real estate: What Happened To Loyalty Among Friends?
- 08/17/08 06:14 PM
Today I was talking with a friend that I have had since grade school and found out that he and another mutual friend bought a house with another agent. I was at a loss for words when I found out this news. I did not know whether to be angry or be hurt by this situation. I mean what happened? I thought for sure they would have used my services to buy a home. I have been offering them my services for the last two years I have been an agent. And I figured that being good friends with them … (11 comments)
real estate: Have You Heard? ARMLS (Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service) Will Be Switching MLS Poviders
- 05/02/08 05:04 PM
Recently I received an email that explained that ARMLS would be changing their MLS provider from TEMPO to FlexMLS Web in a couple of months. And from what I have seen from the demo/tutorial of FlexMLS Web, the new system will be a 180 compared to our current MLS. The features of FlexMLS Web are Web 2.0 friendly and seemed geared more the tech savvy agent. While I cannot write about all the features associated with the FlexMLS Web because I am not familiar with all of the features yet, I will describe some of the features I think are going … (4 comments)
real estate: Arizona Market Update
- 04/22/08 04:47 PM
As of today there are 55,632 listings, of those there are 45,556 single family homes for sale in Arizona. Listings are down from last months report where there were 57,797 home for sale, of those there were 47,461 single family homes. As you can see the numbers are looking better. Contrary to what I have been reading in the paper and online, the numbers are getting better here in Phoenix. For example, Robert Shiller who helped create the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index predicts home prices to fall lower than they did in the Great Depression. I know I am not a … (9 comments)
real estate: Investment Opportunity
- 02/19/08 09:20 AM
In the greater Phoenix, AZ metro area there are hundreds, and thousands of homes that are lender owned. These homes are usually being offered below neighborhood comparable properties. I have seen hundreds of homes for sale under $100,000. However these homes are already being snatched up by the smart and savvy real estate investor. These properties, some of which are great deals are receiving multiple offers. The time to buy/invest in real estate is now. You can listen to the media and their doom and gloom analysis of the market, or you can take a look for yourself, and make up … (2 comments)
real estate: Blogging to Save People's Homes?
- 02/19/08 08:55 AM
Well it does seem to work, Moe Bedard has started a blog for people who are having trouble paying their mortgages and/or people who will be having trouble. The site www.loansafe.org offers free help and advice from others on what to do or what help is available to them. I have barley started looking at the site, but I feel this was a smart move on Moe's behalf. He believes that the foreclosure fiasco could be remedied and thinks his site could help. One article claims that 19 homeowners have saved their homes thanks to the site. Lets hope more people can … (5 comments)
real estate: Top 10 Markets Where Home Values Declined
- 02/13/08 06:50 AM
Of course Phoenix is included in this list of markets where home prices have declined. In Phoenix home prices have declined around 9.5%. Thats a large amount of depreciation. However Ziprealty mentions the fact that the end of the decline may be near. I agree with them, and I also agree with them on something I have been saying for some time now. The amount of inventory has gone down, and while the decline in the number of homes for sale has been minimal I expect the market to stabilize by the end of the year. If you opinion differs from mine, … (4 comments)
real estate: Where is the market heading? When will it turn around?
- 02/06/08 12:39 PM
Today I watched a video interview of Barry Ritholtz, CEO and Director of Equity Research from Fusion IQ give his take on the market. To him the market has more years left of recovery. He must have looked into his crystal ball and read the future. I have no reason to believe it will take years. We have already been trough one year of correction, and I believe the stabilization will be occurring by the last quarter of this year. At least for our market in Phoenix things are beginning to look optimistic. Investors are out buying homes again. Some Homes are getting multiple … (6 comments)
real estate: Owner Occupied?
- 02/06/08 04:31 AM
Owner occupied fraud is said to make up 20% of mortgage fraud as a whole. I think thats an amazing percentage. Investors may may be primarily to blame for this 20%. Also to blame can be those who own a vacation property or a second home may want to have the advantages of claiming the home as their primary residence. In any case, states like Florida, Arizona, and Nevada are were many cases of this type of fraud are occurring. In Arizona there are many homes that are vacant. I have heard of areas where some subdivisions are 70% vacant. This could be because investors … (11 comments)
real estate: Bloggers Beware!!!
- 01/29/08 06:02 AM
Beware of what you write in your blogs. A blogger is being sued over what he has posted. I suggest that you be careful that your posts contain facts and that you disclose where found the facts. I would not like to be held liable for anything I post on AR. When we offer opinions we should make it clear that is is an opinion and that others should look to and verify facts before coming to their own conclusions. http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2008012902?OpenDocument
… (10 comments)
real estate: Are You A Skeptic?
- 01/28/08 03:25 AM
If you are a skeptic you will find this video from Inman TV interesting. It is an interview with Michael Shermer who publishes Skeptic Magazine. He has written a book called "Mind of the Market", where he gives his take/view on the industry. I thought that he was going to have a pessimistic view on the downturn in our market. I believed he was going to talk about how things were bad and we are all to blame. On the contrary he had some very optimistic and insightful thoughts about the market. In the end of the video he says that the … (0 comments)
real estate: Improving Your Credit, and Credit Score
- 01/23/08 05:11 AM
No the two are not the same thing. Although they may have a symbiotic relationship they are very different. Now I will not go into detail, but I will give you my take on the differences. Debts you have and owe are basically credit that is extended to you. Having credit is usually a good thing. If you can pay your bills on time and do not spend beyond your means credit can help you out when you buy a home, car, etc.... However, if you do not pay your bills on time and carry too much debt you can count on being denied for … (2 comments)
real estate: Foreign Buyers are Snatching Up Real Estate in the U.S.
- 01/23/08 04:43 AM
I read an Inman article from Tom Kelly that suggests Foreign buyers are very interested in U.S. Real Estate. He discusses three points about foreign buyers that are very interesting and informative. I think that even though we are seeing U.S. buyers sitting on the fence and our Dollar is losing its value there are still other avenues we can take to make a living. And one way is to market and advertise to foreign buyers. With the economy, prices, and interest rates were they are now make it a opportune time to buy real estate. In closing I would like to … (7 comments)
real estate: Rate Cuts, Rate Cuts, Rate Cuts!!!!
- 01/22/08 11:46 AM
Today the Federal Reserve cut the Interest rates again lowering the rates another 75 basis points to 3.5 percent. The idea is that they want to keep us from going into a recession. Do any of you think that it well help? If so how? And what good do you think it will accomplish? If you don't think it will help let me know why as well. Ulises Romo, REALTOR® PRO-formance Realty Concepts Cell: 602-380-4890 Email: ulisesromo29@yahoo.com Website: http://ulisesromo.point2agent.com/ … (0 comments)
real estate: Buyer Agent Sued
- 01/22/08 11:25 AM
I read that an agent was sued buy his buyer/client in an article I read from REALTOR® Magazine. This is taking place in North County California where the buyer claims that the agent did not disclose all of the comparable comps to them when they bought the home. While the agent claims his innocence the appraiser of the home and mortgage broker have made settlements with the buyer. I do not know what the outcome will be in this case but I do know that things are not looking well for the Agent. Please give me your thoughts on this case and … (14 comments)
real estate: Blogs and the Long Tail?
- 01/16/08 08:41 AM
I watched an Inman TV video that had the inventor of Rain City Guide Blog, and another gentleman that were discussing the use of blogs and how to make yours better. In the video they mention the long tail, the long tail is kind of like a line of all of our blogs and where we are in that line. In this video the two gentlemen give their takes (which are different) on what we should do to make our blogs better, and productive. I have embedded the blog for all of you to see, be warned IT IS LONG. But you … (3 comments)
real estate: ARM's are not to blame?
- 01/16/08 05:19 AM
I read a couple of articles today that said ARM's (Adjustable Rate Mortgages) are not always to blame for foreclosures. However I find it ironic that the states with high amounts or ARM's also have high rates of foreclosures. Now, while I am not an economist I do believe the two are connected and simply not a coincidence. The fact that my state has a high rate of ARM's and Foreclosures, and also has large amounts of REO's (Real Estate Owned/Bank Owned) and short sales demonstrates that Part of the problem were the ARM's given to people. I would like to know what you think, … (8 comments)
real estate: Web 2.0 and YOU
- 01/15/08 10:14 AM
Inman TV had a video today that had a panel discussing the advantages of web 2.0, how companies utilize it, and they discuss what the term means. The panel consisted of a few real estate brokerages such as Coldwell Banker, Century 21 (Canadian), along with some other panelists. They all give their take on what web 2.0 means and how they make it work for them. Feel free to to watch the embedded video. It is lengthy so be prepared to sit and watch for a while. I found it informative and educational. I like to know where the industry is going so I … (3 comments)
real estate: Paperless Transactions
- 01/09/08 04:25 PM
Today I read an article from Inman News that says that the Arizona Association of REALTORS® announced that it it plans to train 54,000 REALTORS® trained on a new paperless system. It will be done with the help of SureClose an online transaction management company. I can personally think of a few reasons why I am in favor of going paperless. 1. NO PAPER means NO TREES are being cut. 2. Losing files will be thing of the past. (data loss will replace it) 3. Faster responses from agents to clients, or vise versa. If you can think of something else that is good about going paperless … (16 comments)
real estate: The Evolution of the Real Estate Video
- 01/09/08 11:13 AM
Below I have embedded a video from Inman TV. The video is an interview with Jeff Turner of Real Estate Shows, a company that helps agents with market their videos. The interview discusses future of the Real Estate industry and the use of videos. With technology changing on a yearly and sometimes monthly basis, video too will play a vital role in advertising ourselves and our listings. Please watch the video below and tell me what you think, do you agree or disagree? null … (0 comments)
real estate: Charming Maryvale Home $199,000
- 12/06/07 06:42 PM
This home is over 1400 square feet, and has 4 bedrooms and 2 baths. It has a Covered Carport and Front Porch, also there is a Covered Patio in back that has two Ceiling Fans for those days out by the Pool. It is priced competitively compared to homes in the area and offers more room than some and is also less expensive than other homes. Check it out or contact me to find out more about this home, or any other you might be interested in. … (0 comments)
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