There are a few open slots for tomorrow’s webinar!

Join us for an exclusive Professional Education for Real Estate Brokers webinar, titled: “Online Marketing Terms, Tactics, and Tips to Survive”.

Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Time: 10am PST / 1pm EST

Cost: No Charge

This 45 minute online real estate seminar will cover Broker best practices in online marketing to gain business from the growing numbers of online buyers and sellers.

You will learn how to:

1. Increase your marketing success online.
2. Determine what online buyers and sellers are seeking (and what they hate!).
3. Evaluate and differentiate online marketing.
4. Explain online marketing terminology (such as SEO, SEM, SERP, and SMM). Understand how each term can affect your business.
5. Increase recruiting, retention and transactions for your office.

Continue reading this post

Yesterday we were delighted to welcome Deborah Miller of Intero Real Estate in the Bay Area to the HomeGain headquarters in Emeryville, CA.

Deb Miller is a member of online marketing programs, AgentView and AgentEvaluator. Since the real estate market has changed over the years since she began the programs, she felt it would be a key move to meet with the HomeGain Team so they could assist her in updating her marketing strategies and positioning.

Think that you would like to reevaluate your current positioning with HomeGain programs to give your business an extra boost? Give us a call at (866) 512-7918 or email us. The HomeGain Team is always here to help!

Photos of Deb Miller’s Visit: Continue reading this post

So, we’ve all been reading about the changes that have occurred…and continue to occur…in the lending industry as a result of the backlash caused by subprime/no money down loans.

The process of getting a loan has become more and more complex and lenders will tell you that every day brings a new regulation (or two…or three…or more) that puts obstacles in the way of approving loans.

Don’t get me wrong.  I think the industry needed to change…but the pendulum has obviously swung much too far.

This hit home last week when I heard from past clients/friends who were trying to refinance their current loan.

Here’s the story:

This couple (let’s call them The Jones’), with a combined income of over $300,000 a year, impressive credit scores, no ongoing debt except for their current mortgage and current liquid savings of abut $800,000 had applied to refinance their $700,000 mortgage.

The Jones’ filled out all the required paperwork, supplied two years of tax returns and provided a check for the appraisal and application fee.  The lender/investor said that there was only one appraiser who was acceptable to them and, since that appraiser was only available on a date when the homeowners were going to be out of town, the Jones’ made special arrangements for a friend to meet him.

And then they waited….for over three weeks for the appraiser to come up with a value on the property. Continue reading this post

Proverbs 20:14 - “Its no good, its no good!” says the buyer; then off he goes and boasts about his purchase.

The economy has been wreaking havoc on on rental owners as well as home owners. The great unwinding of the debt economy and the collapse of available credit has caused job loss, underemployment and a recession psychology causing consumers to pull back, not being sure if they are next to loss work.  Afraid of catching a falling knife, prospective buyers are waiting on  the sidelines.

The housing industry has been pinging property owners to try and get a sense of the degree of difficulty out there. I wanted to share with you some of what these surveys reveal. Continue reading this post

The real estate market in Atlanta appears to be following the upswing many of have heard about on the news recently and it’s high time we spread the word! For the first time in years, parts of Atlanta have seen price increases and sales volume increases. This is particularly true for resale homes and those homes in the traditionally more popular areas on the north side of the city.

As I write this, home sales in Atlanta under $200,000 for the month of July are 2,547 solds vs. 2,390 sold in July of 2008. This is a significant statistic because, we will have more sales than last year for the second month in a row and this also represents the single largest segment of homes for sale in Atlanta broken down by price point.

In June, which is traditionally the highest monthly sold numbers, 2009 sales at this price point far outpaced what we saw in 2008. This year there were 2,679 sales vs. 2344 in 2008. This is a 14% increase in volume. In the popular northern suburbs, this has turned to a seller’s market with only 3 or 4 months of inventory available to purchase in many cases.

The significance of the year over year sales increase at this price point cannot be overstated. Since this represents 60% of total sales and represents 43% of all homes listed for sale, year over year increases represents more than just a small tick in an otherwise bleak market.

This represents a turning point.

When this is combined with 6 consecutive months where inventory levels have declined and 4 consecutive months where the average home price has increased and we find ourselves wondering whether or not we have actually seen the bottom in the overall real estate market. Continue reading this post

People often ask me the “crystal ball” question, “What do you think the market is going to do?”  I check off the many indicators I watch, including unemployment, demand, and inventory.

I then follow up with one of the most important indicators, “What do you think the market is going to do?”

In 2008, Austin’s real estate market was relatively healthy but flat.  We saw slight appreciation in the median price.  However, when speaking with clients & friends not in the business, it was their impression that the sky had and was falling.

Luckily, in Austin, the sky didn’t fall, but it did drop.  Home prices have depreciated slightly in 2009.  There are many factors that combine to cause this, but the public’s general impression of the market is a big one.

Since all real estate is local, it seems a bit counterproductive to watch national real estate trends closely.  Continue reading this post