased by approximately 300% after the announcement. Most of the flurry of activity came from the traditional real estate investment markets, namely California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, and Florida. Since real estate investment is so heavily tied to speculation, it only makes sense that speculation about the value of the Canadian dollar vs. the US dollar based on interest rate drops would create such a spike.

My original thought was that this would just be a quick blip on the radar screen, caused mostly by curious Canadian investors simply looking for some information. I have recently received word however that these individuals are indeed showing up, looking at houses, and diligently preparing to purchase. I don’t see this as a market saver by any stretch but perhaps a less expected benefit.

The guys over at Sellsius, just wrote a great blog analyzing the difference between Internet Buyers and Traditional Buyers based on the 2006 California Association of Realtors study. It’s a good summary on why the Internet buyer beats the Tradtional buyer everytime.

http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/statistics/why-the-internet-buyer-is-the-preferred-client/2007/02/21/

This is good stuff that I highly recommend reading if you’re looking for a reason to jump on the Internet and start finding those Internet buyers.

(2/19/2007 Phoenix, AZ) Incredible Agent announced today that they have launched a new program, making them the first in the industry to provide Live Transfer leads on a national basis directly to their agent network. The service was designed based on feedback from thousands of real estate agents and countless industry studies on lead conversion. Those studies have proven that next to the quality of the lead itself, timely follow up has always been the biggest contributing factor to agents’ success with leads.

Thru Incredible Agent’s new Live Transfer program, agents are guaranteed to receive live leads that have been 100% verified and are researching homes in the agents’ communities. More importantly, the potential buyer is not currently working with an agent and is immediately looking to be transferred to one. Those leads are then instantly transferred to the agent via a “warm” transfer process, therefore creating a conversation between the prospect and the agent. The entire process is completed within a few minutes of the potential home buyer becoming a lead.

“The Live Transfer leads program creates a premium level of leads that no other competitor has ever attempted,” says Damon Pace, CEO of Incredible Agent. “We have known for many years that our lead quality is very good, so we decided to take it a step further and completely eliminate the concept of chasing down leads.”

“From the beta tests of this program, we’ve seen conversion rates skyrocket and we’re certain that the agents who take advantage of this program will be very successful,” continues Pace. “Our goal with this program is to save our agents time and make them money. It’s just that simple.”

The Live Transfer program will be available to agents in all markets in the United States and Canada. The supply of Live Transfer leads in any given market will be limited because of the level of qualification required to obtain them. Agents interested in inquiring about this exclusive program should register at www.incredibleagent.com/livetransfers or call (888)333-8896.