You, yes You, have More Power now than ever Before

I have never been to Sacramento and honestly have never read much, nor heard much about the city. I knew it was the capital of California, but that’s about it. However, thanks to the internet and web 2.0, I now know… Sacramento is located in California’s expansive Central Valley, it is the seventh most populous city in California. As of 2006, Sacramento had a population of 457,514. The city is the core cultural and economic center of its five-county metropolitan area (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, and Yolo counties). With a population of 2.2 million, the Sacramento metropolitan area is the largest in the Central Valley, and is the fourth-largest in California, behind the Los Angeles-Orange County area, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the San Diego area.

I also know that Sacramento has a hot real estate market compared to the rest of California and the average sales price for a home $352,971. Unlike us over here in Atlanta, it seems that traffic is under control, perhaps your light rail system is something we can emulate? It also seems that the Sacramento State Fair is a nice event to attend. How can I learn that much about Sacramento in less than an hour? That is the beauty of Web 2.0 and is exactly why Time Magazine chose to name You as the 2006 Person of the Year. I found all the general facts on Wikipedia, then checked Trulia’s real estate guide to see how your real estate market is doing and then browsed YouTube videos to get a visual for Sacramento. I also logged onto The Sacramento Bee’s website for current events. I am not the only one who uses the internet for information.

Real estate buyers and sellers are also using the internet to access information. They want to know about the local real estate market, the latest in housing technologies, what agents are better at marketing and what is their property worth today? There is an old southern saying that matches my thoughts right now, “Sometimes I feel like I am preaching to the choir.” Which means those who hear (or read) this probably already know it, but it’s worth repeating… Real Estate is Changing. The Time Magazine story is a great reference for how and why real estate is changing. People want information and they want to control how, when and who they absorb it from, that is if they don’t create it themselves.

Real estate brokers and agents would do well to embrace these changes to our society and industry. Buyers and sellers would do well to seek brokers who understand the changes and learn to work within the new environment or better yet, work to make the changes happen themselves. Being apart of the blogosphere is a great step to sharing ideas with industry experts, informed clients and the general public seeking alternative sources for information. This 2006 Yankee Blog Swap is another great way to spread fresh ideas around the country. I am honored to be a part of this and enjoyed learning about Sacramento, California. I now challenge all readers of the Sacramento Real Estate voice to learn as much as possible and then share what you learn, because Knowledge is Power.

Written by: Brad Nix of Atlanta 575 Real Estate

Here is a list of Real Estate bloggers participating?