Congratulations to the five winners selected from the Q4 2009 Home Prices Survey earlier this month!

The winners are:

• Francisco Palacios II of Palacios Realtors in Corona, California
• Gay Ann Miller of Charles Rutenberg Realty in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
• Linda in Raleigh, North Carolina
• Patti Gordin of Casa Grande Realty in Austin, Texas
• Adrian Reed of Re/Max Properties in Colorado Springs, Colorado

As a way to thank Realtors for their time, anyone who completed the survey were entered into our drawing of five $100 VISA® Gift Cards.

A big thank you to all of the real estate agents and brokers who participated in our survey.

Stay tuned for the Q1 2010 Home Prices Survey coming out in February!

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Spurs Sales/Stabilizes Home Prices

HomeGain, the first website to provide free instant home values, today announced the results of its nationwide home prices survey of nearly 1,000 current and former HomeGain Realtor® members.

The results of the fourth quarter HomeGain Realtor Survey on Home Prices published below show generally that since the first quarter HomeGain Realtor Survey on Home Prices, HomeGain members are of the opinion that home prices are stabilizing and will continue to do so.

Seventy-two percent (72%) of HomeGain members believe that home prices will remain the same in the next six months, up slightly from the 69% of HomeGain members who so believed in the third quarter survey. In the first quarter survey just 46% of HomeGain members believed that home prices would increase or remain the same with only 11% thinking home values would increase.

According to the recent survey, HomeGain Realtors said that 37% of home buyers believe that homes for sale are fairly priced or under priced vs. 36% who believed the same in the third quarter and 36% who believed the same in the first quarter. Conversely, 41% of homeowners think that their homes should be listed 10-20% higher than what their Realtors recommend, up from 38% in the third quarter and up from 36% in the second quarter survey.

The first time homebuyers credit has helped drive sales with 21% of Realtors saying half of their transactions involved a first time homebuyer and only 11% of Realtors noting that none of their transactions involved a first time homebuyer. While the credit has clearly helped Realtors, many expressed concerns over the cost of the credit to tax payers and whether sales would continue once the credit expires later next year.

We also asked our members whether they approved or disapproved of President Obama’s performance so far — 42% approved and 58% disapproved, unchanged from the third quarter and down from the second quarter when the President’s approval rating stood at 57%. The results of the HomeGain poll are substantially similar to the nationwide results of the Rasmussen Daily Presidential Approval Rating Tracking Poll conducted during the same time period as the HomeGain poll that showed the President’s approval rating between 46% and 47%. (Read full press release)

“The fourth quarter HomeGain Home Prices Survey of Realtors shows that Realtors believe that the first time home buyers tax credit has driven sales and stabilized home prices, for now. Realtors, however, expressed concerns about the cost of the credit to tax payers and whether sales will continue once the credit expires later next year and additional inventory hits the market,” stated Louis Cammarosano, General Manager at HomeGain. “The vast majority of Realtors expect prices to remain the same or increase in the first six months of 2010.”

The HomeGain 4th Quarter 2009 Realtor® Survey on Home Prices was conducted from December 1-6.

Questions and results of the fourth quarter 2009 HomeGain Realtor® Home Values Survey (click on each question to see complete results):

1. Have home prices increased, decreased or stayed the same in the last year?
2. On average, what do homeowners believe that their home is worth?
3. How do buyers feel that homes for sale are priced?
4. What is the average difference in price between what sellers believe their home to be worth and the amount at which the home gets listed?
5. What is the average difference in price between what a home is listed at and what a home sells for?
6. In the next six months, will the values of homes in your market increase, decrease or stay the same?
7. What percentage of homes for sale are foreclosures in your area?
8. What is the average home price in your area?
9. What percentage of your clients are first-time buyers?
10. How do you as a Realtor think Barack Obama is performing in his role as President?

Continue reading this post

On average, how likely are you to respond to an offer you received in the mail? Retailers, Realtors and many other professions spend millions of dollars each year mailing paper letters and mailers to potential customers. Is it worth it? Take this quick HomeGain poll to see where your opinion falls in with other Realtors and real estate professionals!

This week we met with Realtor® survey respondents, home stagers, staging bloggers and members of the press to discuss the results of the HomeGain 2009 Top 12 Home Improvements Survey on HomeGain Radio.

If you didn’t have a chance to attend, listen to it here:

Participant Comments Included:

Stephanie Decker, Staged Homes Marin: “The timing of the results coming out was amazing because I had an office presentation that day and it was very useful information for me to include. It gave me more substance to what I was trying to say and what I am trying to do to help the Realtors. I really appreciate it.”

Lise Desormeaux, RMR Real Estate Marketing: “More people are becoming aware of what needs to be done to market a property these days. I agree with the survey findings that HomeGain has compiled. I’m appreciative as a home stager for this information.”

Gina Vierra, StagedHomes: “When was the data compiled? Where can I find the data?” (answers: October 2009; blog.homegain.com)

News coverage of the October Home Improvement  includes: Continue reading this post

HomeGain.com recently conducted its third nationwide home improvement and home staging Home Sale Maximizer™ survey (previously conducted in 2003 and 2007) to reveal the top 12 low cost*, do-it-yourself (DIY) home improvements for people getting their home ready to sell.

Nearly 1,000 REALTORS® responded to the survey. (See complete survey results)

Referring to the charts below, the top home improvement per region by return on investment (ROI) is:

• Home Staging (West and South)
• Clean and Declutter (East and Mid-West)

Lightening and Brightening is the 2nd most popular home improvement project in all regions that Realtors recommend to home sellers, except for in the Mid-West, where Landscaping takes 2nd place.

By price increase, the top home improvements are:

• West: Updating Kitchen and Home Staging (Tie for $2,500 each average home price increase)
• East: Updating Kitchen (average of $3,500 price increase) followed by Painting Interior Walls and Painting Outside of Home (Tie for $2,500 each in average price increase)
• South and Mid-West: Updating the Kitchen (average of $2,500 price increase)

The top most recommended home improvement Realtors advise their seller clients are:

• West and East: Clean and Declutter (98%)
• South: Clean and Declutter, Lighten and Brighten, Replace or Shampoo Carpets (all tie with 98% recommendations)
• Mid-West: Paint Interior Walls and Replace or Shampoo Carpets (both tie with 99% recommendations)

Complete Regional results are as follows:

Continue reading this post

It’s becoming a popular trend to coat cars and SUVs with logos, website URLs, and other contact information. It could be especially valuable for REALTORS® since referrals and local exposure is so important. But some people love their car too much the way it is. What do you think? Would you do it?

See more real estate polls