Short Sales Help in Plain Language

By Robert Freedman, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

Since the beginning of the short-sale problem, NAR members have been seeking plain-language, common-sense tips for dealing with these difficult transactions. We tried to help fill the information gap earlier this year with two free webinars, one in March and one in May, with Scott Thompson, a short-sale specialist who shared his ideas in a way that seemed to resonate with our members. The last time I checked, just under 39,000 of you either attended, viewed, or downloaded the two webinars. They were also incorporated into NAR’s new Short Sales and Foreclosures Resource Certification (SFR) curriculum.

The tips Thomson shared still apply today because he talks about industry best practices that remain constant. But the short-sale environment is nevertheless evolving, so we’re hosting a third webinar, called Today’s Changing Short-Sale Environment, and you might consider spending an hour to attend it on Dec. 10 if you’re looking for more help with these transactions. It’s at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. What has changed? First, lenders have been refining their processes for the past year and a half, so we need to know how their processes are different today. Ideally, we would talk to all the major lenders but that’s not practical. So, we’re doing the next best thing. We’re having Dave Sunlin of Bank of America Home Loans, a sponsor of several of our webinars, talk to us about what his company is doing on short sales. Dave is senior vice president at the lender and in putting together the Webinar we learned that BofA is rolling out a technology platform for short sales. Read more

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

Listing Videos: They’re That Easy

By Robert Freedman, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

Making informative and even entertaining videos of your listings seems like a complicated undertaking involving a professional camera, lights, editing equipment, and a lot of knowledge of how all that equipment works, but in fact you can be uploading videos tomorrow without too much trouble.

I’ll be talking about this at 1 p.m. today at the NAR Expo booth at the 2009 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in San Diego. Maybe you won’t be posting videos tomorrow when you’re back at the office but you’ll certainly see that it’s pretty easy to do. Read more

YPN at NAR 2009: Learning, Connecting, Having Fun

By Jared James, Guest Contributor

What a night it was at REALTOR® Magazine’s YPN exclusive, invitation-only event on the pool deck of the Hotel Solamar. Just when I started thinking that a rooftop might not have been the best place for anyone who enjoys mingling without goose bumps all over their body, we were greeted by conveniently placed heat lamps and fire pits that not only added to the modern feel, but also ensured that everyone stayed warm and comfortable.

I didn’t get to talk to as many people as I would have liked, but of those I did get to interact with, it was nice to see a diversification of experience and levels of success. In this summit of the “who’s who” of young people in real estate, I was surrounded by past and present 30 Under 30 honorees, TV producers, and tomorrow’s up-and-coming stars. One moment I was talking to a charming lady from a  resort destination in Idaho, and the next minute I was greeted by an agent from Beverly Hills, Calif. There was one thing that I found in common with each and every agent that I came in contact with, though, and that was that they all had a curiosity and hunger to learn how to better succeed in today’s changing market. 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.

People, Ideas, Hardware

By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

One of the most interesting and original thinkers of the 20^th century may have been a colonel in the U.S. Air Force that few people have heard of. John Boyd, a former fighter pilot who transformed into a military strategist later in his career, was a colorful and cantankerous interlocutor and a thorn in the side of many high-level, careerist officers who worked in the Pentagon. But he was also indisputably brilliant, and a major influence on several subsequent figures, such as current Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

Boyd’s rich body of work is too complex to go over in a single blog post, and not all of it can be directly tied to real estate. However, I think one of his more succinct maxims is worth sharing here: Read more

Study Finds Connection Between Neighborhood Walkability and Home Values

By Erica Christoffer, Contributing Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

A recent study released by CEOs for Cities shows homes located in walking-friendly neighborhoods–with nearby amenities such as parks, schools, libraries, restaurants, and coffee shops­–sell at higher prices than homes in less walkable neighborhoods.

The data, provided by ZipRealty, was compiled from 94,000 real estate transactions in 15 U.S. markets. Read more

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

Reader Poll: How Much Do You Spend on Closing Gifts?

REALTOR® Magazine online will be featuring an upcoming article about closing gifts, and we want to hear from you! Please answer our two poll questions below.

When Negotiating, 30 Seconds to Set the Tone

As the founder and director of
Harvard’s International Negotiation Initiative, Daniel Shapiro has had his hand in numerous discussions between dignitaries, terrorists, lawyers, business leaders, and even real estate practitioners. Shapiro, a trained psychologist, has embarked on a new field of study in trying to understand emotions as they pertain to negotiating. As a world-renowned academic, he travels across the globe teaching his ideas. Yesterday, he presented “Capturing the Power of Negotiation” at Northwestern University.

Shapiro argues that there are hundreds of emotions, and it’s often difficult to focus in on one when trying to come to a resolution. Instead, he believes one should focus on five core concerns: Read more

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