Unhappy Real Estate News

[Michael Larson]

U.S. JULY HOME RESALES FALL 27.2%

By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The sale of existing U.S. homes sank 27.2% in July - the biggest one-month drop ever - largely because of the phase-out of a federal tax credit, according to an industry trade group. The National Association of Realtors said existing-home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.83 million in July from a revised 5.26 million the month before. Sales of single-family homes fell to the lowest rate in 15 years. Inventories of unsold homes rose 2.5% to 3.98 million in July, representing a 12.5-month supply, the highest level since at least 1999. The median sales price edged up 0.7% in the past year to $182,600 in July, the NAR said.

[Michael Larson]

Would you buy a house with these terms?

... in some new developments, homebuilders are including in contracts a 1% fee to be paid to them every time the house is sold -- for 99 years.

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[dquigley]

Originally Posted by mlarson

Would you buy a house with these terms?



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I would think that they would essentially have to warrant the house for 99 years to justify this fee. Another fee that has never sat well in my eyes is the commision fees that must be paid to designated "in house" real estate brokers of exclusive upscale subdivisions. They recieve the brokers commision regarless --- and you must list with them. You could sell your own residence to a family member and still have to pay full commision. What a monopoly racket. Can imagine what would happen if automobile manufacturers tried this same technique ---- the public would be outraged

[James H. Bushart]

Haven't had a used house salesman's referral since July....and have been booked a whole week in advance since August began.

The newer market is wiser and the agent is being left out whenever possible. I'm having lunch with an agent on Wednesday who runs an office that refuses to list houses...but strictly represent buyers. He argues that agents who do otherwise have a built in conflict of interest with every client that walks in their door looking for a new home.

The times...they are a changin'....

[Nick Gromicko]

Excellent post Jim. More in that post than meets they eye.

[Michael Larson]

Originally Posted by jbushart

Haven't had a used house salesman's referral since July....and have been booked a whole week in advance since August began.

The newer market is wiser and the agent is being left out whenever possible. I'm having lunch with an agent on Wednesday who runs an office that refuses to list houses...but strictly represent buyers. He argues that agents who do otherwise have a built in conflict of interest with every client that walks in their door looking for a new home.

The times...they are a changin'....

I don't market directly to agents either but you have me confused.

You're meeting with an agent that only represents the buy side of the transactions.

Are you looking for referrals from him?

I think working with a select group of buyers only agents would be good for all parties.

[James H. Bushart]

Originally Posted by mlarson

I think working with a select group of buyers only agents would be good for all parties.

Perhaps. I'll know more after our meeting. I accepted his invitation.

[James H. Bushart]

Millions of Americans....who were sold on the house they could not afford, and who were (often) referred to the mortgage lenders who foreclosed on them....by their local neighborhood real estate agent.

If you look at the polls ranking various professions, very few fall lower in respect and esteem than the real estate agent.

People who are listing their homes and are having their homes listed for over a year....are feeling overlooked by their real estate agent.

People who are listing their homes and being encouraged to accept 25% or less of the listing price in order to sell it...are being encouraged to do so by their real estate agent.

Folks.......the last person in the world that I want to link myself or my business to, or to depend upon for business, is a real estate agent.

I have kept my distance for years. When I moved down here to the Ozarks and lowered my starting fee to $250, I had agents who referred me, regularly. In January, when I went to $275, most of them stopped. My response to that was to go to $315...and now I'm booked nine days in advance and getting an invitation to lunch.

It's a different game, guys. If there is a real estate agent calling the the shots in your life, it's only because you want him to.

[Gary Farnsworth]

Home sales for July in detail. Bad here in the midwest.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38828563...s-real_estate/

How do you market to the home buyer and not the agents?

[John Onofrey]

James,

I thought you had a job as a code inspector. Am I mistaken?

[Joe Farsetta]

The fallacy in all realtor relationships comes down to this:

every licensed real estate person involved iin the transaction, including the buyers agent, is in fact working for the listing broker, and therefore has a duty to the client... the seller.

[Michael Larson]

Originally Posted by jfarsetta

The fallacy in all realtor relationships comes down to this:

every licensed real estate person involved iin the transaction, including the buyers agent, is in fact working for the listing broker, and therefore has a duty to the client... the seller.

Please explain a bit further.

[James H. Bushart]

Originally Posted by jonofrey

James,

I thought you had a job as a code inspector. Am I mistaken?

Contracted with a St. Louis County burb for a year until I moved to Southwest Missouri as a building inspector for them. Set up a (by-the-inspection) deal with them that was paying $1500 per week for a three day per week, four hour day. When I left, I set up a former NACHI bud in my spot who is still doing it and making $700 to $1000 per week under the same agreement. When I tried to set up a similar deal down here with a city in the center of a county with no building codes, all I was doing was pissing people off for $400 a week and hurting my inspection business, so I walked away from it after a couple of months.

Small municipalities with small budgets cannot afford building inspectors salaries....but you can cut some interesting deals with creative contracts that allow them to bring in revenue from permits, pay you from those revenues, and you and they make a lot of money.

[Joseph Burkeson, CMI]

Another twist...

Why nobody wants to buy a house
Commentary: With government bribe money gone, so is any sane demand

Oh, sure, a lot of gullible first-time buyers got lured into the market over the last 18 months to take advantage of an $8,000 federal tax credit (not realizing how little difference that money will make when the first property-tax bill hits at the same time the roof springs a pesky leak and the city hits you with a special assessment for sidewalk repair). But that tax credit has expired -- and, with it, any semblance of demand for homes.

Excerpt: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why...use-2010-08-24

[Joe Funderburk, CMI]

July was my worst month for business since my first year in business.