FRIDAY FACTS
June 10, 2011
NAR reports that nationally, pending home sales fell 11.6% this April compared with March. They fell 26.5% comparing April 2011 with April 2010. In the Northeast, pending sales rose 1.7% in April compared with March, but fell 33.4% in April 2011 compared with April 2010. In Barnstable County, pending single family sales fell 18.3% this April compared with last April.
Inman News reports that real estate investors are likely to be three times more active than other types of home buyers in their local markets in the next two years
Inman also notes that housing affordability hit a new record high in the first quarter of 2011. Nationwide, 74.6% of homes sold were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,400.
The latest Case-Schiller Housing Data shows that U.S. home prices fell to 2002 levels in March.
RIS Media had an article on International buyers in the U.S. 30.8% came from Europe. 27.5% came from North America. 25.2% came from Asia. The rest were from Latin America, Africa and Oceania. 69% of their purchases were single family homes, 18% were condos. They paid on average 20% more than the domestic buyer and 45% paid cash.
An article in Inman News indicated that foreclosure sales were 28% of U.S. home sales in the first quarter of this year and that those properties sell on average 27% less than non-foreclosed properties.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Friday Facts March 25, 2011
FRIDAY FACTS
March 25, 2011
Although the government has no money, HUD is increasing the grant amounts of $27.6 million in 2010 to $40.8 million in 2011 used to investigate allegations of housing discrimination, educate the public and housing industry about their rights and responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act. Most the money ($28 million) will go to enforcement initiatives.
From Inman News: Beach.com will launch this summer. It will feature customized searches for beaches, beachfront property and land for sale and for rent, hotels, restaurants and travel deals.
Also from Inman: In an attempt to insure accuracy of data, Trulia is providing a free system, Trulia Direct Reference. Participating MLS’s provide accurate data on factors such as list price and status. The system automatically reports discrepancies back to the MLS, broker, and listing agent. The agent can then visit the 3rd party sources and make corrections.
RealTrends reports that Realty Trac has released a foreclosure search widget which allows users to insert a fully functional nationwide foreclosure property search on their websites which delivers real time foreclosure data from Realty Trac.
As if Zillow’s zestimates for home sale price weren’t enough, they will now provide rent zestimates for about 70% of all U.S. homes and apartments.
March 25, 2011
Although the government has no money, HUD is increasing the grant amounts of $27.6 million in 2010 to $40.8 million in 2011 used to investigate allegations of housing discrimination, educate the public and housing industry about their rights and responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act. Most the money ($28 million) will go to enforcement initiatives.
From Inman News: Beach.com will launch this summer. It will feature customized searches for beaches, beachfront property and land for sale and for rent, hotels, restaurants and travel deals.
Also from Inman: In an attempt to insure accuracy of data, Trulia is providing a free system, Trulia Direct Reference. Participating MLS’s provide accurate data on factors such as list price and status. The system automatically reports discrepancies back to the MLS, broker, and listing agent. The agent can then visit the 3rd party sources and make corrections.
RealTrends reports that Realty Trac has released a foreclosure search widget which allows users to insert a fully functional nationwide foreclosure property search on their websites which delivers real time foreclosure data from Realty Trac.
As if Zillow’s zestimates for home sale price weren’t enough, they will now provide rent zestimates for about 70% of all U.S. homes and apartments.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Friday Facts March 18, 2011
FRIDAY FACTS
March 18, 2011
Beware unintended consequences. An article in RISMedia quotes John Badalamenti, Prudential Fox & Roach Realtors, Wayne, PA, “Buyers are still looking for perfection with comfort. As a result of the home staging craze, buyers have become a bit spoiled. Homes are almost being put on the market as museum pieces. You can bounce a dime off a bed.”
Steve Murray notes in RealTrends, “Finding a niche, a special market segment, will be key to prosperity in the future. What’s new about this, is not that this is the lesson for sales professionals, but that now even brokerage firms will have to specialize in some form or format of brokerage – no more can a brokerage be all things, to all people, at all times.”
Here are excerpts from an article in the Wall Street Journal on February 26, 2011 entitled, “Five Signs That Say ‘Buy’:
Jobs. Jobs data are about one month old and can show the direction of the local economy.
Recent Sales Activity. Look at a composite of housing inventory, sales volume and prices.
Construction. Check the number of building permits issued recently.
Mortgage Availability. Gauge local lending patterns
Anecdotal Evidence. Check out open houses and talk to local agents.
· A Re/Max office has now opened in a Stop & Shop in Springfield, MA, part of a 5 year deal between Re/Max and Stop & Shop.
· Gahlord Dewald reports in Inman News that last week, Google rolled out a new algorithm change, a result of growing concern over the quality of search results on Google. The new algorithm is meant to deliver higher quality search results. It means that the quality of real estate content on websites is now being mathematically calculated.
· From ICREA’s WorldProperties.com, during January and February, Canadian property entrepreneur, Cam Good, sold more than 500 homes to mainland Chinese investors and immigrants in the Vancouver and Toronto areas.
March 18, 2011
Beware unintended consequences. An article in RISMedia quotes John Badalamenti, Prudential Fox & Roach Realtors, Wayne, PA, “Buyers are still looking for perfection with comfort. As a result of the home staging craze, buyers have become a bit spoiled. Homes are almost being put on the market as museum pieces. You can bounce a dime off a bed.”
Steve Murray notes in RealTrends, “Finding a niche, a special market segment, will be key to prosperity in the future. What’s new about this, is not that this is the lesson for sales professionals, but that now even brokerage firms will have to specialize in some form or format of brokerage – no more can a brokerage be all things, to all people, at all times.”
Here are excerpts from an article in the Wall Street Journal on February 26, 2011 entitled, “Five Signs That Say ‘Buy’:
Jobs. Jobs data are about one month old and can show the direction of the local economy.
Recent Sales Activity. Look at a composite of housing inventory, sales volume and prices.
Construction. Check the number of building permits issued recently.
Mortgage Availability. Gauge local lending patterns
Anecdotal Evidence. Check out open houses and talk to local agents.
· A Re/Max office has now opened in a Stop & Shop in Springfield, MA, part of a 5 year deal between Re/Max and Stop & Shop.
· Gahlord Dewald reports in Inman News that last week, Google rolled out a new algorithm change, a result of growing concern over the quality of search results on Google. The new algorithm is meant to deliver higher quality search results. It means that the quality of real estate content on websites is now being mathematically calculated.
· From ICREA’s WorldProperties.com, during January and February, Canadian property entrepreneur, Cam Good, sold more than 500 homes to mainland Chinese investors and immigrants in the Vancouver and Toronto areas.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Friday Facts March 11, 2011
FRIDAY FACTS
March 11, 20100
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal on February 16, 2011, the down payments demanded by banks to buy homes have ballooned since the housing bust forcing many people to rethink what they can afford and potentially shrinking the pool of eligible buyers. Median down payments in 9 major U.S. cities rose to 22% on conventional loans. That percentage doubled in 3 years and represents the highest median down payment since tracking began in 1997.
From a blog by Steve Murray of RealTrends: The market is shifting again. Indications are that listings may be moving back into a position of importance. With the growing strength of such sites as Realtor.com, Zillow and Trulia along with strong traffic on Craigslist, having listings online is driving an increase in traffic to sales professional websites.
Inman News reports that Realty Trac’s 2010 stats show that 1 in 4 sales or 26% of U.S. home sales were foreclosures. On average, they sold for more than 28% less than those homes not in foreclosure. Realty Trac’s CEO says that the Catch 22 for 2011 is “accelerating foreclosure sales will help clear the oversupply in the long run…in the short run they’ll continue to weigh down home prices”.
RISMedia posted that HomeGain.com announced the results of its FSBO versus Realtor survey. 83% of sellers surveyed used a Realtor, and of those, 59% sold. 17% of sellers did not use a Realtor, and of those, 39% sold. 24% of FSBO’s eventually enlisted a Realtor to help sell the home.
Good news and bad news. NAR reported that nationwide, existing home sales were up 2.7% in January. This is the first time in the last 7 months that sales were better than in the previous year. NAR also reported that pending home sales fell 2.8% in January which was the second straight monthly decline and the slowest pace since October.
March 11, 20100
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal on February 16, 2011, the down payments demanded by banks to buy homes have ballooned since the housing bust forcing many people to rethink what they can afford and potentially shrinking the pool of eligible buyers. Median down payments in 9 major U.S. cities rose to 22% on conventional loans. That percentage doubled in 3 years and represents the highest median down payment since tracking began in 1997.
From a blog by Steve Murray of RealTrends: The market is shifting again. Indications are that listings may be moving back into a position of importance. With the growing strength of such sites as Realtor.com, Zillow and Trulia along with strong traffic on Craigslist, having listings online is driving an increase in traffic to sales professional websites.
Inman News reports that Realty Trac’s 2010 stats show that 1 in 4 sales or 26% of U.S. home sales were foreclosures. On average, they sold for more than 28% less than those homes not in foreclosure. Realty Trac’s CEO says that the Catch 22 for 2011 is “accelerating foreclosure sales will help clear the oversupply in the long run…in the short run they’ll continue to weigh down home prices”.
RISMedia posted that HomeGain.com announced the results of its FSBO versus Realtor survey. 83% of sellers surveyed used a Realtor, and of those, 59% sold. 17% of sellers did not use a Realtor, and of those, 39% sold. 24% of FSBO’s eventually enlisted a Realtor to help sell the home.
Good news and bad news. NAR reported that nationwide, existing home sales were up 2.7% in January. This is the first time in the last 7 months that sales were better than in the previous year. NAR also reported that pending home sales fell 2.8% in January which was the second straight monthly decline and the slowest pace since October.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Friday Facts March 4, 2011
March 4, 2011
Harry S. Truman said, “A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties.”
Corelogic reports that stats published by NAR appear to overstate sales of existing homes by 15 to 20% and that home sales fell more sharply last year than previously thought according to an article in Inman News.
ICREA notes that the rate of decline in property values in Ireland moderated in 2010 but that lack of availability of mortgage financing for qualified buyers has put further pressure on the property market. Sound familiar?
Again from ICREA, prices in Spain are down 5% from a year ago and are now almost 20% below the peak in 2007. New Zealand is currently operating at very steady value levels although the numbers of properties being sold has reduced substantially from pre-2008.
Here’s a tip for agents from Bernice Ross in Inman News: “If you post an ad for one of your listings on your Facebook profile page, you have violated the terms of use and can have your account cancelled. You are only allowed to post information about your listings on fan pages, business pages and Facebook Marketplace.
And, a tip for sellers from Dian Hymer in Inman News: “The information reported in the public record is often wrong. Before you put your home on the market, find out what the public record reports on the characteristics of your home and try to correct any mistakes that could work against a sale.”
Harry S. Truman said, “A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties.”
Corelogic reports that stats published by NAR appear to overstate sales of existing homes by 15 to 20% and that home sales fell more sharply last year than previously thought according to an article in Inman News.
ICREA notes that the rate of decline in property values in Ireland moderated in 2010 but that lack of availability of mortgage financing for qualified buyers has put further pressure on the property market. Sound familiar?
Again from ICREA, prices in Spain are down 5% from a year ago and are now almost 20% below the peak in 2007. New Zealand is currently operating at very steady value levels although the numbers of properties being sold has reduced substantially from pre-2008.
Here’s a tip for agents from Bernice Ross in Inman News: “If you post an ad for one of your listings on your Facebook profile page, you have violated the terms of use and can have your account cancelled. You are only allowed to post information about your listings on fan pages, business pages and Facebook Marketplace.
And, a tip for sellers from Dian Hymer in Inman News: “The information reported in the public record is often wrong. Before you put your home on the market, find out what the public record reports on the characteristics of your home and try to correct any mistakes that could work against a sale.”
Friday, February 25, 2011
Friday Facts February 25, 2011
FRIDAY FACTS
February 25, 2011
Did you know that in February 2010, “spot loan” approval to obtain FHA condo financing was terminated, and every single condo development has to have project approval by HUD?
Google no longer has real estate listings on the classified listing site on Google Maps.
In the fourth quarter of 2010, 11%, or 18.4 million, of the 130 million housing units in the U.S were vacant.
A panelist at the Inman Connect Conference noted that since 1980, homes outperformed gold, 2.5 to 1.
One of the largest real estate sites has been formed by the merging of the Zillow and Yahoo Real Estate sites. Later this year, look for a similar partnership when Move’s Realtor.com uses the recently acquired ListHub to syndicate listings to AOL Real Estate.
Bernice Ross writes in Inman News of three points in time to coax an unrealistic seller into a price reduction:
When they’ve had 10 showings with no offer
When they’ve had 200 online page views with 2 or fewer showings
After 30 days.
February 25, 2011
Did you know that in February 2010, “spot loan” approval to obtain FHA condo financing was terminated, and every single condo development has to have project approval by HUD?
Google no longer has real estate listings on the classified listing site on Google Maps.
In the fourth quarter of 2010, 11%, or 18.4 million, of the 130 million housing units in the U.S were vacant.
A panelist at the Inman Connect Conference noted that since 1980, homes outperformed gold, 2.5 to 1.
One of the largest real estate sites has been formed by the merging of the Zillow and Yahoo Real Estate sites. Later this year, look for a similar partnership when Move’s Realtor.com uses the recently acquired ListHub to syndicate listings to AOL Real Estate.
Bernice Ross writes in Inman News of three points in time to coax an unrealistic seller into a price reduction:
When they’ve had 10 showings with no offer
When they’ve had 200 online page views with 2 or fewer showings
After 30 days.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Friday Facts February 18, 2011
FRIDAY FACTS
February 18, 2011
FOLLOWING ARE SOUNDBITES FROM THE INMAN CONNECT CONFERENCE HELD JANUARY 12-14 IN NEW YORK CITY.
Websites should be built for the user. Give them only that. Make it easy. Don’t make them think. You have about 3 seconds to get them engaged. You need a simple, well-designed, professional home page.
Someone who gives a phone number takes precedence over someone who gives and e-mail address because they’re ready to deal with you NOW.
Watch your social media. Tweeting, “I’m showing this listing that’s perfect for a single student at NYU” would be a Fair Housing violation.
Marketers will begin to realize the value of attention, not just reach and impressions.
The information overload has resulted in a lot of talk about “curation”, and those who can separate art from junk. Some will be automated; some will be powered by humans.
Evernote is the new post-it. Sync it to all your devices.
A panelist from Zillow noted that in New England, more than others, addresses aren’t displayed. It’s a mistake because the consumer wants the address. Mapping is a popular way to search. The Zillow app is GPS based and without an address, the listing doesn’t appear. With an address there is 5X more property search, 6X more page view, and 6X more e-mail contact.
Realtor.com says that one of their most popular categories is “sort by # of photos”.
In 2010, 41% of buyers found the house themselves and 37% found the house through a Realtor.
Bigger ads don’t create dumber buyers. Most buyers know what’s going on. Pricing properly is critical. Look at your CMA and take 10% off. Watch the delinquency rates in your market (by county – can access on the NY Fed website) and let your seller know.
98% of people who fall 3 months behind never catch up. Nationwide, 7.6% of all property is 90 days behind, 12.9% of those properties over $1 million, and 14.8% of those over 4 million.
February 18, 2011
FOLLOWING ARE SOUNDBITES FROM THE INMAN CONNECT CONFERENCE HELD JANUARY 12-14 IN NEW YORK CITY.
Websites should be built for the user. Give them only that. Make it easy. Don’t make them think. You have about 3 seconds to get them engaged. You need a simple, well-designed, professional home page.
Someone who gives a phone number takes precedence over someone who gives and e-mail address because they’re ready to deal with you NOW.
Watch your social media. Tweeting, “I’m showing this listing that’s perfect for a single student at NYU” would be a Fair Housing violation.
Marketers will begin to realize the value of attention, not just reach and impressions.
The information overload has resulted in a lot of talk about “curation”, and those who can separate art from junk. Some will be automated; some will be powered by humans.
Evernote is the new post-it. Sync it to all your devices.
A panelist from Zillow noted that in New England, more than others, addresses aren’t displayed. It’s a mistake because the consumer wants the address. Mapping is a popular way to search. The Zillow app is GPS based and without an address, the listing doesn’t appear. With an address there is 5X more property search, 6X more page view, and 6X more e-mail contact.
Realtor.com says that one of their most popular categories is “sort by # of photos”.
In 2010, 41% of buyers found the house themselves and 37% found the house through a Realtor.
Bigger ads don’t create dumber buyers. Most buyers know what’s going on. Pricing properly is critical. Look at your CMA and take 10% off. Watch the delinquency rates in your market (by county – can access on the NY Fed website) and let your seller know.
98% of people who fall 3 months behind never catch up. Nationwide, 7.6% of all property is 90 days behind, 12.9% of those properties over $1 million, and 14.8% of those over 4 million.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Friday Facts February 11, 2011
FRIDAY FACTS
February 11, 2011
Here’s a notable quote from Tracey Velt in a RealTrends blog, “I was in the market for a house in 2005. Unsure whom we wanted to use as our real estate professional, my husband and I called the listing agents for properties we would consider. We looked at 10 homes, 10 different listing agents. Only one prequalified us. Only one took our names and asked us what we were looking for. Only one found out that we had two houses to sell in addition to the home we were buying. Guess who got our business? Guess who we’ll call the next time?”
From DSNews.com: David Shulman, a senior economist with UCLA says, “Unfortunately, even with the job gains averaging 150,000/month in 2011 and 200,000/month in 2012, unemployment will remain above 9% through the 3rd quarter of 2012.”
From an article by Mary Ellen Podmolik in RISMedia: “Looming large over the mortgage market are provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that have yet to be finalized. Among them is a requirement that mortgage lenders maintain some ‘skin’ in the game on the mortgages they originate by holding at least 5% of the credit risk rather than bundling the loans and selling them off entirely.”
NAR projects sales of existing homes will rise 7.9% to 5.3 million in 2011, and that median price will rise .5% to $173,800.
Think about it. Teresa Boardman writes in Inman News, “I am working with a single father who wants to make sure there are children in the neighborhood for his son to play with. One simple thing parents can do is look for swing sets. If there are swing sets, there are probably children to go with them. If I encouraged him to live in a neighborhood with a large population of children, I would be guilty of steering”.
February 11, 2011
Here’s a notable quote from Tracey Velt in a RealTrends blog, “I was in the market for a house in 2005. Unsure whom we wanted to use as our real estate professional, my husband and I called the listing agents for properties we would consider. We looked at 10 homes, 10 different listing agents. Only one prequalified us. Only one took our names and asked us what we were looking for. Only one found out that we had two houses to sell in addition to the home we were buying. Guess who got our business? Guess who we’ll call the next time?”
From DSNews.com: David Shulman, a senior economist with UCLA says, “Unfortunately, even with the job gains averaging 150,000/month in 2011 and 200,000/month in 2012, unemployment will remain above 9% through the 3rd quarter of 2012.”
From an article by Mary Ellen Podmolik in RISMedia: “Looming large over the mortgage market are provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that have yet to be finalized. Among them is a requirement that mortgage lenders maintain some ‘skin’ in the game on the mortgages they originate by holding at least 5% of the credit risk rather than bundling the loans and selling them off entirely.”
NAR projects sales of existing homes will rise 7.9% to 5.3 million in 2011, and that median price will rise .5% to $173,800.
Think about it. Teresa Boardman writes in Inman News, “I am working with a single father who wants to make sure there are children in the neighborhood for his son to play with. One simple thing parents can do is look for swing sets. If there are swing sets, there are probably children to go with them. If I encouraged him to live in a neighborhood with a large population of children, I would be guilty of steering”.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Friday Facts February 4, 2011
FRIDAY FACTS
February 4, 2011
An article in RISMedia, “Extended Families Come Together under One Roof to Make Ends Meet” offers the following statistics: The average home today has 2.59 people, the highest number in a decade, and just 357,000 new households were formed in the U.S. last year, the lowest number since at least 1947.
In the Bay State Realtor, Robert Kutner, Esquire writes on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s recent ruling that every property owner now has a duty to use “reasonable care” for the protection of others from hazards arising from snow and ice. He suggests that every owner should:
Review insurance policies to be sure there is adequate coverage
Determine whether contractors or those hired to remove snow and ice have insurance
Be vigilant when there is newly fallen snow or when temperatures allow melting and re-freezing. If complete clearing is not possible, warning signs may be appropriate.
§ When representing buyers, keep in mind a statistic from Mary Umberger in Inman News that 45% of home owners association managers say their groups are facing “serious” problems as a result of the economic downturn, and 9% describe their situation as “severe”.
§ RISMedia notes that the 2010 census shows movement of people from the Northeast and the Midwest to the South and West. Texas was the big winner in the decade just ending. With its low home prices and pro-business, pro-growth policies, Texas felt relatively little effect from the housing melt down and has bounced back from the recession faster than other big states.
§ Zillow’s traffic in December exceeded 13 million unique users, up 77% from the previous December.
§ RealTrends reports that the annual consumer credit forecast from U.S. credit bureau TransUnion foretells a 20% drop in national mortgage loan delinquencies by the end of 2011.
February 4, 2011
An article in RISMedia, “Extended Families Come Together under One Roof to Make Ends Meet” offers the following statistics: The average home today has 2.59 people, the highest number in a decade, and just 357,000 new households were formed in the U.S. last year, the lowest number since at least 1947.
In the Bay State Realtor, Robert Kutner, Esquire writes on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s recent ruling that every property owner now has a duty to use “reasonable care” for the protection of others from hazards arising from snow and ice. He suggests that every owner should:
Review insurance policies to be sure there is adequate coverage
Determine whether contractors or those hired to remove snow and ice have insurance
Be vigilant when there is newly fallen snow or when temperatures allow melting and re-freezing. If complete clearing is not possible, warning signs may be appropriate.
§ When representing buyers, keep in mind a statistic from Mary Umberger in Inman News that 45% of home owners association managers say their groups are facing “serious” problems as a result of the economic downturn, and 9% describe their situation as “severe”.
§ RISMedia notes that the 2010 census shows movement of people from the Northeast and the Midwest to the South and West. Texas was the big winner in the decade just ending. With its low home prices and pro-business, pro-growth policies, Texas felt relatively little effect from the housing melt down and has bounced back from the recession faster than other big states.
§ Zillow’s traffic in December exceeded 13 million unique users, up 77% from the previous December.
§ RealTrends reports that the annual consumer credit forecast from U.S. credit bureau TransUnion foretells a 20% drop in national mortgage loan delinquencies by the end of 2011.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Friday Facts January 28, 2011
FRIDAY FACTS
January 28, 2011
RISMedia has an article by Chip Poli on 4 Tips to Ensure a Smooth Real Estate Transaction:
1. Have your client check their credit score to make sure they meet minimum requirements. Don’t waste your time showing homes to someone who can’t buyer them.
2. Have your client obtain a pre-approval
3. Make sure your client has set aside enough cash for closing
4. Your client should be prepared to pay closing costs unless they qualify for a no points, no closing costs loan.
§ Here’s an interesting response from Tara-Nicholle Nelson in Inman News to a seller complaining that her agent didn’t show their home to her own buyers, just to other agents with their clients. “You seem to be operating under the impression that your agents primary job is to personally procure buyers and show them your home herself. In fact, your agent’s primary job is to market the property, not just or even primarily to buyers, but to buyer’s brokers.”
§ Carl White, Chief Strategist for MortgageMarketingAnimals.com offers a simple 10 work email that will revive dead deals from months past for real estate agents:
Subject Line: A quick question for you
Email Body: “Are you still looking to buy a home on Cape Cod?”
He says that you may be tempted to add to this email, but don’t. It has three things going for it: It’s short, it’s personalized, and it’s expecting a response.
Here’s something to think about from a RealTrends blog: Jim Rohn’s philosophy on wealth – if you make a sale, you make a living. If you make an investment of time and good service in a client, you can make a fortune.
A new columnist for Inman News, Ken Harney wrote an article noting that the Obama administration is working on an energy scoring program for houses. They will shortly begin pilot tests of energy rating disclosures in 10 real estate markets across the country. Home sellers in France must provide their energy consumption rating scores to any interested buyer and as of January 1st, have to include their ratings in all ads whether online or in print, and at the real estate office..
January 28, 2011
RISMedia has an article by Chip Poli on 4 Tips to Ensure a Smooth Real Estate Transaction:
1. Have your client check their credit score to make sure they meet minimum requirements. Don’t waste your time showing homes to someone who can’t buyer them.
2. Have your client obtain a pre-approval
3. Make sure your client has set aside enough cash for closing
4. Your client should be prepared to pay closing costs unless they qualify for a no points, no closing costs loan.
§ Here’s an interesting response from Tara-Nicholle Nelson in Inman News to a seller complaining that her agent didn’t show their home to her own buyers, just to other agents with their clients. “You seem to be operating under the impression that your agents primary job is to personally procure buyers and show them your home herself. In fact, your agent’s primary job is to market the property, not just or even primarily to buyers, but to buyer’s brokers.”
§ Carl White, Chief Strategist for MortgageMarketingAnimals.com offers a simple 10 work email that will revive dead deals from months past for real estate agents:
Subject Line: A quick question for you
Email Body: “Are you still looking to buy a home on Cape Cod?”
He says that you may be tempted to add to this email, but don’t. It has three things going for it: It’s short, it’s personalized, and it’s expecting a response.
Here’s something to think about from a RealTrends blog: Jim Rohn’s philosophy on wealth – if you make a sale, you make a living. If you make an investment of time and good service in a client, you can make a fortune.
A new columnist for Inman News, Ken Harney wrote an article noting that the Obama administration is working on an energy scoring program for houses. They will shortly begin pilot tests of energy rating disclosures in 10 real estate markets across the country. Home sellers in France must provide their energy consumption rating scores to any interested buyer and as of January 1st, have to include their ratings in all ads whether online or in print, and at the real estate office..
Friday, January 21, 2011
Friday facts 1-21-11
FRIDAY FACTS
January 21, 2011
In December, NAR estimated that the sales of existing homes in 2010 would be 4.8 million, down about 6% from 2009. Contributing factors were unemployment, tight credit and worries about further price declines.
From an Inman News story titled, “Real Estate Market to Hit Bottom in 2011?” Altos Research expects the housing recovery to start in about a year. From 2012 to 2014 or so, the company expects the market to stabilize and slowly improve, though high unemployment and high inventory will keep prices low even as transactions pick up over time.
Here’s a quote from Lou Barnes in Inman News: “Financial market people do all they can to ignore housing, hoping that one day it will just go away. On current trend, it might. This notion of consumer-based economic acceleration is fatally incompatible with all four home-price gauges reporting new declines (CoreLogic, Zillow, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Case-Shiller); and new declines in sales, with possibly no net absorption of inventory at all. A 1% increase in mortgage rates is not helpful.”
RealTrends reports that Freddie Mac’s servicers have been told to delay initiating foreclosures for at least nine months for financially troubled service members who are released from active duty through the end of 2011 and have Freddie Mac owned mortgages.
We’re doing better than many. CoreLogic reports that 15% of homes with mortgages in Massachusetts are worth less than the loan amount compared with 23% of homes nationwide
A holiday card sent by Inman News had a quote from Albert Einstein that we should internalize:
“Learn from yesterday
Live for today
Hope for tomorrow”
January 21, 2011
In December, NAR estimated that the sales of existing homes in 2010 would be 4.8 million, down about 6% from 2009. Contributing factors were unemployment, tight credit and worries about further price declines.
From an Inman News story titled, “Real Estate Market to Hit Bottom in 2011?” Altos Research expects the housing recovery to start in about a year. From 2012 to 2014 or so, the company expects the market to stabilize and slowly improve, though high unemployment and high inventory will keep prices low even as transactions pick up over time.
Here’s a quote from Lou Barnes in Inman News: “Financial market people do all they can to ignore housing, hoping that one day it will just go away. On current trend, it might. This notion of consumer-based economic acceleration is fatally incompatible with all four home-price gauges reporting new declines (CoreLogic, Zillow, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Case-Shiller); and new declines in sales, with possibly no net absorption of inventory at all. A 1% increase in mortgage rates is not helpful.”
RealTrends reports that Freddie Mac’s servicers have been told to delay initiating foreclosures for at least nine months for financially troubled service members who are released from active duty through the end of 2011 and have Freddie Mac owned mortgages.
We’re doing better than many. CoreLogic reports that 15% of homes with mortgages in Massachusetts are worth less than the loan amount compared with 23% of homes nationwide
A holiday card sent by Inman News had a quote from Albert Einstein that we should internalize:
“Learn from yesterday
Live for today
Hope for tomorrow”
Friday, January 14, 2011
Friday Facts January 14, 2011
Friday Facts
January 14, 2010
The CoreLogic report of 12/13/10 quotes their chief economist, Mark Fleming, “Negative equity is a primary factor holding back the housing market and broader economy. The good news is that negative equity is slowly declining but the bad news is that price declines are accelerating, which may put a stop to or reverse the recent improvement in negative equity.”
This same report notes the state where homeowners have the greatest positive equity: New York, 50%; Hawaii, 43%; Massachusetts, 40%; Rhode Island, 40% and Connecticut, 39%.
Inman News pulled “Tech Must-Haves for the New Year” from The Real Deal. They include:
QR codes – when scanned with the camera in a mobile phone, the user is given a message or website.
Docusign – allows contracts to be signed digitally
Mobile receipt – converts receipts into expense reports with the phone photo
Rulerphone – digitally measures objects after the phone’s camera takes a picture.
According to the Remodeling 2010-11 Cost vs. Value Report (www.costvsvalue.com), for mid-range remodeling projects, the following gave the greatest cost recoup upon sale in the Boston area:
1. 102.1% Steel entry door replacement
2. 72.8% Minor kitchen remodel tied with wood deck addition
3. 72.4% Vinyl siding replacement tied with wood window replacement
4. 72.2% Attic bedroom remodel
5. 71.6% Vinyl window replacement
· Inman News reports that the Congressional Oversight Panel overseeing TARP concluded that the Obama administrations Home Affordable Modification program will fall far short of its goals, and the Treasury Department’s failure to acknowledge this before it lost its authority to reallocate the $30 billion in TARP funds earmarked for the program means most of that money won’t be spent.
· From RealTrends: “Consumers today are expert comparison shoppers, always on the hunt for the best deal, but when it comes to their mortgage, borrowers often locked in their 1st home loan offer. According to a new Lending Tree survey, 96% of American consumers compare prices when shopping for anything but nearly 40% obtain just one loan quote.”
January 14, 2010
The CoreLogic report of 12/13/10 quotes their chief economist, Mark Fleming, “Negative equity is a primary factor holding back the housing market and broader economy. The good news is that negative equity is slowly declining but the bad news is that price declines are accelerating, which may put a stop to or reverse the recent improvement in negative equity.”
This same report notes the state where homeowners have the greatest positive equity: New York, 50%; Hawaii, 43%; Massachusetts, 40%; Rhode Island, 40% and Connecticut, 39%.
Inman News pulled “Tech Must-Haves for the New Year” from The Real Deal. They include:
QR codes – when scanned with the camera in a mobile phone, the user is given a message or website.
Docusign – allows contracts to be signed digitally
Mobile receipt – converts receipts into expense reports with the phone photo
Rulerphone – digitally measures objects after the phone’s camera takes a picture.
According to the Remodeling 2010-11 Cost vs. Value Report (www.costvsvalue.com), for mid-range remodeling projects, the following gave the greatest cost recoup upon sale in the Boston area:
1. 102.1% Steel entry door replacement
2. 72.8% Minor kitchen remodel tied with wood deck addition
3. 72.4% Vinyl siding replacement tied with wood window replacement
4. 72.2% Attic bedroom remodel
5. 71.6% Vinyl window replacement
· Inman News reports that the Congressional Oversight Panel overseeing TARP concluded that the Obama administrations Home Affordable Modification program will fall far short of its goals, and the Treasury Department’s failure to acknowledge this before it lost its authority to reallocate the $30 billion in TARP funds earmarked for the program means most of that money won’t be spent.
· From RealTrends: “Consumers today are expert comparison shoppers, always on the hunt for the best deal, but when it comes to their mortgage, borrowers often locked in their 1st home loan offer. According to a new Lending Tree survey, 96% of American consumers compare prices when shopping for anything but nearly 40% obtain just one loan quote.”
Friday, January 7, 2011
Friday Facts January 7, 2011
FRIDAY FACTS
January 7, 2011
Nick Lonegrove reveals a disconnect in his article in Inman News: “Ask any real estate agent what they want their real estate website to be about and they will tell you that it has to reflect their track record, their successes, communicating their area knowledge, their expertise and that certain “je ne sais quoi” that makes them special … Ask buyers and sellers what they are looking for, and they will tell you that it really boils down to two things: the actives and the solds.”
Here’s the bad and the good news from a recent Zillow report: Homes are expected to lose $1.7 trillion in value in 2010. The second half of the year saw the largest decline. The loss in 2009 was $1.1 trillion. Since market peak in June of 2006, homes have lost $9 trillion in value, and Inman News notes that is equivalent to the cost of 12 Iraq wars. The good news is that among the 20 largest markets, only 3 saw an increase, the highest being Boston.
Facebook has 500 million active viewers – 250 million in the US. U.S. Facebook.com generates almost 1 in 4 page views in the US, 4X that of second ranked YouTube. Facebook represented 10% of US Internet visits in mid-November compared with 7% for search engine Google.
Think Big Work Small reports that Freddie Mac had a calculator on their website that spit out the wrong answers when determining whether it was a better option for a consumer to rent or buy. Calculations were based on the assumption that real estate prices would never go down
January 7, 2011
Nick Lonegrove reveals a disconnect in his article in Inman News: “Ask any real estate agent what they want their real estate website to be about and they will tell you that it has to reflect their track record, their successes, communicating their area knowledge, their expertise and that certain “je ne sais quoi” that makes them special … Ask buyers and sellers what they are looking for, and they will tell you that it really boils down to two things: the actives and the solds.”
Here’s the bad and the good news from a recent Zillow report: Homes are expected to lose $1.7 trillion in value in 2010. The second half of the year saw the largest decline. The loss in 2009 was $1.1 trillion. Since market peak in June of 2006, homes have lost $9 trillion in value, and Inman News notes that is equivalent to the cost of 12 Iraq wars. The good news is that among the 20 largest markets, only 3 saw an increase, the highest being Boston.
Facebook has 500 million active viewers – 250 million in the US. U.S. Facebook.com generates almost 1 in 4 page views in the US, 4X that of second ranked YouTube. Facebook represented 10% of US Internet visits in mid-November compared with 7% for search engine Google.
Think Big Work Small reports that Freddie Mac had a calculator on their website that spit out the wrong answers when determining whether it was a better option for a consumer to rent or buy. Calculations were based on the assumption that real estate prices would never go down
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