Browsing Category Sellers

What is the future of the MLS?

in Buyers General Real Estate Marketing Sellers Technology on

I do not intend to bore readers, but this has been a very hot topic of late, and I am fascinated by the direction of the MLS for a variety of reasons:1) How will this affect my clients?2) Emerging technology and the implementation of said technology fascinates me.3) How will this affect my business?4) What do I need to do to adapt, overcome and out-innovate my competition?…  We are in a time of massive transition, from one where the Realtor controlled all the information and consumers were forced to go through a Realtor to buy or sell property to a world where information is free-flowing….  I would argue that most of this is happening in a way that consumers are not paying close attention to the changes, but they are in fact experiencing and taking advantage of the changes.But – referencing free information, such as that provided by Zillow, Johnathan Miller states:Free infers less precision, so as long as the product is marked accordingly, thats ok.  I think the turmoil created has been the assumption that the result was gospel, and people will rely on the results, which may or may not be accurate.Most consumers do not use the MLS every day, but I would argue that somewhere near a majority checks the local MLS public search page at least once a month, if not once a week – just to satiate their own curiosity.For more information and insight, read Russ’ review from this past May and this article describing the future path(s) of the MLS concept.  Disclaimer: I am a member of the NAR Future of the MLS PAG (how’s that for acronym overload).This, from Saul Klein’s blog (actually a cut-and-paste of an Inman article) – from Tom Stevens, CEO of the National Association of Realtors:What makes MLSs unique in the business world is that they exist first to facilitate cooperation between brokers, and that includes interbroker compensation….  (I am not advocating this position, just asking the question)Now that two large brokerages are going to send their listings to Google Base (subscription only), how long before an MLS decides to do the same?  Or a large regional MLS?”The content partnership with Google will grant home sellers increased visibility for their property listings, as the partnership allows home buyers greater access to search for properties with specific attributes including details on bedrooms, baths, lot size and address,” according to Prudential California’s announcement..How long before they stop adding properties to their local MLS’?  How will this impact consumers?Each day that I learn more and think more about the future of the MLS, the future of marketing property, a couple of things become clear:1) I get more confused2) I get more unsure as to what the future will look like3) What we know today is far different than what we will know tomorrow4) Property data (or content) is becoming far more fragmented than ever before.

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The solution to many of real estate’s problems

in Buyers Sellers on

Buyers Should Know that Mortgages Can Include Fees Paid Directly to Buyer Brokers In most cases, the fees charged by even non-traditional buyer brokers are paid out of the co-op fee offered by the listing broker or the seller.  In some cases, however, listing brokers may want to see particular buyer brokers fail,(376) particularly those the broker has targeted with adverse split arrangements.(377) These listing brokers may refuse to adjust the purchase price to cover the buyer’s broker’s fee….  That does not appear to be due to any formal rules deterring banks from granting buyers mortgages based on a total sale price that includes the fee paid directly to the buyer’s broker rather than by the listing agent from the latter’s commission received from the seller.  Nevertheless, many lenders appear resistant to regarding a fee paid directly to the buyer’s broker as part of the sale price, even if only out of ignorance.378 This may occur because some written lending standards may not have been officially revised to recognize that agents working with buyers are no longer usually subagents of the seller.(379) Buyers and banks should be informed that these mortgages are available and accepted in the secondary markets….  Educating all the Realtors who have not read this study would be at least half the battle.If the Buyer is able to negotiate the commission, rather than rely on the pre-negotiated price offered by the Seller, which the Buyer will be amortizing over thirty years through their payment of the mortgage, true freedom would be had.In fact, the FTC hypothesized that the ability of brokers to steer their customers to homes associated with agents charging the going commission rate and split “is the most important factor explaining the general uniformity of commission rates in most local markets.”366 This is a bogus argument.  With the rapid increases in technology, the fact that most consumers use the internet and the fact that most of today’s consumers have adopted the emerging search technologies more rapidly than most Realtors, “steering” consumers away from houses with a lower co-broke fee is 1) difficult if not impossible, 2) clearly not in the best interests of the client and 3) stupid.Their Six Recommendations:- Home Buyers Should Know What Their Broker Will be Paid- Home Buyers Should Know Specifically What Services Their Broker Will Provide, in Particularly Whether the Broker’s Agent May Intentionally Overlook Some Homes – Buyers Should Know that Mortgages Can Include Fees Paid Directly to Buyer Brokers – Sellers Should Know that Some Buyers Forgo a Broker Seeking to Save Money- Sellers Should Know that Buyers May Agree on Lower Fees with their Brokers – Listing Brokers Should Disclose What Specific Services They Will Provide, and Whether They May Selfishly Seek to Limit Dissemination of Listing Information Are all mostly reasonable.  Might they also suggest that real estate agents who are able to adapt should be paid even if there is not a successful transaction?I’ve said it before and I will say it again:Marketing will become less and less a component of a Realtor’s core competency….  It will be part of the job, but not, as it too-frequently is now, the only part of the job.Competition on price has always been part of the equation; many clients feel that they get what they pay for.

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Quick CharlAlbemarle numbers

in Buyers General Real Estate Sellers on

There are currently 1591 properties actively on the market in Charlottesville, Albemarle and Fluvanna (203 of which are condos).*438 of these 1591 properties are marked as New Construction – 28% of properties on the market now in the above localities are new construction.  How many have actually broken ground and are currently under construction?  Hard to tell.434 are not listed as New Construction and are vacant – nearly 38% of resale homes on the market are vacant.  Ostensibly, these homeowners are managing two house payments at the same time.Good times and good opportunities for buyers.*Data is from the CAAR MLS, which contains most, but not all property information.

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Required reading for sellers

in General Real Estate Sellers on

This article from today’s Wall Street Journal (paid link) is direct, cogent and simple; simple in a good way.  Finding an article in the big media about today’s changing market that provides good information that is not written from a fear-mongering frame of mind is rare….  A few select quotes:Sellers are also being told to cut prices aggressively if their house isn’t moving — or risk chasing the market downward….Waterford Development Corp….  If the price drops, the company says it will write the buyer a check for up to 15% of the original sales price, not including the value of any optional upgrades….  says he has begun checking multiple-listing service data every week or two instead of once a quarter to see how recent sales compare with deals that closed three and six months ago. “Things can change…very quickly,” he says….Another approach is a personal plea.  (She) encourages clients to court prospective buyers with a letter explaining the intangibles that make their home and neighborhood so appealing, such as the fact that the kids on the block trick-or-treat at Halloween together.  During the height of the housing boom, some brokers were encouraging the same type of personal notes — but from buyers eager to get their bid accepted….My, how things have changed.  I will still write letters presenting my buyers to the sellers (and perhaps now from my sellers to the buyers) – the business remains about people, hot market or not.While I read this article in print this evening, the Housing Bubble blog brings its spin to the conversation.

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Riddle me this

in Buyers General Real Estate Sellers on

How can a property be a “wonderful home priced below market value?”  Market value:The fair market value is the price at which the property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or to sell and both having reasonable knowledge of relevant facts.If it’s priced “below market value,” how does this person define market value?

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