Keller Williams Excellence

My New House? I Met It Online

2009-05-18T10:32:00.000-04:00

By ELSA BRENNER
Published: May 15, 2009

SEVERAL months ago, Munyaradzi and Jacquie Chenje fell in love on the Web — not with each other, but with a house.

The place lived up to the photos, they say.

When Mr. Chenje, a senior United Nations staff member in Nairobi, Kenya, learned last winter that he was being transferred to New York City, he and his wife powered up their computer and began the search for a new home in the suburbs of Manhattan.

Their list of must-haves included a commute no longer than 30 minutes for Mr. Chenje; a school within walking distance for their son, Nicholas, 17; and a backyard with enough space and sunshine so that Mrs. Chenje could grow a vegetable garden.

Months of e-mail messages flew back and forth between the Chenjes and the global relocation department of Houlihan Lawrence, as the couple sifted through myriad online listings, checked out comparable values on Web sites like Zillow.com and surveyed neighborhoods on Google’s map site.

Last fall, they found exactly what they were looking for: a four-bedroom Dutch colonial in New Rochelle. It was less than two blocks from the public high school, seven minutes from the train station and about a half hour from Grand Central Terminal.

They were particularly taken with an online photograph of the trees and bushes on the front lawn in full spring bloom. “It reminded us so much of Nairobi, which is very verdant, that we just fell in love with the place,” Mrs. Chenje said.

Before they signed a contract, Mr. and Mrs. Chenje traveled to New Rochelle to inspect the house.

“In the end, the final decision was an in-person one,” she said. “But it was what we expected it would be. We were not disappointed.”

Increasingly, virtual shopping, especially during the early stages of looking for a home, is a major component in the real estate business. Buyers, sellers and agents are using social networking sites like YouTube and Facebook, online classifieds like Craigslist and enhanced real estate sites like Listingbook.

A Web tool that enables agents to include up to 30 photos along with each listing, Listingbook offers virtual tours and 360-degree views. Agents issue the client a password allowing access to the site; they can then provide him or her with an update via e-mail on price reductions and new listings, explained Caryn Balamaci, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Scarsdale.

In general, she added, the younger the clients, the more Web-savvy they are.

As an example of typical clients, she cited John Hayes, an investment banker, and his wife, Michelle, a special education teacher, who live in a one-bedroom rental apartment in the Riverdale section of the Bronx with their 8-month-old daughter, Madison. Crowded in their current quarters, they are looking for a three- or four-bedroom house in either Westchester or Connecticut.

Each morning at 6, Mr. Hayes tends to the baby and searches the Web for a house, reading Ms. Balamaci’s morning e-mail alerts on Listingbook. He also checks out sites like PropertyShark.com for the most recent sales price and ownership information on specific listings. He continues online shopping throughout the day and stays in constant touch with his agent by e-mail and by phone.

“My BlackBerry,” Mr. Hayes said, “is never far from my side.”

The Web’s ease of access to international clients has only enhanced its use as a marketing tool. Houlihan Lawrence, for example, advertises online with telegraph.co.uk in Britain and the global edition of nytimes.com, among others.

In the words of P. Gilbert Mercurio, the chief executive of the 900-member Westchester County Board of Realtors in White Plains, “we’ve seen several big changes in this business in recent years.”

Less than a decade ago, for instance, real estate firms were still advertising only their own listings online. “Today, it’s the rare Web site where a consumer can’t see all the M.L.S. listings,” Mr. Mercurio said.

The Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service has also entered into a syndication agreement with ListHub, a Web site that reposts local listings on Trulia, aol.com and other sites. And as of last month, individual agents have been able to communicate with their customers through Listingbook.

As a further example of how the Web has oiled the wheels of communication, Houlihan Lawrence is now in partnership with Westchester magazine, a monthly, to share content online, said Chris Meyers, the brokerage’s chief operating officer. Houlihan is providing the magazine’s Web site with a real estate search engine; the magazine is providing Houlihan with restaurant reviews and other community information.

In addition, agents and agencies are increasingly using blogs to answer questions and opine on various subjects.

“For the real estate business, blogs have become an online version of Ann Landers,” said Claire Civetta, an agent for Coldwell Banker.

As for Facebook and Twitter, which help agents make new contacts, Mr. Meyers at Houlihan Lawrence likened those tools to “attending an online cocktail party.”

At the Sotheby’s office in Larchmont, Jim Whittemore, the manager, who became an agent in the 1970s, says he is now forever tethered to his BlackBerry. But, he said: “Technology can only go so far. You still have to get the customers in the car and take them there. Some people think you can even kick the tires online, but you can’t.”

Originally published at nytimes.com

Showing once, showing twice, priced right … Sold!

2009-04-30T10:21:00.000-04:00

Selling in a down market is difficult, but not impossible

By Christa Buchanan
C &G Staff Writer

"There’s a lot of competition on the market for those who need to sell their homes right now, and the age-old mantra of clean, de-clutter and update, while still essential, doesn’t quite cut it in today’s oversaturated housing market.

“Pricing is the biggest concern right now. The home must be priced competitively, and the condition of the home would have to be darn near perfect to get the house sold. It has to have all the major mechanical updates: a new roof, furnace, electric, windows — all those sorts of things,” said Eric Goosen, a Realtor with Real Estate One and owner of Goosen Realty in St. Clair Shores.

With houses seemingly for sale at nearly every corner in metro Detroit, and an abundance of foreclosures and short sales listed at rock-bottom prices, the experts agree that in order for a home to sell, it must be priced right.

“There’s no question about it, and that’s that in the end, it really comes down to price — it has to be priced aggressively, and when I say aggressively, I mean aggressive because they are competing against foreclosures,” said Realtor Robert Dundon of Weir Manuel Realtors in Birmingham.

“Definitely, price is everything,” agreed Gary Patrosso, a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty in St. Clair Shores. “The competition they’re facing is quite steep; they’re competing with the bank-owned homes and the HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) homes — that’s what first-time buyers are looking at.

“HUD has some great incentives. No. 1, HUD offers the FHA (Federal Housing Administration) $100 down payment program, and then gives extra incentives: If the home is more than $25,000, HUD gives the buyer $2,500 toward closing costs. They can also get a 3 percent concession of the sale’s price; HUD offers concession money for the first year’s homeowners insurance, private home inspections, tax prorations,” Patrosso said. “On top of all this, first-time homebuyers are eligible for up to $8,000 in federal tax credits.”

With such stiff competition, the average homeowner may feel that he just can’t compete.

Goosen noted that while “banks keep dropping prices on foreclosures, oftentimes those foreclosures are going to need a lot of work. Buyers need to balance the costs of buying a foreclosure that needs $10,000, $15,000, $20,000 worth of work, rather than a home that needs nothing. Many buyers don’t have the money after closing costs to make those repairs.”

To that end, what many sellers may not know, said Dundon, is that there’s something to be said for a “warm home,” or a house that’s currently occupied and well maintained, and buyers know that.

“That’s why the condition of the house has to be in very, very good shape. Not so much cosmetic things, but the things that are going to be expensive for the buyer: Any concrete, foundation or roof problems need to be fixed to get the house sold; the windows need to be clean; clean up the landscaping, the gutters and edge the lawn; the smell of the house and the cleanliness are very important — things like that can help tremendously,” Goosen said.

Offering concessions upfront can also help, said Patrosso.

“The fastest way to sell is to lower the price, but offering concessions toward closing costs right upfront is a good way to attract buyers. … These concessions are huge because most first-timers have the credit score and the income, but they don’t have closing cost money,” he said.

It may seem like doom and gloom for the average homeowner looking to sell, but that’s not entirely the case, said Dundon. “There is a positive side to taking a hit on your home: When you’re moving up to a bigger home, you’re also getting a tremendous deal on the other end,” he said.

“Don’t look at it like you’re giving your home away. Look at it like you’re going to move into a better home, like you’re going to recoup the money you lost when you buy that bigger house in a better school district,” Patrosso said.

On a more positive note, Dundon said, the market is beginning to stabilize.

“I honestly think that it’s the worst I’ve ever seen, but it’s getting better — things are very slowly starting to turn around. In 2010-11, people are going to say, ‘I should have bought in ’09.’

“Right now, it really is a tremendous time to buy. I’ve been in it for 35 years and I’ve never seen the deals I see now — ever. … Houses are selling — every single day houses are selling, and prices are already hitting bottom.”

Five years from now, the Realtors agree, today’s buyers are really going to reap the benefits of homeownership, especially considering the rock-bottoms prices, low interest rates and government incentives currently being offered.

“This market is changing people’s lives. Not only are buyers getting a great deal, but FHA interest rates are phenomenal right now. Five or six years from now, the value of that house could very well double, and that could change lives forever,” Patrosso said.

For more information, contact Dundon at (248) 644-6300, Goosen at (586) 771-1100 or Patrosso at (586) 541-4058.
You can reach Staff Writer Christa Buchanan at cbuchanan@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1061."

Originally published at candgnews.

Conference examines real estate trends

2009-04-30T10:18:00.000-04:00

Most Americans partially blame some form of the media for the current financial crisis, according to statistics provided by Paul Bishop, the keynote speaker at the 2009 Real Estate Trends Conference on Wednesday in Shreveport.
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Bishop, the managing director of real estate research for the National Association of Realtors, gave an overview of the national economy and highlighted certain facets of the local economy.

The conference, presented by the commercial investment division of the Northwest Louisiana Association of Realtors, lasted all morning and included presentations on trends in residential, retail, industrial and office real estate from local professionals.

A luncheon featured guest speaker Marie Boucher, field office manager for the Shreveport district office of the Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions.

"Who do Americans blame for this level of pessimism?" Bishop said. "Basically it's one form of the media or the next. They don't say the media caused the financial collapse."

About 66 percent of people blame advertisers, 59 percent blame the print media, and 56 percent blame other forms of media, including the Internet, Bishop added.

He said people feel like the media helped perpetuate an attitude of overspending.

"Where did we go wrong? Why did we go wrong?" Bishop said. "Well, you'll notice no one blames themselves here "» I'd be very concerned if I was in the newspaper business."

Bishop then turned his focus to the local economy and real estate industry.

He said northwest Louisiana should expect slower net absorption in office and industrial retail.

The financial markets must loosen up before new construction takes place, he added.

"As we've seen earlier, the securities markets are at a standstill," Bishop said. "Lower rent growth is probably likely."

He said potential areas for strength in the local economy include the energy sector, health, government and education industries and expansion at Barksdale Air Force Base. The area's weaknesses lie in the automobile sector and related industries and exports.

Originally published at www.shreveporttimes.com.

State’s home sales show some life

2009-04-28T09:34:00.000-04:00

DYLAN WAUGH
Capital News Service
April 27, 2009

Parts of Maryland's real estate market might be showing preliminary signs of turning around, with the state's Washington suburbs leading the way, according to the most recent available statistics.

Maryland's D.C. suburbs showed a year-to-year increase in home sales but the Baltimore-metro area and other parts of the state are still lagging behind, leaving analysts unsure if the market is really on the upswing.

"It's starting to stabilize," said Kenneth Wenhold, mid-Atlantic regional director for the Houston-based Metrostudy real estate consulting firm. "It definitely hasn't bottomed ... but this is the first step toward that process."

The most recent statistics from the Maryland Association of Realtors show the state as a whole saw a 43 percent increase in homes sold from February to March. And from March 2008 to March 2009, Montgomery, Prince George's and Frederick counties all saw increases of more than 10 percent in the number of homes sold.

But the Baltimore metro area experienced an 18.5 percent decrease over the same 12 months, according to the Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc. And the state as a whole saw nearly a 10 percent drop in homes sold during that time period, according to the Maryland Association of Realtors.

Washington, Howard and Dorchester counties were the only other counties besides the D.C. suburbs to see gains in homes sold over the last year.

Analysts say it's too early to tell if the positive news is the beginning of a turnaround, particularly in places like Harford and Carroll counties, which saw 28 and 23 percent decreases in home sales over the last year.

Wenhold said he sees at least a bit of positive news in the recent monthly improvements. He pointed to decreasing the number of houses on the market as a critical factor in determining when Maryland's real estate market will truly rebound.

Fewer houses for sale would increase competition among buyers, which could drive prices up.

"Once we see that supply start to decrease we'll see some more stability," Wenhold said.

The number of houses under contract but not officially sold in the state this March surpasses last March's total, signaling buyers could start cutting into that housing supply.

Real estate agents seem more upbeat about a potential turnaround.

"Things are picking up in general," said David McIlvaine, president of the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors and an associate broker with Keller Williams Realty in Ellicott City. McIlvaine said he has noticed increases in his showings and phone calls from potential buyers.

Low interest rates, sellers being more willing to negotiate and an $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers have helped boost buyers' confidence and interest.

"All those things just add up to, 'Why wouldn't you buy?'" McIlvaine said.

Antoinette Guy-Wharton, a consultant who lives in Randallstown, is one of those first-time home buyers whom McIlvaine called a "driving force" in the market.

"I needed a bigger house, and this was just a prime opportunity to go out and do it," Guy-Wharton said.

She called the tax credit "an additional incentive" and is looking to take advantage of lower prices for area homes. Foreclosure properties are often particularly good bargains now, she said.

"For first-time buyers, the market is great," Guy-Wharton said.

The National Association of Realtors estimated the tax credit could fuel up to 300,000 additional home sales nationwide.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, said first-time buyers are driving the national market, which he believes is stabilizing and could receive a bump in the near future.

“Buyer traffic has been rising, and real estate offices are getting phone inquires about the tax credit,” Yun said in a recent statement. “By early summer we should be seeing a positive impact on home sales from record-low mortgage interest rates in addition to the stimulus provisions.”

While the tax credit and low interest rates are helping to spur sales, unemployment remains critical to the market's long-term prospects.

"Rates don’t mean anything if you don't have a job," McIlvaine said.

Maryland's unemployment rate hit 6.9 percent in March — nearly a 17-year high — but is still far below the national average of 8.5 percent, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics.

Experts point to the Washington area's insulation from job losses as a reason for its real estate market performing better than Baltimore's.

"Baltimore now has significant job losses on a year-over-year basis, while Washington, D.C., is at least stable," said Wenhold.

"We're seeing a little bit more strengthening in Frederick, Montgomery, Prince George's counties because we're not seeing as significant job losses," Wenhold said.

Maryland's D.C. suburbs might also be leading the way in reversing slides in home sale prices.

The median prices for homes in Montgomery, Prince George's and Frederick counties rose between 5 and 7.5 percent each from February to March. Baltimore-area sale prices remained stable from February to March, falling just 1 percent.

However, D.C. suburb prices are still down at least 15 percent from last March, while Baltimore-area home prices have only dipped 8 percent over that period.

The area real estate market is expected to get a boost from the up-to-48,000 people the state expects to move into Maryland by 2011 through the federal Base Realignment and Closure, or BRAC, initiative.

And judging from the response to an upcoming free bus tour of Baltimore County for people potentially moving to Maryland as a result of BRAC, the impact could be significant.

A 100-person, two-bus tour taking families from Fort Monmouth, N.J., to Baltimore County organized by the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors and Baltimore County filled up in a few days, said Amy Baird, director of communications for the GBBR. The tour will highlight available housing options within a reasonable drive of Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford County and provide information on local educational opportunities.

But even if BRAC produces the 60,000 direct and indirect jobs some estimate, it can't turn around the market without help from the broader economy. Maryland lost 58,200 jobs since March 2008, according to seasonally-adjusted preliminary statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Still, adding any number of jobs will have a positive effect.

"Every job helps," Wenhold said.

Published in The Daily Record

Real estate industry looks to 'green' homes

2009-04-27T09:34:00.000-04:00

The two houses that sit off Illinois 19 in Wood River are a glimpse of the real estate industry's future.

The two homes will soon open to the public as models of upcoming development to be known as Rock Hill Trails. Trumpet Builders, of Festus, Mo., is building the 49-lot neighborhood with the environment and energy efficiency in mind.

Anthony Schroeder, president of the project's development company, Well Spring Development Co., said this approach is a holistic design for a sustainable community by building what it calls "high-performance homes."

The land that has sat untouched and has been in Schroeder's family for 150 years. The homes to be built there are advertised as having less impact on the land than traditional houses. Air temperature, for instance, will be regulated by way of a geothermal system that captures the earth's natural core temperatures from a well 200 to 300 feet underground that pumps liquid beneath the ground and returns back to the surface. Builders also will use spray foam insulation that expands and helps seals spaces that traditional roll-out insulation cannot cover.

The developer also will incorporate building styles that should reduce long-term environmental impact and natural landscaping to provide a good habitat for wildlife and native plant species, and filter toxins from rainwater runoff and reduce erosion. A natural storm management system dictated by the land will also provide basins among walking trails and landscaping.

"It is kind of common sense approach to reduction in resources during the building process and construction process," Schroeder said. " It's a prudent use of materials, and materials are coming from renewable resources."

As this new development comes on line, local real estate professionals are realizing the growing demand that new homes that have less impact on the environment and conserve energy. More people want to buy a "green" house.

The National Association of Home Builders launched the Green Building Initiative a few years ago to provide a new designation to help certify homes as environmentally friendly and energy efficient. Dan Tatum, president of the Realtor Association of Southwestern Illinois in Belleville, said that in November the National Realtors Association unveiled a Green designation for its members, who must complete an 18 hours of training to becertified.

"With this increased awareness of what we might call 'green,' which seems to be an all-encompassing term, we need and want to be in a position to provide smart advice to direct (homebuyers) to resources if they're interested in getting and building a home that is environmental friendly, provides cost savings and is energy efficient," Tatum said.

Tim Dain, who is the real estate broker for Rock Hill Trails, said that all of the homes in the development are high-performance and will be rated and recognized by entities like Energy Star, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy to help consumers save money and protect the environment through energy-efficient products and practices.

"From a real estate perspective, I think anyone would agree with me that I really believe the consumer really wants energy efficiency," Dain said.

Al Suguitan, who oversees real estate activity in Madison County and surrounding counties as executive director of the Greater Gateway Association of Realtors in Glen Carbon, said he also sees what is going on at Rock Hill Trails as a model of how future home construction will evolve.

"I'm encouraged that there are some builders who are willing to step forward and put together energy-efficient homes, or 'green' houses, by using new construction techniques that are very cost effective and to market them as low-energy homes," Suguitan said. "And I think that the public will embrace this type of construction."

Tatum also said that this year's federal economic stimulus plan provides further incentives to think green. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 tripled the tax credit for homeowners who make energy efficiency upgrades to their homes. Homeowners can install energy-efficient windows and doors, metal or asphalt roofs, insulation, furnaces, air conditioners and water heaters that qualify under the Energy Star program and could also be eligible for tax credits equaling 30 percent of the cost, up to a maximum of $1,500 for improvements made between Jan. 1, 2009, through Dec. 31, 2010.

"There are some really good financial incentives that are out there for buyers right now to encourage use of some Energy Star savings and some other energy efficient ideas," he said. "I think that is really terrific."

Home Builders Association of Greater Southwest Illinois has formed a green building committee and some of its members have pursued green designation. Association executive officer Jerry Rombach said that energy conservation will become more common in home construction.

"I think in five years there won't be such a thing as green building," Rombach said. "There will just be buildings. There will no longer be energy-efficient or Energy Star appliances. Pretty much every one is built to Energy Star requirements to that degree with that specialized redesign."

Contact reporter Will Buss at wbuss@bnd.com or 239-2526.

Mortgage Update from M-Point

2009-04-27T09:30:00.000-04:00

Mortgage bond prices remained near unchanged holding mortgage interest rates relatively steady for the week. There was very little data the first portion of the week and rates improved slightly as the DOW was down 183 points at one point Monday morning. Unfortunately the durable goods orders and new home sales data were not as weak as expected which helped stocks rally at the expense of bonds the latter portion of the week. For the week, interest rates on government and conventional loans were unchanged.

The Treasury auctions will factor heavily in trading this week. It will be interesting to see how the additional debt supply is absorbed. The gross domestic product and employment cost index data will be the most important releases. No surprises are expected from the Fed but the meeting may still result in some mortgage interest rate volatility.

Mortgage Update from M-Point

2009-04-22T11:34:00.000-04:00

Mortgage bond prices remain near unchanged to weaker this morning failing to erase the losses from yesterday afternoon. Once again stocks will take center stage with a lack of any economic data today. So far stocks are slightly lower with the DOW down 16 points but as we saw yesterday, that can always whip around the other way in an instant.

Yesterday we saw a general flight into stocks and out of Treasury bonds and mortgage backed securities as stocks surged higher. While not always the case, stocks and bonds often trade inversely.

Expect trading to be choppy with stocks continuing to be the focus.

For sale by tweet: Social networking to sell homes

2009-04-20T09:59:00.001-04:00

By ALEX VEIGA – 2 days ago

LOS ANGELES (AP) — When you sign up for Facebook or Twitter, you expect to get a stream of random messages from the people that make up your virtual social network — but pitches on homes for sale?

Real estate agents and others are trolling for clients on these and other popular online social networking sites, mixing home huckstering with their online networking. But is this a good way to sell a home or are agents' sales pitches getting lost in the post?

Agents who use the social networking sites to market properties say they hope to generate referrals — just as you might tip off a friend about a new for-sale sign on a lawn.

"Tweeting is the same way," says Duane Hopper, an owner and broker at Century 21 Real Estate Center in Seattle, referring to the term for posting messages on the microblogging Web site Twitter.com.

"There is a multiplier effect that can take place, particularly on very hot information," adds Hopper, who posts information about homes he's trying to sell and promotes himself on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and ActiveRain.

Twitter lets users create profiles where they can post messages of up to 140 characters that can be viewed by anyone with Internet access on a PC or mobile phone.

Hopper started using the site last fall. Since then, he's racked up more than 600 people who have elected to "follow" his tweets. (By comparison, celebrities such as Britney Spears have hundreds of thousands of dedicated tweet recipients.)

A recent look at Hopper's Twitter page revealed more than 20 tweets, although not all the posts were real estate-related.

Hopper liberally mixes tweets about the Mariners baseball team — "Getting excited for Home Opening Day for the 5-2 Mariners" — with posts on his daily real estate rounds: "On my way to paint For Sale Post at our hot new Kirkland listing. Can't anyone get the color right?"

But often, Hopper's tweets are listings of homes for sale that read like word-stingy newspaper classified ads: "At Juanita Multi-level photo shoot," started a recent post. "Listing coming. Hurry if you have buyers. Under $500K, 2,190 feet. 3Bed 2.5Bth."

Hopper also sometimes includes Web links to a virtual tour of the home.

Jo-Ann Cervin, a buyer's agent with ZipRealty in Las Vegas, began using the site just last week under the handle "LV_Cheap_Houses," but she's wasted little time posting a barrage of bulletins urging readers to buy now.

So far, she's got 44 users subscribing to her tweets, which mostly consist of homes for sale or calls to action like this one: "Las Vegas bank owned properties are seeing multiple offers! The great deals are going QUICK!"

Cervin isn't worried that the barrage of home listings via tweets will scare off those who subscribe to her missives.

"They're choosing to connect with me," Cervin says. "I'm not spamming."

On Facebook, which boasts more than 200 million active users, many real estate firms have profile pages that sometimes feature home listings and discussions about real estate. Some agents set up commercial Facebook pages, which are open to all users.

Many agents use one of several Facebook applications designed to highlight home listings on their profile page, such as eListIt's My Listings widget. Others let users pipe in video tours.

John Ammirati, an associate broker with Century 21 Prevete in Long Insland, N.Y., created a Facebook page for his company so his agents log in and post listings and information about open houses.

"We're just starting to get into video," he says.

Hopper takes a more subtle approach on Facebook, however.

He tries to keep it personal, posting photos of a recent vacation, for example, while only sprinkling in real estate listings and links to virtual home tours.

"I don't want to overwhelm people," Hopper says. "It's like getting unsolicited advertising if you overdo it."

Cervin also only recently began playing up her real estate business on Facebook. She hopes her friends will refer her to would-be homebuyers. She's also on ActiveRain, where she blogs about real estate and, ultimately, hopes to nab some client referrals from other agents on the site.

Still, Cervin says she hasn't received any business directly from her social networking activities — yet.

"At this point it's free advertising," she says.

Hopper concedes he also has yet to find a buyer directly through social networking. But he's confident it is helping, even if only to broaden the chance that another real estate agent in his network will see his home sale tweets and recommend a listing to a client.

"I'm getting good activity on my properties," Hopper says. "I feel that some of it is coming from that."

For anyone considering selling their home on their own, the sites may help get the word out. The trick is getting connected to as many real estate professionals as possible.

A search for the term "real estate" in Twitter turns up hundreds of people or businesses tweeting on the subject. So one way is to sign up to receive real estate agents' tweets and then engage them with details of your home.

(Full disclosure: the Associated Press sends news headlines on Twitter, and searches tweets for breaking news and photos.)

Ammirati, who began using Twitter in December and now fires off tweets six days a week to nearly 600 people on the site, suggests finding real estate-oriented groups with more than 100 tweet trackers and join the pack.

Another option is to use applications like twitpick, which allows users to share photos through Twitter.

Ammirati, who also uses Facebook, ActiveRain and LinkedIn, now takes photos of homes being listed for sale with his firm and posts them on Twitter via twitpick.

Social network has begun to pay off for Ammirati.

Since he and his agents began using Facebook and other sites about a year ago, the efforts have brought in at least four clients.

"Part of it is the agents themselves reconnecting with some people in the past," Ammirati says. "Sometimes it's hard to quantify how this networking leads exactly to (new clients)."

You can write to Alex Veiga at aveiga@ap.org.

Originally posted by AP here.

Seven Tips to Drive Traffic to your Site

2009-04-15T10:41:00.003-04:00

1. Keep Content Current
Make sure to update your listings regularly. Changing the content will alert the search engines that your site is a living document, so to speak, and it will help your Webpage rank higher in search listings.

2. Get Linked
The more Web sites that link to your Web site, the better your search ranking will be. Trade links with local, complimentary vendors in tour area or agents in other cities.

3. Send emails
When you capture leads, send them intermittent emails to alert them when there's something new on your site so they will visit again. Be sure to follow SPAM laws.

4. Write some articles
Writing articles and posting them to free ezine Web sites will position you as an expert in your field and also offer a link back to your site.

5. Get free ads
There are a number of sites, newsgroups and directories, such as MerchantCircle, that offer free listings for businesses. Be sure your information is listed.

6. Use your URL
Be sure to list your URL on everything - business cards, advertisements, pens, etc. Everything you send out should have your URL on it.

7. Join community conversations
Comment on posts related to real estate news articles and blogs, and put your name, affiliation and URL after your response.

(Published in Outfront Magazine, March/April 2009)

Md. Senator Cardin: "Now is the time to buy"

2009-04-07T10:25:00.009-04:00

In Owings Mills, Cardin pushes homebuyer tax credit
'Now is the time to buy,' senator says at news conference

By Mary Gail Hare April 7, 2009

Don Carwell of Randallstown (above)talks about being able to make an offer on a home with the help of a federal tax credit. Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr. (right) and Sen. Ben Cardin look on. (Baltimore Sun photo by Kenneth K. Lam / April 4, 2009)

After house-hunting for several months, attending pre-purchase counseling seminars and researching mortgage options, Antoinette Guy-Wharton is ready to buy. The single mother and insurance consultant has found a bank-owned home in Randallstown.

As a first-time buyer who is income eligible, Guy-Wharton qualifies for a recently enacted $8,000 federal tax credit. Because she is purchasing a foreclosed home, she can also apply for funds through the Neighborhood Conservation Initiative, which helps communities attract buyers to areas with high foreclosure rates. The program will lend up to $50,000 for settlement costs, restoration work or to decrease the mortgage amount.

"These programs are all making homeownership a reality for those who didn't think it could be real," said Guy-Wharton at a news conference Monday in Owings Mills.

U.S. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin organized the event at a recently sold townhouse to push the tax credit, which Congress passed as part of the economic stimulus package, and to advocate for buyers' counseling and to boost the slumping housing market. With home prices and mortgage rates low and the tax credit available through November, "Now is the time to buy," Cardin said, while standing in the garage of the home whose buyers took advantage of the credit.

In Maryland, first-time buyers accounted for nearly 40 percent of the market last year. The credit should help 300,000 families nationwide to purchase a first home, according to the National Association of Realtors.

"This credit is providing first-time buyers with a much needed cushion," said Nnaemeka Chima, a county real estate agent. "It is also having an exponential effect bringing more buyers into the market and helping to stabilize home prices."

Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr. said home purchases are vital to the success of communities everywhere, adding that the credit "provides the economy and the housing market a boost when it is needed most."

"This is a stimulus in the truest sense of the word," Smith said.

Encouraged by the $8,000 tax credit, Don Carwell, a butcher, said he plans to make an offer on a home soon.

"In this economy, you just can't save a lot," he said to the crowd of officials. "This is really making housing reachable. Go out and get your house."

Originally published in the Baltimore Sun.

Mortgage Update from M Point

2009-04-06T11:51:00.001-04:00

Market Comment

Mortgage bond prices fell last week applying upward pressure on mortgage interest rates. The bond market continued to come under pressure from significantly stronger stocks. The DOW shot towards the 8,000 mark despite data releases that showed continued economic weakness. Most worrisome were the many reports that indicated people continue to lose jobs. Consumers find it difficult to spend without a job or with the fear their job may be in peril. The weaker than expected consumer sentiment data provided evidence of that fear. For the week, interest rates on government and conventional loans rose by about 3/8’s of a discount point.

The bond market closes early Thursday in advance of the market holiday Friday. The shortened trading week may result in mortgage interest rate volatility as traders position themselves ahead of the extended holiday weekend.

Credit Demand
Inflation is typically the most important focus for the mortgage interest rate market. Inflation remains a concern as the Federal Government continues to print and spend money in an effort to spur the economy. Unfortunately, mortgage interest rates also continue to be pushed around by gyrating stocks and weak demand as performance uncertainty looms and the Fed has become the primary buyer of mortgage-backed securities. Most of the recent increases in interest rates have come following stronger stocks. The Fed continues to pump billions of dollars into the market to try to keep mortgage interest rates relatively low and steady. Up until this past week they have done a pretty good job of accomplishing that task. Remember, the Fed is not the only player in the game and selling pressure continues.

The level of interest rates reflects the balance between the supply of money from investors and the demand for money by borrowers. Rising inflationary expectations and uncertainty about the performance of the debt cause investors to require higher rates of return on investments to compensate for the erosion of the principal that eventually is returned to them or the risk of non-performance. Regardless of inflation levels, though, rising economic activity can increase the demand for investors’ funds, and thereby lead to higher interest rates. Investors pulling money out of bonds and into stocks have recently pressured mortgage rates.

The demand for money diminishes as the economy struggles. The Fed lowers interest rates as an incentive to businesses and consumers to increase their borrowings. The Fed hopes manufacturers will increase their investments in plants, equipment and inventories and that consumers will push housing construction along with consumer spending and with that, consumer debt.

Analysts will monitor this week’s consumer credit levels. There is much debate in the financial community about the future. Economists, market analysts, and traders all seem to have a different opinion about the future state of the economy and especially whether or not we have hit the bottom of the economic slide. One thing most market participants agree on is both the bond and stock markets are going to see additional volatility. Now is a great time to take advantage of rates at the still historically favorable levels.

Best Places to Live 2009 - Baltimore Magazine

2009-04-06T11:25:00.003-04:00

Best Places to Live 2009
We take the temperature of Baltimore's woozy real estate industry, check out the region's most in demand neighborhoods, and visit with a few of the people buying there.
By Christianna McCausland

Additional research by Chelsea Haddaway, Hilary Thomas, and Realtor Jennifer Reynolds.

What to say about home sales in the throes of a deep recession where the perception is that no one's buying? How 'bout this? That, in fact, people are still buying. And there are even some clouds in our local market that sport the proverbial silver lining. "The Baltimore market, while it is depreciating, is doing better than the U.S. overall," says Sam Khater, senior economist with First American CoreLogic, a data and analysis company specializing in housing. Home prices in the Baltimore-Towson metropolitan area declined 5.4 percent over 2008 versus 10.7 percent in the nation. Part of the reason: The Baltimore metro area did not have the fantastic real estate boom seen in other parts of the country and, therefore, does not have as far to fall. The area also has relative job stability: According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, unemployment in Maryland is 5.8 percent compared to 7.6 percent in the U.S., and the Maryland-D.C. region experienced a 1.1 percent over-the-year job gain last year while employment numbers were decreasing throughout most of the country. While being the lesser loser on the national economic spectrum may not be much of a consolation, the good news is that Baltimoreans are still buying and selling homes. We know because we found buyers and sellers and asked firsthand how to survive and thrive in a challenged real estate market. Thinking you might actually take the plunge? Or are you just wondering how your home's value is holding up in this economy? We offer guidance for both questions, point you to 'hoods that hold their value at both ends of the dollar spectrum, and name a few zip codes that may be a good place to gamble on "the next big thing." And check out our exhaustive chart tracking the trends in each of 92 of the region's most in demand neighborhoods. Remember, it's prices that are falling, not the sky.

The First-Time Buyer

Many are calling the current situation in real estate a first-time buyer's paradise. Prices are reduced and interest rates are near an all-time low, as long as you have unimpeachable credit. Jeff Eisen, 28, had wanted to throw off the yoke of renting for years but was kept out of the housing market when prices soared upwards in the boom years. When his lease ended last year, he decided it was time to take advantage of pricing's downward slide—but there was also the lure of a $7,500 tax credit for first-time homebuyers.

Eisen, a single dad of a 6-year-old boy, works in construction. He knew he wanted to stay in Perry Hall in his son's current school district and budgeted between $180,000 and $200,000 for his first home purchase. Four months into his search, he'd found little that met his needs—a conveniently located home with a big yard, where he could play ball with his son—and was about to give up when an Internet search turned up a townhouse within his price range. Eisen immediately called his Realtor and set out to snap up the three-bedroom home with one full and two half baths.

Though he'd been saving for over a year and had good credit, Eisen didn't have a big chunk of cash to put down on the home. He contacted a friend in the mortgage business who helped him navigate the paperwork for an FHA loan designed for first-time buyers. Eisen scraped together the 3 percent downpayment required, and the seller paid all the closing costs.

"Once I got the money for the downpayment, it was pretty smooth sailing," he says of his experience. Eisen closed on the house December 23, 2008, and is currently making cosmetic upgrades to it, including some new appliances. He expects to stay in the house for perhaps 10 years.

"It's an investment," he explains. "Even though I know the economy will get better, the way the 401ks have been recently, you realize there's no safe investment besides real estate."

The Move-Up Buyer

Like generations of young couples before them, Natalie and Erik Bissonnette looked to Rodgers Forge when they started their new family. "We loved Rodgers Forge," says Natalie, 28. "It was a close-knit community with lots of young couples with children starting out."

But when the Bissonnette's second child arrived, the house got cramped. The couple wanted a larger yard for their two sons and guest rooms for out-of-town visitors. They knew it was time to find a detached home that could accommodate a growing family. "It was hard to move because we made so many wonderful friends there," says Natalie. After weighing the options of moving into northern Baltimore County or keeping to the closer-in suburbs, the Bissonnette's settled their search on the Ruxton area.

"In the end, the convenience factor won out," says Natalie. "It is in a great school district and we have a lot of friends who live in this area." In March of 2008, the couple purchased a four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath home in Ruxton, close to I-83 for the convenience of Erik's commute downtown and within walking distance of Graul's Market and local shops, a fun jaunt for Natalie and the children. Erik, 29, believes that working with a national lender saved them money on the rate and origination fees on their 30-year fixed mortgage.

There was only one problem: The Bissonnettes hadn't yet sold their home in Rodgers Forge.

"I wouldn't have planned it that way," says Erik ruefully. But the couple knew that homes in Ruxton sold quickly and they needed to hop on the opportunity. "It was a large concern at the time, but we were confident in Rodgers Forge and in our agent," says Natalie.

Buying and selling in stable neighborhoods paid off. The Bissonnettes put their Rodgers Forge home on the market in mid-March. They priced the home to sell and crammed back-to-back showings into one week. "We needed to be flexible," says Erik about showing the home. "When there was a call that someone wanted to look at it, it wasn't about what was good for us; if they wanted to be there in 15 minutes, it was okay." The house sold a week later.

"Having an agent who had years of experience definitely helped us," Natalie notes. "I can't imagine trying to sell by owner right now."

The Downsizer

When Sherrie and Edward Timmes' son left for NYU, their 5,300-square-foot home on three acres in Clarksville started to feel a little empty. Sherrie, 46, and Edward, 52, decided they had better things to do than take care of the yard and vacuum a lot of unused rooms. The Timmeses wanted an urban, waterfront lifestyle, and were willing to consider other cities to get it. But many of the areas where they looked, such as San Diego, were cost-prohibitive.

"We were always coming into Baltimore City to do things—the symphony, the opera, sports," says Sherrie. "It wasn't that big a stretch to say, 'Maybe we should live in Baltimore.'"

"Baltimore is a sleeper in terms of what it offers and its price versus other waterfront cities," she adds. And the city's central location also allows Edward to commute to his job near BWI.

The couple wanted to move to a property that would hold its value. They chose the Ritz-Carlton Residences and moved in November 2008 into a two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath condominium. "It's like living in a hotel, but it is also your home," says Sherrie. "It's like being on vacation everyday." At the Ritz Residences, they have amenities like 24-hour concierge service, a gym, and valet parking. The home is a nod toward the Timmeses' older years and the prospect of grandchildren—there are no stairs to deal with and the floor plan is open, not cramped and stacked like a city row house.

But while the Timmeses are living a dream in the city, their Clarksville home for many months was still stuck in the morass of the real estate market—it was listed in April 2008 and did not sell until February, despite more than 70 prospective buyers and some artful professional house-staging.

"We didn't want to give it away," Sherrie explains. "We felt it was in an area that holds its value and that we'd wait out the market." After looking at the numbers, the Timmeses realized they would lose more money if they panicked and dropped the house price $100,000 than if they simply left the house vacant until the market recovered. They were ready to rent it when it finally sold.

"We were nervous about getting another mortgage, but we have good credit and we'd paid off our bills and were able to smoothly get financing," Sherrie explains. Although their old house has fond memories, Sherrie says she was happy when that chapter of their lives was closed. "The endless hours of maintenance are very easy to say goodbye to," she says. "Now I walk Bob, my basset hound, on the promenade, and I watched the Parade of Lighted Boats from my covered deck—it just doesn't get any better than this."

REAL ESTATE TIP: risky business

Ah, if only we'd all bought in Canton 10 years ago. But predicting the next big thing in real estate is tricky. If you are a risktaker looking to find a bargain now that might pay off later, Joseph "Jody" Landers, executive vice president of the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors, recommends that you look for "areas where you see some rehabilitation and investment already taking place." For example, northern Patterson Park.

"There are so many community development initiatives where Butchers Hill meets Patterson Park; the city and the community have a lot riding on things going well around the park," says Realtor James Baldwin of Yerman, Witman, Gaines & Conklin Realty.

"Certainly East Baltimore, with its whole rebirth, has big potential" adds David McIlvaine, the president-elect of the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors. "Anything around Johns Hopkins is certainly a gamble, but a pretty solid gamble."

Landers points to what he calls "rough gems," including Belair-Edison, Baltimore Highlands, Carroll Park, Poppleton, and Penrose. "These are communities that represent great investment opportunities," he says. "They're really rough right now, but they are situated close to the MARC train line and the red line for the extended Light Rail."

Landers has faith that the Mondawmin area of West Baltimore could brush up its image in the future. "It's adjacent to Druid Hill Park, one of the gems of Baltimore City, you have access to the subway, and the owners of the Mondawmin Mall have put millions into upgrading the mall."

If buying on the edge of—or in—a transitional neighborhood seems a tad too risky, consider using those investment dollars to capitalize on someone else's misfortune.

"With the amount of inventory that's available, for example in Canton, it would be wiser from an investment standpoint to be opportunistic and look for some fire sale on the waterfront, some investor who has to drop a property, than to make a bet on outlying areas," says Andrea G. Griffin of Yerman, Witman, Gaines & Conklin Realty.

Pricey 'Hoods that Hold Their Value: If you can pay a little more in a top-rated neighborhood, you should get some peace of mind

Some neighborhoods are like a black dress, a classic car, George Clooney—they never go out of style. If money is little or no object, and you want to invest in an area that is proven over time to be a good performer with little depreciation and a lot of cache, look to old standbys like Ruxton, Cedarcroft, Roland Park, Homeland, and Guilford, or the historic part of Annapolis.

"They're mystical areas people are naturally drawn to—the building styles, the location, the reputation, the mystique of saying, 'I live in Homeland or Guilford,'" says David McIlvaine, associate broker with Keller Williams Realty and president-elect of the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors. "Location is very important."

It's little surprise that Columbia makes the list of consistent performers. It appeals to families with its stellar school system and variety of home styles, though the price of homes in Columbia has nudged the area from the moderately priced enclave it once was to a more ritzy status. Also no surprise: "Another premium area is Annapolis," says McIlvaine. "People don't say, 'Show me all of Anne Arundel County.' They say, 'Show me Annapolis.'"

Andrea G. Griffin and James Baldwin, Realtors with Yerman, Witman, Gaines & Conklin Realty, ply their trade from the city to the Greenspring Valley, known for its well-to-do homes. "It has proximity to roads, to a selection of public and private schools, and you can get bigger properties close to the city so buyers can get downtown easily," says Baldwin. "People who have means have primarily gravitated to that area because of the property taxes," adds Griffin. "They just don't feel like paying the city taxes for what they don't perceive as added value."

Downtown, there are stable properties immediately around the harbor. "The values in historic neighborhoods with easy walkability close to restaurants and the Inner Harbor haven't dropped as much as the outlying neighborhoods," says Baldwin, pointing to historic Fells Point, Federal Hill, and Otterbein as examples.

REAL ESTATE TIP: Budget 'Hoods With the Best Value

Let's face it, most people don't have a half million or more to drop on a waterfront condominium or a country estate property. Yet there are plenty of neighborhoods in and around the Baltimore area that offer good value for the money, that are safe, clean, in decent school districts, and close to commuter roads. These are neighborhoods that—barring some tremendous shift in demographics or an act of divinity—are prized for consistently holding their value at relatively moderate prices.

"Where we're seeing strength and places that hold value are Ruxton, Riderwood, Mt. Washington, and Perry Hall," says McIlvaine. Did he say Perry Hall? While it may seem like the most dressed-down 'hood on the list, "Perry Hall has seen a relatively small drop in terms of depreciation." In addition, McIlvaine says both Perry Hall and White Marsh are poised to benefit from the imminent arrival of BRAC (Defense Base Realignment and Closure) personnel. Consistent performance and the chance for further growth can be seen in Bel Air as well.

For those who can't find an affordable home in Columbia, "Parts of Ellicott City are sound, especially areas with lots of townhouses, which are great for first-time buyers," says McIlvaine.

Few neighborhoods can rival Stoneleigh and Rodgers Forge for consistent performance and friendliness to young families (though Stoneleigh's prices have edged up in recent years).

For those who want to rediscover their proletarian roots, there are solid values in working-class neighborhoods, too. "Arbutus, Dundalk, Essex, Fullerton, Halethorpe, Overlea, Parkville, these are great neighborhoods with a wide variety of housing and they hold their value," says Landers.

Locust Point and South Baltimore, with their easy access to I-95 and close proximity to Fort McHenry, are popular with local buyers looking for moderately priced homes and with Washington, D.C., commuters who want to dodge the District's higher prices. Away from the harbor, one can still get a home in Hampden in the low $200,000s and enjoy the dynamic, artistic "Avenue" scene.

Get to know Taneytown
Welcome mat: Taneytown has a small-town, Civil War-era feel. To buy your supplies, point your chuck wagon toward Baltimore or Hanover, PA. Median home sale: $250,000. Miles to downtown: 46. Bragging rights: Taneytown puts its parks, open-space preservation, and recreation at the top of its list.

Get to know Lauraville
Welcome mat: This historic suburb along the Harford Road corridor in Baltimore City offers a variety of 19th- and 20th-century single-family homes. Median home sale: $191,900. Miles to downtown: 6. Bragging rights: Most streets are lined with beautiful shade trees, and preserving them is a neighborhood cause.

Get to know Cockeysville/Hunt Valley
Welcome mat: Hunt Valley is not only home to several corporate headquarters, a major mall, and modern hotels in the town center, but also to many fairly new, upscale neighborhoods. Median home sale: (Cockeysville/Hunt Valley) $362,500. Miles to downtown: 17. Bragging rights: Despite the corporate feel of its core, and a generation of housing development, rolling countryside is still close at hand.

Get to know Catonsville
Welcome mat: Catonsville offers well-kept suburbs with quick access to Baltimore City. Median home sale: $280,250. Miles to downtown: 10. Bragging rights: Home to UMBC and CCBC Catonsville, as well as many solid public and private elementary and secondary schools.

Get to know Butler
Welcome mat: A small town often called Worthington Valley, Butler boasts a lot of
preserved land, historic homes and estates, and a “shopping district” of fewer than a dozen stores. Miles to downtown: 22. Bragging rights: For more than 150 years, Butler has been home to many of Maryland’s oldest and wealthiest families.

Get to know Canton
Welcome mat: What was once a working-class neighborhood overlooking the City’s bustling wharves, Canton and its brick row homes are now officially Yuppified. Median home sale: $270,500.
Miles to downtown: 4. Bragging rights: The Square, Canton’s retail center, offers an array of dining and entertainment. But there are also waterfront condos, marinas, and new office space.

Get to know Highlandtown
Welcome mat: Some of it’s still run down, while other blocks are newly renovated, but this 200-year-old ethnic melting pot is clearly on the upswing. Median home sale: $197,500. Miles to downtown: 4. Bragging rights: Though within sight of downtown’s skyscrapers, Highlandtown still has small-town likeability.

Get to know Harbor East
Welcome mat: This gleaming forest of brick and glass towers is home to waterfront condos, high-end shops, new hotels, and office space. Median home sale: $473,900. Miles to downtown: You’re already there, honey. Bragging rights: Park your yacht outside your condo, stroll the waterfront promenade, and enjoy some of the best restaurants in town.

Get to know Havre De Grace
Welcome mat: A small waterfront town at the mouth of the Susquehanna River in Harford County, it’s rich in maritime history. Median home sale: $299,995. Miles to downtown: 36. Bragging rights: Set your course for the landmark Concord Point Lighthouse to find the place.

This article appeared in the April 2009 issue of Baltimore magazine.

KWX Named Brokerage to Watch in 2009

2009-04-02T12:01:00.008-04:00

RISMedia released its annual Power Broker report for 2009. The report surveys the real estate industry and in addition to naming trends and listing the top brokerages in sales and transactions, it also lists brokerages set to emerge in 2009: Enter Keller Williams Excellence.

Out of the 300 companies nationwide, Keller Williams franchises accounted for an astounding 238 brokerages, or just shy of 80%.

Here in Maryland, 12 brokerages made the list, including Keller Williams Excellence. Out of those 12, an overwhelming 11 of them were Keller Williams.

The report also comments on the current eroding market, but notes you can still succeed

"This year’s Power Broker Survey results demonstrate that even
in the worst economy since Eisenhower, basic fundamentals and a strong will are more powerful than ever."

You can view the full report here.

Weekly Update!

2009-03-31T15:52:00.002-04:00

Hello KWX!

CONGRATS!!!!! As an office, we have taken 27 new listings or $6,519,050 for
the month of March. This is amazing!! We more than doubled our goal!!

I am looking forward to hearing about them at tomorrow's sales meeting!

FAQ:

Q. I have a settlement coming up, and I want to get paid at the table. How
to I get that DA thing??

A. Send Michele an e-mail with the property address, sales price,
commission percentage and title company. Please give me at least 24 hours
notice. Remember, you need to have all of your hotsheet items completed
before I can authorize a DA. If there are any outstanding items, this
should give you enough time to get those last minute initials/signatures. If
everything is in line, I will get your DA right out to you!

Upcoming events this week:

Tuesday, March 31, 2009: Time Management with the 411, 3pm - 4:30pm
Wednesday, April 1, 2009: Sales Meeting, 10am-11:30am
Wednesday, April 1, 2009: Broker's Opens, 12pm-3pm
Thursday, April 2, 2009: Your Business is Your Database, 3pm -

*** Reminder, CAMP 443 starts on Monday, April 6th. Please RSVP to Michele (mcbridem@kw.com) by close of business today if you are planning to attend. ***

I hope everyone has started a productive week!

Real Estate: A look at the virtual and human sides

2009-03-30T12:32:00.003-04:00

By BOB & DONNA McWILLIAMS, For The Capital
Published 03/29/09

"In a relatively short period of time, computers have become an integral part of our lives. Whether it's a desktop, laptop, or now with our cell phones, we're connected to an endless world of instant information. And today there's widespread usage of networking Web sites like MySpace, Twitter and Facebook. This increasing dependency on the computer has led us to believe that just about anything can be accomplished with a sliver of silicon and a high speed broadband connection.

When it comes to real estate, computers are a great way to search for a home. You can very accurately define your area of interest and get a lot of information, including pictures of just about everything, from the half bath in the hall, to a satellite shot from space showing the whole community. Back in the dot.com bubble, there was a lot of talk that computers might make real estate agents obsolete. It was widely believed that virtual house hunting could replace much of what an agent does. Fortunately for agents, this theory overestimated the ability to complete the process online and the breadth of services an agent is required to perform. In short, real estate always has been and always will be a contact sport. The human dimension is critical to a successful outcome.

Nevertheless, some parts of the house buying and selling process have changed as we integrate computers and related technologies into the mix. With some guidance, you can get the most out of your online real estate efforts and discover ways to effectively coordinate them with the face-to-face part of the experience.

Generally, some time spent with your keyboard and mouse is a good way to do a lot of the advance research. Whether you're a buyer or a seller, the Internet can give you an initial look at what's on the market and what homes have been selling for. You can also get a flavor for the process of home buying/selling and tips on how to proceed. However, we have a word of caution. The Internet is global in nature, and largely unregulated. As a result, not all of the information you find there is necessarily accurate, nor may it properly speak to the rules of the road for real estate in your particular locale. The way people buy and sell homes in California can be quite different from how we do it in Maryland.

There are literally millions of Web sites devoted to helping people who are looking to buy or sell a house. We don't have any specific recommendations, but the three we often hear about are www.Realtor.com, www.Trulia.com and www.Zillow.com. Realtor.com is far and away the most used Web destination, with a market share that's more than twice the next closest real estate Web site. It's the oldest Web site and search engine for houses, as well as the official site of the National Association of Realtors.

Nonetheless, picking a site to work with is largely a personal preference. They all look a bit different and can provide information to you in a variety of formats. We suggest you try several and you'll find which one is most comfortable, given the nature of your search, level of computer expertise, and general feel for how it.

In addition to the three sites we mentioned, every real estate company and nearly every real estate agent also has a Web site. You should try a few of these as well. If it's a regional real estate company, these sites can sometimes be better at providing localized information that might be more relevant to your geographic search area.

Regardless of which Web site you settle on, searching for a house to buy doesn't require you to visit multiple sites as a way of finding everything that's out there. Essentially all of the Internet search engines are playing from the same deck of cards. When a real estate agent puts a property in the multiple list system (MLS), it automatically populates to all of the Web sites like Realtor.com or Trulia. It doesn't matter if it's a Long & Foster or from Champion, or a listing by any other company in the country. If it goes into the MLS, it'll show up on most all of these Web sites. The one exception to this is a "for sale by owner." But even these properties can be found on the Web at places like www.ForSaleByOwner.com.

When it comes to an individual agent's Web site, some agents may show a large number of listings on their site, but that doesn't always mean all those listings belong to that particular agent. That agent may have just imported another agent's listings from the MLS to feature on their site. If an agent does this, they must clearly denote the name of the company to which these listings actually belong. Also, some agents may show listings on their site which are sold and no longer available. Not all Web sites download their information directly from the multiple list system. In these cases, the status on a property might not immediately be updated, when it's changed in the MLS.

This brings us to the human side of the equation. Despite the enormous amount of information out there in the virtual world, you're still going to need a real person to get the job done. The process of buying and selling houses includes so many intangible details that there aren't enough gigabytes out there to accommodate them all or replace the judgment necessary to complete the task.

Buying a house isn't like buying a book. There's a lot of emotion involved and the experience of a good agent can help carry you across the finish line to a successful end result.

A computer can give you a bunch of pictures, along with the price and location of a house. But when it comes to evaluating the potential value of it, determining if you really want to live there and negotiating a deal, it's best to get offline and work with a real person whom you trust.

If used properly, computers will continue to be a valuable tool in the real estate business. Just remember, real estate, like many other professions, is a people business. It always has been and always will be."

Originally published at hometownannapolis.com

Mortgage Rate Update from M Point

2009-03-26T15:54:00.002-04:00

Price:

Mortgage bond prices opened lower once again this morning but are near neutral to slightly weaker since pricing yesterday as the data wasn't as bad as expected.

The final revised Q4 GDP fell 6.3%, not as low as the expected 6.5% decline.

Weekly jobless claims were relatively as expected with an increase of 652,000.

There is another Treasury auction Friday. Debt supply concerns continue to pressure bonds as a whole as the most recent auction was rather poor. The UK had a failed auction this week and if that ever happened to the US all bets are off.

Expect more of the same with the Fed being the primary buyer of mortgage bonds. This doesn't mean we won't see rates go slightly higher, as is evident over the past few days. But hopefully they will continue to shore up things and keep any major rate spikes from occurring.

9 Ways to Beat Negativity

2009-03-26T15:22:00.003-04:00

I found this great article in the latest REALTOR® magazine that I wanted to pass along about the 9 best ways to beat negativity. Every market, even this market, has opportunity, we just need the right mindset to achieve!

1. Tell yourself a positive story.
Life is a story. The story we tell ourselves and the role we play in that story determines the quality and direction of our life. The best real estate professionals are able to overcome adversity by telling themselves a more positive story than the rest. Instead of a drama or horror movie, they define their life as an inspirational tale. Instead of being the victim, they see themselves as a fighter and over comer. You may not be able to control market conditions, but you can influence the outcome of your story.

2. Mold yourself after success.
Are there real estate practitioners succeeding today? Of course there are. Seek out those people in your market and ask to meet with them. Learn from their advice and model their attitudes and actions. If they can succeed, so can you.

3. Focus on the important stuff.
Tune out the negative voices and start making positive choices. What are you doing on a daily basis to grow yourself, your team, and your business? Don't focus on the negative things other salespeople and the media are saying. Instead, focus on marketing your business, taking care of clients, and building loyal relationships. Every morning, ask yourself this questions: "What are the three most important things I need to do today that will help me create the success I desire?" Then take action on those items.

4. Replace "have to" with "get to."
This simple word swap can change your mind-set and your approach to work and life. It turns a complaining voice to an appreciative voice, and acknowledges that life is a gift- not an obligation. So often we grudgingly say things like "I have to go to this meeting," "I have to meet with this client," or "I have to sell houses in this market." In reality, it's not about what we have to do. It's about what we get to do. Research shows that when we practice gratitude, we get a measurable boost in happiness that energizes us and enhances our health. It's also physiologically impossible to be stressed and thankful at the same time.

5. Refuse to participate in the recession.
Professionals who've thrived during past recessions continues to go about business as usual regardless of market conditions. They worked hard and focused on taking actions to grow their business. As others are paralyzed by fear, take the opportunity to charge forward.

6. Boost your marketing and advertising.
It may seem counter intuitive to spend more money on advertising and marketing right now. But with so many of your competitors cutting back in these areas, this is a great opportunity to build your brand and gain market share. People are still buying and selling, and they will buy from those whom they trust and see in the marketplace.

7. Create a positive vision.
Instead of being disappointed about where you are, make the decision to be optimistic about where you are going. Create a positive vision for your future and future of your team. Vision helps you see the road ahead and it gives you something meaningful and valuable to strive towards.

8. Invite others on your bus.
Invite colleagues and customers to board your bus for a positive ride. Send them an e-bus ticket at www.theenergybus.com. Share your vision with team members and ask them to join you in making this vision a reality. Be a positive influence.

9. No more complaining.
Abide by the "no complaining" rule. When you realize you're about to complain, replace your thoughts and words with positive actions. Let your complaints help you identify what you don't want so that you can focus on what you do want. The key is to turn complaints into solutions.

Copyright REALTOR® Magazine, April 2009

NEW EVENT! KWX Wii Bowling Tournament for KW Cares

2009-03-25T14:59:00.003-04:00

Friday, April 24th
6:00pm until a champion is crowned
$5 Entry fee per person
All proceeds got o KW Cares
Enter as an individual or team
Families welcome
Popcorn and soda free
Pizza $1 a slice

Claim your spot with luke (luke.gibson@kw.com)

I look forward to seeing you there!

Time Management with the 4 1 1

2009-03-23T19:57:00.001-04:00

Want to be successful in business, not "busyness?" Please join us at our office (1850 York Rd. Timonium, 21093) on Tuesday March 31st from 3-4:30 to learn how to budget your time using the "4-1-1 Productivity Tool."

Manage your time and maximize your productivity by focusing your energy on the activities that really matter to your business. Time blocking, productivity tactics and the 4-1-1 Action Goal System will help you operate with a targeted purpose. You?ll learn to work smarter, not harder, towards annual, monthly and weekly goals.

To create that work/life balance we all strive to achieve, look to Time Management with the 4-1-1 for the answers. Top producers don?t spend more time working, they just accomplish more in the time they work.
What's in it for you?

* Learn to focus on the 20% and operate with more purpose.
* Effectively set goals and establish accountability.
* Create a 4-1-1 Action Goal Sheet to help define goals and manage activities.
* Implement the 4-1-1 with the aid of productivity tactics such as time blocking.

Please RSVP to Luke Gibson at luke.gibson@kw.com. I look forward to seeing you there!

It's that time of year already

2009-03-23T19:53:00.001-04:00

Hello KWX!

Spring is in the air! We have heard lots of great things about open houses
this weekend!! Anyone have anything they would like to share?!

Upcoming events this week:

Wednesday, March 25th, 12-3pm: Broker's Opens
Thursday, March 26th, 1-3pm: Your Business is Your Database

I hope everyone has started a productive week!