In This Issue:
- Positive New Year’s News for the Housing Market
- Alternatives to Traditional Marketing
- Mortgage Applications On The Rise
Positive New Year’s News for the Housing Market
If the nation’s New Year’s resolution was to improve the real estate market, we are off to a great start! The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales increased by six percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, and that means we may be nearing the bottom of the housing crisis. According to Reuters, “the market may have turned a pivotal corner last month, if a surprising increase in existing home sales is any guide.” With so many deals out there, people are finally starting to buy and that is obviously more good news. Housing inventories fell in the fourth quarter by approximately 11 percent and, as inventories decline, we will see home prices begin to level out and begin an upward climb. We still have some time to go because there is an average of approximately a nine month supply of homes on the market and the historical average is approximately six months.
What does this mean to those in the preforeclosure business? It’s time to buy! Buy low and sell high is the fundamental rule in generating a profit. Currently real estate in most areas is undervalued and, with home values the cheapest since 1999, those prices will have to increase in 2009.
Alternatives to Traditional Marketing (and a way to save money too!)
If you are still marketing to your clients only through newspaper, television advertising, and trade shows — you are showing your age! It is time to get wired to new, less expensive, and technologically advanced methods of marketing.
The traditional way to make a name for yourself in the news is to get in touch with the newspapers, television stations, and other local media outlets. Reporters are constantly looking for fresh news stories and the media is an excellent place to get instant credibility — and best of all — it is free. If you have a client you saved from foreclosure or a home you purchased as an investment and you now have a family living in there, let a reporter know! On most media outlets websites you can find the e-mail addresses of reporters and that is usually the best way to contact these busy people.
Then there is the newer, slightly more expensive method of marketing—The Internet. It is imperative for a company to have a website and a company email address. Both of those inexpensive methods promote your business and increase branding. Web presence offers a sense of legitimacy to other businesses and to prospective clients who want to make sure the company they are working with is on the cutting edge of technology.
Mortgage Applications on the Rise
With the plummeting home prices, people are back in the buying mode. The only problem is that the mortgage lenders are not prepared. The volume of buyers is too much for lenders to handle as many people are taking advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of low mortgage rates and falling home prices. According to a Bloomberg News article, “…. applications industry-wide are at a five-year high, more than mortgage companies can handle after waves of staff reductions.”
Many banks had cut express capacity over the past year and half due to the severe decline in home sales. Refinancing was not an option for many people because their homes had declined well below their existing mortgage. However, it is good news for the real estate industry that the current sales are so strong that the banks cannot keep up with the demand!
We need to temper our excitement, though, for the next 12 months. With more government bailout money on the way and the effects of the previous stimulus bill still not trickling down, it may be 2010 before we can really get excited.
What is the MOST IMPORTANT MOMENT in a real estate investor’s life? It is the 30 to 60 minutes you are with a potential seller trying to get them to sell at a 20% to 50% discount to their homes value!
“Imagine Being Able to Consistently Get Seller’s To Sell At A 20% to 50% Discount!”
Wonder if this is possible? It is if you are totally prepared and have a well- done professional presentation during that critical moment.