Daily Archives: March 6, 2013

More companies decide content really is king | Cross River Real Estate

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Companies are increasingly embracing content marketing — the creation and sharing of articles, pictures, video and other publishing content in order to acquire customers — as one of the most effective forms of advertising.

A large share of companies are recalibrating their marketing strategies in 2013 to put greater emphasis on content marketing, a recent survey by content development company CopyPress found.

The percentage of companies that said content would be their primary marketing focus in 2013 nearly doubled from last year’s survey, rising from 18.9 percent to 34.8 percent, CopyPress said. The survey found that about half of marketers decided to change their marketing focus in 2013. 

“The focuses for 2013 are radically different,” CopyPress said in a report detailing the survey’s findings, “2013 State of Content Marketing.” 

The shift in focus appears to be manifesting itself in real estate. Online foreclosure marketplace RealtyTrac recently created a network of brokerages that it says will help it generate market-specific reports that it can pitch to media outlets.

Meanwhile, listing service Trulia just debuted its “Real Estate Lab,” which it said will uncover hard-to-spot trends in the housing market. 

via inman.com

Pay off mortgage with lower-rate HELOC? | South Salem NY Real Estate

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DEAR BENNY: I have about $40,000 left on my 15-year fixed mortgage at 4 percent interest. I owe about $13,000 on a home equity line that is 2.99 percent variable rate. I have a $100,000 equity line open. I have no other debt. I am considering paying off my remaining mortgage with the lower-interest home equity line. Do you think that is a good idea since I am giving up a fixed rate for a variable rate? I would pay both off in about three years. Also, if I close out my mortgage, can I still declare the interest on my taxes from the home equity line? –Wade

DEAR WADE: In general, I am always reluctant to advise readers to switch from a fixed interest rate to a variable one. I am old enough to remember when mortgage interest rates soared to 18 percent.

However, this is a personal decision for everyone, depending on your own financial situation. In Wade’s case, he will be paying off $40,000 at a current low rate, and because he has a home equity loan (called HELOC) of $100,000, if push comes to shove he will still have borrowing capability should he need cash to make the required mortgage payment on the new loan.

Wade, if you have other cash — just in case — then I think it makes sense for you to use your home equity loan to pay off your existing mortgage loan.

via inman.com

Home prices take biggest leap in 7 years | Waccabuc Real Estate

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National home prices in January were up 9.7 percent from a year ago, the biggest annual increase since April 2006, according to data aggregator CoreLogic’s home price index.

The index, which tracks repeat sales of single-family homes, rose 0.7 percent in January from December, marking the 11th consecutive month of month-over-month increases.

“Home prices continued to gather steam across a broad swath of the country in January, continuing the positive trend we saw during most of 2012,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic, in a statement.

“Many states across the western U.S. and along the East Coast saw average price gains of more than 6 percent, which is likely to boost home sale activity into the first half of 2013,” Nallathambi said.

All U.S. states but Delaware (-0.1 percent) and Illinois (-0.4 percent) saw year-over-year increases in January, according to the index.

Arizona (20.1 percent), Nevada (17.4 percent), Idaho (14.9 percent), California (14.1 percent) and Hawaii (14 percent) topped the chart of states with home price increases in January from a year ago.

via inman.com

Inspection advice to avoid buying a money pit | Armonk NY Homes

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DEAR BARRY: We are in escrow to buy a home, and we hired the home inspector who was chosen by our real estate agent. When we asked if we could attend the inspection, our agent said this was not necessary and that most homebuyers don’t. Not knowing any better, we agreed and waited for the inspection report.

Since then, we’ve read articles that say an agent should give buyers a list of home inspectors from which to make their own choice.

Now we want to hire an inspector of our own to do a second inspection, but we don’t want to offend our agent. At the same time, we don’t want to buy a money pit because we didn’t get a good inspection. What do you advise? –Jenn

DEAR JENN: Choosing your inspector, rather than allowing you to choose for yourselves, may or may not have been a bad thing. Some agents choose inspectors who are competent and highly qualified, while others choose inspectors whose work is substandard. Likewise, there are agents who give their clients a list of competent home inspectors, while others provide lists of less qualified inspectors

via inman.com

New Realtor.com branding downplays ties to NAR | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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Realtor.com has rebranded with a new logo, slogan and website design that the listing portal’s operator, Move Inc., hopes will “bring sentiment and warmth to our best-in-class data” and help consumers “connect emotionally” to the site, which has lost ground to competitors Zillow and Trulia.

Move operates Realtor.com under the terms of a 1996 agreement with the National Association of Realtors. The new Realtor.com logo and website design downplay the site’s ties to NAR.

For years, until last year’s relaunch, the Realtor.com logo featured NAR’s “block R” Realtor, and a prominent declaration next to the logo informed users that the listing portal was the “Official Site of the National Association of Realtors.”

The new Realtor.com logo makes no reference to NAR (although the term “Realtor” itself is a NAR trademark), and features a new slogan, “Where home happens.”

Fine print at the bottom of the page — displayed in a light font that blends in with the background — notifies visitors that Realtor.com is “the official site of the National Association of Realtors and is operated by Move Inc.”

Before the relaunch, Realtor.com devoted a significant portion of its home page to a “National Association of Realtors” section that included more than a dozen links taking visitors to several NAR websites, including HouseLogic.com, Realtor.org and Realtoru.com.

via inman.com

Foreclosure Discounts are All Over the Map | North Salem NY Real Estate

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The low prices that make foreclosures attractive to investors also make foreclosures toxic to communities and homeowners. The discount between “normal” priced homes and the prices paid for properties than have been through the foreclosure process can spell the difference between profit and loss to an investor at the same time that they drive real estate values into the ground.

As the Foreclosure Era enters its final years, the differences in foreclosure discounts vary widely across the nation, presenting opportunities to investors and wreaking havoc on homeowners simultaneously. With regional and local conditions playing a greater role than ever in shaping foreclosure supply and demand, the differences between local foreclosure discounts may be increasing to the surprise residents who rely upon reports of “national” average discounts.

FNC, one of the top sources of pricing data used by appraisers, calculated at national average discount of 12.2 percent at the end of 2012 versus 13.4 percent a year earlier. The National Association of Realtors said foreclosures sold for an average discount of 20 percent below market value in January. At the height of the mortgage crisis (2008 and 2009), foreclosed homes were typically sold at 25 percent below their estimated market value, said NAR.

Despite the progress in national average discounts, in a number of markets today foreclosures are worse now than they have ever been. A certain tier of markets, largely in the East and Midwest, are seeing discounts reach levels far below the 12.2 percent cited by FNC or the 20 percent from NAR. In real estate, where there is no national marketplace, the use of national averages sometimes can mask very different local realities.

Several factors, which differ by market, are keeping foreclosure discounts high in some markets. These include large inventories from the continued slow processing of foreclosure due to state laws; higher default and lower rents resulting from unemployment and economic fragility; less than ideal conditions for single family rentals, including low cap rates; overcapacity; and a disproportionate number of unsold damaged foreclosures (See Damaged Foreclosures Beckon Bargain-hunters); and less investor demand compared to the West and Florida, where a culture of small investors has developed and large hedge funds are active.

via realestateeconomywatch.com