In my View Blog by Erion Shehaj

Houston Real Estate Market Report for July 2009 (VIDEO)

Signature Real Estate — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:22:39 -0500

Houston Real Estate starts to show signs of a recovery pulse as sales are almost flat, prices continued their up creep, inventories and days on market are shrinking and foreclosures are playing less and less of a role.

5 Must Read Houston Real Estate Articles You Might Have Missed

Signature Real Estate — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 12:34:10 -0500

I Know Why Your Home Isn’t Selling

I have never even seen your house, its upgrades, curb appeal or that new air conditioner installed not too long ago. But trust me when I tell you that I know why your home isn’t selling. Whether acting alone, or in combination with each other, there are eight factors that scare away buyers worse then teenage girls at a horror movie screening:

The Price is Wrong

This factor sits at number one for a very good reason. Pricing a home above its true market value in a tough market can cause irreparable damage to your probability of success. Pick an agent that a) doesn’t just pretend but truly knows the market and its intricacies and b) you trust (vital!). Use up all your skepticism in scrutinizing agents but once you decide, listen to their pricing advice and price it right or watch it sit.

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Positive Indicators in June: Houston Real Estate Market Strengthens Further

The real estate market in the Houston Area showed further evidence of visible strengthening in the June 2009 sales figures released by HAR. Numbers moved in lockstep with a three month trend of improvements that has median sales prices rising, total sales falling at a slower pace and sound inventory levels.

Median Sales Prices rose 2.8% to $164.500 compared to 2008 for the second month in a row. Remember, prices rose about half that in May, they were virtually unchanged in April and they had been falling prior to that. Further evidence of a positive upward trend.
Average Sales Prices dropped 2.4% to $221,783 compared to 2008. They had been pretty much flat in May. More than a decline in prices, this indicates a shift towards lower priced properties as the first time homebuyer tax credit program works its way and provides incentives to purchase homes before November 30th.

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Unload that tenant occupied real estate and keep your sanity

So you cashed out of your local bloated market in California / Florida / Arizona circa 2006 and conquered some sweet new construction deal(s) in the Houston area. You know you weren’t alone as during that time everyone and their lovely mother was doing it. How could you pass it up, anyway? Brand new property, ridiculous price/SF, great cashflow, fully managed, investment heaven. Fast forward thirty six months and you find yourself fighting rising property taxes (a county’s gotta eat) and insurance rates eating away at your ROI like a monkey on a cupcake. Rent mostly covers expenses, but it might be time to exit that investment and go in a different direction.

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Preapproval Letter is Buyer’s Passport

It is a bit counterintuitive, I’ll give you that, upfront. It seems more rational to find the house you want to purchase first, then pursue financing options. But in this market, more than ever, the exact opposite is true. The preapproval letter from the lender is the necessary passport you must have to start buying a Houston Home. You wouln’t travel to a foreign country without your passport, would you? Didn’t think so.

There are several reasons why you should (and must) get a preapproval letter first...

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4 Strategies to sell your Houston Home this month

When the market shifts, like it did in late 2007, it is easy to get caught off guard as your decisions still take into account a market with ever increasing home values and an abundance of buyers. These decisions inevitably lead to an overpriced home that will stay unsold for months causing frustration and confusion. Let me be blunt with you: It does not matter what the home could have or should have sold for in 2006. Those rules no longer apply.

But there are 4 Strategies you can use today to get your Houston Home sold under the current market conditions...

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Houston Real Estate sitting pretty in April

Signature Real Estate — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:45:41 -0500

On Tuesday, HAR released the latest figures for the Houston Real Estate market activity during the month of April and as it's often been the case in the last year or so, the numbers were pretty mixed.

The Good

After three consecutive months of drops in the Median Sales Price, prices have stabilized. That's great news! In addition, there are fewer active listings on the market for sale now than there were a year ago. In other words we're looking at some of the healthiest inventory levels in the country. In April, it would take 6.1 months to sell all the existing inventory at the current rate of sales. In comparison, areas like Arizona and Florida have long been sporting absoprtion rates well in the double figures.

The Bad

Total number of sales continue their ongoing slide that started a year and a half ago. This is primarily due to a slower economy, tightened credit markets and stricter loan qualification requirements. Number of pending sales is also down - an indication that the end to slower sales is not quite here yet.

To Sum it Up

Numbers for April were definitely mixed but leaning closer to positive with stabilizing sales prices and goodlooking inventory levels. Increasing oil prices are also sure to give a boost to local economy and therefore to the demand for homes.

To see a video analysis head on over to ErionHouston.com

Ideas that stink: Real Estate Transfer Tax

Signature Real Estate — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:31:10 -0500

I get an email from the Texas Real Estate Political Action Committee (TREPAC) this afternoon about three proposed bills in the Texas Legislature that would allow counties to impose a real estate transfer tax to raise money for transportation projects. Needless to say, TREPAC is slightly biased in its view about these proposals so I decided to find out for myself. I read all three proposed bills, SB-950, SB-934, SB-942, arguments pro and con.

This idea stinks!

The only somewhat valid argument for a real estate transfer tax is that it can help keep property taxes under control. Newsflash: Texas already has the highest property tax rates in the country averaging around 2.5%. In comparison, Washington DC which has a real estate transfer tax of 1.1% has property tax rates of 1.3%. Not to mention that this proposal has fund raising as it primary purpose, not lowering property taxes.

The proposed bills in our Legislature leave it up to counties to set the rate but most estimates range from 0.5-1.5% of the transaction price. In some cases, this would increase the closing costs for buyers by thousands of dollars and edge them out of the market. This would result in stifled activity for the housing market and the six percent of the US economy it represents.

Houston Heights Real Estate Market Report - Feb 2009 (VIDEO)

Signature Real Estate — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 11:01:51 -0500

Houston Heights District - Real Estate Market Report from Erion Shehaj on Vimeo.

Active on the Market

There are currently 135 total properties for sale asking an average of $200.27/SF (virtually unchanged) priced as low as $149.9k all the way up to $1.35M. Over half of the current inventory for sale (51.85%) are new construction homes. On average , active listings have been on the market for 124 days which is an improvement over January’s 139 days. Only 1.5% of the current inventory are foreclosures.

Pending Sales

A total of 12 properties went under contract in February, at different stages of the transaction (i.e. pending inspection, pending but taking backups, pending closing) - That’s significantly lower than the January figure. The average asking price of the homes that went under contract is $154.01/SF priced as low as $199k all the way up to $964k. A third of the homes that went under contract were new construction. On average, pending sale listings have been on the market for 83 days. Two of the twelve pending sales were bank foreclosures.

Sold

A total of 13 properties were sold during February (62% jump from a month ago) at an average of $163.33/SF with sales prices ranging from $192k all the way up to $866k. About a quarter of the sold properties in The Heights during January were new developments. On average , sold listings have been on the market for 146 days. Just over seven percent of the solds were bank owned properties.

The current absorption rate for Houston Heights remained unchanged at a healthy 6.78 months - that is, it would take about 7 months to sell all the current inventory at the rate homes have been selling in the neighborhood over the past year. There is a definite disconnect between the price Sellers are asking for their properties and the price homes are actually selling in the area. Currently the difference is about 11.5% which is considerable. Every home is different - that’s true. But if you are in the market trying to sell, you will be facing an uphill battle if your asking price is higher than what it takes to sell by double digit percentages. Without sugarcoating it, the choice is simple:

If you need and want to sell, lower the price to match the market
If you can afford to wait, bring the property back on the market once it has turned the corner.

The numbers never lie - if you know how to read them.

Talking Houston Foreclosures with Channel 39

Signature Real Estate — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:21:04 -0600

Yesterday, we were contacted by one of our local stations, Channel 39, to contribute to a story on taking advantage of the current market and getting some great deals buying Houston Foreclosures.

Kudos to Andrea Nguyen for a superb job on the story.

Stimulate your home purchase in 2009

Signature Real Estate — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 09:53:27 -0600

As stimulus package was signed into law this past Wednesday, speculation about the housing provisions in it ceased. During the course of congressional negotiations we went from a $15,000 tax credit to nothing, and everywhere in between.

The simple facts

Under the $787B recovery package, first time homebuyers (that make less than $75,000/year) are eligible to get an $8,000 tax credit that does not require repayment, if they purchase a primary residence from January 1st, 2009 through December 31st, 2009. The credit is refundable - If the annual tax liability is less than the credit, the taxpayer will receive the difference in a check. The tax credit does not apply for investment properties or second homes.

Here’s an idea

The median home price in Houston Real Estate as of January 2009 is about $130,000. In the current environment, buyers are getting an average discount of about 7% off asking price. Bank and government foreclosures are often priced 15%+ less than their true market value. With FHA financing, homebuyers can purchase a Houston home with a 3.5% down payment. Finally, the stimulus package tax credit amounts to about 6% of an average priced starter home.

To put it all together: You would be purchasing a home at a sweet 31.5% Off!! As in 68.5 cents on the dollar.

Need I say more to support my conviction that this is THE best time to buy a home in the last 50 years? To spin off a Warren Buffett nugget of wisdom: Be agressive when others are fearful and fearful when others are agressive. The time is now…

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Houston Real Estate Market in ‘08 - Slower but Resolute

Signature Real Estate — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:18:00 -0600

Just over a month ago, 2008 came to an end as one of the choppiest years for the real estate market in at least two decades. Across the country, markets were hit with slow sales and falling prices with some areas in the West dropping as much as 30%. News media outlets latched on to the national data and milked it for all it was worth, arguably making it much worse by further frightening buyers that were already feeling uncertain. There was no effort whatsoever, to parse the data and point out markets that were actually doing well - relatively speaking. Instead, we had two equally stubborn extremes: Skewed catastrophic reports from newsmedia and stubborn boneheaded cliches from Associations of Realtors.

Now the numbers for the Houston Real Estate market are out and I’d like to give you the straight story without any coating - sugar or otherwise.

The Bad News

During 2008, Realtors sold a total of 69,220 single family homes which represents a drop of 17.3% drop over 2007. That is, 14,516 fewer homes were sold in 2008 when compared with the year before. The reasons that justify this drop are several and well known: Tightening credit markets and lending guidelines, loss of employment and overall uncertainty about the economy kept buyers from pursuing and purchasing homes. Further, Hurricane Ike put the brakes on the entire real estate establishment in the Greater Houston Area for at least four weeks. It also caused a large number of sales to fall through due to hurricane damage. When it comes to total number of transactions, virtually every market in the country suffered a drop over 2007.

The Good News

The average sales price during 2008 actually rose by about 1% (to $208,266) over 2007 while the median sales price remained unchanged at $152,000. You won’t find this story in the Chronicle because this is very positive news and they’re not in THAT business. In a nutshell, this means that while it would be normal for prices to come under pressure during periods of slower sales, not only did home prices in the Houston area NOT drop - they actually rose. This makes a lot of sense, if you think about it. We did not experience the rampant post Y2K appreciation that states like California, Arizona and Florida went through. In other words, if prices didn’t rise aggressively, they will not fall aggresively either.

Inventory

At the end of December 2008, the months of inventory was at 5.7 months - in other words, it would take 5.7 months to deplete the current inventory based on past 12 months sales (by comparison, certain markets in Florida are looking at 20+ months of inventory). This number is also down from December 2007 - a positive sign that shows the Houston Real Estate market is trending toward being more balanced after spending most of 2008 in Buyer’s Market territory.

Looking forward

In my opinion, the Houston Real Estate market (and other similar markets) will begin to rebound during the last quarter of 2009. Stronger sales will be fueled by home buyer incentives in the stimulus bill, looser Fannie Mae credit restrictions for investors and more fluid credit markets overall. With a stronger push in the sales territory, prices should remain stable if not experience mild appreciation.

As a consumer, you have the right to truthful information, not agenda driven spin. I hope to have provided some insight into the realistic conditions within the Houston Real Estate market.

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Houston First in the country for 2008 job growth

Signature Real Estate — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 09:23:54 -0600

In the midst of an atmosphere of job losses, layoffs and unemployment, Houston just closed the year as the top in the country for job growth adding 57,300 jobs in 2008. From the Houston Business Journal story:

Houston had the best year of any market, picking up an additional 57,300 jobs, according to a new bizjournals analysis…Seventy-two of the markets suffered declines in employment in 2008. The New York City area took the worst hit in absolute terms, losing 120,300 positions…Texas dominated the small list of markets that added jobs last year, nailing down the top three positions, and four of the top five.

The increase is down significantly from 2007 when the area added 218,000 jobs. But the fact that we have job growth while 88% of markets lost jobs in the same time period is a testament to how well the area is weathering the storm. Since the local employment market is the foundation that supports (and fuels) our housing market, this is very positive news for Houston real estate.

Remember Don Vito

Signature Real Estate — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 08:47:05 -0600

The feeling is all too familiar to us entrepreneur types. The debilitating paralysis that grips our business soul and temporarily evaporates every ounce of our self confidence. If you have ever owned a business, there has been a time when you invested all your creative energy on closing that deal or getting that client and failed. You’ve surely had one of those days when you walked into your office with your confident chest out ready to convert all those prospects into loyal clients and got hung up on. Or built a solid pipeline only to watch it turn into Chernobyl in a matter of days.

Remember Don Vito

It’s not personal. It’s just business.

When you are so involved in every aspect of your business from strategic decisions to coffee making, it is hard not to take every business shortcoming as personal failure. After all, you’ve poured yourself into the mold of every component of this creature of yours - from business cards to operating systems. But let me repeat Don Vito’s timeless creed: It’s not personal. It’s just business. Write it in your bulletin board or print it out on large font - do whatever you have to do to keep it in mind, especially during THAT moment.

So dust yourself off and do what you do best: Make it happen! That prospect hung up on you? Call another. That deal fell out? Put another one together. Pipeline looking thin? Hit the pavement and you’ll load it back up to the gills. Check your emotions at the door, put on your business mantle and make them an offer they can’t refuse.

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Pending Home Sales on the Upswing

Signature Real Estate — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:07:04 -0600

Happen to catch the news lately? It’s war out there, this economy. Carnage. Tailspin. Depression. Anchormen drooling as they report news on yet another plummeting housing statistic.

Then this. On Tuesday, the National Association of Realtors reported that its pending home sales index was up 6.3% nationwide in December fueled by a very strong showing in the South and Midwest. Pending home sales in the South were up 13% from November and 1.6% over 2007. This is good news no matter how you split it. Basically, more homes went under contract in December and are now heading to closing and producing more sales (January existing home sales numbers come out February 25th). More sales mean less inventory which then shifts the supply-demand towards a more healthy balance. But news media could not let some facts get in the way of their established theme for the month. They quickly jumped to qualify this positive showing as “foreclosure driven” and “unsustainable”. From the CNN Money Story:

Sales of homes that were repossessed in foreclosure proceedings contributed significantly to the index’s improvement. Repossessions and short sales, when homes are sold for less than what borrowers owe on their mortgage, now account for more than 30% of all U.S. home sales, according to real estate Web site Zillow.com.

In the end, the numbers are the numbers, so spin shouln’t matter much. But the fact is spin does affect the state of mind of the consumer and keeps them on the sidelines when they would otherwise be in the marketplace taking advantage of the most favorable environment for buying a house in half a century. I say, shut off GloomTube, have a nice evening with your family and go about your business.

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Rice Military Market Report January 2009

Signature Real Estate — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:02:22 -0600

Real Estate Market Statistics for Rice Military:

Free Standing Homes

Active on the Market

There are currently 44 total properties for sale asking an average of $172.62/SF priced as low as $309.9k all the way up to $1.2M. Almost 70% of the current inventory for sale are new developments. On average , active listings have been on the market for 93 days. None of the homes for sale in the neighborhood are bank foreclosures.

Pending Sales

As of the writing of this article, there are 8 properties that went under contract in January, at different stages of the transaction (i.e. pending inspection, pending but taking backups, pending closing). The average asking price of the homes that went under contract is $162.31/SF priced as low as $309k all the way up to $960k. On average , pending sale listings have been on the market for 68 days. None of the pending sales are bank foreclosures.

Sold

A total of 3 properties were sold during January at an average of $128/SF with sales prices ranging from $206k all the way up to $405k. Just one of the sold properties in Rice Military during January was a new development. On average, sold listings have been on the market for 141 days. One out of three solds was a bank owned property.

The current absorption rate for freestanding homes in Rice Military is 6.2 months - that is, it would take about 6 months to sell all the current inventory at the rate homes have been selling in the neighborhood over the past year. This statistic demonstrates that the area is trending towards a balanced neutral market. On average, sold listings fetched 95% of asking price, which shows that Seller’s who were willing to discount their prices got their homes sold, while the rest held on to their price point waiting for the right buyer. Something to keep an eye on is large number of new builds in the area versus resales. Their inflating days on market tell me their prices may be coming under some downward pressure and some good deals might come as a result of it.

–

Townhomes

Active on the Market

There are currently 28 total properties for sale asking an average of $162.03/SF priced as low as $221.9k all the way up to $1M. Almost 50% of the current inventory for sale are new developments. On average , active listings have been on the market for 99 days. None of the homes for sale in the neighborhood are bank foreclosures.

Pending Sales

As of the writing of this article, there are 2 properties that went under contract in January, at different stages of the transaction (i.e. pending inspection, pending but taking backups, pending closing). The average asking price of the homes that went under contract is $168.15/SF priced as low as $231k all the way up to $343k. On average , pending sale listings have been on the market for 127 days. None of the pending sales are bank foreclosures.

Sold

A total of 2 properties were sold during January at an average of $136.81/SF (shameless plug: one of them was ours =) with sales prices ranging from $235.9k all the way up to $545k. None of the sold properties in Rice Military during January was a new development. On average, sold listings have been on the market for 40 days. None of the solds were bank owned properties.

The current absorption rate for freestanding homes in Rice Military is 3.9 months- that is, it would take about 4 months to sell all the current inventory at the rate homes have been selling in the neighborhood over the past year. This statistic demonstrates that the area is actually in a Seller’s Market. On average, sold listings fetched 93% of asking price, so Seller’s ask yourselves this question: “Provided that I am priced right, would I be willing to take an offer 7% less than what I’m asking?”. And if the answer is no, the market is telling you that you should not be in it right now.

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Houston Heights District Market Report January 2009

Signature Real Estate — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:13:16 -0600

Real Estate Market Statistics for Houston's Heights District:

Active on the Market

There are currently 138 total properties for sale asking an average of $198.85/SF priced as low as $154.9k all the way up to $1.35M. Over half of the current inventory for sale (54.3%) are new construction homes. On average , active listings have been on the market for 139 days. Just three homes in the neighborhood are bank foreclosures.

Pending Sales

As of the writing of this article, there are 24 properties that went under contract in January, at different stages of the transaction (i.e. pending inspection, pending but taking backups, pending closing). The average asking price of the homes that went under contract is $190.79/SF priced as low as $192k all the way up to $899k. On average , pending sale listings have been on the market for 88 days. Just two pending sales were bank foreclosures.

Sold

A total of 8 properties were sold during January at an average of $163.33/SF with sales prices ranging from $140k all the way up to $485k. Just one of the sold properties in The Heights during January was a new development. On average , sold listings have been on the market for 61 days. Twenty five percent of the solds were bank owned properties.

The current absorption rate for Houston Heights is 6.7 months - that is, it would take about 7 months to sell all the current inventory at the rate homes have been selling in the neighborhood over the past year. This statistic demonstrates that while it is trending towards a neutral market, it remains a buyer's market at least for the moment. On average, sold listings fetched 98% of asking price, which shows that when priced correctly, homes in The Heights can get pretty close to asking even in this market. Something to keep an eye on is the disparity between asking prices and pending (or sold) prices on a per square foot basis. As it stands right now, asking prices are about 4% higher than the prices of homes that are going under contract. This might be just to allow some room for negotiation, but in this environment, Sellers cannot afford to price above market because they risk chasing the market down.

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How to buy HUD Homes?

Signature Real Estate — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:15:59 -0600

This is one of the questions our prospective clients ask us most often. So it was only natural to include it in our Real Estate Investing Guide.

What are HUD Homes?

Along with conventional mortgages, the federally insured (FHA) loan program is one of the most commonly used financing options for residential real estate in the United States. When a loan is made under this program, the U.S Government vouches for the borrower and insures the lender against potential loan default. When the homeowner defaults on an FHA mortgage, the lender forecloses on the property and subsequently “cashes in” their insurance policy with the government. So, the lender gets their investment back, while the government takes ownership of the property. Being that the government is not in the business of owning real estate, it will try to liquidate these properties in the open market in order to recuperate their investment. The department that handles the liquidation process within the U.S Government is the Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Hence the name, HUD Homes or Government Foreclosures.

How does the process work?

New properties are listed every week on Friday with the auction deadline the following Sunday. During this 10 day period, prospective buyers (investors and otherwise) would get an opportunity to see the property if they’re accompanied by a HUD Approved broker that can grant them access to the entire HUD inventory. Once a decision has been made to bid on a property, only an approved broker (agent) can place a bid on your behalf. In order to place a bid, the HUD approved agent will need your full legal name, address, phone number, social security number and offer amount. Bid is entered electronically and no contracts are signed at this point. Also, the timing of bid submission does not favor or hinder your chances of winning the bid. As long as the bid is entered prior to the deadline, all offers are considered at the same time, Monday morning. However, HUD’s mission is to promote home ownership first and foremost, therefore they will favor homeowners over investors, to a certain extent.

If your bid wins, then your agent has 48 hrs to get an original executed contract package to the HUD office so time is truly of the essence. Your contract package is not complete until it includes a pre-approval letter from a mortgage company or a bank, so it is recommended that you secure a pre-approval first, before you start your search. They will also require $1,000 earnest money (if price is over $50,o00) in a cashier check. Once the contract is executed by HUD, the buyer has 45 days to close the transaction (if they’re getting a mortgage) or 30 days if paying cash. However, be careful! As part of their standard procedure, HUD requires closing documents at the title company 7 business days prior to closing so truly you have about 35 days to close. Once time comes for inspections, HUD will not turn on the utilities for you - But they will allow you to turn them on in your name if you submit a written request. For investors, the inspections are for informative purposes only - regardless of the findings, you will forfeit the earnest money if you walk away from the deal. The executed contract will then be forwarded by your agent to your mortgage person, so they can move forward with processing the loan. Upon final approval and issuance of closing documents, the title company will then schedule a closing time and consummate the transaction after which the property is a HUD Home no more. It then belongs to you, for you to do with it what you wish (see: renting).

How are they different from bank foreclosures?

In most aspects, they are not different at all. They are sold “as is” with title insurance and right of inspections. The differences are in the process by which they are liquidated. Like bank foreclosures, HUD Homes are listed on the Multiple Listing Service by designated brokers working for HUD. However, unlike bank foreclosures, they are sold through an electronic bid auction system. As stated earlier, the timing of the bid is not a factor with government foreclosures while it is crucial in bank foreclosures. Lastly, the process is much more transparent with HUD Homes in that they allow you to see the bidding results as soon as a decision has been made so you can determine why you won or lost that particular bid.

Are all HUD Homes great deals?

As with all types of foreclosures, HUD Homes are not all investment grade, at least not right away. A percentage of HUD Homes are great deals from the moment they are first listed on the market. Some others may not make great investments right away, but as they sit on the market, HUD’s price flexibility grows and their price reductions are often sufficient to make a mediocre deal into a steal. And of course, some of them are never good deals. The way you can tell as a buyer, is to work with a pro that has extensive experience in dealing with HUD Homes and knows the process well.

Where can I get the list?

If you are looking for HUD Homes outside of Houston, head here, enter your criteria and you will get to see all the matching homes currently available. Or visit the easy to navigate site with weekly updated listings for Houston HUD Homes. For any properties you find interesting, you can request complimentary research of market value, sales and rental comps, tax records, cash flow breakdowns and more.

–

P.S If there’s anything additional you’d like to know about HUD Homes or the process by which they are sold, please comment on this post and I will edit the post for all to see.

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Are your listings being hijacked on Ebay?

Signature Real Estate — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 13:36:16 -0600

About a week ago, I got a call from a prospective buyer that was feverishly interested in one of our listings in the Heights District. He wanted to see it IMMEDIATELY as he might want to write up an offer TODAY.

Great!

But first he wanted to make sure that what he had seen was correct. A 2500 Sq Ft home in the Heights for just $100,000? When he first saw that, he knew he had to have it. There was only one issue: The listing price is $365,000. Hence his excitement! He then proceeded to tell me he had seen it on EBay. Which is funny, since we never have put our listings there. After I left him feeling crushed, I head on over to Ebay and I see this:

Infuriated, I contacted "the Seller" and demanded that the listing be pulled immediately. To my surprise, I noticed that Ebay has no easy way to report fraudulent or incorrect listings.

So what does it matter that someone has listed the home on Ebay? What if someone bids on the property and this person collects a deposit (a la earnest money deposit) from an unsuspecting buyer looking for a great deal?

My recommendation: Head over to Ebay right now, go to their real estate section and see if some Bozo is messing with your listings and putting fraudulent and misleading information out there.

Stimulate the economy - For Free!

Signature Real Estate — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 09:55:45 -0600

When the economy started to show significant strains in the middle of last year, Senator Obama spoke of the need to stem foreclosures in an attempt to help a struggling housing market that was feeling their effects in slower sales and lower prices. Now, one week in, President Obama followed through on that point by including foreclosure prevention as one of the elements in the stimulus package. Barring any extreme opinions, most people will agree that the flow of foreclosures needs to be prevented where possible and measures should be taken to help people stay in their homes.

But there is another angle to this issue. No matter how effective these foreclosure prevention efforts might prove to be, the cold truth is that there will still be foreclosures. Some loans will not be able to be modified. Some borrowers won’t be able to afford even modified payments. And some others will lose their ability along with their employment. How do we stop the negative effects that these foreclosures will have on the housing market going forward?

In September of last year, new Fannie Mae investment property guidelines were announced, that were counterproductive to say the least. According to these guidelines, real estate investors will now be restricted to a total number of four investment properties that they can own at the same time (down from ten). The “logic” being that since the government bailed out Fannie and Freddie last year, they were now tightening their belts.

To the point of suffocation.

In a time when many housing markets are suffering from bloated inventories filled with bank owned foreclosures, the worst thing you can do is cut the legs of the very people that can help stabilize the situation. Serious investors have the ability to remove the foreclosure inventory from the market, bring the properties in top condition, allow housing prices room to breathe and provide rental housing for families displaced by foreclosure.

Mr. President, investors can help if given the opportunity - an opportunity which costs nothing! While we continue efforts to stem the flow of foreclosures, we ought to do the following to alleviate the housing markets across the country:

Lift the property limit for investment loans back to ten per investor.
Institute a “no-flip-for-a-year” rule to ensure that properties don’t get immediately resold.
Only make fully documented investment loans
Make sure investors have some “skin in the game” by requiring 25%+ Equity in the property

If these steps are taken, the housing market and therefore the overall economy is sure to recover faster.

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Are you bottling your rockstar?

Signature Real Estate — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:13:58 -0600

When the news broke out yesterday, that Steve Jobs (co-founder of Apple) was taking a leave of absence due to complications with cancer, the blogosphere (and Twittersphere) went into a frenzy. From straight reporting of the breaking story to dump-apple-stock urges to "you're an idiot if you sell" articles. Regardless of which side of that argument you support, I think everyone will agree that Steve Jobs is Apple's Justin Timberlake in that he "brought its sexy back". Many would argue that other companies like LG or HP make products that are comparable (or sometimes superior) to respective Apple products but somehow they have not been able to emulate Apple's "other side of the pillow" cool perception. It is valid to argue that Apple will most likely continue on the same path since they're being ran by the same management, marketing and product development teams as before. However, no one can deny that the absence of a such a visionary would be a substantial hit to the company and its market cap.

I told you that story to make this point. Let's set Apple aside for a second and start talking about companies whose "market cap" changes based on how much money is in the owner's checking account that day. Mark Twain's CPA Business. Bob Barker Insurance Agent. YourNameHere Real Estate.

Have you built a business or job?

The money you make has nothing to do with the answer to that question. You may slide the veil of success over it, but the truth remains underneath. If your brand and your company lives and dies with you, you have simply created a job for yourself, albeit a good paying one at times. You have not created a real business until your pitch changes from "Mark's the greatest CPA in the world" to "our way of doing business (i.e. system) makes us the greatest CPA firm in the world". It is imperative that you're selling a system of doing business that can be easily reproduced by properly trained people. No matter how successful one person or a team of people get, there will always be a limit to what they can achieve - at some point there's just not enough hours in the day for more business even at maximum efficiency.

In every business there are people who are just amazing at what they do - True Rockstar Rainmakers. But until they figure out a way to "bottle" that rockstar quality so it can be duplicated by a properly trained garage band member, their magic flame will flicker out with them.

(I wish Mr Jobs and his family a fast recovery to great health and great things. Whether Apple has been able to emulate his legendary magic into their systems will remain to be seen at a future time).

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Photo Credit: tsevis

How I fell in love with online marketing

Signature Real Estate — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 10:28:32 -0600

Flirting

It came to us on a stuffy autumn afternoon after viewing a foreclosure property. I had just gotten off the phone with one of our investor clients and the news was not good. After presenting him with what I though was an offer he could not refuse he proved I was no Don Corleone. Reason: Money tied up in other projects. On the way home, I was fuming like a chimney in a Dickens novel.

Then, the "aha" moment rocked my world. "There had to be someone out there that would love to jump on a deal of that caliber, if they only knew about it." - I thought. We had a great supply of a precious resource but no "megaphone" to announce it to the world. Later that evening, I posted the first foreclosure deal on our website. Before that moment, our website had been a collection of boring pages full of yawning paragraphs I couldn't even finish reading. And that night, it turned into a foreclosure mercantile exchange of sorts.

Dating

In the fall of 2006, after having cancelled an ad in the Greensheet that produced an astounding ROI of -50%, we decided to get radical and start an Adwords Campaign with Uncle Google. Sure, our website was beefed up with as much foreclosure supply as my Frontpage could spit out without gagging - but the people were still not coming to the storefront to see all we were cooking up. And just like GM and Chrysler, we just needed a bridge. We named ours "Pay per Click".

Exactly thirteen hours later, my Blackberry buzzed. It was an email that read "Real Estate Information Request". The following day, I found myself in a builder's office helping this couple buy their first home, with my hand placed firmly on my head to keep together a mind that had just been blown. Ever since that campaign was setup and tweaked in '06, I have not touched it once. The result: Over 600 leads per year with a 10% conversion rate and an ROI of 2083%. Is it any wonder newspapers are dying? They don't even make for good toilet paper.

Digression

Now, I know there will be some people out there that will comment on how Adwords and other internet marketing are a complete waste of money and how it hasn't worked for them. To them I say this: Internet Marketing is like Sex in that if it doesn't do you any good, you just ain't doing it right. The fundamentals of internet marketing are those of any marketing. If your campaign is not tying together supply with matching demand, you're just wasting your time and money. Another way to look at it is this: If you were given the opportunity to sit in front of a real customer wanting to buy a real product or service right at that moment, would you make the same pitch? Is the customer you want to attract and do business with looking for what you're offering or something in a completely different category? Let me illustrate this for you. Often times, in ads and in their site, real estate agents talk about themselves and their great professionalism, areas of town they cover etc. Which would be okay if real estate consumers were out there searching for agents. Bu they're not - They're looking for houses. Therefore if you base your advertising on marketing a supply that's not in demand, it is destined to fail.

Popping the Question

In the spring on 2007, I stumbled upon an online network called Active Rain where agents blogged about real estate. From cold and factual market reports, to insightful opinion pieces, to eliminating pet odors, to blatant advertising, to personal and business experiences. After doing a little sifting through the noise, I started reading some fascinating people and in the process, learning about bringing back one of my old passions (writing). That aside, I had my doubts about the business value of blogging in real estate. After all, it was supposed to be just a numbers game: Cold call until someone said yes. Prospect till your ears bleed. Harass till they sign on the dotted line.

But it wasn't me.

After a couple of months of feverish blogging an email came in "Sent via Active Rain". Then another. Then another. They wanted me to help them purchase investment properties in Houston. Multiple Ones. They were already sold on our expertise before they made contact. They had been reading my blog for months before making that decision. And I could just be me. Not some pushy, "come-on-down-to-the-car-lot" salesperson. I knew then this was for life.

Marriage

Now, I'm truly starting to put it together around a social media framework. All the previous stages of this story, from producing content consumers are seeking, to getting eyeballs on that content, to developing a base of readers through blogging have prepared me for this. Social media is the bond that makes it all come together and forms the brand that is you. You can do blogging. You can do content. You can do Twitter. You can do Facebook. But all those things are nothing but disconnected elements until you become an online marketer. And that's not something you do, but rather something you are.

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Rice Military Results and the Strategy behind them

Signature Real Estate — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 21:31:08 -0600

This past week we closed escrow on our townhome listing in Rice Military and we're extremely happy with the final outcome:

After just 37 days on the market and 35 total showings, the townhome was sold at 96% of asking price. To put things in perspective, Rice Military townhomes (in the past six months) took an average of 99 days to sell at an average of 92% of asking price.

But we are not writing this to toot our own horn. Instead, we wanted to talk about The Why behind these results. It can all be tracked back to our Marketing Strategy.

Here's a few of the central reasons behind the successful sale of this Rice Military townhome :

Proper Pricing - In the current Houston real estate environment, it is crucial to avoid chasing down the market. That's when you price a property slightly above market value with the intention of lowering it later once the home doesn't sell. While this strategy can rarely pay off in hot markets, it is an absolute disaster when the market is slower. You will end up selling for a lot less (if you sell at all) than you would've if you had priced the property right from the start. What's pricing it right in this market? Slightly (less than 1%) below market value to drive up demand and kick the competition to the curb. Great credit goes to the seller on this one for trusting our advice from the start.
Unmatched Exposure - Among other things, we gave this great home its own website on its own domain http://4512Center.com where we shed great light on the biggest selling points of this residence through high resolution photos, virtual tour, maps, amenities, descriptions and mortgage calculator. Also, we included lifestyle related information to help prospective buyers create a mental picture of their life in this trendy district. Combining this great information hub with a physical sign rider to draw traffic to the website also ensured increased exposure for what we felt was one of the best values for the money in Rice Military.
Social Media Marketing - Using Facebook , Twitter updates (among other tools) we leveraged our social networks to spread the word (and links) about our listing.

Want to put the power of our marketing strategy and experience to work for you? Here's how to get a hold of us.

Real Estate is Local. Your Twitter, too

Signature Real Estate — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:38:13 -0600

Most people can see some social value in Twitter as soon as they really start to use it properly. You get to have meaningful conversations with interesting people, read articles that other tweeps have found interesting, keep abreast of the issues that are debated there every day and even have Blip Wars with 1980s songs. But if that’s all there is to Twitter, most people would ditch using it in about 2 days. Professionals don’t have that kind of time to kill.

Oh, but there is so much more.

Today I wanted to show you how you could book your own courtside seat in your local Twitter market and start cherrypicking it with laser-like focus:

Go on TwitterLocal, enter your zipcode (or city) and the radius you would like to target and Go.

Instantaneously, you can view the latest tweets in that area or even better subscribe via RSS.

After you add the RSS feed to your favorite reader (mine’s Google Reader), you can now keep an eye on your local Twitter market for interesting people to follow.

Needless to say, you are wasting your time if you are looking for tweets along the lines of:

“Looking to do business with a ______. Call me at _______”

You should be looking for people that you truly find interesting and then engage them into a conversation that might evolve into future direct or indirect business for you. Fight the urge to sell and spam - When you engage someone on Twitter they will look up the website you provide and your bio so they already know what you do.

Real Estate is local and your twitter strategy should match.

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Change your thinking - And flourish

Signature Real Estate — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 21:17:36 -0600

In real estate, there's an age old axiom: Always Be Closing! Generations upon generations of agents have been trained to orient their mental compass - and therefore their actions - towards that closing North. Even, arguably the best book on residential real estate, The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, makes a similar point when Gary Keller talks about the need to focus on "dollar producing activities". All else is a waste of time. If it doesn't make dollars then it doesn't make sense.

Show me the money.

Skip forward to a room full of veteran real estate agents attending a conference on social media marketing. The question arises every single time. It might come in different packaging, but it's ultimately the same question.

How many blog posts do I need to write to get a client?

What's your ROI for Twitter?

Made any money out of this Facebook stuff yet?

Exactly how is Linked In going to help sell my Northwest Houston listing?

When it comes to social media marketing, the Always Be Closing approach is a self administered poison pill. It's the approach that leads you to alienate your social prospects (if you will) by spamming them with incessant sales pitches and links to your listings. Let me save you some time. You will never be able to figure out how many tweets it takes to get a sale. Or how many Facebook friends you need to book to get a referral. This is NOT a number's game.

It is an involvement game. An engagement game.

This is an invitation to change your thinking much in the same way that social media will change the way people select who they do business with in the future. And the future is now. Unlike any other medium in the history of the world, social media provides you with a window into the real lives of people but in return provides them with a courtside seat into your life. Show them your passions, your personality and your expertise and they will let you know when it's time. Twitter is not a sales call - It's an investment. Facebook is not an appointment - It's a casual lunch at a local cafe. Social media is not a brochure. It's a panoramic view of your life.

Change the way you approach social media. And your business will flourish like you cannot begin to imagine.

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Go shopping for Twitter followers

Signature Real Estate — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 13:17:36 -0600

I'll be the first to admit that in the beginning I was a Twitter superskeptic. On the surface it appeared to be a useless platform, a massive generator of unimportant noise and a timehog. Now, I was no complete stranger to social media: I had been using Facebook (among other sites) for the longest time because the concept of building social relationships with the purpose of generating conversations, clients, referrals and overall brand positioning made sense to me. But, Twitter seemed like YASNS (yet another social networking site) ... until Real Estate Barcamp Houston in October.

In that unconference during one of the discussions, Jeff Turner (@respres) spoke about Twitter and how it could be used as a business tool. "Imagine - he said - that you're in a restaurant and three or four people are having a conversation. Twitter allows you to join that conversation, contribute to it and in the process build a network that will be good for your business in so many ways. But to do so, you've got to listen"

Hmmmm...

After the conference, I thought long and hard about what he said. And slowly but surely I started to get it. Most likely, you will never find someone on Twitter that will say "Looking for an agent to sell my home. Call me at ...". But if you join meaningful conversations you can create a network of followers friends that will help your business tremendously in the long run, if you're willing to invest your time and undivided attention.

In my humble opinion, when it comes to using Twitter for business, the absolute biggest advantage that this platform offers is targeting. In other words, you get to choose the "crowd" with which you hang out, the people that will not only dig your way of doing business but also your personality.

So if you're ready, let me take you on a sweet shopping trip for Twitter followers:

Go to Twitterholic, enter your twitter handle (username) to Check your Twitterholic Ranking, and Go

The site will provide you with some stats and graphs of your activity but that's not why we're here. Click on the City Name to see the Top 100 Twitter Users in your City.

Happy Shopping. You're targeting your followers to the specific city in which you do business. These are the top 100 movers and shakers on Twitter for that particular area.

A couple of parting words.

Be Selective - Read their blog or website and you will be surprised how much you will find out about who they really are. Listen. Check out their tweets and see if this is someone you'd be interested in hearing from (or 'following' in TwitSpeak).
Absolutely, NO SPAMMING - Before you get ready to hit them with the link of that great listing you just got -- DON'T. They don't care. They don't know you so why should they. The one litmus test that will disqualify you from success on Twitter is spamming and self promotion. It simply does not work. Instead, try joining conversation you truly care about and following people you'd have coffee with if you could.
Oh and follow @ErionHouston while you're at it... :-)

Subscribe to this blog - Next post will be about even greater laser sharp targeting with Twitter.

Screw Resolutions! We just WENT paperless

Signature Real Estate — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:21:59 -0600

I had been thinking about it for quite sometime and I just kept clinging to those yellow manila folders as a backup to my digital files on my computer. But who was I kidding? It would be easier for me to recreate a document from scratch rather than find it in that mountainous file terrain that is my filing cabinet. So now, it is absolutely official. Office Depot may hate me for this - their stock price might even drop (you never know) - but Signature Real Estate will be paperless in 2009. Any one want to buy a couple of file racks? They're on such a sale right now...

So how do I plan to keep a fried hard drive from ruining my life? Short answer: Backup!

A couple of options for that:

Backup CDs - Most antivirus software has a backup feature. Even in the event that it doesn't, you can simply drag the folder where all your files are stored into the CD drive and burn it that way. Very low tech, weekly pain in the butt
External Hard Drives with Automatic Backup - Long gone are the days when such a hard drive was in excess of $300 and was built like a VCR player. Depending on the model, you could find them as low as $69 and as small as a calculator. They automatically backup without you needing to initiate the process. Your precious client data stays with you and in my book, that's a good thing. The major con is the age old question: Will I have to backup the backup?
Online Backup - Supercool online companies are everywhere - Carbonite, iDrive, iBackup just to name a few. They run about $50/year and offer more space than you could ever dream to use. The only con is that you're in a way putting your sensitive docs on the hands of another company and that may make some conspiracy theorists cringe.
Do Nothing and keep hope alive - This is not an option

So, if you haven't done so already, save some trees and some precious deskspace and go paperless in 2009.

"Return" to Social Media

Signature Real Estate — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 18:07:45 -0600

I remember how addictive it was when I joined Active Rain almost two years ago. I couldn't stop reading, writing, commenting and "racking up the points". Two, sometimes three posts a day in addition to the numerous articles I read and commented on at an all-consuming pace. I couldn't believe it when I first got that email with that amazing subject: "I hope to start investing in Houston (Sent from Active Rain)". It gave me so much more confidence and desire to get better at this blogging deal it started a sweet momentum of blogging, leads, more blogging, more leads.

Then it became too much!

We found out we were expecting our first baby and my natural instinct told me to focus on getting, securing and closing business. And that left no time for blogging so I hibernated for about a year. My writing efforts went out the door completely but I kept reading on. No longer just AR, but other powerful voices in the industry as well: Agent Genius and Bloodhound among others. Learned the ins and outs of Wordpress - Something I never would have had patience for in my AR heat - and setup my Houston Real Estate Blog. Attended REBarcampHouston, where I met some of the great people I admired in person and appreciated them even more afterwards. Got in feet first in Facebook and saw how great it can be when you truly get involved. Fought, warmed up to then finally understood to the idea of Twitter as a business tool (thanks @respres for that scolding on REBCH :-)

And now, I'm back and can't wait to connect, engage and converse with everyone again.

In my View Blog by Erion Shehaj

Houston Real Estate Market Report for July 2009 (VIDEO)

Top 5 Real Estate Articles about Houston Foreclosures

Straight Answers to 9 Common Questions about Foreclosures

Financing Investment Property: Top 3 Options, Pros and Cons

The Foreclosure Secret

Bidding Wars: What should you offer on foreclosures?

All that shines is not gold: Finding a foreclosure deal in Houston

5 Must Read Houston Real Estate Articles You Might Have Missed

The Price is Wrong

Houston Real Estate sitting pretty in April

Ideas that stink: Real Estate Transfer Tax

Houston Heights Real Estate Market Report - Feb 2009 (VIDEO)

Talking Houston Foreclosures with Channel 39

Stimulate your home purchase in 2009

The simple facts

Here’s an idea

Houston Real Estate Market in ‘08 - Slower but Resolute

The Bad News

The Good News

Inventory

Looking forward

Houston First in the country for 2008 job growth

Remember Don Vito

Remember Don Vito

Pending Home Sales on the Upswing

Rice Military Market Report January 2009

Free Standing Homes

Townhomes

Houston Heights District Market Report January 2009

How to buy HUD Homes?

What are HUD Homes?

How does the process work?

How are they different from bank foreclosures?

Are all HUD Homes great deals?

Where can I get the list?

Are your listings being hijacked on Ebay?

Stimulate the economy - For Free!

Are you bottling your rockstar?

Have you built a business or job?

How I fell in love with online marketing

Rice Military Results and the Strategy behind them

Real Estate is Local. Your Twitter, too

Change your thinking - And flourish

Go shopping for Twitter followers

Screw Resolutions! We just WENT paperless

"Return" to Social Media