RISMEDIA, March 10, 2010—Pending home sales are down and additional declines are expected from abnormal weather conditions, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in January 2010, fell 7.6% to 90.4 from an upwardly revised 97.8 in December, but remains 12.3% higher than January 2009 when it was 80.5.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said weather is likely to impact housing data. “January pending sales, though still higher than one year ago, remain much lower than expected given that a large number of potential buyers are eligible for the expanded home buyer tax credit. Moreover, the abnormally severe and prolonged winter weather, which affected large regions of the U.S., hampered shopping activity in February,” he said.
As such, abnormal swings are expected in housing data. “We will see weak near-term sales followed by a likely surge of existing-home sales in April, May and June,” Yun said. “The real question is what happens in the second half of the year. If there is sufficient job creation, housing can become self-sustaining with stable to modestly rising home prices because inventory has been trending downward.”
The PHSI in the Northeast fell 8.7% to 71.3 in January but is 20.5% higher than January 2009. In the Midwest the index dropped 8.9% to 81.2 but is 11.8% above a year ago. Pending home sales in the South slipped 2.1% to an index of 98.1, but the index is 18.0% higher than January 2009. In the West the index dropped 13.2% to 102.9 but is 1.4% above a year ago.
For more information, visit www.realtor.org.
RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.
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RISMEDIA, March 10, 2010—This week’s headlines from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® include: 121 ways to market yourself from NAR’s Right Tools, Right Now initiative; save up to 40% on select rentals from REALTOR Benefits® Program Partner, Avis and be aware about the upcoming tax credit deadlines.
Right Tools, Right Now – 121 Ways to Market Yourself
Learn to systemize a consistent lead flow with this archived commercial webinar available for FREE thanks to Right Tools, Right Now. Visit http://realtor.org/RightToolsREALTOR.org/RightTools for details.
Save up to 40% on Select Rentals from Avis
Renting a car from Avis, a REALTOR Benefits® Program Partner is now more affordable than ever thanks to a special discount offer available to NAR Members. Now through March 31, 2010, members can save up to 40% at participating Avis locations on daily, weekly and weekend rentals. Restrictions apply so check the website for complete details and to get the required AWD code.
Inform Clients About Upcoming Tax Credit Deadline
Make sure your buyers are aware of the April 30 deadline for closings and contracts.
For more information, visit www.REALTOR.org.
RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.
To see last week’s NAR Pulse, click here.
RISMEDIA, March 10, 2010—RISMedia’s 2010 Real Estate Leadership Conference—‘The Real Estate Social Media Summit’—will provide the perfect backdrop for real estate professionals who are looking to capitalize, even in today’s challenging market.
Industry experts Brett Billington, Anita Rich, Rosemary West, Stephanie Healy Cullum, Betty Hensal and Melanie Smith are among the top-producing agent panelists who will offer insight into the power of effective negotiating during the session titled: “Improving Your Negotiation Skills” at this year’s Leadership Conference. The session will take place on Thursday, June 10 from 10:10-11:10 a.m. at the Hilton Rye Town in Westchester County, New York.
Here’s a more in-depth look at some of the panelists. Look for more profiles in Friday’s edition of the news.
Brett BIllington, Associate Broker, RE/MAX Gateway
Brett Billington has been a consistent top producing agent since entering the real estate business in 2003. According to Billington, he attributes his success to having great marketing and communication skills, an up-to-date knowledge of the ever-changing market conditions, constant training and education, persuasive negotiating skills and a dedicated desire to exceed client expectations. Billington’s Diamond Award status with RE/MAX has earned him a position amongst the top real estate agents in the country.
Anita Rich, Broker, Keller Williams Realty
As the founder of the prestigious Rich Group at Keller Williams Realty, Anita Rich understands that “Success is more than just a name, it’s Rich with Results,” that matters. Rich is a Broker with the coveted designation of Certified Residential Specialist (CRS). Along with the Membership to the Luxury Home Institute, she is a Certified Buffini Mentor, on the board for WeSpark- a non profit Cancer Group- and Charter president for an Optimist Club. She was a panelist at the 2009 NAR Convention and she continues to excel and expand for her clients and for the industry in general.
Rosemary West, Realtor, RE/MAX of Joliet
Rosemary West from the Rosemary West Team of RE/MAX of Joliet is a Top 5 in Real Estate Charter Member. She is among the 2008 RE/MAX Circle of Legends and is in the Top 20 of RE/MAX of Northern Illinois. West specializes in corporate relocation and new construction and regularly appears on Top Producer panels as a motivational speaker.
It’s never been more important to stand out among the competition than in today’s challenging market. Don’t miss your exclusive opportunity to improve your negotiation skills from the best in the industry. This session is not to be missed!
This year’s Conference will also focus on Social Media and Mobile Strategies for both brokers and sales associates to help these professionals best meet the demands of today’s home buyers and sellers. There will also be a track dedicated specifically for brokers, and additional business development and marketing sessions.
For a complete list of sessions, visit http://rismedia.com/events/leadership-conference/sessions/.
Who Will Attend? Leaders of the real estate community, including Top 5 Members, other leading real estate sales associates, team leaders, leading brokerage owners, economists and a host of related industry visionaries from around the United States.
Register Now at http://events.rismedia.com!
Interested in Sponsoring and/or Exhibiting? Contact your Account Representative or e-mail advertising@rismedia.com.
Questions on the Conference? Visit http://rismedia.com/events/leadership-conference or contact Stephanie Andre at stephanie@rismedia.com or 203-855-1234 x141.
RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.
RISMEDIA, March 10, 2010—Golden Gateway Financial, a financial resource for seniors and retirees, recently released new usage data from its online Reverse Mortgage Calculator that showed average home values for older Americans have halted their slide after remaining flat or declining for seven consecutive quarters. The national average self-reported home value of older Americans rose from $369,762 in the third quarter of 2009 to $381,895 in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Older Americans were one of the last segments of the population to see home prices rebound, but overall home values for seniors remain significantly lower than 2008 levels. Despite this rise in the national average, the report also showed significant decline in many large states, including Florida, Texas and New York.
This mixed recovery in terms of senior home values will likely continue as individual markets reduce inventory and regain their footing. Data from the most recent S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices shows that many markets within these states continue to show improvement, and this should eventually contribute to an increase in home values for older Americans as well.
“Even a minimal gain in home value is a reassuring sign for older Americans because many of these individuals live on a fixed income and rely on their home to support their retirement lifestyle,” said Eric Bachman, founder and CEO of Golden Gateway Financial. “This is especially true for those considering a reverse mortgage because as their home increases in value, so does their potential for greater reverse mortgage proceeds.”
Additional observations from the data include:
-The average age of users remained roughly consistent
-Self-reported senior home values rose by a little more than 3%between the third and fourth quarter of 2009
-The average existing forward mortgage debt dropped slightly to $143,360
-Reverse mortgage average max up front proceeds available rose by roughly 3% while the average max monthly proceeds available dropped by 13%
For more information, visit www.goldengateway.com.
RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.
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RISMEDIA, March 10, 2010—Even in a difficult market, opportunities abound—real estate professionals simply need to know where to position themselves in order to best take advantage of them. Here, Roger Soderstrom, Owner, Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty discusses how he positions his company for success by staying positive.
Roger Soderstrom
Owner
Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty
Heathrow, Florida
Region served: Central Florida
Years in real estate: More than 30
Number of offices: 4
Number of agents: 140
Average sales price: $375,000
Time on market: Distressed properties: 90 days; retail side: 7-8 months
Key to staying profitable: Belt tightening and consolidation are both important and healthy exercises to go through in order to maintain profitability. It is also crucial to have the right people in place.
What have been some of your most effective strategies for working in the slower market?
Agents need to be focusing on the opportunities that are available, and these opportunities need to be a major part of their business. It is also crucial that agents stay in front of their database, and we have worked hard over the past year to provide our agents with the tools and resources they need to develop and stay in touch with their past and present clients. We believe in providing information with great content and every communication we send is telling a story.
What is your biggest challenge in today’s market and how is your company taking it on?
In 2009, 50-70% of all of our sales on a monthly basis were classified as distressed. When we first started to get into short sales and REOs, many of our agents were hesitant about dealing with distressed properties, so we are constantly teaching our agents the importance of how to fish all over…and in the right areas. Another challenge is working to understand the motivation of our sellers as it is difficult to help them through the process without first understanding what they are trying to achieve.
What are you doing to differentiate your company from the competition?
We have our own in-house advertising agency so we can create all of our own Web developments within the office. We also have an in-house videographer onboard and will soon have a social media manager. Differentiating our company from the competition also involves providing our agents with high-quality marketing tools that we have created in addition to those we receive through our Sotheby’s International Realty® affiliation.
What are some of your technology best practices?
We recently invested in a software technology that will enable us to convert all of our material to be read on both the Internet and through mobile devices. With today’s consumer operating virtually through mobile devices, it is important that we provide information through the context in which they are most comfortable. In addition, we have started filming certain communities throughout our marketplace and are producing videos that will be placed on our websites. We have also had a lot of success with our webinars that we use for training our agents as well as reaching out to clients.
What strategies have you applied toward working successfully in the luxury home market?
It is critical to have a sufficient marketing budget in order to have quality photography in addition to video, blogging and interactive e-brochures to successfully market luxury homes. You can’t rely on finding a buyer next door so you have to go to the world and in order to do that, you need to have the right resources and tools.
RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.
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