Neighborhoods and Activities in Baton Rouge

Yesterday President Obama signed into effect the Economic Stimulus Act.  A portion of that is targeted to help the failing housing market and stabilize values in neighborhoods, by giving first time homebuyers a tax credit.  Some Things to Know:  (1) First Time Homebuyers for Principal Residence (2) Calendar year 2009 only  (3)There are Income Limits. (4) It's Refundable even if you don't have that much tax liability (5) Buyers have to own the home for at least 3 years or return the credit if they sell early.  While more details of this opportunity will be forthcoming, here's a summary to get you started planning from U.S.News and World Report's Luke Mullins.

Don't wait!  With record low interest rates combined with this tax incentive, there's never been a better time to own your first home!

When you hear of Mardi Gras you usually think New Orleans.  However, for those of you not native to Louisiana, it may come as a surprise to learn that most of the major cities have parades.  Now Mardi Gras is not just a parade, but a series of parades starting the first weekend in February and culminating with final parades and the crowning of a King and Queen on Mardi Gras Day which is Feb. 24th this year.  You will find many colorful parades.  Many have themes that vary from year to year. 

Parades in Baton Rouge aremuch more family friendly and not as risque, with the exception of the wild and wacky Spanish Town Parade. 

Here in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, one of the favorites is The Mystic Krewe of Mutts.  That's a parade of dogs.  Dog owners dress their favorite dog in colorful costume and parade in downtown. 

 Krewe of Orion theme this year is Tour de France, WBRZ Video..

The Spanish Town parade is one of the more famous and goes thru one of the oldes historic area of the city.  This one usually features flamingos in some other theme that varies year to year.  This year's theme:  Buy Yeaux Bailout.

Visit Baton Rouge has  videos of all the parades that captures some of the flavor.

After years of infamous national press, Louisiana scored big when Baton Rouge was named one of the top 10 hottest real estate in 2009.  On the heels of such good news comes the latest from Newstatesman., that louisiana's governor Bobby Jindal is selected as one of this year's choice of 10 people who could change the world.  In 2005 Barak Obama was predicted to be running mate to Hillary Clinton in last year's elections.  As we know, he did even better.  Bobby is labeled Saviour of the Republicans.  And the review identifies his most noticeable flaw is that he talks too fast!  You can follow him on Twitter at

http://twitter.com/BobbyJindal

As a broker, following trends and business models is a must.  In the past 5 years there has been an explosion in information available to the consumer on the internet, including real estate information.  To handle this change there needs to be a shift in the way real estate brokerages are set up.  Let's face it, the goal is to attract agents or buyers who use the brokerage to buy or sell property.  So where are the consumers going?

NAR statistics shown in this chart show an explosion of consumers looking online.  The 2008 data just released in January show that 87% of home buyers used the internet to search for homes, up 71 percent from 5 years ago . The Baton Rouge Business Report noted in analyzing the NAR statistics that the number of people in Baton Rouge looking online for information about houses increased 29.5% in December.   Looking at the patterns that consumers use, that means that a brokerage MUST have a solid online presence to attract buyers and sellers.  A second pattern that emerges is that Consumers Follow Agents, not Companies or Brands  The highlighted article challenges the traditional real eatate brokerage model of opening an office and establishing your broad(logo, slogan, etc.)  The article further shows that (1) referrals, (2)repeat business and (3) the internet are the top 3 lead generators.

Establishing an Internet Presence, Embracing technology, and recognizing that clients follow agents will be key parts of new, innovative business models for real estate brokerages.