On January 17, she published a quick read on technology trends in the business, and featured some cool photos and stories on 4 Tech trends to watch in 2012 that she gleaned from the CES earlier this month.

I decided to repackage her findings a little and add some local color.

1. intuitive combination devices – I am going to kill my Dell laptop after I turn it in for it’s second keyboard in 15 months, and just go Ipad or with a super thin ultrabook or something. I already rely so much on my Iphone, and with apps like GAMLS, Kurio and Trulia’s mobile apps, plus a killer app like Dropbox, field level functionality for agents has never been better

Add KW’s eEdge paperless real estate and client service platform, and a guy like me is highly dangerous.

The .25 calibre ACP that I carry sometimes really isn’t that dangerous – it’s there to “get me out of situations…” I haven’t had to use it yet, and y’all know where I get deployed from occasionally. I do think that my handgun is an intuitive combination device…

2. seamless and instant video sharing – my 4 year old Flip Camera will soon be obsolete. My Iphone doesn’t have enough video portability for longer videos. So, 2012 is going to be the year for me to step up to a new video camera. Stay tuned. Leetaylor.tv is coming…

3. enabled and enhanced on-the-go products and services – I just mentioned a few in the first paragraph, but Emily’s feature on the pocket-sized PowerTrekk really caught my eye. It is coming this Spring and it “uses fuel cell technology to power up mobile phones, cameras, GPS devices, and other electronics. The pocket-size charger provides instant power to your devices by converting hydrogen into electricity. It can produce the power of up to four AA batteries–suitable for powering up your phone for 10 hours. You just insert the fuel pack and add water to start recharging your portable devices.”

How cool is that?

4. thin is in – form is meeting function – Emily talks about the ultrathin notebook in her post. I believe I’ll move to an Ipad sooner rather than later. More and more, agents that I know are working Ipads almost exclusively. Cloud apps are making lightweight dreams a reality.

I have a lot of tech savvy, creative clients and they have always kept me engaged on the latest and greatest devices, tips, tricks, tools, shortcuts, hacks and applications that make my real estate business better. If you know about a tech trend that I should know about too, please contact me and keep me in your loop!

And 2012 is going to bring a big surprise to some real estate players, but to real estate business folks like me, we won’t be surprised.

My company President, Mark Willis, claims that Keller Williams Realty is poised to be the #1 real estate company in the world next year.

On 12/31/2010, I did not even speculate that one of the world’s largest Re/max franchisees, Re/max Greater Atlanta, would evaporate and scatter its agents far and wide by Spring 2011. A sad, broken business model. Ran out of money.

I also did not consider that one of Atlanta’s most formidable boutique brokerages, Sanctuary, was struggling too.

I got my real estate salesperson’s license in Georgia in 1999.

Back in 1999, when I became a Charter member of Keller Williams Realty First Atlanta, I became a “blueprint buyer,” for Keller Williams Realty in Georgia. “Keller who?” was a constant  statement. We were unproven, yet quite bodacious with the red signage, the talent pool and the belief that we had a better model – a better model that focused on the agent, and not the brokerage, as the key driver to a team’s success.

Today, worldwide growth places Keller Williams Realty International on it’s way to being the #1 real estate brokerage in the world. We’ve been rising place by place in the top 5 for about 5 years in a row.

Locally, the net results of 2011 in the Atlanta real estate market have transformed lives, businesses, careers and mindsets.

For those of us who have been a part of Keller Williams Realty for a while, we just keep shifting, and growing.

And, when I say that A is for Atlanta, D is for Decatur, I am offering an Eastside shout out to one of KW’s newest agents, and certainly Atlanta’s best real estate blogger, Jon Effron.

He just wrote a swell article that shouts out my walkable hometown of Decatur as the best submarket in metro Atlanta…nice call.

Jon’s A is for Atlanta blog is entertaining, informative and loaded with value.

Jon is also one of the best real estate agents in Intown Atlanta, and at the end of 2011, he and some of his fellow Sanctuary agents joined Keller Williams Realty’s Heart of Atlanta group.

We are glad to have them, and I am glad to know that I can use their cute little office space in Inman Park when I need it…

I believe that 2012 will bring some counterbalance to the past 5 years of real estate market upheaval. Intown, we have seen far less distress than the suburbs, and as an Intown specialist, I am very encouraged by the outlook for 2012.

Some of the most talented agents in metro Atlanta have joined me at Keller Williams Realty over the past 12 years. Many are hustling everyday and they are building careers worth having, businesses worth owning, and lives worth living.

As Zig Ziglar says, see you at the top!

She wrote me today and told me that when she googled “Atlanta real estate” the Intown Insider showed up on the first page. Cool!

This may not always be the case, but today, it is. Check it out here at this link to the google page for the search terms “Atlanta real estate,” and you’ll see about 262,000,000 results.

My article entitled The recent quarter in metro Atlanta real estate, dated July 2011, appears among the first 13 results today.

Again, cool.

Trulia, my favorite real estate monster site, published this piece today about “How to safeguard your online reputation.”

Trulia’s best advice to me today is: “Proactively use this to your advantage and create online content that demonstrates your knowledge and expertise.”

So, what being on the first page of google means to me today is that I just had a significant life lesson reinforced.

That lesson is that proactivity rules. Proactivity is the #1 habit of highly effective people.

Lets see if I can keep this up!

To tell you the truth, I have not ever spent a single dime on SEO for this website and I get a call every week from some numbskull in another part of the USA that wants to put me on the first page of google for “Atlanta real estate” with their magical web enhancements for $500-2000 per month.

I think I’ll just keep blogging…Thank you world wide web.

The long tail is right here, and if you have a property to list for sale or lease in Intown Atlanta or Decatur, then call me and lets talk about online marketing results that will get your house sold for top dollar in the fastest amount of time possible…my 3 year average is 28 days. My listings sell at an average of 96.3% of list price.

And today, I’m #1 on google.

Sellers can still get the highest possible list-to-sell ratio and sell their homes as quickly as possible if they are willing to put their trust in two time trusted principles of real estate: condition and price.

Since 72% of all sales transactions are “equity” transactions – not distressed, not some odd luxury transaction and not an estate sale, the chances are favorable for sellers who “get it.”

Here are the the top ten features that attract buyers according to the Keller Williams Realty International survey conducted for our 2011 Market Navigator booklet.

1. Location – favored by 69% of buyers

2. Neighborhood – favored by 55% of buyers

2. Floor plan – favored by 37% of buyers

3. Updates to the house – favored by 36% of buyers

4. Curb appeal – favored by 30% of buyers

5. Square footage – favored by 28% of buyers

6. Back yard – favored by 25% of buyers

7. A great kitchen – favored by 23% of buyers

8. Lot size – favored by 22% of buyers

9. Age of the home – favored by 18% of buyers

10. the final 4 – Garage, Style, Flooring and Commuting range – all favored by about 15% of buyers

If you are selling real estate in metro Atlanta – if you are distressed by a real estate problem in metro Atlanta – please call me. I am a capable navigator in this market, and I would appreciate the opportunity to help you accentuate the positive with your property…

Cool guy. You wouldn’t know by looking at David, that he’s a Deadhead. You wouldn’t know by looking at me that I saw the Dead 25 times…but I digress…

In his article from June 13, David compares and contrasts “owning” awareness vs. “renting” awareness. For those of you who think about marketing a lot, it’s a worthy read. Here’s the link to the article.

His insights made me think that with nearly 14,000 views on my YouTube channel (thanks to Abdullah The Butcher), my upcoming email newsletters  (next week, I launch ATLnewsletter) my Trulia VIP work, and some of the other swift stuff that I do, I do indeed own my awareness. I just need to follow David’s advice and own it even more.

I don’t rent Google Adwords. I don’t run banner ads and popups. I have rented some Facebook ad space from time to time, but the stuff that we do on Craig’s List is free…

Knowing what I know, I just need to own it even more!

For those of you who came here looking for an article on buying vs. renting, just know that the premier online source for these comparisons is at Trulia – their rent vs. buy index is stellar!

Are you moving up?

Do you lack confidence in your current investment holdings?

Do you long for a second property outside of Intown Atlanta or Decatur? Maybe a property with a lake, a mountain or a beach setting?

Do you have some cash holdings reserved for a 5-20% downpayment on a mortgage?

Do you have a 620 credit score or better, and do you have the income qualifications to successfully apply for HUD-backed, FHA, VA and other governmental, quasi-governmental and locally funded grant and loan programs?

In the next twenty years, get used to most of that going away…but until then, get it while the getting is good…

The mainstream media, in the wake of a raging three plus years of residential real estate malaise and torpor, in the slog of government intervention or lack of it, in the face of continuing strategic defaults and ongoing “quantitative easing,” is beginning a recent positive spin cycle on how buyers should seize incredible market opportunity right now.

If you sit on the sidelines and watch, then don’t do so while just absorbing what the mainstream media feeds you from a national or even regional level.

As an example, I can name 5 zip codes in Georgia that saw median price increases last year…

I believe that the mainstream media misses the dynamics of hyper-local markets. I believe that the mainstream media misses the neighborhood aspect, far too often.

I can attest that sellers in Intown Atlanta and Decatur fail to sell about 62% OF THE TIME. I can attest that the sellers who sell quickly, usually do so in about 22 days from their original list date, and will usually sell for about 96.5% of their listed price. I can attest that these sellers only represent about 12% of the market.

If you think that now is your time to buy, then one of the most important things that you can do is to get to know your neighborhood. Click on this link for a handy checklist to help you do just that.

One other little helpful thing…

My real estate brokerage since 1999, Keller Williams Realty, just published a solid little ebook called “7 Reasons Why Now Is a Great Time to Buy a Home!”

For a free copy of this ebook, contact me and I’ll send it your way.

If you are on a journey toward home ownership for the first time ever this year, or if you have other real estate investing and moving about in mind, then please contact me if I can help you with the next steps.

Most of them bring cash.

Other folks, from inside Georgia and from outside of Georgia, want to become real estate investors, but want some guidance on where to start.

Here are a few basic questions that I need to know about you if you are a real estate investor.

1. what has been your experience with real estate investing?

2. how much cash do you have reserved for real estate investing?

3. how many properties would you like to invest in over the next two years?

4. your intention is to buy, hold and rent properties, correct?

5. if so, then what has been your experience with land-lording? if not, then what is your investing strategy? what is your criteria for what makes a good investment?

6. how soon do you want to make a purchase?

7. in addition to your cash, are you expecting to require mortgage financing?

8. who is your lender of choice?

9. if you do not have a lender of choice, then who do you bank with?

10. who is in your Atlanta real estate network? contractors, lenders, property managers, etc. ?

10.5 in addition to your questions that you’ve already asked me, what other questions do you have?

Once a new client gets back with me on my questions, I can then answer their questions with more clarity and guidance.

Are you ready to take the next step? Are you already on a path and you just want an opinion? Please reach out and let me know if I can help you.

However, comparing the fourth quarter of 2009 to the fourth quarter of 2008, is like comparing apples and oranges.

The depths of the fourth quarter of 2008 are not likely to be seen again soon. Regardless, there are still areas of concern which could limit the degree and time frame of a full recovery.”

Click here to read the rest of this article at Examiner.com.

I am now the “Atlanta Real Estate Examiner” at examiner.com.

They bills themselves as “INSIDER SOURCE FOR EVERYTHING LOCAL.”

Subscribe to The Intown Insider RSS feed to get all of my posts.

If you want regular, realistic market statistics and quick reads on local real estate economics, local styles and  local trends, 3 – 4 times  a week, then subscribe to my Examiner.com RSS feed.

Either way, thanks for reading, thanks for your referrals and thank you for the opportunity to earn your business.

Here’s one entitled “4 Tips for the Homebuyer Tax Credit.”

Here’s another entitled “Secrets of the Homebuyer Tax Credit”

And, here is one more entitled “Homebuyer Tax Credit Rewards Repeat Buyers.”

Here’s my favorite item from the guidelines that govern use of the credit:

“The home can be a mobile home or travel trailer that is fixed to land owned or leased by the home owner. A mobile home or travel trailer that is actually mobile doesn’t qualify.”

Uh, does this particular mobile assemblage account?

Here is a helpful cut and paste graphic from my friends at W.R. Starkey Mortgage – they show the differences between last year’s Homebuyer stimulus plan and this year’s Homebuyer stimulus plan on an easy chart.

Please let me know if I can help you get your real estate on in the next 5 or 6 weeks – if you hesitate, don’t come crying to me!

2010, the year that national average prices will bottom in April-May…

2010, the year of the experienced real estate agent…

Here’s the most recent version of “The Mother of all Atlanta real estate charts” – which side of the bottom line do you want to be on?

“The Mother of all Atlanta real estate charts” does not lie.

Here are 5 reasons that Intown Atlanta and Decatur Sellers should hire me in 2010…

1. I am the #1 Trulia Voice in Atlanta

2. I have personally led 123 buyers and sellers to successful closings since beginning full time agency 6 years ago in February 2004

3. I have caused the sale of 39 listings in 6 years – my listings spend an average 26 Days on the market – DOM vs. a 139 DOM market average – 92% of all of my listings closed vs. a 40% market average…

4. I have a sincere sales habit  – active prospecting for 3 hours every morning + 1 hour of social media activity everyday, minimum…so far, as of today – here’s just some of what I’ve done

* 226 posts at The Intown Insider over the past 24 months

* 563 Trulia answers – 10 best answers – 280 thumbs up…over 30 leads generated and 10 sales closed as a result of just Trulia activity

* Facebook and Twitter generate leads and activate showing activity at my listings, in addition to the basic real estate marketing that I do in the MLS’s – I have 1194 Twitter followers and 696 facebook Friends, as of today

* I network, push market and communicate with nearly 600 other Intown Atlanta agents who make things happen in this market

5. I have a 23 year sales resume’, with most of the 1990′s in Commercial Construction sales. I’m a proven closer and I love what I do. I’m a former officer in the US Army and served in Saudi Arabia for 11 months during Operation Desert Storm. 6 years ago, I decided to devote my sales career to the full time practice of Intown Atlanta and Decatur real estate agency.

If you are considering the sale of an Intown Atlanta or Decatur property in 2010, then please contact me for an opinion on your next steps.