Jimmy Buffett and his Margaritaville brand are welcome on the Gulf Coast! Jimmy Buffett has announced that he is opening his new Margaritaville hotel in Pensacola, Florida as scheduled, oil or no oil! He plans to go ahead and fully staff the new enterprise and essentially said that the area that was just getting back on it's feet following Hurricanes Ivan, Rita, and Katrina would survive the BP Oil disaster as well. Free Concert to support the Gulf Coast In addition, Buffett and the City of … [Read more...]
Jimmy Buffett and Parrot Heads plan to support Gulf Coast Real Estate Values?
June 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Foo Fighters sue RE/MAX in Australia?
June 15, 2010 By 1 Comment
BREAKING NEWS: We are currently trying to get information at this time, but according to two at least two blog sources, the Foo Fighters are taking legal action against RE/MAX - Australia in the Federal court over the use of a "riff" created by them in an advertisement aired on Australian TV. Accounts of the legal action are here. According to these accounts, the band band is seeking unspecified damages in the Federal court.We currently have calls in to all parties involved and will update … [Read more...]
UK Agents Urge End of HIPs
June 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment
United Kingdom real estate agents support scrapping Home Information Packs (HIPs). HIPS were introduced to negate the need for structural surveys by including Home Condition Reports in the packs. However, when the Home Condition Reports were not made a mandatory feature of HIPs, the new packs were viewed as an expensive addition to the house selling process.The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has campaigned for HIPs to be scrapped, arguing they have failed to benefit home buyers … [Read more...]
Tight Lending Causes Sharp Rise in UK’s Unsold Property Inventory
June 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Lack of mortgage financing for buyers has caused a sharp rise in unsold inventory in the United Kingdom’s property market, according to Rightmove’s latest report. There are twice as many new properties on the market as this time last year. Asking prices in May fell slightly by 0.4 percent.The annual rate of increase of asking prices decreased from 6 percent to 4.3 percent, suggesting that the real estate market is cooling after months of price increases. In comparison, demand in 2009 far … [Read more...]
April Listings in Canada Break 2008 Record
June 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The listing of 99,901 homes in April suggests balance is returning to what had been a sellers’ market, the Canadian Real Estate Association reports. The months of housing inventory available rose to 5.3 months on a seasonally adjusted basis, the highest level since May 2009. Meanwhile, Canadian home sales fell 2.6 percent in April from the previous month and 6.8 percent below the peak in December 2009."Canada's housing market has gone from full gallop to stately canter and is poised to … [Read more...]
John E. Foltz sued by Realty Executives Inc.
June 2, 2010 By 1 Comment
Inman news is reporting today that Realty Executives Inc. president John E. Foltz is being sued by Realty Executives Inc. The suit alleges that Mr. Foltz of fiduciary misconduct and breach of conduct.Mr Foltz has denied the allegations through his attorney claiming that this is an employment contract dispute and that Mr. Foltz is due all of the compensation as included in his contract with the company, which runs through 2015. More news on this story as it becomes available. … [Read more...]
New Canadian Website May Cause Lower Commissions
June 1, 2010 By 2 Comments
Canadian real estate agents are being targeted by a new website, iBidBroker.com, that would have them compete for listings and possibly lower their commissions, reports the Vancouver Sun. Sellers can post a description of their homes on the website for no charge. For a fee, real estate agents can make a formal offer to list the property for sale.Ajay Jain, who launched the website, is a 29-year-old real estate professional who once worked in land acquisitions for SmartCentres Inc., one of … [Read more...]
NAR asks Congress to preserve Fannie and Freddie
June 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment
NAR is asking Congress to protect the American people and reform both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Currently, Congress is mulling over whether to raise the minimum down payment on purchasing a home and whether to completely shut down these GSEs. Additionally, NAR wants make the temporary hike on the max FHA loan permanent. Specifically, they want to make $729,500 the norm, and prevent it from expiring on December 31st of this year.According to NAR, "Congress must restructure Fannie Mae … [Read more...]
ePropertySites – website for each listing
June 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment
ePropertySites has recently gained traction as a tool that agents can provide for their sellers. Creating a website provides value for sellers, and buyers can find a lot about a property before inquiring further. Buyers will find these sites by stumbling onto them through craigslist, facebook, and other avenues.Features that win over your clients include:Complete property website on its own domain. Creates virtual tours automatically. Easily posts onto Craigslist with attractive … [Read more...]
Listing Assistants – Do they make sense?
June 1, 2010 By 3 Comments
Ask any agent about how they are handling their workload, and you are bound to hear that they are very busy. Whether they are doing one transaction a quarter or eight transactions a month, many agents will always feel like they are swimming uphill. Of course, they will always tell you they're not too busy for any of your referrals!Between listing presentations, property showings, initial appointments, and general networking/meeting functions, there are many behind the scenes activities. … [Read more...]
