Commercial Property
You make money when you buy, not when you sell a home, suggests one popular idiom. That could be the reason the wealthy are trolling for bargains.
Here"s the rub:
"Good thing you"re in Oklahoma!" That"s the frontline message behind the new $200,000 public awareness campaign launched by the Oklahoma Association of Realtors (OAR) designed to turn negative press around.
If you missed the lowest mortgage interest rates, you may be wondering what"s happening. Why are they going up when the Fed is expected to cut federal funds rate by as much as three-quarters of a point?
Standard & Poor"s S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are the "leading measure of U.S. home prices," S & P says in its press releases. Apparently if you say you"re the leader, it must be true, because the financial press appears to buy every word, even if they"re superficially skeptical.
According to the Department of Justice, a Milwaukee real estate agent and a seller conspired to prevent an African-American from buying the seller"s home. Along with the agent"s broker, they got slapped with a not-stiff-enough $35,000 fine, but I wish somebody would also slap these two dinosaurs upside the head.
For once, the American Homeowners Grassroots Alliance and Realtors are on the same side of an issue. The Illinois Association of Realtors (IAR) is opposing an anti-rebate bill alongside the AHGA, the Consumer Federation of America and the Department of Justice.
It"s another look backwards, but the new Zillow Home Value Report for Q-4-2007 has some interesting things to say.
If you"re waiting for signs of a housing bottom, join the club. Nobody blows a whistle and say, "It"s time to buy!"
When last we looked, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were the backstop of the American mortgage system, the place most local lenders were able to sell their loans, get cash and then have funds to make more loans.
Prices for homes listed for sale fell in 16 out of 20 markets that compose a new index. The Real-Time Housing Market Report says days on the market also increased in virtually all markets.
The Real-Time National Housing Market Report is a new contender in the race to provide the most accurate housing data out there.
It didn"t take long for the bloom to leave the rose. The notoriously pessimistic backward-looking S&P Case-Shiller Index says housing prices fell a record 2.4 percent between December and January and 10.7 percent for the year. Following on the heels of the February report from the National Association of Realtors, the Case-Shiller report appears to contradict the NAR"s findings that home sales went up 2.9 percent and home prices fell 8.2 percent over the past year.
The National Association of Realtors has had its share of battles this year, but none is more frustrating than the national media telling homebuyers that investing in a home is a stupid idea.
A reader expresses frustration that licensing criteria isn"t more challenging for the real estate profession and wonders if Realtors should correctly be called salespeople.
If you can"t find a bank to approve your home loan, ask the seller to consider being your mortgage lender.
NAR expects the national median price of homes to drop to $218,200 in 2007. In Dallas, where it"s warm, wide-open, and there are lots of jobs, the median home price is going up. One of the few bright spots of the retreating housing market, Dallas is beating national numbers in jobs, culture, and inflation in terms of housing appreciation. And with a median-priced home only two-thirds the price of the national median at $156,000, the city is a screaming, stomping bargain.
There"s more to choose from, but buying a home is going to cost more in financing. Countrywide, the nation"s largest mortgage lender is replacing selling its loans as securities with borrowing money from other banks -- 11.5 billion"s worth. And that"s sent the stock market into a deepening panic. Will the flight to quality benefit housing?
Robert Hughes, our market expert for Las Vegas, can"t say enough about the resilient Las Vegas real estate market.
It"s no fun to end up in the ER on any day, much less the most popular summer holiday, the 4th of July. Some accidents, particularly with fireworks, are due to "pilot error," but other mishaps are unforeseeable. Consumer Reports has some safety tips for consumers to keep them from hurting themselves.
A daily average of 2,356 people went into business for themselves in 2005, according to the latest figures compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau, bringing the number of businesses without a payroll to 20.4 million. The figures do not include self-employed business people who have employees.
Amid the scary financial headlines last week, there were some less-publicized developments in Washington that bode well for the home real estate market in the months ahead.
The population growth in cities is such a world-wide phenomenon that the U.N. Population Fund is studying the possible effects.
You may be supplied a workspace/computer/phone station by your broker, but there will be plenty of times when working from home will be more productive. The trick is in making your surroundings function well enough to keep distractions, temptations and timewasters to a minimum.
The Pet Realty Network may seem like a silly idea, but the demographics suggest the idea is ahead of its time. As the U.S. becomes more and more densely populated -- that"s to say heavily populated (not populated with dense people,) residents must face the fact that the age of encroachment is over. No longer can smokers pollute the wide open spaces; nor can pet owners impose their barking, meowing, litter-producing, defecating animals on others.
Amid rising interest rates, gas prices, and foreclosures, builders of new homes are losing confidence that the housing market will improve before 2008.
This Sunday is Father"s Day. How many dads in the U.S. are there?
According to a new report researched by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA,) the economic benefits of MLS home sales is great, with each home sale impacting consumer spending by an additional $32,200 over the subsequent three years after the purchase. That"s furniture, appliances, remodeling, services and taxes included.
MLS-2, a real estate information and listings search service, says their most recent study of Bay Area MLS listings suggests that using the term "motivated seller" is more common, but is it effective?
It"s hard to believe that a century ago, people used to order their homes from the Sears catalog. They"d go down to the train station, pick up their materials from the boxcars, and build from plans included in their mail-order kit. Today, with home prices putting many buyers on hold, it could be time for such economical homes to make a comeback.
When he"s on his blog, broker Frank Borges LLosa, founder of Frankly Real Estate Inc , enjoys exposing the myths, tricks and truths about the real estate industry -- primarily the less-than-stellar practices of his competition.
In one of the biggest deals of the year, Dominion Enterprises, a media and information services company, has purchased eNeighborhoods, a real estate data, technology and marketing solutions provider, to further its online marketing strategies for real estate agents.
Thanks in large part to declining sales in the American-based automobile companies, Michigan"s real estate market has seen a significant decline over the few past years. According to the Michigan Association of Realtors, home sales dropped 13.6 percent from 2005 to 2006 while average home prices dipped 2.3 percent to $149,753.
Realty Times predicted that home sales would rise in the spring, due to the retraction of prices, mortgage interest rates, gas prices, and inventory, and it"s good to be right so far, but there are still naysayers out there who believe that housing is headed further downhill.
On the surface, the American Homeowners Grassroots Alliance (AHGA) appears to be doing good things for homeowners, but there"s evidence that homeowners aren"t the only beneficiaries of the AHGA"s tireless lobbying. Online real estate service providers also owe Hahn thanks for helping guide business to them instead of to traditional brokers and agents.
Windows XP just came out a couple of years ago, but the Microsoft Corporation wants to improve its operating system by introducing a new version called Windows Vista that has more robust security features. The problem is, you may not be able to install or use your current productivity or MLS-access software on it because the bugs haven"t been worked out yet between Vista and other software vendors, according to Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions executives.
A buyer and her agent don"t seem to be communicating very well. After finding the house they wanted online, the buyers asked the agent to show them the home, and now the agent has put pressure on the buyer to buy the home.
What is it with these Seinfeld stars? First cast-mate Michael Richards embarrasses himself by hurling racist remarks at a heckler, thereby miserably failing Standup Comedy 101.
The chorus is growing in the chant that housing has struck bottom and will slowly rise again. A new report by the National Association of Realtors suggests rising existing home sales through 2007 and 2008 and a turn-around for new home starts by summer 2007, but homes won"t appreciate over inflation rates for the first time in decades. And that"s a little scary.
Just like sellers have to do more updates, repairs and staging to get their homes sold in a buyer"s market, real estate agents are finding that they may have to upgrade their skills as well. One way to do that is to become both a real estate agent and a loan originator.
Listings don"t sell without buyers, but representing buyers, especially in an era when buyers can get listings online and contact listing agents directly, can be hard duty for some agents. They don"t want their time wasted, and many are beginning to ask buyers to sign representation agreements. But are they doing the buyer any favors?
As homebuyers and real estate industry professionals look for an economic beacon to follow in order to avoid crashing on the rocks, Realty Times finds itself inundated with forecasting requests.
A Michigan housing investor says she"s sinking, but there"s hope on the horizon, if she can hold out long enough.
According to RealtyTrac.com, its November 2006 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report showed that 120,334 properties nationwide entered some stage of foreclosure during the month. That"s an increase of 4 percent from the previous month and an increase of 68 percent from November 2005.
Brokers who participate in MLSs that withdraw MLS listing feeds from public portals such as Realtor.com will be able to provide direct feeds of their listings, says Allan Dalton, president and CEO of Realtor.com.
MLSs are one step closer to becoming free public utilities, if the Federal Trade Commission has its way. Using its considerable resources to bring pressure against individual MLSs who don"t have the financial means to fight back, the government agency is forcing brokers to include listings in MLS feeds in which sellers have contracted with listing brokers to bring their own buyers. The FTC doesn"t see this as milking the cooperative cow through the fence, but many brokers see it as the stealing it is.
The U.S. District Court in Chicago has just issued a 29-page opinion allowing the Department of Justice"s antitrust lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors (NAR) to proceed.
While the front page of its website blares that it"s a great time to buy a home, seemingly in contradiction to the endless stream of negative press about how housing is crashing whether it actually is or not, the National Association of Home Builders commissions a study to find out if the press indeed is behind buyers" reluctance to buy a new home.
There often comes a time when a business model outlives it"s usefulness and it"s possible that the commission system in real estate definitely falls in that category. Now, this statement might surprise you coming from a real estate agent, but I see two things wrong with the commission system: 1) It penalizes both the consumer and the Real Estate practitioner and 2) Being paid on commission is totally incompatible with providing fiduciary-level services.
Realty Times covered the issue back in 2001 when brokers such as Lennox Scott were upset that their trademarked names could be entered into a Google search by consumers only to find that lead generation companies would pop up first in the results.
The meltdown in the subprime mortgage sector continued last week, raising concerns that home buyers with impaired credit will face higher rates and far fewer options in the months ahead.
It may seem unfair to buyers that a seller can accept a higher offer from someone else without responding to their offer first, but that"s one of the few times the seller has the advantage. Most offers favor the buyer, but not in a seller"s market.
A buyer"s market can be paralyzing for buyers who find themselves sitting on the sidelines even though they badly want to get in the game.
All eyes are on housing as the economy shows signs of slowing.
It"s the phone call no parent ever wants to receive, "Your son"s been in an accident."
You might assume from the steady drumbeat of bad news about housing and real estate that there"s nothing encouraging out there in the economy.
[Note: To follow is an excerpt of a radio show interview conducted by Peter L. Mosca, host of Income Property Investment Talk with the Cato Institute"s Senior Fellow Randal O"Toole who discusses a new study that examines how restrictive government policies choked off growth, encouraged localized housing bubbles, and triggered the current financial crisis. To listen to the show archive or download an MP3, go to www.IncomePropertyInvestmentTalk.com/100709.]
Approximately 40 million baby boomer women are the largest generation to reach age 42 to 60 in history, but financial security may not await them unless they make wise choices in housing, suggests a major study called Baby Boomer Women: Secure Futures or Not? by the Harvard Generations Policy Program, the Harvard Generations Policy Journal and the Global Generations Policy Institute.
A strange story came out of Washington last week: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- the huge companies that buy most conforming loans from local lenders -- agreed to tougher standards for appraisers.
A Columbus-area home inspector says he"s having a tough time getting in front of real estate agents.
Mirroring previous studies of drivers and accidents, a new report finds that drowsiness and distraction are the causes of the most auto crashes. If you use your vehicle as a moving office, listen up.
If you"re wondering why there"s such vitriol in the press about the real estate industry, this homebuyer"s situation illustrates some good reasons.
Real estate listings on the Internet are not in the public domain -- they"re copyrighted content, say the three authors of a Content Copyright FAQ for MRIS.
Are we so desperate to rub against the cool factor that we"re willing to buy anything IPO-bound hypesters throw at us?
The housing market is showing a little schizophrenia, according to February sales reports. On one hand, existing housing went through the roof, while new homes sales dove into the ground.
Our local market experts for the Gold Coast, Streeterville and River North neighborhoods, Sandy Adler, reports a growth in inventory as sellers continue to wait out the slow market.
Brandishing "Exhibit A", virtual office opt-out forms from the Emporia MLS (Kansas,) the Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney David C. Kully fires back at the National Association of Realtors" motion to dismiss the antitrust lawsuit.
Are we teetering on the edge of a recession? One harbinger, the inverted yield curve, says yes.
Robert Campbell, author of The Campbell Real Estate Timing Newsletter, a subscription-based bimonthly newsletter, says that his biggest concern about the California housing market is creative financing.
From mid-2003 to mid-2004, Las Vegas, Nevada, experienced an eye-popping 52 percent appreciation, fueling as much flipping, speculation and gold-rushing as the area would allow.
Awhile back, I realized that my last name, "Roberts," spelled backwards is "Strebor," and I designed a system for effectively implementing any plan for success. When you"re ready to put your plan into action, follow the Strebor System:
National Association of Realtors vice president Sue Gourley plans the conventions for the NAR. As the NAR prepares for record crowds this year in San Francisco, from October 28th through the 31st, she has recommendations for six must-do"s while you"re at the convention this week.
With the first wave of Baby Boomers turning 60 in 2006, the housing industry is looking at serving this tremendous and wealthy demographic in new ways. What do they want and how do they want to live?
Sometimes you don"t get what you pay for. A homeseller finds that a discount-proffering real estate agent hasn"t done much for the attractive commission he"s charging.
It"s good mental exercise to read a wide range of news and imagine how the stories might apply to real estate. One recent survey indicates that certain cars have higher resale than others. These are trends that might also foreshadow what consumer preferences will be in housing.
As residents return to New Orleans, Houston and other areas hit or spared by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, new questions are arising about housing. Some will find a way to salvage their homes, while others will find total devastation. Hundreds of thousands of people will have to start over somewhere else, which will make for the largest relocation effort in U.S. history.
Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation"s latest price comparison shows vast differences between the same size home in the most expensive and most affordable markets.
Mortgage fraud is the real estate cancer, says broker Ralph Roberts. He"s busy writing a book, meeting with government agencies like the FBI, and taking his crusade on the road to inform the real estate industry, lenders, and consumers about the tricks of the mortgage fraud trade.
It may not be such a bad idea to bailout millions homeowners who are in over their heads with mortgage debt.
The financial world is still in shock from the news that existing homes sales reached a new record in June. Like the Energizer Bunny, home sales and prices keep going and going.
Imagine that you are using a copy of Microsoft Word that you didn"t pay for. One day, Microsoft walks into your office and demands past, present and future royalties from you, based on the amount of money you"ve made using their product.
If you are one of the record numbers of Americans voting in the 2008 presidential primaries and caucuses across the country, you have, no doubt, heard about our souring economy for the low- and middle-classes. More troubling, is Washington"s inability to capitalize on American ingenuity and create new systems, processes and infrastructures that feature less consumption and more "green." The National Association of Home Builders is doing its share and then some in taking the lead toward a "green" America. At the International Builders" Show in Orlando, the NAHB announced its National Green Building Program, an education, verification and certification program that will allow builders anywhere to build green homes.
The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac"s chaperone, reports that average U.S. home prices increased a whopping 12.50 percent from the first quarter of 2004 through the first quarter of 2005, the largest four-quarter increase in over 25 years.
One time when I was a principle selling a home there was an agent who clearly had the inside track for my listing. In fact, he was the only agent in my area who I had ever had a conversation with, and he and I had spoken with each other several times.
Can the lack of one key room such as a dining room impact showings? A reader has been told so by her Realtor, but she wants a second opinion.
As attorneys for the National Association of Realtors (NAR) meet today with attorneys from the Department of Justice (DOJ), it"s a good time for reflection on how the real estate industry works, and why further federal interference could be a disaster.
If the wheels of justice appeared to move slowly in the federal indictments of former Homestore executives, CEO Stuart Wolff and VP of business development Peter Tafeen, it"s obvious from related news from Time Warner just a few days ago, that justice was simply waiting for the right grease. Three days after Time Warner finalized the terms of agreement with the SEC, including a $300 million settlement payable to the US government, Wolff and Tafeen were indicted.
It"s the secret that consumers seem to already know -- commissions are negotiable. All they have to do is open the newspaper, or log onto the internet and all kinds of messages hit them between the eyes, that they are paying too much in commission.
Despite the objections of brokers who wish to provide limited services to consumers, there may be an unspoken reason why the Texas Real Estate Commission, along with commissions in other states, has proposed a new rule to establish minimum service standards. While such commissions change rules for the protection of the consumer, they may also be looking out for brokers and the industry as a whole.
A new business model which provides FSBO-minded sellers access to local MLSs has the industry both defending traditional service models and embracing the competition.
On Monday, February 21, 2005, the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) passed a rule that requires brokers to perform a minimum standard in services, which has the hope of raising overall service standards for the state. But "discount" brokers see the rule as the state"s way of supporting the Realtor lobby to limit competition, which may lead to a contentious "public comments" period.
U.S. home prices have boomed in recent years, rising 13 percent in the year ending September 2004, and up almost 50 percent over the last five years.
Conventions are back in style. The National Association of Realtors reported record attendance for its annual convention in November, 2004, and the Real Estate CyberSpace Society has posted record-breaking attendance for the last three years of its online convention.
Houston, Texas may be thick around the middle, but a lot of people want to order what the Houstonites are having. Home sales are up, says the Houston Association of Realtors, to record levels.
Owned by GM Corporation, GMAC Global Relocation Services reaches more than 110 countries. Along with SHRM (Society For Human Resource Management) Global Forum and the National Foreign Trade Council, GMAC Global Relocation Services has produced a 10-year summary report entitled "Ten Years of Global Relocation Trends: 1993-2004.
Dallas Realtor Irmgard Arthur believes her forte is matching buyers to the right homes, but her success as a matrimonial agent is catching up to her sales.
MLSNI senior management, led by President Loretta Alonzo, has attempted to put an employee termination (buy-out) package for its embattled CEO Jay Huffman for approval before the board of directors, who were asked to meet on Thursday for an emergency Executive Session. The agenda was outlined to discuss Huffman"s employment agreement and REBIG insurance.
Jumping out of airplanes with a mouthful of worms while trying to impress a bachelor/bachelorette to win a million dollars isn"t enough to excite viewers anymore, so it isn"t any wonder that reality TV is pushing the envelope in new directions. To help maximize ratings, producers need the right location, especially the right house.
MLSNI Directors should have known that the PriceWaterhousCoopers Report of Investigation would not be swept under the rug without a fight for the broom, but what"s interesting is how shareholders disagree on what"s dirty.
REBIG is upset by the forensic audit called for by MLSNI Chicagoland shareholders and wants the recipients of its "Update for Licensing MLSs" update to know that the audit is an "ill-informed and careless action hastily taken; at worst; it was an outrageous and malicious action taken to further a political or anti-competitive agenda."
As sellers find they have missed the all-important back-to-school deadline in selling their homes, some blame their Realtors, but is there more to the story?
It would be difficult for a consumer to understand all the ins and outs and politics of real estate brokerage, but this writer is going to attempt to explain in layman"s terms why brokers have the right to control where their listings go.
Forbes, one of the populist hymnals to securities, is going after Realtors. It"s in good company - The Wall Street Journal and SmartMoney like to take swipes at Realtors, too.
According to a new survey released in mid-June, the 10th annual Global Relocation Trends 2003/2004 review, conducted and issued jointly by GMAC Global Relocation Services, the National Foreign Trade Council, and the Society for Human Resource Management, the United States is among the top three countries that pose the most challenges to transferring employees and their families.
Agents as loan originators has people talking. Is it greed or can one-stop agents really provide better service to consumers?
"You can do better."
Forensic auditors are already interviewing shareholders of MLSNI, Chicagoland"s largest MLS in a forensic audit.
Realtors should be in the know about the latest trends in kitchen and bath design. After all, aren"t kitchens and baths the most closely scrutinized rooms by buyers?
After trying and failing to get Informedia Group, Inc. founder Alan Isabelle to answer a few questions, Realty Times has learned that he"s disappeared and left no forwarding address, but angry Realtors plan to hunt him down.
It could boil down to a simple failure to communicate, but the 10 shareholders of MLSNI, the nation"s largest MLS and serves the Chicagoland area Realtors, have agreed by a narrow majority rule to a motion put forward by The North Shore-Barrington Association Of Realtors (NSBAR) to have a forensic audit conducted of MLSNI and its CEO Jay Huffman.
After 28 years rising through the ranks from salesperson to trainer to head of the relocation division and right hand to Ebby Halliday Real Estate, Inc."s president Mary Frances Burleson, Petey Parker is leaving her real estate "family" to pursue a long-held dream - a career as a keynote speaker.
According to data released by the National Association of Realtors compiled by Internet consumer researcher Com Score Media Metrix, Realtor.com, NAR"s official Website, has nearly five million monthly potential homebuyers who house-dream their way through the site.
Meetings are the venues wherein homeowner association business decisions are made. Since these meetings are usually infrequent, the importance of the decisions made cannot be understated. However, some HOAs are decision challenged because:
A flood of complaints to Realty Times all said the same thing - that the agents who purchased the Websites from Informedia Group, Inc. had done so because they attended a training seminar with Floyd Wickman as the keynote speaker. While most agents say they don"t blame Wickman directly for the loss of their money, they felt that his reputation contributed to their decision to buy from his sponsor Informedia.
Accusations are flying between former employees and the founder of Informedia Group, Inc. in light of Realtor client complaints against the company.
Sometimes you have to take a big swing to hit one out of the park. Entrepreneur Jody Lane has learned sometimes you also strike out.
The Third Annual National Real Estate On-Line Convention and Exposition, is expected to attract over 50,000 real estate professionals from April 18 -24, 2004, says Real Estate Cyberspace Society Director Jack Peckham, sponsor of the event.
When it comes to procuring cause, silence isn"t golden. Most procuring cause cases can be prevented by a simple question to the buyer - "Are you represented by a real estate professional?"
With the announcement that Prudential purchased all the assets of venture capital-backed eRealty, it was obvious that yet another dot-com has failed to take over the world.
The "Better Deal Buyer" is so determined to get a "deal" rather than a home, that s/he will exasperate everyone involved by working with multiple agents and ignoring professional advice.
The senior market is often overlooked by marketers, and the same is true in real estate.
Boasting about four million unique visitors monthly, the House and Home channel of MSN has traveled a rocky road when it comes to obtaining the number one attraction for real estate consumers online - listings.
Just when it was assumed that LendingTree would take over the MSN listings space through a content deal previously executed by its subsidiary Realestate.com, new information has come to light that Realtor.com was the front-runner to occupy the MSN House and Home channel all along.
When Realty Times started its annual awards back in 1999, it was about recognizing the best of the Web. But a lot of what goes on in cyberspace isn"t very noble. So we found that including the worst that"s out there makes us appreciate the good all the more. So let"s have fun honoring those who deserve a halo and deliver a kick in the pants to those who don"t.
Concerned, repeated million dollar fines levied against the escrow and title insurance industry amount to little more than a slap on the wrist. The California Department of Insurance wants to slash escrow and title fees so much that a home buyer could save more than $2,300 on closing costs.
Homeowners title insurance and "affiliated business" joint ventures between title agents, Realtors and lenders came in for withering criticism last week on Capitol Hill.
The Bush administration"s new, multi-pronged assistance plan for the mortgage market could help tens of thousands of subprime borrowers facing unaffordable payment jumps or hefty federal taxes after loan modification workouts or short sales.
Can"t sell that condo? List it as a rental.
You probably remember the line about porridge from Goldilocks: It wasn"t too hot, it wasn"t too cold, it was ... just right.