The answer, quite simply stated, depends on whether you are planning to buy, sell or invest.
As you know, the real estate market has been quite challenging for the past couple of years and those market conditions affect each person and each property differently. Now the good news is, if you are planning to sell, this is actually a great time to sell. There are plenty of buyers ready to buy the right property right now. In fact, if you avail yourself to a dynamic, highly skilled, experienced and innovative real estate professional, your sale can result in the success you want. The statement most often voiced by people today who are contemplating selling is; “…but I could have gotten so much more for my property 2 years ago.” So true, however and this is a BIG however, you also would have PAID MORE money for your replacement property. More money to purchase that replacement property, higher property taxes and higher closing costs based on the purchase price. There are also unprecedented tax advantages available to many home sellers today that were not available 2 years ago. If your property loans are higher than the current value, there are also opportunities that work wonders to assist you that have never been available before.

If you are planning to purchase, this is an excellent time to purchase because there is an ample supply of homes on the market for sale. Most home sellers are realistic as to the actual value of their property, interest rates are temporarily at historic lows, FHA loan amounts have been raised and there are also unprecedented tax credits that may be available to you when you purchase a home. Empowering yourself with expert representation will assure the deeply satisfying purchase for you in this time of golden opportunity.

If you would like to invest in property, this is also an excellent time to invest. There are many property owners who for various reason are looking to sell their income units, condos or single family residences at prices that are dramatically lower than they were a few years ago. Again, interest rates are at historic lows and FHA loan amounts have been raised to cover many investment choices assuring you the opportunity to cash in on today’s great investment values boosting your financial portfolio.

Simplifying and assuring you everything you have always wanted in your real estate sales and purchase is my foundation in serving you.
Don’t delay, discover the easy and proven strategies with free expert advice today with the name you trust in real estate, Jennifer Pritchett.

As always, please consult your financial advisor for advice pertaining to your financial interests.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.36 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.40 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.81 percent.

The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 4.29 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.35 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 5.98 percent.

The one-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 4.46 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.47 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.33 percent.

“Mortgage rates eased further over the week, helping to promote an affordable home-purchase market and stimulate refinance,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “This comes at a time when house price declines are moderating and consumer demand for prime mortgages at commercial banks has picked up.”

“The National Association of Realtors® reported that national median sales price of existing homes fell 11.2 percent in the third quarter relative to the same period last year. Moreover, almost 20 percent of the top metropolitan areas experienced positive annual growth, compared to only about 12 percent in the first quarter of this year.”

And “communication” isn’t just about calling every week to say, “Hi, how’re doin’?” No, it’s also about keeping the seller informed on local market activity, providing feedback from showings, and notifying him of new competing listings and recently closed sales.

And, frankly, its about making sure the seller knows exactly what his agent’s been up to to promote his home! If the only time a listing agent contacts a seller is to ask for a price reduction or a listing extension, well, I can pretty much guarantee that seller is less than tickled with his agent.

And that agent deserves every bit of his seller’s discontent! Oh, the seller may not complain to his agent’s face, but I’ll bet he’s not keeping quiet around the coffee machine!

The good news is that keeping a seller happy isn’t that hard. They just wanna know what’s going on and that their agent cares. Is that too much to ask? Here are sixteen things you can do to keep your seller happy with you. And a happy-with-you seller just might be a great source of future business!

1. Notify him as soon as the listing hits the MLS and send him a copy of the listing.
2. Send him links to all your online advertising (Realtor.com, Craigslist, Postlets, your virtual tour, your own blog, etc.).
3. Send him a copy of the home brochure before it goes to print and ask for feedback.
4. Make sure he knows when the home brochures will be delivered.
5. Schedule an open house right away (yes, you really should do an open house).
6. Call after the first showing(s) to see if he has any questions about the process.
7. Pursue and deliver feedback, especially in the first month.
8. If you do any print advertising, send the seller copies (including Just Listed cards).
9. Send him a “state of the market” report showing all the competing listings. Update this report every two or three weeks.
10. Call periodically to find out if he’s running low on brochures (if it’s impractical to keep the box full, just remove it.).
11. Be sure to provide feedback after open houses (if someone else does your open houses for you, be sure to follow up with them afterwards).
12. Schedule an appointment to review the latest market activity.
13. Preview any new competition and provide feedback to your seller.
14. Refresh your Craigslist ads and send the seller a link.
15. Ensure that your photos are in season.
16. Ask for feedback on how you’re doing A happy seller is a cooperative seller. An unhappy seller is not, and will likely become more and more uncooperative as time goes by. You pick!

The Urban Land Institute teamed with consulting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers and asked more than 900 investors, developers and lenders that question recently, and came up with some intriguing answers.

The top market for heads-up investors among literally hundreds around the country turns out to be Washington D.C.

The nation’s capital, where you send your tax money and where your federal government continues to grow, turns out to be the only truly “recession proof” market in the U.S., according to the real estate experts polled in the study.

Why? Because Washington thrives when the economy falls apart, thrives when the country is at war, and does really well when the political party in power believes in big government, more agencies and more federal spending.

And that’s precisely where we are right now.

“While hard pressed lenders pull back in most cities,” according to the Urban Land Institute’s summary of the study, in Washington “major insurers and banks have taken a long term view and are actively providing financing for new (commercial real estate) deals. ”

No shortage of equity or debt for the right project — if it’s in D.C.

And it’s not just the city itself that’s prospering. The Virginia and Maryland suburbs are adding high tech, defense and scientific jobs by the thousands.

According to the study, “Bethesda (Maryland), home to the National Institutes of Health, should benefit from increased biomedical (federal) spending,” and the close-in Virginia suburbs are expected to grow defense-related jobs and new construction as well.

Ranking number two after Washington for commercial property investment in 2010 is San Francisco, with especially good prospects for apartments, warehouses, offices and hotels. Metropolitan San Francisco not only is a tourist and convention magnet, but combines strong center-city employment with the high-tech industry in suburban Silicon Valley.

The third rated top investment prospect in the survey might be a surprise to some: Austin, Texas, with lots of technology businesses growing and needing more space. The survey ranked it near the top because of the city’s pro-business political climate and low taxes, both of which should, it said, “contribute to future growth and continuing corporate relocations. Austin fits the “brainpower” model that attracts investment even when the national economy is soft.

Rounding out the top ten hot spots for commercial and income-property investors for the coming year, by rank: Boston, New York, Houston, Seattle, Raleigh/Durham North Carolina, Denver and San Jose, California.

Published: November 13, 2009

Bruce Walker, Director of Marketing, RealEstate.com Reportedly, the credit would be available for people earning up to $125,000 a year and couples making up to $225,000 per year. This is an increase from the current income limits of $75,000 and $150,000, respectively. The extension of the first-time homebuyer credit lasts through June of next year. Buyers must sign a contract by the end of April 2010.

The incentives come at a good time for the housing industry. “We’re getting into a historically slow time of year. You have the holidays and folks just aren’t in the market to buy a home. I think now, you’re going see a little bit more interest and we may see some upticks through the end of the year that could carry some momentum into the first part of the year which is traditionally the heaviest homebuying season,” says Walker.

He believes these incentives will not only cause more homes to sell but will also have an impact on related industries. “I think one of the areas that will get a secondary benefit is going to be the home improvement industry. When someone buys a home they will often put additional work into it to make it their own. They’ll paint, put up wallpaper, and hang current rods. They may clean floors — so that home improvement sector is going to see, I believe, a secondary lift as well,” explains Walker. What this means to consumers? “When they see that home prices have dropped, there’s going to be fear in the market and people are going to wait to see other people get involved — get back into the market. So, as consumers are pushed off the fence with these incentives I think we will see a strengthening of the housing market as a direct result and people are going to get re-engaged,” says Walker.

But some wonder are the incentives a risk that will cause homeowners to later default? “People have been skeptical of the economy for the last year or longer,” says Walker.

Economists with the National Association of Realtors estimate that approximately 2 million people will take advantage of the tax credit this year.

Published: November 13, 2009

…two homes.

One was perfect.

Instead of making an offer right away, the buyer went home and called her friend. The friend had a real estate license. The buyer and her second agent presented an offer on the home, leaving the first agent totally in the dark.

After all, the first agent hadn’t worked “too hard.”

Which made me think about what really makes a real estate agent valuable, among other things.

Knowledge of inventory was near the top of the list.

It sounds boring and unexciting. Bookish, even.

You see, the reason the first agent knew which houses to show her potential client was because she had previewed those properties. That’s one of those things agents do that you don’t know about. They go out on their own, by themselves or with other agents, and look at property after property after property. They know what models are located where, how long they’ve been on the market, which ones have listing agents that are easy to work with, and more. They know all kinds of things that you don’t know they know.

Not only that, the agent had been previewing properties for what “seems like forever” – so she immediately knew which houses to show the soon-to-be-excited buyer. She had been to those homes and/or model matches for those homes – for quite some time.

She knew her inventory.

The friend did not know the inventory. Otherwise, the buyer would have gone to her friend first, right?

It’s like wandering around the aisles of a drug store not knowing which over-the-counter cough syrup is best for your particular ailment. Who would you rather ask? The clerk at the register or the pharmacist?

Either way, you’re walking out of the store with a cardboard box filled with thick sloshy liquid.

So what you’re really hiring in an agent is knowledge – and not just knowledge of inventory. Knowledge of lots of things that you don’t even know you don’t know. They make it seem easy, but that’s because they want it to seem easy. If agents told you how hard it was, you would be even more nervous about shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars.

After all, it is only the most expensive purchase you’ve ever made in your life.

But it’s only a house, right?

And everyone knows that a Schedule 1 item on a termite report must be repaired prior to closing, which Schedule II items do not. And all those other little details.

By the way, the first agent and the listing agent talked to one another because she expected to present an offer shortly. No details, of course – just the name of her client and to expect the offer.

The buyer did present an offer, but with the wrong agent. This took the listing agent by surprise. Like many industries, real estate agents have a code of ethics they are supposed to obey. At the same time, agents don’t always know what their clients are up to. Anyway, imagine how negotiations went, if they went anywhere at all. Plus, there were other problems that will be saved for another article.

Which isn’t really the point. The point was that you hire an agent because of training, knowledge, experience, problem-solving ability, connections, their ability to communicate…and lots of other neat stuff.

The moral I promised?

You don’t know what you don’t know.

Which is why you hire people that will cover the blanks you know about, as well as the ones you don’t. That is where you find the true value of a real estate agent.

© March 2004 by RealEstate ABC