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Mortgage rates climb into New Year

By Inman News, Thursday, December 30, 2010.

Rates on most mortgages continued their year-end surge in the final week of 2010, with 30-year fixed-rate loans climbing to their highest level since May, Freddie Mac said in releasing the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.86 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending Dec. 30, up from 4.81 percent the week before, but still below the 5.14 percent recorded at the same point in 2009.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.2 percent with an average 0.8 point, up from 4.15 percent the week before but down from 4.54 percent a year ago.  more...

Pending home sales rise in November

By Inman News, Thursday, December 30, 2010.

Pending home sales rose again in November, part of a broad trend in recent months that could point to a gradual recovery in 2011, the National Association of Realtors' chief economist said.

NAR's Pending Home Sales Index rose 3.5 percent from October to November, but remained 5 percent below its level a year ago. That compares with a 20.7 percent year-over-year drop in October.

The index is a forward-looking indicator, reflecting contracts rather than closings, which normally occur one or two months later. An index score of 100 is the average level of contract activity in 2001, the first year that index data was collected.

The index fell sharply in May after the expiration of the federal homebuyer tax credits on April 30, from 110.9 to 77.7. Since then, the index has risen on a monthly basis four out of the past six months, hitting 92.2 in November.  more...

3-D remodeling on a budget

By Paul Bianchina, Thursday, December 30, 2010.

For most people, sometimes even experienced designers and contractors, the toughest part of a remodeling project is visualizing what the space is going to look like afterward. A set of plans is a great first step, of course, but they often don't give you the three-dimensional perspective you need to really see the room and experience perspectives, traffic patterns, light, and all the rest.

So, once the demolition is complete and the room is bare, do some simple experimenting. This should occur before anything goes back in, including wiring, plumbing and drywall, since this is your one opportunity to make changes in the original plans if you catch something you don't like.  more...

Foreclosures spiked before robo-signing scandal

By Inman News, Thursday, December 30, 2010.

Banks scaled back loan modifications and stepped up foreclosures during the third quarter, with foreclosure starts and completions both up sharply from the previous three months, a new report by banking regulators shows.

During the three months ending Sept. 30 -- before the robo-signing controversy was in full swing -- the number of foreclosure starts was up 31 percent from the previous quarter, to 383,000. Another 187,000 homes completed the foreclosure process, a 15 percent increase from the second quarter and up 57 percent from a year ago.  more...

'One size fits all' fee for rental damage?

By Robert Griswold, Thursday, December 30, 2010.

Q: The couple renting my home moved out last month, and their 3-year-old destroyed the mini-blinds. Is that considered normal or routine? The carpet is also damaged beyond any good cleaning.

Both blinds and carpet were new in 1999. I lived in the rental for the first six years, and it was rented to a second tenant for one year after that. The most recent couple moved in at the beginning of 2006 so they had been renting the home for nearly five years. What is reasonable to charge them for the mini-blinds and carpet?

I have heard that some landlords just have set schedules for charges or deductions from security deposits. I would like to know your opinion on the pros and cons of that practice.  more...

Making a 180 with 360˚ panoramic scenes

By Inman News, Thursday, December 30, 2010.

You remember Homestore, right? "Leverage the Power of the Red Spinning House."

Over the last five years or so, 360-degree panoramic virtual tours have slowly decreased in popularity. This has happened for various reasons, but the one that sticks out to me the most is the increasing popularity of mobile Web browsing, and the lack of support by mobile platforms for Flash. Yes, you can thank Steve Jobs for that one.

Based on a study by StatCounter, as of November 2010, mobile Web browsing makes up for approximately 4.02 percent of the total Internet traffic.  more...

Top homebuying, selling predictions for 2011

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Thursday, December 30, 2010.

During this first holiday season on the road leading out of the recession, American consumers are taking different approaches in their decision-making.

Black Friday brought the requisite, shameful Web videos of elders being trampled in the stampede for a Pillow Pet or a $3 toaster, and Cyber Monday upped the stakes in an entirely different sort of consumer game, driven in large part by the flash-sale websites that have literally exploded in number and popularity this year.

On the other end of the spectrum, many celebrated "Buy Nothing Day." Others engaged in some of both; I bought usable gifts for kids only, and donated or sold 200 items of clothing, books and furniture for the holidays.

Even retailers capitalized on the dichotomy, with one luxury automaker promoting a "Season of Reason" sales event in which buyers were invited to "oversave" for gifts and personal purchases by spending $50,000 or more on a new car (irony, anyone?).  more...

Company offers free virtual tours, property sites

By Inman News, Wednesday, December 29, 2010.

A service offering free virtual tours and single-property websites launched earlier this month.

Bellevue, Wash.-based technology company Home87.com offers virtual tours and property sites for an unlimited number of properties. The sites' features include Walk Scores; Google Maps, Street View and Analytics; search engine optimization; unlimited photos; printable fliers; optimized Craigslist HTML code; document upload capability; and an open house calendar, among others.  more...

Zillow CEO: Agents must be accessible

By Inman News, Wednesday, December 29, 2010.
Spencer Rascoff

Spencer Rascoff, who's been part of the management team of property listings and valuation portal Zillow.com since its launch in 2005, was named the company's CEO in September.

A co-founder of Hotwire.com and veteran of online travel site Expedia, Rascoff's resume also includes a two-year stint as an investment banker at Goldman, Sachs & Co. following his graduation from Harvard University.

It's been a momentous year for Zillow, which announced an advertising partnership with Yahoo Real Estate in July in which Zillow will also manage for-sale listings on both sites. As the year drew to a close, Zillow launched a ratings tool that allows consumers to evaluate real estate agents they've worked with in the past.  more...

Why agents need HootSuite tout de suite

By Inman News, Wednesday, December 29, 2010.

Wouldn't it be great if you could manage multiple social media networks from one place? How about a site that lets you track statistics? While we're at it, how about a site that lets you easily create custom tabs and streams? Finally, what if this site had an application that allowed you to share across multiple networks any website you happen to be viewing? All of this and more is available at HootSuite.com.

Just two years old, HootSuite has come a long way. When agents in my workshops ask me to name my favorite social site, the answer is always HootSuite. Recently, HootSuite instituted free and paid versions of the base product. The free version is more than adequate for most agent needs. If the premium version is required (if you have a team and need multiple users on your account, the paid version is the way to go), it is an affordable $5.99/month.  more...

Shadow inventory double whammy in 2011?

By Tom Kelly, Wednesday, December 29, 2010.
Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kretyen/2664221864/" target=blank>kretyen</a>.

As much as the housing industry wishes foreclosures would go away -- or at least be reduced to a predictable, manageable flow -- there are no signs of that happening in the near future.

The volume of foreclosures also has hidden the nation's shadow inventory, which I will define as the homes that sellers would put on the market if there were not so much competition.

(Some analysts also apply the term "shadow inventory" to estimates of the total number of distressed properties that will ultimately complete the foreclosure process to be sold at courthouse auctions or repossessed by lenders. Others define shadow inventory more narrowly as homes that lenders have already repossessed, but not yet put up for sale.)

Together, the stubborn reality of foreclosures and shadow inventory combine to be the elephant in the room, and the most important real estate story of 2010.  more...

8 ways agents avoid overpriced listings Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Wednesday, December 29, 2010.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joiseyshowaa/4471876953/">joiseyshowaa</a>

You did the comps, the property was priced right when you listed it, but no one is buying. It's now six months later, prices have declined even more, and your listing is now overpriced. What could you have done to avoid being in this predicament in the first place?

No matter how good you are at pricing, there are times when you'll get stuck with an overpriced listing. The best way to avoid having an overpriced listing is to take proactive steps at the time you sign the listing agreement.

1. Executive review

This strategy works well at the time you list the property or any time during the listing period. During an executive review, your manager and a team of three or four other agents visits the property before it officially goes on the market. Each member of the executive review team provides a written evaluation of the property including strengths, weaknesses, as well as anticipated selling price. This written feedback is then given to the listing agent to assist the seller in correctly pricing the property.  more...

5 surprising facts about HOA defaults

By Mary Umberger, Wednesday, December 29, 2010.

These are not happy days for homeowners associations.

Foreclosures, job losses and the general economic downturn have put the squeeze on the books of a sizeable number of the nation's estimated 310,000 homeowners associations as residents and the banks that have seized homes stop paying their monthly assessments, according to a recent study.

Five things to know about how these community groups have been affected by the economy, and some things they're doing to fight back:

1. About 45 percent of HOA managers say their groups are facing "serious" problems as a result of the economic downturn, and 9 percent describe their situations as "severe," according to the Community Associations Institute, a trade group in Washington, D.C.  more...

3 unsustainable trends looming large Premium Content

By Lou Barnes, Wednesday, December 29, 2010.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidden/2205322601/">DavidDennisPhotos.com</a>

While looking into each new year, I recite the mantra of this blog's patron saint, Peter Drucker: "Nobody can predict the future. The idea is to keep a firm grasp of the present."

The present today is more slippery to evaluate than usual for an odd reason: It is so similar to the turn of last year. Hardly anything has changed.

Interest rates are the same, near 5 percent for mortgages, near 3.5 percent for 10-year Treasurys, both expected to rise last year as now.

The lack of employment is the same, and so the dearth of tax revenue. The economy was then expected to accelerate in a recovery assumed to be under way, making the Fed's QE1 and home-purchase tax credits unnecessary, both to expire in spring 2010.  more...

Rethink bridge loan to retirement

By Benny Kass, Wednesday, December 29, 2010.

DEAR BENNY: My wife and I are selling our house and moving to a retirement community, which also has assisted living facilities. We have an offer coming this next week. This is the only offer we have had in the three months the house has been on the market. We have put a contract on an apartment in the retirement facility.

Presuming we can reach agreement with our buyer and sign the contract and get a settlement date, the retirement facility wants us to take out a bridge loan for the buy-in fee (about $300,000). Our concern is whether anything could go wrong before settlement. We feel we would be more comfortable waiting until we have the cash in hand.

Are we being overly fearful? We are told that it is a normal procedure to take out the bridge loan, as the earnest deposit guarantees that the settlement will go through. Is this true? We trust our seller's agent but feel the buyer's agent is dragging her feet. Should we have a real estate lawyer too? If so, how do we find one? --John  more...

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