Commercial Property
One of the delights of urban living is seeing more and more people out and about with their dogs. Big dogs. Little dogs. Cute and so-ugly-they"re-cute dogs. Even city managers are enjoying the Frenchness of it all. They"re designating more land for dog parks, and allowing restaurants to serve patrons and their dogs on designated patios. Pooch parades like those held in Long Beach and Dallas are becoming annual spring events. And dog adoptions across the nation are way up.
Discrimination is an ugly thing, but so is unlimited power. When you think about it, prejudice is one of the manifestations of power.
Just yesterday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told the Joint Economic Committee of Congress that he believes it"s possible that the economy is in recession and that he expects further rises in employment.
If you missed the lowest mortgage interest rates, you may be wondering what"s happening. Why are they going up when the Fed is expected to cut federal funds rate by as much as three-quarters of a point?
In written testimony to the House Financial Services Committee last week, Nouriel Roubini, professor of economics at New York University made some startling statements. Not only are we in a recession, there is a "serious risk of a systemic meltdown in US financial markets ... ."
But Realty Times contributor Broderick Perkins argues that, despite the gloomy news, it"s not as bad as it looks.
According to Apartments.com, what"s motivating more than half of renters (55 percent) to move in 2008 are relocating for a job and reducing the cost of rent.
Wall Street is buzzing about Microsoft"s extremely generous offer to buy Yahoo! for $45 billion, which is a 62 percent premium over what Yahoo! closed the market for on Thursday before the offer was made public. By Friday, the shares had doubled in price.
The Real-Time National Housing Market Report is a new contender in the race to provide the most accurate housing data out there.
A Detroit-area MLS"s decision to stand and fight the FTC has paid off big time.
If you"re putting off buying a home because you think you can do better than today"s rate, you"re taking a real chance.
A new Harris poll has ranked some professions and found some interesting trends, namely that some occupations have lost prestige while others have gained. Call it the 9/11 effect, but suddenly, we are appreciating our workforce occupations a lot more than we used to.
If you noticed a lot more coupons in your inbox yesterday, you"re not alone. Forty-two percent of etailers had some kind of online promotion from discounts to free shipping, according to the National Retail Foundation"s annual survey.
Not many companies have survived crooked CEOs, shareholder lawsuits, fraud and anti-trust investigations, and wicked challenges from well-funded competitors -- at least not without retreating into bankruptcy. That Homestore, now known as Move.com, never suffered that indignity is a triumph, but six years after cleaning house and starting over, the stock price of the company is about where it was when CEO Mike Long took over.
It"s no surprise, but the Mortgage Bankers Association says the housing slump will extend to the third quarter of next year and possibly into 2009, says Doug Duncan, the trade association"s chief economist. Maybe it"s a good thing that any forecast includes a bottom.
According to the latest analysis by the National Association of Realtors, widening credit availability will help turn home sales around. Foreclosures appear to be waning, allowing housing forecasters a breather from bad news.
In a hush-hush deal with Meredith Corporation, Realogy has obtained the licensing to the Better Homes And Gardens real estate brand with the intention of creating a new division and branding opportunity for franchisees by July 2008. The agreement is long-term (50 years) and forward-thinking, just the way Realogy Vice-president and Chairman Richard Smith likes things.
Once again, the financial press is all over a negative housing report that doesn"t reflect current conditions. Not only is real estate local, not national, but things can change quickly enough that no matter what the news reports, it"s already out of date. And besides, does anyone expect a whistle to blow calling the real estate bottom?
A new agent who"s living in a turbulent market doesn"t want to sell to friends or family unless they "have to" buy or sell. He wants to know where to get leads online instead.
NAR expects the national median price of homes to drop to $218,200 in 2007. In Dallas, where it"s warm, wide-open, and there are lots of jobs, the median home price is going up. One of the few bright spots of the retreating housing market, Dallas is beating national numbers in jobs, culture, and inflation in terms of housing appreciation. And with a median-priced home only two-thirds the price of the national median at $156,000, the city is a screaming, stomping bargain.
August was a worse month for mortgage brokers and borrowers, according to a just-released Campbell Communications survey sponsored by Mortgage Finance. About 33 percent of home purchase closings of loans originated by mortgage brokers were canceled during August. Worse, approximately, 57 percent of the brokers" customers found they could not refinance their adjustable rate mortgages that had resetting interest rates.
Realtors, if you"re wondering if half the money you spend on advertising is wasted, but you don"t know which half, take the Classified Intelligence-Realty Times" 2007 Real Estate Advertising Survey.
This week the minimum wage increased for the first time in over 10 years, but there are some good reasons why having more money won"t make much difference to homebuyers.
This week, the Dow Jones Industrials reached 14,000 points, testing a new psychological barrier. To put the index into perspective, think back to July 2006. Housing was widely recognized as slowing, gas prices were rising, and the DOW was straining to reach 11,000. Since then, the Dow has risen well over 30 percent. That"s a good year for equities investors, who may decide that now"s the time to trade up to that bigger, better home.
A daily average of 2,356 people went into business for themselves in 2005, according to the latest figures compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau, bringing the number of businesses without a payroll to 20.4 million. The figures do not include self-employed business people who have employees.
You may be supplied a workspace/computer/phone station by your broker, but there will be plenty of times when working from home will be more productive. The trick is in making your surroundings function well enough to keep distractions, temptations and timewasters to a minimum.
The Pet Realty Network may seem like a silly idea, but the demographics suggest the idea is ahead of its time. As the U.S. becomes more and more densely populated -- that"s to say heavily populated (not populated with dense people,) residents must face the fact that the age of encroachment is over. No longer can smokers pollute the wide open spaces; nor can pet owners impose their barking, meowing, litter-producing, defecating animals on others.
Amid rising interest rates, gas prices, and foreclosures, builders of new homes are losing confidence that the housing market will improve before 2008.
Builder confidence in the rental apartment market sagged in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to the latest results of the Multifamily Rental Market Index (MRMI) released by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
MLS-2, a real estate information and listings search service, says their most recent study of Bay Area MLS listings suggests that using the term "motivated seller" is more common, but is it effective?
For the first time since the oil crunch reached record highs way back in 1981, gas prices have gone even higher as the nation braces for an expensive summer for transportation. How will gas prices impact housing?
It"s been almost a year since real estate sales trainer Marylyn Schwartz and her husband Gene found out that their son Clayton had been in a motorcycle accident that would leave him paralyzed from the chest down.
It"s hard to believe that a century ago, people used to order their homes from the Sears catalog. They"d go down to the train station, pick up their materials from the boxcars, and build from plans included in their mail-order kit. Today, with home prices putting many buyers on hold, it could be time for such economical homes to make a comeback.
Single heads of households are growing while single parent heads of households are barely changed from 1994 to 2006, says the U.S. Census Bureau"s latest report on Families and Living Arrangements from data collected in February, March and April of 2006.
When he"s on his blog, broker Frank Borges LLosa, founder of Frankly Real Estate Inc , enjoys exposing the myths, tricks and truths about the real estate industry -- primarily the less-than-stellar practices of his competition.
A new report released by the National Association of Home Builders suggests that housing markets with the biggest booms in 2004 and 2005 will be the slowest to recover to normal levels of sales activity while those areas that were more restrained, with the exception of the hard-hit Midwest, will come back sooner.
A raft of bad news is roiling the financial markets, mostly over housing and mortgage financing fears brought on by the subprime meltdown. Can consumer lack of confidence trickle down turn into a torrent? More homes, fewer qualified buyers suggests that housing likely has further to fall.
It"s one of the most unsightly and often hard to fix trouble spots for homeowners -- a lawn that has gone to the dogs!
It was the same jobs report from the Labor Department, released Friday, but the media"s response to it was a little on the pessimistic side, to say the least.
A broker is concerned that a new agent who is showing potential may be derailed by her husband who is less than supportive of her new career.
The law of unintended consequences is catching up to the Department of Justice as it seeks to improve cooperation between MLS members across the nation. Instead, more and more brokerages are opting to find alternative ways to showcase their listings online aside from sharing them with other brokers.
There"s no other way to put it: Things got pretty tense in the financial markets earlier this week -- with the Federal Reserve"s dramatic steps to inject billions of dollars of liquidity on Wall Street, plus the failure of giant investment bank Bear Stearns.
Recent Realty Times stories have revived the debate of who pays for what in the real estate transaction, and who is entitled to control things. Some Realtors are saying that the buyer pays the real estate commission(s) because he/she brings the money to the table, while others say the seller pays the real estate commissions because he/she receives the proceeds and then uses the proceeds to pay the commission(s).
You"d never know it was a new year. Housing is still being blamed for slowing the economy, and some economists predict that housing will continue to drag throughout 2007. Yet positive trends exist, which begs the question -- are economists ignoring good housing news in order to lure money to the stock market instead?
CMAs are only as good as the information in them. A reader wants to know if she can get one for free. What she doesn"t know is the information won"t help her meet her goals.
With a long weekend of holiday cheer to look forward to, particularly an extra weekend of shopping before Christmas Day on Monday, December 25th, Realty Times readers should be delighted with some fun facts and figures that suggest that online shopping isn"t just for homes, courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau.
Real estate normally appreciates one to two percentage points above inflation, but between 2001 and 2005, real estate increased 50 percent, an abnormally high return that benefitted homeowners and sellers across the nation.
It doesn"t matter that Realtor.com is free advertising to brokers. What matters is that it"s popular with consumers.
"If you don"t tell your story, someone else will," Joe Williams, co-founder of Keller Williams said recently about the media"s disinclination to quote real estate brokers as sources for the myriad stories written recently about the so-called housing bubble.
As the housing market continues to slide though the mortgage morass, the growing economic impact is generating more talk of a housing industry-spawned recession.
Claudia Armbrister, our market expert for coastal Georgia, reports her area is strongly trending towards a buyers market.
Society is rapidly changing. For the first time ever, married households are outnumbered by non-family, nontraditional households including a burgeoning number of single heads of households. Already single women are 20 percent of homebuyers, which raises the question how the nation"s largest generation to date -- the Baby Boomers born between 1946 and 1964 -- will impact housing as they hurtle toward retirement.
The U.S. Census expects the nation"s population to reach 300 million at about 7:46 (EDT.) a.m. on Oct. 17, 2006. This milestone occurs nearly 39 years after the 200 million mark was reached on Nov. 20, 1967.
It"s not just another Friday the 13th for the National Association of Realtors. Instead of wasting duplicitous actions and taxpayers" money pursuing as many as seven or more individual MLSs for alleged restraint of trade, the Federal Trade Commission is going to work with the NAR to come up with a way MLSs can display listings in a way that"s fair for homesellers and their agents and the agents they pay to cooperate in the transaction.
While the National Association of Realtors does a great job tracking the information sources such as real estate agents, yard signs and open houses that homebuyers use to choose the homes they buy, little is known about the impact of ancillary marketing tools such as flyers. We know that 90 percent of buyers use real state agents to look for homes, 77 percent use the Internet and 71 percent peruse yard signs, 51 percent open houses, and half use newspapers to search for a home.
According to the results of a survey conducted by Classified Intelligence, a research publication for the classified advertising industry, and Realty Times, the leading online real estate news and advice service, U.S. Realtors are still buying print advertising -- but would prefer not to.
Brokers beware. The government is working with non-profit fair housing organizations to catch your agents violating fair housing laws, show you the evidence, and then get you to fund them by settling out of court. HUD is showing these organizations how to investigate you where the evidence will stand up in court, but what"s even more interesting is that the investigating organizations can bring suit against you as if they are real plaintiffs. They can even keep the damages, all with HUD"s blessing.
Unless you"ve sworn off virtually all forms of communications for the past year or so -- no Internet, radio, TV, newspapers or magazines -- you"re no doubt aware that blogs are hot.
Not since 2000 has the U.S. Census provided such comprehensive data noting population changes across the nation as it is releasing now. Looking at key demographic and social data for areas with populations of 65,000 or more, the Census Bureau gives insights into interim changes between now and the next full census report to be released in 2012.
Affordability rather than leverage is the way homebuyers are looking at mortgage loans today. In an environment where interest rates are fluctuating, adjustable rate mortgages no longer appear as attractive as long as others are losing their homes due to the inability to meet higher mortgage costs along with higher energy costs. That could be the impact behind the slowing housing market.
The folks over at Fitch Properties and Realtydollars2u.com have seen the market continue its decline for most of the California market.
Formerly known as Cendant Corporation"s Real Estate Division, Realogy Corporation (pronounced: Reel-uh-gee) is a leaner, meaner real estate machine.
It was such an embarrassment for Representative Michael Oxley, (R)-Ohio, chairman of the Financial Services Committee, that he left halfway through the "congressional committee hearings he had called for."
Once again, the Feds are after real estate associations for rules they have already rescinded. Even more disturbing -- the FTC has declared that "a popular real estate website was de facto public property," and that FTC lawyers could "suppress the First Amendment rights of the site"s owners and dictate future content," says a grassroots FTC watchdog organization.
Predatory lending. It"s an ugly-sounding practice, but lenders say including sub-prime lending into the predatory category is unfair. First, there"s no real definition of where high interest rates for poor borrowing risks cross the line. That"s because for most lenders, loaning money is a judgment call, based on as much science as numbers can possibly deliver.
On this day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress which was the beginning of America as a sovereign nation. While we celebrate the day with parades, fireworks and backyard barbecues, it"s nice to be reminded of how far we"ve come as a nation.
In a new report titled "How The Real Estate Cartel Harms Consumers and How Consumers Can Protect Themselves," the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), Executive Director Stephen Brobeck and co-author Patrick Woodall attack the real estate industry and attempt to inform consumers how to knock off commission points.
As city planners, developers, builders, and Realtors look to the future of real estate, one question is on everyone"s minds -- are homes getting too big?
"The State of the Nation"s Housing 2006," one of the most anticipated annual housing reports, has just been released by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.
Recent reports have suggested that America"s wealthiest people don"t place much stock in real estate values going up this year. But with the stock market so volatile, where else would they put their money?
A buyer is comparing two areas in Dallas, Texas. Should he choose for affordability or appreciation?
While RE/MAX agent Dan Robinson hasn"t quite figured out how to make real estate prospects call because of his love for animals, he"s hoping to make pets into a real estate specialty nonetheless. His knowledge has already paid off in extraordinary customer service for some of his clients.
Female activists of the 19th Century tried for decades to have Mother"s Day declared in the U.S. Originally conceived as a holiday of peace and a call to disarm, poet Julia Ward Howe, (author, "Battle Hymn of the Republic,") wrote the "Mother"s Day Proclamation" in 1870.
A Columbus-area home inspector says he"s having a tough time getting in front of real estate agents.
David Zabarte, our local market expert for the Diablo Valley area of California, has seen a slowdown in the market as things get back to normal after the strong seller"s market of 2005 and 2006.
As online listing policies designed to protect listing broker copyright rights are under fire from the Department of Justice, non-listing brokers are also leveling criticism.
In a country where advertising is interruptive, intrusive, pervasive, and pandemic, it"s little wonder that consumers want deals. How else can they afford all the stuff they"re importuned to buy?
One-third of the homes sold in 2004 were vacation, second homes or investments sold to non-occupying owners. In 2005, the numbers were even more startling. Just when it seemed there couldn"t be a bigger market for vacation homes, the National Association of Realtors® announces a record year for the sale of second homes.
There"s a growing fear among economists that housing will take a rougher fall than the soft landing intended by the Federal Reserve, but there"s a lot to indicate that housing will pick itself up, dust off, and start running again.
Reporters with the BBC television show called Whistleblower went undercover to find out what "dodgy" practices British real estate agents are up to. She caught agents on tape lying to vendors (sellers) and purchasers (buyers), forging names on documents, misleading surveyors, and fabricating offers to get sellers to lower their prices, and advertising properties not actually for sale, among other acts of chicanery.
According to the 2005 MLS Technology Survey, the third annual report of its kind by the Center for Realtor® Technology (CRT), two trends are impacting the future of the MLS industry -- consolidations and expanded data-sharing agreements.
Is real estate poised for another boom? The economy appears to be expanding, but not so quickly that inflation is a problem. That could mean steady-to-even-lower interest rates, that could impact housing favorably in the spring.
What is it in the human being that makes cheating others so easy for some?
Are appraisers pressured by lenders, brokers and others to hit the purchase price number in real estate? A survey scheduled for this spring means to find out.
The typical industry rumor mill is fast at work, with all eyes on Cendant"s plans to spin off its real estate unit. President Richard Smith speaks about the current real estate marketplace in an exclusive interview with Realty Times.
Over 50 years ago, a pioneering developer named William J. Levitt created the largest planned community constructed by a single builder in the U.S. Christened Levittown, the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, suburb began the 1950s with muddy roads leading GIs and their brides to affordable homes of their own. By the time the development was completed in 1958, the homogenous Levittown grew to over 70,000 residents, covered 5,500 acres, and included its own "churches, swimming pools, shopping families and over 17,000 middle-class homes.
It"s natural for individuals to bond together to form a larger, more important union. That"s why our government protects institutions from marriage to corporations.
Question: We recently read that names should not be included in the minutes. Can we legally go back over the past few years and strike the any names from the minutes which have already been approved?
You may notice that a lot of national housing news seems to center on California. There"s a very good reason why.
From mid-2003 to mid-2004, Las Vegas, Nevada, experienced an eye-popping 52 percent appreciation, fueling as much flipping, speculation and gold-rushing as the area would allow.
A more than seasonal pull-back in new construction suggests that housing is slowing down. That raises an interesting question. Is the building industry simply protecting profits by carefully controlling inventory or is it anticipating slower sales?
The CENTURY 21® First-Time Homebuyer Index offers some surprising insights into the Hispanic first-time homebuyer market. This group is not only younger than white and African American first-time homebuyers, they are likely to spend much more on their first home.
The commission squeeze is causing the industry to place a lot of blame on competitors that advertise discounts, when it was the traditionals themselves that began the discounting practice long ago with affinity partners like Costco and USAA. Agents were empowered by agent-centric companies like RE/MAX International to negotiate their own commissions.
A homeowner writes Realty Times with the question that"s on everyone"s mind today -- should I sell my house and wait out the coming real estate bubble burst?
Economic data that was gathered before Hurricane Katrina struck is trickling out but are the numbers relevant anymore? Homebuyers and investors are wondering, is it still a good time to buy a home?
The national press is already buying the DOJ"s version of why it filed a lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors, and Realtors are once again in the position of having to explain to no one who will listen that there"s a difference between listings to buy and listings for display.
The Department of Justice has sued the National Association of Realtors® over a policy that no longer exists, says the trade association, pointing to the government"s complaint, filed yesterday in US District Court, as evidence.
Most experts agree that the so-called housing bubble is primarily on the coastlines of America, with the most impact in beach areas of Florida and California, and the revolving job centers of Washington, D.C. and New York.
Stocks went down and pundits came out of the woodwork worrying about the meaning of parting remarks made by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan last week at a Federal Reserve symposium held in Jackson Hole.
The National Association of Realtors has released a study that suggests that the REALTOR® brand adds an average of $32,000 in incremental income for every Realtor during his/her membership in the NAR. The longer a Realtor is in business, the greater the benefits -- with Realtors experiencing as much as $4,500 per year due to marketplace advantages, says the NAR.
Our local market expert for Southwest Florida, Ginny Lee, reports her area is thriving.
Can you tell consumers used to shopping for homes anonymously online that now they can only get free listings if they contact an agent or sign up for a paid subscription?
Editor"s note: The following information is adapted from this week"s script for Realty Times TV. See Realty Times TV every Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time on channel 223 (Dish Network) and on Sundays at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time on channel 227 (DirecTV.)
Last week, the Dow dropped 420 points in three days, revisiting levels not seen for months. Pundits, advisors and analysts blame the drop on panicking investors who vacillate in their worries between rising inflation and a slowing economy.
It is common to assume that paying bills on time automatically means having a high credit score. Unfortunately, that"s not always the case. There are many misperceptions about how scores are calculated -- and yours could be lower than you might expect.
On Monday, February 21, 2005, the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) passed a rule that requires brokers to perform a minimum standard in services, which has the hope of raising overall service standards for the state. But "discount" brokers see the rule as the state"s way of supporting the Realtor lobby to limit competition, which may lead to a contentious "public comments" period.
If your property tax is aligned with or assessed based on the value of your home, a swing in property values could warrant close scrutiny of your property tax bill.
Not since September 11, 2001 have Americans been so moved by tragedy.
It"s no surprise to learn that consumers will ditch service providers over bad service nearly as much as they will on price. The new Coldwell Banker® "Customer Service Study," prepared in conjunction with Harris Interactive in August 2004, quantifies customer dissatisfaction via an online poll.
With 35 franchises around the country, Showhomes of America serves sellers with homestaging and home management services designed to help vacant homes sell faster and for more money, and at no cost to the Realtor.
Realtors attending the general session of the National Association of Realtors Convention and Expo in Orlando, Florida last week were treated to jumbotron videos of famous people touting the NAR and its members.
Realty Times received a letter from a consumer asking if it is legal to use agents from separate companies to find the right home. "We think it would give us an advantage," the consumer wrote. Here"s Realty Times" reply and more.
Jay Huffman, CEO of Multiple Listing Service of Northern Illinois (MLSNI) was terminated "without cause" by the MLSNI board of directors at an executive session on Tuesday, October 12th, 2004.
Airing today, September 27, 2004 on "Inside Edition" is a must-see report for all real estate professionals about the dangers they and for-sale-by-owner homesellers face while showing homes to strangers.
MLSNI Directors should have known that the PriceWaterhousCoopers Report of Investigation would not be swept under the rug without a fight for the broom, but what"s interesting is how shareholders disagree on what"s dirty.
If stiffer mortgage laws restrict access to certain loans to push back the growing number of homeowners on foreclosure rolls, hundreds of thousand of Americans could be unintentionally deprived of access to home financing.
Keeping a close eye on the largest population bulge to pass through the retirement and senior years, Pulte Homes, the parent of Del Webb retirement and lifestyle communities, has the latest information on empty nest baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964. Here are some fun facts that Realtors can use as they help empty nest baby boomers through life changes such as downsizing, upscaling, relocating or buying a second home.
In addition to its other recent troubles, Chicagoland"s MLSNI is being sued by Amerihall Realtors, a Chicago Internet-based real estate brokerage, on charges of monopolistic practices and antitrust violations.
Is it possible to be altruistic and profit-motivated at the same time? One California CEO believes so.
To launch its nationwide television show for Realtors" listings, Realty Times has searched for the perfect host who can combine broadcast journalism and real estate experience with personal charisma and flair.
A reporter from a major financial magazine called recently wanting to brainstorm a theory - that it is the discounters in real estate which are causing real estate commissions to come down. While discounters have had an impact by making it easier for consumers to get a "discount," there are other points to consider.
Forbes, one of the populist hymnals to securities, is going after Realtors. It"s in good company - The Wall Street Journal and SmartMoney like to take swipes at Realtors, too.
The listings wars aren"t over yet. Some lead generation companies are grabbing agents" MLS listings that are posted online and marketing photos and using them to entice real estate consumers. The lead generation companies then sell the consumer lead back to the consumer.
Local market expert Bob Waldron says it may be too early to predict how the West Los Angeles market will act for the rest of the year.
In any market, buyers will have objections when you show them homes. One of your most important skills as a salesperson is to know how to overcome objections. If you don"t, you could spend your short real estate career driving people to hundreds of homes without ever closing a sale.
Erica Winborne (not her real name) was divorced in 1988 from a man who lost his business and wound up owing the IRS a lot of money. The ex didn"t pay his employee taxes, and the IRS came down on the household because Erica foolishly signed a joint tax return not knowing that her accountant-trained husband was using their personal credit cards and avoiding paying employee taxes to stay in business.
Attorneys associated with REBIG have written Realty Times expressing their displeasure with a recent story, "REBIG Bluffs MLSNI Forensic Auditors, MLSNI Shareholders."
Realty Times has obtained documents that reveal that REBIG, one of the targets of the forensic audit ordered by MLSNI shareholders, is negotiating with Price WaterhouseCoopers (PWC) to sign a nondisclosure agreement in advance of any review of REBIG documents or discussions with REBIG personnel. While the concept is acceptable to PWC, suggests the attorney for MLSNI, terms of the agreement are "problematic."
Commission pressures are among the biggest concerns for real estate practitioners, as their average payday has sunk nearly 15 percent recently, according to industry consultants. The oft-quoted figure is that commissions average 5.1 percent today when six and seven percent commissions used to be the norm.
"You can do better."
According to a press release issued by LendingTree, more than 24 percent of the nation"s top 500 real estate brokerage firms (according to industry figures) are members of the LendingTree Realty Services Network.
According to information obtained by Realty Times, Realtor.com is discontinuing its XLerator(tm) feature, a lead-matching system designed to provide "blind" lead generation opportunities to participating agents.
"Melody" is frustrated with her buyer broker.
Whether MLSNI"s books are all in order or not, the finger of blame could point to association leaders for not holding MLSNI more accountable and for letting the MLS roam far afield of its purpose - to simply serve association members with tools they can use to cooperatively sell real estate.
The chance is faint, but Informedia founder Alan Isabelle could come back and demand that the domain names that MelbourneIT releases to Realtors still belong to him. Never mind that he registered agents" domain names to his company without their knowledge.
Forensic auditors are already interviewing shareholders of MLSNI, Chicagoland"s largest MLS in a forensic audit.
The real estate industry loves to have conventions, but time and profitability constraints on attendees are influencing how conventions are planned. Here"s a look at two types of gatherings that have been successful over the last three years by relying on voice and online technologies.
Homestore announced that losses were narrowed, and the improved results were due to cost-cutting, but they were also due to a rise in revenues in their media services division including advertising sales through Realtor.com. What do Homestore CEO Mike Long, Executive VP Corporate Development Group Allan Merrill, and the rest of the company do for their next trick?
On Tuesday, February 17th, a state hearing officer, David Stebing, recommended some stiff punishments for Bonnie Mehner, the prominent Realtor who was successfully sued by a client in July 2000 for practicing undisclosed dual agency. He will suggest to the Alaska Real Estate Commission, when it convenes on March 4, 2004, that Mehner"s license be suspended for 120 days, that she pay a $20,000 fine, and that she be required to take continuing education classes in ethics and dual agency.
With the announcement that Prudential purchased all the assets of venture capital-backed eRealty, it was obvious that yet another dot-com has failed to take over the world.
Just when it was assumed that LendingTree would take over the MSN listings space through a content deal previously executed by its subsidiary Realestate.com, new information has come to light that Realtor.com was the front-runner to occupy the MSN House and Home channel all along.
Okay, I can"t 100 percent vouch for this because I haven"t seen the agreement, but here"s the story;
Can"t sell that condo? List it as a rental.
Accountant Michael Scott, his wife and their two kids have been living in their first home since 1999, but recently became concerned that it"s in a high-risk flood zone in a low-lying area along the east side of the San Francisco Bay.