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Attending NAR 2008December 4 2008

Each year, attending NAR creates such anticipation and excitement within the Industry.  We look forward to seeing old friends, old colleagues and making new friends.  There is something about being in a room with the movers and the shakers of the industry; rubbing elbows with those that truly shape our Industry is exhilarating.  We look forward to what new and innovative tools will be unveiled, what new companies will pop up and which will have gone by the way side.  We seek information and knowledge, and of course there are the parties. 

This year we saw consolidation, reinventing and just plain ole downsizing.  Given the number of attendees (I'm guessing around 10,000) I believe many agents put some thought on if they would actually attend or just read about it.  With social networking, it made it very easy for many to follow an attending agent via twitter or flicker (many were posting pics as quickly as they were taking them).  The scattered cyber stations throughout the tradeshow floor were always full with those who just couldn't wait to blog about the day's activities.

Of the handful of classes I attended, it appeared as most agents were there to gather information on the Industry, to prepare them for what may come.  There were lots of chatting in the hallways and small groups of people gathered here and there discussing the future of Real Estate - be it sales, MLS issues or commissions.  But if you asked anyone what the main attraction of th

Here are facts for you to draw your own conclusions.November 21 2008

 Not so long ago I remember reading market analysis reports published by the oil industry's top experts from top investment banks. Some of the reports were titled: Investment advice-buy. High price of oil is here to stay. Oil prices will reach $200 per barrel before year end. To defend their positions they cited depletion of "old" oil fields, unwillingness or inability to raise output by OPEC cartel, overall political instability in oil producing regions of the world, increased consumption in emerging economies, more specifically in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China). To sound even more convincing, they point to technical analysis with complicated mathematical formulas, equations and economical laws that I call pseudo scientific or voodoo craft.

I do not know what happened with the analysts that lost their high paying jobs after the investment firms that they represented went bankrupt.  I am pretty sure that they found suitable employers and forecasting some other economical events defending their point of view with equal zealous.

In today's modern economy, it is impossible to accurately predict it's down or upward turn. The truth is that the brightest and smartest did not see this coming, all that one can hope for is to spot the trend and take advantage of that knowledge.  The truth is that the majority of the so called experts and analysts know no more than you and I, and following their advice is a sure way to go broke fast. The truth is that top executiv

Where Do We Stand Now? A new president, a new economic plan—what it means for real estateOctober 31 2008

 

When I was asked to write this article I did not know who would be occupying the White House for the next four years.

In June of 1949 the DOW Jones stood at about 167 points and was rising; in January of 1960 it was 640, on October 2, 1972 it hit a record high of 1,020 points. For the most part, from 1960 to 1982, the DOW Jones was going through typical up and down cycles. Periods of recessions were followed by periods of expansions. Since 1960 there were 4 recessions 1960, 69, 73, 81. For two decades the DOW Jones hung around 800 points, up until the computer revolution of the 1980's. From 1982 we have witness relentless rises, and a  record high of 14,093 in 2007

During Kennedy's election campaign, he charged that under Eisenhower and the Republican Party , the United States was falling behind and he, as President, would "get America moving again."

In his acceptance speech Kennedy stated: "We stand today on the verge of a new frontier- the frontier of the 1960's, a frontier of unknown opportunities and perils- a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats."

I have read headlines from the 1960 presidential election and they are strikingly similar with what we observed during the 2008 presidential campaign. I believe that we are experiencing a ""déjà vu", this is familiar rhetoric.

For the Real Estate Industry it will make a little difference who will occupy the White House for the next 4 years. One thing is c

Bank Owned Property Sold By PropertyMinder AutomationOctober 20 2008

In this tough market, Linda Charman, a PropertyMinder subscriber, proves that automation and prompt service is key to success.

"As one of Property Minder's original subscribers, I am always appreciative of the services it provides.  It makes my job much easier.  I am a proponent of working smart not hard and the website reminds me regularly of how true that is.  I used to spend hours taking clients around and showing them properties.  My last 4 sales ( in the past couple of months) have resulted from my clients using the program to pre screen properties.  However, the most remarkable sale I made this month was directly related to the swift communication from my website to a new client.  I met the client on Sept. 24th.  I did my usual orientation concluding with setting him up for a property search in the area that interested him.  On Sept 25th a listing email popped up for a property that was bank owned.   This property is located in an area where the last similar home sold for $749,000. ( In fact I was the one who sold it two years ago).  This new listing came up at $449,000.  My client was contacted and I also got the email the moment it appeared on the MLS.  I took him to see the property and we are closing escrow on Oct. 24th.  This is a perfect example of the slick way Property Minder makes me look so professional.  As in my first testomonial about Property Minder, I am sure we beat the competition because of the rapid email notification.   A

The Trends and Issues Shaping the MarketOctober 16 2008

According to RealtyTrac®, more than 272,000 homes in United States received at least one foreclosure-related notice in July 2008. This is up 55% from the same month, a year ago. RealtyTrac® reports that as many as 750,000 foreclosed homes are in their database of homes for sale, i.e. 17% from the 4.5 million U.S. homes that were up for sale in 2008.

To deal with the financial crisis, lenders are requiring larger down payment and higher credit score, squeezing many home buyers out of owning a home - even though prices have fallen.

What does this latest trend mean for the future of Real Estate?

Where there is blood, there is opportunity. As Sr. Winston Churchill once said, a pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

The reality is that real estate market has always bounced back and reached new heights.

The media today is focused on the present national and worldwide economic crisis, totally ignoring new opportunities which are about to make a very significant positive impact on the market as it recovers from the current slump", said Boris Gruzman, CEO and President at PropertyMinder, Inc.

First and foremost we are in the middle of a global, demographical shift. In 2006, almost 500 million people worldwide were 65 and older. By 2030, individuals 65 and older are projected to increase to 1 billion - equaling one out of 8 of t