Real Estate Point

RISMEDIA, Oct. 7, 2008-Rentals.com announced the roll-out of a streamlined ad creation tool that makes it faster for property managers and landlords to advertise rental properties. Improved organization brings new efficiencies and reduces the number of steps needed to create and upload an ad onto the site. As a result, it is even easier for advertisers to use Rentals.com and gain increased exposure to renters who turn to the Internet to find a place to live.

“The reach and effectiveness of online versus traditional newspaper listings is significant - more exposure at lower cost. And because time is valuable, we’ve improved landlords’ ad investments by streamlining the advertising process. This means less time spent creating an ad and more time in front of prospective tenants,” said John Ujda, vice president of business development at Rentals.com. “The enhancement also coincides with a housing market reality in which fewer people are able to secure home loans. In our view, servicing the rental marketplace with the most comprehensive listings network became all the more critical.”

Launching in tandem with the improved ad creation tool is a free customer service offering that will walk property managers and landlords through the process of posting an ad. Ujda added, “No question advertising on Rentals.com is easier than ever. However, we remain committed to a customer service element that will drive loyalty and positive interactions. At the end of the day, we recognize the tremendous upside that comes with greater exposure and online prominence and will frequently fine tune our offering to make the experience for property managers and landlords as effortless and as intuitive as possible.”

Rentals.com says the company will continue to invest in improvements to the site and is expected to unveil a new customer experience later in the fall that will include refined search results and new mapping functionality.

For more information, visit www.Rentals.com.

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

Commentary by Curtis Seltzer

RISMEDIA, Oct. 6, 2008-I’m trying to figure something out: With rural property showing for-sale signs rusting in place, why haven’t sellers lowered asking prices and offered financing?

I spent several hours this weekend looking at rural listings around the country. Thousands are advertised, with many of each type in the same place at about the same price.

Few sellers appear to have come off their original asking prices during the last six months. In most areas, sales seem slow. Suburban sellers have cut their prices by 25 percent or more. So why aren’t rural land sellers doing the same?

First, rural sellers may not have as urgent a need to sell. Turnover in rural property is lower than in suburbs where homeowners are subject to job transfers and financial volatility. Rural sellers are often able to wait longer.

Second, sellers in a weakening market are inclined to imprison their asking prices with backward-looking expectations. Since prices and sales were strong a year or two ago, therefore, seller reasoning goes, they should be strong now (even if they’re not).

I’ve never had much luck in hoping better times into existence. My experience is that markets produce prices, not wish-fulfillment.

Third, sellers cling to forward-looking inflation dreams. Prices, they hope, will go higher. Hold tight, they tell themselves, prices go up…eventually. Which is generally true…eventually.

Fourth, sellers hold to high asking prices in a falling market to avert loss. MIT economist David Genesove and Columbia University economist Christopher Mayer found that Boston condo owners faced with a real loss (not just less profit) stuck with higher asking prices. This produced a little more in sales price, but involved the costs of holding the property longer.

Dan Ariely, author of “Predictably Irrational” and James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University, explains sellers pricing above market in two other ways. Once we own something, he told me, we “endow” it with more value than it’s worth. And when we “customize” real estate we think it’s better than similar properties, and should, therefore, be priced higher. These behaviors are understandable, but not rational, he said.

All of these factors encourage sellers to stick on unrealistic asking prices that won’t move their properties. And once anchored into that price, sellers feel they’re losing money with each reduction. In truth, they’re not losing anything. It isn’t there to be lost.

A seller usually sets an asking price by pegging it to recent sale prices of comparable properties. But a comp analysis can cement a seller’s asking price into an outdated, overpriced market. It will estimate past worth, not present value. It’s a rationale for not selling.

When a seller prices his property at $250,000 based on comps in a weakening market, a buyer won’t look at it because it’s anchored above the $150,000 he perceives to be its current worth. The buyer reasons that it’s not even worth making an offer. The buyer is wrong. Low offers educate sellers. Three no-budge offers at $150,000 are a shriek of reality, not a subtle signal.

This buyer also sees properties listed at $150,000 as overpriced. So nothing happens.

Buyers in a buyer’s market buy the properties re-priced at the new wholesale, not the old retail. When a dozen identical lots are each priced at $50,000, the first seller to drop to $40,000 will be the first to sell.

In today’s market, a must-sell-soon seller should use a comp-based appraisal value as a top line from which he drops to a get-it-sold asking price. If you need to sell today, you need to price below your comps-based “market” value.

Buyer expectations-not appraisal values-determine sale price in an overvalued market.

Prices are too high in many rural markets-especially for timberland, farmland and money-gobbling hobby farms.

Over the long term, all have appreciated steadily. That will continue because of population growth if nothing else. But this genuine, long-term rise in values was shot up with growth hormone for the last four or five years. Today’s asking prices are inflated beyond what many of these properties are worth today.

Much of this has to do with sellers pricing timberland and cropland at second-home value. Many rural sellers also seem to assume that hunters are rich idiots.

Many rural prices today are about what they were a year or two ago. They should be lower by 20 to 30 percent if a seller wants to sell. If a seller doesn’t need to sell, I’d advise pulling the property off the market for a while.

A seller has to set an asking price in a buyer’s market based, first, on what he needs to net from a sale.

Figure the amount you need to pay off your loan, closing costs and taxes (transaction taxes and income tax, both state and federal). Then figure the cash you have in the property-down payment and repaid principal, plus capital improvements. Then determine a reasonable profit on your cash. Price it there if you need to sell.

Or price it a little higher if you can seller-finance, which is a big help to a buyer and a cheaper alternative than institutional lenders.

If your calculations show that you’re going to lose money on a price-discounted sale, you have to guess whether you’re better off losing a known amount soon or holding in hope of a higher price at some unknown future point. It’s often true in down markets that the costs of holding outweigh the net gain from the hoped-for, higher future selling price.

To hold for a higher price, or to sell now at a lower price-that’s the seller’s question. Try this exercise. Assume a cut in asking price produces a sale that’s 30 percent less. Then project your costs of holding for 18 months at the current asking price and a sale for only five percent less. Which nets you the most dollars? Which produces the least amount of heartache?

Bad news rarely gets better by not reading the paper.

If it doesn’t pay to hold, then don’t. Cut the price. Get it over with. And move along.

Curtis Seltzer is a land consultant who works with buyers and investors. He is author of How To Be a DIRT-SMART Buyer of Country Property available at www.curtis-seltzer.com where his columns are posted.

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

To read more articles by Curtis Seltzer on RISMedia.com, see:

• Your Rights - Appraising Real Estate Appraisers and Appraisals  
  Real Estate Is All about Negotiation - Help for Homeowners 
  How to Succeed at Being Honest

RISMEDIA, Oct. 6, 2008-Federal, state, and community leaders from around the nation will be gathering in Washington this week for a two-day national Summit on Housing sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD Secretary Steve Preston invited key housing and finance staffs from state, city and county government, as well as representatives from the banking and housing industries, non-profit organizations, and foundations to address the country’s urgent and long-term housing issues.

“It is imperative that we take a coordinated approach to meeting our nation’s critical housing issues since any solution will require active partnerships at every level,” said Preston. “The purpose of this summit is to bring together leaders from government, industry and the nonprofit sectors to strengthen existing partnerships that will be critical to stabilizing our communities and mitigating the effects of foreclosure in the months ahead.”

HUD’s National Housing Summit has several goals:

- To present details of HUD’s current and developing policies and programs, including HUD’s new Neighborhood Stabilization Program;
- To share successful Federal, State and local policies and programs that are preventing foreclosures and reducing the effects of property abandonment and declining home values;
- To cultivate public-private partnerships; and
- To offer an open forum for discussion of best practices.

The two-day summit will feature briefings by HUD officials and panel discussions on the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the HOPE for Homeowners program, and other foreclosure prevention and loss mitigation programs.

For more information, visit: www.hcdi.com/housing_summit.

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

Related Topics:

• Bush Admin Launches ‘Hope for Homeowners’ Program to Help Struggling Families  
  13 Groups Say Senate Bailout Leaves Troubled Homeowners Out of the Plan

RISMEDIA, Oct. 6, 2008-Federal, state, and community leaders from around the nation will be gathering in Washington this week for a two-day national Summit on Housing sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD Secretary Steve Preston invited key housing and finance staffs from state, city and county government, as well as representatives from the banking and housing industries, non-profit organizations, and foundations to address the country’s urgent and long-term housing issues.

“It is imperative that we take a coordinated approach to meeting our nation’s critical housing issues since any solution will require active partnerships at every level,” said Preston. “The purpose of this summit is to bring together leaders from government, industry and the nonprofit sectors to strengthen existing partnerships that will be critical to stabilizing our communities and mitigating the effects of foreclosure in the months ahead.”

HUD’s National Housing Summit has several goals:

- To present details of HUD’s current and developing policies and programs, including HUD’s new Neighborhood Stabilization Program;
- To share successful Federal, State and local policies and programs that are preventing foreclosures and reducing the effects of property abandonment and declining home values;
- To cultivate public-private partnerships; and
- To offer an open forum for discussion of best practices.

The two-day summit will feature briefings by HUD officials and panel discussions on the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the HOPE for Homeowners program, and other foreclosure prevention and loss mitigation programs.

For more information, visit: www.hcdi.com/housing_summit.

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

Related Topics:

• Bush Admin Launches ‘Hope for Homeowners’ Program to Help Struggling Families  
  13 Groups Say Senate Bailout Leaves Troubled Homeowners Out of the Plan

RISMEDIA, Oct. 6, 2008-Federal, state, and community leaders from around the nation will be gathering in Washington this week for a two-day national Summit on Housing sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD Secretary Steve Preston invited key housing and finance staffs from state, city and county government, as well as representatives from the banking and housing industries, non-profit organizations, and foundations to address the country’s urgent and long-term housing issues.

“It is imperative that we take a coordinated approach to meeting our nation’s critical housing issues since any solution will require active partnerships at every level,” said Preston. “The purpose of this summit is to bring together leaders from government, industry and the nonprofit sectors to strengthen existing partnerships that will be critical to stabilizing our communities and mitigating the effects of foreclosure in the months ahead.”

HUD’s National Housing Summit has several goals:

- To present details of HUD’s current and developing policies and programs, including HUD’s new Neighborhood Stabilization Program;
- To share successful Federal, State and local policies and programs that are preventing foreclosures and reducing the effects of property abandonment and declining home values;
- To cultivate public-private partnerships; and
- To offer an open forum for discussion of best practices.

The two-day summit will feature briefings by HUD officials and panel discussions on the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the HOPE for Homeowners program, and other foreclosure prevention and loss mitigation programs.

For more information, visit: www.hcdi.com/housing_summit.

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

Related Topics:

• Bush Admin Launches ‘Hope for Homeowners’ Program to Help Struggling Families  
  13 Groups Say Senate Bailout Leaves Troubled Homeowners Out of the Plan

RISMEDIA, Oct. 6, 2008-Federal, state, and community leaders from around the nation will be gathering in Washington this week for a two-day national Summit on Housing sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD Secretary Steve Preston invited key housing and finance staffs from state, city and county government, as well as representatives from the banking and housing industries, non-profit organizations, and foundations to address the country’s urgent and long-term housing issues.

“It is imperative that we take a coordinated approach to meeting our nation’s critical housing issues since any solution will require active partnerships at every level,” said Preston. “The purpose of this summit is to bring together leaders from government, industry and the nonprofit sectors to strengthen existing partnerships that will be critical to stabilizing our communities and mitigating the effects of foreclosure in the months ahead.”

HUD’s National Housing Summit has several goals:

- To present details of HUD’s current and developing policies and programs, including HUD’s new Neighborhood Stabilization Program;
- To share successful Federal, State and local policies and programs that are preventing foreclosures and reducing the effects of property abandonment and declining home values;
- To cultivate public-private partnerships; and
- To offer an open forum for discussion of best practices.

The two-day summit will feature briefings by HUD officials and panel discussions on the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the HOPE for Homeowners program, and other foreclosure prevention and loss mitigation programs.

For more information, visit: www.hcdi.com/housing_summit.

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

Related Topics:

• Bush Admin Launches ‘Hope for Homeowners’ Program to Help Struggling Families  
  13 Groups Say Senate Bailout Leaves Troubled Homeowners Out of the Plan

RISMEDIA, Oct. 6, 2008-In the wake of the country’s current financial crisis, RealtyBid.com, an online home auction firm, has been tapped to auction more than 2,000 properties during the month of October for one of the nation’s top lenders. According to RealtyBid.com CEO/President Tony Isbell, this volume of properties represents an increase of more than three times the typical volume of REO homes (bank-owned foreclosures) auctioned via RealtyBid.com for this particular bank client during a typical month.

“This is a sign of what to expect for the remainder of this year and throughout 2009, as Wall Street, the financial markets, and the U.S. government continue to deal with the glut of foreclosure real estate,” Isbell said. “This client is just one of several of our lending institution clients preparing to offer large volumes of discounted properties to the public via RealtyBid.com.

“We feel this is an indication that lenders are realizing that in order to move foreclosure homes back into private ownership, they will have to make the necessary price concessions and open up to more innovative solutions such as RealtyBid.com in order to attract buyers.”

What that means for potential home buyers and investors around the country, Isbell added, is that these price concessions will result in a multitude of home bargains available via RealtyBid.com during the month of October and for the foreseeable future.

RealtyBid.com already offers thousands of discounted properties to home buyers and investors each month and has seen a tremendous increase in interest in the website over the last two years.

“Our site traffic, number of bidders and home sales continue to grow. U.S. home auctions are on the rise across the board, and we are leading the way by offering buyers the convenience and transparency of our online bidding system,” Isbell said. “The bottom line is that we have found a way to successfully bring motivated sellers and buyers together.”

For more information, visit www.realtybid.com.

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

For more real estate tips and topics on RISMedia.com, see:

• 10 Must-Know Real Estate Trends  
  3 E-mail Marketing Tips for the Holidays and Beyond  
  Have Real Estate Prices Hit Rock Bottom?

RISMEDIA, Oct. 6, 2008-In the wake of the country’s current financial crisis, RealtyBid.com, an online home auction firm, has been tapped to auction more than 2,000 properties during the month of October for one of the nation’s top lenders. According to RealtyBid.com CEO/President Tony Isbell, this volume of properties represents an increase of more than three times the typical volume of REO homes (bank-owned foreclosures) auctioned via RealtyBid.com for this particular bank client during a typical month.

“This is a sign of what to expect for the remainder of this year and throughout 2009, as Wall Street, the financial markets, and the U.S. government continue to deal with the glut of foreclosure real estate,” Isbell said. “This client is just one of several of our lending institution clients preparing to offer large volumes of discounted properties to the public via RealtyBid.com.

“We feel this is an indication that lenders are realizing that in order to move foreclosure homes back into private ownership, they will have to make the necessary price concessions and open up to more innovative solutions such as RealtyBid.com in order to attract buyers.”

What that means for potential home buyers and investors around the country, Isbell added, is that these price concessions will result in a multitude of home bargains available via RealtyBid.com during the month of October and for the foreseeable future.

RealtyBid.com already offers thousands of discounted properties to home buyers and investors each month and has seen a tremendous increase in interest in the website over the last two years.

“Our site traffic, number of bidders and home sales continue to grow. U.S. home auctions are on the rise across the board, and we are leading the way by offering buyers the convenience and transparency of our online bidding system,” Isbell said. “The bottom line is that we have found a way to successfully bring motivated sellers and buyers together.”

For more information, visit www.realtybid.com.

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

For more real estate tips and topics on RISMedia.com, see:

• 10 Must-Know Real Estate Trends  
  3 E-mail Marketing Tips for the Holidays and Beyond  
  Have Real Estate Prices Hit Rock Bottom?

RISMEDIA, Oct. 6, 2008-Need advice for a winning edge in selling your home in a depressed real estate market? Ensure your home stands out by highlighting its best features and eliminating items that prevent a potential buyer from picturing themselves living in the house. Collaborate Design Studios offers some tips to help homeowners sell in today’s challenging real estate market.

“No doubt one of the biggest mistakes home sellers make is not being objective about how their house looks to a possible buyer,” said Kim Pozzi-Pesavento, senior designer at Collaborate Design Studio, based in Deerfield, Ill. “Too often, homeowners think their personal touches and decorating styles add value and visual appeal to the house. Most of the time just the opposite is true because too much personality in a home design might be fine for you but it makes it difficult for anyone to visualize your house as their future home.”

Pesavento believes sellers who successfully market their homes in a buyer’s market usually follow a few simple, proven rules. “First, clear the clutter,” she said. “Your home should look like someone could move in tomorrow. Toys on the floor, for example, might convey a homey family image, but they are a distraction, as are too many family photos and other personal stuff.”

Other timely tips offered by Collaborate Design Studio to home sellers today are:

- Neutralize rooms to broaden your market. “You limit your market when there are too many taste-specific colors. Someone who hates deep blue, for example, won’t be able to look past it when evaluating your home,” Pesavento said.

- Clear excess furniture. The rule for furnishings is less is better. In addition to making a room look more spacious, removing excess furniture also lets the buyer better determine how they can furnish or use the room to accommodate their lifestyle preferences.

- Keep the home well-maintained. Shaggy shrubbery, overgrown foliage and peeling paint take away from the buyer’s critical first impression. You don’t need to spend a lot to keep your property in top shape for maximum curb appeal.

Based in Deerfield, Ill., Collaborate Design Studio is an award-winning, full-service interior design firm with than 20 years of experience in the industry. The firm works with residential and commercial clients nationwide in providing all aspects of design styles, including traditional, transitional and contemporary interiors.

For more information, visit http://www.collaboratedesign.com.

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

For more home selling tips and topics on RISMedia.com, see:

• 10 Must-Know Real Estate Trends 
  Winter Weather Tips for Maintaining Curb Appeal

RISMEDIA, Oct. 3, 2008-While today’s Realtor on the Rise credits her assistant to keeping her schedule and business activities inline, her extracurricular activities are made possible by her mother’s legacy.

Sheila Stevens
Prudential Georgia Realty
Duluth, Georgia

In real estate since: 2004

Staying sensible: Stevens credits having an assistant to keeping her sane and on schedule.

After losing her mother to cancer, Stevens started a local fundraising effort nine years ago. Named VolleyFest (renamed The Sport of Giving in 2008 to encompass numerous other sports and activities), Stevens is founder and president of this all-volunteer organization. To date, it’s raised more than $1 million to influence the care, diagnosis and prevention of breast cancer in metro Atlanta.

Each day RISMedia is proud to introduce you to one of our 50 Realtors on the Rise for 2008, chosen by the editors of Real Estate magazine and selected from hundreds of entries. We congratulate this year’s winners for stepping out of the box, bringing a new outlook and charging ahead through the changed real estate space.

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

To read more about this year’s Realtors on the Rise, see:

• Finding an Unusual Niche  
  Making Customer Service a Priority  
  Creating a Bond with Clients