Archive for the ‘cooling market’ Category

Price Your Home to Sell Today

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 posted by tommi

Without the Federal Tax Credit in play, today’s home buyer’s are finding little motivation to sign on the dotted line.  Mortgage rates have remained low for a long time.  Inventory is creeping back up, so buyer’s have little fear of price inflation.   So, what can a seller do to increase a buyer’s urgency to buy?  

The #1 way that seller’s can entice buyer’s and get their attention is  an aggressive price reduction.   As many as 24 percent of home sellers have slashed prices in the last month–that is a 9 percent increase from June levels.   And, seller’s should forget about small, nickle and dime price drops.   Instead, they should dramatically drop their price  to reach a search level that will open them up to new buyers that are not aware of their listing.  For example, if your list price is $220,000, a drop to $199,000 will attract a new audience that is searching up to the $200,000 price point.  

Bottom Line:  If you are sick of waiting and want to move now, price the house to attract multiple bidders and you might even get more than you’re asking for.  And remember…if you are selling your home to buy a new one, you will likely break even because the person you are buying from is in the same gut wrenching position you are.

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.  Our flat fee MLS packages, List Until Sold Packages and marketing tools can help you sell your property and save thousands of dollars in fee’s and commissions.  Visit our site today for details and assistance.

We have the latest tails from the frontlines of the gulf coast oil spill, as it relates to real estate.  Read what agents, brokers, consultants and property owners are saying today.  CLICK HERE!

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.  We have helped thousands of people market their homes with our flat fee MLS program or our List Until Sold option.  We can help you, too!!

This week we look to InfoTube.net blog, as it focuses on the impact that the gulf oil spill from a real estate perspective.   

Today, we take a look at the events that have already affected thousands of gulf coast property owners.  We will conclude our series with expert predictions about what will likely follow in years to come…

CLICK HERE TO READ TODAYS SHORT ARTICLE WHICH ADDRESSES DAMAGES THAT MAY HAVE NEVER OCCURRED TO YOU!!!

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.  We have helped thousands of property owners successfully market their properties…while saving thousands in commissions and fee’s.   There are alternatives and we can help you, too!!

Top 10 Safe and Risky Housing Markets

Thursday, May 6, 2010 posted by tommi

According to the PMI Mortgage Insurance Company, which makes its money by insuring loans against default, has published its list of the 10 safest and riskiest housing markets.  Seven of the 10 markets facing the highest risk of price declines in the next two years are in Florida.   Six of ten markets which were determined to be of the least risk are in North Dakota and Iowa.

The PMI Risk Index takes considers factors such as unemployment, foreclosures, inventory levels and price volatility.   The good news is that the risk further home-price declines decreased in 93 percent of the 384 markets tracked by PMI.  The huge drop in risk was largly due to improvements in affordability and declining foreclosures.

10 riskiest housing markets
1. Naples-Marco Island, Fla.
2. Lake Havasu City-Kingman, Ariz.
3. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.
4. Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.
5. Palm Coast, Fla.
6. Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla.
7. Port St. Lucie, Fla.
8. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.
9. Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev.
10. Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, Fla.

10 least risky markets
1. Grand Forks, N.D.-Minn.
2. Fargo N.D.-Minn.
3. Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Texas
4. Fayetteville, N.C.
5. Iowa City, Iowa
6. Ames, Iowa
7. Cedar Rapids, Iowa
8. Morgantown, W.V.
9. Texarkana, Texas-Ark.
10. Bismark, N.D.

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.  We have helped thousands of home sellers successfully advertise and sell their property.   We can Help You, Too!!  Call 1-800-381-9496 or visit our website for Details!

With more than 5 million households currently behind on their mortgages, the Obama adminstration is rolling out a new program to encourage lenders to accept a short sale.   A short sale is one in which a property is sold for less than the outstanding mortgage owed to the lender.   The administration hopes the program will prevent more foreclosures, which further depress property values and harm good neighborhoods.

The  program, which takes effect April 5, 2010,  pays lenders and borrowers to complete a short sale.   Key points of the program are as follows.

  • 1.  The program compels lenders to accept a short sale offer and forgive the difference they are owed between the market value and the outstanding mortgage balance. 
  • 2.  The lender will receive $1000 for every short sale they participate in.
  • 3.  The program encourages millions of borrowers to get serious about getting rid of their homes.  It  pays homeowners $1500 in walking away cash for finding buyer for their property and closing the sale.
  • 4.  The lender will utilize real estate agents to determine the present market value for a home.  That value will set the minimum acceptable price.   The estimated value will not be shared with the homeowner.  If an offer is submitted that is equal to or higher than the estimated value, the lender MUST take it.

Pro’s and Con’s

  • 1.  For the investment pools which own most of the home loans, there is the hope of getting more money from a short sale than a foreclosure proceeding.
  • 2.  For the lender, $1000 will help offset the labor intensive short sale process.
  • 3.  For the borrower, their credit will suffer less damage.  They have the lenders assurance that they won’t be sued down the line for their unpaid balance.  And, they get $15oo to assist with their relocation.
  • 4.  For the community, short sales mean fewer empty houses sitting around waiting for the bank sale.  It is estimated as many as half of all vacant properties are ransacked, neglected, vandalized and depress the value of neighboring homes.
  • The downside is that short sales are “tailor made” for fraud.  House values are inherently subjective, which providing a wide latitude of potential conflicts.
  • Another problem is that bankers hate the very idea of accepting an offer short of what they are owed.  By nature, they don’t want to sell anything at a discount.  If they loan $200,000 …they expect to be repaid $200,000, not $150,000.

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com   We have helped thousands of people sell their homes and save a ton of money in fee’s and commissions.  We can Help You, too!!

Cut Real Estate Fee’s and Cut Foreclosures

Tuesday, February 9, 2010 posted by tommi

This article appeared recently in the San Francisco Chronical in response to growing outrage over the exorbident fee’s charged to buyers and sellers of real estate.  

Cut foreclosures by slicing real estate fees

Al Lewis

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

President Obama has often said that it would be a shame to waste this economic crisis. Nowhere is that more true than in residential real estate. Federal home-buyer tax credits up to $8,000 designed to increase home sales and reduce foreclosures are having little impact.  Sales of existing homes fell a record 17 percent in December, while foreclosure petitions are rising. Instead, let’s use this crisis to try a new approach: permanently slashing the 6 percent real estate brokerage commissions prevalent in most markets.

Unlike commissions paid for buying cars, stocks or insurance, these hidden commissions include two payouts – about 3 percent each to the seller’s broker and the buyer’s broker.  But there’s no need for two brokers in real estate transactions.  These hidden fees survive only because real estate brokerage is a cartel.  Forty years ago, you needed one broker to buy a house – today you need two.  In law and medicine, fee splitting is illegal. In real estate, it is required.

Most people would not hire commissioned brokers if they had to pay for them directly – that’s why the brokerage industry wants them hidden.  So let’s eliminate hidden fees for the buyer’s broker.   We could then drop the homeowner tax credit, since the buyer is saving three grand, and replace it with a $1,000 incentive credit.  This cash bonus would go only to home buyers whose purchase prices include a total commission of 3 percent or less (or none at all).

The selling brokers will naturally complain: “We can’t afford to split a 3 percent commission with the buyer’s broker.  That’s how much we need to make ourselves.  So buyers will have to make their own arrangements if they want assistance.”

And that is exactly the point:  Instead of allowing the 3 percent commission to be hidden in the sales price, this tax incentive would encourage home buyers to pay openly for whatever level of assistance they want, if any. Given those other options and the chance to collect $1,000, few buyers would opt to pay a 3 percent out-of-pocket commission – about $15,000 on a median-priced Bay Area home.  Faced with the prospect of paying that bill explicitly, most Internet-savvy buyers would probably opt for personal advice just a few times during the home-buying process, and pay by the hour or by the showing.

Even with only $1,000 of tax credit, these buyers will be better off financially than first-time buyers who collect a hefty home buyer credit, but who still pay hidden commissions.  And taxpayers are better off, too.  Any buyer could still opt to pay the traditional commission at closing – but would have to forgo the incentive credit.

This temporary incentive credit could permanently alter the structure of real estate brokerage, because there would be no going back once the credit expires.  As happened when stock commissions were allowed to decline, much lower transaction costs would create more transactions and hence more liquidity.  Liquid markets will allow people to sell houses more easily before they go “underwater,” thus reducing foreclosures.

Of course the real estate brokerage industry, which has strongly endorsed home buyer tax credits, will oppose this incentive credit. Fortunately, an equally powerful coalition of builders, bankers, mortgage brokers and consumer advocates will be lined up supporting it.

Much lower transaction costs would not just reduce foreclosures by facilitating transactions, but would also increase people’s net equity in their existing homes.  Homeowners would be better off and, at least in real estate, this economic crisis would not be wasted.

Al Lewis is author of “OOBonomics: 12 ‘Outside Of the box’ Ideas to Improve the Economy.”

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/02/ED4C1BP3O5.DTL

This article appeared on page A – 10 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.  Our network brokers list property on the MLS and real estate websites for only $399…Why Pay 6 Percent????

Sellers Market 1st Quarter 2010…then ?

Thursday, January 14, 2010 posted by tommi

The Federal government leads us to believe that housing sales (number of units, not prices)will be up at least until April of 2010.  But, the Fed, along with other experts, have expressed fear that home sales will dry up after early spring, when the homebuyer tax credits expire and the Federal Reserve ends their policies that are keeping loan rates cheap for borrowers.  (Click here to Read the short article.)

foresight.jpg

What can you Learn from Foresight vs Hindsight this Year?

  1. To make the most money in 2010…Get your house clean, cleaned out, staged and priced to sell NOW.
  2. Do not wait until Spring is here to put your home on the market.  Do it NOW!
  3. 90 percent of all home buyers shop on the internet, not newspapers, local or otherwise.  If you aren’t marketing your property on all major websites for real estate, buyers will not find your home.  There are simply too many homes for sale and buyer’s will not any waste time ferretting out information or for obscurely advertised property.
  4. Use photographs and video’s to show and sell your home.   Add in video or snapshots of the neighborhood, nearby shopping, parks or attractions.   Pictures, and especially video, create interest and a glimpse of lifestyle that buyers crave.
  5. Sell it yourself, but enlist the help of buyers agents.  Buyer’s agents use the MLS to find property for their clients.  Advertise on the MLS and offer up some commission to them, if they bring you their buyers!  Bonus: If you list your home on the MLS, it will immediately stop all annoying listing calls, too.

Why 6 Percent is in the business of helping sellers market their homes on every major real estate website, search engine and the MLS with one click of your mouse.  Visit our website or phone 1-800-381-9496 for details.  We can put your property in front of millions of home buyers within 24 hours.  Don’t delay.  Act Today!!

3 Ways to Attract Home Buyers

Tuesday, December 8, 2009 posted by tommi

banner_sold.jpg

Making your home attractive and memorable to home buyers is critical if you want to sell your home.  There are a number of proven methods to attract buyer’s through your door, but the Top 3 offer the biggest payoff.

Top 3 Ways to Attract Buyers to Your Home

  1. The Internet.  The internet is the single most powerful tool available for home sales.  If you want the maximum exposure, get your home listed in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) database.   Secondly, take full advantage of all social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.
  2. Professional Fliers.  Make a nice flyer or brochure that you can place inside an InfoTube or InfoBox that is attached to your For Sale sign.  In addition, you can pass them out to prospective buyers and open houses.  InfoTube.net offers a Free online service that can help you create and print professional, full colored flyers about your home.
  3. Giveaways and Incentives.  Everyone loves FREE.  Adding an incentive to your offer can generate interest and make your home stand out from your competition.  Some of the most popular incentive  items are home theatre’s, new appliances, club memberships, pool table, hot tub, free travel vouchers, seller paid closing costs.

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.  We have helped thousands of home sellers find the perfect buyer.  We can help you, too. 

Vacant Homes, Swimming Pools and Pleco Fish

Thursday, November 19, 2009 posted by tommi

plecosign.jpgHealth Alert:  Number of Stagnant Swimming Pools Increase. 

Stagnant, abandoned swimming pools pose a risk to the health and life of adults, children and pets, alike.  And, lenders who own these properties have been unable or unwilling to maintain the swimming pools in area’s where families live.

If you live near a dangerous, smelly, abandoned pool, you may want to try a natural, green method to remove the stench, algae and scum.  In addition, this method is FREE and Bonus…it eats the insects and small rodents that may reside in the swamp next door to you.

What is this Miracle Solution for Pool Cleaning??

Enter the common, humble, pre-historic Pleco Fish.  Throw a few of these into the abandoned swimming pool or spa next door, and let them do the job nature intended for them to do.   To Read More About Using Pleco Fish to Clean Up Stagnant Water, CLICK HERE!! 

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.  If you have a property to sell, we have a turnkey marketing program that reaches 10 million home buyers each month for 6 months.  The price, a little more than a one-time classified ad in a newspaper that no one reads.  Call us today at 1-800-381-9496.  We have helped thousands of sellers and we can help you, too!! stagnantpool1.jpg

Housing Starts Down 30 Percent

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 posted by tommi

house.jpg

Surprising all the real estate analysts, the number of new housing starts in October fell off the cliff in October.

Permits to build single family homes, apartments and condominiums fell 10.6 percent from September.  Year over Year, the numbers are even more dramatic.  Building permits in 2009 are down 30.7 percent from October 2008 levels.  It goes without saying that home builder sentiment is still at an all time low.

housing-starts.jpg

The Upside:  Fewer new home starts can be viewed as great news in the face of rising home inventories.  We have  months of excess supply of homes on the market, already. 

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.  Our job is helping for sale by owners market their property and save money.   Our fsbo packages reach 10 million home shoppers each month.  Call 1-800-381-9496.  We can Help You, Too.