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How Low Can They Go? - Mortgage Interest Rates
Over at Bankrate.com, another record low interest rate benchmark was set this week.  It's the lowest in their 25 year tracking history.  The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 6 basis points this week, to 4.53 percent. 83% of recent mortgage applications are for refinancing.  The question is if these record low rates will motivate some to buy in the midst of current uncertainty.How Low Can They Go? - Mortgage Interest Rates originally appeared on About.com Real Estate Business on Friday, September 3rd, 2010 at 07:32:04.Permalink | Comment | Email this

Numbers Don't Lie? - S&P Case-Shiller vs FHFA Home Price Index
This month I received both the S&P Case-Shiller and the FHFA Home Price Index reports.  I glanced through them as always, and again felt like I was looking at data on two different countries.  There are very distinct differences in how these two indexes gather data and how they use it.  But, I still felt like there should be some agreement between the two about how prices are tracking.  So, I took the data each presented for the last year.  As the FHFA covers a whole lot more ground, 13 more states and many more cities, I just compared the 20 Metropolitan Areas that Case-Shiller tracks, plus the national composite. Click on the chart image for a larger version.  The red for negative price over the last year is a pretty dramatic illustration of the different results.  I intend to continue to put more stock in the FHFA Index, even though it's more depressing.Numbers Don't Lie? - S&P Case-Shiller vs FHFA Home Price Index originally appeared on About.com Real Estate Business on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 11:58:53.Permalink | Comment | Email this

Commercial Property Owners Choose to Default - WSJ.com
Commercial Property Owners Choose to Default - WSJ.com.  While the media is all about covering "strategic default" by homeowners, there's a trend growing in commercial properties as well.Commercial Property Owners Choose to Default - WSJ.com originally appeared on About.com Real Estate Business on Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 at 09:24:50.Permalink | Comment | Email this

Bad Hair, More Fear, Wanna Be In Real Estate
I recently read that the number of new applicants for real estate licensing is moving higher in some states.  Interesting, as it's a pretty challenging time to be in this or the mortgage business right now.  Up in New York state, there's been a 23% increase in licensed agents and brokers.   One theory is that there are a great many more unemployed people out there who are now looking for a new career.  It's probably true, but they're in for a rough go just starting out in today's market. The same article at the link tells us that applications for hairstyling, cosmetology and manicurist licenses are down 45%.  Fewer people seem to be attending to their appearance with professionals, likely taking the do-it-yourself approach.  Interesting, because there is also a mention of more FSBO sellers in real estate, and the growing trend to sell without a real estate professional.  This begs the question as to who is better at pegging the future of their business, a manicurist or a real estate agent.  Maybe they're both right, and there will be a lot more home buying by people having bad hair days. But, however the situation develops, there seems to be a greater desire to protect what we have.  The statistics in the same article show a 54% increase in the number of security guards.  Could it be a fear of criminal activity on the part of unkempt people with poor manicures and bad hair?  Or, maybe we need more guards to patrol neighborhoods full of empty foreclosed properties. Oh well, be on the lookout for more competition in the real estate brokerage business, and maybe your marketing can take on a new focus ... "The best hair and nails in YourTown real estate!"Bad Hair, More Fear, Wanna Be In Real Estate originally appeared on About.com Real Estate Business on Saturday, August 21st, 2010 at 09:35:30.Permalink | Comment | Email this

Finally, A Fully Mobile Real Estate Office
I just bought the final component of my mobile real estate office, the HP D110a Web printer.  Using a netbook (or iPad), and my Palm Pre Plus phone with built-in WiFi hotspot, I can do just about anything in the field.  It's as easy as 1-2-3 here.Finally, A Fully Mobile Real Estate Office originally appeared on About.com Real Estate Business on Thursday, August 19th, 2010 at 18:10:44.Permalink | Comment | Email this

Real Estate Virtual Tours - Are They Effective?
I was just reading a popular blog, and the post portrayed virtual tours as a dying tool for real estate.  There were some really good reasons why real estate virtual tours aren't being used as much anymore, and I agreed with them.  But, what exactly is a real estate virtual tour? Depending on how we define and produce a virtual tour, the technology used, and the quality of the production, there are several approaches.  Done improperly, the tour is probably of little use, sometimes doing more harm than good.  But, check out the different real estate virtual tour methods here, and how some could be quite effective.Real Estate Virtual Tours - Are They Effective? originally appeared on About.com Real Estate Business on Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 at 10:45:08.Permalink | Comment | Email this

IPad App of the Week - Zipforms
It's no secret that I love my iPad.  And, I've been slowing moving more and more of my daily activity to the iPad.  I just installed the Zipform iPad/iPhone app, and I'm giving it a test run.  Already, I can see that it's well worth the $9.99 price.  I can access my Zipform account online, manage transactions and forms, and even start a new transaction. The main drawback of the app, not being able to fill in a lot of the small blanks on a contract that aren't part of the ZipForm cover sheet, was overcome with the Smartnote app.  Smartnote lets me annotate PDF files.  So, once I have all of the form fields done via the cover sheet info in the Zipform app, I email it to myself, and then fill in any other necessary form fields with Smartnote.  It doesn't take long, but you can speed the process even more.  I created template transactions in Zipforms that are filled in with the normal and frequently used deadline and other fields.  When I want to start a new transaction on the iPad, I just open the Zipform app and choose a blank template transaction.  I get most of the frequently-used fields already done for me, then just do the cover sheet info to get the transaction specific fields all completed. No, it's not as fast as doing it on my netbook at my desk, or even on a netbook in the field.  But, it's a lot easier to fire up the iPad than my netbook.  Next week I get my new HP Web printer that has its own email address and can receive attachments to print.  I'll be totally mobile then for contracts.  I just fill it in on the iPad and email it to the printer in the car.  Once I walk out to the car, the printer grabs my Palm Pre WiFi hotspot, receives the email and prints the documents.IPad App of the Week - Zipforms originally appeared on About.com Real Estate Business on Friday, August 13th, 2010 at 15:43:01.Permalink | Comment | Email this

When the Government Comes Knocking - But Not the IRS
A story in the Wall Street Journal about the New York Fed holding mortgages presents interesting challenges for the government.  In bailing out Bear Stearns, the Fed ended up with a lot of mortgages that are under water and facing foreclosure actions.  They are both commercial and residential, and it's a dilemma for the government. It's one thing to look like the police in reining in "greedy" commercial lenders, but another to be the lender who is taking the home.When the Government Comes Knocking - But Not the IRS originally appeared on About.com Real Estate Business on Wednesday, August 4th, 2010 at 08:49:44.Permalink | Comment | Email this

Zip Realty Quarterly Report - Home Sales Prices
Thanks to ZipRealty.com for sending me some interesting statistics from their newly released quarterly report of home prices from their site statistics.  Here are the highlights they provided: · California is still "hottest" for ZIP codes where homes are selling the most above asking price (i.e. fetching multiple offers) · Florida is still among the country's "coldest" with the highest number of ZIP codes selling for the most under the asking price · Berkeley, California's 94703 ZIP code is the country's "hottest," with homes selling on average for almost eight percent above the asking price, or an additional $45,000 over list on the median priced home in that region · Winchester, Connecticut's 06098 ZIP was the nation's "coldest" ZIP code in Q2, with homes selling there on average nearly 30 percent under list price - an average savings of more than $200,000 according to the median home price in the area · The country's coldest markets have warmed slightly since Q2 of 2009 - with homes in the country's 10 coldest ZIP codes selling for an average of 82 cents to the dollar in Q2 of this year, as compared to an average of 78 cents to the dollar in Q2 2009. · High-end housing markets nationwide continue to offer relative bargains for buyers. For example, in Miami's Palm Beach ZIP (33480), buyers paid an average of around 1.1 million dollars per home in Q2, an average of $232,492 below list price. In Cape Cod's Osterville ZIP (02655), homes sold, on average, for 16 percent below asking price, or an average of $180,437 under asking. · According to the total number of home searches on www.ZipRealty.com, Phoenix and its surrounding neighborhoods continues to be the most popular searched city in the country.Zip Realty Quarterly Report - Home Sales Prices originally appeared on About.com Real Estate Business on Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 at 07:38:47.Permalink | Comment | Email this

Finally, Tasks and Calendar in One Place on My iPad
I've written a detailed review of Pocket Informant for iPad here, so I'll just give you some bullets and hot buttons for me: Syncs with Google Calendar and Toodledo All tasks, meetings, and other scheduled items in one place Syncs with Outlook if you're still stuck on it Geo location for events Lots more Give the review a look, as you just may find that this one app, as well as these real estate business related apps, will provide the excuse to buy an iPad.Finally, Tasks and Calendar in One Place on My iPad originally appeared on About.com Real Estate Business on Tuesday, July 27th, 2010 at 10:56:22.Permalink | Comment | Email this