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Wed
26
Apr '06

You Go Girl!

Justin's talking about General Real Estate

Here’s another article that I wanted to share. I think it’s great that more and more single women are deciding to purchase property. I have always preached the benefits of owning versus renting and I’m glad to see that this trend is growing.

Enjoy!

RISMEDIA, April 26, 2006—(KRT)—Stephanie Ghelman is buying a condo for the second time. She’s 33.

Ghelman, who was a renter in her 20s, decided four years ago to build some equity and buy a studio condominium at Independence Harbor in Edgewater, N.J. Now, she’s getting ready to close on a one-bedroom condo in the same complex and sell the studio.

Three of the five bidders on the studio are, like her, single women. And so are an ever-growing number of home buyers throughout the country.

“Women are much more independent than they’ve ever been as far as education and career,” said Ghelman, who works in medical sales. “More and more women are getting married later because they are focusing on their careers. They are saving money and can afford to buy.”

Last year, 21 percent of all U.S. homes were purchased by unmarried women, up from 10 percent in 1985, according to the National Association of Realtors. The association’s figures include single-family houses, condos and town houses.

Only about 9 percent of homebuyers last year were single men, and some observers say that women are more likely to see home ownership as a path to financial security.

“Women are buying into the investment aspect of real estate,” said Fort Lee Realtor Nelson Chen, who is Ghelman’s agent. “Even if they’re thinking of marrying soon, they’re saying, ‘Why not buy something rather than continuing to rent.’”

The trend is especially prominent in the condominium market, where properties are less expensive than single-family homes. Four in 10 condo buyers in 2005 were single women, according to the NAR. Many women find condos to be particularly attractive because they offer a maintenance-free lifestyle and security features such as gates and doormen.

Middle-school teacher Rebecca Samuels bought her first home last month, a condo in The Mill at Little Falls. Samuels, 25, who saved for a down payment by living with her parents, said she decided that real estate is a sound investment that doesn’t have to wait for marriage.

“Whoever I share my life with, I’ll be able to set myself up for a better financial future,” Samuels said.

Of course, many single buyers are well into their adult life. Some are divorced or widowed and are simply downsizing. Others never plan to get married. In 2004, 31 percent of all women between the ages of 50 and 54 were unmarried, according to the U.S. census.

Real estate agents are increasingly paying attention to women buyers, who, according to some observers, might have been treated with skepticism just a few decades ago if they approached a broker looking to buy a house.

Partly because so many women are now likely to have lengthy credit histories and solid incomes, they are also getting warm treatment from lenders.

Some builders have taken note of the trend, as well, and include features in their single-family homes that they say are especially appealing to women. Los Angeles-based KB Homes, for example, says features that appeal to women include large walk-in closets and spa-like bathrooms with whirlpool tubs.

What’s not clear is why single men aren’t buying at a similar pace.

“Our survey doesn’t explain why,” said Walter Molony, a NAR spokesman. “It gets down to being as simple as women have a better understanding of housing as a long-term investment. Single guys are more interested in consumption. They don’t get serious about real estate until they meet the right woman.”

Laurence H. Michelson, author of “Getting the White Picket Fence Without a Man!” has a different theory.

“Men and women think differently about money,” Michelson said. “Women are looking for the nesting feature. Men really don’t care. Men can nest in their car.”

Wendy Wineburgh Dessanti of Weichert Realtors in Tenafly said Realtors these days recognize that women are decision makers, whether they’re single or married.

“Today, agents try to be open-minded about who the buyer is,” Dessanti said. “It’s not the old stereotype that it’s the man who is the primary breadwinner or decision maker.”

Ghelman said the winning bid for her home came from a married woman who is planning to fill the studio with a tenant. But three of the four other offers came from single women. The fifth offer came from a single man.

Click Here for Article Link

- Justin

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Tue
25
Apr '06

Are Discount Brokerages Worth it?

Justin's talking about General Real Estate

I came across this article on Yahoo!’s finance portion of their website and I thought it was worth a mention. Owning and working for a full service brokerage it is obvious what my opinion will be. In my day to day operations I constantly find myself working with sellers who want all the bells and whistles of a full service brokerage at the price of a discount brokerage. I’ve even had clients ask me, “where I get off charging a 6% commission.”

Well, let me take this opportunity to defend myself and the thousands of other brokerages out there that operate in a similar fashion. We’re not reinventing the wheel here. The first thing that you should realize is that when you hire a discount brokerage you are paying them for their services whether they sell your house or not. Sure, the $3,000 fee seems very nice at first, but after a few months of watching your property lag on the market you might begin to think otherwise. I have worked with, and currently work with a number of individuals who went this route the first time around and are much happier to pay the extra money for an easy, hassle-free process.

You see, when a full service brokerage accepts the listing of your home they are also accepting all the risk. For instance, the listing agreement at our brokerage firm allows the seller to break their contract with us at anytime without having paid a single penny. We don’t get paid unless your home is sold, PERIOD. So if your home lags on the market for a few months then we’re the ones that take on the escalating marketing and operating costs.

Do I even need to mention gas prices? People who work in the real estate profession spend the majority of their time in their vehicles driving buyers around, meeting sellers at their homes, dropping off contracts, etc.

There are a number of other justifications that I could provide for the commission that I charge but I can’t spend all day posting to this blog. I need to get back out in my car and get some work done. I just wanted to defend myself and the other agents out there who work very hard but constantly find their livelihood being attacked. According to the Realtor Association here in Marion County, less than 10% of the agents with active licenses made enough money to live on. I’ll dig up the exact numbers in another posting. It is the truth though. When the real estate economy slows down even for just a few months real estate agents start dropping like flies. It’s a tough business to be successful in and the majority of us are NOT getting rich.

Here’s the article:

Bankrate.com
Discount real estate brokers: Get what you pay for?
Monday April 24, 6:00 am ET
Peter Davidson

You’ve worked hard for the money — the equity in your house, that is, and now that you’ve decided to sell you’re reluctant to give a traditional real estate broker a whopping 6 percent commission for bringing you a buyer.

The good news is you don’t have to. You have options, and one of them is to sign on with a discount broker, a licensed Realtor who is willing to shave off 1, 2 or more percentage points.

In recent years, a bevy of discounters has sprung up across America. They have shaken up the real estate industry by offering real estate brokerage services for less than the traditional 6 percent of the selling price.

In many cases they also provide somewhat less than the traditional amount of service.

But generally, they are members of the National Association of Realtors and are bound to the ethical standards of that group — and hey, who needs all that service anyway? While many sellers do need the service — as evidenced by the high percentage of them who continue to retain full service brokers to handle their deals — others feel they can get by with less involvement by the agent, especially if offered at a lower price.

Some discount brokers offer a menu of services and tailor their fee according to the menu items chosen. Others say they offer full services and simply are discounting the price …

Read the rest of the article here: Discount Real Estate Brokers: Get What You Pay For?

- Justin

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Thu
20
Apr '06

Differentiating Top Producers

Justin's talking about General Real Estate

Here’s an interesting article I thought you might enjoy.

By Bill Shue

Much has been made of success, and as much as we would like to believe that it is a destination, we all know better. Case in point: of the 175 top producing agents who constitute the faculty and mentors at iSucceed, not one has ever said, “You know what? I’ve become such a rousing success and so fabulously wealthy that I think I’ve finally arrived.”

The more familiar sentiment is that the closer one gets to the top, the more one finds there is no “top.” Among our faculty of agents who, during their careers, have sold hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate, the agreement is unanimous: never stop learning.

Although we should never underestimate the power of learning to help us reach our goals, at what point during the learning process does the apprentice become the master?

When does the student become the teacher? Yes, knowledge, skill, integrity and ambition all play a significant part, but where is the dividing line between these roles?
Simply put, the master is the apprentice’s destination: the experienced leader and confident teacher focused on giving rather than hoarding.

Amazing Potential

The potential for greatness lies in each of us, yet it often takes the insight of another to help us both understand and achieve that potential. A naïve perspective is the primary obstacle that keeps us from reaching our greatest accomplishments, from making the transition out of “I want” into “I offer.”

“The key realization for me came when I stopped looking up and started looking across,” explains iSucceed’s newest mentor, Russell Shaw. Shaw worked himself to the bone for years, peering up at those above him with a sense of forlorn hope, as if his aspirations, in light of his admirations, were meant to remain only that and nothing more.

Then one day, everything changed. It was an epiphany that set Shaw free. He simply realized that the only thing keeping him from becoming like those he had admired for so long was his own mental glass ceiling—an artificial limitation that he had subconsciously placed upon himself during all these years: he had been looking “up” at his colleagues, when he should have been looking “across,” considering them as equals, instead of symbols of a nearly unattainable degree of financial success.

In 2006, Shaw’s goal is 700 closed transactions, and he’s convinced he’ll hit it.
The sentiment is shared by many of the iSucceed Mentors who regularly contribute by helping and giving back to the industry. Top RE/MAX agent Missy Vanderbilt says, “I have transformed my business in five years (from $11 million to $33 million) by learning, copying and adapting techniques I gleaned from top-producer marketing materials.”

Mentor Rob Levy of Prudential, who closed over 138 transactions last year, says: “The beauty of iSucceed is the ability for any agent to obtain the information as they need it, when they need it—active agents in the trenches just like you, sharing with you their proven duplicatable tools and systems.”

Remember, greatness is infectious and you can be great too.

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'

Bubble Talk?

Justin's talking about General Real Estate

Here’s an interesting article:

RISMEDIA, April 20, 2006—According to the latest Experian-Gallup Personal Credit Index(SM) survey, 71 percent of consumers say it is likely that a housing bubble and collapse of prices could occur in the United States within the next year.

Twenty-four percent say such a housing bubble is not likely. In contrast, a much smaller number of consumers, 32 percent, expect the collapse of a housing bubble within their own area in the next year, and 65 percent say it is not likely.

When the time is extended to three years, 42 percent say such a situation is likely in their area, and 56 percent say it is not. In May 2005, a similar question found a slightly less pessimistic view, with 37 percent of consumers expecting a housing bubble and collapse within the next three years and 61 percent saying that was not likely.

This year, about half of all Americans (53 percent) recognize the term “housing bubble” without explanation — up from 35 percent a year ago.

“While consumers are clearly concerned that housing activity will slow this year, it is somewhat reassuring that they are much less pessimistic when talking about the conditions where they live as opposed to the nation as a whole,” said Ed Ojdana, group president of Experian Interactive(SM). “The relatively small number of consumers expecting significant housing price declines is also a positive sign given consumer expectations of a housing slowdown.”

When it comes to predicting changes in housing prices in their own areas, 38 percent of consumers say they expect housing prices to stay the same (27 percent) or decline (11 percent) over the next year — up from 29 percent a year ago. Sixty percent expect an increase.

Among all consumers, 41 percent expect housing prices to rise by at least 5 percent, including 20 percent who expect increases of at least 10 percent. At the other end of the spectrum, only 7 percent of all consumers expect housing prices to fall by at least 5 percent, including 4 percent who expect prices to fall by at least 10 percent.

A third of homeowners have a home-equity loan or line of credit. The main reason for taking out an equity loan or line of credit was to finance home improvements, mentioned by 43 percent of borrowers. Another 10 percent cited debt consolidation as the reason for such a loan. Credit card debt, mentioned by 4 percent of borrowers, followed by an emergency (4 percent), education expenses (3 percent) and medical expenses (2 percent), round out the specifically named reasons. Another 30 percent cite some other reason.

“Increasing home prices and the ability of consumers to cash out their growing home equity has been a key driver of consumer spending over the past several years,” said Dennis Jacobe, chief economist for The Gallup Organization. “As the housing market slows and housing prices stabilize, consumers are less likely to draw on their home equity, suggesting consumer spending will also decline.”

Over the next six months, just over 10 percent of all consumers expect either to borrow money to buy a new home (6 percent) or to refinance their home (2 percent) or to borrow money on their current home by either a home- equity loan (1 percent) or a home-equity line of credit (1 percent).

Consumers became more negative about their credit situation this past month, as the Experian-Gallup Personal Credit Index declined by nine points to 84. The decline comes equally from concerns about the present and future. Only 15 percent of consumers say now is a good time to borrow more money, down from 20 percent last month. Future concern about extending debt also contributed to the drop in consumers’ feelings about their credit, making the debt extension issue — now and in the future — account for more than half (five points) of the overall nine-point decline in the index.

- Justin

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