Daily Archives: July 2, 2012

Incline Village real estate: Buyer activity heating up | Pound Ridge Realtor

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — It’s not just the ambient air temperature that is feeling a lot warmer these days — activity among Incline Village real estate buyers is the strongest we have seen during the past five years. Just last week, seven properties went into escrow and 14 properties closed escrow. When you take a close look at the Incline Village MLS and see 74 properties with accepted offers, it’s a solid indicator that our local market is performing better than at any time since 2007.

So just how strong is the sales activity In Incline Village and Crystal Bay when compared with the last few years? I have been keeping track of these statistics on my website and the numbers are very revealing. The inventory of houses, freestanding condos and condos for sale at the beginning of July 2012 is 368 units compared with 501 properties for sale at the same time in 2008. Instead of between 20 and 30 new listings each week during the peak selling season we are seeing between 12 and 18 new listings.

And the number of properties going into escrow and closing escrow on a regular basis is up dramatically. We’ve already seen 122 properties change hands to new owners in 2012 as compared to only 89 during the first six months of 2008. That is around a 40 percent increase in sales compared to when the real estate market was having earthquakes during the first stages of the market slump. We had 104 properties close escrow through the end of June last year, but only about half as many properties in escrow at the same time then as we do today. The trendline is clear; Incline Village and Crystal Bay real estate sales are moving back in the direction of a normal market which is approximately 275 to 325 sales per year.

The combination of value priced properties, a good variety of inventory and historically low interest rates is causing large numbers of buyers to search for and purchase vacation homes on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe. The normal factors that drive the Incline Village and Crystal Bay real estate market which include a healthy economy in the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley along with rising real estate prices in those markets have helped to fuel sales activity up here.

But there are two other significant issues that that are coming more into play as we get deeper into 2012. There have been a number of initial public stock offerings for companies based in Northern California and the lockup periods have either started to expire or will in the near future. Some of the people holding stock options will purchase vacation homes purely for enjoyment. But the other part of the equation is the ever-changing income tax situation in California.

California personal income taxes are punitive when compared to the lack of a state income tax in Nevada especially for anyone earning over $200,000 per year. With marginal tax rates for the highest earners in double digits for California residents, there is a great incentive to take your stock option money and establish your primary residence in Nevada. Since many people in the high tech world can work anywhere they have a high-speed Internet connection, overnight delivery service and access to an airport, the Nevada side of North Lake Tahoe suddenly becomes very tantalizing.

Anecdotal evidence based on my discussions with other agents and brokers during the past few weeks indicates that sales activity is stronger than at any time since 2007. Agents in general are showing properties in all price ranges on a much more regular basis and writing more offers. The properties currently in escrow range from $85,000 all the way up to $9.5 million and the condo market is showing particular strength with 34 properties under contract. It appears we have worked our way through the oversupply of inventory that existed from 2008 through early 2011. The result of the market shakeout the past 4 years is that buyers in greater numbers are able to find affordable properties and this increase in demand is the precursor to the next leg up for Incline Village and Crystal Bay real estate prices in the coming years.

Points to consider when buying a foreclosed home | Chappaqua Realtor

Rarely have foreclosed homes impacted the real estate market as they do currently. Unless you’ve been on another planet over the past decade, the real estate market hit an astoundingly high-ceiling ‘market value’ in the mid-2000’s. This remarkable condition, where buyers could get mortgages without having to provide sufficient documentation that they could actually afford the home, contributed to the onslaught of foreclosures and short sales we have today.

Without entering a discussion as to how this could happen, people in the market for a home today have a great opportunity because of the abundance of foreclosures and reduced prices. But before embarking on the path to purchase a foreclosed home, consider the following:

  1. Do your homework. Real estate websites often list foreclosed homes for sale. Trulia and Zillow are two familiar ones, but there are others. While areas like Sacramento, CA, Las Vegas, NV, Miami, and Atlanta are often cited as being hit the hardest with foreclosures, other areas have been affected as well. If your plans don’t include moving to one of these regions where foreclosures are plentiful, search for foreclosures in places you plan to live. There are some in many neighborhoods in most every state.
  2. Buyer beware. If you decide to pursue a foreclosure through an auction company, make certain you get a home inspection before submitting a bid. Most sales are final, and it’s too late to discover the plumbing needs an overhaul, or the septic system is not working, after the fact. Even if you don’t go the auction route, a home inspection is highly recommended.
  3. Get an appraisal. Most home buyers need some kind of financing help, unless they are fortunate enough to have cash. Lenders require an appraisal on a home they expect to finance. Cash buyers are not hampered by such a requirement. Sometimes auction companies have had an appraisal done before the auction, so be sure to ask. They don’t have to tell you what it is, but ask anyway. Having an appraisal is worth the few hundred dollars if you want validation as to what the home’s value is. You can also check the tax record to see its assessed value, although these values are for tax purposes and have been at odds with current market conditions.
  4. Consult a real estate agent. While websites may feature foreclosed homes for sale, real estate agents pay a fee to subscribe to a multiple listing service, providing a more comprehensive view of the market. They can quickly identify foreclosed homes in your areas of interest and help you with your research. If you find a property you would like to pursue, they can do a comparison of similar properties (CMA) to show you what properties have recently sold for. This provides an overview of what a ‘reasonable’ offer price might be. And the service is free, since agents are paid a commission by the seller, not the buyer in most cases.
  5. Bottom line. Lenders are in the business of making money, or at least losing the least amount of investment as possible. As a result, lenders have already ‘done the math’ as to the price they want as their ‘bottom line.’ While that doesn’t mean you should offer the ‘list price,’ it may give you some idea as to the price the lender is willing to consider. Again, a real estate agent is a valuable resource for helping you determine a ‘reasonable’ offer. Lenders rarely want to enter into ‘negotiating’ a price, which is often expected as part of the home buying process between buyers and sellers.

Navigate the real estate market with these 6 lingo tips | Armonk Realtor

If you are a first-time home buyer, it may seem like your real estate agent is speaking a foreign language. Before you get too deep in the process, familiarize yourself with some of the lingo. Here are six words to know:

Appraisal: The determination of the worth of something by a professional, in this case the market value of a property. An appraiser uses an analysis of local market data along with the characteristics of the property. Your bank or other lender may refuse to loan you money if the appraisal price is subpar compared to the loan request. A home inspection is not the same as an appraisal.

Closing: The last stage in the transfer of property. The buyer, seller, their attorneys and the settlement agent will meet, usually in a formal setting, to sign some papers and seal the deal. According to the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (NAEBA), this is when the buyer and/or seller will pay the closing costs, which include charges for obtaining the mortgage loan, prepayment of taxes and insurance, and other fees.

Contingency: Conditions that have been built in to a real estate purchase or sale agreement that must be met before the sale can be completed and legally binding. For example, an appraisal contingency would allow the buyer to back out of a contract without penalty if the appraisal price is not enough to secure a mortgage.

“This is by far the most important term or phrase to understand,” says Zachary Schorr, the lead real estate attorney at Los Angeles-based Schorr Law.

Disclosures: The seller is required to provide the buyer with certain information (disclosures). The number and types of disclosures vary by region, but they may include information about conditions affecting the value or enjoyment of the property. The seller may know of an earth-shaking construction project that is about the start around the corner, which would impact the enjoyment of the property.

“While the term ‘disclosure’ is fairly common, the legal effect of these disclosures is important,” Schorr says. “Buyers must read the disclosure statements in great detail.”

A buyer will have a hard time bringing about legal action over a leaky roof if the seller told them about the roof situation in the disclosure statement, Schorr says.

Escrow: Funds, securities or other assets held by a neutral third party (an escrow company or agent) on behalf of the other two parties (in this case the buyer and the seller). The buyer will deposit the payment in an escrow account, proving to the seller that he or she will be able to uphold the other end of the deal. The escrow service will pay the funds to the seller once certain conditions pertaining to the sale have been met.

Mortgage: A loan that helps you purchase your house. You sign a contract promising to pay back the loan with interest over a certain number of years. A mortgage is likely the largest debt you will ever take on, and if you don’t repay it, the lender can take back your property and sell it. The components of your monthly mortgage payments may be referred to as PITI:  principal (the money that goes into paying down the loan), interest (which is paid to the lender for letting you borrow the money), (property) taxes and  (homeowner’s) insurance.

Buying a house and looking for a word that isn’t here? Check out the Federal Trade Commission’s comprehensive glossary of real estate lingo

Agent Profile: Interview with Gary Gold | Cross River Real Estate

Gain a new technological skill everyday – or become obsolete.

Knowing your market makes all the difference. Gary Gold, EVP of Hilton & Hyland and star on HGTV’s hit show, “Selling L.A.” is poised to complete 42 transactions this year and he does this with a small team. How? Maintaining a great website, vetting leads and going to where the buyers are.

In this intimate video with one of the nation’s most visible Realtors find out about asking the right questions, auditing your property’s online presence and what it takes to succeed into today’s market.

How to Make Your Facebook Ads More Effective | South Salem NY Real Estate

Facebook ads provide an unprecedented level of targeting which is unmatched by any other medium. Facebook ads typically target customers that are higher up in the sales funnel. Marketers often place customers in a sales funnel to better understand the likelihood that a customer is going to purchase a product or service today. People on Facebook are socializing, not looking for products and thus less likely to buy now (higher up in the sales funnel) versus a customer in Google, for example, that has typed in a specific query for a product or service (lower in the sales funnel). That doesn’t mean that Facebook customers aren’t going to buy; on the contrary, they just may need more time.  Regardless, you can greatly improve your ad spend. There’s a business adage that says, what gets measure gets managed. So how can you measure your Facebook ads to improve results and increase your return on marketing spend?

Utilize Google URL builder

This pertains to ads you create in Facebook that are driving people to an external URL like your website, not ads that drive traffic to your Facebook page. Google URL builder allows you to clearly distinguish each ad by adding variables for the Source, Medium, Term, Content, and Name. By generating a unique URL for each ad you can dig through your Google Analytics and clearly see what ads are performing better than the others. What ads have the highest engagement? Without Google URL Builder you will see Facebook as a Source in Analytics but you won’t be able to distinguish which ads are the most successful. You can find the Google URL Builder here.

Remarketing

Google Remarketing How to Make Your Facebook Ads More EffectiveOne of the best tools available in the marketers tool chest. You can significantly increase the mileage from your Facebook ads by utilizing Google’s remarketing to serve ads to Facebook visitors after they leave your site. By adding a small amount of code to your Facebook landing page, which you get from Google, you can follow your Facebook ad visitors for up to a year and keep the sales channel open! How great is that? If you have a long sales cycle you will greatly increase the likelihood of closing a sale by employing remarketing.

For example, imagine targeting women that are pregnant with a relaxing prenatal massage. Maybe women early on in their pregnancy may not be interested, but once the 2nd or 3rd trimester hits and they are experiencing all sorts of body pain you can be pretty confident that a prenatal massage would be a welcome relief.

Because Facebook customers are higher up in the sales funnel being able to serve them ads through the Google Display Network long after they have clicked on your ad and reminding them of your brand is incredibly powerful and greatly increases your chances of bringing the customer back to eventually purchase from you.

Call tracking

I am a big advocate of closing the marketing loop and for those websites that are not ecommerce, call tracking helps you understand what you’re paying for leads and your cost per call. There are a number of call tracking companies that provide a range of services which you can find online; however, some of the most effective strategies involve swapping your original phone number with a call tracking number once the visitor lands on your website. All those Facebook visitors will now see a unique phone number that only they will use. It’s a fairly simple process to set this up and your call tracking provider should be able to help you.

The bottom line is that there are many variables that determine which ads will be successful, but using the above three tactics to measure your ad’s success will help you reduce waste, improve your ad spend with Facebook, and increase your ROI.

New Home Sales | Katonah NY Homes

In each Economic Update, the Research staff analyzes recently released economic indicators and addresses what these indicators mean for REALTORS® and their clients. Today’s update discusses new home sales.

  • New single-family home sales perked up in May, rising eight percent in a month, and are 20 percent higher now than a year ago.  This data comes from Census/HUD and it measures contract signings, not closings.  There is no data on actual closings for newly constructed homes, but one can assume that all of the housing starts eventually get sold at some point.
  • The rise in new home sales was due to homebuilders being able to build more homes in 2012.  Single-family housing starts have been running about 20 percent higher this year versus last.
  • A typical new home sold for $$234,500 in May, which is up by 6 percent from one year before.  As with many other home price measurements (such as Case-Shiller, government’s FHFA, CoreLogic, LPS, and NAR), the bottom clearly appears to be passed on a national basis.  Some local markets undoubtedly are still experiencing price declines.  But based on the latest 4.7 months supply of inventory on newly constructed homes, marking the lowest point since 2005, the home price increase could actually accelerate higher if inventory continues to shrink.
  • Mortgages are much more important in completing a new home sale.  Only 5 percent of newly built homes were bought with cash.  All-cash deals on existing homes (primarily on deeply-discounted distressed properties) have been about one-third of all transactions in the past 3 years.
  • The new homes market comprises only about 7 percent of all home sales, with existing homes making up the large remainder.  When inventory was elevated several years ago homebuilders desperately sought out REALTOR® help in bringing buyers.  Now with inventory thinning, let’s hope homebuilders do not repeat the same mistake they did during the bubble years when they sought to sell homes without a REALTOR®.

Asia’s Home Prices Rebound as Low Interest Rates Boost Sales | Bedford Hills NY Real Estate

Home prices in China, Singapore and Australia rebounded as demand for property assets rose, boosted by low interest rates as investors sought real estate investments in the Asia-Pacific region.

China’s new home prices in June increased for the first time in 10 months, while those in Australia’s eight major cities recorded their largest monthly increase in more than two years as lower mortgage rates encouraged buyers. Singapore prices rebounded to a record in the second quarter.

Enlarge image Asia’s Home Prices Rebound as Low Interest Rates Boost Sales

Asia’s Home Prices Rebound as Low Interest Rates Boost Sales

Asia’s Home Prices Rebound as Low Interest Rates Boost Sales

Munshi Ahmed/Bloomberg

A model of The Interlace, a residential property developed by CapitaLand Ltd., is displayed at the company’s office in Singapore.

A model of The Interlace, a residential property developed by CapitaLand Ltd., is displayed at the company’s office in Singapore. Photographer: Munshi Ahmed/Bloomberg

June 18 (Bloomberg) — Peter Churchouse, chairman of Hong Kong-based property investment firm Portwood Capital, talks about real estate markets in China, Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong. China’s home prices fell in a record 54 of 70 cities tracked by the government in May as developers cut prices to boost sales amid housing curbs. Churchouse speaks with Rishaad Salamat on Bloomberg Television’s “On the Move Asia.” (Source: Bloomberg)

May 29 (Bloomberg) — Justin Brown, chairman of residential projects at CBRE Australia, talks about the outlook for the Australian property market and new-home sales. Brown speaks with Rishaad Salamat on Bloomberg Television’s “On the Move Asia.” (Source: Bloomberg)

The Federal Open Market Committee said on June 20 it will expand the Operation Twist program to extend the maturities of assets on its balance sheet and stands ready to take further action as needed. Central banks in China and Australia cut interest rates last month, while Singapore’s mortgage rates are at a record low.

“The quantitative easing in the West is finding its way to Asia, which is perceived to be an engine of growth,” said Alan Cheong, a director at Savills Plc in Singapore. “If interest rates stay low for a prolonged period of time, inflation is always a certainty.”

The Fed pushed down its target interest rate close to zero in December 2008 and has engaged in two rounds of asset purchases totaling $2.3 trillion in a bid to lower long-term borrowing costs and boost the economy. The Bank of England will probably expand its so-called quantitative easing program this week as the debt crisis in Europe impedes the U.K.’s return to growth. according to a Bloomberg news survey.

Shares Rise

The housing data pushed property stocks higher. The Bloomberg Asia Pacific Real Estate Index (BPRREAL) climbed 0.5 percent to a two-month high. The gauge tracking property stocks on the Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) rose the most in more than week, while Singapore’s real estate index increased to the highest since April 20.

China’s home prices increased 0.1 percent from May to 8,688 yuan ($1,369) per square meter (10.76 square feet), SouFun said in an e-mailed statement today, based on its survey of 100 cities. Beijing led gains among the nation’s 10 biggest cities, climbing 2.3 percent from May, followed by the southern business hub of Shenzhen, which added 0.8 percent. Prices climbed as the central bank cut lending rates for the first time since 2008.

“The rate cut played a big role changing the sentiment on the market,” said Jeffrey Gao, a Shanghai-based property analyst for Macquarie Capital Securities. “The government hasn’t changed the overall direction of the property policy, but it probably will be less stringent on the easing in smaller cities.”

Australia’s Prices

In Australia, the median price of dwellings in capital cities was A$460,000 ($471,000) last month, compared with A$465,000 a year earlier and 3.2 percent lower than the record of A$475,000 set in December 2010, according to data from RP Data and Rismark International.

Reserve Bank of Australia reduced the overnight cash rate target by 75 basis points in May and June, and banks have passed on about 58 basis points of reductions in their standard variable mortgage rates in the past two months, said Annette Beacher, head of Asia-Pacific research at TD Securities Inc.

In Singapore’s private residential property price index rose 0.4 percent to a record 206.8 points in the three months ended June 30 from the previous quarter, according to preliminary estimates released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority today.

Home Affordability

Housing sales on the island climbed even as the government introduced more measures to cool the property market. Home affordability in Singapore has risen to the highest in a decade because of historically low interest rates and flexible payment options available to buyers, according to Jefferies Group Inc.

Average mortgage rates are about 70 basis points above the Singapore Interbank Offered Rate, or Sibor, according to Maybank Kim Eng Holdings Ltd. The three-month Sibor is at an all-time low at just under 0.4 percent, compared with a peak 3.56 percent in 2006, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. That makes Singapore’s mortgage rates the lowest in Asia, according to Credit Suisse Group AG.

“The low interest rate environment and investors looking for investment opportunities to hedge against inflation is resulting in higher prices,” said Nicholas Mak, executive director at SLP International Property Consultants, a real estate consulting company.