Mike’s Real Estate Show

Last Week in the News
——————————————————————————–Sales of existing homes rose 2% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual level of 4.99 million units, the National Association of REALTORS® said June 26. It was only the second increase in the last 10 months. The inventory of unsold homes shrank 1.4% to 4.49 million units, representing a 10.8-month supply at the May sales pace, down from an 11.2-month supply in April. Meanwhile, the median price of an existing home sold in May dropped to $208,600, a decline of 6.3% from a year ago. Read the rest of this entry »

Want to get involved in the foreclosure market? Think your neighbor might be in default? Just plain curious about how many foreclosures are in your zip code?
Check out this web site. My critique of this site is its reliance on “Zillow” and there oft wrong “Zestimates” which on one property gave a price range of over
$130,000!! If I did that I’d get run out of the house. And there mission statement refers to giving the public foreclosure information for free  but if you want the Parcel Number,Grantor/Borrower, original auction date and current status you’ll have to pay $79.00 per month for this info!! That’s pretty pricey.  But if you’re just curious about what’s going on check it out for free. Even the “Free” information is pretty telling. Here is the Link: http://www.foreclosurepoint.com/fp/root/home.do

Yesterday, the Fed announced that the Fed funds rate would remain at 2.00% as the market expected. This morning’s May existing home sale number rose 2% to reach 4.99 million units (annual rate) as the lower housing prices started to lure buyers back into the market. The supply of homes for sale still remains about twice the level of that in a stable market. Read the rest of this entry »

O.K. here’s the deal–whine, stomp your feet, start a blog and svetch like crazy about how you can’t get a response in your agreed upon SLA–I’m sure you’ll feel much better for it. However, you’ll NOT get the property you wish! Conversely, you can grit your teeth, be paitient and try to truly understand the nature of the market.

Read the rest of this entry »

When it comes to “Short-Sales” we are in the Wild, Wild West! Our “best practices” line of thinking is to present all offers to the Seller, they inturn sign “subject to lender approval”, as you might have with any other contingency in a contract (pysical inspections, loan or appraisal approval) and you have ONE accepted offer with perhaps a “back-up”. Now, does that happen? NOPE! Read the rest of this entry »

Last Week in the News

The Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators inched ahead 0.1% in May, matching April’s increase and equaling analysts’ expectations. The index, released June 19, is designed to forecast economic activity in the next three to six months based on 10 components, including stock prices, building permits and initial claims for unemployment benefits.

The Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures the cost of goods before they reach store shelves, rose 1.4% in May, the biggest increase since November, the Labor Department said June 17. However, core PPI, which strips out energy and food prices, increased 0.2% in May, an improvement from a 0.4% rise in April.

Housing starts slumped 3.3% in May to an annual pace of 975,000 units, a level not seen since March 1991, the Commerce Department reported June 17. Although May housing starts were down 25% in the Midwest, 10.3% in the West and 4.4% in the South, the Northeast saw a 61.5% jump, led by a rebound in multifamily projects. Meanwhile, building permits in May fell to an annual rate of 969,000, slightly better than the 960,000 rate that economists expected.

Pressured by rising mortgage rates, mortgage application volume fell 8.7% for the week ending June 13, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported. For the week ending June 18, Freddie Mac said rates on 30-year mortgages continued climbing, reaching their highest level in nine months, reflecting more concerns about what the Federal Reserve will do to combat a growing inflation threat.

The number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits for the week ending June 13 fell by 5,000 to 381,000, the Labor Department reported June 19. The biggest increases for jobless benefits came from California (10,778) and Florida (6,164).

Economic news due out this week includes reports on new home sales on June 25 and existing home sales on June 26.

Economic data compiled from government reports and news services Bloomberg.com, msnbc.com, cnbc.com, cnn.money.com and Yahoo Economic Calendar.
 
Click here to visit my website and apply online:
 www.pphillippe.imbhomelending.com
 

There is a reason a “Short-Sale” property will be on the market for 100 days–it is NOT being shown because it is listed as a “Short-Sale”. Many Realtor/Licensees try to diguise them under our confidential remarks by stating, “subject to third party approval” as an attempt for us to show these listings. If you look at the numbers of “Short-Sales” and the actual % of them which close, it is VERY discouraging. More disturbing to me are folks tracking “in-escrow” properties and pointing to the “bloated” numbers as an indication of an improving marketplace–nothing could be further from the truth. The “Short-Sale” stacks up in the “Continue to Show” category as they take months to close or NEVER close. They  can take months to negotiate, are presented by Realtor/Licensee’s who don’t KNOW what they are doing, are NOT willing to spend the time or money not only in the daily follow-up needed ONCE it gets into escrow but also in any marketing to draw attention to the property. Read the rest of this entry »

Proposition 8 which allows for a reduction of your property taxes due to market values going DOWN. This is a nightmare for every county government budget! This is happening throughout the state with the major areas being Sacramento, Fresno, Modesto, Stockton and many, many other communities. Here in Sonoma County I have seen property values drop 30-50% over prices sold in 2004,2005. But here’s the issue–you have to get the County to re-appraise your property and get your valuation down. They have rules for this.  The biggie is they need to see a major downward “trend” in your neighborhood. We have areas of the Southwest/Northwest of Santa Rosa which took major hits and are ground zero for foreclosure activity. The assessor is finally acknowledging this and is accepting the wide price adjustments. However, one foreclosure on the Eastside in a neighborhood will NOT be used as a comparable for the assessor in re-appraising a property. You need to show a thread of sales at lesser prices than the subject property. Read the rest of this entry »

Our guest today, Paula Gold-Nocella, is a pioneer in the new and developing market segment known as “Fractional Ownership”. I thought I’d share this comment from the front page of their web site: www.GlobalQuarters.com  

“Welcome to Global Quarters, the Worlds First Real Estate Fractional Ownership Brokerage, specializing in vacation home properties in spectacular locations throughout the world.
GLOBAL QUARTERS GIVES YOU THE WORLD
Now you can realize your dreams of owning a pied-a-terre in Paris; get closer to the grandkids (or grandparents) from your flat in San Francisco, relax at your condo on the beach in Fiji. Fractional ownership makes owning multiple properties more practical and affordable than ever.

A Lifestyle Asset You Can Buy and Sell: With a fractional vacation ownership property, you own a share of the property, not just usage rights, or membership in a club that owns a portfolio of properties. And just as savvy investors are buying stocks in the global market to balance and strengthen their portfolios, Buyers can now invest in properties that are a strong value in the global real estate world.

With fractional ownership you have the usage rights for 30 days or more each year, pay for only your share of the operating costs, own the real estate and stand to gain from the appreciation. You can sell, will, or gift your share of the property when you want. You are free to set a sales price based on market conditions. The management and maintenance are provided for you, so all you have to do is arrive and enjoy. Brilliant!”

I sent out a “need” a few months back for folks to contribute to this blog. Barry was one of those who invited me to copy his blog postings and give him attribution which I do here now. His philosophy for life is all about acceptance. Please read on. I’ve dubbed him my “sage of Nashville!”:.. 

“The FourFold Way” I could write a book on this one, but my luck is with me. The book has been written by Angeles Arien. Everything in this book resonates with me and who I strive to be. There are four principles:
- Show up & Be Present - Many people show up but aren’t present - Minds wandering to all the clutter in their worlds. this principle lays the responsibility on me to FIRST show up physically and mentally - Do as I say I will do - Honor my commitments . . . AND be present - Pay attention and be purposeful in my thoughts and actions
- Follow what has heart and meaning - This one is ALL about Personal authenticity. Being true to myself and my own very personal goals and aspirations. Again . . . being purposeful . . . always know why I am doing what I am doing and feeling good about the fact that it is in alignment with my life purpose.
- Tell the truth - Means more than anything to not fool myself . . . to catch myself in non-authentic moments and to “right the ship” . . . This also means to be honest with other people. A person is only as good as his/her word.
- Let go - Don’t obsess about about what woulda, coulda, or shoulda happened . . . Move FORWARD and be easy on myself. Be careful about expectations. If things don’t happens as I expect them to happen, finger pointing and blame won’t improve the outcomes . . . simply move on and move forward.

“in Open Space” - This represents Open Space Technology . . . and again, the book(s) have been written by my Father Harrison Owen. This is mentioned at the end because this one defines my “way”. Again, there are 4 principles: Read the rest of this entry »