In spite of a rough economny and continued unemployment woes, home sales rose in 2009. According to the National Association of Realtors®, there were approximately 5,156,000 existing-home sales in 2009, which was 4.9 percent higher than the 4,913,000 transactions recorded in 2008. It was the first annual sales gain since 2005.
Total housing inventory at the end of December fell 6.6 percent to 3.29 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 7.2-month supply at the current sales pace. That is an increase from a 6.5-month supply in November. The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $178,300 in December, which is 1.5 percent higher than December 2008.
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Posted in NAR, National Association of Realtors, National+Association+of+Realtors, Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Real Estate Market Conditions, buyers' market, home inventory, home prices, home sales, home selling, home valuation, housing market, market, real estate news
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The “mulitple listing system”, called the MLS, gives the broadest exposure possible to homes for sale. In today’s competitive market, you need the most marketing exposure possible, but attempting to sell without the benefit of the MLS can be a like trying to sell shares of stock without the stock exchange. Or, proverbially, “like trying to find a needle in a haystack”. Advertising to the public is a high cost proposition and since you only have one property to sell, the economies of scale work against you. Realtors® have the benefit of having thousands of properties to sell. The MLS creates an efficient marketing system through which Realtors® can cooperate to assist each other in selling each other’s listings.
And through the Realtors® trade organization, the National Association of Realtors®, an MLS listing also gets exposure on Realtor.com, the nation’s leading real estate web portal, you’ll reach even more potential buyers when your property is listed in the MLS by owner. According to a recent survey, over 75% of buyers now start their search for a home on the Internet, most of them on Realtor.com.
Now you can list your home or property in the same MLS used by Realtors® without having to pay a listing commission. List by owner on the MLS with a flat fee MLS listing company like Bloomkey® and you can have the best of both worlds. More exposure to help you sell your home for the highest possible price and still retain the right to sell on your own and not pay a commission.
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Posted in Flat Fee MLS, Local MLS, MLS, MLS, MLS Service, MLS entry, Real Estate, by owner, flat fee MLS borkers, flat fee MLS companies, flat fee mls broker, flat fee mls brokers, flat fee mls company, flat fee mls listing, home sale, home sales, home seller, home sellers, home selling, home selling alternatives, limited service providers, limited service real estate, list house, list property, listing agent, listing broker, low cost real estate, mls entry only, mls listing, mls listing service, mls listings, mls only, multi list, multiple listing, multiple listing service, mutliple listing service
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Tagged by owner mls, Flat Fee MLS, mls listing, real estate marketing
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When you are going to be selling a home, especially when the housing market is in a bit of a cooling off period or a slow season, there are two things that are absolutely essential.
First, there’s setting the right price. It’s impossible for sellers these days to sell their home when the price is too high, and when the market has slowed a bit, you’re going to find that it’s even more difficult to get your asking price. This is mostly because there are less buyers vying for the property. However, if you’re able to take the time to set the right price for your home – based on other properties in the area and the size and condition of your home – your chances are going to be a lot better. And, of course, when you sell with flat fee MLS, you’re still in a better position to profit when you sell.
Flat fee MLS also addresses the second essential element for selling in a cooling market: exposure for the property. With flat fee MLS, your home will be listed alongside those represented by listing agents and you’ll have the chance to clearly identify all of the house’s best features and selling points. As a result of increased exposure, there will be increased interest and that leads to a greater chance that your home will sell.
What you’ll find when you use flat fee MLS to sell your home is this: you’ll have access to the tools you need to sell your home, be able to access tips and tools designed to help you sell and, even in a cooling market, you’re in a better position to sell the property regardless of what the market is like.
Slight decline for the remainder of 2006
The market continues to show signs of stabilizing although homes sales are expected to decline modestly until year’s end according to David Lereah, NAR’s Chief Economist. Existing home sales are expected to decline by almost 7 percent this year while new home sales are expecting to show a considerably higher decline of nearly 13 percent. Contributing factors to such a decline are the rising interest rates which are expected to hit 7 percent for a 30-year mortgage by the end of the year, and rising unemployment rates. As homeowners prepare to sell their homes in a stiffening market flat fee MLS can provide a competitive advantage to sellers trying to maximize equity, maintain control of the transaction, and create a pricing advantage.
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Use flat fee MLS to market your home more competitively
For the eighth consecutive month real estate sales fell in April. Closed home sales were down 14 percent, the number of homes put on the market was down 22 percent and days on market was up from 94 days a year ago to 104 days in April. Even with the dropping numbers Kit Hale, president of the Virginia Association of Realtors, remained optimistic saying “we’re now making the transition back to a more normal marketplace where conditions show better balance between buyers and sellers.” As a seller the spring time is a great time to put a home on the market, but under these conditions it is more important than ever to price the home competitively. As a “for sale by owner” using a flat fee MLS broker you have a competitive advantage over homes sold through a full service agent. Because you are saving a minimum of 3 percent with flat fee MLS on the sale of your home you can be more flexible with the asking price, lowering your overall list price while still pocketing more equity than if you used a full service agent.
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Home Sales in February Exceed Industry Forecast
After economists forecasted a drop in the annual rate, home sales experienced the biggest jump in two years indicating a surprising strength in the housing market. The 5.2 percent rise from 6.57 million in January to 6.91 million in February was the biggest jump since February of 2004 according to the National Association of Realtors. These figures are based on when a home sale closes not when a contract is accepted. So the warmest January on record, coupled with the dip in interest rates may have aided in increasing the sales figures for the month.
While the median and average sales prices have reduced from January to February, sales levels are much ahead of where they were just one year earlier. Last year posted a median sales price of $189,000 and an average sales price of $249,000 compared to a median sales price of $210,000 and an average sales price of $256,000 for February 2006.
Reports predicting the real estate market to cool off from the record pace of 2005 now seem a little premature.
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Wall Street Journal says Richmond offers lower cost of living
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal today stated that Richmond, VA market is giving the D.C.- New York corridor a run for its money. "The area’s relatively affordable housing and lower cost of living has helped attract companies like packaging giant MeadWestvaco Corp., which recently announced plans to relocate its headquarters to the area from Connecticut, bringing an estimated 400 new jobs and giving the Virginia capital bragging rights to a seventh Fortune 500 company headquarters."
According to the article, Richmond’s third quarter median home price was $214,000, a bargain compared with Washington, D.C. where median home price was $441,400 for the third quarter of 2005.
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White House expects home price increases to cool
The White House Council of Economic Advisers wrote in its annual Economic Report of the President, which was sent to Congress yesterday that, "Prospects remain good for continued growth in the years ahead." While the overall economy is expected to continued growth, the CEA’s assessment of the housing market was somewhat more subdued. According to CEA member, Matthew Slaughter, the rate of home price appreciation is "likely to slow in the future."
After 5 years of 9.2 percent annual growth rate, due to low interest rates, strenghtening job market, and rising income, the next 5 years is likely to see a downward trend in part due to rising interest rates, the report said. A dramatic housing bubble burst is not expected because "the elevated level of house prices will sustain homebuilding as a profitable enterprise for some time."
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Talk of housing bubble overstated. Home sales remain steady,
With all the talk recently of a housing bubble, what can home owners expect in the months ahead? Comparisons to bubbles in other industries fail to take into account several salient factors with regard to real estate.
For instance, the tech bubble of the 1990s saw stocks in that industry tumble nearly 80%. Can we really think that the same kind of correction could take place in the real estate market?
Real estate differs from other assets in many important ways and is affected on a regional basis more often than a national one. A correction in one area of the country doesn’t necessarily spell a nationwide housing price drop. While it has become much more difficult to buy a home in many cities, in others it has actually become easier, pointing to a boom taking place regionally, rather nationally.
In comparison to stocks or bonds, homes are largely illiquid assets that can take a significant amount of time to sell as compared to stocks which are negotiable securities. Different factors drive housing prices such as mortgage interest rates, the local economy and housing supply and demand.
The United States leads the world in population growth. Not suprisingly, this increasing population needs housing. Children of the baby boom are now reaching home buying age.
It may be that housing prices are due for a correction, a slow down is likely, but home sales should remain steady and will regain momentum throughout the next decade.
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