Negative equity, lack of consumer confidence, frozen foreclosures and a shaky economy all have received their share of blame for the dearth of sellers and buyers that keeps the housing recovery in low gear and vulnerable.  No factor, however, has been as devastating to the housing economy and as difficult to improve as the inability of buyers, especially credit worthy buyers, to get financing.

In the ten weeks that have passed since Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told bankers May 10 strict lending standards are preventing many creditworthy borrowers, but y some measures, consumers are actually having a more difficult time getting loans today than they were them.

Risk of default is declining as the pool of mortgages written after tighter standards were imposed in 2007 grows. In the past two years, delinquent payments by homeowners have declined markedly.  The latest US Credit Trends report from Equifax shows that that 30-day delinquency rates on first mortgages are down 13.5 percent from a year ago. The May 2012 total of $450 billion in delinquent balances represents a 37 percent decline from the peak of more than $700 billion in January 2010.  Yet mortgage lenders are not responding by making credit more available. Mortgages account for only about 5 percent of the 30 percent improvement in overall credit.

Even though mortgage rates are again at record lows and home prices are bottoming in markets across the nation, only 46 percent of consumers applying for a mortgage to buy a home are successful, according to Ellie Mae, whose mortgage management software handles approximately two million loan applications, or 20 percent of all U.S. mortgages.  But that’s an improvement over 39 percent in March.  Median FICO scores for approved conventional purchase loans are virtually unchanged over the past year, at 762-764.  Mortgages to purchase homes are actually taking three days longer, 46 days, to approve than they were a year ago.

Today’s tighter standards are making it tough on move up buyers, who are also sellers, who get behind on their mortgages as well as first-time buyers.  Currently, some 3.6 million homeowners today are 30 days or more delinquent on their loans.  At the end of 2011, about 6.8 million homeownes were delinquent, according to LPS.  As noted, delinquency rates are falling and a sizeable percentage of those who became delinquent will resume timely monthly payments rather than end up losing their homes, However the ten to twenty million homeowners who have allowed themselves to become delinquent may find it impossible to qualify for a mortgage should they choose to take advantage of today’s affordable prices and rates.

Add the 10 million plus homeowners who have been recently delinquent to the number of homeowners who have fallen underwater on their mortgages — owing more than their homes are worth – now at 11.1 million.  Large numbers of these 21 or more million homeowners are potential sellers who could ease the demand for middle and lower tier inventory and could increase demand for move up homes.  Together these two groups account for 40 percent of the nation’s 53 million homeowners with a mortgage and 27 percent of all homes.

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WordPress Permalinks

While many SEO experts put a lot of emphasis on keyword-rich URLs, they don’t seem to matter so much recently. Moreover, with the latest Google Penguin update you can pull an over-optimization trigger quite easily. So instead of fine-tuning every post URL and stuffing keywords in it, just make sure your URLs are text-based and not post-ID based (like www.yourblog.com/?p=123).

This means to go to the Settings/Permalink Settings page in your WordPress admin and make sure the “Post name” option is selected. This is also the best way to make sure your link makes sense by itself. And when someone links to your post by using the URL as an anchor (which many bloggers do), you’ll still have a link with some keywords in it.

Another thing, even if you make this permalink change in the settings, WordPress always makes post-ID based URLs work. This may sometimes lead to duplicate-content issues if someone (or you by accident) link to a post using the UD. The plugins that I talk about in the next section will help you to solve this issue.

Using SEO Plugins

There are plenty of SEO plugins but these are the two I like most: All in One SEO Pack and WordPress SEO By Yoast. Both are very useful but I recommend you to use only one of them at a time. Using them together may lead to conflict.

Using All In One SEO Pack

In All in One SEO Pack, load its main page in Settings and make sure the plugin status is enabled.

Then:

1. Make sure Canonical URLs are checked

This will take care of the permalink issue that we discussed above and most other similar issues with duplicate content.

2. Check Rewrite Titles check box

In my opinion, the default WordPress titles are ugly, long and not search-engine friendly enough. You can fine-tune your titles in the boxes below the check box. Usually the default templates that the plugin offers are good but I’d like to debate the need of “| %blog_title%” part in them.

While it helps the readers to remember your blog name, this can also make your titles long or keyword stuffed. And overusing keywords is another red flag especially with Google Penguin. So either keep only the page/post title there in the boxes or make sure your blog name is good. Good means short, original, memorable, and not keywords stuffed. Another option is to simply hard-code your domain name instead of using “| %blog_title%“, so the templates will look something like “%post_title% | www.bluewidgets.com“.

3. Do not use any META keyword tags

And deselect META keyword-related settings in the plugin. META keywords have been useless for ages, and now they may even be a sign of over optimization.

4. Use “noindex” for archives and tag archives.

“Noindex” for categories is questionable. Sure, you want to avoid duplicate content but you also want your category pages to rank in search engines. Ideally they present content focused around a given topic. So the best way to handle this is to edit your WordPress theme so category pages show excerpts only and not the full post content. You can also just use a theme which already does this.

The other options in the plugin can stay unchecked. I am especially against using “Autogenerate descriptions”. If you don’t want to write META description for each post, search engines will figure out better ones than the plugin can.

The plugin also adds a box under each post/page that lets you add a title and META description there. Feel free to use it. Do not add keywords.

Using SEO For WordPress by Yoast

This is the better plugin, with more features. I prefer to use it over All in One SEO Pack. It has multiple pages with settings.

So once installed, here is what I like to do:

1. On the dashboard page, disable “date in snippets for posts”. Generally I like to disable most date-related info from my WordPress sites to avoid dissatisfied users and search engines when they land on a too-old post. Blogs with time-sensitive publications may want to keep the snippets.

2. Title settings can be similar to the ones in All in One SEO Pack. Leave only “%%title%%” unless you have short, memorable and brand-able blog titles. You can hard-code your domain name as well but do not stuff keywords.

3. The Indexation page is really powerful. In most cases it’s best to deindex author archives and date-based archives. Keep the category and/or tag archives indexed (see the explanation about the categories above). I’d disable all the archives from indexing too.

4. XML sitemaps better be enabled. I check the “ping” checkboxes too although this won’t do wonders for your rankings. One thing that this plugin misses is the canonical URL setting that is in the SEO Pack. The Permalinks section have some useful features however. Enforcing the trailing slash prevents yet another duplicate content issue, and stripping the category base makes your URLs prettier. Better not do the latter if your blog is already indexed though.

5. Breadcrumbs is useful for both readers and search engines. It doesn’t work on all themes however. On one of my blogs, it was showing just below the homepage which is not useful and only adds clutter. So better check how it works for you and disable the feature if it doesn’t generate useful breadcrumbs.

6. In the RSS section you may add some social network links or a subscribe reminder under each post. Search engines won’t care about this but users will. The plugin authors suggest to include a link to your site also because many low-quality sites scrap content from RSS. However instead of placing a generic link to your homepage (especially a keyword stuffed one) I prefer to link contextually from each post/page to another relevant post/page on my site. This is a good practice even for non-WordPress-based sites.

That’s basically what you can get from these two plugins.

Cache your blog

Caching is one of these little things that combined with the other optimizations can help you climb a few positions up search engines. They don’t make wonders alone. However a site that works fast will get lower bounce rates, more likes, and more links. So it’s important to make sure your WordPress-powered site is fast. WordPress by default runs a bit too many slow database queries for something that serves mostly static content.

The most popular plugin for caching your blog is WP Super Cache. I like WP Green Cache too. Just use one plugin, activate it and make sure your site is cached. There is no need to spend days on this.

Site-wide Links, Blogrolls, Footer Links

Placing various site-wide links and footer links is common practice not just for WordPress powered sites although WordPress users are more exposed to it. Many free themes include footer links to sites which are often totally irrelevant to yours. Some plugins also include links even without letting you know. Be wary of this. If possible, have a designer (or yourself) create a custom theme for you. When activating less known plugins, check your site if they have added any unwanted links.

Bad outbound links can really hurt your rankings especially after the Penguin update. Be generous with linking but link to quality and relevant content. Think about your blogroll. I would probably remove the blogroll because it’s a bunch of site-wide links. A resources or “recommended reading” page linking to good relevant blogs may work better.

Summary

To summarize, the main things to do are: watch your permalinks and make sure they are well-structured; use some of the best SEO plugins to fix your titles, meta descriptions and duplicate-content issues; cache your blog so it runs faster. Watch out who you link to. And of course don’t forget that content is what wins in the long term.

After a year of supporting both the old and new versions of Analytics, we are now fully transitioning and leaving the old version behind. This means that as of tomorrow we’ll be removing the link to the previous version which sits at the bottom of Google Analytics pages and all your analysis will take place in the new version.

It’s been a long journey to this point, and we hope you’ll find value in all of the features that the new version of Google Analytics offers. And our help center is a great resource to be sure you’re getting the most out of these new features and reports. The new version has been completely rebuilt on a more powerful platform that lets us move faster and develop more amazing features including these recent launches:

• Real-Time shows you what’s happening on your site as it happens. Immediately see the impact that online campaigns, TV ads, or mentions at a live event can have on engagement with your website.

• Multi-Channel Funnels provides insight on the full path to conversion over a 30 day period. The variety of marketing channels used to find your website, and not simply the last click, so you can make better decisions on your marketing investments.

• Social Reports help you measure the impact of your social marketing initiatives and evaluate the effect social media has on the metrics which matter to your business.

• Mobile Reports show how visitors from mobile devices and AdWords mobile campaigns engage with your website. See how many pages they visit, how much time they spend, as well as conversion and ecommerce insights to help you optimize your mobile strategies.

• Content Experiments enables you to show different versions of a page to different visitors, then using a new advanced statistical engine measures the results of each to determine which is the most effective version.

We have received some really great feedback over the last year on what’s working and what’s not; we’ve been listening very closely and doing our best to incorporate the feedback and ideas.  We are continually working to improve upon Google Analytics and help provide you with tools to make better decisions for your website and marketing programs, so please keep providing the feedback.  You are our most important source of ideas for innovation!

Posted by Paul Muret, Director of Engineering, Google Analytics

Just when you thought that images didn’t have their place in social media and networking (I jest!), Foursquare has taken its somewhat bland look and introduced a more image-based feed, giving your snapshots center stage … much like that of Path and Instagram. But that’s just the tip of the facelift …

Before I get into the cool changes of Foursquare, let me explain quickly what Foursquare is for those of you who have been out of the loop for the past few years, and living on Planet Z.

Foursquare is a free app that allows you to share and save what you are doing, and where you are doing it, along with everyone else at any given time.

Why is this kind of sharing beneficial?

A)  It’s age-old word of mouth marketing at it’s finest.

B)  It’s a great way for you (a Realtor) to get to know your friends (and sphere) on a more intimate level – it is much less congested than Facebook tends to be.

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So, back to the updates.

Foursquare upped the ante to a whole new level on how it delivers our information to others.  The desktop version is much more robust, yet clean in it’s format. Many options are available to you without being overwhelming (a hard niche to come by).

Two of the updates that I found to be most useful and noteworthy are the Personalized Recommendations and the Like (or Heart) button being added to third-party apps.

Personalized Recommendations

One of these options is the Personalized Recommendations that Foursquare now provides you with upon logging into your account.

As you can see from the image above, Foursquare starts you off with some recommendations based on your current location, with the option of then digging deeper to narrow down your current cravings.

By clicking on the “Explore: Get Personalized Recommendations” link on the top right of the page, you are then taken to a place many would consider an answer to prayers:  Gone is the tedious need to scroll through reams of where others have visited lately; now you can choose your category of interest (such as food, coffee, nightlife or shopping) along with whether or not you or your friends have or have not already been there.  And for those of you always looking out for a deal, like me, you can also sort by those that currently have Foursquare specials.  Cool!

Note:  The “Explore” link in the menu bar also takes you to the same recommendations page.

I Heart Foursquare (aka the Like button)

Foursquare took its quasi-Facebook “Like” capability (where you can click on the little heart icon to like friends’ recent venue visits, tips, lists and check-ins) and integrated it over to the mobile side (including the good ol’ Blackberry).

In addition, the ability to comment is still there, so liking and commenting can be done in one fell swoop, allowing for some great personal interaction with those you may be many miles away from, no matter where you are.

So, there you have it.  Foursquare seems to really have made some great strides in making its interface much more user-frie

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 retail sales and GDP growth.

• U.S. economic growth looks to be tepid heading into the November election.  Today’s data on retail sales is implying a very slow GDP growth rate in the second quarter, probably between 1 to 1.5 percent.  Moreover, a slightly higher level of business inventory implies less robust production activity and continuing slow GDP growth in the third quarter to the tune of 2 percent.  Such growth rates will not meaningfully lower the unemployment rate.  The economy after a recession needs to move at 4 percent or better on a consistent basis.
• Overall retail sales fell in June by 0.5 percent, though sales are higher by 3.8 percent from one year ago.  Spending at furniture and home furnishing stores is holding on better than other sectors, with sales up 7.8 percent from one year ago, no doubt due to increases in home sales.
• The concern going forward is that inventories at retail shops have been rising.  That likely means there will be fewer orders to restock in the upcoming months, which will slow production activity and job creation in the third quarter.
• In other economic data, the banking sector continues to rake in good profits, as evidenced by quarterly earnings reported by Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase so far.  Citi, meanwhile, reported a $3 billion profit during the latest quarter, a good bottom line though down from one year ago The Fed’s low interest rate policy is greatly helping the banks’ bottom line.  Banks have plenty of cash reserves to increase lending, but unfortunately they remain excessively stringent.  The uncertainty related to the new Dodd-Frank financial regulation and various lawsuits thrown at the sector is one of the reasons why banks are holding on to excess cash and why stock prices have not zoomed up very high in proportion to profit growth.
• Let’s hope that banks recognize exceptional loan performance and profit opportunities in recently originated mortgages and begin to expand lending to more homebuyers.  Not back to the lax bubble year standards, but just back to normal like the conditions in the 1990s.  A beginning of a home price recovery should also be another motivator for banks to be less stringent.  For real estate practitioners, if we get back to normal underwriting standards then home sales would rise by an additional 15 to 20 percent, on top of recent gains already observed.