Houston Real Estate Blog

From the yearly archives:

2010

Maybe We Should WAIT…until After the Holidays

December 2, 2010

With the holidays around the corner prospective sellers ask us “Should we wait?”

As the holiday season gets into swing, the real estate market buzzes. Perhaps it’s the end of the year, or just dragging the decorations out that spur people into action. Keep in mind that many buyers want to close before the end of the year and make their move between school semesters and to be able to file for homestead exemption. So if you wait, you may miss out on motivated and serious buyers.

Buyers have a tendency to stay longer in homes that are decorated for the season. And the longer they stay, the more likely they are to make an offer. Seeing a beautifully decorated mantel, fresh garland around the front door or the little snowman at the entry can help the buyer to feel connected to the property. Perhaps it makes them feel like home, or it gives them comfort to picture their family next season celebrating around the dining room table. Nevertheless, it is a very powerful time to sell.

The holidays have been some of our busiest months at John Daugherty, Realtors. So don’t wait. If you are thinking of selling, deck the halls and give us a call!

Please send in photos of how you have made holiday cheer in your home!

John Daugherty, Realtors Adds Smartphone Technology to Houston Home Buying

November 10, 2010

Posted by Darren Moore

The Microsoft Tag 2D barcodes featured on yard signs give buyers comprehensive details of the property for sale.

John Daugherty, Realtors, has become the first Houston real estate company to incorporate a powerful new mobile technology called Microsoft Tag on yard signs. The Tag technology was developed by Microsoft and is free of charge. The Tag Reader app can be downloaded from http://gettag.mobi to mobile phones, such as Windows Phone, iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android-based Internet-capable mobile phones that include a camera. Once downloaded, with just a quick scan from a smartphone, buyers will have instant access to property description, price and photos along with local information such as maps, schools, nearby restaurants with ratings and shopping.

The Microsoft Tag 2D barcodes featured on yard signs give buyers comprehensive details of the property for sale.

“Technology is changing our business every day. It’s critical for the real estate industry, as well as any other, to be on the forefront of technology,” said Darren Moore, Director of Web Marketing of John Daugherty, Realtors. “We have to learn to sell real estate today the way the buyer wants it. Not the way we want to sell it to them,” said Moore. “We currently have over 500 properties listed for sale that we will be adding THE TAG to over the next couple of months,” said Moore.

According to Tech Crunch, Overall smartphone ownership continues to march upward, with 42.7 million of US consumers reporting they had a smartphone in January 2010 and 55.7 million in August 2010. That is a 23 percent increase in smartphone ownership in 8 months. Gartner is the world’s leading information technology research and advisory company. They predict by 2013, mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common Web access device worldwide.

“It’s very clear where this trend is going; that this is just the tip of the iceberg and we are going to be a big part of it,” said John A. Daugherty, Jr., president of John Daugherty, Realtors. “We are committed to constantly seeking innovative ways to use technology and marketing to serve home buyers and sellers,” added Daugherty.

Daugherty will reference the Microsoft Tag in marketing campaigns as “THE TAG”. THE TAG will also be used in print media advertising campaigns to drive consumers to the website.

John A. Daugherty, Jr., a fourth-generation Houstonian, founded John Daugherty, Realtors on March 8, 1967 and has served as its president and CEO ever since. In 2009, the firm reached $9.75 billion in total property sales since the millennium (2000). John Daugherty, Realtors is the largest seller of upscale residential homes for the Houston real estate area, currently employing 170 real estate agents and 54 support-staff members.

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John Daugherty, Realtors Goes the Extra Mile – To London

October 27, 2010

Firm Joins Global Real Estate Market with Offices in City’s West End

John A. Daugherty, Jr., Annette Reeve, Cheri Fama, Nick Churton

Houston, TX – John Daugherty, Realtors, is pleased to announce the opening of a marketing office in London, England in partnership with Mayfair International Realty. Located in the heart of London’s prestigious West End, the office will serve as a gateway for Europe’s real estate needs in Houston.

“We are the first residential brokers in Houston to do this,” said John A. Daugherty, Jr. “Over the past few years we have seen more buyers than ever from Europe and from the UK in particular. “We consider opening an office in London as an essential move to guarantee that our clients’ homes reach the widest possible market.

Mayfair International Realty, headed by Nick Churton and Annette Reeve, will market John Daugherty, Realtors’ Houston properties in the UK and the continental European media.

“We are working in a global real estate community with buyers not only crossing state boundaries, but International ones also,” said Daugherty.

John Daugherty, Realtors’ clients will find that the marketing of their homes receive a clear benefit from exposure to the widest market. And, London based buyers will also be able to visit the office and discuss buying a home in Texas. Churton said the move is paying off. “It is a positive move that has already brought significant success. The firm’s clients love the added coverage their homes receive and buyers love the easy access they have to the Houston market,” he said.

“More and more Europeans are being drawn to the Houston area for the very reasons the area has become so popular with those from within the US,” added Churton. He said as well as being a major business hub, the Internationally recognized Texas Medical Center, the largest medical center in the world, and home for so many international corporate companies, the reliable climate, superb facilities and high standard of real estate make the Houston area a key target destination for home and investment buyers.

“I like to think that my company goes the extra mile for its clients. I am delighted to say that now we are going an extra 4,845 miles to London and opening the doorway to Europe and beyond,” added Daugherty.

Of particular importance is the internet site that offers properties exposure to the global market and uploads to other premier UK based websites. The highly prominent website www.mayfairinternationalrealty.com provides a worldwide portal for luxury properties. John Daugherty, Realtors enjoys the unique benefit of being the only Houston residential broker whose properties are uploaded to the property search site of the Telegraph newspaper at www.telegraph.co.uk, whose website attracts 32.5 million users and 276 million page views per month. Properties are also uploaded to the website of Country Life, www.countrylife.co.uk. Country Life is regarded as the leading UK magazine for luxury real estate. Over the past one hundred years Country Life has been the finest place to advertise the very best estates, country houses and important town houses in the UK and Europe and, over the past few years, throughout the globe.

About John Daugherty, Realtors

John A. Daugherty, Jr., a fourth-generation Houstonian, founded John Daugherty, Realtors on March 8, 1967 and has served as its president and CEO ever since. In 2009, the firm reached $9.75 billion in total property sales since the millennium (2000). John Daugherty, Realtors is the largest seller of upscale residential for the Houston real estate area, currently employing 170 real-estate agents and 84 support-staff members.

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