History of Housing Market

A new video from the John Burns Team about the current Real Estate market cycle. It's a general overview cartoon and worth the time to watch plus a nice history lesson of housing from 1970 to today.

Problem: No Buyers Agent Available

What client services are included when a home seller works with a Full-Service Realtor to list a home for sale?

• Agent-2-Agent Networking - Yes
• MLS Listing- YES
• Advertise Property - Yes
• Negotiate And Manage The Sale - YES
• Show property to other agents clients - ???

Showing a property to other agents clients is a hot debate among Realtor groups and real estate consumers. This extra service from the listing Agent answers the demand of home buyers who want to see a property before they buy it and then submit an offer through a Discount Broker. Before the Internets' transparent introduction of letting home buyers view MLS listings and Open Houses on their own, the Buyers Agent would accompany the buyer and show the property. Now a relationship with a Buyers Agent, is less of a requirement, to find a home.

Touring homes with Redfin participating as the home buyers agent is done through a service called Redfin Direct. The first tour, for up to three hours, is free and there is no obligation whatsoever to use Redfin as the agent. Future tours are $125 per home or $250 for a three-hour tour. Also Redfin explains:

Calling a listing agents or touring a property on your own is easy and listing agents are typically happy to show the homes they are representing to qualified buyers. For first-timers, Redfin offers an outline of what to say on the call, and a spiffy one-page Redfin introduction for you to print and show the listing agent once you do the tour.

Kevin Boer explains via his comments on the Refin Blog that there isn't an obligation to show property to other agents clients. Keep in mind - don't shoot the messenger.

...though it seems really, really, really screwy to folks outside the industry, as it stands now, the listing agent does not have an obligation to show the property, and if he/she does, it's going above and beyond...

Even though it's not a legal obligation to make oneself available to show the property on behalf of a missing Buyers Agent, I feel it should be a moral obligation. The owner and Agent have an interest to sell the house. A licensed Realtor in this situation should set an appointment to show the property and allow the home buyer(s) to tour the property by appointment.

If you're working with an Agent to sell your home make sure to ask how they will handle home buyers that choose to tour homes without a Buyers Agent.

Possible Fake Zillow Ads

With Zillow's free "Post Any Home For Sale" feature, it might become a new oppurtunity for fraudulent real estate advertisers. "In a effort to separate themselves from these false advertising concerns" - The Real Estate Group NY, who is a member of REBNY, publicly states on their website a guarantee that all the properties they list "are accurate and currently available according to the information provided to us by the property owners".
(Realated REBNY Article)

The Folks At NAHB - Play It Safe

It’s a Great Time to Buy

The housing market is experiencing a cooling-off period from the boom of several years ago, making today’s economic environment the perfect one in which to buy a home. Rates are low and inventories are up, meaning more choices for home buyers. Browse the resources gathered below to discover why in today’s market, the buyer holds all the aces.

Home > Resources > For Consumers > It’s a Great Time to Buy

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) explain that the best way to “play it safe” is to actually buy a home. But before you go out and buy - I'd suggest to ask a local Realtor for a report about the recent inventory patterns of homes for sale in the area.

And, Wow - that's bold advice from NAHB - since the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that the median price of a single-family house in the third quarter dropped 1.2% from 2005. Even more dramatic than the price drops was the steep drops in the number of sales.

The decline of sales volume was off the charts in Nevada, down 38 percent. Arizona, ( - 36 percent), Florida (- 34.2 percent), California (- 28.6 percent), Hawaii (- 25.8 percent) and Virginia (- 24.4 percent).

It might be time for the NAHB to take a more "middle-ground" approach to advising homeownership - especially with the growth of stalled subdivisions.

Home Alone in Stalled Subdivisions

Stalled subdivisions are starting to gain attention from the media. The housing market for single-family homes and condominiums in rural areas were builders bought land cheap threatens the quality of life for new construction homebuyers.

As builders continue to lower prices, neighbors in the new communities are coping with empty lots and crime. New home construction has fallen - most builders say its the worst market they have ever seen. Such conditions are resulting in leaving brand new homes next to empty lots and barren blocks.

I remember when home builders would throw a slick sales pitch of "Hurry up and buy now before the price increase next Monday." Im thinking that this type of sales pitch wont work now.

Survival Tips For A Sluggish Market

Business 2.0, November 2006 issue features a number of articles giving you advice on subjects such as real estate investment strategies, online home auctions, tax shelters, best places to still invest, where not to buy, and more. Here's the kicker - its Free - Its also worth the cover price if you decide to purchase the magazine.

Slow Market Equals Sell Side Competition

Keep in mind that...

"By nature, blitzes are risky endeavors for the defense. Since the defense is taking away coverage defenders that rush the QB, there necessarily are holes in pass coverage. The defense does not and cannot cover all offensive players... Source: Answers.com

The real estate industry's commission-based sales structure is undergoing a strong linebacker blitz from the increasing group of low-cost online business models to attract consumers. In addition, the Listing Agent (Sell-Side) landscape is even more competitive because most real estate markets are slowing. Owners are now focused on how much money they will recieve after the house is sold and the transaction closed. With a response to the sellers concerns - the playbook of sell-side discounters is continuing to grow with examples listed below:

• Posting houses in the local multiple listing service for a flat-fee with exposure to Realtor.com (if the local MLS sends feed to the site) ... hmmmm
  
• Menu of services such as negotiation of contracts, advertising help, and showings - the seller pays only for the services selected.
  
• Yard Signs, Lockboxes and Brochure Boxes
  
• Property Profile Webpage with several top Internet classified listings.
  
• Offering varying levels of service for fixed fees
  

Still, owners who are busy and pressed for time or do not want to handle part of the work usually will go with a traditional brokerage. On the other side of the ball, owners who purchased a house at the top of the market really cant afford a 2.5 or 3 percent commision to the sell-side. The house hasn't raised enough in value to cover the expense to offer 6-5% to a Realtor to sell the house.

REBNY "Me-To" Web Portal

A recent real estate article from Inman News correspondent Jessica Swesey announces that REBNY "...has begun developing a Web portal that will incorporate its members' property listings and make the portal available to the general public for free in early 2007." After reading - the Inman article - I started to remember my article posted last week about MLS's ending the listing feeds to Realtor.com. Im wondering if New York City's largest real estate trade association is positioning itself to also pull its feed to realtor.com - at the end of their contract. The Real Estate Board of New York's web portal idea is very close to a "me-to" strategic move - just - take a look at REIL's web portal that went live and is free to the public.

At REIL's web portal real estate consumers can conduct a free search of non-proprietary listing data, can request open house information, and can also access directories for agents or offices.

Update: The New York Sun Times Article

NCRC Files FTC Complaint Against Zillow.com

The following press release was issued from the NCRC website. In summary the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) filed a consumer protection complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleging Zillow.com is misleading consumers, real estate professionals and financial service providers in on-line home valuations.

Zillow is placing the American dream of homeownership at risk for countless working families,” says John Taylor, NCRC President and CEO. “For a company that represents to consumers that they are the ‘Kelley Blue Book of Homes,’ this is a very dangerous situation. We call upon the FTC to intervene and ensure that Americans receive accurate appraisals and valuation information to protect the single most important investment of their lives: their home.

From my understanding about Zillow's home valuations tool called "The Zestimate" it is a starting point to help a consumer figure out the true value of a home. The company explains that the vast majority of Zestimates are within 10 percent of the selling price of the home. Not an exact value - more of a range. For more information about the Zestimate Accuracy check out how Zillow explains the process to price a homes valuation.

Also note the article posted that brings attention to comments made by Lloyd Frink, Zillow's CEO when he was at a recent Realtor conference in Long Beach, CA. According to Maria Patterson - Frink’s comments did not sit well with the audience.

"Zillow is a Web site that’s trying to empower consumers with tools and information,” explains Frink. “We have been fortunate to date that what we’ve done is popular with consumers, which is to provide them with a starting point to figure out what homes are selling for in their market. I thought it was worth making it clear to everyone in the audience that our model is one of a media company, and we would like the people in the audience to buy ads from Zillow. I think that part of the apprehensiveness on the part of Realtors comes from our history at Expedia where we were part of the transaction and that’s not what we’re doing here. We think that we can add a lot of value in terms of information and tools and service that will be complementary to the expert advice and guidance that Realtors give to their clients." Source: RISMEDIA

MLS stops sending listing to Realtor.com

Northwest Multiple Listing Service to pull feed to realtor.com at the end of their contract. Im not sure about this move - it limits the marketing of the inventory of homes For Sale at a website that has an established and valuable Brand Name.

With Realtor.com the homebuyer was able to know what website to goto when starting a real estate search... Are homebuyers in the Northwest going to find NWrealestate.com easier than Realtor.com?

Realtor Conference Hot Topic

Maria Patterson from RISMEDIA writes an interresting article that centers the debated hot topic of the 'Realtor and Consumer' relationship.

The news article contains quotes from the California Association of Realtors Conference in Long Beach, California from President and Co-founder of Zillow, Lloyd Frink. Also former CEO of REALTOR.com Allan Dalton, now President of Move.com's real estate division. Dalton, explains that sites like Zillow’s are undermining the Realtor’s true value proposition by classifying them as “service providers.”

“Zillow cannot marginalize Realtors ... and their value proposition,” Dalton added. “... If the industry allows the collective advocation of a company like Zillow to commoditize real estate to the degree that consumers believe the value of a home can actually be preordained before the value that a Realtor can add (in terms of marketing, negotiating, staging and networking), then what we will be left with is an injured consumer who believes that..."

A business relationship of service in my opinion should be customer-centric and recognize that the balance of power is toward the customer paying for representation. As a result, the Realtor and the Consumer needs to identify what is of value to them.

NAR TV Public Awareness Campaign

Check out the Television Ads for NAR Public Awareness Campaign. NAR states that they have three new communications components. I wonder if NAR will start to post the 2007 ads on You Tube?

The first addition to the campaign, "Someone You Can Trust", promotes the REALTOR® Code of Ethics and highlights the honesty and integrity that REALTORS® bring to every transaction.

The second addition, "Don't Try This At Home", targets unrepresented sellers (the FSBO market). The commercial features a hard-hitting message: REALTORS® have the experience to price your home effectively, so it can sell for up to 16% more than selling it yourself. (From NAR's 2005 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers Study.)

The third component, "Entrepreneur at Heart", features REALTORS® talking about what it's like to be out on their own, every day, in an increasingly competitive marketplace. They also discuss the pride they feel in helping people achieve the American dream of homeownership.

U.S. Home Price and Sales Volume Decline

The median U.S. existing-home home price dropped 1.7 percent and the sales rate dropped 12.6 percent in August 2006 compared to the same month in 2005, the NAR trade group reported today.

"Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 1.9 percent to a pace of 1.07 million in August, but were 11.6 percent below August 2005. The median existing-home price in the Northeast was $271,000, down 3.9 percent from a year earlier.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest rose 0.7 percent in August to a level of 1.44 million, but were 11.1 percent lower than a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $176,000, which is 1.1 percent below August 2005.

Existing-home sales in the South slipped 0.8 percent to an annual sales rate of 2.51 million units in August, and were 7.4 percent below August 2005. The median price in the South was $184,000, down 2.6 percent from a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the West dropped 2.3 percent to an annual pace of 1.29 million in August, and were 22.8 percent lower than a year earlier. The median price in the West was $345,000, up 0.3 percent from August 2005."