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.
Friday, February 25, 2011
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”
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