New real estate wiki for real estate industry is launched. 

History of wikis in real estate
BiggerPockets (launched in 2006) claims to be the first real estate wiki but it unfortunately closed down in May 2007 due to lack of sufficient content.  Introduced shortly therafter, and still going strong, is InmanWiki (part of InmanNews, InmanTV and InmanBlog).  

I just read this wonderful report from the Wall Street Journal

"Americans, Others
Acquire Luxury Homes
Despite Restrictions

By LORETTA CHAO and JASON LEOW
January 18, 2008; Page W1
Beijing

Once known for drab, government-controlled housing and ancient courtyard homes, China has become a land of multimillion-dollar apartments and soaring property values. And foreigners are trying to get in on the action.

and I'm not coming out...at least until my kids go back to school. Working from home can be a blessing and a challenge. This has been the longest holiday break I can remember. Before anyone calls CPS, I love my children. They are amazing young people, but it can be difficult to stay focused on work when they are whining about being hungry and bored and creating more dishes and laundry than I ever knew we had. Every time I walk out of my office I spend 15 minutes loading the washer and dishwasher and putting away cereal boxes, milk cartons, bread and peanut butter. I could fight with them to do it themselves but that takes way more than 15 minutes. I am choosing to lock myself up so I don't have to see it.

For real estate agents, it’s hard to overstate the business value of specialization in building a profitable practice. As buyers and sellers become increasingly diverse, being “all things to all people” is no longer a viable strategy – if it ever was.

It’s also hard to overstate the importance of neighborhood factors like local schools in the home buying decision. That’s why it’s surprising that so few agents seem to specialize in local schools. It’s a great potential draw for parents, or anyone who understands the importance of school quality on neighborhood property values. Here are some great ways for real estate pros to help buyers size up local schools:

Ask most agents how they’re different or better than their agent colleagues or competitors, and get ready to hear either a whole lot of hemming and hawing or a lineup of platitudes about how they care more, work harder, make clients happier, whatever.

I just received a response to an email I sent regarding the value of staging a house, and I am amazed at the cynicism in our industry. This agent replied that the only important issues in selling a house are location, condition of house and price. Last time I checked as an agent, we don’t get to select the location of our seller’s home. We don’t get to select the condition of our seller’s home and we can make recommendation as to price but we don’t get to select the price (We can walk away from an overpriced listing).

The beginning of the year is a wonderful opportunity to see the next 12 months as the canvas of your life. A great painting starts as a blank square, yet the painter is ultimately responsible for the masterpiece he creates. Each year we have the chance to paint a new piece, a unique expression that will fill the gallery of our lives.

Change it is often said is the only constant.

Since his concise analysis of the real estate industry in his 1997 book, Real Estate confronts Reality, Stefan Swanepoel has become a leading visionary of change. His thirteenth book titled the Swanepoel TRENDS Report 2006 published earlier this year has now solidified him as the #1 industry expert on business trends affecting the real estate industry.

RIS Media sat down with Stefan earlier this month to look back to 2006 and to peek into 2007.

Maria Patterson

Editor

Shred the credit cards? Give up Oreos? Let's examine real change vs. another list of resolutions.

In recent poll to former students by The RealtyU Group, the largest educator of real estate agents in the nation, they asked the following question: "Is the process to become a licensed real estate agent: 1) Too complicated and time-consuming, 2) Too easy, or 3) Just about right'

With a huge margin of certainty, 67% of the currently practicing estate agents affirmed that becoming a licensed real estate agent was too easy. The balance of the agents survey were divided: 21% voted "Just Right" and 13% responded that the process was "too complicated and time-consuming".