New-home sales up 17.2 percent from a year ago

Supply of new homes steady at 4.8 months in October

BY INMAN NEWS, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2012.

Inman News®

New homes image via Shutterstock.

Sales of new single-family homes dipped 0.3 percent from September to October but were up 17.2 percent from a year ago, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today.

The median sales price of new homes sold in October was $237,700, 5.7 percent above last October's level, but a 4.2 percent dip from September.

The Census Bureau says that the estimated 147,000 new homes for sale at the end of October represented a 4.8-month supply at the current seasonally adjusted rate of 368,000 sales per year. That's up slightly from 4.7 months in September but down from 6.1 months a year ago.

Buying a house with resale in mind

4 factors that will make profiting more likely

BY DIAN HYMER, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012.

Inman News®

Curb appeal image via Shutterstock.

At the end of the 1970s, '80s and '90s, homeowners in many areas cashed in big profits when they sold. This enabled them to trade up to a bigger home, sometimes in a better neighborhood.

Homeowners used their homes as piggy banks through the use of home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) to buy cars, pay for vacations and medical bills, renovate their homes, and pay for college educations and retirement.

The recent housing recession brought a halt to this as home values dropped 30 percent or more, depending on location, wiping out equity for some and leaving many who bought with a low cash down payment with negative equity. More than 24 percent of homeowners in the U.S. today have a mortgage value that exceeds the market value of their homes.

Social media lets brokers get proactive about recruiting

Once prospects are identified, vet them closely

BY MATT CARTER, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2012.

Inman News®

Job interview image via Shutterstock.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- With housing markets on the mend, competition for top agents is heating up, and real estate brokers should be using social media sites like LinkedIn to proactively target agents they want to recruit instead of posting a help wanted ad and waiting passively for responses to come in.

That's the advice former headhunter Daniel Abramson had for real estate brokers attending the National Association of Realtors' annual Realtors Conference and Expo in Orlando today.

But identifying good prospects is only half of the equation, said Abramson, the president and founder of training and coaching firm StaffDynamics. In-depth interviews are needed to determine who's got the right combination of people skills and determination to succeed.

Social networking "is only a vehicle for bringing in people. You still have to interview them," Abramson said.

LORE Magazine - Lives of Real Estate Fall 2012

Open publication - Free publishing - More lore

Welcome to the second issue of the new LORE magazine! If you liked the amazing stories of the lives of real estate (LORE) professionals in our first issue, you'll love the stories of the hard-earned success of those featured in this Fall 2012 issue.

HARP refinancings take off Share of loans going to underwater borrowers also picking up

BY INMAN NEWS, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012 Inman News®

Leaping dog image via Shutterstock.

As mortgage rates continued to hit new depths, the number of refinancings completed through the Obama administration's mortgage refinance program more than doubled year over year in May, according to a monthly report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Last fall, the FHFA, which regulates government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,announced several changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) in an effort to boost participation.

Find the 'why' and they will buy | Instead of segmenting buyers, scope out their attitudes and feelings

BY DAVID FLETCHER, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2012 Inman News®

Fortune teller image via Shutterstock.

Today I issue a wake-up call to real estate agents everywhere: Stop worrying about reaching specific market segments.

You don't need to know about Generation X, Generation Y, Millennials, or the up-and-comers or the down-and-goners.

You want to label your prospects? I have the only three you need: ready, willing and able. Your problem is not the number of prospects you are working with. Many of you have more than you can handle now. Find the "why" and they will tend to buy.

Websites that depend on agent dollars are doomed | Realtor Notebook

BY TERESA BOARDMAN, THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2012 Inman News®

Dinosaur image via Shutterstock.

A couple of months ago I was contacted by the editor for a local news website. They syndicate some of my real estate content and we have had an ongoing relationship for many years.

They wanted to talk about having neighborhood pages with real estate listings on their website, and they wanted to get local agents to pay to sponsor the pages and to pay to advertise real estate listings on them.

Take your photo strategy beyond listings | Realtor Notebook

BY TERESA BOARDMAN Inman News®

St. Paul, Minn. Victorian home photo credit Teresa Boardman.

Home buying and selling activity started picking up a few months ago and is still going strong. But for me, it is also photography season.

I have an endless, inexhaustible need for photographs for blog posts and for advertising, and everything seems to look better in June. Some of the photographs I will take in the next two months will be sold next winter, and others will bring me clients.