Charlottesville is in a Drought WatchWages in the region slightly up; what’s the benefit in this?The survey is proprietary, and Carolyn Fowler of HR Diversified Solutions warns the Hook that even if we pony up $200 for a copy of the report, publishing the information is strictly forbidden.Why housing is expensiveStates aim to stem tide of home foreclosuresThe projected foreclosure rate — higher than during the oil bust of 1987 but not as high as in the 2002 recession — poses a significant threat to the housing sector, and possibly to the nation’s economy if it spurs consumers to maintain a tight grip on their wallets. “Falling home prices hurt consumer spending,” says Patrick Newport, an economist at consulting firm Global Insight.The problem can be traced in large part to consumers who took out adjustable-rate mortgages that had low initial rates but which adjusted higher after two years to a rate that was significantly higher than they expected or could afford…. Houses left vacant as the result of foreclosures tend to push property values down and cause neighbors that can afford to do so to sell out and move away, creating a snowball effect.And Wells Fargo has stopped making these 2/28 loans. Too little, too late?The company in an e-mail said it ended on Friday retail offerings of so-called 2/28 loans, which at 65 percent of all subprime mortgages last year are the staple of the industry.
Date Archives July 2007
The perils of being quoted in the media in Charlottesville
Transparency hurt nobody.Take today’s story in the C-Ville Weekly on the area’s home sales -Mid-year sales in Charlottesville, Albemarle and surrounding counties decreased to 1,882 from 2,267 homes sold at this time last year. That means we’re still in a buyer’s market, but according to CAAR, the real estate pendulum is ever so gently swinging back towards the center.Yet realtor and real estate blogger Jim Duncan isn’t ready to buy into CAAR’s assessment…. See this story for clarification of my assessment of the local market, and this one expanding on why hindsight will give us the opportunity to better assess today’s market.So what will a little under $300,000 get you in downtown Charlottesville?… I’m not sure that I used the word “hammered” – it’s not one that I would typically use when describing the market, so as to avoid contributing to the culture of fear being propagated by the media.Seeing a few choice quotes selected to give a story more of a “gotcha” quality is frustrating, particularly when my words are used.
Upgraded WP
After testing it on my other blogs, I’ve upgraded Wordpress to 2.2.1. Please let me know if you have any issues.
The Carnival of Real Estate #51
Is up at Rain City Guide.There are plenty of posts worthy of reading by real estate-related professions, but also for real estate consumers and voyeurs, notably:Half-assed serviceDivorcing the real estate commissions …Expected rate of decline of home prices in the next yearIt’s a bloodbath and time to swim with the sharksTo clarify on my entry that was selected (thank you Ardell!) – the email signature digression was quoted from the original article. That it was distracting is evidence that that type of repeated disclosure is unnecessary and clutters things up.
Crafty SEO tactics for real estate bloggers
â€Learn more here and here.I’ll leave these two comments as examples at least for the time being; next time I’ll probably just submit these sites to Askimet.Trying to appeal to these firms and their deceived customers is probably a waste of time, but I’ll try anyway. Paying for these “services” puts you in the same company as those selling Viagra and enlargement tools, canadian pharmacies, Nigerian investors and sploggers.Most insidiously, these paid-for-comments detract from the authenticity that makes blogging attractive…. I have my own blog and I’ve had spammers (like the ones mentioned in the link you sent me) leave comments on my blog for viagra and other inappropriate content and you’re right to be vigilant about comments left on your blog…. (Please feel free to check out our site to get a better idea of our business model and clients website removed.com)At least this person admitted what she was doing.
Is real estate blogging advertising?
I’ve happened to earn some clients from my efforts here, but that was never the specific and primary intent (I’d be lying if I didn’t hope that somebody would contact me because of the blog).The Commonwealth of Virginia’s Real Estate Board sent out its quarterly newsletter recently with an article that stated the following regarding real estate advertising:For a web site, either the firm or the licensee must include disclosure of their status as a real estate licensee in a prominent place, or have an easily identified link to such a disclosure if the firm or licensee owns the webpage or controls its content.For emails, blogs, and bulletin boards, disclosure should be provided at the beginning or the end of the email.Are websites and blogs so different that they need to be regulated differently?Aren’t blog readers generally savvy-enough to determine whether the author is or is not a licensed Realtor?… With regards to both real estate agents (not necessarily Realtors) and consumers?When participating in or hosting a blog or chat for real estate business purposes, be sure to disclose your status as a licensee and the name of your firm PRIOR to offer to provide licensable services or disclose in text visible on the same webpage that contains the chat session or blog, especially if the licensee controls the web site hosting.The world of new media is too large, too fluid and too misunderstood by those writing the regulations to be covered by a “one-size fits all” system. Look no further than the diversity of the arguably arbitrary “top 20 real estate blogs” – stipulating that they’re not all from Virginia, how many advertising rules would it take to regulate these effectively?… It is important to remember that disclosure of your status as a real estate agent is important in all forms of advertising.For online advertising, disclosure means (1) the advertising contains the firm’s name, city, state of firm’s main office or (2) the advertisement contains the licensee’s name, the name of the firm with which the licensee is active and the city and state in the licensee’s office is located.In all instances — including classified ads — the firm’s name must be provided.For a web site, either the firm or the licensee must include disclosure of their status as a real estate licensee in a prominent place, or have an easily identified link to such a disclosure if the firm or licensee owns the webpage or controls its content.For emails, blogs, and bulletin boards, disclosure should be provided at the beginning or the end of the email.An acceptable email signature would look like this:Jane Doe, GRI, licensed salesperson in the Commonwealth of VirginiaHappy Daze Realty1500 Sunshine CircleRichmond, VA 23225804-999-9999 Office804-222-2222 CellWhen participating in or hosting a blog or chat for real estate business purposes, be sure to disclose your status as a licensee and the name of your firm PRIOR to offer to provide licensable services or disclose in text visible on the same webpage that contains the chat session or blog, especially if the licensee controls the web site hosting.Keep in mind that we need to inform the public of our licensee status when we share real estate related information or whenever we are sharing our expertise, even online.”
Friday Links 07-20-2007
Will the Green Bubble pop?Prefab home at one with nature and technologyAre Katrina Cottages an answer to affordable housing? Here they are.Monitoring your energy use.Make use of wasted space (via LifeHacker)”Now we have a new traffic offense called DWV: Driving While Virginian.”