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May

29
2009

Agents who charge 'extra' fees

By Inman News, Friday, May 29, 2009.

Re: 'Real estate fees raise RESPA controversy' (May 28)

Dear Editor:

This has been going on for years in the industry. Many a listing agent has added this "flat fee" to augment their commission structure, with "administration fee" as the title. The fee is used to pay for the agent's personal assistant, advertising, etc.

The broader question is: Do commissions charged to a seller in today's declining market pay the bills of the company and agent and make them viable business entities?  more...

May

28
2009

May

27
2009

FrontDoor now sports Facebook Connect

By , Wednesday, May 27, 2009.

from Future of Real Estate Marketing by Joel Burslem

Restore 'economic sense' to real estate

By Inman News, Wednesday, May 27, 2009.

Re: ' "Junk fee" or necessity?' (May 27)

Dear Editor:

Thirty years ago brokers worked on commission splits that made sense and allowed the owner of a firm to make a profit.  The days of 35 percent to 40 percent company dollar have long passed by, and the ability to manage the middle line for the potential of a return that justifies owning a business requires that the cost of doing business be absorbed somewhere in the transaction.  more...

Prices continue descent, but there's still construction

By Curbed.com, Wednesday, May 27, 2009.

Nevermind the endless march of housing numbers, the latest saying that housing prices were down last month by 30 or so percent (compared to numbers last week that said 40).

One California firm points to the rise in sales of single-family homes as proof that the state's $10,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers is working. Others think a state with moths streaming out of its hole-ridden pockets should hardly be extending such credits, encouraging "new construction in a market where foreclosures are still rising and prices continue to fall." Says one dissenter: "It's so stupid it's amazing to me."  more...

Multigenerational lead generation

By Inman News, Wednesday, May 27, 2009.

Re: 'Buying home under the influence' (May 25)

Dear Editor:

I had an appointment with buyers who brought one set of parents to see their first-choice home so far and to view a couple of others.

Your article hit the mark in both major areas -- they want to make sure their babies are taken care of and they want to make sure they are buying sensibly.  more...

May

26
2009

Getting over real estate grief

By Inman News, Tuesday, May 26, 2009.

Re: 'New ground for mortgage rates' (May 22)

Dear Editor:

We need to grieve the loss of a market that has had a slow, lingering death. The market as we knew it is gone. Builders, brokers, consumers, vendors and investors would benefit by understanding the grief process and the "Five Stages of Grief":

1. Denial and Isolation.

Are we still in denial? The comparables and appraisals are showing huge differences between 2009 and 2005-07 numbers. At first, we tend to deny the loss has taken place. "This can't be happening" and we withdraw from our usual social contacts.  more...

May

22
2009

Bailouts and a 'gun called greed'

By Inman News, Friday, May 22, 2009.

Re: 'Losing the home-equity gamble' (May 22)

Dear Editor:

I want to thank you for your honesty in this particular article. Too many Americans, bloated on wealth and dissatisfied with being among the world's most comfortable population, have shot themselves in the foot with a gun called greed. Now they want pity, government bailouts, and free-of-charge help to get out of the holes they dug.  more...

Loan mods can stop REO 'hemorrhaging'

By Inman News, Friday, May 22, 2009.

The housing crisis in the San Francisco East Bay Area and in many regions of the country has reached dire proportions, with seemingly no end in sight. But it doesn't have to be this way. There is a five-step solution to fixing the foreclosure crisis caused by poor lending practices of recent years.

The majority of loan defaults associated with residential mortgages can be avoided, but only if the banks holding and servicing the loans are willing to change the way they do business and begin working with their customers.  more...

Mortgage virus hits the rich

By Curbed.com, Friday, May 22, 2009.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The "mortgage virus" has hit more expensive homes in San Francisco and the Bay Area -- around this time last year, there were about 12 months' worth of unsold inventory above $1 million on the market.

Whereas the amount of inventory for cheaper homes has gone down over the past year, it's gone up for those $1 million and above, to almost 19 months' worth now.  more...

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