My Lubbock TX Real Estate Blog

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. home prices fell 3.2 percent in the second quarter, the steepest rate of decline since Standard & Poor's began its nationwide housing index in 1987, the research group said Tuesday.

The decline in home prices around the nation shows no evidence of a market recovery anytime soon, one of the architects of the index said.

MacroMarkets LLC Chief Economist Robert Shiller said the declining residential real estate market "shows no signs of slowing down."

The report came a day after the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes dropped for a fifth straight month in July while the number of unsold homes shot up to a record level.

The S&P/Case-Schiller quarterly index tracks price trends among existing single-family homes across the nation compared with a year earlier .

A separate index that covers 20 U.S. cities fell 3.5 percent in June from a year earlier. A 10-city index fell 4.1 percent from a year earlier.

Housing is among the economic indicators closely watched by Federal Reserve policymakers.

After five years of rapidly rising home prices, the market stalled last year, with prices holding steady or falling as sales slowed. Since then, lenders have made it more difficult for some people to get mortgages by tightening standards just as foreclosures rise and some who borrowed at adjustable rates facing higher payments they can't meet.

Problems have spread from those with poor credit repayment histories to more creditworthy borrowers.

The Fed has taken a number of steps aimed at stabilizing the situation, and market watchers look further for a possible cut in the federal funds rate, which is the rate commercial banks charge each other for short-term loans. That rate has been kept steady at 5.25 percent for more than a year.

The Fed has its next regularly scheduled meeting on Sept. 18.

Fifteen of the cities surveyed for S&P's 20-city index showed a year-over-year decline in prices in June.

Prices in Boston dropped in June at a slower rate than they did in May, continuing a trend that started at the beginning of the year. In April 2006, Boston was the first metropolitan area to show a year-over-year decline, so any turnaround there could be an early sign of recovery.

S&P said it needed more data to determine whether Boston would be the first area to improve.

Detroit led the cities with the biggest price declines, with an 11 percent drop from June of last year. Other cities with falling prices included Tampa, Fla., San Diego and Washington, D.C., which all recorded drops of at least 7 percent.

Seattle and Charlotte, N.C., were on the small list of cities that saw prices rise in the same period. Seattle prices rose 8 percent in June while Charlotte saw a 6.8 percent increase.

In Monday's report, the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes dipped by 0.2 percent in July from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.75 million units.

The median price of a home sold last month slid to $230,200, down by 0.6 percent from the median price a year ago. It marked the 12th consecutive month that home prices have declined, a record stretch.

NEW YORK (AP) — The subprime mortgage crisis is spreading to a somewhat unexpected place: homes costing more than $500,000.

As lending has rapidly gotten more restrictive for borrowers taking out large loans, sales of expensive homes have fallen sharply around the country during what should be one of the busiest seasons for buyers and sellers, mortgage bankers and real estate agents say.

To some degree the change is due to difficulty getting financing, as borrowers are finding fewer lenders willing or able to fund "jumbo" mortgages, loans for amounts greater than $417,000. Such loans are too big to be guaranteed by government-sponsored housing finance agencies Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or Ginnie Mae.

Given the troubles in the subprime sector, investor appetite for all types of mortgage loans not guaranteed by housing finance agencies has nose-dived.

Banks until recently were able to offload the risk of many jumbo mortgages by selling the loans to investors. But now, as investors burned by the subprime debacle have become extremely picky about what they will buy, banks are having to keep more of these loans on their own books and as a result are charging higher rates.

Some lenders — such as Countrywide Financial Corp. — have made a point of saying they're now most focused on making loans that can be guaranteed by Fannie and Freddie.

Other lenders have simply tightened up their lending standards, for example by no longer making jumbo loans to lenders who can't fully document their income, even if they make large down payments and have stellar credit histories.

The banks that are still making jumbo loans are charging substantially higher rates to compensate for the lack of investor demand. Borrowers who could have gotten rates as low as 6.5 percent in June are now having to pay as much as 9 percent.

But aside from the financial impact of higher rates, in certain high-priced real estate markets, the effect of the suddenly tighter lending environment is more psychological, mortgage bankers and real estate agents say, as buyers and sellers alike don't want to plunge into an uncertain future.

"Showings are down, contracts written are down, and sellers are just as backed away as buyers are," said Lou Barnes, a partner in mortgage bank and brokerage Boulder West Financial Services in Boulder, Colo. The company arranges for financing on many higher-priced condominiums and houses in the state.

"I think the psychological damage is worse than the financial damage" which is already bad enough, he said. Even for buyers who have plenty of cash or can easily afford higher mortgage rates, the sudden change in the financing environment reduces "the ardor to buy a house unless you have to," he adds.

With numerous buyers and sellers sidelined, the higher cost of big mortgages is bound to put downward pressure on home prices should the lending environment stay tight for a long period of time, said Ellen Bitton, president of Park Avenue Mortgage, a mortgage bank and brokerage that does business in several states, including New York, Florida and Utah.

Staging Secrets That Sell

By David Sobel

RISMEDIA, August 8, 2007–Preparing a home for sale requires a lot more than simply hiring a real estate professional. Staged homes sell faster and for a higher price than non-staged homes, translating to more money in commissions for you, happier clients and more business.

To sell your client’s home fastest and for the highest price, sellers must be prepared to de-clutter, re-light, scrub and neutralize their home.

Your primary goal is to sell a lifestyle. A staged home should allow the buyer to imagine themselves relaxing in the den with his children or entertaining his friends on the patio.

While professional home staging can be costly, it is possible to creatively and strategically stage a home for a minimal price. Here are some considerations:

1. Clutter control. A cluttered home appears smaller and gives the buyer the sense that there is not enough room in the house for all his belongings. If the den is packed with furniture the buyer will most likely not be able to visualize where his own furniture will fit into the room. A good place to begin is to count every item in a particular room and eliminate 50% of them. Storage companies can handle large and bulky furniture that your homeowner wants to keep for his new home. Also get rid of any house plants and depersonalize the rooms by removing pictures, dolls and toys.

Less appliances and accessories on the countertops allows potential buyers to visually expand the kitchen, making the countertops appear large and clean. All of the dishes and appliances should be in their proper places. To add some life to an old kitchen table, buy some beautiful table linens and place fresh flowers in the middle.

2. Lights, camera, action. Many homeowners forget to consider that a lot of the showings are going to be at night around the buyers’ work schedule. An inexpensive way to give an updated look to an older home is to replace older light fixtures with nickel and chrome. Add small lamps and plug-in nightlights to show warm pools of light that will make the home feel comfortable. Focus on the kitchen, dining room and bathrooms. If replacing light fixtures is too expensive for your client, change all of existing light bulbs for the highest wattage allowed. If the home is shown during the day, embrace natural sunlight by opening all of the drapes and blinds.

3. Scrub until it sparkles. The house may be old, but it can still sparkle. Clean the house from top to bottom. Wash the windows inside and out, have the carpet cleaned and remove any sign of pets. Scrub the kitchen and bathrooms until they shine. Clean the stovetop with a degreaser and remove any stains or discoloration on the countertops. Keep the floors immaculate throughout the listing period. Add a new shower curtain, fresh flowers or put your client’s best towels out in all of the bathrooms. If there aren’t attractive containers for the bathroom supplies place them in a drawer.

4. Neutralize the home. If the walls, ceilings or trim of the house are painted in contrasting bold colors, consider having the seller repaint with crisp neutral colors to appeal to the greatest number of buyers. Keep adjoining rooms in the same color palette to make the home appear larger.

Make sure that when you’re staging a home you look at its features as objectively as possible. Maximize what’s structurally attractive and buy, borrow or rent what you need to present the best first impression. The buyer is looking for a home he can imagine living his lifestyle in so highlight the positive selling features of the home to advertise what the house has to offer.

To download HWA’s list of the Top 10 Home Staging Secrets for your clients, please click [1] here.

Article printed from RISMedia: http://rismedia.com

URL to article: http://rismedia.com/wp/2007-08-07/staging-secrets-that-sell/

The August 12, 2007 edition of the Lubbock Avalanche Journal newspaper presented the results of the newspaper's annual reader's choice awards known as "Best of Lubbock".

Each year, the Lubbock Avalanche Journal gives it's readers the opportunity to recognize the best Lubbock businesses.  Readers choose the best in over 100 categories selecting everything from banks to burgers, pest control to pizza.

This year, Lubbock AJ readers selected Coldwell Banker, Rick Canup Realtors as the best real estate company in Lubbock.

DeRon Tucker, Executive V.P. for Coldwell Banker made the following statement to the Lubbock AJ, "We are so excited that Lubbock honored us by voting us the 'Best Real Estate Agency'.  Our entire team works extremely hard to give the best service possible, and I'm very proud of them!  This recognition inspires us to become even better since so many people trust us to sell and buy their homes everyday.  Thank you Lubbock."

On Friday at the Inman Real Estate Connect Conference in San Francisco, the birthplace of our great brand, Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC was named the 2007 Innovator of the Year in the brokerage/franchise category.

How about that! With new players continuously raving about their new ways, who did our industry honor? The age-old champion Coldwell Banker!

We continue to lead the industry. Whether it be to provide you with further opportunities to recruit and retain sales associates, grow your business, attract customers and assist them in every facet of the home buying and selling process, Coldwell Banker is pioneering a new way.

We did more in one year than many do in a decade. Here is a brief list of some of our great accomplishments that earned us the Innovator of the Year title:

•The first national real estate brand to integrate streaming video online
•The first national real estate brand to integrate community amenities into
satellite mapping
•The first national real estate brand to utilize widget technology with the enhanced Personal Retriever®
•The first national real estate brand to enter Second Life

Sales associates and consumers have choices – online players, limited and full service. But Coldwell Banker remains at the top! No one can match the brand’s rich heritage, sizeable sales force in 42 countries and award-winning 24-7 storefront at www.coldwellbanker.com that drives traffic back to your Web site. By mixing innovation with our respected sales force, Coldwell Banker is redefining the consumer’s real estate experience.

Let me close by providing you with a new definition for “Innovator:”

in·no·va·tor, noun: A trusted real estate brand that paves the way. A brand that will always be relevant. A brand that inspires loyalty and passion from its employees, affiliated company employees, and sales associates. A brand that is a champion for the real estate consumer. A brand that is unique; unlike any other. Synonym: Coldwell Banker

I’m sure our founders Colbert Coldwell and Benjamin Banker would be proud of us.

Innovator of the Year!