Interesting Developments at the Board of Directors Meeting

By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

There was a lot of ground covered during the Board of Directors meeting Monday at the 2009 REALTORS® Conference & Expo. Here are some of the highlights:

• The REALTOR® Property Resource (RPR): Attendees got a guided tour of this impressive new site, which ultimately aims to cover pretty much every property in the United States. RPR will be a massive database that will allow NAR members (and only NAR members) to search properties across numerous criteria, from school districts to tax info. Users will also be able to gauge the value of a property based on home improvement projects, site conditions, and comparables. Call it contemporary. Call it cutting edge. Just don’t call it an MLS. Read more

Stevens Strongly Defends FHA’s Financials

By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

In an address to hundreds of REALTORS® at the 2009 NAR Conference & Expo Saturday afternoon, FHA Commissioner David Stevens offered a fervent defense of the organization’s financials. He specifically addressed the negative press surrounding the FHA’s recent audit, which showed part of its capital reserves below congressionally mandated levels.

Stevens distinguished the FHA’s capital reserves for unexpected losses from its regular reserve fund, which remains above 2 percent. Together, the two funds equal almost 4 percent in reserves. “We’ve come through the 100-year flood,” he said. “Despite the crisis, FHA is still standing with $31 billion in capital, $3.5 billion more than it had a year ago.” Read more

The Socially Networked Neighborhood

By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

If you want to become recognized as your neighborhood’s real estate expert, you should create a fan page for it on Facebook, advises Max Pigman, vice president and national speaker at REALTOR.com®. Pigman talked about how to get some marketing traction via social media in a Friday morning session at the 2009 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in San Diego.

He said that real estate pros can “take over” their neighborhoods if they create a fan page, invite residents to join it, and post updates regularly about community events and local real estate and development trends.

“This becomes the perfect place to assert that you’re the real estate expert for your area,” he said. “Every time you send an update, everyone can see it. If you get strategic with this, you can connect with your sphere at an unbelievable level.” Read more

Sun, Surf, and Success in San Diego

By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® kicks off its 2009 Conference & Expo this week in San Diego. It’s the first time it’s ever been held here, and attendees who have never been to “America’s Finest City” before are in for a real treat. San Diego offers a very agreeable climate (at least to someone who’s coming from Chicago in November), and the Convention Center and nearby hotels are surrounded by interesting things to see and do.

This year’s Conference & Expo promises to be edifying and fun. There are approximately 400 exhibitors this year, and the aisles will be packed with real estate pros checking out the latest in everything from mobile real estate apps to transactional tools to selling techniques. Also, the workshops and sessions will provide insights on just about every topic related to real estate, from social media to research resources. Attendees can get info on a broad range of subjects, or go through more concentrated tracks based on their background; these include young professionals, broker/owners, and commercial practitioners. Read more

2010: A Major Test for Commercial

By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

The next year or two may be a “test of survival” for anyone in the commercial real estate sector, but the upswing could be very lucrative for the ones who make it through that period. This was the overarching message coming from panelists and speakers at the Urban Land Institute’s Fall 2009 meeting in San Francisco last week, as well as ULI’s Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2010 report, which was released at the event.

Right now, the consensus among industry experts seems to be forming around a slower, “L-shaped” recovery in the commercial market, with employment repeatedly being cited as a key factor in determining exactly when that recovery may come. The discussion was well-timed, seeing as how the U.S. unemployment rate topped 10 percent last month, reaching levels we haven’t seen in a quarter century. Predictions as to when we’d see real job creation again ranged from late 2010 to 2012. Read more

The Tax Credit Vs. Cash for Clunkers

By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

Amid several news reports that the first-time home buyer tax credit will almost certainly be extended, I’ve seen more than a few blogs and online comments arguing against it. Some of them say the government can’t afford it, and lament the fact that we’re borrowing from our children and grandchildren to pay for this. Others maintain that the tax credit artificially stimulates demand, and the market will resume its slump whenever it does expire. Still others claim that it hasn’t really motivated enough buyers who would not have otherwise purchased a home to justify the program.

I may disagree with some of these arguments, but I’m glad people are making them. It’s essential that we have a healthy debate on this important subject rather than move forward with our eyes closed and our mouths shut.

However, there is one argument that I take issue with: The tax credit and the “Cash for Clunkers” program are essentially the same thing. I’ve read this line of reasoning in a few places, and in each instance, it seems to confuse rather than clarify. It seems to me that the two initiatives are very different in a few significant ways: Read more

Looking Good, REALTOR.org!

By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

If you regularly visit REALTOR® magazine online, chances are pretty good that you also check out our sister site, REALTOR.org, from time to time. In case you haven’t seen it yet, NAR’s official site got a design refresh yesterday, and it’s already getting some props in the RE.net. Deservedly so, too–kudos to our REALTOR.org colleagues on a job well done!

Mental Recession Redux?

By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

In July 2008, in the heat of the presidential election, McCain campaign advisor and former U.S. Senator Phil Gramm caused some controversy when he seemingly characterized the United States as “a nation of whiners” who were plagued by a “mental recession.” In other words, the economic problems of the time were all in people’s minds.

Events since then would appear to controvert Gramm’s argument. The economic troubles manifesting themselves at the time—including considerable overleveraging among major banks, increasing unemployment, and rising mortgage defaults—were not just figments of our collective imaginations.

However, in spite of his flawed analysis, Gramm may have been on to something with his concept of a mental recession. In fact, we may be heading into one right now. Read more

New-Growth Indicators: What Do You Look for?

By Mariwyn Evans, Commercial Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

If you think you have a good nose for where the next new area of development or redevelopment will be in your market, we want to hear from you. Contact Mariwyn Evans at mevans@realtors.org by Sept. 25. Also, take our poll on good signs of future growth in an area.

The Week in Quotes

By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

With the nation’s focus on rising unemployment, an uncertain economic recovery, and health care reform, here are some of the more salient quotes from leading figures this week:

“It is hard to escape the conclusion that the Fed may need to maintain fairly low interest rates over a period of many years … If you want to bring down leverage, you should keep monetary policy sufficiently accommodative to forestall a collapse in spending and a deflationary spiral.”

- Goldman Sachs economists Peter Berezin and Alex Kelston, commenting in a report released this week Read more

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