Unclear how this happened so quickly, but we are now standing mere weeks away from the conclusion of 2020 and 2021 is looking much brighter thankyouverymuch. Vaccines are coming and the housing market continues to shine. I can’t even begin to tell you how thankful I am to work in this industry. Not just for the job security that it has provided in a year when so many people are out of work, but also for the fact that I got to be surrounded for 40 hours a week, during a global pandemic, by good news! And this weekly wrap up has really let me revel in that sunshine.
HOUSING
Speaking of good news and the housing market. Corelogic reports that average home prices rose by more than 7% in October. That is compared to home prices in October of 2019. The same index is forecasted to slow it’s increase for October of 2021 to 1.9%.
Moving on the digital marketing front, Facebook is being sued by the FTC for acting as a monopoly and crushing competition. Noone can argue that Facebook looms large on the social networking front, but is it enough for the FTC’s case? We will watch and see. Personally, I think divesting of What’s App and Instagram would make social networks a lot more interesting.
As was the case last week, I have more than one link to share here. One is a helpful link for SEO. If you don’t outsource your SEO to an expert, this list is helpful to understand where your focus should be and illustrates just how multifaceted SEO has become. The second is Google’s version of the year in review. The accompanying video came across my instagram feed and brought tears to my eyes. This year has been a decade and Google’s recap really captures that feeling. Plus it’s always interesting to see the list of top searches in any year.
PRIVACY
I’m throwing this in here because it’s a topic we’re covering in today’s Homefiniti and Beyond. What does 2021 have in store for us in terms of internet privacy laws? It looks like “technology firms are advocating a single, nationwide law, similar to the European Union’s GDPR”. A move away from laws like California’s CPRA.
I hope you enjoyed reading this week’s edition and that you have some plans to relax and enjoy the weekend. I am headed to make Gingerbread houses with my kids, my mom, my sister, and nieces this afternoon (outside on my sister’s deck) and then to enjoy a white elephant bonfire tomorrow. Both are events that I look forward to every December that we’ve managed to reimagine and reinvent in the year of Covid. Another thing for which I am thankful, creative solutions that allow holiday traditions to remain intact!
