A Quiet NAR Success on Its Calls for Action

By Robert Freedman, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

There are many reasons for the success of NAR’s most recent Call for Action, to which more than 18 percent of NAR members—a record— responded.

First and foremost is the compelling subject of the CFA: getting the home buyer tax credit extended and expanded. As NAR Chief Ecionomist Lawrence Yun has been saying for weeks, residential home prices are stabilizing and are on the cusp of heading up—the all-important precursor to restored confidence in homeownership. We’re relying on that improved confidence to boost sales, tighten inventories, and restore healthy credit markets.

Given that, letting the credit expire on Nov. 30 could have stopped sales momentum dead in its tracks.

It was also huge that Congress added the $6,500 credit for repeat buyers, because throughout 2009 much of the sales weight has been carried by first-time buyers. For market stability, repeat buyers needed to get off the fence and Congress saw that. Read more

Middle-Market Is Next Home Segment to Improve

By Robert Freedman, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

Executives from some of the largest brokerages in the country expect to see their sales grow 6-8 percent in 2010 and home prices to start heading up about 3 percent, REALTORS® heard in a state of the real estate industry discussion Saturday at the 2009 NAR Conference & Expo.

John L. Scott Real Estate chairman and CEO J. Lennox Scott said expansion of the tax credit to include repeat buyers will help boost middle-market sales next year, although mortgage financing above the $417,000 non-jumbo conforming loan limit will remain a challenge. “The repeat tax credit will at least start a conversation about buying” among existing home owners, Scott said. Read more

Take the Distress Out of Distressed Properties

By Wendy Cole, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

Foreclosure filings have decreased slightly for the past three  months in a row, according to RealtyTrac. While that’s certainly welcome news from a short-term perspective,  the larger picture concerning distressed properties remains grim. October 2009 marked the 45th straight month of year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity. In the third quarter of this year alone, there were still more foreclosures than in all of 2006.

At the RISMedia Power Broker Perspective Panel on Distressed Properties, RealtyTrac’s Rick Sharga noted that the year will end with about 3.3 million households having gone into foreclosure. And because of  rising “shadow inventory” another 4 million properties are expected to hit foreclosure status in 2010.

The Obama Administration’s recent push to accelerate the pace of loan modifications to keep struggling borrowers in their homes also has a dark side.  Some 50-60% of those whose loans are modified are expected to redefault eventually nonetheless.

This massive inventory of distressed properties continues to put significant downward pressure on home prices nationally, and makes it tempting for real estate practitioners to slip into a state of powerlessness and discouragement. That’s a huge mistake. Read more

Do Sales Plaques Matter?

Recently I was chatting with a very successful real estate pro who took great pride in the many plaques and other forms of recognition that his brokerage gave him month after month to acknowledge his enviable sales record. This Florida-based gentleman, with more than 40 years of experience under his belt, is still hard at work every day scoping for buyers and going after new listings.

His business has slowed some in the past few years as it has for many. But clearly the trophies of his excellent work were, and still are, a major source of pride, as well as a centerprice of his marketing effforts. But the encounter made me wonder about the real value of sales contests these days. Do your brokerages encourage competition among sales associates with plaques and other highly visible rewards for individual success?

For a future article in REALTOR® Magazine, we want to hear from broker-owners, managers, and sales associates how important you think it is to publically recognize top performers? Does such recognition motivate others to work harder or does it result in unproductive jealousy or griping? Please share your thoughts and experiences concerning sales contests. Feel free to e-mail me directly if you prefer at wcole@realtors.org.

Thought About Lease-to-Own Transactions?

By Robert Freedman, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

The news on housing has been good lately, with existing-home sales up for the last several months, but we’re still in a very difficult market, particularly with move-up homes. Not only have prices not recovered but financing remains a challenge and appraisal issues continue to pose hurdles to getting transactions closed. One quick look at the comments generated by our post a few days ago on the home valuation code of conduct (HVCC) makes that evident. (More than 135 comments have been submitted so far.)

For these reasons and more, it makes sense to start looking at lease-to-own transactions. In putting together a webinar on that topic to be held later this month, I talked to two specialists in the niche and what they had to say was eye-opening. Read more

Why You Need a Tech Policy

By Wendy Cole, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

Because most real estate salespeople are independent contractors, brokerage managers commonly assume that they shouldn’t dictate or even recommend to agents what sort of computers or other tech tools to use, let alone what versions of software. That could be a gigantic mistake. During a technology management course this week, sponsored by the Illinois Association of REALTORS® and the Midwest CRB Chapter, instructor Jonathan Nicholas, a former broker-owner and current consultant to brokerages, discussed the technical incompatibility and general chaos that can ensue when offices fail to come up with a standardized approach concerning the equipment and software their agents use. Read more

Brokerages Get Financing Help

By Robert Freedman, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

Much of what NAR gets involved in at the federal level is high-profile, like protecting the mortgage interest deduction, but the association on a daily basis is involved in initiatives that fly below the radar yet pack a big punch.

A new loan program from the Small Business Administration is a case in point. Although the association didn’t have a hand in the introduction of ARC loans–the “ARC” stands for America’s Recovery Capital–it’s been engaging with SBA leadership on who should be eligible for these loans.

If you haven’t heard about these loans yet, it’s worth your time to check them out. I posed questions about these and other SBA loans to Scott Rinn, NAR’s senior policy analyst on business issues, and you might find what he said useful.

Read more

Are You a Broker-Owner Who’s Trimmed Office Space?

By Wendy Cole, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

Broker-Owners: Have you recently reduced your office space? For an upcoming article, REALTOR Magazine wants to speak to brokers who’ve cut back on excess work space to save money and improve efficiency. We also want to hear from sales associates for their reactions to brokers who’ve cut their space.

Please email me at wcole@realtors.org or call me at 312-329-8484 to discuss details of how and why you (or your broker) decided to trim office space and the pros and cons (if any) of taking that step. Many thanks.

Lender Logic Meltdown

By Wendy Cole, Senior Editor,  REALTOR® Magazine

Thought I would share this mind-boggling post from one of my REALTOR® friends on Facebook. Jennifer Bunker is the savvy broker-owner at Coldwater Creek Properties, an environmentally-conscious brokerage in Ogden, Utah: 

“Today Wells Fargo made a buyer prove that she has a fiancee before they would fund her loan (WTH?). So, she took a picture of her hand w/ the ring on it and emailed it as proof and … they took it! Seriously, what are bank people ingesting these days? Can it get any more bazaar?”

If this really happened, it shows that anxiety has overtaken reasonableness at a major lending institution. Since when is having a fiance a factor in qualifying for a mortgage?  And how could a photo be considered proof of anything? Anyone else come up against lending tales that defy logic, even in these cautious times?