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Agents More Bullish on Prices than Sales | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Real estate professionals are more optimistic that prices will increase this year than they were last year, but they’re less enthusiastic about the outlook for sales increases in 2013 than they were in 2012.

For 2013, 84 percent of surveyed real estate professionals believe that real estate values and the number of transactions will increase this year over 2012. Whereas in 2012, one-third of real estate markets were forecasted to see valuation declines, no single market is expected to see a decline in valuations or transactions in 2013, according to a survey of more than 2,400 real estate professionals, all members of ActiveRain, the real estate industry’s largest social media network.

Some 28 percent more participants in the survey this year than last year expect values to improve and 21 percent more expect housing starts to increase. However, only 11 percent more expect the number of real estate transactions to grow and 12 percent ,more anticipate improvement in their local economies.

“The differences in how real estate professionals are seeing the market in the past 12 months is significant,” said Nikesh Parekh, CEO of ActiveRain. “Confidence in the real estate market has increased by 28 percent, and a rebound in both housing and construction this year is a great sign for the economy.”

A similar survey in early 2012 correctly predicted the bottom of the US real estate market, as the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) showed a 9 percent jump in existing-home sales over the previous year.

via realestateeconomywatch.com

Real Housewife of Miami faces foreclosure | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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We keep saying it, and it’s true: Foreclosure is not just for the middle-class or the average, working citizens who fall on hard times.

Many borrowers who are somewhat cash-liquid also end up facing foreclosure.

Karent Sierra, 38, appeared to the public on The Real Housewives of Miami to play the independent businesswoman who doesn’t need a husband to support her two mortgages, which carry a total balance of $870,000. Or maybe she does?

A gossip rag out of Miami claims the reality TV star is at risk of losing two Miami homes.

She is apparently worth $5 million, according to published reports.

No word on whether this is a strategic default …

via housingwire.com

Branding, Social Business & The Future: 5 Books that will Inspire New Real Estate Ideas | Pound Ridge Realtor

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I love wine tasting in Napa Valley. It’s one of the benefits of living in Northern California. I know you might be thinking it’s the wine I drink that makes it so fun. Wrong. It’s the wineries!

It’s their stories, their winemakers, their micro-climates, their science of discovering new ways to make great wine, and how, above all else each winery makes the experience of tasting their wine an experience different than any other winery.

It’s science, art, inspiration and knowing what’s great. Many wineries share grapes, blend varieties, or have a patch of vines on another wineries’ vineyard to take advantage of the soil they don’t have. And in the end, the Napa Valley has a reputation for a slower, simpler, beautiful community of people who appreciate agriculture, art, and people. There are no signs to tell me to LIKE their Facebook page, follow them on Twitter, sign their guestbook, enter my email on some card, or subscribe to their website. In short, there is not much noise. But what they do is impactful, because of that very thing. They build it and we come — in droves — and buy wine. Lots of it. Napa Valley serves up the good life I want.  We can learn from this. 

Gather your ideas, get inspired, tell your story

There is a shift that is occurring in business, which is a backlash of social media hype. Less noise, more impact. This is a good thing. But it means being ready for change, especially in online marketing, and how it relates to your brand, personal and business. It’s time to start clearing your path for new ways of reaching your audience. There are NO shortcuts, but there is plenty of inspiration. 

  • Do you want to be smarter about decisions that actually build your business?
  • Do you want to execute on some new ideas?
  • How do you want your clients to experience your brand? Do you know what your brand is?
  • How do you position your message to resonate with the right audience?

Great books, great inspiration

(not social media sound bites.)

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The Impact Equation by Chris Brogan & Julien Smith

This is not just another Social Media book. From understanding your goals, your ideas, the platforms, and how you are communicating , OR NOT, this will help you define, and polish the most impactful ways to get your brand and message out there to the right people. From HTML emails, blog content, writing and Instagramming, this book untangles the hype and shows you how to focus on what matters; creating trust.

Brand Delusions by Bill Leider

“Your Brand is a widely held set of beliefs and expectations about what you deliver and how you deliver it, validated by customers’ experiences.” Bill Leider. Whether you are a real estate agent, a broker, an entrepreneur, work in collaborative company environment, or are personally trying to understand what building, having and maintaining a brand really means, then you MUST get this book. It’s not business book, or self-help book, but a philosophy woven into a fictional story with characters that any one of us could relate to. The inner dynamics of relationships, office politics, and personalities all play a role in building the brand experience to your consumer or buyer. You will take away a firm understanding of what BRAND really is, in actions, words and behaviors, and be empowered to explore all aspects of your business that touch your clients.

Change by Design by Tim Brown

How do true innovations happen? How do ideas go from ideas to execution, to something amazing? Is there a formula that we can use that takes inspiration, to an idea, to a prototype, to a real live innovation? By using Design Thinking the goal is to create demand from a need, by using the techniques in this book.

via next.inman.com

New Zealand Property Market Starts 2013 Strong | Pound Ridge Homes

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tatistics provided by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand indicate that the country’s residential real estate market saw its highest monthly rate of transactional volume in January than it’s seen in the past five years. Sales were up 21% for January compared to the same period last year and increased 4.2% for the year-on-year average. Agents are reporting shortages in inventory and nearly every region of the country has seen improvement in sales volume and the number of days to sale. Even so, the REINZ Stratified Housing Price Index still dropped 1% for the month. For more on this continue reading the following article from Property Wire.

The residential real estate market in New Zealand has seen a solid start to the year with sales up 21% last month compared with the previous year and median prices up 4.2% year on year.

There was a new record median house price for Taranaki last month and sales by auction in January 2013 almost double those of January 2012, the figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand show.

The organisation says that robust demand drove sales volume growth in the residential property market during January to the highest level for the month in five years.

‘The residential real estate market has begun 2013 in good shape with a more than 20% increase in sales volume on this time last year,’ said Helen O’Sullivan, chief executive of REINZ.

Although the national median price eased from its December level it remained 4.2% above the level reported at the  same time last year and O’Sullivan said that given the highly seasonal nature of the housing market, prices and volumes tend to ease from their year end levels in January as marketing campaigns for many properties in the upper price bracket don’t begin until the latter half of the month.

‘Agents across the country are reporting continuing shortages of listings and positive buyer enquiry, even after taking into account the normal slowdown in activity over the Christmas and New Year break,’ she explained.

There has also been a six day improvement in the number of days  to sell between January 2013 and January 2012 and this is indicative of high levels of buyer activity in markets across the country.

All but one region recorded increases in sales volume compared to January last year, with Southland recording an increase of 40.4%, followed by Northland with 38.5% and Auckland with 26.7%. Only Southland recorded an increase in sales volume in January compared to December, with a 2.5% increase, while Taranaki recorded the same number of sales as December.
 
The national median house price fell by $19,000, from $389,000 in December, to $370,000 in January, a drop of 4.9%. Taranaki recorded a new record high median of $310,500 in January with a 10.5% increase compared to December. Hawkes Bay was the only other region to record an increase in the median price in January.

The national median house price is up 4.2% compared to January 2012, while the Auckland median price is up 8.1% compared to January 2012.  The Canterbury/ Westland median rose 5.8% and Nelson/Marlborough 4.6%.
 
The REINZ Stratified Housing Price Index, which adjusts for some of the variations in mix that can impact on the median price, is 7.2% higher than January 2012 and eased 1% compared to December. The Auckland Stratified Housing Price Index is up almost 12% compared to January 2012.
 
All regions, with the exception of Hawkes Bay and Taranaki, saw an improvement in the number of days to sell between January 2012 and January 2013. In January Canterbury/Westland recorded the shortest days to sell at 31 days, followed by Auckland with 33 days and Nelson/Marlborough with 40 days. Waikato/Bay of Plenty and Hawkes Bay both recorded the longest number of days to sell at 60 days, followed by Northland with 59 days and Taranaki with 55 days.  Over the past 10 years the median days to sell for the month of January has averaged 44 days across New Zealand.

Nationally there were 449 dwellings sold by auction in January representing 9.1% of all sales, almost double the number of sales by auction compared to January 2012. For the 12 months to January the total number of auctions reached 12,168 or 16.3% of all sales, compared to 7,195 or 11.6% of all sales for the 12 months to January 2012.

Transactions in Auckland again dominated the auction market in January, representing 73.5% of the national total of auction sales. Some 18.3% of all dwelling sales in Auckland were by this method in January, up from the 11.2% of sales by auction in January 2012. Sales by auction in Waikato/Bay Of Plenty accounted for 10.9% of the national total, Canterbury/Westland accounted for 6.7% of the national total, and all other regions combined accounted for the remaining 8.9% of auction sales in January 2013.

Across New Zealand the total value of residential sales, including sections was $2.24 billion in January, compared to $2.73 billion in December, and $1.72 billion in January 2012. For the 12 months ending in January 2013 the total value of residential sales was $34.47 billion.

The REINZ Housing Price Index eased 1% in January compared with December to sit at 3,488.1. Wellington rose 1.1% in January, while Auckland fell 2.1% and Christchurch 4.4%.  For the 12 months to January, the Auckland Index rose 11.8% and the Christchurch Index rose 9.9% compared to the National Index increase of 7.2%.

Outside of the main centres, the Other South Island Index was the next strongest with an increase of 3.9% for the 12 months to January 2013.

via nuwireinvestor.com

Sotheby’s International Realty details 2013 marketing program | Pound Ridge NY Real Estate

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Global luxury real estate brand Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC has added an Asian online publication to its mix of 2013 marketing partners and created an iPad marketing app for its agents.

In addition to re-upping online and print marketing relationships with The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, BBC.com, The Telegraph Media Group, Google and Architectural Digest, Sotheby’s International Realty will advertise with the luxury-focused online magazine Hong Kong Tatler in 2013.

“Our relationships with many of the world’s most influential news media have been cultivated over the course of several years and offer multiple levels of custom exposure for our network,” said Wendy Purvey, Sotheby’s International Realty’s chief marketing officer, in a statement. “Our marketing plan was designed to deliver 700 million overall impressions, generating valuable exposure among our core audience of consumers: the connoisseurs of life.”

The brand’s 12,600 sales associates associated with approximately 650 offices in 45 countries and territories will also have access to a new iPad marketing app in 2013.

The app, featuring slideshows, interactive images, videos and links, will be updated by Sotheby’s International Realty throughout the year, automatically giving its agents — and their clients — up-to-date marketing information.

“We are taking a cutting-edge and targeted approach in our marketing plan, which will help us create global connections and showcase the extraordinary homes our network represents,” Purvey said.

via inman.com

Dubai Ready To Welcome Foreign Investors | Pound Ridge Homes

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Foreign investors may soon be welcome in Dubai as the government puts together a blueprint to revitalise the flagging economy.

The idea is that investors would not tie up with a Dubai national, as is currently required, but could start a business with someone from the Gulf Cooperative Region (GCC).

This would be a major change in Dubai’s position in allowing foreign investors to start up in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

That means investors from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia would be free to link with a foreign business and begin trading in Dubai.

Dubai’s Department of Economic Development has formed a committee to look at how the rule could be implemented – and how it will benefit the economy.

Foreign capital

Currently foreign businesses are only allowed to have a minority stake in a business in Dubai, and the wider UAE, and they must have a local partner.

However, foreign firms can own 100% of a company but only when they are the country’s ‘free zones’.

The move widens the net for potential investors to team up and bring investment to a country keen on bringing in foreign capital after a property market collapse and a corporate debt crisis.

Dubai is particularly keen to develop industry, services and tourism and will expect a minimum investment of £1.7 million is needed before any business without the involvement of a Dubai national could go-ahead.

According to government data, foreign investment in the country is slowly increasing with investment projects worth £2.9 billion unveiled in the first six months of 2012 – up 7% on the year before.

No timescale

No timescale is laid out for the introduction of new investment rules. Critics say the government could spend several years bringing in regulations allowing foreign investors to do business outside of the ‘free zones’.

Meanwhile, Dubai is also making strong moves to establish the emirate as a leading centre for Islamic banking and finance.

The emirate already has the top banking centre for the Gulf, a position reinforced by the opening of the International Finance Centre more than 10 years ago.

The government is keen to attract fresh investors and will promote Islamic banks and insurance companies, and their products, to other Islamic countries.

Though the Islamic finance market is much smaller than mainstream finance, the sector is rapidly growing as people are attracted to its ban on interest and financial speculation.

Dubai’s government is also looking at creating international standards for halal foods and becoming the main arbitrator for Islamic business contracts.

via iexpats.com