Before launching a live video forum focusing on the Bay Area real-estate market, I would appreciate to get your opinion about its chances of success. Any feedback about previous similar projects, sites already doing that, potential pitfalls… as well as potential benefits and encouragements are welcome.
Here is the potential service offered…
It is a one-hour weekly online video forum where anyone interested in the present and future of the Bay Area real-estate market would discuss live with participants having similar interests (Real-estate agents, potential buyers, sellers and renters…). The online video forum supports many simultaneous conversations by categories.
It is more than a webinar as any participant can create a subject and share the screen with other participants. Participants can instantaneously move from one conversation to another one.
Finally it can be accessed using laptops, iPads, iPhone or Androids. There is nothing to download.
I am thinking about a one hour session at noon on Wednesdays. (???)
Hi there! Perhaps useful at first for mostly venting but the issues surrounding the Bay Area with respect to the real estate market has been discussed so much that I am not sure that it ends up being useful. I mean, who doesn’t know that the BA market is overheated and out of control? Who doesn’t know that people are flocking for other places that are more affordable? Who doesn’t know that many cities here are NIMBYs when it comes to allowing housing development? Etc, etc, etc…
About “Perhaps useful at first for mostly venting…” I do not see where I am venting and why you are upset.
My purpose is to create an online “live” forum where people share what they know. It is a completely positive forum dealing mainly with the pros and cons of different neighborhoods. Many potential buyers need to explore neighborhoods in the East Bay for example without knowing these neighborhood.
So the purpose of this forum is to support educational conversations where the participants share what they know and make more informed buying or selling discussions.
I apologize if what I wrote seemed aggressive… It was not my purpose.
Coming back to your remarks:
About: "the BA market is overheated and out of control? " What does it mean for the average house owner? Are the price going to plateau? Does selling makes sense?
Not everyone knows what you know. This forum would be an occasion to share knowledge and have more people aware of the real-estate situation.
Is there a host? Or is it totally unregulated and only the audience talk to each other?
Without premier content, how do you atttact audience? Best audience would be busy and at work. Those non-working people are mostly low value participants except some wealthy experts.
I’m just amazed at the folks here in the Bay Area in general. Savvy, smart and certainly trying to find an angle in getting into this RE market somehow, some way. Why do we see prospective buyers still out in force in say the down winter months? Is your forum going to provide answers quite frankly? How is your forum going to help with a fairly overall low inventory situation and generally high price tags that require high down payments?
There is a global host who explains how it works and explains how to create, join and leave conversations. Participants can either create a room with a theme that is the name of the room. Anyone can join, just listen, ask to discuss…
The purpose is to be productive moving instantaneously being conversations if not interested or able to contribute.
So it is organized. No one can dominate and monopolize a discussion. It is not 10 people talking at the same time. In each room the room host invites who he/she wants to discuss with, one after the other.
My guess is that real estate agents will create rooms by neighborhood and that buyers/sellers/renters will join and converse according to their geographical interest.
So something very practical between people willing to make real-estate decisions.
It does not need to be at Noon. It can be in the evening. I am open to suggestions. I would like to create such a session next week to show how it works.
The forum is not equal to “me”. I have no truth to share and I am not going to provide answers. What I want to do is provide an online place where people interested in real-estate can discuss together and confront opinions.
I live in Berkeley in a neighborhood where the owners of houses are between 60 and 90 yo. Mainly retirees. Prices of one-or-two bedroom houses in very average shape are in the $800k to $1M range. Does it make sense for 70+ yo owners who live alone to sell, and live “the good life” instead of living frugally with their pension? This forum would be helpful just providing different perspectives. “Food for thought”.
There is a need to find a revenue model. May be general ads for RE brands? There are insurance companies…
The revenue would cover the cost of running the software and the financial recognition of RE hosts attracting viewers. The discussions need to be informative but also entertaining to get loyalty. It is an art that needs to be recognized financially as the site becomes professional and successful.
For now it is not a problem because what was expensive was building the software.
It is a local/regional forum (the Bay Area where I live) because the RE market is mainly local.
If it shows that it makes sense, there could be in the future local forums in LA, Seattle, NYC… (just dreaming!)
About “Without premier content, how do you atttact audience? Best audience would be busy and at work. Those non-working people are mostly low value participants except some wealthy experts.”
May be I am wrong but the purpose is to have general but also very granular conversations. Wealthy experts are great to provide directions, but “non-working people” are interested in the one-mile area around their house, and Google/Facebook/ workers have little time to visit neighborhoods.
IMHO the potential transactions are where the benefits are.
Will the 60-90 year old neighbors participate? Are they comfortable with online video? Non working working age people are low value targets. But non working retirees are actually high value targets
(1) The 60 to 70yo that I know, know how to use the Internet and communicate with their children and grand-children using Skype.
(2) The 70-90 often have kids who worry for their heath and who would be the ones trying to explore options and get reasons when the retiring home option is discussed.
(3) Finally let’s not under-estimate the IRL conversations between neighbors where people know each other. A good way to spread the word.
(4) Anecdotes and story telling are easy to memorize and share.
Being a refugee from the People’s republic of Berkeley. I know the solution. Get rid of rent control. Raise height limits downtown and around the University. And encourage a construction boom.
