Within the last two weeks, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) unveiled its vision of a national property database called the REALTORS® Property Resource (RPR) that would be available to its membership starting in the second quarter of next year. After I watched NAR’s online presentation of the RPR the first thing I concluded (read my post here) was that they were going to build a national Multiple Listing Service (MLS) even though they stated numerous times during the presentation, “This is not a national MLS.” I didn’t buy their statement two weeks ago and I’m not buying it today. I wish they would just call a spade a spade and get on with it.
While the NAR and the oodles of MLS’s serving their membership haggle over how they’re going to tweak or preserve the status quo, Google is busy blowing up the old model and rewriting the rules of the game.
Since the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) first unveiled the REALTORS® Property Resource (RPR) at NAR’s Convention in San Diego this past week, I have been intently following and participating in the online conversation so that I can fully understand the breadth of this behemoth. My conclusion thus far – - – This WILL change everything! From how individual REALTORS® in the field do business to how local Association’s and MLS’s operate to how the consumer perceives us. Trust me; this is the biggest thing to happen to our industry in last twenty-five years. Nothing even comes close. What is amazing to me is that most REALTOR® (my guess is 90%) haven’t even heard of the RPR yet. Mention the RPR and it’s like watchin’ deer in the headlights. Most have no clue.
Why is that? Why the indifference? My guess is that our industry is so focused on pulling itself out of the economic malaise of the past sixteen months that this game-changer has gone unnoticed. In addition, even though it has been introduced, you can’t get your hands on it yet. (NOTE: The official release date of RPR is sometime in April of 2010.) It’s all talk and talk is cheap. Most REALTORS’® attitudes mirror a line from one of my favorite movies, Jerry Maguire: ”Show me the money!” Not literally; but figuratively. They want NAR to, “Show me the product!”.
In case you don’t want to watch the 90 minute NAR webinar or read the press release or read the hundreds of real estate blogs that are covering this important endeavor, here is a condensed synopsis for you. I’ve added my own thoughts and musings after each bullet point to give you my take and to make you think. If you think that I’m too far “out there”, feel free to ignore the commentary sections. I won’t be offended. WARNING – even though this is condensed, it’s still a bit lengthy: Read the rest of this entry »
Every once in awhile I see, hear or read something from outside of the real estate industry that just strikes a chord with me. This video was one of them. Here’s a guy who took a product as simple as soda and turned it into a success for himself. The twelve minutes that you spend watching this will be worth it’s weight in gold down the line. Enjoy!
So what are the lessons to be learned here. If you want to be a Success, follow these rules:
Be passionate about your job or chosen field of endeavor. Whether you’re negotiating for your client, chopping wood or parenting, do it with vim and vigor.
Become educated about your product or service. You should be a sponge that sucks up knowledge so that you become known as the “go to” guy or gal in your field.
Be honest in everything you do. Continually ask yourself the question when faced with tough decisions, “What’s the right thing to do?”
Provide exceptional customer service. Anyone can sell you a widget. But not everyone sells you the widget, delivers it to your home, shows you how it works and follows up to make sure that you’re happy. Go the extra mile. It pays off.
Find your niche. Stop trying to be the best at everything. In the end, you’ll be good at nothing.
Now that you’ve read this post, go have a cold, banana nut soda. You deserve it!
Late yesterday afternoon, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) announced that on November 12, they will unveil a new web site called HouseLogic designed to provide home owners with a smart, simple resource to help them manage their homes wisely and to help REALTORS® extend their relationship with consumers through the entire lifecycle of homeownership. While the specifics are still sketchy at this point, it is clear that NAR’s latest foray into the world of online real estate is not just a simple blip on the radar screen but rather a major trembler within our industry.
For the past couple of years, NAR has been working on a project called the ‘Realtors Property Resource’ (RPR) that has been shrouded in secrecy. In fact, even the name was a mystery. It had been called ’Gateway,’ ‘The Real Estate Channel’ and the ‘Library/Archive.’ Those of us in the industry weren’t even allowed to know all the details about the project. Was it for consumers? REALTORS®? Would it provide data on every property in the US? Was it designed to be a property valuation tool? Would it take the place of REALTOR.com? Or, dare I ask – - – Was it intended to be a national multiple listing service? It was like throwing darts from 50 yards to try and hit an ant – who knew?
The Lancaster County Association of REALTORS® Government Affairs Department, headed up by Frank Christoffel, IV, passed this Q&A along regarding the latest information on the potential extension of the homebuyer tax credit which includes an existing homebuyer credit that was not part of the first bill.
The House of Representatives passed the extension yesterday by a vote of 403-12 after passing the Senate the previous night 98-0. The new provisions will take effect as soon as President Obama signs the bill.
Here are some of the specifics regarding eligibility requirements:
1. Existing homeowner credit: Must the new house cost more than the old house?
No. Thus, for example, individuals who move from a high cost area to a lower cost area who meet all eligibility requirements will qualify for the $6500 credit.
2. I am an existing homeowner. On October 25, 2009, I signed a contract to purchase a new home. I have lived in my current home for more than 5 consecutive years and am within the new income limits. I will go to settlement on November 20. If President Obama has signed the bill by the time I go to settlement, will I qualify for the new $6500 tax credit?
Yes. The existing homeowner credit goes into effect for purchases after the date of enactment (when the bill is signed). There is no reference to the date of contract for the new credit. The provision looks solely to the date of purchase, which is generally the date of settlement.
Google unveiled its latest innovation for real estate this past week and they crushed a 3-2 pitch in the bottom of the ninth into the upper deck! Every time Google tinkers around with its website, real estate people get a shiver of anxiety and this latest innovation is likely to give many within the industry a full-blown case of hives.
Since Google announced the ability to see lots of real estate listings directly on Google Maps back in July of this year, they’ve been working hard to make it even easier to use. They’ve added things like brand new high-resolution Street View imagery and detailed map data. Now they’re making Google Maps an even more useful tool for online real estate searching. Here are a couple of things you can look out for next time you visit their website:
When it comes to selling your house, “oops” won’t cut it. Recently, I read an article on HGTV’s FrontDoor.com about the most common mistakes when trying to sell a home. I’m not sure what kind of research they did, if any, but I thought the list was worth sharing.
1. Waiting Until Spring to Sell – For some reason, people have it in their heads that Spring is the best time to put their home on the market. Here are the numbers for pending homes sales in Lancaster County as compiled from the Keystone MLS over the last six months: April – 481, May – 469, June – 485, July – 461, August – 483, September – 464. Not a lot of difference here - is there? Here is a short, un-scientific list of reasons why people move: getting married, getting divorced, job transfer, new addition to the family, death. You will notice that none of these happen exclusively in the Spring.
2. Not Reading the Paperwork - When it comes to the largest amount of money that most people will spend on any one thing in their lives, don’t let anybody tell you that “you don’t have to read it because it’s a standard real estate form.” Sure there’s a lot of paperwork to read and comprehend but don’t you think the time invested is worth it? Go over the fine print of the agreement with your real estate agent or attorney before signing anything to make sure you understand your responsibilities
The world of real estate finance has undergone drastic changes over the last couple of months. Just over a year ago, underwriting standards to qualify for a mortgage were easier than they have been since I got into the real estate business back in 1983 (Yes – I’ve been around that long!). I just read this web page¹ from The Stamford Review that lists ten things to keep in mind if you are applying for a mortgage in today’s, financing environment. While the intent of the ten edicts is to be a little humorous, there is a grain of truth to each one. Enjoy.
I. Write upon thy heart the law that ‘reward’ and ‘risk’ shalt always appear in the same sentence.
Translation: Mortgages are not FREE money. There is risk with any financing vehicle. Know what that risk is before signing on the dotted line.
II. Make neither markets nor regulators into idols, and follow not false prophets of simplistic bias.
Translation: The age-old adage applies here – - if it looks to good to be true, it probably is. Use common sense.
I found a recent online editorial in the Lancaster New Era/Intelligencer Journal by Jeff Hawkes on “Smart Growth” very interesting. Hawkes was writing about a workshop that he had attended recently that expounded on the virtues of “Smart Growth” and that Lancaster County needs to embrace this concept as it moves into the 21st century. Overall I thought the piece was well-written and made a number of good points. What caused me to sit down in front of my laptop and fire off a blog post was actually what was written after his editorial in the “Comments” section.
. . . and I quote:
“Smart Growth is dense development in townships that are not compensated by other townships for the havoc caused by traffic snarls, added services, and infrastructure needs, not to mention higher school taxes.”
. . . and then there was this little gem:
“ . . . don’t call it “Smart Growth”. There is nothing “smart” about it, except for the folks to stand to profit off of the development. Its delusional to think that this type of development is in anyway “smart” in the long run, or saving farmland. Continued development of this nature will bring the infrastructure of the county to its knees, and the taxpayers will be left to pick up the tab.”
The American Planning Association (APA) recently named Lancaster’s Central Market as one of American’s ten great public spaces. If you have never been to ‘Market’, you’re missing out on an experience that is uniquely a Lancaster landmark and tradition.
The APA’s Great Places’ program celebrates places of exemplary character, quality, and planning. Locations are selected annually and represent the gold standard in terms of having a true sense of place, cultural and historical interest, community involvement, and a vision for tomorrow. In short, they are considered enjoyable, safe, and desirable and places where people not only want to visit; but to live and work every day. They are defined by many criteria, including architectural features, accessibility, functionality, and community involvement.
Another month – another positive sign! The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index rose 1.2 percent from June to August which reflects a positive trend for the third month in a row.
Before we all go off the deep end and declare “happy days are here again”, we should probably temper our enthusiasm just a bit. David M. Blitzer, the committee chairman for the Case-Shiller index said, “We do need to be cautious in coming months to assess whether the housing market will weather the expiration of the federal first-time buyer’s tax credit in November, anticipated higher unemployment rates and a possible increase in foreclosures.”
The term ‘Baby Boomer‘ gets thrown around a lot in the world of advertising. It seems like everyone is trying to sell to this segment of the population; including the real estate industry. Economic statistics show that baby boomers account for 28% of the population, but over 77% of all financial assets in the United States. This generation also accounts for more than 50% of all discretionary authority in private organizations as well as in government. But do REALTORS® and builders really know what baby boomers want in a home? Do they know what features they want? What locations are preferential? How much money they’re willing to spend? A new survey conducted by the MetLife Mature Market Institute and the National Association of Home Builders entitled 55+ Housing: Builders, Buyers and Beyond was just released that sheds some light on these very questions.
As the popularity of granite countertops has grown in the last decade, demand for them has increased tenfold according to the Marble Institute of America (MIA), a trade group representing granite fabricators. With increased sales volume and variety, there have also been more reports of “hot” or potentially hazardous countertops, particularly among the more exotic and striated varieties from Brazil and Namibia. But is this health threat an urban legend or a real danger to a homeowner’s health?
Allegations that granite countertops may emit dangerous levels of radon and radiation have been raised periodically over the past decade, mostly by makers and distributors of competing countertop materials such as the Zodiaq® Quartz product from Dupont™. The MIA has said such claims are baseless because although granite is known to contain uranium and other radioactive materials like thorium and potassium, the amounts in countertops are not enough to pose a health threat. Health physicists and radiation experts agree that most granite countertops emit radiation and radon at extremely low levels and pose no health risk. They say these emissions are insignificant compared with so-called background radiation that is constantly raining down from outer space or seeping up from the earth’s crust, not to mention emanating from manmade sources like X-rays, luminous watches and smoke detectors (yes – even that little “tweeting” device on your ceiling that can save your life can apparently be a peril).
So what’s a homeowner to do? Like most situations in life, don’t panic. Get all the facts and then make a decision that is right for you and your family.
There are more and more positive signs that the fog is starting to clear in the residential real estate market. Gone are the dense, pea-soup like conditions from a couple of months ago that caused buyers and sellers to try and drive through it at 5 mph. It appears that they’ve put their collective feet on the accelerator and are now driving more confidently, albeit still with the headlights on.
Point2 Technologies, Inc., the largest independent provider of website and listing syndication solutions for the real estate industry, with users in over 100 countries on its platform, released its Real Estate Confidence Index (RECI) for August 2009 this past week. Over 3,000 real estate professionals covering every U.S. State, Puerto Rico and Guam contributed to this month’s report. Charts of their findings are shown below:
The Central Penn Business Journal (CPBJ) just published its Fall “Construction & Real Estate” report. CPBJ claims it’s the beginning of the end after more than a year in recession for Central Pennsylvania. CPBJ focuses on why the construction and real estate industries are key economic indicators and what effect the federal government’s stimulus package has had on the mid-state. You’ll read about companies that got creative to weather the recession and the state of our region’s commercial, residential and rental real estate markets.
There is no denying that social media has grown exponentially over the last year or two and will continue to impact our lives in the future in ways that we can’t even imagine today. For evidence, go to my recent post on the subject. However; real estate companies, brokers and agents have been slow in trying to get their arms around this 800 pound gorilla since it first appeared on the marketing scene.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle that our industry has had to overcome with this newer form of advertising and networking is that a large majority of the company owners, leadership and top-producers are 50 plus years old. In general, they have had a successful track record that hasn’t included social media so in their minds the cost/time versus benefit matrix just doesn’t add up. In addition, this group of practitioners is traditionally more conservative and resistant to change. (In the interest of full disclosure and just so you don’t think I’m bashing this specific group, I fall within this age demographic – but just barely.)
Thought the cash for clunkers program was over? You’re only partially right. While it’s no longer possible to get FREE money for your old piece of junk sitting in the driveway, you’ll soon be able to cash in on that twenty year old refrigerator that’s been making funny noises in your kitchen.
This year’s stimulus bill funded a little-known, $300 million program that will offer rebates of varying amounts to buyers of energy-efficient appliances and other products that carry the “Energy Star” label. This would include freezers, refrigerators, water heaters, furnaces and central air conditioners. But unlike ‘Cash for Clunkers’, you probably won’t have to drag your old appliance into the store to get money for a new one.
A couple of weeks ago, the Lancaster Community Safety Coalition started installing surveillance cameras at strategic locations throughout the city for the purpose of watching unscrupulous activity. There was an uproar then, as there is today, about whether the cameras violate citizen’s privacy rights. I stated at that time that although I’m concerned about the potential for abuse, I thought the benefits outweighed any downsides. My rationale was that the cameras are watching PUBLIC spaces, not PRIVATE bedrooms. When I walk downtown, I’m seen and watched be literally hundreds of people if I walk more than a block or two. What’s the difference if there is one more set of eyes peering at me?
When was the last time you sat down with a customer or client and really listened to them? No – I mean really listened? Did you interact with them and delve deep into their inner thoughts and feelings or was it superficial? Worse yet, was it all ‘talk’ and no ‘listen’? Take a second and watch this video. Remind you of anyone?
A recent study conducted by Michigan State University researchers has identified what the sophisticated consumer is looking for in today’s competitive, challenging global economy. Essentially, they are looking for a “total experience.” Whether they are thinking about listing their property, talking with a financial consultant, shopping for a new dress or buying a cup of coffee, all consumers are looking for four major factors. They are, in order of importance:
Welcome to my blog about real estate in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Glad you stopped by. Take your time, look around and feel free to leave me a comment on anything you see or read on these pages
All real estate advertising within this website is subject to the US Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 as amended, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, family status or national origin or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.
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Welcome to my blog about real estate in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Glad you stopped by. Take your time, look around and feel free to leave me a comment on anything you see or read on these pages
All real estate advertising within this website is subject to the US Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 as amended, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, family status or national origin or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.