November Home Sales and Prices Higher than Expected
November home sales saw the second-highest year-over-year increase in 2012, with a 15.7% rise from last November. October had a 17.8% increase, making sales this fall season unusually high. The November RE/MAX National Housing Report, a survey of MLS data in 52 metropolitan areas, also shows that home prices rose 6.9% higher than the prices seen in November 2011. The Median Price for homes sold this November was $163,750. Rising prices are due mostly to a dwindling inventory, which continued to drop across the country. The average number of homes for sale is now 29.1% lower than last year. Low inventory levels are having a negative impact on home sales in many markets, where there are more buyers than homes for sale.
The above is an excerpt from the monthly RE/MAX National Housing Report. Click here to read the full two-page report.
Tags: December, national housing report, NHR, remax report
About Keri Henke
Keri Henke is the Public Relations & Communications Coordinator for RE/MAX North Central.
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Monday, December 31, 2012
November Home Sales and Prices Higher than Expected - Sold Sign Blog
Thursday, December 27, 2012
RE/MAX Lands in China | ABOVE | The RE/MAX Magazine
By Deborah Ball Kearns
The network is still buzzing with the news that RE/MAX has expanded into China, Hong Kong and Macau, a move that capped years of hard work and an arduous search for the right master franchise leadership.
With a population of more than 1.3 billion people and a booming economy that’s second only to the U.S., China has a vibrant, developing real estate market fueled by the growing prosperity of its middle class. Affluent Chinese nationals are also investing heavily in real estate outside of their home country – namely in the United States and Canada.
The RE/MAX system is a clear fit for Chinese real estate entrepreneurs looking for a global brand that will multiply their opportunities to do more business, says Larry Oberly, RE/MAX Vice President of International Development. “RE/MAX agents understand the power of the international network,” Oberly says. “This expansion is a win-win for new agents in China, as well as RE/MAX agents in other countries who can grow their referral database in a major way.”
Even with the new RE/MAX China operation still in development – the first offices should open in early 2013 – many RE/MAX Associates are already working with Chinese buyers.
Tapping into the Chinese market
Gloria Young and Omar Kinaan, for instance, work as a team with RE/MAX Distinctive Properties in Menlo Park, Calif., and 40 percent of their clients are international buyers – mostly from China.
“Culturally speaking, Chinese people like to plan ahead – way ahead,” Young says. “Stanford University is one of the top choices Chinese parents consider for their children. It’s also the engine that drives the Silicon Valley’s venture capital and tech firms.
“When we point out all of these benefits, coupled with the outstanding public schools and laid-back lifestyle, Chinese buyers see the value in investing or buying real estate here.”
Young is Chinese; she was raised in Beijing and Hong Kong, and speaks fluent Mandarin and Cantonese. She is responsible for building relationships with Chinese buyers. She culls leads from years of international travel and referrals from friends and relatives who are still living in China. Kinaan, who has worked in real estate for nearly a decade, takes the lead on transaction negotiations and moving the process to closing.
Building on Momentum
Together, Young and Kinaan have created a successful business model, and now that RE/MAX has entered into China they expect to make even more connections.
“We share the mindset of focusing on quality instead of quantity,” Young says. “In our luxury market, we target an intimate circle of high-net-worth Chinese buyers as opposed to dozens and dozens of people.”
Kinaan adds that the RE/MAX global presence is one of the leading reasons Chinese buyers work with the team.
“Many affluent Chinese people travel the world and have heard of RE/MAX, although the brand isn’t yet up and running in China,” he says. “They’re more open to working with us than if we were affiliated with a lesser-known brand. Our office specializes in The RE/MAX Collection, and that’s another key advantage. Chinese buyers expect a sophisticated, luxury experience in all of their dealings, and that’s what we deliver.”
Working with Chinese Buyers
Young and Kinaan offer these tips to help prepare agents interested in working with this wave of buyers.
Partner with someone
“There’s a huge advantage to partnering up with another agent who already knows the language, understands the culture and has connections in China, because there are subtle yet important nuances to Chinese business relationships,” Kinaan says.
Listen closely and be patient
“Chinese buyers view the negotiation process as the beginning of the transaction,” Kinaan says, “so you need to have more patience and listen to really understand their objections.”
Do the research
“You have to do your homework, as you would in any transaction, and really take the time to understand the cultural differences and international lending and financing requirements,” Young says. “The more solution- and fact-oriented you are, the better your chances are of convincing Chinese buyers that they should work with you.”
Anticipate their needs
Young says the Chinese buyers she works with are typically looking for newer homes in great condition, modern architecture and a strong emphasis on Feng Shui (for instance, house numbers and their relation to good chi, sun exposure, furniture setup and location of entry door, among other factors).
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
RE/MAX Named No. 1 Real Estate Franchise by Entrepreneur
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WHHOOOOO HOOOO!!!!! Doing it again REMAX!
Monday, December 17, 2012
2012 November Home Sales Report - Mike Theo and David Clark of WRA
November Another Strong Month for Sales
MADISON, WI – Wisconsin home sales continued to grow at a robust pace in November, extending a strong growth trend that started in July last year. Existing home sales rose 24.8 percent last month, compared to that same month in 2011, according to the most recent monthly report by the Wisconsin REALTORS® Association (WRA).
After increasing for eight straight months, median prices dropped in November, slipping 2.3 percent to $129,900 compared to November 2011. “With 17 straight months of healthy growth in statewide home sales, there’s no doubt that the state housing market has seen a real bounce this year,” said Renny Diedrich, Chairman of the WRA board of directors. She pointed out that the year-to-date sales are up 21.2 percent, which is by far the highest levels seen since 2007, just before the recession officially began. “As we move into the slower part of the selling season, it’s encouraging to see such a strong growth in sales, and all regions grew by double-digit margins” said Diedrich. The Central region saw growth of 50 percent in November 2012 compared toNovember 2011, and sales were up 38.2 percent in the West region over that period. The Southeast region was up 24.5 percent, and both the North and Northeast regions grew at just over 20 percent in November. Finally, the South Central region experienced growth of 18.3 percent over the period.
“The decline in the median price in November follows a relatively strong uptick in October, so it’s difficult to say precisely what caused this volatility, but year-to-date, median prices are still up,” said WRA President and CEO Michael Theo. Through the first 11 months of 2012, median prices are 0.7 percent higher than the first 11 months of 2011. “This is a pretty good track record given the sluggish economic growth and weak job creation in the national economy this year,” said Theo.
The state inventory picture continues to improve with available homes dipping below 50,000 units for the first time since the WRA began tracking inventory levels at the end of 2009. This represents available supply of 9.5 months in November, which is a significant improvement over the 14.3 months of supply this time last year. “Given the strong growth in sales over the last year and a half, we’ve been expecting inventories to come down, and it’s encouraging to see strong improvements in some of our larger markets,” said Theo. Of the 24 counties classified as belonging to metropolitan areas, 15 had inventory levels below the statewide average. “In fact, Milwaukee County, which is the biggest county in the state, has just under six months of inventory, which is at the level considered by economists to be balanced,” said Theo. Still, housing affordability in the state remains high due in part to 30-year fixed-rate mortgages that are under 4 percent. The Wisconsin Housing Affordability Index, which measures the percentage of a median-priced home that a buyer with the median family income can afford, jumped to 270 in November, compared to 242 in November 2011. Assuming that the economy manages to stay out of recession, the statewide inventory should continue to stabilize, which will in turn lead to price appreciation. “As housing availability shrinks, using the services of a REALTOR® can help those ready to get into this market find the best values,” said Theo.
The Wisconsin REALTORS® Association is one of the largest trade associations in the state, representing over 10,500 real estate brokers, sales people and affiliates statewide. All county figures on sales volume and median prices are compiled by the Wisconsin REALTORS® Association and are not seasonally adjusted. Median prices are only computed if the county recorded at least 10 home sales in the quarter. All data collected by Wisconsin REALTORS® Association are subject to revision if more complete data become available. Beginning in 2010, all historical sales volume and median price data at the county level have been re-benchmarked using the Techmark system which accesses MLS data directly and in real time. The Wisconsin Housing Affordability Index is updated monthly with the most recent data on median housing prices, mortgage rates, and estimated median family income data for Wisconsin.
Friday, December 14, 2012
6 Real Estate Niches Set to Explode in 2013 | Trulia Pro Blog
There’s no better time of year than the slow(er) holiday season weeks to start thinking and working to make your business better in 2013, including by investigating and vetting new niches that are poised to take off next year.
Here’s my short list:
1. Buyers
Obviously, home values are still down from their top-of-the-market peak, but they are on the increase – and that has deactivated many of the valid fears careful buyers had about buying into a declining market. Further, inventory is still flush in most areas and will continue to be plentiful this coming year as the banks allow their shadow inventories to trickle onto the market.
Buyers make for a fantastic niche because they have a unique set of questions, concerns and knowledge cravings that you can use in marketing to them, reaching them with your knowledge and insights on everything from neighborhood flavor to local market dynamics. Through blogs, seminars, and answering questions in online forums, you can reach buyers and position yourself in their minds as an expert in one fell swoop.
Most first-time buyers don’t have a pre-existing agent relationship, and they are out there actively looking for an agent that will communicate with them on their own level, answer their questions with respect and treat them like a VIP, no matter the size of their transaction. The bonus? If you serve them well, you stand to gain a client for a lifetime of transactions and referrals.
2. Former Foreclosed Homeowners
The peak foreclosure rate of the recent housing recession took place right around 2010, and most lenders require a minimum of 3 years’ “seasoning” on a foreclosure (or short sale) before they will issue a new mortgage. Newly able to qualify for a mortgage (again), home owners who lost homes to foreclosure will flood back into the housing market next year, having recovered from lost jobs, saved some cash, reduced some debt and paid a whole lot in income taxes over the past few years without the mortgage interest deduction they were so used to. Many will also be motivated to buy similar or better homes to the ones they lost at a price lower than they paid for their former homes, at the top of the market.
Agents who seek to market to this niche should be up to speed on:
- foreclosure and short sale seasoning requirements,
- other common credit and financial issues this group faces, and
- the local neighborhoods where distressed, yet desirable, listings are plentiful and now selling for well below what they sold for in the 2005-2006 time frame.
3. Style-Specific Buyers
Some buyers are super specific about their stylistic preferences: they only want a mid-century modern home, a log cabin, a Spanish-style mini-villa, a Tudor, or a glass-walled water view home. Marketing your expertise, inventory and/or specialization in these sorts of properties is like putting out a smoke signal to these sorts of buyers that leads them right to you.
4. Renters-for-Life and Stay-Putniks who’ve recently changed their minds
At the bottom of the market, it was in fashion in some circles to declare that home ownership was crazy and that the best practice was either to simply rent for life, no matter the income bracket, or to stay in the same home until, as a client of mine was fond of saying, “they carry me out in a pine box.”
Fortunately, the emotional tides that caused such vehement anti-home buying declarations have turned, right along with the shifts in the market.
But here’s the thing: these renters for life and home owners who had planned to stay put are financially conservative and will be more concerned than most with the long-term economic stability and projected future prosperity of the neighborhood and home values. Obviously, every buyer cares about these things, but these folks will be more aggressive in posing these questions to you and expecting data-driven answers to their concerns from the agents they choose to work with on both their purchases and their listings.
5. Urban Farmer Wannabes
There is a burgeoning group of urban and suburbanites who are dealing with digital depression, a desire to eat whole, local foods and the craving to do something with their hands. These trends, combined, are driving the movement toward urban farming. These are the folks who:
- will want yards, rooftops, terraces and other spaces amenable to planting raised beds, fruit trees and container gardens
- will want to know what the local ordinances say about front yard food planting; and
- might even want to keep a mini-herd of chickens, goats or even bees on the property.
These folks (and I am one – check out my beekeeping getup, here) seek resources and creativity for how to use the space they have, no matter how small or how large, to build the lifestyle they want. Being knowledgeable about permaculture values and urban farming are key for the agent that wants to market to this niche, as is sharing that knowledge with local urban farming and locavore-focused groups, sites and communities.
6. Lifestyle Design Aficionados
Increasing numbers of Americans are taking up the mantle of lifestyle design or lifestyle composition, working and living and owning homes in very flexible arrangements. These folks are often self-employed or freelance/contract workers. They want to be able to travel extensively throughout the year, and like to create a location independent lifestyle, even as they seek to get maximum leverage out of everything they own, as with pooling funds with friends or relatives to buy – or renting out rooms, floors, units or their whole home for a night – or a year – at a time.
In order to make their lifestyles work and flow as needed with economic cycles and the supply and demand forces for their own work, these people will be looking to agents skilled in helping clients:
- buy untraditional and multifamily homes
- work around their unusual income and employment situations and
- satisfying the competing and numerous priorities and wish lists that come with unique co-buyer arrangements.
Not convinced in the power of niche marketing? Don’t take my word for it – I just spoke with #1 New York Times bestselling author and marketer extraordinaire Tim Ferriss about what he’d be doing right now if he were a real estate agent. Here’s what he said.
P.S. – Take two minutes to update your Trulia profile to include your areas and niches of specialization right now, and we’ll automatically enter you to win a Mercedes E550. Yes, we’ll give you a car for doing a super-fast, high-potency favor for your own business. You’re welcome!
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Area foreclosure filings fell 32% in November - Paul Gores of the Journal Sentinel
Area foreclosure filings fell 32% in November
By Paul Gores of the Journal SentinelDec. 3, 2012
Foreclosure filings dropped more than 32% last month in southeastern Wisconsin, posting the lowest November total in six years and offering another possible sign the housing market is turning the corner.
Court records show there were 684 mortgage foreclosure filings in November in Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha counties. That compares with 1,011 in the same month in 2011.
The drop-off was led by a big decrease in Milwaukee County filings. There were 384 last month, compared with 528 in November of 2011. That's a fall of more than 27%.
Through the first 11 months of the year, however, foreclosure filings in the seven-county area still were running almost 2% ahead of 2011.
Russell Kashian, a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater economics professor who tracks residential real estate in the state, predicted foreclosure filings would finish down slightly from 2011, driven by fewer business days for filing in December, stabilizing home prices and the reluctance of some banks to add more foreclosures that they'll have to write off.
"Right now there's a lot of pressure on bank capital, so writing it off probably isn't the easiest thing to do," Kashian said.
In a separate report Monday that looked at October data, the research firm CoreLogic said completed foreclosures - the total number of homes actually lost to foreclosure - were down 17% nationally from the same month in 2011. Through October, the national foreclosure inventory had decreased 9%, CoreLogic said.
In Wisconsin, 1.9% of all homes with a mortgage were in some stage of foreclosure in October, down 0.5% from the same time last year and lower than the national rate of 3.2%, the CoreLogic report showed.
Economist Brian Jacobsen said "more and more investors are looking to real estate as prices have dropped."
"That could go a long ways to help mop up the foreclosed inventory," said Jacobsen, chief portfolio strategist for Wells Fargo Funds Management in Menomonee Falls and an associate professor at Wisconsin Lutheran College.
Jacobsen said the resolution of the so-called fiscal cliff could have an impact on what happens with foreclosures next year.
"If the fiscal cliff is resolved through eliminating the reduction in the payroll tax and cutting back unemployment benefits, delinquencies and foreclosures could pick up," Jacobsen said. "While there are some foreclosures that take place when the borrower is in the top tax bracket, most of them occur when the borrower is outside those tax brackets. Banks typically have forbearance programs where they delay foreclosure when the borrower loses his or her job, but the banks can't wait forever."
He said that "to the extent that borrowers have been using the extra money they have from the 2 percentage point reduction in payroll taxes or unemployment benefits to pay their mortgages, taking away that support will probably lead to more delinquencies and foreclosures."
