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Realogy: Market 'difficult to predict' Premium Content

By Inman News, Thursday, August 14, 2008.

Real estate brokerage and franchise company Realogy has consolidated about 70 company-owned offices this year and most its consolidations have concluded, the company announced during an earnings call on Thursday.

Those consolidations are expected to reduce operating costs by $15 million on an annualized basis, the company reported.  more...

Video killed the business card Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Thursday, August 14, 2008.

One of the most important trends over the next few years will be the "videoization" of the Web. Agents and brokers are already incorporating video into their Web sites. They are broadcasting their virtual tours on places like YouTube, Google Video and Yahoo Video. Here is a list of 10 smart ways to incorporate video in your business:

1. Live like a local
Professionally produce a video about the specific geographical area(s) that you serve. In the video, act as a tour guide showing what makes your area unique.  more...

Composite decking not infallible

By Paul Bianchina, Thursday, August 14, 2008.

Check over the results of virtually any home improvement survey, and you will see that adding a deck consistently ranks at or near the top of the list in terms of both desirability and payback on investment. If a deck is high on your wish list, one of the primary decisions you are no doubt struggling with is what type of decking material to use -- natural wood, or one of the new plastic composite materials that have been getting so much attention lately.  more...

Skyscrapers wouldn't exist without prime invention

By Arrol Gellner, Thursday, August 14, 2008.

For centuries, the drudgery of having to climb long flights of stairs ensured that few buildings were more than four or five stories high. Even at that, the least desirable dwellings were usually those on the top floor -- just the opposite of our modern preference. This idea held true until the late 19th century, when elevators began to appear in multistory buildings.  more...

Play to your strengths in slow market

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, August 14, 2008.

A few weeks ago I was at the zoo with my nephew. He is 13, and like most 13-year-olds he still knows things that the rest of us have forgotten but at the same time he doesn't have enough experience at life to know much.

He was watching me take pictures and asking questions. I explained to him what the pictures would be used for and why I love to take them. He told me what a shame it is that I didn't get "good" at photography earlier in life.  more...

Can landlord abruptly declare 'no pets' policy?

By Robert Griswold, Thursday, August 14, 2008.

Q: I work for a local humane society and was wondering about the rights of tenants to have pets in their rental unit. We frequently receive calls from tenants with pets claiming that they received a 30-day notice to terminate their tenancy because they have violated the "no pets" policy at their rental property. This also has happened with tenants that claim they are just feeding stray animals in the neighborhood.  more...

NAR: Home prices fall further in Q2 Premium Content

By Inman News, Thursday, August 14, 2008.

San Francisco housing eats up large share of household budgets
Households in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Calif., metropolitan area spent a larger-than-average share of their total budget on housing in 2005-2006, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Expenditure Survey.  more...

REOs comprise nearly 20% of homes on market

By Inman News, Thursday, August 14, 2008.

Nearly one in five homes for sale in the United States are properties repossessed by lenders, data aggregator RealtyTrac reported today, as foreclosure-related filings rose 8 percent from June to July, and 55 percent from a year ago.

Foreclosure-related filings -- which include default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions -- rose to 272,171 in July, or one filing for every 464 U.S. homes.  more...