5 Mobile Apps Every Realtor Needs

I believe these are 5 essential applications that every Realtor should have on their smart phone. Why? The world of Real Estate is going digital and even more mobile. If you're not mobile, you're behind the times. In fact most first time homebuyers are between the ages of 24-35 and have a deep appreciation of and connection to technology. This makes it essential for us as Real Estate Professionals to meet the needs and expectations of our clients. 

Just so you know, some of these apps are iPhone proprietary but most of them are available in both the Android Market and the iTunes App Store. I'm a very frugal person and so all of the apps I am recommending are FREE!

NAVIGATION! Mapquest 4 Mobile

Every Realtor needs a navigation app, hands down! Some of you might prefer a TomTom or Garmin but I'll stick to my phone. The phone offers more options and capabilities since you could use it for walking directions in a large city or listen to music in the background while you're driving all for no additional cost. The MapQuest 4 Mobile app is a great option for any mobile device be it iPhone or Android. This is a free application offers: Voice-Guided/Turn-by-Turn Navigation, Auto Re-route, Walking & Driving Directions, Live Traffic Flow/Incidents, Map Rotates in Orientation of Travel, Place Map Toolbar – Look for restaurants, etc. So, as you can see, this app is a great option with an average 4-Star rating. 

PRODUCTIVITY! Evernote

Is organization an issue for you? For some of us it's an issue because we obsess over it, and for others of us it's an issue because we're terrible at it. For both us there is a solution and it's called Evernote. Evernote is an easy-to-use, free app that helps you remember everything across all of the devices you use phone, computer, iPad, etc. Stay organized, save your ideas and improve productivity. Evernote lets you take notes, capture photos, create to-do lists, record voice reminders--and makes these notes completely searchable, whether you are at home, at work, or on the go. Evernote is sure to help you get organized and stay that way; you'll never forget that MLS expiration again. 

VIDEO! Qik

Video is becoming one of the most powerful tools in the arsenal of property marketing and sales. Qik allows you to take video and share with others in a quick and easy way. Another great thing about Qik is that you can stream live video to people on a computer or on another phone! So you could even show a property to someone who lives out of town! Here are some of the features available: Live video calls over 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi, Video calls between Qik Android and iPhone/iOS users, High resolution video calling (up to VGA), Receive video mail when you can’t talk live, Send video mail free trial, Share live videos to Facebook, Twitter, and more, Instant Connect: Automatically see who in your phone’s contact list is available for a live video call. Definitely a great option for any realtor who's video savvy! (Add a wide-angle lens for awesome video tours!)

PROPERTY SEARCH! Realtor.com Real Estate Search

For those clients who are ill prepared and haven't really narrowed down their desires for a home, you have this wonderful little app! For instance, you've just shown one of your listings and your client saw a house on the way they wanted to see. Well save yourself a trip and pull it up on your phone! Show them the photos and maybe they'll decide that's one less house they want to see. Here are the features offered by the app: Robust search capabilities with Area Highlighter (draw your search), Nearby Homes widget, Integrated Street View, Voice-entered notes, Save searches & listings (synchronized between the device & your account). This is a great tool for you in the field you just have figure how it's going to work for you!

FLOOR PLANS! Magic Plan

 This is a newer app that I believe will change the way a Realtor measures houses! Unfortunately it's only available for the iPhone at the moment, but there are rumors that it will be out for Android based phones in the near future. Magic Plan will create a virtual floor plan of every room just by simply taking a picture of each corner. Once you create the room you can then piece it together with the rest of the house for a full floor plan! You have to see this application in action to really understand how revolutionary it truly is! So watch their video here: http://youtu.be/Px9QTgr8fRY

I hope these applications will help you in your endeavor to sell more property, but nothing will ultimately replace good old dedication and hard work!

Buying Foreclosures: 7 Tips for Consumers & 1 Great Resource for Realtors

 The information continues to mount showing that foreclosures are a staple in the current market. Last year, 1 in 4 home sales was a foreclosure, this information is important for both professionals and consumers! This break from Inman News that site statistics from Realty Trac show how big the foreclosure market is:

"Foreclosure sales accounted for 26 percent of U.S. home sales in 2010, with those properties selling for more than 28 percent less, on average, than homes not in the foreclosure process, data aggregator RealtyTrac said in its latest report.
A total of 831,574 U.S. residential properties either owned by banks or in some stage of foreclosure sold to third parties in 2010, a decrease of 31 percent from 2009 and a decrease of nearly 14 percent from 2008, RealtyTrac said.
Homes in foreclosure accounted for a larger percentage of sales in 2009 -- 29 percent -- but their share of total sales was up from 23 percent in 2008."
- Courtesy of Inman News

So there are probably two questions the consumer has about buying one of these diamonds in the rough: Is it safe to buy a foreclosure? & How do I buy a foreclosure?

The answer to the first question is a resounding, YES! In fact, most of the time you are going to get a lot more bang for your buck buying a foreclosure. Yeah, you might have to do a little work but in the end you will spend a lot less than you would on a traditional move-in-ready home. There are also special loans you can get to pay any repairs that might be need. For example, the 203K Loan that includes up to $35000 in repairs with 3.5% down is a great option. The nice thing about this loan is that all the work is bid on and accepted by the lender before you even close! For more information about the 203K Loan contact: Ann-Marie.Trickey@pncmortgage.com or visit www.pncmortgage.com.

Here are some wise words to those considering trying to buy a foreclosure: "Everybody and their grandmas are trying to buy foreclosures," said Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin, "don't get caught in the feeding frenzy." But here are few tips that might help those ready to take the plunge...

1. Don't get caught up in a feeding frenzy

2. Use a Real Estate Professional Experienced with Foreclosures

3. Get pre-approved from the lender you want to buy from

4. Consider fix-ups

5. Hire a real estate attorney

6. Wait to make an offer
7. Tour properties with contractors

If you're a Real Estate Professional and you want to know what you need to do to get involved in the world of Foreclosures and REO's here is a website you need to visit: www.foreclosurefridays.org and enter the code: NFI FREE for a free month long trial!

MUST SEE: 2010 Fourth Quarter Foreclosure Sales Report

Today I wanted to share some thoughts with my fellow real estate professionals about why this information is so crucial to our careers! Please read these statistics and then read my comments below to understand why all this is so important... (special offer @ the end of the article)

"RealtyTrac® the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its Year-End and Q4 2010 U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report™, which shows that foreclosure homes accounted for nearly 26 percent of all U.S. residential sales during the year,  down from 29 percent of all sales in 2009 but up from 23 percent of all sales  in 2008. The report also shows that the average sales price of these foreclosure properties was more than 28 percent below the average sales price of properties not in the foreclosure process — up from a 27 percent average discount in 2009 and a 22 percent average discount in 2008.

A total of 831,574 U.S. residential properties either owned by banks or in some stage of foreclosure — default or scheduled for auction — sold to third parties in 2010, a decrease of 31 percent from 2009 and a decrease of nearly 14 percent from 2008. Meanwhile sales volume of non-foreclosure properties in 2010 decreased nearly 19 percent from 2009 and nearly 27 percent from 2008.

A total of 149,303 foreclosure sales were recorded in the fourth quarter, down 22 percent from the previous quarter and down 45 percent from the fourth quarter of 2009 — despite a 21 percent monthly up tick in foreclosure sales volume in December. Mirroring the year-end statistics, foreclosure sales in the fourth quarter accounted for 26 percent of total sales, and foreclosure properties sold for an average sales price that was 28 percent below the average sales price of properties not in foreclosure."

If you just look at this article from a strictly statistical angle you're not going to see the big picture. In fact, it might even seem like the number of foreclosures are declining, but this is so far from the truth. The truth is that the number of homes in foreclosure is only climbing. These statistics only report of the number of foreclosure sales, not the number of homes actually in default. In some areas there as many as 1 in 14 homes in foreclosure, that is staggering!

So let me break down these stats for you very simply: SALES ARE DOWN. Sales are down across the board: new homes, old homes, luxury homes, foreclosed homes, etc.

Now here is something you probably didn't catch. If you read carefully, you will see that foreclosure sales in December actually spiked 21% from the previous month! This is very significant. In fact, we are only going to continue to see increases like this one for the next couple of years.


      "Where at Least 1 in 46 Homes are in Foreclosure" Image Courtesy of Realty Trac

This is why this is all so important, because in the next 48 months will see the liquidation of more REO assets than in any time in our nation's history! If you did not get into the REO listing world in 2006-2008 you probably feel a little foolish. If you did not get into the listing side of REO's in 2009-2010, you may feel like you've confirmed that foolish label. If you make the decision to not explore REO Opportunities in 2011 there is just no hope for you.

So if you want to get into the REO business and get your piece of the pie here is a way for you to start getting in on the action. This is quickly becoming one of the most important movements of the Foreclosure Crisis. The situation is not over. There are predicted to be more REO assets liquidated during the next 3 years than in the last 3 decades. LPS and The United States Treasury both agree that the peak of the Foreclosure epidemic will not be seen until LATE 2013!!! The last Quarter of 2013 will be the MIDDLE, TOP, and HIGHEST VOLUME... not the end of the subsiding problem. Please understand that this is going to be a huge part of your marketplace for at least 5 years to come.

To find out more information visit: www.foreclosurefridays.org. Foreclosure Fridays is way for you to learn what it takes the get REO accounts, manage REO listings, work with asset managers, and continue to grow your REO Team. Enter the code: NFI FREE for a free month long trial! You won't regret it!

Housing Limbo: How Low Will Prices Go? (courtesy NPR)

by Joshua Brockman

These days, many homeowners — and those looking to buy — are nervous. Home sales are also well below what they were during the peak of the housing market. With transportation, food costs and unemployment on the rise, making a decision about one of the largest purchases of your life — a house — is far from simple.
Unfortunately, there's no crystal ball to consult. But there are housing market experts. Here, some weigh in with factors to consider if you're thinking of buying.
How do I judge whether a house is overvalued?
You need to compare the market price to a theoretical price based on current economic and demographic trends, says Celia Chen, director of housing economics for Moody's Economy.com. "Nationally, prices are probably pretty overvalued — by about 10 percent," she says. At the peak of the housing market, when prices were rising rapidly, houses were 20 percent to 25 percent overvalued, she adds.
It's helpful to remember that housing prices don't behave like stocks — they're not going to change overnight, says Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. In other words, it's going to take time for overvalued houses to reach their true price.
Is the current economic slowdown making the housing market worse?
Yes. But it's important to note that nationwide housing prices started to decline after peaking in the summer of 2006 — before the rest of the U.S. economy began sputtering. Indeed, the bursting of the housing bubble was a major factor in the country's economic slowdown.
Now that the slowdown is in full swing, it's likely to further weigh down the housing market. Baker says that larger-than-average job losses in any region will "further weaken the housing market and prolong the downturn there."
Mike Shedlock, an investment adviser for SitkaPacific Capital Management and the blogger behind Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis, says he, too, is concerned about negative job reports: "More people out of work is going to put more pressure on people being able to pay their mortgages. So, that's going to lead to more foreclosures [and] more people walking away from their houses."
How do I know when the market has hit bottom?
"Nationally, we're very, very far from any bottom," says Baker, who believes the lowest point may arrive between the middle of 2009 and the start of 2010. He notes the nationwide glut of housing inventory, with the number of new and existing homes on the market at near-record levels and vacancy rates for ownership units at record highs.
Shedlock sees the bottom further out: 2012. He says foreclosures and inventory have to stop rising — and sales figures have to start increasing — before the market can reach its bottom. Even then, consumers shouldn't expect prices to shoot back up. Instead, he says, they'll remain "stagnant or stable," rising slowly in the decade after the bottom. "There's no rush for anyone to buy in now, or even when we see the signs of a housing bottom," he adds.
Moody's Celia Chen adds that housing remains "a better value now than it was a year ago." She predicts home prices will hit "absolute bottom" in the spring of 2009. Chen and other housing experts remain concerned that problems in the credit market as a whole will disrupt funding for home mortgages.
When will prices stop falling?
Inventory has to decline in order for prices to stop falling, says Chen. And right now, "there's too much supply versus demand" around the country, she says.
Some areas of the U.S. with "drastic" price declines include Las Vegas, Miami and San Diego, says Baker. Washington, D.C., has had larger price declines than Boston and New York City, two cities that Baker says have had "moderate" ones. Meanwhile, Baker says the latest housing data suggest that Cleveland and Detroit have "bottomed already."
Chen says certain metro areas in Florida remain "the most overvalued" in the nation, as are certain cities in Arizona and California. All three states have an oversupply of residential real estate. The South and Midwest, however, are regions where houses have remained affordable. And home prices in Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis remain in line with where they should be, because these cities did not experience a "price bubble," she says.
Why is it important to compare the sales price of a house to rental prices before buying?
Comparing the sales price of a house to annual rent for a comparable property gives consumers a good yardstick to know whether it's a financially sound decision to become a homeowner.
One simple way to measure this is by calculating an own-to-rent ratio: Take the sale price of a house and divide it by the annual rent for a similar property or apartment. For example, take a house selling for $180,000, and a comparable house that rents for $1,000 a month ($12,000 annually). The own-versus-rent ratio is 15:1. This number indicates that you have a "balance" between ownership costs and rental costs, says Baker. (One can also do more complicated calculations that factor in additional home ownership costs, including property taxes.)
The ratio is not a magic number, but consumers may want to think twice before purchasing a house once that ratio creeps toward 18:1 or higher. During the peak of the housing bubble, there were ratios greater than 25:1, particularly in parts of California, Baker says. The 15-year average ratio in the U.S. is 11.4, according to Moody's Economy.com.
Nationwide, the ratio of housing prices to rents is "still above the historic average, which means that houses are expensive relative to apartments," says Chen.
How have consumer attitudes toward housing changed?
This market is forcing consumers to embrace the idea that a house is first and foremost a place to live, not a sure-thing investment. Not long ago, investing frenzy fueled the real estate market in "hot" cities like Miami, where investors snapped up condos as if they were going out of style.
"We've had boomers accumulating multiple housing or rental houses on the expectation that housing was a one-way ticket up. And that belief has been shattered," says Shedlock.
"If you're buying to live in a house, it's probably OK to purchase a house now," says Chen. "It's probably better if you wait a little longer."
Baker cautions in a research note that the "failure to recognize declining home prices can cause homeowners to be overly optimistic about their financial situation." As a result, we have an oversupply of houses on the market — and sellers who are "unwilling to drop their price to the market level," he says. The economy would improve, he says, if home sellers recognized their house just isn't worth what it used to be.

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