Mike Zagaris noted several key points for successful real estate agents to take heed of at this mornings Modesto Residential Real Estate meeting.  Opportunity is ripe in this market. Foreclosed homes present the perfect opportunity for investors and first-time home buyers; “The Valley is covered in Gold.” Only a year ago, median home prices were at $332,000 and now, just last month, they have decreased to $186,000*. Phil Levin, Modesto Residential Manager, noted that the amount home prices are decreasing each month is becoming less and less and the past few months we have been seeing the month to month decreases level off. Whether or not that will continue to be the trend is unclear.  Zagaris noted that we could be in this market for the next couple years, but investors and first-time home buyers will be smiling all the way to the bank as the inventory of houses on the market continues to decrease (17 months of inventory only a year ago to 4 months of inventory presently*). Eventually the laws of supply and demand will shift home prices back up; less inventory available inevitably leading to higher price points.

For now, successful agents and their clients will take advantage of the opportunity available.

*(according to TrendGraphix)

The three MLSs in the San Francisco East Bay Area today announced they are participating with major MLSs in Northern California in a program to exchange MLS data. The Bay East Association of REALTORS® MLS, the Contra Costa Association of REALTORS® MLS and East Bay Regional Data, Inc will be sharing MLS listing data with MLSListings Inc and with Quattro (an existing data sharing initiative that includes San Francisco Association of REALTORS® [SFAR], Bay Area Real Estate Information Services, Inc. [BAREIS MLS®] and MetroList Services, Inc. [Metrolist®]).  Together, these seven MLSs represent 70,000 real estate brokers and agents from 21 counties in Northern California.

The cooperative agreement takes advantage of the unique character and rich data found in each participating MLS.  Real estate practitioners throughout this large area will be able to access any one of the MLS systems, enabling them to find property information across multiple market areas regardless of geographic boundaries. In addition to full reciprocal MLS access for users, the agreement allows each participating MLS to maintain separate databases that aggregate the data from all seven MLSs. Users who prefer to see all of the data in a single location can use one of the aggregated databases. They will no longer have to pay additional fees to access other MLSs. Brokers who maintain proprietary software systems for use by their agents will also benefit from the new data share. They will be able to download data from all of participating MLS’s databases in a single data stream instead of downloading data from each MLS individually.

In today’s economy of strict lending rules and less and less down payment assistance programs, many agents are starting to see the “parent factor” come back into play in their transactions.

The “parent factor” is when the parent(s) of a young couple or buyer have an interest stake in the property; they could be helping their kids buy their first home by gifting the down payment or co-signing on an application. In whatever way the parent is contributing, it is important to remember that, in some circumstances, their opinions can make or break the deal.

Remember to pay attention to all interested parties in your transaction so you can take it all the way to close without worrying about the deal falling through due to miscommunication or unhappy parents.

At PMZ Real Estate, we believe educated clients are smart clients. That’s why we’ve created Real Estate Trends.

Real Estate Trends is a new service offered at PMZ.com that allows you to check out the latest trends in the past 14 months in real estate. We have graphs broken up by county to give you a visual representation of how the market is doing. Trends like: Number of Homes for Sale vs. Sold vs. Pending, Average Home Sold Price per Square Foot, Days on Market and Median Price of Sold Homes and Average Prices of For Sale and Sold Homes.

Watch as we expand this service. Check out the latest in Real Estate Trends.

Of course we don’t have a crystal ball, so we don’t have an official answer, but Residential Manager, Phil Levin, was noticing that while home prices have been falling, the amount in which they decline each month is getting smaller and smaller. ie: January we were sitting at an average home sale price of about $258,000. Now the average home sale price is $182,000. In the months between, home values have slowed their trend downward by less and less each month. In February the average home sales price was $15,000 less than the previous month. Following respectively, $14k to $9k to $7k to now about $3k. Does this signal a change in the market? Possibly. Could we see home prices rise sooner rather than later? Maybe. It’s encouraging news at any rate. Right now is still a GREAT time to buy property, so help your clients take advantage of that.

New Mortgage Law Has Buyers Scrambling
Buyers are quickly trying to take advantage of seller-funded downpayment assistance before a federal ban on such programs takes effect on Oct. 1.
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California Close to Having One Statewide MLS
The California Association of REALTORS(R) is one step closer to merging most of the state’s Multiple Listing Services into one CALMLS.
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Foreigners Take Advantage of U.S. Bargains
Foreigners spent $52.2 billion on U.S. commercial real estate in 2007, double the previous year’s total.
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Trump Saves Ed McMahon From Foreclosure
Donald Trump says he will step in and buy Ed McMahon’s foreclosed home and lease it back to the show host.
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Study: Appraisal System Lacks Oversight
More than 20 states and U.S. territories are unable to investigate and resolve appraisal complaints within the one-year federal deadline, an Associated Press review reveals.
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Economists Predict Fannie, Freddie Bailout
Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal said they believe the odds are greater than 50/50 that the U.S. government will spend tax dollars to prop up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
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According to Zillow Q2 Homeowner Confidence Survey 62% of homeowners believe their home’s value has increased or stayed the same in the past year yet 77% of U.S. homes actually declined in value.

This report could be a dialogue starter for sellers’ agents whose sellers may not have a realistic view of the real estate market.

Short-Term Outlook: More optimism for own home vs. neighbors’ homes in next six months although 70% say they are concerned foreclosures will decrease home values in their market within next year; 56% planning home improvements.

(via Sara Bonert at Zillow.com)

Both Paul Harmon and Phil Levin, managers at PMZ Real Estate, have stressed to agents the need to be aware of any fine print pitfalls the banks (property holders/owners) have been including into the purchase contracts of bankowned properties.

Please be sure to review your contracts and agreements that you have between your buyers and the banks.  An overview of this information with responsible scrutiny will help protect your client’s and yourself from being taken advantage of by any seemingly deceptive changes to contracts by the banks. Consult with your brokers legal adviser if necessary.

Image by Getty Images
via Daylife

Back when the market was smoking hot, sellers wanted their agents to hold open houses to bring in the buyers.

Well now the market is smoking hot again, but for different people. With the flood of foreclosures on the market, the banks are the sellers and they are looking for buyers. We may not have the pressure from them to hold open houses, but to gain prospects, open houses are a great tool.

Even if you don’t have a listing to show as an open house, ask another agent if you can hold their listing open.

You’ll have a flood of potential buyers at your fingertips that you can match with other properties and prospect.

Have a simple information card that they fill out so that you can contact them later.

Try it a few times. You’ll be surprised at how many prospects you can gain.

Image by respres via Flickr

Mike Zagaris has been talking about it since this market cycle began. The foreclosure crisis has been a bane to some, and a boon to others. However, “We’ve found the bottom,” Zagaris said. “The financial institutions have seen the light and are allowing the market to find its own level.” Banks are moving their inventory of foreclosed upon houses, bringing qualified homeowners into the market with heavily discounted properties and sound lending strategies amidst great interest rates.

At PMZ Real Estate, we’ve seen the bottom in our rear view mirror and we’re riding the wave back to the top. Bloomberg points out in there most recent Exclusive story, California’s Discount Foreclosure Sales Point to Housing Bottom, that there are, indeed, good times coming and that there is opportunity available now in the housing market.

Right now there is EXCELLENT opportunity for homebuyers and investors. Home prices are on an average discount of 30-40% according to Bloomberg. Even with the bidding wars going on with foreclosed properties, people are still walking away with huge discounts on the properties they purchase. And, interest rates are still attractive; no where near the 14% they were in the 80’s.

Interested in learning more? Check out the Bloomberg article for an even more informative look at where the housing market is taking us.