A Clear Choice for Realtors
September 30, 2009
Technology has been rapidly advancing, especially in the real estate industry. Virtual tours a few years ago were the pinnacle of marketing in the industry. Now, high definition videos are rapidly becoming the standard. Consumers are also less patient than they were a few years ago. They want access to information immediately as well as instant access to their agent.
A relatively new company could be the Realtor’s new best friend. Clearwire is an up and comer in the high speed broadband market actively competing against cable providers. Granted many Realtors already have full access to their email via a Blackberry or similar device so why should Clearwire interest them?
Clearwire is the first company to offer true mobile high speed internet access in several major cities and the list is growing. The company is already located in several major markets like Las Vegas
and Atlanta with plans to expand into 16 major cities within a year. With their mobile device and a laptop, agents can access the MLS from virtually anywhere instead of having to stop at a “hot spot” and hope for a clear connection. Add a mobile printer and there is no reason why any agent will need to stop at the office again.
Some companies have offered similar services in the past, but the speeds were much slower and the cost higher. The company also offers some bundled deals that include a home service at a higher speed and regular telephone service.
Twitter and Facebook Use Voice Technology
September 28, 2009
Starting Thursday, Twitter users will be able to make direct voice calls to each other. The service will be provided by a third party company called Jajah, an Internet communications provider. To use the service, users will have to type in “@call@username to contact someone by voice. Facebook is also using voice communication technology courtesy of Vivox. The pros for this are obvious. This will make it even easier to communicate and network with other Twitter users. If someone sends out a tweet related to Real Estate. You can call this person directly to discuss there tweet. The downside is that users, more specifically telemarketers, will abuse this system. Just imagine being bombarded with voice calls from telemarketers right when opening Twitter. Pretty annoying! Companies will certainly use this loophole to get past the do not call list.This abuse will bring more rules and regulations that will only hurt the Twitter experience. Twitter and Facebook certainly have the right idea, only time will tell if this application will improve the social networking experience.Impact Pt II buy
U.S. Market Still Attracts International Buyers
September 23, 2009
Nearly a quarter of Realtors® served international clients in 2008/2009, according to the recently released 2009 NAR Profile of International Home Buying Activity Cloak & Dagger dvdrip
Three Way film report. The study shows a decline in the percentage of Realtors® selling homes to foreign buyers compared to previous years: 23 percent in 2009, 26 percent in 2008 and 32 percent in 2007. The percentage of decline, however, has narrowed and mirrors the overall decline in the existing home sales market. (Sales decreased 39 percent between September 2005 and January 2009 due to financial and economic conditions.) NAR reports that there is confidence that when global economic market conditions improve, the rate of home purchases by international buyers will increase.
The 2009 study indicates that the greatest home purchasing activity by international clients occurred in Florida, Texas, California, and Arizona. The top regions of origin for international buyers were Europe (30.8 percent), North America (27.5 percent) and Asia (25.2 percent).
The current report reflects activity of Realtors® in the 12 months between May 2008 and May 2009. It also contains data on commercial purchases and information about barriers to foreign buyers to purchasing U.S. property.
Commercial Real Estate Market Prices Falling
September 23, 2009
As many experts have been predicting for months, the commercial real estate market is suffering deep declines in prices. Moody’s Investor services reported Monday that sales volume remains low. The Moody’s/REAL Commercial Property Price Indices (CPPI) Beach Kings buy released on September 21st showed a “Steep decline” of 5.1%. Since its peak in October of 2007, the CPPI has slid 39 percent.
According to Bloomberg, many experts are predicting that commercial sales will fall to an 18 year low this year. This comes as no surprise as the commercial market mirrors the US Economy. The Moody’s Report indicates that commercial prices in the south have seen some of the steepest declines. In the Sarasota real estate market, we are seeing more vacancies on commercial properties including office, retail and industrial spaces. The commercial slump can be attributed to the weak economy, tight financing and declining property values.
Many economists believe we are looking at a long, slow recovery. However, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Economists for the Conference Board believe that the U.S. Recession is bottoming out after its fifth straight month of increase in leading economic indicators. “These numbers are consistent with the view that, after a very severe downturn, a recovery is very near,” said Ken Goldstein, economist for the Conference Board. порно скочать бес платно
FIABCI-USA ~ 2009 Fall Business Conference
September 21, 2009
September 11-13, 2009 marked the FIABCI-USA Fall Business Conference which was held here in Denver, Colorado. While I’ve communicated with FIABCI(pronounced FIAPSI) members in the past year or so, this also was my inaugural personal meeting with FIABCI-USA. I must say found myself more than welcome and I was more than stunningly pleased with my experience.
The conference started with a series of committee meetings some of which I was unable to attend. I jumped full force into the Membership Committee meeting and found myself instantly welcome and quite comfortable with my fellow members.
After this meeting we took a property tour and enjoyed a reception at the Spire in Downtown Denver. The Spire is a luxury high-rise during the course of completion and is nearly 25% sold with only a few months away from completion. This gorgeous property is an incredible eco-friendly development.
The following day we started bright and early with a New Member orientation breakfast where I met with some other new members some of which I new from my Certified International Property Specialist classes earlier this year.
Opening of the business day was the Welcome Session and General Membership Meeting. This too was a very warm yet exciting introduction to the day. Our FIABCI World President, Lisa Kurrass, welcomed us to the session followed by brief introductions by two candidates for next years World President position, one colleague from Italy, Enrico Campagnoli, and one from Norway, Tore Petter Braate. Mr. Dean Lapointe, Director and President Americas Committee spoke of the status of the residential investment market in the Americans.
Following this session was our Networking Lunch and Marketing Session. After an tasty lunch my colleague and I introduced one of our office’s luxury home listings located in Littleton, Colorado.
Thereafter, we were advised the benefits of EB-5 and E2 Visa programs and how we can put them to work for our foreign investors. I’ll be introducing a summary of this session at a later date.
We started our Expert Roundtables and then were interrupted by a brief fire drill. Topics included Luxury Property Forum, Marketing Show and Tell, Blogging as a Lead Generation Machine, Putting Together a Limited Partnership, How to use Proxio for Your Business, and becoming an Owner Instead of a Broker.
While there was a Board of Directors Meeting on Sunday, my day and participation in this event, concluded with the FIABCI Scholarship Foundation Dinner and Auction. This was lots of fun and funds were raised for students planning to participate with FIABCI in the future.
All in all, this was an incredible event and great way to begin my venture and career enhancing participation with FIABCI-USA. As with any organization the more you put into it the more one gets out. I will summarize future participation and travels there to as the opportunity presents itself. FIABCI is open to affiliated businesses as well so if you are interested at all I invite you to contact me for more information. ххх порно онлайн
Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit Gaining Momentum
September 17, 2009
Remember Johnny Isakson? He’s the Georgia Senator who introduced the The Home Buyer Tax Credit Act of 2009 in June of this year which would have increased the first time buyer tax credit from $8,000 to $15,000. It would have also removed the restriction that the tax credit could be used by first time home buyers only. That bill was defeated in a 47-50 Senate vote in August but that hasn’t stopped Isakson from pushing to extend the current tax credit past its November 30th expiration.
Senator Isakson, former president of Northside Realty in Cobb County, Georgia, says he is “talking to everybody and anybody” to extend the $8,000 tax credit and affirms that not doing so would “protract and extend the recession” just as we enter the downtime of the real estate buying season over the winter months.
Real estate industry professionals ranging from real estate agents to mortgage brokers and everyone in between can attest to the uptick in home sales due, in part, to the $8,000 first time buyer tax credit. According to Lawrence Yun, NAR’s Chief Economist, the $8,000 tax credit has been used to purchase approximately 1.2 million homes so far this year.
Lending serious consideration to the tax credit’s extension is Whitehouse spokesperson Robert Gibbs’ statement earlier today. Gibbs said President Barack Obama’s economic team is evaluating the effect of the tax credit on new home sales prior to their recommendation on how to proceed to the President.
Not everyone is in favor of the tax credit seeing continued light of day as indicated by many unfavorable comments in The Boston Globe’s article on the subject. Opinions aside, there may simply be no money left to pay for an extended home buyer tax credit at a time when Congress is facing budget deficits in excess of $1 trillion dollars.
Do you think the U.S. government should continue providing $8,000 to eligible first time home buyers or is the entire tax credit a bad idea? How would you change the tax credit?
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A New Wave of Mortgages Set To Default
September 14, 2009
I was surfing the web yesterday and came across this YouTube video of a 60 minutes episode that must have aired recently. The episode was concerning a new wave of adjustable rate mortgages called option mortgages. These mortgages grew in popularity the last few years due to its payment flexibility. A borrower can choose to make payments that are less then the interest due on the mortgage. From a borrowers perspective this seems like a great deal. But According to TheTruthAboutMortgage.com:
What many borrowers may not understand is that paying the minimum payment each month is simply a way of deferring the interest, not avoiding it altogether. By paying the minimum payment each month, the accrued interest eventually stacks up against the borrower, while effectively building zero equity. And after five years of paying the minimum payment, the borrower would have a loan balance above their original balance without the flexibility of the minimum payment option. попки порно онлайн
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What’s even worse is that many borrowers are currently defaulting on their 3% teaser rates that haven’t even reset yet. What’s going to happen when the interest rates reset? And like other exotic mortgages, option mortgages were sold in mortgage back securities that were purchased by major financial institutions. We may not have seen the worst in the Real Estate market yet. There will be a sharp rise in distressed properties that will overwhelm the market in the next few years. What can we do as Realtors? If you aren’t dealing with Short Sales now, then my suggestion is you start. Because if this article proves to be correct, short sales will be here to stay for some time.
A Guide To International Real Estate & The Global Marketplace
September 14, 2009
Knowledge of the market and industry can always be of benefit to REALTORS®. If you you have not already tested the the International real estate waters, what are you waiting for, jump in, the water’s warm. You’ll find an abundance of opportunity both locally and abroad.
Just this weekend I attended the 2009 FIABCI-USA Fall Business Conference here in Denver, Colorado. How could it have been any easier? This was in my back yard. I met such an incredible group of real estate professionals locally, nationally and from around the world. Some of the countries represented beyond the US were Canada, Norway, Japan, Italy, Germany, and more. I’ll be writing more on my experience at this even shortly.
While there is a plethora of information available online, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) provides great resource information on NAR’s International Lost Stallions: The Journey Home ipod web page and on the recently updated International Field Guide which provides direction for locating and working with international clients, etiquette, cross-cultural business guides and international networking opportunities.
Should you should have interest in expanding your business model into the International real estate market just let me know as I’m glad to share.
Apparently, Twitter Makes You Dumber!
September 9, 2009
I came across an article yesterday from Cnet news that caught my attention. The article was about a study conducted by a psychologist from the University of Scotland. The study suggested that using Facebook enhances your intelligence while Twitter in lamens terms, makes you dumber. Her arguments are that Facebook increases your working memory since your trying to keep up with the ever increasing amount of friends one networks with. Twitter on the other hand, since it is a micro blog, reduces your attention span and working memory. To play devils advocate, I can see her point in contrasting both networks. Facebook does have a number of applications to use within its network, where as twitter is a very condensed platform considering it’s a micro blog. But to somehow suggest that using one network over the other will make you more or less intelligent is just flat out wrong. It’s how you use these networks that should measure one’s “intelligence.” If you can use Facebook and Twitter to market your business and make a substantial profit, then you’re a pretty smart person. If you just open a Facebook and Twitter account and expect business to come your way, then you need to smarten up. If the article in question proves anything, it shows how so many people still don’t understand social networking and how it has changed the world. Oh well, now I am going to send out a tweet and lose some brain cells in the process.
Will Congress address the Commercial Market?
September 4, 2009
Those of us in the real estate industry have been aware that the problems facing it aren’t just confined to residential markets. According to a story on Globest, Congress is finally waking up to the fact that the commercial industry is in trouble as well. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp president Sheila Blair acknowledged as much on a recent television interview.
The real question is will the government act swiftly enough. Outrage over the mishandling of tarp funds put a damper on the Fed’s will to act for a moment. However, recent successes like the Cash for Clunkers program may motivate the Fed to step in sooner. The other looming question is how do they intend to pay for a bailout if one occurs.
New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez sent a letter Fed chairman Ben Bernake and Secretary of the Treasure Timothy Geithner requesting that they take forceful measures to address the declining commercial market. Considering the huge amount of loans coming due in 2012 for property worth a fraction of the debt, I don’t see how they can’t take immediate action of some sor.
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