Inman News Releases Findings From 2008 Real Estate Connect

ALAMEDA, CA, Aug 06 (MARKET WIRE) --
Inman News, the leading source of independent real estate news,
information, advice, research, opinion and commentary, today announced
its primary findings from the 2008 Real Estate Connect conference, held
July 23-25 in San Francisco. In its 12th year, the Connect conference is
the premier real estate conference, focused on promoting change and
technological innovation within an industry that's hit a rough patch in
recent years.

More than 1,500 attendees were present to discuss new tools and learn
about industry trends. All sides of the current real estate spectrum were
explored, including foreclosures and international investment strategies.
Other areas of focus included best practices and examples around
search-engine optimization, online video, social media strategies and
blogging.

The following are the key insights identified by Inman News:

-- Housing market instability - Inflationary pressures coupled with
financial system instabilities have hampered any short-term recovery hopes
for the housing market. In the current state, would-be buyers can't get
loans, a fact that's exacerbated by uncertain legislative outcomes.
-- MLS - MLS stakeholders struggle with their roles today. Debates over
public-facing MLS sites and syndication of property listings data make MLS
participants question where to put property listings online and how to
retrieve and share data in an efficient way.
-- Marketing trends - Large companies have shifted to life-cycle
marketing, engaging consumers throughout the entire homeownership process
instead of stopping at the point of sale. For small companies, the focus is
on better targeting, and how to find high-quality leads using tight
marketing budgets.
-- International real estate - Fueled by a rapid growth in technology,
real estate professionals are now able to attract overseas clients to
location-specific housing investments. Because of the weak dollar and
falling home prices, international investment will expand in the United
States.
-- Social media - Real estate agents have embraced blogging and social
sites as a way to disseminate local market information and win the trust of
new clients, especially in niche markets. Widespread adoption, however, has
lead to an inundated space where it's easier to be anonymous than
effective.

The next Inman Connect event will be held Jan. 7-9 at the Marriott
Marquis Times Square in New York City. More details can be found at:
http://www.inman.com/events/real-estate-connect-nyc-2009.

About Inman News

Inman News is the leading source of independent real estate news,
information, advice, research, opinion and commentary for industry
professionals and consumers alike. Each month more than half a million
readers visit Inman.com to keep up to date on changes in the real estate
market. The site features breaking news and analysis, video interviews
with leading industry personalities, a network of the Web's top real
estate blogs, a powerful online community and social networking platform
and much more. The company's content is syndicated on more than 150,000
web sites and in more than 200 newspapers, including The Los Angeles
Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Yahoo!,
The Wall Street Journal Online, and many more.

For More Information
Lindsey Zouein or William O'Neal
LaunchSquad
(415) 625-8555
inman (at) launchsquad.com

Copyright 2008, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

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