We finally have a reason to celebrate!!  There is an avalanche of positive news regarding an upturn in the real estate and housing market in 2012.   

1. Foreclosure activity in 2011 is down more than 50% lower in several states, including New Jersey, Maryland and Florida.  Realty Trac
2. The much feared “shadow inventory” of foreclosures declined dramatically in 2011.  In December 2012, 2.2 million properties were in some stage of foreclosure.  In September 2011, that number dropped to 1.5 million units…or a whopping 32% in nine months.  Realtytrac
3. Realtors in some hard hit area’s, such as Michigan and southern California, are reporting a shortage of housing inventory and a return to bidding wars in tight markets.  
4. Wall Street thinks the worst is over.  Stocks of the nation’s five largest, publicly traded, home builders are at 52 week highs, signaling an upswing in home construction in 2012.  In addition, the home builders have been snapping up deals on land and abandoned subdivisions, in anticipation of increased buyer demand.  CNBC
5. Home sellers, Realtors and home builders are getting help from rising rents, as Americans realize that owning a home is often less expensive than renting one.   And, while future rent increases have no ceiling on how high they can go, ownership locks in housing expenses and equity is created as the loan balance decreases each month.
6. Legal issues, property maintenance and other issues complicating the foreclosure process will push banks and lenders to approve more short sales in 2012, further reducing housing inventory.
7. Interest rates will remain at historical lows in 2012, which allows more people to qualify for a home and cheap money buys more house for the same monthly payment. 
8. Overall, foreclosure activity was dropped more than 30 percent in 2011.   Fewer than 2 million properties foreclosure notices were filed in 2011, down from 2.9 million property filings in 2010.  Realty Trac

If you need to sell your home, things haven’t looked this favorable in years.      Arm yourself with an MLS listing and exposure on Realtor.com and all the major search engines for real estate.   Millions of home buyers search these websites, daily.  If your home isn’t there, they will buy the one that is. 

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.  We have helped thousands of home sellers and we can help you, too.

Topics:

What is the MLS?

What are the Benefits of advertising on the MLS

What is all the “Hype” of the MLS

What Should You Consider? 

What is the MLS? 

The Multiple Listing Service is a database of homes and property that are for sale.  The MLS is operated by the local Board of Realtors®.  The MLS is the resource agents use to find homes for their buyers or advertise their home listings to other agents.  MLS listings include detailed information about the property.  In addition to selling price and address, an MLS listing generally includes number of rooms, size of rooms, interior and exterior features, lot size, local school district, property taxes, association dues, directions to the property and comments.  Most also include photo’s of the home and a lockbox.  At the sellers discretion, most MLS listings can also be upgraded for a fee to include additional photos or virtual video tours.

 To MLS or Not To MLS;  Separating Fact from Hype 

The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is a powerful tool for real estate agents and home sellers.  It allows seller’s and agent’s to cross-sell all properties in a given market, which greatly expands the sales force of all the properties for sale.  The Internet has expanded the power of the MLS by providing information in real time to not only agents, but to home buyers and home sellers alike through its www.Realtor.com website.  The MLS and Realtor,com it is looked at by thousands of real estate agents who may have a buyer for your property and individual home buyers searching the Internet.  

Note:  In addition to Realtor.com, properties listed on the MLS  also appear on other major real estate search engines like Zillow, Homes.com, Military.com, Trulia.com, Yahoo, Google and a host of others. 

Benefits of MLS Advertising: 

There is only one very significant benefit to having your home listed on the MLS…EXPOSURE!   The fact that your home is for sale will now be known by anyone searching the Internet.  Additionally, hundreds, if not thousands of real estate agents in your market will also know about your property.  To fully benefit from this exposure, you need to be willing to “co-op” with a real estate agent, if they bring a buyer whose contract terms are acceptable to you.  “Co-op” means that you agree to compensate the buyer’s real estate agent at the closing of your property.  Typically, a buyer’s agent will earn between 2%-3% of the sales price of the home.  If you are willing to “co-op” with a buyer’s agent, you should indicate this clearly in your Internet and classified advertising, and on your brochures. 

To list your home on the MLS, you will need to contract with a real estate listing agent that is a member of your local real estate board.  If your interest is purely to have your home listed on the MLS; you can contract with a new type of  Broker who charges a one-time fee to cover the cost of them listing your home in the MLS and allows you to act as your own listing agent. 

The flat-fee MLS listing concept is fairly new and not all agents will be anxious to provide this service, as they are in the full service real estate listing business.  To learn more about using a flat-fee MLS service, visit websites like http://www.why6percent.com     

In many areas of the United States, when a home appears on the local MLS, it will also appear on aggregator websites like MSN Home Advisor, Yahoo Real  Estate, Realtor.com, Zillow.com and local state and broker websites.  Many of the MLS  Boards send their inventory directly to these websites to enable even more exposure for the homeowner. 

In today’s transient society, thousands of people use the internet to search for homes far in advance of their relocation.  Many  people supply the list of properties that interest them to their agent, so the agent can set up showing appointments.  When a buyer is relocating to a new area, time is limited and critical.  This means the buyer’s agent becomes a critical part of relocation effort.  Therefore, the MLS can be key to exposing your home to people relocating to your area. 

What is the Hype of an MLS listing? 

1)      Your house will never sell if it is NOT listed on the MLS…False.

Your house may sell more quickly or for more money because of the tremendous exposure we discussed above, but your home can sell with or without the MLS.   

2)      Buyers will never find your home if it is NOT listed on the MLS…False.

According to the National Assn. of Realtors data, 60% of all home sales occur because of the sign in the yard.   Newsletters, directional signs, open houses, classified advertising and InfoTubes or InfoBoxes, filled with attractive home information flyers, will also help you find a buyer for your home. 

3)      Real estate agents will not bring a buyer to you if you are NOT on theMLS… False.

If an agent has an interested buyer and you indicate you are willing to pay them a commission, they have no reason to boycott your property.   If they do, they risk that the buyer contacts you directly and they don’t make a dime. 

Considerations: 

The MLS has proven value and is certainly a wonderful way to expand your advertising reach.  If your goal is to make local agents aware that your home is for sale and reach the millions of buyers searching for homes on major real estate websites.  Keep in mind that you will need to pay a commission to a buyer agent at closing, if they bring you an offer that you accept.

If you decide to place your home on the MLS, consider it as a part of your overall marketing strategy and not a replacement for your advertising program.  Properly understood, the MLS can be another excellent part of your home selling process.

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.   Our national network of flat fee MLS brokers are standing by to assist you in marketing your home.  Please visit our website or phone 1-800-381-9496 to get started!

     Photographs are important and powerful tools in marketing real estate.    Statistics show that home sellers who provide numerous and good quality photographs of their property receive twice the amount of buyer interest than their competition.

When photographing your property, try to follow this advise from Dave Rezendes, #1 real estate photographer in the USA.

• Don’t assume that wider is better.  Sometimes a particular vignette or architectural detail will better convey the feeling of a house and give a stronger effect.

…. CLICK HERE TO FINISH READING THE ENTIRE ARTICLE

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.   Make 2012 your year to SHOW and SELL!!!!

Housing Market 2012

Remember that in spite of the doom and gloom…10,000 sets of keys are handed to new homeowners every single day!!  

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com…we offer FREE marketing website for owners, builders and agents.    In addition, our MLS and Realtor.com packages can give you all the exposure of a full service listing…without the cost.

Remember that… Who you buy From is as important as What you Buy!   Look for Made in the USA products and support US workers!!

7 Home Selling Tips from the Lips of Top Selling Agents

• For starters, take down the Wallpaper – Trust me when I say, “Buyers just do not like wallpaper.”   If you doubt how personal wallpaper is…just walk into any wallpaper store and stare at the thousands of available patterns.  Chances of your tastes matching are at least a thousand to one.  Don’t risk it!  Pull that paper down!
• The Clutter HAS to Go!  Living in a house is alot different than Selling a house.  It is easy to get blind to your own clutter.  Ask a friend, neighbor or neutral party to be honest with you.  Then, pack away every single thing you don’t use.  And, clear the kitchen counters completely.
• Smelly Homes Will NOT Sell.  Agents have an old saying, “If I can smell it, I can’t sell it.”  Pet smells, musty odor’s, etc will kill a sale everytime.
• White is not a Color.  But, paint is your friend.  Every room should have a fresh coat of paint in a warm, neutral color.
• A Spot of Color.  Everyone loves flowers.  Place pots with colorful annual flowers by the front door or plant seasonal color in the beds to make your home inviting and memorable.
• Househunting Begins on the Internet.  If your property is not exposed on the internet, your chances of a buyer finding you are very small.  Tip the odds in your favor by advertising your home on the MLS and all the major search engines for real estate.  InfoTube also offers FREE property listings on its website.   Also, make sure your listing includes at least 10 good photo’s of the interior and exterior of your home.  If possible, also include a video tour of the house and neighborhood.
• Forget About Comp’s and Sold Properties.  Study your competition, which means homes currently For Sale.  If your home is priced too high when compared to your competition, it is going to sit for a long, long time.

Homeowners should please keep in mind that Buyers have a lot of choices.  The homeowner who can make their house stand out among the vast inventory of “For Sale” signs will the one who wins the selling game.

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com,, your do-it-yourself home selling source.   We can bring buyer’s to your door.  Check out our website to see how we’ve helped thousands of home sellers.

The lack of first-time buyers is hurting the housing market and their absense is hampering the recovery.

In normal markets, first time buyers make up 40%-45% of all home purchasers.  Since January of 2011, purchases made by first time buyers averages only 32%

Why is this important for existing home sales? 

First time buyers are crucial to the market because they buy starter homes so those owners can step up to a more expensive property.   Despite low mortgage rates and deeply discounted prices, they are remaining on the sidelines…at least for now.

What may be keeping first time buyers out of the housing market?

Some experts point to a hangover from the  Expired Tax Credit of 2009 and 201o, which may have lured buyers into a home sooner than later.   Some point to tighter lending standards and increased down payment requirements.  The best loan terms now kick in with a down payment of 20% or more, which may be very difficult for a first time homeowner.

The Silver Lining — The National Association of Realtors reported that a record 33% of all existing home sales in Febuary were to Cash Buyers.  In some parts of the country, cash buyers accounted for more than half of all the existing homes sold.

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.  We have helped thousands of home sellers and builders market their homes and save money.  We can help you, too!  Visit our website for facts and details.

Home Sellers should check out  InfoTube.NET a FREE homes for sale and rent website.  Visit the site to  place a free ad on your property, view listings or to purchase a Made in America InfoTube or InfoBoxe to help you market your home on the street.

We can also arrange for your property to be shown on your local MLS and/or Realtor.com and all major real estate websites.  CLICK HERE for details.

Foreign buyers are turning to the U.S. to buy “trophy properties,” according to a recent Wall Street Journal blog which added that demand is so strong, leading real estate website Realtor.com plans to add features, including a translation service, to help the influx of international buyers find real estate.

“They’re feeling that investing in U.S. real estate right now may be a more stable option than investing in their home countries,” Julie Reynolds, a Realtor.com spokesperson said.

Reynolds cited a National Association of Realtors survey that showed that 55% of foreign buyers paid cash in 2009, compared with about 8% of overall respondents.

In her WSJ blog, S. Mitra Kalita concluded that, “Given the shaky state of some markets and a still-tight lending environment, real-estate agents say the rush to market to foreign buyers only makes good business sense.”

And the National Association of Realtors findings back her up: It reported that between April 2009 and March 31, 2010, $66 billion of residential property — 7 percent of the total U.S. residential market — was sold to foreign nationals, recent immigrants and temporary visa holders.

“We have definitely seen an increase in international clients this year,” said Miami realtor, Ines Hegedus-Garcia. “What’s exciting is the fact that they are not interested in just single residential properties, but multiple properties as well as commercial and industrial. They are savvy cash buyers who do their homework and pull the trigger fast once the numbers make sense.”

On Realtor.com, traffic from countries in Western Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Asia has increased by more than 50% over the past two years with the foreigners targeting properties in Florida, California, Arizona, Texas, Georgia, New York, and Nevada.

At a local level, Realtors have also noticed the surge of interest from abroad: Last year 28% of them reported working with at least one international client in the previous year (2009 – 2010), up from 23% in 2008.

Here’s how the foreign interest in U.S. property breaks down: Canadians have make up the bulk of international buyers during the past 3 years; Mexicans the fastest growing; and buyers from the UK, stung by their own housing market collapse, have posted the steepest decline.

About 50 percent of international homebuyers said they wanted to move here and make the homes their primary residences; 25 percent bought vacation homes for their own use; 14% were bought residential rentals for investment; and another 14% said they wanted their purchases to double as their own vacation home and a rental.

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.   Our customers receive all the benefits of advertising on the MLS and Realtor.com for a fraction of the money.  Visit our website for details and FAQ’s.    If you have a home to sell, it is time to Spring into action!!!

But, if you’re still debating…consider the following:

• Winter, spring, summer or fall…if you’re priced above the rest of the market, your home will help sell the well priced listings, but not yours.
• There is less competition from competing homes during winter and less inventory benefits sellers’.
• Buyer’s who are househunting during winter are serious and truly motivated.
• Interest rates trend lower during winter months, when loan demand is low.
• Gardens and landscape don’t look as appealing in winter.   If your home won’t exactly win ”yard of the month” during summer…a snowy winter may actually level the playing field for you.
• Don’t believe that if you pull your home off the market during winter, you can bring it back in the spring as a new listing.   No one is fooled by this trick.  Your listing will still appear as canceled and relisted in the MLS.
• If it’s not on the market, the right buyer may come and go.

Thank you for stopping by Why6Percent.com.  We have helped thousands of home seller’s market their properties and save thousands of dollars in commissions and fee’s.  We can Help You, too.  Click HERE to review our marketing packages.

In 2010, Realtor.com was the #1 search site for homes, multi family and land.  If you are selling property, you need to be present on Realtor.com.  Why6Percent.com can assist you in placing your property listing on Realtor.com for only $299…even better…your listing will stay active until you SELL or Cancel!!!   Click Here for More Details!!!

PS Sellers can place a FREE home listing without popup ad’s or spam at InfoTube.net!!!

The moratorium on foreclosures effectively removes ONE THIRD of all the homes For Sale from the market!!   33 Percent of the competition is GONE!!!   For how long, we don’t know…but, we do know that this is a RARE opportunity and all property seller’s should take full advantage of it.

What can home seller’s and builder”s do to take advantage of the Bank Error?

• Realize that Time is of the Essense!  The banks will work hard and fast to get their inventory back on the market.  And, when they do, they will no doubt offer special incentives that individual seller’s can not compete against.  The clock is ticking…….
• Price Right and Show Well!   If your home is priced right against its remaining competition, and it is staged, depersonalized and shows well, Your House Will Sell.
• Marketing to the Masses is Key!    The MLS sells over 90% of all the homes in the United States.   If your home is not on the MLS, your chances of selling are less than 10%.   If money is tight, know that you don’t have to pay 6% for an MLS listing.  You can purchase an MLS listing for your Home for only $399.

Why6Percent.com believes that “a bank moratorium on foreclosure competition” is a very unique opportunity and the window is open for a short period of time, only.   We are here to help you . “The clock is ticking”.  Don’t let this unbelievable opportunity pass you by!!