Real Estate Sifter

RISMedia’s 22nd annual Power Broker Survey Now Available for Completion

RISMEDIA, February 1, 2010—RISMedia’s 22nd Annual Power Broker Report & Survey—the industry’s leading report ranking the nation’s top brokerages—is now available for completion online. Inclusion in this listing of the real estate industry’s “who’s who” has long served as an important competitive tool and carries even more weight in today’s difficult marketplace where many real estate firms have been forced to close their doors. The deadline for completion of the survey is Monday, February 22nd. To complete the survey, please click here.

For years, the nation’s top real estate brokers have sought to be included in the Power Broker Report & Survey—an indispensable reference and marketing tool. In today’s troubled real estate market, however, inclusion in the Power Broker ranking takes on increased significance as brokers struggle to regain consumer confidence in real estate.

“Being among the firms ranked in the Power Broker Survey highlights your firm as a strong, stable leader in a still-troubled real estate market, and puts you at the forefront as our industry begins to stabilize and rise again,” said RISMedia President & CEO John Featherston. “Making this list of leaders proves your firm’s commitment to real estate consumers and positions you as the place to turn to for all their real estate needs.”

The Power Broker Report is read by more than 500,000 real estate professionals and thousands of leading corporate relocation decision makers. The report is also accessible online to millions of interested consumers.

To complete the survey, firms must have completed a minimum of 500 transactions in 2009. Brokerages participating in this year’s survey should note that to avoid duplication and potential confusion, the Power Broker Survey should be completed by an individual, shareholder or entity with a minimum 50.1% ownership interest inclusive of subsidiaries. All sales and transaction volume comes directly from brokerages and is verified and substantiated by external sources, in most cases accounting firms, prior to publication. There is no cost or any obligation to participate in this report.

The deadline for our receipt of your completed survey is February 22, 2010. To take the survey, click here.

Why participate?
ELITE STATUS – You will join the industry’s leading real estate companies when you are published in the largest circulated annual report of its kind in the real estate industry.
PROMOTION - Your firm will be promoted to more than 600 local and national media outlets as one of America’s largest real estate companies.
READERSHIP - The Annual RISMedia POWER BROKER Report is read by more than 300,000 real estate professionals, thousands of leading corporate relocation decision makers and is accessible online to millions of interested consumers.
RECRUITMENT – Appearing in the RISMedia Power Broker ranking is a great agent recruitment and retention tool.
INVITATION – You will be invited to the 15th Annual RISMedia Power Broker Reception & Dinner at the NAR Conference & Expo in New Orleans, Louisiana this November—an exclusive networking event with the industry’s most successful brokers.

Results of the RISMedia POWER BROKER Survey will be accessible online at www.rismedia.com and in the April 20010 issue of RISMedia’s Real Estate magazine. For questions regarding RISMedia’s 22nd Annual Power Broker Report & Survey, please contact Executive Editor Maria Patterson (maria@rismedia.com) or IT Manager James Jones (jim@rismedia.com).

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

RISMEDIA, February 1, 2010—Marketing. Advertising. Promotions.

Don’t let these three words scare you. Though integral to making connections and winning over buyers and sellers alike, many real estate professionals don’t think they have the time or know-how to develop a cost effective, thought out strategy. With a rocky market and ever-growing pressures and demands, who could blame them?

Fortunately, the following four promotional strategies require little time, effort, and investment. What’s more, they are proven concepts that’ll increase your name recognition, pool of customers and bottom line.

Forget handing out regular business cards
Guess where the majority of your paper business cards spend their lives? Here’s a clue: not in front of your customers and prospects. As at least 80% of U.S. households have business card magnets on their refrigerator, why not take advantage and have your name and contact information stick around for the long run? Bonus points for clever and interesting designs.

Send a direct mail piece with a branded magnet
Fact: direct mail pieces accompanied with a magnet are 60% more likely to be opened and read than a mailer without a magnet. Indeed, this reason alone explains why many real estate professionals mail branded magnets to households in their local market. Not only is it cheaper and more effective than placing an ad in the phonebook or in the newspaper, it guarantees your contact information remains in plain sight (on the cherished fridge, nonetheless) when a buyer or seller needs your service.

People love free things
Who doesn’t like getting free stuff? What’s more, who doesn’t like getting useful free stuff? Although the New Year just passed, it’s certainly not too late to send your customers and prospects a free custom calendar magnet or even a baseball schedule magnet of your local team. Add your contact information, company logo and/or photo and you have a free and useful item that’ll stay in your customers’ view for a long while.

Get viral
Get your name and contact information out in the community and create some word of mouth. For example, drop off a handful of creative, outside the box magnets (perhaps even include some sort of interesting offer on them) at your community center, chamber of commerce, local hardware store, church, etc. and watch how quickly word spreads. Similarly, take your offer online via Facebook, Twitter, and your blog.

What are you doing to increase your name recognition, pool of customers and bottom line?

Eric Bogard is the marketing manager of Magnets.com, a leading designer and manufacturer of custom promotional fridge magnets. Get free shipping on all orders by visiting www.Magnets.com.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

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RISMEDIA, February 1, 2010—Here at Zillow, we’ve assumed for a long time that, in most markets, buyers can get pretty good deals on foreclosures. Our chief economist, Dr. Stan Humphries, has called foreclosures and non-foreclosures two distinct markets—a comment that has recently set off some debate.

That debate prompted us to delve further into the issue and release a white paper titled “Price Differences Between Foreclosures and Non-Foreclosures.” It turns out that, in most markets, foreclosures and non-foreclosures do indeed constitute two distinct markets, with previously foreclosed homes regularly fetching much lower prices than non-foreclosed homes with similar attributes.

The extent of the “discount” for foreclosed homes varies by market though. Of the 16 markets we analyzed (using data from the end of the third quarter), the Pittsburgh metropolitan statistical area (MSA) showed the biggest discount for foreclosed homes, with buyers currently paying 59% less for foreclosures than they would for similar non-foreclosures.

However, there aren’t as many foreclosures to choose from in Pittsburgh as there are in some other markets. Ten percent of all sales in September 2009 were sales of previously foreclosed homes. That’s decreased even more, with 8% of sales in November being foreclosure re-sales.

On the other end of the spectrum was the Portland, Ore. MSA, where foreclosures typically fetched 18% less than non-foreclosures. Across all 16 markets, the average foreclosure discount was 28% (i.e., foreclosures sold for 72% of the price of a non-foreclosure. Here’s the full list.

A little about methodology: Our analysis attempted to control for physical differences in the homes, as well as differences in local markets that may exist between foreclosures and non-foreclosures (see the full methodology in the white paper). Without controlling for these factors, the discount for foreclosures was much larger, with foreclosures selling at a 42% discount compared to non-foreclosures.

The discount after controlling for differences between homes is probably the result of seller motivation (many sellers of foreclosed homes are banks), and the condition of the home (versus the physical specifications of the home, like number of bedrooms and bathrooms). Finally, the amount of foreclosure discount varies somewhat by how common foreclosures are in the metro area, but read the white paper for more about this relationship.

For more information, visit www.Zillow.com.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

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RISMEDIA, February 1, 2010—As part of the Administration’s ongoing housing market stabilization plan, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently released updated guidance for servicers participating in the Administration’s mortgage modification program. This guidance refines the documentation requirements in order to expedite conversions of current trial modifications to permanent ones.

“With more than 850,000 homeowners in trial and permanent modifications, we are providing immediate relief to struggling homeowners,” said Phyllis Caldwell, Chief of Treasury’s Homeownership Preservation Office. “This new guidance represents our commitment to more efficiently move qualified homeowners into permanent modifications.”

“Increasing the number of borrowers receiving permanent modifications under HAMP is critical to our efforts to preserve affordable and sustainable homeownership,” said HUD Senior Advisor for Housing Finance William Apgar. “While we continue to meet our goals to provide immediate assistance, these updates should enable servicers to transition borrowers more quickly and easily from trial to permanent modification.”

On December 23, 2009, the Administration required most trial modifications to be placed in a temporary review period to ensure that all borrowers are being fairly evaluated for the program. During this temporary review period, servicers were not permitted to cancel an active HAMP trial modification for any reason other than failure to meet the HAMP property eligibility requirements. This allowed servicers to convert a significant number of trial modifications to permanent ones. In fact, the total number of conversions more than doubled in December. The new guidance will help improve this conversion process for the future.

The updated process requires that key documents, including proof of income, be obtained from the borrower before a borrower evaluation can begin. This more robust requirement of upfront documentation will make it easier and quicker to convert trial modifications to permanent modifications and enable servicers to use their resources more effectively.

Guidance Details
Supplemental Directive 10-01 provides guidance on two major issues:

-New Requirements that Documentation be Provided Before Trial Modification Begins- New guidance refines the documentation process and makes it easier for eligible borrowers in trial modifications to get permanent modifications quickly. Under this guidance: A simple, standard package of documents will be required prior to the servicer’s evaluation of the borrower for a trial modification. This process will be required for all new HAMP modifications that became effective after June 1, although mortgage servicers may implement it sooner.

-Converting Borrowers in the Temporary Review Period to Permanent Modifications- In December, Treasury implemented a review period through January 31 to provide servicers additional time to collect and submit missing documentation for borrowers in trial modifications, to require that borrowers be notified of any missing documents, and to give borrowers an opportunity to dispute and correct any erroneous information in their applications. New guidance clarifies for servicers the proper procedures for conversion of those borrowers who are current on their monthly payments to permanent modifications.

For more information, visit www.hud.gov.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

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RISMEDIA, February 1, 2010—(MCT)—The U.S. economy grew at an accelerated pace in the last quarter of 2009, driven largely by a rebound in manufacturing and better-than-expected gains in consumer spending and commercial investments, according to Commerce Department statistics.

The nation’s gross domestic product (GDP)—or total goods and services produced in the United States—expanded at a robust 5.7% annual rate in the fourth quarter. That’s more than double the 2.2% growth in the third quarter and a dramatic turnaround from the first three months of 2009, when the economy shrank by 6.4%.

The latest GDP growth rate was about a percentage point higher than most economists’ forecasts, with consumer spending and an upturn in commercial investments contributing more than what was expected. These are encouraging signs and could prompt analysts to raise their growth forecasts for this year. Even so, the fuel behind the fourth-quarter acceleration won’t last as it was mostly temporary: an extraordinarily big swing in inventory levels that accounted for 60% of the quarterly growth. With manufacturing recovering from the recession and consumers purchasing more, producers stopped their massive liquidation of stocks and many have begun to boost inventories.

It remains to be seen whether consumer purchases, exports and capital spending can grow enough to keep lifting production and sustain the economic recovery. Analysts had predicted economic growth this year at between 2-3%, a moderate pace that would not be enough to spark much job creation or drive down unemployment significantly from its current 10% rate. For all of 2009, the nation’s total output of goods and services, after adjusting for inflation, contracted 2.4% from the previous year.

(c) 2010, Tribune Co.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

RISMEDIA, February 1, 2010—The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had increased in December 2009, improved further in January 2010. The Index now stands at 55.9 (1985=100), up from 53.6 in December. The Present Situation Index increased to 25.0 from 20.2. The Expectations Index increased to 76.5 from 75.9 last month.

The Consumer Confidence Survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. The monthly survey is conducted for The Conference Board by TNS. TNS is one of the world’s largest custom research companies. The cutoff date for January’s preliminary results was January 19th.

“Consumer Confidence rose for the third consecutive month, primarily the result of an improvement in present-day conditions. Consumers’ short-term outlook, while moderately more positive, does not suggest any significant pickup in activity in the coming months. Regarding their financial situation, while consumers were less dire about their income prospects than in December, the number of pessimists continues to outnumber the optimists,” said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center.

Consumers’ assessment of present-day conditions was, on the whole, more positive than last month. Those stating business conditions are “good” increased to 9.0% from 7.5%, however, those stating business conditions are “bad” increased to 46.1% from 45.7%. Consumers’ assessment of the labor market improved moderately. Those claiming jobs are “hard to get” declined to 47.4% from 48.1%, while those claiming jobs are “plentiful” increased to 4.3% from 3.1%.

Consumers’ short-term outlook, while overall more positive, was somewhat mixed. The percentage of consumers expecting an improvement in business conditions over the next six months decreased to 20.9% from 21.2%, while those anticipating conditions will worsen increased to 12.7% from 11.8%. Regarding the outlook for the labor market, those expecting fewer jobs decreased to 18.9% from 20.6%. However, those expecting more jobs to become available in the months ahead declined to 15.5% from 16.4%. The proportion of consumers anticipating a decrease in their incomes declined to 16.2% from 18.4%.

For more information, visit www.conference-board.org.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

RISMEDIA, January 30, 2010—(MCT)—If your idea of a dream retirement home is a luxury contemporary overlooking a championship golf course in the desert, you better be prepared for some mighty small block parties: When it comes to retirement living, golf courses are out.

And Arizona and Florida aren’t the only retirement-relocation hot spots these days. In fact, North and South Carolina now top the preferences of baby boomers who will be retiring in the next decade, according to a survey to be released from home builder Del Webb. “How times have changed when it comes to the golf course,” said Paul Cardis, chief executive of AVID Ratings Co., a survey research firm. His recommendation to builders: Eliminate it. Bike paths and walking trails are the new greens and fairways.

Blame it all on the economy. The recession has taken its toll not only on nest eggs but also on the traditional concept of a retirement home. That’s the message that attendees at the International Builders Show received in a number of presentations and seminars.

Downsizing is a trend that is taking hold among all housing consumers, but it is particularly evident among the 55-plus crowd that includes the older baby boomers. And that downsizing includes housing aspirations in retirement. While “warmer climate” was the reigning factor in choosing where to retire in the first boomer survey Del Webb conducted in 1996, today “cost of living” is the most important consideration on where to locate. Although Florida, Arizona and California remain Top 10 retirement destinations, the trend is giving other states a chance to draw even more retirees.

Despite the broadening of potential destinations, baby boomers’ desire to move in retirement has remained relatively stable over the years. Between 30-40% plan to move to a new home in retirement, about the same as in 1996, and half of those plan on moving to a new state.

What older buyers want in homes
What kind of houses will be in demand among those 55 and older? According to a consumer survey conducted by the National Association of Home Builders, the most important design features that 55-plus buyers want in their homes center on the practical:

-Washers and dryers in their units
-Storage space
-Windows that open easily
-Garage-door openers
-Easy-to-use thermostats
-First-floor master bedrooms
-Private patios
-Porches
-Attached garages
-Bigger bathrooms

A lot of the more popular features in new homes these days don’t appeal all that much to older buyers:
-Island work areas
-Separate showers
-Private toilet compartments
-Sun rooms
-Woodburning fireplaces
-Exercise rooms

But a number of items that home buyers don’t find to be of much interest are much more popular with older buyers:
-Bathroom aids such as grab bars
-Kitchen aids
-Light home-repair services
-Outdoor maintenance services
-An entrance without steps
-Accessible public transportation
-Wider doorways
-Nonslip flooring

Among technology features, older home buyers tend to act like younger buyers when it comes to the basics: Both groups have a preference for security systems, energy management, structured wiring and lighting controls. But older buyers had little use for home theaters, distributed audio or home automation, more-expensive items that younger buyers do like. “These older buyers are frugal, probably on a fixed income and so expensive tech items are not that big on their lists,” said Rose Quint, the NAHB assistant vice president for survey research.

The emphasis on services related to home and community is an important one that cuts across many age groups, said John Migliaccio, director of research at MetLife’s Mature Market Institute, which surveys consumers and builders on retirement issues. “Very telling is that the younger group of mature consumers reported enthusiastically that they want services like home maintenance and repair as part of their next home purchase, along with services usually connected to older householders, such as housekeeping, onsite health care and transportation,” he said.

According to Migliaccio, all of those items were ranked higher than the desire for social activities by this group—a surprise given that social activities and amenities have been thought to be valued highly by this group. He said the data support an emerging trend among builders to look for ways to partner with providers of such services to the residents of their active adult/lifestyle communities.

Migliaccio also predicted that universal design—which includes features such as wider hallways, lever-handled doors, roll-in showers and no-stair entries—will catch on as baby boomers watch their own parents age. “The boomers are going to see their own parents age without it and they won’t like what they see,” he said.

The 55-plus age group represents 38% of all U.S. households and is projected to rise every year to be almost 45% of households by 2019. And that group has high homeownership rates: while the U.S. as a whole has about a 67% ownership rate, those 55 to 74 own homes at an 80% clip. “Most buyers in this market are looking for an easy-living lifestyle. They would like easy access to services that will free up their time from maintenance both inside and outside their homes,” said Mike McGowan, a 50-plus builder from Binghamton, N.Y. and chairman of the National Association of Home Builder’s 50-Plus Housing Council. “This data tells builders that the homes they build for older active adults will remain attractive to the consumers who will be entering that market for the foreseeable future.”

(c) 2010, MarketWatch.com Inc.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

RISMEDIA, January 30, 2010—After a year of steady declines in home remodeling, the Spring 2010 U.S. Remodeling Sentiment Report reveals a 13% increase in the number of homeowners who say they will remodel in the next 12 months. This increase follows a 5% increase in last year’s Spring 2009 report. The continuing upward swing in remodeling sentiment indicates that 2010 will show a strong increase in remodeling activity.

The Spring 2010 Sentiment Report, a survey of 5,000 homeowners in the U.S. who are considering remodeling, also shows that the recession has had several impacts on U.S. homeowners. These include:

-The most popular projects in the past–remodeling the kitchen and bathrooms–have decreased in popularity, as adding a bathroom has taken the honors of the most popular project. This makes sense since, for many homeowners, updating an existing room can be put off because it is often seen as a “luxury,” while for many, the addition of a bathroom is a necessity due to changes in the needs of the family.

-Interest in do-it-yourself projects, both the actual building as well as acting as their own general contractor, has remained steady throughout the economic downturn.

-Economizing on the cost of materials is growing in popularity at the same time, as fewer homeowners are reporting they will use expensive materials for their remodel. The percentage of homeowners reporting they will use average costing materials remains the same.

-The number of homeowners reporting they are “excited” about remodeling has climbed to an all-time high of 54%, which is primarily due to homeowners who aren’t excited about remodeling choosing to put their plans on hold to wait until the recession is over. This may be a costly choice for homeowners since the cost to remodel now is as much as 20% lower than in 2006, according to a special cost to remodel study published earlier this year.

Summary Results from the Report

Homeowners who report they:                    2008        2010
Plan to hire a general contractor                 66%         64%
Plan to do some of the remodeling work    67%         66%
Are excited about remodeling                      48%          54%
Plan to remodel a bathroom                         49%         42%
Plan to remodel the kitchen                          55%         48%
Plan to add a bathroom                                  49%         53%

For more information, visit www.remodelormove.com.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

RISMEDIA, January 30, 2010—Since initiating its year-long study of global talent trends and strategies, Deloitte reveals in its latest research report that economic optimism has reached its highest level among surveyed executives since the study’s inception. According to Deloitte’s December 2009 survey, more than one-third of the 335 surveyed executives now believe the worst of the recession is behind us as companies look to move forward to find the right balance between offensive and defensive talent strategies.

“Looking into the recovery, companies can no longer depend on the recession as their primary retention strategy for keeping critical employees,” said Jeff Schwartz, principal, Human Capital, Deloitte Consulting LLP. “We expect executives to continue to shift their talent portfolios from ‘defensive’ measures, such as cutting headcount and focusing primarily on costs, to ‘offensive’ programs, including retention of critical leaders and workers and increased spending on training and development with a focus on leadership. In addition, our research shows that companies committed to world class leadership programs maintained their focus during the recession and are continuing to invest in developing new career paths for their top performers and to cherry-pick the best talent available in the marketplace.”

Since January 2009, Deloitte has been conducting a longitudinal survey to gauge how senior executives and talent managers are positioning their workforces, both in deep recession and emerging recovery. The results of the December survey- the final edition in Deloitte’s year-long, longitudinal survey of global talent trends and strategies- revealed the following key findings:

Companies are (Cautiously) Optimistic
In December, more than one-third (35%) of the executives surveyed predicted the worst of the economic crisis is behind us- the highest level of economic confidence since the survey began in January 2009. Cutting and managing costs remains the top strategic issue for the executives surveyed in December, just as it has in every previous survey. However, 50% of surveyed executives named “acquiring/serving/retaining” customers as a strategic issue capturing the most management attention.

Talent Priorities are Shifting, Albeit Slowly
Reducing employee headcount remained the leading current talent priority, ranked No. 1 by 35% of the executives and talent managers who participated in this survey, followed by retention (28%) and training and development (25%). A ranking of talent priorities over the next three months produced a virtual dead heat, with reducing employee headcount at 31%, training and development at 29% and retention at 27%. Heading into the first quarter of 2010, only 39% of talent managers and executives who participated in this survey anticipate additional layoffs in the next three months, compared to 51% who see no layoffs on the horizon.

Training and Development Yield World-Class Talent
More than four in 10 executives surveyed expect their companies to increase programs aimed at developing high potential employees (47%) and cultivating corporate leaders (43%). Nearly three-quarters of surveyed executives believe that leadership development was either critically important (27%) or very important (45%) at their companies. And, an overwhelming eight out of 10 either agreed (55%) or strongly agreed (25%) that their companies have a clear leadership development strategy. Despite near universal agreement on the importance of leadership programs, surveyed executives do not have a high sense of confidence about their efforts in this area. Only 10% of survey participants describe their leadership initiatives as “world-class across the board.”

For more information, visit www.deloitte.com.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

RISMEDIA, January 29, 2010—(MCT)—Amid the political rancor over Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s bid for a second term, central bank officials encountered some dissension in their first policy-setting meeting of the year, even as they affirmed their pledge to keep interest rates at near zero for “an extended period.”

For the first time in a year, the Fed’s monetary policy committee’s statement, issued at the conclusion of its two-day meeting, came with a dissenting vote. Thomas M. Hoenig, president of the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City, voted against the policy action, indicating that economic and financial conditions had improved enough that the statement to maintain the benchmark short-term rate for an extended period was unwarranted.

Some analysts interpret “extended period” as meaning at least six months, but nobody knows for sure. And Hoenig’s opposition, which had surfaced in a speech he gave last month, didn’t seem to change most economists forecasts that the Fed would probably begin to raise the fed funds rate late this year at the earliest.

Nonetheless, the dissenting voice could presage an earlier-than-expected increase in interest rates in a pre-emptive move to stave off long-term inflation or inflation expectations.

The fed funds rate, or the rate on overnight bank loans, is the basis for the prime rate, currently at 3.25%, which in turn is used in setting credit card rates and home equity and auto loans.

At this point, most in the Fed’s currently 10-member committee, including Bernanke, clearly remain more concerned about the durability of the economic recovery particularly given the sluggish labor market than the risks of inflation, which has been running at below the Fed’s target of 2%. In their recent statement, the Fed removed the language it had kept for some time that economic activity was likely to remain weak, instead replacing it with a note of cautious optimism that “economic recovery is likely to be moderate for a time.”

The Fed reiterated its commitment to wind down some emergency lending programs that were launched to prop up financial markets during the recession. The central bank also reaffirmed that it expected to complete its $1.25-trillion purchase of mortgage-backed securities by March 31. The program was aimed at driving down mortgage rates and boosting the housing market.

(c) 2010, Tribune Co.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.