Home equity crisis coming, report says; blames lender pressure in part

on January 20, 2005

American households cashed out $333 billion worth of equity from homes between 2001 and 2003, the beginning of the refinancing boom – levels three times higher than any period since Freddie Mac started tracking the data in 1993, a new report highlighted. A House of Cards: Refinancing The American Dream is a new report released […]

Existing home sales blow market away

on January 5, 2005

November existing home sales shattered expectations, rising to a new record pace, and virtually sealing the deal on another record year for the U.S.  housing market, Wachovia Securities economists reported to their customers.  Sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.94 million in November.  Months of available supply held steady and sales prices […]

Customer service still key element to successful real estate business

on December 17, 2004

Although frantic holiday shopping can bring out the worst in anyone, first-rate customer service should remain a top priority for any American business if they want those customers to return after the New Year, according to a recent Coldwell Banker® Customer Service Study. In fact, nine out of 10 consumers surveyed declared that great customer […]

Generation Y expected to drive the real estate market over next decade

on December 8, 2004

Many of them wear multiple piercings, own cell phones that take pictures and they’re even more technologically savvy than their older brothers and sisters of Generation X. They’re Generation Y – and many of them are going to be your customers very soon. The label “Gen Y” roughly refers to those born between 1979 through […]

Missouri REALTOR® celebrates birthday in style with new Mercedes

on December 4, 2004

Wendall Dickerman, a REALTOR® with Phase One Realty Inc.  in House Springs, Mo., got an early birthday gift: a brand new 2005 Mercedes SLK 350 convertible.  That’s because he’s the lucky winner of our Mercedes giveaway held at the National Association of REALTORS® 2004 Conference & Expo last month. More than 4,000 agents registered to […]

In celebration of the New Year — a completely new XSites version

on December 2, 2004

Our Agent XSites were introduced to the real estate market a little over a year ago.  In that short time, they’ve become known as the most intuitive solution available.  While other providers continued to clunk along with clumsy interfaces and poor flexibility, we introduced a sophisticated website that even the least computer savvy agents can […]

a la mode makes Christmas come early for Missouri REALTOR®

on December 1, 2004

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — a la mode, a leading developer of desktop, mobile, and Web tools for real estate professionals has announced that Wendell Dickerman, a REALTOR® from House Springs, Mo., won the 2005 Mercedes SLK 350 convertible giveaway at the National Association of REALTORS® 2004 Conference and Expo. More than 4,000 REALTORS® registered to […]

Digital signature capability spurs interest at technology conference

on November 30, 2004

Our new digital signature capability was well received November 8-9 at the E-Records and E-Signatures: Emerging Technology and Business Applications in Financial Services conference held in Washington D.C.  The conference, sponsored by the Electronic Financial Services Council and Glasser LegalWorks, focused on the latest developments in electronic signatures and records. Our counsel, Jennifer Sides, discussed […]

a la mode’s digital signature sparks interest at technology conference

on November 18, 2004

Our new digital signature capability was well received last week when we were invited to discuss the ever-popular topic of electronic real estate transactions at the E-Records and E-Signatures: Emerging Technology and Business Applications in Financial Services conference held Nov. 8-9 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Washington D.C.  The conference, sponsored by the Electronic […]