The University of Michigan’s April consumer confidence survey results are out.
The headline index fell to 76.4 from last month’s 78.6 reading. However, the index reading is well above both the flash estimate published earlier this month and economists’ predictions for today’s release.
Realtor John Gonnello can attest to the fact that rising demand for low and moderately priced single-family homes and condos, coupled with falling supply, continue to push prices higher in the Coachella Valley.
Of the 22 Sun City Palm Desert homes he had listed featuring everything from vaulted ceilings and great rooms to open floor plans and golf course and mountain views, all but six have sold.
“There was a surge for about three weeks where it was just crazy,” said Gonnello, an agent with Windermere Real Estate. “It’s quieted down a bit, but now we’re starting to see activity build again.”
Gonnello’s experience is in line with two new real estate reports that show the valley’s median price rose by double-digits last month, the ninth straight month with such robust increases.
The valley’s median home price — half sold for more, half for less — jumped 17.9 percent year-over-year to $247,500 in March, following a 15.9 percent increase to $226,000 in February, San Diego-based real estate information provider DataQuick reported.
Mortgage rates continued to drop, with the 15-year fixed-rate loan hitting a record low, according to a weekly report from mortgage financier Freddie Mac.
The 15-year fixed rate fell to 2.61% this week from 2.64%, The previous record low of 2.63% was set the week of Nov. 21, 2012.
Median sales price increased 12.1% to $469,000 from the same period last year.
Year-over-year gains were seen in all but the highest market quintile.There were 78 sales in the first quarter, 17% fewer than in the year ago quarter and roughlyhalf the number of sales in the prior quarter tax-incentivized year end rush to close.Listing inventory expanded 5.5% to 521 from the year ago period. The combination of falling sales and rising inventory slowed the pace of the market as measured by the monthly absorption rate which jumped to 20 months from 15.8 months although the first quarter tends to have the highest absorption rate of the year.Listing discount, the percent difference between the list price at time of contract and the sales price,expanded to 11.6% from 10.4% in the same period last year.Days on market, the number of days from the last price change to the contract date,averaged 229 days or 30 more days to sell a property than the same period a year ago.
Buyers may be reading too much into simplified school rankings offered on real estate sites, paying premiums of $200,000 or more for homes served by schools that score only slightly better than other schools in the same school district, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
School district officials in San Mateo County, Calif. say real estate professionals are part of the problem, because they rely on test scores and school ranking sites to help sell homes. They’re holding an event next month to give Realtors a better understanding of what qualities make for a good school.
The Chronicle described a “feeding frenzy” for homes in the city of San Carlos, where the school district’s four elementary schools all score “well above” the state average.
The lowest performing elementary school in the district, Brittan Acres, scored 880 on the state’s 1,000-point Academic Performance Index. While the state considers scores of 800 or above ideal, the other three elementary schools in the district all score above 900.
One buyer withdrew an offer on a home served by Brittan Acres and fired his Realtor when the agent — who serves on the board of a neighboring school district — insisted that the school was fine.
Educators say test scores can often reflect the makeup of a school’s population. Low-income students and those who speak English as a second language can dent overall scores, but high-scoring schools don’t always have the best teachers or programs.
Screenshot from Brian Block’s “Houses gettin’ sold” video.
Brian Block, managing broker and branch vice president with Re/Max Allegiance in McLean Va., is stoking the interest of prospects with a rap video about the hot real estate market in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
“Inventory of homes for sale is extremely tight in Northern Virginia — at last look there’s just over 1-month supply of homes on the market,” Block says in an Active Rain blog post explaining the motivation for the video. “Same goes for D.C. In fact, right now, much of the country is having a similar phenomenon in the local real estate markets.”
THERE IS ALWAYS more to the story than what we are told. I am not omniscient. It is better to light a single candle than to join a lynch mob. Other people’s behavior is not my business. Truth is hard, epigrams are easy. Anything worth saying takes more than 140 characters. Blogging’s not dead. F____ the 140 character morality police.
Filed under: Best practices, Blogs and Blogging, Community, Design, engagement, Responsibility, State of the Web, twitter, writing
38 Responses to “140 Characters is a Joke”
Jesse said on 27 March 2013 at 10:46 am:
Wait, we aren’t supposed to look (solely) to the Facetweet feeds of our industry leaders for solid moral guidance?
Power to the 140+ character enabled humans.
Nishant said on 27 March 2013 at 10:51 am:
Thank you, Jeffrey.
Chris Ferdinandi said on 27 March 2013 at 10:53 am:
Yes!
Iain said on 27 March 2013 at 10:55 am:
This, THIS, THIS!!
claudia snell said on 27 March 2013 at 10:55 am:
Love it! You are amazing, again.
Julia Gregory said on 27 March 2013 at 10:56 am:
Word.
Anton Peck said on 27 March 2013 at 10:56 am:
Sir, I completely agree. I wrote about a similar thing quite recently: http://antonpeck.com/journal/article/write_now
I’m totally being selfish when I say: “I want to see people get back to writing great content again.” I miss the great authors of the internet.
Brian Hassett said on 27 March 2013 at 10:59 am:
I completely agree! 140 characters is your basic introduction. Doesn’t get you much further than that.
Matt Steele said on 27 March 2013 at 11:00 am:
This is exactly what keeps me from being a heavy twitter user. Too many knee jerk reactions from armchair pundits.
“It’s better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.”
-Mark TwainMichel Vuijlsteke said on 27 March 2013 at 11:01 am:
tl;dr: “Anything worth saying takes more than 140 characters. Blogging’s not dead.” (66 characters to go) 🙂
Shawn said on 27 March 2013 at 11:14 am:
What is this in reference to?
Emil Lunnergård said on 27 March 2013 at 11:18 am:
I do not read so much of your posts, but this one got me. I can’t say how much I appreciate a good, well-written article about anything. 140 characters is just for people with no depth in their lives (if I am allowed to generalize).
Good statement! Keep it up
Kodiak said on 27 March 2013 at 11:43 am:
A local ambulance-chaser law firm just recently got a snazzy new phone number to which they can receive texts. Their new marketing campaign is “sometimes it’s not convenient to call.” I’m not sure, but if I ever need to hire a lawyer, I think I’m going to have a lot more to say 140 characters will allow.
Status messages are for statuses. In status meetings I report that projects are “green” because the parties involved only care that things are on track. That doesn’t absolve me from keeping detailed documentation of the project. Likewise, hearing “things are great” might be enough for particular situations and audiences, but when I run into an old friend that I haven’t seen in years, I’m going to want to hear a little more of the story. It’s no different in the Intertubes.
Scott Phelps said on 27 March 2013 at 12:22 pm:
It’s Ok to swear. You’re an adult.
John Slegers said on 27 March 2013 at 12:32 pm:
The early 21st century has become a world of tweets and sound bites, where getting anyone’s attention for longer than 3 minutes has become a major accomplishment.
Saying too much usually leads to people ignoring you and saying too little usually leads to people wanting to know more.
So from a marketing perspective, going with 140 characters or less is best. Just don’t expect to learn all you need to know by never looking at what lies underneath.
Tanner Christensen said on 27 March 2013 at 12:32 pm:
Maybe that’s the point? Captivate readers and point them in a direction where they can learn more of the story.
Besides, you CAN tell a great story in 140 characters. It’s not going to cover everything under the sun, but you don’t always need to.
Chris Cullmann said on 27 March 2013 at 1:00 pm:
The brevity of this article underscores how impactful concise writing can be, but an artificial contraint can be a hindrance to a strong message. Nice post.
Emily said on 27 March 2013 at 1:02 pm:
Funny how such a simple realization is so easy to forget when we get caught in the moment. It’s like having the epiphany that we didn’t need to wear the latest pair of Abercrombie jeans or rock that trendy hairstyle back in High School in order to be cool, yet we struggle to drop the concern of what our peers think of us.
I have been trying to teach our nine year old the importance of standing up for herself and for others and avoiding the lynch mob mentality that pervades the playground. Thanks for reminding us adults of this lesson as well.
Jameos said on 27 March 2013 at 1:21 pm:
Ya know, it’s ok to disagree with Mr. Z now and again. I’ve read as many lame tweets as I have long and rambling blog posts. Someone who has true command of writing can get their point across with or without limitations…in the end, it’s all a matter of taste in how well they pull it off. Short = elegance, long = substance. Anyone who says short- or long-form writing is right or wrong…is wrong. Tweet or blog that as you please.
Daniel said on 27 March 2013 at 1:29 pm:
Hi Jeffrey, I edited this “article” to fit within 140 characters while still delivering the message:
“THERE IS ALWAYS more to the story. Truth = hard / epigrams = easy. Anything worth saying takes > 140 char. Bloggings not dead. Click here to cancel reply.
Most real estate agents want mortgage originators to close their home buyers’ mortgages in 30 days or less-50 percent faster than the national average closing time-according to a new national survey released today.
Real estate agents control or influence 45 percent of homebuyer decisions on lender choice, according to the “Home Purchase Mortgage Success Factors” survey, conducted in January and February 2013 by Campbell Surveys and Inside Mortgage Finance, and time of closings, lend reliability and costs are some of the most significant factors that lead real estate agents to recommend a lender for a home purchase transaction.
Two-thirds of the nearly 2,000 real estate agents that responded to the study mortgage closings in 30 days or less. Yet the survey found that the average closing takes longer than that. Ellie Mae reports average closing time for purchase mortgages in February was 47 days and the average for 2012 was 46 days.
“Real estate agents consistently tell us that the unpredictability of mortgage closing dates is a major problem, in addition to timelines longer than 30 days,” commented Thomas Popik, research director for Campbell Surveys. “Lenders like to blame appraisers for delays, but our survey results tell us that underwriters often cause delays, particularly when underwriters do piecemeal and last-minute requests for borrower documentation.”
According to agents, the three most common reasons that mortgage closings are missed or delayed are mortgage underwriting, appraisal issues and changes in underwriting policies. Real estate agents noted that uncertain closing dates are disruptive and costly for borrowers, regardless of time required to close
