Ben Rosales and Lani Anglin-Rosales of Austin, Texas, who own the Single Pointe Realty company, have completely embraced the tools of social media to connect to their potential customers. The company began using the tools in 2007, which has lead to all of their buyer referrals coming from online efforts. The Austin Statesman recently shared their story.

In an industry that is catching on to social media:
A small but growing contingent of real estate agents is getting on board. The number who write a real estate blog doubled this year from 4 percent to 8 percent, and 13 percent said they planned to start a blog, according to a survey by the National Association of Realtors. It's a new yet familiar direction for an industry that has long depended on referrals and networking.

The Rosales believe that since social media gives customers a way to really connect with both the and the potential real estate their buying, they have been able to form a personal relationship with their customers. They are the creators of Agent Genius, an online magazine for real estate that gets contributions from 37 bloggers from across the nation.