Archive for category Real Estate
Real Estate Statistics: Why You Need Them and How to Share Them
Posted by este in Agents Realtors, Real Estate on October 12, 2011
Real estate statistics are essential to running a successful real estate practice. It is crucial to take the time to track and analyze the data available so that you might have a leg up in understand the direction of you market. Additionally, you need to be able to present your clients with this information in manageable, bite-sized pieces that they can understand and use.
The Experts Know the Numbers
Being able to answer general real estate statistics questions with actual numbers and hard facts immediately establishes you as a knowledgeable expert and valuable source of information Sharing more precise information about the market that the nightly news makes you the resource your circle of influence needs. And in this day and age of digital interface, being able to put a face and personality to information is unique and an invaluable way to connect.
Everyone Likes to Know the Numbers
Keeping an eye on real estate statistics is a common part of the informed individual and business owner’s routine. Even if they are not buying or selling, the real estate market is such an excellent reflection and indicator of bigger things, this kind of information is highly valuable. Sharing the information in the form of a quarterly report is an excellent, low-pressure way to stay on the radar, remind people you are in real estate, and that you are an informed expert. This is also the kind of interesting information people will share with their own circles, even their friends and family. This provides you with a valuable source of new leads.
Context is King
So you have the numbers and you can quote them verbatim at the next meet-up. But failing to share information within the context of something the layperson can understand defeats the purpose. Being able to answer the “why” regarding a particular set of real estate statistics sets you apart from the hordes of agents spouting out meaningless figures to the masses. Think about what you’re seeing in the marketplace that would affect those values: seasonal trends, changes in financing, economic changes, government incentives and so forth.
Which Numbers To Know
There are hundreds of real estate statistics that you could conceivably memorize and share at the right opportunity. But knowing just a few key stats is all that is required. The top three you should focus on are the average sales price, the median sales price and inventory levels.
Say it With a Picture
Charts and Graphs are the best way to explain and present real estate statistics to non-realtors. A simple graph can really drive home the dramatic ups and downs in the market trends, far better than your words can. If you keep track of just a few market stats every month in a spreadsheet, eventually you’ll have an enormous resource from which you can quickly make charts and graphs.
Anyone can learn and track these three basic real estate statistics and learn to use them like a well-oiled weapon in their practice. Master a few basics and watch your position as expert and valuable resource soar like an upward trending bar graph.
Lauren Roberts is an REO industry veteran and the founder of REO Maestro. Founded in 2001, Lauren’s objectives and approach were very deliberate: to aggressively broaden the talents of her REO agent team by combining their expertise with systemic tracking, reporting, organization and automation. She partnered with Shupe Software Technologies whose progressive approach to software development naturally and seamlessly complimented Roberts’ vast industry expertise. Inspired by overwhelming industry and peer demand, Roberts and Shupe Tech successfully launched REO Maestro to REO professionals nationwide. In 2010, the company changed its name to Realis as they welcomed even more advanced technologies to their product offering.
US Population Growth Trends Affect on Real Estate
Posted by este in Real Estate on October 8, 2011
The U.S. projects growth from a current 310 million to an anticipated 430 million over the next 40 years. This trend closely parallels Europe from 1950 to 1995. What conclusions can we draw for U.S. real estate from this?
Europe grew from 527 million to 728 million from 1950 to 1995. This 38% increase almost identically matches the U.S. optimistic projection for the next 40 years. This fact offers great financial risk to following old assumptions and great returns for recognizing potential new implications.
Today when you drive around Europe, limited construction typifies the landscape. The work underway tends to tilt heavily toward improving existing structures, increasing efficiency, improving utility, modifying use. Buildings 100, 200, 500, and 1,000 years old cloak the landscape. Interestingly, if you look at the current United States inventory, required new inventory for housing and for commercial office space is potentially very limited. Assume an increase in housing density driven either from more persons under the same roof or more persons per household and projections can quickly conclude no additional inventory is required. The same conclusion is easily supported for office space as well. Considering a steadily increasing amount of telecommuting and using existing available capacity infers little need for additional space.
The exceptional office and housing cases for U.S. real estate will be some emerging communities and potentially large population shifts developing from other driving factors. These will focus around some emerging major industries in midsized markets, major government driven shifts, and education center related development.
Also, commercial warehousing and distribution will grow dramatically supporting the demands of the emerging economies and subsequent increased global trade.
Opportunistically, smart investment capital needs to adjust due diligence concerns to adapt to these emerging trends. Many investors are failing and will fail to comprehend that the days of inventory growth based real estate investing suddenly is much more risky. Moreover, many aren’t considering that in general investing return assumptions are based on this concept and therefore are flawed. Investors who recognize and adjust their debt and capital management plans accordingly stand to achieve significant gains.
Where will the best gains develop?
* Commodity distribution and development based real estate stands to see steady and large gains through the end of the century based upon emerging economy development and global population trends.
* High value locations in well developed well positioned markets will see tremendous gains as much longer horizon ownership trends develop in place of the highly marketed and over marketed “buy and flip” principals.
Investors focusing on the principles developing in the face of these new trends will reduce risk and realize outsized gains over their less flexible counterparts.
Hermosa Beach Real Estate – Reviewing Trends and Price Tendencies
Posted by este in Real Estate on October 4, 2011
The name “Hermosa” means “beautiful” in Spanish and Hermosa Beach real estate may accurately be described as full of beauty. Though the population is a mere twenty thousand people, it boasts some of the most popular and desirable locations to live in the entire Los Angeles region. Hermosa Beach real estate boasts the pedigree of having one of the best-looking beaches in all of southern California with sunset views from nearly every home. If you are interested in purchasing Hermosa Beach real estate, the time is now, as prices are trending up again after a steep drop — the low prices will not be around for long.
Like many other places in the country, the value of Hermosa properties have dropped considerably in recent years. Compared to the neighboring real estate of Manhattan Beach, which has dropped and is slowly making its way back up, the trend for Hermosa Beach real estate has been much more dynamic. At the beginning of the 2009 year, the value of a home was at an all time high, worth an average of 1.85 million dollars with a mere 55 home inventory and fierce competition. Since then, however, Hermosa has been a whirlwind.
Reviewing the value of Hermosa Beach real estate since January of 2009 has been similar to watching a roller coaster. The pinnacle figure of 1.85 million dropped to 1.4 million in the course of only six months: by July of 2009, the average loss on property had been just under one third of its total value. This is not as bad as some areas of the country hit by the housing bubble but still one of the fastest drops in all of southern California. Some homeowners panicked and sold while the value was still high, creating around two dozen new home inventories on the Hermosa real estate market and further lowering the value of new sales.
The rock bottom would be reached by February of 2010. Only one year had passed since an average house was worth two million: now they trended around 1.2 million dollars and had lost almost forty percent of their average value. By August of 2010, the inventories had stabilized at fifty while the median value rebounded to a strong 1.6 million, cutting losses in half.
This may have been the second peak of Hermosa Beach real estate as the average value of a home has not hit that figure since autumn of last year. The dips in price, however, have been much less drastic. In the past year, the average value of Hermosa Beach real estate has not been below 1.4 million dollars and not above 1.5 million dollars. The loss in value can be reflected by the availability of new properties, as there are seventy-two current vacancies for properties in Hermosa, making it amenable for new homeowners to jump on the lower prices and greater variety.