The numbers are looking good!

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Numbers review – we are up as a company!  Our transactions are up 21% over last year – We have gone from 674 last year to 874 this year.  With 80 agents that is a 10.6 average number of transactions per agent through July!

HERA update – no more closings within 7 days, lock early, get accurate numbers to your lender from your title company – more communication between all parties is paramount – HERA affects any applications taken after July 30th – any questions on HERA?

Advice for getting appraisals to come in at value: meet appraiser at property and provide all comps you believe are important – provide numbers we provide you – show anything else you believe was integral in the sale, i.e. number of contracts, number of showings, days on market, number of competing properties, month’s supply in hood, in the surrounding area and any insight you can gain from listing agents on houses under contract.  Don’t forget to mention condition of recent sales through your previewing efforts-you do preview, don’t you?  Any detail can make all the difference.  Be sure to ask the appraisers familiarity with the neighborhood, trends, prices, etc as many appraisers are coming from great distances.

10 year treasuries are on the rise putting upward pressure on long term rates – primarily mortgage rates – encourage having your clients lock in their rates

New home sales are up dramatically – KHOV 90 sales last 60 days

Existing home sales are up nationally 5 consecutive months of growth, first time since July of 2003 – what happened then?  Our inventory numbers are down and Case Shiller pricing index – 14 of 20 markets are up – first time in 3 years this has happened – if anyone asks – yes we hit the bottom – locally in November – nationally now.  This is also good to share with appraisers gang!

No big wave of foreclosures hitting our market – BPO orders are down

Short sales are taking longer – second trusts are unresponsive for weeks at a time

More arms length transactions are occurring

Gov’t is pushing top 25 loan servicers to have 500,000 trial modifications in place by Nov 1st – only 200,000 have actually been done.  Banks may be forced into doing modifications by enacting a Bankruptcy bill that got defeated earlier this year where banks will be forced by bankruptcy judges to slash balances of people who are delinquent on their mortgages in involuntarily.

Other key indicators to watch – Index of Leading Economic Indicators (interest rate spread, building permits, stock prices, weekly initial claims (inverted), average weekly manufacturing hours, index of supplier deliveries (vendor performance), and manufacturers' new orders for consumer goods and materials*. The negative contributors – beginning with the largest negative contributor – were real money supply*, manufacturers' new orders for nondefense capital goods*, and index of consumer expectations) – rose close to 1 point in June – 3rd straight month it has grown – 1st time index has grown 3 consecutive months since 2004.  The Index of Leading Economic Indicators are closely tied to the housing industry and its recovery.   Obviously we didn’t hear much about these numbers in the news – strange, huh.

New Unemployment claims filed are down 5 straight times indicating worst may be behind us.  The number of Americans filingclaims for jobless benefits fell more than economists predicted, a sign some employers have stopped paring staff as the recession eases.

Applicationsdropped by 38,000 to 550,000 in the week ended Aug. 1, figures from the Labor Department showed today in Washington, the fifth straight time claims were under 600,000 after being above that level since January. The total number of people collecting unemployment insurance rose.

The bottom line is we are continuing to see great progress in our market – we just need more inventory, rates to remain low, and prices to increase slightly – not significantly and we will continue on our pace of record transactions.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Now go sell something!

 

August Market Update

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It’s amazing!  Our market continues to flourish despite the rest of the economy and other market segments in the real estate business.  Year to date, our transactions are up 21% over last year numbers.  Our belief is that we provide our agents with up-to-date, cutting edge, continuous training to keep them current which has helped us excel in today’s perceived “down” market.  In addition to our success, nationally, June’s numbers of existing-home sales rose for the third consecutive month with inventory easing and home prices declining less sharply in June, according to the National Association of Realtors®.  Our belief is that low rates, lower prices, and the $8,000 tax credit for first time buyers are fueling our business.

 

Some of the trends we are closely monitoring are the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act and the Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act to educate our clients on how the appraisal and lending process will impact their sale from a valuation and timeframe standpoint.  In addition, we are closely monitoring new loan programs, revisiting underutilized programs such as VHDA, buy downs, and FHA ARMS to find ways to finance our purchasers. And we are continuing to stay up-to-date on short sales and the short sale process.  Our experience has been that the process is taking longer and we are having more difficulty in getting them through the banks.  Nationally, only 23% of short sales are getting to settlement.  Make sure to stay current on these changes and updates to give the right advice.

 

A few additional insights are that new home sales continue to flourish, there are more move up buyers entering our market and when we meet the appraiser we are having fewer value issues.  By providing them with comparable sales and details on those sales (short sale, condition, foreclosure, etc.), information on activity, days on market comparisons, number of contracts received and current market conditions to provide the appraiser at the time of the inspection – we are experiencing fewer problems.  We still are having appraisal issues but by meeting the appraiser at the house, we have experienced more appraisals coming in at value than we previously encountered.

 

By staying on top of industry trends, changes within our industry, and educating yourself and clients, you will gain more loyal clients and receive more referrals.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

 

It’s Time!

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It is time, to take the time, to analyze, reassess and reenergize yourself and your team.  What are you saying to clients?  What are your team members saying to their contacts?  Where is your attitude?  What is your team’s attitude?  Where are you spending your time?  Where are your teammates spending their time?  Is everyone effective?  Are they utilizing their strengths?  Are you maximizing yours?  What needs to be altered to get the results you want or need?  Take the time – today – to answer these questions and develop a plan to adapt to your recent activity and mindset to get to where you want to go.

 

Over the last few weeks, I have been part of CEO groups and involved in an executive networking groups and the atmosphere has been:  Flat is where it’s at – we are doing good but not great – things are better for us than our competition so we are happy.  Complacency is not a good attribute in my opinion.  When I hear this, it makes me wonder what the culture is in the office.  Is the negative news they are hearing creeping into their conversations around the water cooler, in interoffice emails, at staff meetings, etc.  These areas of communication need to be evaluated and adjusted.  If you are the best of the best, there is no excuse.  You need to work harder – on your attitude, your efforts, your communication and the message conveyed.  There are opportunities in every market – good, bad and flat.  Again, what are your people saying, doing, and working on to improve themselves.  We all know the saying. “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

 

We don’t want to be flat and happy about it.  We don’t just want to be better than the others in the business, and just flat lining because of the economy and media says the economy is bad.  We want to improve ourselves and not compare ourselves to anyone but ourselves.  We want to be better than we were the year before, and the year before that, and so on.  We need to be better than we were previously.  We need to look at our personal efforts and those around us and ask the tough questions I asked above. 

 

As the market has been adjusting, we find ourselves doing more.  We are making more phone calls, attending more networking sessions, speaking with more people about their business as well as ours, spending more money than our competitors to convey our message, participating in more educational events and attending more functions to learn more about others and their businesses. 

 

Our message is positive, we speak about results and refer to numbers to convey our message and we ask how we can help others and their business.  As a result, we are receiving more business.  Focus on your activities, your message, your attitude, and your servant mentality and you will get business.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

 

We’re moving on up!

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It is true!  The housing market is making its comeback.  Last week we reported sales of existing homes rose 3 consecutive months and that new home sales were up in June over 3%.  Well, guess what?  New home sales were up 11% in July!   This is more great news for us to “build” upon moving into the dog days of summer. 

What is the reason for this growth?  There are several factors in my opinion:  low rates, the right price point, multiple offers on existing homes, the tax credit and the market conditions.  As we all know, rates have been low for an extended period of time and according to Ben Bernanke in his economic update, they are going to remain low as a strategy to aid in our economy’s recovery.  Builders, banks and home owners alike have been reducing prices to encourage offers – well, it appears that the sale of the century for housing has worked and buyers are coming out of the woodwork.  As these buyers are making offers on resale properties and losing out to other buyers, the frustration has lead them to new homes – no multiple offers on to be builts!  As the tax credit has aided in getting first time buyers off the fence, it has also spurred activity in the move up market which is resulting in the increase in new home sales as well.  And lastly, the market has been decreasing for over 4 years – June or July of 2005 is when we earmarked the down turn in housing.  Additionally, as we all know, what goes up must come down and vice versa so it was about time for the market to change.  You can’t keep a good thing down.

The housing recovery is critical in so many ways to the general economy’s recovery – let’s keep the momentum moving in a positive direction by spreading the word.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

What do Clients want?

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Clients

In today’s environment, clients are looking for information, communication, service, and results.  It is our job to ask the right questions to determine their expectations so you can meet or exceed them.  Let’s examine each area to help you improve in these areas.

In today’s day and age, the consumer has become more educated on just about every subject that is important to them.  It is information overload if you let it become that way.  If you go to a bookstore you will see virtually every subject covered from knitting to financing to buying or selling houses to how to raise kids and it starts with “insert subject here” for dummies to expert advice from “insert authors name here”.  Additionally, the internet has given more access to more information on nearly every subject as well.  It is your job to help disseminate this information for your clients and provide them with accurate, up-to-date information on our market, financing options, pricing trends, appraisals, and what differentiates our market and their neighborhood from what they are reading about which is typically more National or global in nature .  This information must be factual, logical and understandable so you can have a positive impact on their decision to buy or sell.  Stay current by keeping yourself educated!  Think like a consumer – become an information junkie.  Learn all you can about our business – starting with the contract and what each part means, reading blogs, attending seminars and trainings as well as reading trade publications, and by being active in your Realtor associations.

It is also imperative to know how your clients want to be communicated with on a regular basis.  Technology that is available today allows us more options to communicate with others.  Simple ways are the phone – but which one?   The cell phone, home phone, or work phone.  By email – work or home?  Texting – again, which device?  Face to face meetings are an all time favorite but very time consuming.  Faxing messages, scanning and emailing may work with many clients as well.  The point is, find out how and how often and do it.

Service – say what you are going to do and then do it.  Call, email, text, get feedback, find out the answer, deliver brochures, put up signs, be on time, schedule inspections, whatever it is – just do it!  Provide them service as if they are the only client you have and you will reap the rewards!

Results are the ultimate goal for your client.  Get them their house, sell their house, rent them a house or lease it out.  Quick, efficient, and professional service is what clients demand and should receive.  One of the fastest ways to the top is to determine what your client wants and needs then deliver it.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Now, go sell something!

Broken Records

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At times I feel like a broken record – our market is different, we aren’t impacted like the rest of the country, we are seeing houses sell, etc.  Well, it looks like other areas are beginning to experience what we are experiencing here in Northern Virginia.  In a recent article on MSNBC it has been reported that existing home sales are up 3 months in a row – check it out here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32104105/ns/business-real_estate/from/ET – thanks for sharing Kendall Bennett.  I am not sure if they are experience the number of multiple contract situations we are facing in the lower and upper price ranges like we are, but we will find out.  However, I am sure they are having challenges with HVCC as it is a nationwide problem and they will experience the same problems we will have with H.E.R.A. as well – thanks Mindy Littleton.  Please be sure to review the H.E.R.A. rules to give our clients the right advice with timing on closings with the new rules being implemented July 30. 

 

In addition to the great news on existing home sales, new home starts were revised and reported to be up 3.6% in June over May 2009 numbers to an annualized rate of 562,000 – check it out even though it is a negative in regards to numbers “anticipated” last year: http://www.census.gov/const/newresconst.pdf. It is our hopes – even though hope isn’t a strategy – that with more good news like this, the media will start to report “our story” of success! 

 

The advice for the day is to continue staying positive, find the good in each situation and keep the ball moving down field and you will get the results you are looking to achieve.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

 

Now, go sell something!

New Legislation- H.E.R.A.

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Home

Just when you thought you knew the business and what is happening in the business, a new regulation gets implemented that very few agents are aware of and that will impact our business.  The Housing and Economic Recovery Act (H.E.R.A.) requires that lenders provide the borrower with a Truth-in-Lending statement (nothing new) and that the borrower has 3 days to review it and no fees (other than credit report) can be collected from the borrower until the review period is over.  Assuming the lender sends this out immediately, 3 days are allowed for mail and 3 days are allowed for review, then the lender can receive payment for the appraisal.  Under the HVCC – appraisals can’t be ordered until payment for the appraisal is received – hooray! This is up to a 7 day delay in ordering appraisals up front. So be sure to make a special note of this scenario. 

 

The next potential delay that can occur is closer to settlement.  If the Truth-in-Lending form changes by more than an 1/8 tolerance of accuracy (used to be a ¼) a new Truth-in-Lending form needs to be reissued and, once again, the buyer needs 3 days to review after receiving it by mail, 3 days later for a potential additional 7 day delay.  It is necessary to get your purchasers locked in early to avoid any delays or penalties for delays in closing.  Also, you must do your due diligence to ensure the buyers of your listings are locked in well in advance of settlement.  This scenario is very likely to happen on short sales and when we have delays in foreclosure settlements as a result of title problems.

If you have any additional questions about this OVER legislation of our industry, contact your lender. 

 

Another area of concern is the sales price changes – increase price to cover closing costs – decrease price as a result of home inspection items – changing settlement dates – and even more…stay on top of your transactions so you don’t get crushed by them!  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Social Media

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Fb Li Twitter

As many of you have read and are experiencing.  Social Media is a growing part of our industry.  As I mentioned to Bryan Felder yesterday, it is a spoke in your marketing wheel and it definitely needs to be there but should not overwhelm you.  Many people spend an inordinate amount of time with Social Media so you need to be cautioned on how much time and resources you are spending on this part of your business.  You need  to have exposure on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and post blogs at a minimum to get your real estate business to Web 2.0. 

 

We are trying to keep you abreast of what to do in our efforts to keep you informed in this arena.  Our wonderful Great Falls Office Coordinator, Kendall Bennett, is teaching Social Media classes on a monthly basis and is available to speak with you about what she has learned, what she is experiencing and what her thoughts are on this latest real estate tool.  Here is a quiz she sent me yesterday – see how you do. http://www.realtor.org/RMOQuiz2.nsf/SocialNetworking?OpenForm.

 

Here is another article I came across that we need to pass to keep our business moving along in a positive direction. http://www.inman.com/news/2009/07/21/bill-would-extend-higher-loan-limits.  Spread the word!  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

 

Now, go sell something!

The market is heating up and so are tempers!

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You are not going to believe the first part of this story but the second part you will.  This weekend, one of our RE/MAX Gateway agents placed a townhouse on the market for sale in Centreville, VA for $250,000.  If you have been reading my previous blogs at www.scottymacsblog.com you would know that this segment of the market is extremely competitive with upwards of 15 contracts on houses that are in good condition.  Well, this property fits this description and we received 7 contracts which are what our sellers were prepared for but what happened on Saturday was completely unexpected.  As you can imagine, to receive 7 contracts, you need to have a lot of activity to produce these results.  An agent, who was showing the property, had removed the key from the lockbox, locked the door and proceeded to show the house.  Another agent arrived to show the house shortly thereafter, knocked on the door, opened the lockbox, found it empty and proceeded to ring the doorbell.  The first agent opened a second floor window and told the second agent they would have to wait until they finished showing the property to see it.  When the first agent opened the door, the second agent attempted to walk into the house.  As the second agent walked into the house, the first agent grabbed the second agent by the throat, lifted them up, slammed them twice against the wall, threw them to the floor and proceeded to kick them out of the door while slamming the door against their legs.  Luckily, for the second agent, a third agent pulled up and proceeded to call 911 as well as the owner of the property to inform them of the situation.   Shortly thereafter, the owner got home, saw an ambulance driving away and two police cars in front of their townhouse.  We are awaiting the results of this assault and will keep you posted.  By the way, agent number one is male, agent number two is female.  Unbelievable but true.

The second story is also true but is more believable, our market is going strong.  Inventory levels continue to decline, demand is on the rise, we have multiple offers in virtually every price range and we are experiencing appraisal issues.  This is adding to frustration levels of agents in our area.  However, it does not mean we need to resort to violence.  We as agents need to respect other agents, and protect the public.  We need to be courteous, professional, and keep our emotions in check.  By controlling our emotions and giving the right advice and acting responsibly we will raise the standards of agents in our industry. 

 

Get it?  Got it? Good.

Summertime fun!

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It has been typical to see this time of year slow down in real estate.  Families take vacations, agents take breaks to spend time with their families as kids are out of school, and it is golf season and so many other reasons.  Well, this year is different.  We are busy!  Houses are selling!  The new home market is also on fire. 

This week, I had the opportunity to speak with several different builders.  It was refreshing to hear that their sales have been above expectations and they have met or exceeded business plans for the month and some, even the year.  Some builders are even talking about hiring construction workers as new housing starts up 3.6% in June!  Additionally, in speaking with our friends in the title business, they continue to post strong numbers.  Mortgage rates remain low so as a result – lenders are staying busy.  It is a great time for those who work hard and take the time to educate themselves and their clients to produce results.  We continue to see first time buyers enter the market as the $8,000 tax credit, low rates and low prices help boost sales.  Investors are seeing opportunities as well so they continue to enter the market and contribute to our sales numbers.

Are there challenges?  Absolutely.  We are experiencing issues with appraisals, short sales and lack of inventory.  The question is, when will these issues get resolved?  The HVCC – home value code of conduct – needs to be dissolved.  Appraisers shouldn’t be placed in an Ivory Tower, not held accountable for their actions, and communication between the lender and appraisers should be restored – it is bad policy.  Short sales need to have a streamlined, standard process to get them approved.  If all qualifications for a short sale are met – especially true hardship – they should get approved quickly with no last minute hitches.  As more short sales come on the market, we see longer approval times and/or last minute foreclosures as communication between loss mitigation and REO departments are minimal or nonexistent.  And lastly, people who are considering selling, should do so now to bolster inventory levels.  We are currently at May 2005 levels.  We are seeing multiple contracts across all price points, rates are low, the tax credit is only in effect for limited time, and we don’t know if prices will continue to decline with the HVCC, continued  foreclosures and short sales and if demand will continue to be so strong.  Today is a great time to sell and move up!

Call us today to learn more!  We are here to help!