$500 Flat Fee Listings by AAA Properties in Washington and California

Active Rain Sues Move Inc.

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 15:40:26 -0500

In story today at Inman News, Glenn Roberts writes about ActiveRain filing a lawsuit against Move, Inc. because Move did not purchase or invest in the platform.

Move operates the mighty Realtor.com and may have been looking at Active Rain as the forum for its recently launched free blogs for REALTORs. ActiveRain is seeking $33 million in damages.

It makes me wonder what would have happened if AR was sold to Move? Would it have been only open to REALTORS? Would we all have to abide by some rigid new rules?

Since this sale didn't go through, I'm sure they're back to shopping it. I hope they make their money, but also consider their members.

Another great online real estate group is WannaNetwork.com which will be unveiling their new platform at the NAR convention in Las Vegas this November. What I like about WannaNetwork is that they have forums where real estate professionals can actually exchange referrals. Check it out!

Skidoodleski, TheHairFarmer.com

Olympic Multiple Listing Service Dissolving, But Northwest MLS Continues Services in County

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 03:32:29 -0500

Here is a recent press release about MLS consolidation here in Washington state. There are a number of companies working on putting together a national platform. Some how I think one of these companies will be able to pull it off a long time before there is national consolidation of the existing MLS.

Olympic Multiple Listing Service is dissolving effective Sept. 30, but no disruption in service is expected, according to officials from Northwest MLS which will enhance its presence in Thurston County with the opening of an office in Olympia.

Jerry Wilkins, manager of Olympic MLS since January 1997, and all three staff members of that service will become employees of NWMLS and be based at the Olympia satellite office, located at 556 Lilly Road Southeast, Suite D.

“We expect this will be a seamless transition,” Wilkins remarked, noting planning has been under way since the first of the year when the Olympic MLS board voted to dissolve, ending 50-plus years of service (under various names) to local brokers and agents. Northwest MLS started offering services to Thurston County brokers in 1999, but until now its closest satellite offices were in the adjacent counties.

Wilkins expects most members of Olympic MLS who are not already members of Northwest MLS will affiliate with the larger, regional group. NWMLS, based in Kirkland, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest. It is owned by its member brokers and currently encompasses more than 2,200 companies with nearly 27,000 sales associates. Together, they serve 19 counties, mostly in western Washington, plus Grant, Kittitas and Okanogan counties in the central part of the state.

Olympic MLS chairperson Jeff Pust, general manager at Van Dorm Realty, Inc. in Olympia supported the decision to dissolve and consolidate services. “It’s a win-win for brokers, agents and their clients,” he commented, citing NWMLS’ reputation as a leader in technology and customer support. There will be no interruption and service to the public he emphasized, noting NWMLS members have access to the “latest and greatest” tools to assist home buyers and sellers.

The move by the Thurston association reflects a trend toward regionalization of MLS functions that is occurring nationally and locally, according to Jack Johnson, president and CEO of Northwest MLS. Such consolidation enables more efficient exchange of information, broader exposure of inventory that benefits both buyers and sellers, streamlined operations and other economies of scale for accessing standardized forms and state-of-the-art technology, Johnson explained.

12-foot section of fence costing $400 in materials to build costs Homeowners Association $83,000+ over color dispute

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 12:28:25 -0500

Here is a story of the joys of being in a Homeowners Association. It's a good thing they aren't all like this.

When a homeowners’ association board of directors misuses its authority, it can have costly consequences as some Redmond, Wash. residents are learning.

In a dispute about a fence color at a townhome community, an arbitrator ruled in favor of homeowners Marc and Kristina Weiss, resulting in an expense of more than $83,000 for residents of Sammamish Forest Manors (“SaFoMa”), a community of 167 homes.

After a three-day hearing and subsequent review of a series of briefs and documents supplied by both the plaintiffs and defendants, the arbitrator awarded the plaintiffs $39,560.87 for their attorney fees and costs. In his ruling he determined provisions of the Association’s Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs) pertaining to such fees and costs are “unilateral award provisions and as such have been superseded” by state law (RCW 4.84.330).

The association incurred an additional expense of more than $42,000 for its own attorney fees and costs. When combined with the award to the plaintiffs, the total tab means a 12-foot section of a 46 foot T-shaped fence that cost around $400 in materials is theoretically valued at more than $83,000. The “objectionable” section that faces the street measures around 12 feet – now equaling around $6,800 per lineal foot.

“This case presents an egregious example of a few members on a homeowners’ board abusing and misusing their authority,” said attorney Malcolm S. Harris, who represented the Weisses. Harris, a partner at the Seattle firm of Harris, Mericle & Wakayama, PLLC, also believes the board acted in an “arbitrary and capricious nature” in its treatment of the couple.

In decisions issued on June 14 and Aug. 15, arbitrator Jerome O. Cohen of Seattle found the board had no authority to require the Weisses to recolor their fence (for a third time) and ordered the board to reimburse them for reasonable attorney fees and costs.

In the same ruling the arbitrator ordered the removal or reversal of charges for “late fees” and “late fee interest” that had been applied to the Weiss’ “Occupant Ledger” and directed the property managers to prepare new ledger pages showing only authorized charges.

The dispute dates to 2003 when the Weiss couple and a neighbor built a T-shaped cedar lattice fence to enclose their entry courtyards after obtaining approval from the association’s Architectural Control Committee. Such approval is required by the association’s CC&Rs.

The architectural committee granted permission for the fences to be built, but “for no apparent reasons,” denied the request to install gates. The Weisses appealed that decision to the full board, as allowed by association regulations. At a December 2003 meeting, the board approved a motion to allow the gates.

Marc Weiss, who is an architect and a past president of the SaFoMa board, testified he applied a natural cedar colored stain to the fence after discussing the color with the chair of the architectural committee. The question about color arouse in October 2003 when three homeowners complained to the chair of the architectural committee about the natural color. Questions about the color arose again at the December 2003 board meeting when a few members of the audience commented the “caramel” color that was used was too dark. During discussion, Mr. Weiss voluntarily agreed to attempt to lighten the color.

Although there was discussion about staining the fence a lighter color to match the color of the unit, the board secretary who took the minutes testified it was merely discussion, “not part of the motion.” There was no requirement during the meeting or in the motion to use a color called “pina colada,” which the board subsequently demanded be used.

In the fall of 2005, the board consulted the association’s attorney on the matter and began incurring expenses for attorney fees. The board also concluded it had the right to charge those fees to the Weisses. The Weisses later discovered their account had been charged more than $17,000 in attorney fees and were considered “delinquent.” Upon learning of the charges, they refused to pay. The board then threatened to foreclose the board’s “lien” on the Weisses home.

In an unrelated matter, the association received a substantial sum of money from the settlement of another lawsuit. Proceeds were distributed to members of the association, but the Weisses’ share was withheld and applied to their “delinquent account,” which attorney Harris called a “blatant act of conversion.” The Weisses were also told their votes for the election of officers at the annual homeowners meeting would not be counted because the board had declared them delinquent.

According to legal briefs filed in connection with the case, the Weisses on several occasions demanded to know how much had been charged to their “account” for the association’s attorney fees, but “the board and its management company steadfastly ignored those requests.”

In August 2006, Marc and Kristina Weiss commenced an arbitration request, under provisions of the association’s governing documents and state laws. In his arbitration brief, attorney Harris stated, “We want the arbitrator to understand that, although the Weisses initiated this arbitration, this whole controversy has been initiated by the actions of a few board members who seem determined to carry out a vicious campaign of harassing the Weisses.”

In his ruling, the arbitrator concluded the caramel color used by the Weisses was an appropriate color: "It is the arbitrator's conclusion that the color used by the Weiss's in re-staining their fence was so close to the color of their unit that the difference was not distinguishable upon reasonable observation"

The arbitrator also concluded the association’s board “improperly converted the Weiss’s funds” from the proceeds of the unrelated lawsuit settlement, and ordered those funds plus interest be remitted to the Weiss family. (“Article 17 does not allow the Association to assess attorney fees against a Homeowner until an adjudication has been made that the Homeowner is in fact in violation of the CC&Rs or Rules and Regulations. No such adjudication had been made at the time the Association withheld the funds, therefore the Association improperly converted the Weiss’s funds.”)

Other rulings by the arbitrator included:

· “The request for fence and gate made by Mr. & Mrs. Weiss was in conformance to the requirements of the CC&R’s and the policies established by the Board to maintain architectural uniformity.”

· “The specific color of the fence was not an issue at the time the fence was initially approved by the ACC. The caramel color used by the Weiss’s was an appropriate color. The caramel color was contained on one version of the paint schedule and it had been used on fences in SAFOMA previously.”

Under arbitration provisions, the decision is binding. Each party agreed to split equally the arbitrator’s fees. The arbitrator also found that the plaintiffs, as homeowners at Sammamish Forest Manors, must pay their “proportionate share of any amounts assessed against any other homeowners in pay for the costs of this litigation.”

At a special meeting on Sept. 20, the board of directors presented two options to homeowners. Members of the association approved a proposal to immediately pay the Weiss attorney fee from a reserve account. A second proposal, for a special assessment of approximately $83,500 ($500 per homeowner) to cover all legal fees (including the association’s plus the award to the Weisses) failed to get the number of votes needed for approval.

In addition to the association’s attorney, board members Bob Anderson and BJ Martindale represented the board of directors at the arbitration hearing, which spanned three days. Both Anderson and Martindale have since resigned from the board and the Martindales have sold their home in Sammamish Forest Manors.

Skidoodleski

Seller Makes His Agent's Commission Bigger By Not Listening

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:55:41 -0500

Seller Makes His Agent's Commission Bigger By Not Listening

I'm watching an episode of Buy Me on HGTV where the sellers agent recommended they take an offer of $330k and the seller refused, made two counters and got $345k. The agent actually made more money by giving bad advice.

On top of that, she came back after inspections and recommended that they give $9k in concessions, they refused and the buyer paid the price anyway.

I cannot believe that most agents are like that at all, but I do think that sellers in certain situations are sometimes able to negotiate a better deal than anyone else. It's one of the reasons there are a lot of people that like the $500 Flat Fee program from AAA Properties.

Seller Makes His Agent's Commission Bigger By Not Listening

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:55:28 -0500

Seller Makes His Agent's Commission Bigger By Not Listening

On top of that, she came back after inspections and recommended that they give $9k in concessions, they refused and the buyer paid the price anyway.

Interested How Many Homes Are Listed in Your City?

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:51:04 -0500

Interested How Many Homes Are Listed in Your City?

Visitors to DeLuz.com and YourEastsideBroker.com can now see how many properties are listed for sale in Puget Sound area cities. Where else can you see this data?

Do you want to know how many homes are for sale in Bellevue? Kirkland? Redmond? Seattle? Check it out now.

Results from Zillow?

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:48:41 -0500

I'm wondering if anyone out there has used Zillow for advertising? What were your results?

We got 5000 page views for our key words in about 5 days, which resulted in zero calls, zero web visits and $50 down the drain.

Do I need more consistency? A better message? or a different venue?

Skidoodleski, Support The Hair Farmer

Prediction of More Houses Under $500k in Bellevue Coming True

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 18:52:19 -0500

Over six months ago I predicted that we will start seeing more homes in Bellevue available for sale for less than $500k. At that time, there were very few. The number of sub half million dollar houses in Belleve is indeed growing again. Today there are 48 SFR listed for sale in Bellevue - and that's only the ones currently on the MLS.

(The list should be a lot bigger - there are at least three different sub $500k homes for sale on my street - but they're all listed for more than $700k.

One other thing that is very noticable - sellers are once again accepting contingent offers. Not too long ago, there were so many buyers that sellers would not think of accepting an offer contingent on being able to secure financing - or worse yet, trying to sell another property. It appears that sellers are becoming a bit more flexible.

BTW - Progress on the DeLuz.com and YourEastsideBroker.com real estate search sites is going great!

Skidoodleski, Support The Hair Farmer and Locks of Love.

Redfin Still Flaunting MLS Rules By Blogging About Other Brokers' Listings

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 18:16:51 -0500

I'm not sure why they keep getting away with it, but Redfin and its Sweet Digs Bloggers continue to blog about (and thus advertise) other brokers' listings even though it is in violation of rules about advertising other brokers listings without their permission.

This post is a list of open houses on the Eastside this Sunday. By coincidence, NONE of these listings are Redfin listings - do you think John L. Scott and Windermere gave Redfin permission to advertise their listings?

If none of us other brokers are allowed to advertise other Brokers' listings, why does Redfin continually get away with this???

BTW - It is my personal opinion that brokers and agents are crazy not to advertise everywhere they can - especially if another broker is willing to do it for free ... but that if everyone else has to follow the rules Redfin should too.

Congratulations to Matt Heaton and Jonathon Washburn!

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 15:05:18 -0500

A big CONGRATULATIONS to Matt Heaton and Jonathon Washburn of ActiveRain for being named at "Notables" on Inman News' list of 100 most influential real estate leaders.

They probably should have made it somewhere else in the list, but I guess they couldn't fit everyone. I guess Ardell was probably included in the "Bloggers" section.

New Pioneering Blog - Net Users Help Design a Real Estate Business

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 13:38:28 -0500

I've started a new blog at: http://consumerrealestate.blogspot.com it is called:

Internet Users Design This New Real Estate Business

. This may not be the first "help me design" something out on the net, but it may very well be the first site where internet users can help design the evolution of a real estate company and perhaps that of the entire real estate industry.

If you have any ideas of how the real estate industry can be improved - or how we can market the new $500 Flat Fee Listings from AAA Properties, please visit the blog above and make yourself heard!

DeLuz.com and YourEastsideBroker.com Developing Nicely

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 12:45:46 -0500

It's taken awhile to find the right person to do it, but it looks like Steven Chris is getting the real estate search sites at DeLuz.com and YourEastsideBroker.com very close to taking live. Initially they will allow for home searching in the Puget Sound area, including Bellevue, the entire Eastside, Seattle and surrounding areas. Next added will be all the homes listed for sale in San Diego County.

You might want to check them out in the coming weeks. These sites are to be prototypes for affordable IDX solutions for brokers and agents across North America.

Slow Housing Markets Push 2006 Lumber Output Lower for First Time since 2001

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 12:04:54 -0500

This article first appeared at www.AAAListsHomes.com

A swoon in U.S. home construction reduced Western lumber production in 2006, the first decline in five years, according to final production figures prepared by Western Wood Products Association.

With housing starts decreasing by nearly 13 percent during the year, Western lumber production slipped to 17.98 billion board feet, down 7 percent from the previous year. The estimated wholesale value of the lumber was $6.8 billion, compared to $7.7 billion in 2005.

WWPA compiled the final industry totals for 2006 following its annual survey of more than 210 mills operating in the continental West and Alaska.

Oregon remained the largest lumber producing state in the country and fared better than other Western states. Sawmills in Oregon produced 7.03 billion board feet of lumber valued at $2.5 billion. The volume was down 5.4 percent from the previous year.

After reaching a 76-year high in 2005, lumber production in Washington declined 10.5 percent to 5.13 billion board feet – the steepest drop for all Western states. The estimated wholesale value of the state’s production was $1.88 billion.

Mills in California produced 2.59 billion board feet valued at $1.19 billion in 2006, a 3.6 percent decrease from the year earlier.

Together, the three states comprised 82 percent of the region’s lumber production.

In other Western states, Idaho lumber production totaled 1.85 billion board feet, down 8.8 percent, and Montana finished 8.4 percent lower at 917 million board feet.

Production for South Dakota and Wyoming in 2006 was 299 million board feet and mills in the Four Corner states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah produced 168 million board feet. Volumes in these states were combined to maintain the confidentiality of individual mill data.

Overall U.S. lumber consumption totaled 60.47 billion board feet, down from the record 64.34 billion board feet set in 2005. Housing starts dropped to 1.8 million for the year, reducing the volume of lumber used in new residential construction by nearly 16 percent. New home construction and repair/remodeling account for 73 percent of the lumber used annually.

Home building in the Sunbelt slowed more modestly than the rest of the country, helping mills in the South maintain production volumes. Southern sawmills produced 18.7 billion board feet in 2006, down just 1.5 percent. It was the first year in modern history that Southern mills produced more lumber than their counterparts in the West.

Lumber imports declined 7.6 percent to 22.8 billion board feet. Shipments from Canada, the largest supplier to the U.S. market, were down 6.3 percent to 20.1 billion board feet.

Western Wood Products Association represents lumber manufacturers in the 12 Western states and Alaska. Based in Portland, WWPA compiles lumber industry statistics and provides business information services to mills. The Association also delivers quality standards, technical and product support services to the industry.

2006 Western Lumber Production

	Volume Million bd. ft.	Value Million $

Oregon	7,033	$	2,498.7
Washington	5,130	$	1,881.1
California	2,590	$	1,186.2
Idaho	1,847	$	714.5
Montana	917	$	321.6
South Dakota/Wyoming	299	$	111.5
Four Corner states (AZ, CO, NM, UT)	168	$	58.8

TOTAL	17,983	$	6,772.5

Inman Real Estate Connect Only 10 days away

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 00:25:35 -0500

I'm getting psyched for the Connect conference in SF in 10 days. Should be a lot of fun. A number of great duets scheduled, as well as the first bloggers connect. Ardell will be on a couple different panels, Glenn Kelman from Redfin will be on a duet with Lennox Scott of John L. Scott. The guys from Zillow will be there and I'm sure many others from the Puget Sound area.

Anyone else from the Seattle area going to Connect?

I'm toying with the idea of driving down (I'm in Bellevue) and continuing on to San Diego after the conference.

I'll be there to report on the conference, but also to look for a CA corporate broker and or real estate executive position. Please let me know if you know of anyone in need of a CA, WA, OR or HI broker. I have great recent real estate/tech start-up experience and know a lot of the players.

Great Website About Bad Listing Photos

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 20:02:21 -0500

We've all seen them - terrible pictures in listings that instead of telling positive stories, begs for answers to many questions. The recent NAR enewsletter from Realtor.org had a short article about Unbelievable Bad Real Estate Photos Hall of Fame - definitely can make one rethink about making the most of your photo opportunities.

Real Estate news site with great links about The Bubble

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 00:51:11 -0500

Even with the "slowing" or "adjusting" market we're facing on the Eastside, many people feel like the market is still very strong and refuse to see the warning signs - and how overvalued it is.

Across the country, many markets have been hurting for some time and do believe there is indeed such a thing as a bubble. Here are a few links on the Big "B":

Boston Bubble
Real Estate Decline
House Bubble
Patrick.net
Housing Bubble Central

They came from

"All The Bubble News That's Fit To Post!" at Paper Dinero.com

Kemper Freeman to Spend A Billion Dollars on New Project, Renovation on Bellevue Square

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 16:53:20 -0500

According to an article at the Seattle PI, Kemper Freeman Jr. of Kemper Development, is planning to spend over a billion dollars to embark on an estimated $1 billion, five-year renovation that will overhaul Bellevue Square, add 351 rooms to the nearby Hyatt Regency hotel and install upscale fashion boutiques.

When the dust settles, Freeman said another 2.5 million square feet will have been developed, and the crown jewel will be "The Bellevue," home to luxury shops, a five-star hotel and fine dining. The Bellevue will be built on Bellevue Way at the current Safeway/Bartell Drugs site. That will certainly add to Kemper's "collection"

Gotta Love this Inman ad

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 16:41:59 -0500

I saw this ad in today's Inman News and it made me laugh. I am really looking forward to the 'Duet" of Glenn and Lennox. I'm hoping that it is active and energetic, with both having the opportunity to make their points.

Because these guys are both local, this duet is of special interest, but also expect to enjoy the others as well.

Anyone from the Eastside or Seattle going to Inman Connect SF?

Schnitzer West Takes on Investco as JV Partner in The Bravern

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 01:53:38 -0500

Investcorp's U.S.- based real estate group recently announced that it has entered a joint venture with Schnitzer West to develop a 1.6 million square foot office, retail and residential project in Bellevue. The total value of the transaction exceeds $800 million.

The mixed-use development, known as The Bravern, is located on a prime, six-acre site in Bellevue's central business district. 750,000 square feet of office space, in two high-rise office towers, has already been fully leased by Microsoft on a long-term basis. A further 305,000 square feet of luxury retail space will be anchored by a 125,000 square foot flagship Neiman Marcus store. There will also be two 29-story residential towers with 456 luxury one-bedroom, two-bedroom and penthouse condominiums. Construction on The Bravern has been well underway for over a year, with individual building deliveries scheduled for mid-2008 and the fall of 2009.

Under the terms of the joint venture, Investcorp will provide a majority of the project equity. Schnitzer West will provide a substantial portion of the balance of the overall project equity and will serve as the project's day- to-day investment developer.

Brian Kelley, of Investcorp's Los Angeles office, said, "We are excited to have formed this joint venture with Schnitzer West. We look forward to arranging future transactions in the Western United States with this world- class operating partner." Herb Myers, who, alongside Mr. Kelley, represented Investcorp in the transaction, added, "The Bravern is an extremely compelling mixed-use development opportunity in a market characterized by high barriers to entry, above-average growth, extraordinary demographics and strong real estate fundamentals. This is a further addition to Investcorp's opportunistic investment portfolio, which today exceeds $2 billion in 11 separate projects around the country."

Greg MacDiarmid, of Schnitzer West's Bellevue office, said, "We are pleased to have the opportunity to co-invest with Investcorp since our previous sale of Civica Office Commons to Investcorp. We could not have found a superior alignment of objectives and talent than our partners with Investcorp." Tom Woodworth, of Schnitzer West's Bellevue office, said, "We also look forward to aligning with Investcorp's deep real estate investment experience to ensure The Bravern sets a regional and national standard for people focused, engaging mixed-use upscale shopping, fine dining, efficient workplace and luxury living experience."

Creative Retail Leasing, LLC and GVA Kidder Matthews will continue to lease the retail space for Investcorp and Schnitzer West at The Bravern. Construction financing is being provided by HSH Nordbank.

Bellevue to Outlaw Mansions?

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 14:29:10 -0500

I just heard part of a news report saying that the City of Bellevue is considering residential building ordinances that will limit what property owners can do on their own property. Among the possibilities: homes sq ft will be based on lot sq footage (tighter restrictions?), and not allowing one house on two lots ..

I don't like this at all. Property owners already have enough challenges keeping up with increasing property taxes and complying with already strict building regulations - don't place more laws and challenges on property owners!

I hate to use the term Mc-Mansions, but that is what some people are calling some of these larger homes. I personally like to look at them - and hope that one day I can own one if I choose.

Expedia Move Another Huge Deal for Downtown Bellevue

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 14:19:32 -0500

An article from the P-I yesterday talks about how Expedia will be moving from their I-90/Factoria location to occupy 16 floors in Tower 333. That's 348,000 square feet!
After the Microsoft deal to take all the office space at The Bravern was announced less than a couple of months ago, this is another huge deal for downtown Bellevue and will surely drive demand (and rents) higher.

With all these huge leases, where is Google going to find adequate space in downtown Bellevue?

Economist expects U.S. home prices to fall 10%

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 01:47:06 -0500

A recent article at Inman News talks about the latest US economic forecast by David Shulman of the Anderson Forecast at UCLA. He predicts a 10 percent price decline in US housing prices that will likely last into 2009.

I'm sure that some areas will be harder hit than others, but that most will feel the pinch. This certainly contradicts the thoughts of many real estate 'professionals' in the Puget Sound area who are telling their clients that house values will always continue to rise ...

What do you think?

Northwest MLS Enabling Database Searches of Listings With Green Design Features

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 11:37:54 -0500

Green is definitely in - and that is a good thing. The NWMLS has picked up on that and has incorporated some features that make it easier to recognize "green" properties. Here's the press release:

House hunters who want green design features in their future home have a new resource for identifying such properties in Washington state.

Northwest Multiple Listing Service, the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest, is enhancing its listing forms and database so properties with certain environmental certifications, energy efficient features and sustainable materials may be readily identified.

The changes, being implemented this week, culminate months of research, discussion and programming modifications, according to Jack Johnson, president and CEO of Northwest MLS. Ben Kaufman, co-owner and managing broker of GreenWorks Realty in Seattle, spearheaded efforts to add the green features.

"Green homes are increasingly sought after in the Northwest, and the addition of environmental categories to the NWMLS listings will significantly help homeowners' ability to find homes with green features," said Kaufman. With the new green checkboxes consumers can easily identify homes that meet specific criteria, Kaufman noted, adding, “This is an excellent example of how real estate agents lead the way to building better communities one house at a time."

Effective immediately, listing agents can use checkboxes for highlighting a home’s green and resource-efficient features. Among the new fields are designations for homes that meet third-party certifications for Built Green, Energy Star and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards.

Additionally, NWMLS created checkboxes for identifying various energy-efficient heating and cooling systems (with “solar” being a new field), and for renewable floor coverings such as bamboo, cork or other sustainable materials. In details about a property’s lot, the listing agent may now check a box denoting draught resistant landscaping.

“These new categories in the Northwest MLS database offer benefits to buyers, sellers, home builders, remodelers and MLS members,” said Meribeth Hutchings managing broker at Windermere Real Estate/Lake Stevens and a member of the NWMLS board of directors.

Hutchings, who served on the MLS ad hoc group to identify environmental categories, cited research from a survey conducted for a home builders’ trade group that showed growing consumer demand for energy-efficient products and services. The survey, conducted by the Shelton Group, found that 78 percent of respondents would chose one home over another based on its energy efficiency and the majority would pay more for energy saving features.

“Northwest MLS has a reputation for being a leader among multiple listing services, so adding the environmental checkboxes was another way to demonstrate our commitment to innovation,” Hutchings remarked. In recent years, NWMLS has been on the forefront of offering a Web-based database, sophisticated mapping programs and state-of-the-art lockboxes.

The addition of green fields to the Northwest MLS database follows a similar undertaking by Oregon’s Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLS), making this region one of the few areas in the nation where it is possible to pinpoint homes with resource-efficient features.

Hutchings said the changes apply to newly built homes as well as existing homes that have been upgraded with energy efficient amenities. MLS members may search the database of single family homes and condominiums to find listings with green features that meet the desires of prospective homebuyers.

Greg Tracy to Speak at Inman News' Real Estate Connect San Francisco 2007

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 03:48:12 -0500

Greg Tracy, founder of BlueRoof.com will be a featured speaker at Real Estate Connect San Francisco 2007 this August 2 at 2pm. He will speak on the topic of blogging. The complete speaker lineup and program details are available at http://www.realestateconnect.com/sf07.

Hosted by Inman News, Real Estate Connect is the premier executive gathering for everything related to real estate, technology and digital media. This year's event will draw upwards of 1500 mega-agents, top brokers, technologists, opinion leaders, entrepreneurs, decision makers, press, analysts and investors from across the country. RE Connect SF '07 takes places August 1 - 3 at The Palace Hotel in downtown San Francisco.

"We pride ourselves on attracting the most dynamic and captivating speakers in the industry, and [NAME certainly fits that description," said Bradley Inman, Founder and Publisher of Inman News (http://www.inman.com). "Past speakers have included Seth Godin, Barry Diller, Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen, Google co-founder Larry Page, and Priceline.com chairman Rick Braddock."

Real Estate Connect SF '07 also includes four pre-conferences: Internet Marketing Bootcamp, Connect TECH, Broker Internet Session and Bloggers Connect. Registration for the event runs until July 24th, 2007.

Redfin Back to Old Tricks with Sweet Digs?

AAA Properties - $500 Flat Fee Listings — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 03:34:15 -0500

I recently heard that Redfin had an "Extreme Makeover" of their "Sweet Digs" blog. I visited Sweet Digs this morning and found more than a couple posts about other brokers listings - and with links to pages on the Redfin site. I see this as advertising another broker's listing and have asked for clarification from the NWMLS. My personal opinion is that there shouldn't be anything wrong with it, but that all owners/members of the NWMLS should have to play by the same rules.