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!!!

The aging boomers have finally worked up the courage to sell the family house, depreciated as it is, and roll the home equity into their last ever home purchase.   Ironically, the catalyst for this trend has nothing to do with real estate.   The motivation is age, quality of life and the stock market.  The stock market is back, bringing with it the net worth of the boomer generation, who controls 80 percent of the financial assets in the United States. 

If you own a one level, low maintenance home…you are already sitting in tall cotton…but you can do some simple things to sweeten the pot even more…if you know what to emphasize and what needs to be done.

Capitalize on the needs of the 65+ year olds, who are looking for place that they can grow old in.  They are naturally drawn to homes that are easy and safe to live in, even if managing stairs and home maintenance is hard to do.

• Replace door knobs with levered handles.
• Replace knob-type plumbing fixtures and cabinet pulls with levers or open handles.
• Today’s house only needs one bathtub.  Offer at least one,  barrier free shower on the main floor, even if means taking out a bathtub.
• Put a laundry room on the main floor, even if you have to eliminate a closet or half-bath to do so.
• Consider making entryway staircases longer and more gentle.  Create an option to add a wheelchair ramp to one side, if needed.
• Consider adding grab bars in glass enclosures or  if your bathroom has wide open space.
• Replace carpeting with tile, hardwoods or laminate flooring for easier maintenance, durability and a smoother surface.
• Provide ample indoor lighting and don’t forget the outdoor security lights.
• Provide outdoor handrails on stairs, inclines or wherever necessary

Marketing Insight:  Most home improvements, suggested above, offer easy living appeal for all ages.  Just because your house is senior friendly doesn’t lessen the appeal to everyone else, but always be tactful.  Design two InfoSheets for Buyers.  Offer one in a standard format and create another that highlights senior-ready amenities.  

Why 6 Perent has been helping home sellers’ reach home buyers while saving thousands of dollars in commissions and fee’s.  If you have the ability to show your own home to buyers’, then you should seriously consider a low flat fee MLS listing or an ad on Realtor.com.   Our specialized program reachs 10 million home shoppers each month for pennies a day.

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1. The elaborate clubhouse that is a fixture in many subdivisions has lost its appeal, as have community association-run swimming pools, health clubs and golf courses, said Cardis, who reports that consumers think of these things as “tradable” items — they’re basically indifferent to whether these amenities come with the deal.

“I think that’s all economically driven,” he said. “If you were to do a survey of homeowner-association fee increases in the past 24 months, there would be a high percentage that have shortfalls and are raising their fees by significant amounts, sometimes doubling them.”

One neighborhood amenity, though, that scored high desirability in the study: walking paths.

2.  Green is good — and getting better.

“I was very surprised,” Cardis said. “I had been hearing that green (home features) aren’t quite here yet, that people aren’t willing to pay for them. But frankly, I was stunned by the increase in demand. This is our fourth year (of this particular study), and we’re seeing an increase every year.

“The magnitude of desire (for environmentally friendly home features) is high, considered a must in some categories,” he said.

Among the consumer-described environmental “must haves”: energy-efficient windows, appliances and insulation. “Desirable” features included recycled building materials, “green” flooring, and tankless water heaters that consume less energy by heating water on demand.

3.  Kitchens haven’t lost an iota of importance to buyers, Cardis said. In particular, consumers voiced a preference for “big” kitchens, though it’s not clear how big is “big.”

“I think that’s the biggest limitation of the study, that the perception of what is large or energy-efficient isn’t defined, and we’re planning to do more on that,” he said. “But they do want a sizeable kitchen, relative to the house, and that’s the important takeaway, rather than (consumers saying), ‘Not really, I don’t need that.’ ”

But within that kitchen, it had better have a freestanding island — 41 percent called it a “must” and 38 percent said they really wanted one.

4.  Consumer tastes are changing on how they’d prefer to bathe, Cardis said.

“Whirlpool baths are something they’re definitely ready to let go of,” he said. “They put them in and (the tubs just) sit. People use them once every two years.”

Instead, plain old soaker tubs in the master bath got a warm response in the survey, though the greater preference now is for oversized showers with seating, he said.

5.  Other “outs” or borderline interests: home theaters, traditional living rooms and dining rooms, mud rooms, hobby/game rooms.

“Musts” or at least, objects of strong desirability: granite countertops, home-office space, fireplace, two-car garage.

Article written by Dian Hymer of Inman News.

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.  Our $299 “List Until Sold” marketing program reaches 10 million home buyers a month.   Serious homesellers should visit our website to learn more about this unique marketing opportunity.

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com  We are here to assist you with all your home sales and marketing options.  Call us today…more buyers are searching for a home now, than they have in the past 2 years.  Don’t miss the boat!

What is the MLS?

The Multiple Listing Service is a database of homes for sale. Run by the local Board of Realtors®, the MLS is the traditional method agents use to find homes for their buyers or advertise their listings to other agents. MLS listings include detailed information about the property. Besides address and selling price, a listing generally includes the number and size of rooms, annual property taxes, local schools, selling agent and more. Most include  photo’s of the home.

Facts about the MLS:

The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is the fantastic way real estate brokers provide information to one another.  MLS allows each agent to see all properties for sale in a given market, greatly expanding the sales force of all properties.

The Internet now provides MLS property information, in real-time, to brokers, agents, home sellers and homebuyers.  The MLS is looked at by potentially thousands of real estate agents in your market that might have a prospective buyer for your home.  And, it reaches 90 Percent of the Home Buyers who search on the Internet.

• Benefits of MLS Advertisement: There is one very significant benefit to having your home listed in the MLS listing…EXPOSURE! The fact that your home is for sale will now be known to the hundreds, if not thousands of real estate brokers and agents in your market. To maximize your benefit from this exposure, you will need to be willing to “co-op” a real estate agent, if they bring a buyer to purchase your home. Co-op means that you will cooperate in a commission incentive to the real estate agent.  Typically buyer’s agents earn between 2 and 3 percent of the sale price of the home.  
• Reach Buyers Searching on the Internet:  Another key benefit to listing your home on the MLS is in most areas of the United States, the property appears on websites like MSN HomeAdvisor, Yahoo! Real Estate, Realtor.com, Google.com, Zillow.com, etc. and local state websites. Many of the multiple listing services send their inventory directly to these sites to enable even more exposure for homeowners.  Millions of people from all over the U.S. use these various websites to search for homes daily.  Recent data shows that the first thing homebuyers do is search the internet, often far in advance of their actual move.     
• Global Reach:  MLS also reaches the transferee’s moving to your town.  In today’s transient society, people relocating from all over the U.S. first find the homes they would like to see on the internet.  They supply their “must see” list to the buyer’s agent located in the area they are moving to.  When relocating buyers are in town searching for a home, time is limited and every minute counts. Buyer’s agents quickly become critical to the transferee’s home search and relocating homebuyers rely heavily on assistance from a buyer’s agent. Therefore, the MLS can be key to exposing your home to relocating buyers.

Considerations: The MLS is a wonderful way to expand your advertising reach and certainly has value.  If your goal is maximum exposure, then MLS is an answer.   Contact Why6Percent.com and get started Today!

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.  Remember, you can sell your home!  You have the ability and there is a buyer for your home.  Stay optimistic and remember, the money you save will justify the time, energy and emotion that you will expend!

Why Replacing Your Windows Pays Off…

1. New windows improve the curb appeal and increase the value of any home.  
2. Buyers pay up for new windows.  Numerous studies show that home sellers recoop 90+ percent of the costs for window replacement at the time of sale.
3. Homeowners realize the energy savings immediately, while increasing comfort.
4. Energy efficient windows are a Green home selling feature. 
5. New models of windows are easy to clean and maintain. 
6. Improve your view.  New glass is so clear it’s just like looking through… nothing at all. 
7. Maybe Best of All…Uncle Sam Pays for It.   The government will pay 30 percent of the cost (up to $1500) to replace the windows in your home through December 31, 2010.  And, don’t forget to check out the additional rebates and savings on windows that are being offered in most states, cities and townships.

Tip for a Tight Budget

1. Just replace some of the windows.  Choose the ones on the front of the home, because they improve the curb appeal.  Or, replace the windows that get hammered by the most weather, be it sun, rain, snow or wind. 
2. Or, Roll the Dice…and, maximize the tax credit by replacing half of the windows in 2010.  Then, gamble on an extension of the credit into 2011 and replace the other half.
3. Uncle Sam picks up a Third of your bill and smile (:

Practical Advice About Window Replacement

1. Use a company that carries a wide range of window brands.  Make sure they use their own employee’s (not subcontractors) to do the installation.
2. Profit from the Housing Crash.  Be a hard negotiator and get at least 3 quotes.  You can save Big on labor and materials because the housing market is slow.
3. Replacing windows is a big, messy job.  Cover up anything important such as electronics and furniture.  Sawing and Ripping out windows is dirty business, no matter how good the installer.

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.   We have a program for home sellers that offers the MLS, Realtor.com and advertisement on dozens of real estate listing posts for one cheap price…and the seller keeps the commission.  Call 1-800-381-9496 or visit http://www.why6percent.com today for the details.  You will be happy that you did!!!

Through 2010, homeowners who install energy efficient windows, insulation, roofs, doors or heating and air systems can apply for a 30 percent (up to $1500) tax credit for each product they purchase. 

Even better….homeowners can receive a 30 percent tax credit through 2016 (with no spending limits) when they purchase green, energy saving products such as solar systems, geothermal heating pumps, small wind systems, residential fuel cells or micro turbines.  For complete details, visit the Energy Stars Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency website.

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.   Advertise your home on the MLS, Realtor.com, Google, MSN, Zillow and most major search engines for real estate for 6 months for only $399.  Why Pay 6 Percent??????

When selling your home for top dollar, it’s crucial that you present your home in its best light.  One easy, do-it- yourself way to create interest, while improving flow and uniformity is with the use of baseboard and ceiling trim.

 (Chops up the space)

Tip:  Avoid chopping up the flow of your home by painting or staining all moldings and baseboard the same color throughout the home. 

Tip:  Add moldings over windows or doors to provide architectural interest or to draw attention to views.

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.   We offer for sale by owners a marketing package that includes the MLS and Realtor.com advertising.  Visit the site for details today!

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.