Friday, August 21, 2009

NAR “Strong Gain in Existing-Home Sales Maintains Uptrend” (8-21-09)

“Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose 7.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 5.24 million units in July from a level of 4.89 million in June, and are 5.0 percent above the 4.99 million-unit pace in July 2008. The last time sales rose for four consecutive months was in June 2004, and the last time sales were higher than a year earlier was November 2005”

Bloomberg “Existing Home Sales in U.S. Jump to Two-Year High” (8-21-09)

“Sales of existing U.S. homes jumped more than forecast in July to the highest level in almost two years, signaling the housing crisis that crippled the world’s largest economy is easing. Purchases climbed 7.2 percent to a 5.24 million annual rate, the most since August 2007, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. The gain was the biggest since records began in 1999. The median price fell 15 percent.”

Bloomberg “Bernanke Says Global Economy Beginning to Emerge From Recession” (8-21-09)

“Economists forecast the U.S. will emerge from the worst recession since the 1930s, with the economy in the third quarter expanding at a 2.2 percent annual rate, according to the median estimate in an August survey by Bloomberg News. The International Monetary Fund last month predicted the world economy will expand 2.5 percent in 2010 after contracting 1.4 percent this year.”

Orange County Register“O.C. beach homes enjoy summer sales swell” (8-21-09)

“DataQuick identified 527 homes selling in beach cities’ ZIP codes last month, +22%from a year ago — the biggest buying jump among the four slices of the county we analyzed. Median selling price? $737,000 in these 17 ZIPs. Last month’s median price change was -8.8% vs. a year ago.”

Inman “Luxury prices hold despite slowdown” (8-21-09)

“The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing reported that days on market increased from about 120 days in August 2008 to about 180 days in August 2009 for luxury homes (those priced above $500,000), based on Altos Research data from 31 major U.S. metro market areas. The institute provides training and certification for real estate professionals who work with luxury properties.”

Realty Times “Investor Report: Defaulted Mortgage Notes” (8-21-09)

“Folsom Treehouse's original developer defaulted on a $22.5 million loan in late 2008. Last March, PCCP bought a discounted note on the project from United Commercial Bank and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The size of the discount to PCCP was not made public, but in purchases of severely distressed notes, the price can go to 50 cents on the dollar -- even less, depending upon the circumstances”

Realty Times“Selling Your Home, Know Your Buyer Market” (8-21-09)

“Making your home ready for your specific buyer market will help you not waste time marketing it to uninterested buyers. For instance, if your home is a two-story home, you might find that elderly couples or people looking to ‘age in place’ might not be as attracted to it because of the steps to the second story. People seeking aging-in-place homes often want a single story so that the entire home is accessible without the difficulty or exertion of having to travel upstairs. If, your home is located in one of the best school districts, draw attention to this. Many parents will move to a neighborhood almost exclusively because of a school district’s glowing reputation. Don’t assume that the potential buyers automatically know this school district’s reputation—shout it through your marketing materials.”

Realty Times“Increasing Sales Production Through Quality of the Prospect” (8-21-09)

“The natural tendency for most salespeople is to work with leads, rather than prospect for new leads. Most sales people, in real estate especially, do primarily lead follow-up, rather than prospecting or lead creation. The problem with that approach is what happens if your leads aren’t any good. Most agents have a group of bad leads they are trying to convince to be good leads, so they don’t have to prospect. Let me give you a hint; you can be the greatest salesperson in the world, and you will rarely convince a bad lead to convert to a good lead. You are far better off investing your time to find better leads. We hold onto these marginal or bad leads, so we can avoid prospecting. We know that if we don’t have enough leads, we will be forced to prospect.”

Realty Times“Mortgage Rates Down to Lowest Level in Three Months” (8-21-09)

“Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.12 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending August 20, 2009, down from last week when it averaged 5.29 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.47 percent.”

CNN “Where does your state rank?” (8-21-09)

“Americans everywhere are feeling the recession's pain – some more than others.”

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