Friday Facts May 21, 2010

INMAN NEWS:
From an article by Bernice Ross:

• Gen X and Gen Y want to remain anonymous until they decide the time is right to work with an agent.
  
• A recent study from Conscom revealed very surprising stats. Of the 6.3 million unique visitors to Trulia, 92 out of 100 do not visit Realtor.com
  
• Today’s buyers and sellers don’t want to have to register to receive information.
  
• Blogging keeps them engaged, builds their trust, and motivates them to work with you. It allows them to “stalk” you.
  
• Younger buyers have no use for “expertise”. Instead, they believe in their ability to do it themselves. They are information hungry and will research multiple website prior to contacting an agent.

1st American CoreLogic Home Price Index shows a 30.6% decline in national home price from the peak in April 2006, or 21.7% if distressed properties are excluded. They expect continued year over year price declines in 29 of 45 markets tracked.

NAR reports that more homes came on the market in March than were sold. Altos Research cited rising inventory as the biggest concern for the housing market this year. Rising inventory tends to encourage sellers to lower listing prices, thereby preventing the market from stabilizing.

On the other hand, TRULIA REPORTS:

An early sign of stabilization in the national housing market can be seen in the drop in the number of current home listings that have been reduced at least once from 27% in April 2009 to 20% in April 2010.

TOP 9 DO-IT-YOURSELF GREEN HOME IMPROVEMENTS:

This comes from a nationwide HomeGain survey of real estate agents advising sellers to:

1. Plant trees and shrubs
2. Replace air filters
3. Green home staging
4. Weather strip and caulk doors and windows
5. Install programmable thermostats
6. Install low flow shower heads
7. Use auto turn-off power strips
8. Install CFL or LED lights
9. Paint with low VO paint