Daily Archives: May 8, 2013

The 10 Commandments of Twitter- Jeff Bullas | North Salem Realtor

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When I stumbled upon Twitter 54 months ago I was bemused, flummoxed and even curious. What is this social network that keeps me to 140 characters, sounds like a bird and seemed…well…. pointless?10 Commandments of Twitter

I tweeted here and there and collected 31 followers in 90 days of meandering. Even followed people with large Twitter tribes on topics as diverse as food, photography and politics. Malcolm Turnbull, the local senator must have thought I was a Twitter groupie.

Luckily he didn’t report me for stalking.

My progress on Twitter was slow, confused but persistent. Despite this I continued to tweet, retweet and play. My curiosity was undiminished.

Obsession on Twitter is not unknown. Some people such as Jennifer Aniston’s boyfriend at the time tweeted so much that she decided that he loved Twitter more than her.

She moved onto boyfriend number twenty seven.

Twitter is more powerful than you think

Twitter’s sometimes chaotic nature does make management of the torrent of tweets seem like herding cats. It is essential that you plug your Twitter account into a management tools such as Hootsuite and Tweetdeck. This will help you manage your stream with lists of people and hashtags that categorise on topics.

The real power of Twitter is that you can build a follower base that allows you to share a focused stream of content that adds value to your followers daily lives.

There are no fancy Facebook “Edgerank” algorithms to throttle your tweets and choke your content distribution.

Its pure and wild. I like that.

So what are some fundamental principles that you should embrace if you want Twitter to work for you?

The 10 Commandments of Twitter

Here are 10 commandments that may guide you to the Twitter promised land of a large and loyal following.  That engages with you and shares your content with speed and velocity.

Thou shalt

Moses used this term so I thought that I couldn’t go wrong if I borrowed the term “Thou shalt”

1. Write a meaningful “bio” description

If you are using Twitter for purely personal reasons then go crazy and knock yourself out with a crazy and cute bio. If you are serious then make sure that when they read it they know in a heartbeat what you are about.

2. Have a link

I don’t know how many times I have looked for a link to take a deeper dive into a Tweeter to see what they do and where they have come from but get stymied. If you don’t have a blog then take them to your Linked account or Facebook page.

Let them discover the real you. The bio is just the start

3. Be focused

Build a tribe of Twitter followers who are passionate and interested in your topic of interest. That can be done with tools such as Tweepi or Twellow.

4. Automate where appropriate

This may seem evil to some but as you grow your follower base things like following back become time consuming and unmanageable. Automate the boring tasks such as content distribution and follow back but not the conversation and engagement
Read more at http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/05/08/the-10-commandments-of-twitter/#rCCZyAZAUwH7oUCG.99

Loan officers, banks tighten FICO standards | Mt Kisco NY Real Estate

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Obtaining a mortgage with a FICO score in the 620 range is more difficult in today’s lending environment, the Federal Reserve concluded in its April survey of loan officers and bank lenders.

The Federal Reserve polled a little under 100 banks and found 32 of respondents are less likely to approve a borrower with a FICO score of 620 and a down payment of 10%.

Even with a higher 20% down payment, 18 banks remained skeptical about originating a mortgage.

However, when a FICO score reaches 680, banks differ on the outcome. With a 10% down payment, 16 banks remain less likely to approve the borrower, but another 8 banks said they’re now more likely to bite with this FICO-LTV combination in effect.

If you throw in a 20% down payment and a 680 FICO, only 8 banks said they’re less likely to approve the borrower, while 16 are now more likely.

Meanwhile, the subprime market is still around, but lenders tend to avoid it with tighter FICO requirements and more regulations stifling interest.

Ten banks said demand for subprime mortgages remains the same, while another two banks claim consumer activity in the space has grown somewhat stronger in the past three months.

Despite the slim change in the subprime market, 59 of the surveyed banks still avoid subprime lending.

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/news

KB Home CEO: We’re in the right markets | Cross River Real Estate

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KB Home’s chief executive officer sees a housing recovery taking hold in certain markets and feels well-positioned to capture some of the business.

“Across this country, we’re in the right markets,” said Jeff Mezger, president and CEO of KB Home ($32.67 0%) at the builder’s 2013 analyst conference.

Mezger addressed the crowd Tuesday, speaking to the recent growth and success of the homebuilder over the past year. Between investments, revenue generation and cost reduction, the average sales price for the company increase 24% year-over-year in the first quarter.

On top of that, 60% of deliveries were to first-time buyers, noted Mezger, who adds that today’s first-time homebuyers are bringing in more income and buying homes in better communities.

We have focused on both the long term and the short term, said Mezger, who adds the company’s stock over the last four months has been the top performer.

“We’re in the right markets today; it’s the right time,” added Mezger. “We like where we’re at.” Currently, the company is working in some of the strongest markets in the country: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Metro D.C., Nevada, New Mexico North Carolina and Texas.

According to Mezger, 49% of KB Home’s ($24.67 0%) revenue in 2012 came from California; in the first quarter that increased to 51%. Texas is the biggest market by unit sales for the homebuilder.

Mezger noted that the builder likes its footprint and has no immediate plans to expand. “We will at some point, but it’s not necessary today,” he said.

How to score seller clients when inventory is low | Waccabuc NY Real Estate

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Loads of agents know firsthand that an uptick in buyer activity and some loosening of lending purse-strings can result in a particular flavor of supply-demand imbalance we call “a seller’s market.”  A recent Truliastudy proved this market season is just that: 75% of surveyed consumers said it’s better to buy a home now than a year from now.

But the same study revealed that there’s also pressure from the other end of the market – only one in three consumers said it would be better to sell now than a year from now. These patient would-be sellers have pushed inventory to a 12-year low.

Trulia ($34.34 0%) provides a number of ways that agents can grow their seller clients while so many are wanting to hold out another year.

http://www.housingwire.com/fastnews

Zillow survey: 5% home value growth expected in 2013 | South Salem NY Real Estate

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With more than 100 forecasters predicting Zillow’s Home Value Index could end the year up an average of 5.4% from last year, fears of a market bubble resurfaced.

According to the latest Zillow ($62.94 0%) Home Price Expectations Survey, the median U.S. home value is expected to rise to $165,280, on average by the end of 2013.

At the end of 2012, the U.S. Zillow Home Value Index stood at $156,800.

In the latest survey, conducted in late February, respondents reported they expected average home value growth of just 4.6% in 2013. In 2014, respondents predicted average home value appreciation of 4.4%, up from prior expectations of 4.2%.

While panelists were more skeptical on near-term value appreciation this year and into 2014, their expectations for nationwide home value growth in 2015, 2016 and 2017 were slightly more pessimistic than in prior surveys.

Panelists said on average they expect annual home value growth between 3.5% and 3.7% from 2015 through 2017. This is a modest drop from previously expressed expectations in the 3.6% to 3.8% range.

Cumulatively, respondents anticipate home values to rise 22.3% through 2017, on average.

“The panel’s expectations of near-term home value appreciation remaining above historic norms are consistent with a market struggling to satisfy strong demand from buyers attracted by rock-bottom interest rates and improving economic conditions,” said Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries.

Humphries added, “But looking further out, that appreciation will have to moderate as interest rates rise, or else homes that seem affordable today – despite rapidly rising values – are going to look very expensive relative to people’s incomes as it gets more costly to finance a home. How the Federal Reserve handles the eventual winding down of its policy of quantitative easing will be critical in determining if the current period of rapid appreciation is a benign bounce off the bottom, or a more dangerous bubble being re-inflated.”

The more optimistic quartile of panelists predicted, on average, a 6.6% rise in home values in 2013. However, the pessimistic bunch expects an average increase of only 4.2%.

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/fastnews

Charlotte housing market gains momentum | Katonah NY Real Estate

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CoreLogic, an Irvine, Calif.-based company that provides monthly reports on housing prices, said Charlotte rose 7% in the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill area in March from the same month a year ago.

Also, the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association reported that Charlotte-area home prices increased by 1.1% on average in April from the same month last year, as inventory continues to dwindle.

According to the preliminary data from the association, the average sales price in April rose to $217,166 from $214,739 in April 2012. The number of sales increased 34% year-over-year, to 2,915 from 2,168, writes the Charlotte Observer.

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/fastnews

Alabama coach Nick Saban lists house for $11 million | Bedford Hills NY Real Estate

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The home, however, was not lived in by Saban himself. If you buy this house, not only are you buying a wonderful estate, but you’re buying an estate that’s located near Nick Saban’s vacation home. That’s right, you’ll be neighbors with Nick Saban, writes CBS Sports.

“My family and I own another home on the lake, which we have enjoyed for 12 years, so I was excited when this very special lot came available to develop with Jim [Suddes],” Saban told the Atlanta Business Chronicle. “Lake Burton is our favorite getaway. It’s a beautiful, hidden gem, where we find great peace and seclusion.”

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/fastnews

Mortgage market of the past may hold some clues for the future | Bedford NY Real Estate

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James Hagerty of the Wall Street Journal hosted a session on the future of America’s mortgage market this week at the MBA Secondary Conference in New York.

The title of the session and the majority of the discussion assumes in some way that the mortgage market needs to be different than it is today. This leads me to wonder: Does the mortgage market need to be fixed and if so what still needs to be fixed?

We are all well aware of the extent to which GSEs and FHA currently provide liquidity to the U.S. mortgage market. I suspect consensus on this development is that it is far from ideal. Private, not public, capital should be supporting the mortgage market at least more than it does today.

But how much more?

Think back to before the mortgage crisis: Public capital played a very significant role, and had historically done so in the U.S. mortgage market.

The GSEs also brought something else to the market: standardization.

Is this a role that the private sector is qualified or prepared to play going forward?

Is the goal to achieve a level of private capital that is higher than before the crisis?  One highly oversimplified argument against this is that the private-label RMBS market was a a major contributor to the financial crisis.

Yes, regulators have put in place new rules to reign in many of the bad practices of the past, but a new privately built market structured would be untried.

What if rather than creating a whole new market structure, as some have proposed, what if we went back to the way it was before with a few important improvements?

The first improvement would be to develop private-label RMBS standards. Just as the GSEs issue standardized MBS, there could be a standard template for private label RMBS.

For example, there would be standards for the types of loans in the security, the type and amount of due diligence performed on the loans, and for the contract terms.

This is part of what was missing in the private-label RMBS market of old. Second, go back to the conforming loan limits of old which will reduce the market share of the GSEs.

Moving forward loan limits can be used to adjust the share of public versus private capital in the mortgage market over time.

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/rewired

Elevated refi activity pushes mortgage applications higher | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Mortgage applications increased 7% for the week ending May 3 when compared to a week earlier, an industry trade group said Wednesday.

The steeper jump comes after only slight increases these past few weeks, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The refinance index also soared 8%, reaching its highest level since December 2012.

“The gain in the refinance index was due to increases in both the conventional and government refinance indices of 8.8% and 5.7% respectively,” the MBA noted.

The seasonally adjusted purchase index rose 2%, bringing it back to its highest level since May 2010.

Breaking a three-week trend, the refinance share of overall mortgage activity inched up to 76% of total applications compared to 75% last week.

Additionally, the adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity increased slightly and now accounts for 4% of all mortgage applications.

The average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with a conforming loan balance continued to slip to 3.59%, the lowest level since December 2012, and down from 3.60% the previous week.

Meanwhile, the average 30-year, FRM with a jumbo loan balance dipped to 3.79% from 3.80% last week.

The average contract interest rate for the 30-year, FRM backed by the FHA ticked up to 3.35% compared to 3.34% the previous week.

Both the 5/1 ARM and the 15-year, FRM fell to the lowest rate in the history of the survey, tumbling to 2.53% and 2.81%, respectively.

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/news

Survey of Economists Finds Fears of New Bubble | Bedford Corners NY Real Estate

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More than 100 forecasters in a national survey said they expect the home values to reach an average of 5.4 percent year-over-year and that current Federal Reserve policies post some risk of re-inflating the housing bubble.

In the survey of 105 economists, real estate experts and investment and market strategists, panelists said they expected median U.S. home values to rise to $165,280, on average, by the end of 2013. At the end of 2012, the U.S. Zillow Home Value Index stood at $156,800.  The survey was sponsored by Zillow and is conducted quarterly by Pulsenomics LLC.

In the survey conducted in late February and early March, respondents said they expected average home value growth of just 4.6 percent in 2013. Looking forward, respondents predicted average home value appreciation of 4.4 percent in 2014, up from prior expectations of 4.2 percent.

While panelists were more bullish on near-term home value appreciation this year and into 2014, their expectations for nationwide home value growth in 2015, 2016 and 2017 were slightly more pessimistic than in prior surveys. On average, panelists said they expect annual home value growth between 3.5 percent and 3.7 percent from 2015 through 2017, down modestly from previously expressed expectations in the 3.6 percent to 3.8 percent range. Cumulatively, survey respondents predicted home values to rise 22.3 percent, on average, through 2017.