MRED Blog
REinventing MLS
Category Archives: Agent “Doing Business” Discussions
NAR’s Exisiting Home Sales Report [Infographic]
Infographic via KCM Blog
Household Formations Projected to Surge! [Infographic]
Infographic via KCM Blog
Tapering Begins!!
The Fed today announced they would be pulling back some of their stimulus package which has helped the housing market by keeping long term mortgage rates at historic lows for the last few years. This should come as no surprise to KCM Members as we have been warning of this likelihood over the last several months.
We even went against the belief of the vast majority of economists who thought the Fed would wait until next year. In this month’s edition of KCM, we quoted Bill McBride of Calculated Risk:
“Although the consensus is the Fed will wait until 2014 to start to taper asset purchases, December is still possible.”
We also gave you the following grouping of slides to help you explain the ramifications of the Fed’s decision.
If you shared this information with your clients earlier this month (prior to the announcement), you solidified your position as THE MARKET EXPERT.
If not, get this information out ASAP!!
What it Means to the Consumer
In an article in MarketWatch today, Lawrence Yun, the Chief Economist at NAR, explained that sellers looking to move-up (to a better school district or larger home) “need to realize that it could be more challenging a year from now.” Yun stated the average 30-year mortgage rate currently hovers at 4.3%, but that could rise to 5% or 5.5% next year.
What it Does NOT Mean to the Housing Market
Some reports will now claim that housing prices will have to drop as interest rates begin to rise. There is no historical evidence of this. Below is a chart showing the last four instances of mortgage rates rising dramatically and what happened to home values at the time.
Bottom Line
If a client is either a first time buyer or a move-up buyer, they should make the move earlier in 2014 instead of later as mortgage rates will probably increase as the year goes on.
Article via KCM Blog
Today’s Prices Compared to Peak [Infographic]
Infographic via KCM Blog
NAR’s Exisiting Home Sales Report [Infographic]
Infographic via KCM Blog
MRED Customers Finding Winter Vacation Homes for their Clients
Enabled by MRED’s Growing Stable of MLS Data Co-Op Partners
LISLE, ILLINOIS (November 26, 2013) – Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), Chicagoland’s multiple listing service (MLS), announced today that it has reached agreement with twelve other MLSs around the country to jointly participate in the MLS Data Co-Op™ from CoreLogic, recognized worldwide as the premier supplier of U.S. real estate, mortgage, consumer and specialized business data, As a result, MRED listings have gained significant national exposure, and MRED customers can easily search and view listings and public records from other MLSs around the country.
MRED currently has agreements with the following organizations:
- Realtor® Association of Citrus County (Florida)
- Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors® (Florida)
- Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors® (Nevada)
- Greenville Pitt Association of Realtors® (North Carolina)
- Houston Association of Realtors® (Texas)
- My Florida Regional MLS
- North Carolina Mountains MLS
- New Smyrna Beach Board of Realtors (Florida)
- Realcomp (Detroit)
- Miami Association of Realtors® (Florida)
- SIRMLS (Illinois)
- Western Arizona Realtor® Data Exchange
The MLS Data Co-Op is not a public-facing website. It is reserved for use solely by MLS participants and subscribers, providing access to more detailed listing content and far more data than available on consumer oriented websites. MRED will continue adding reciprocal access with other MLS partners of the Data Co-Op, focusing on those areas of most interest to Chicagoans. The MLS Data Co-Op provides MRED customers with the ability to widely market their listings; opens the doorway to expanded referral networks; and enables them to demonstrate their expertise over a larger market footprint.
The MLS Data Co-Op also provides MRED customers with a wealth of information with which to enhance their already powerful real estate database. Via the Co-Op’s map-centric interface, users can display a myriad of information about each MLS listing on a single screen, and access underlying detailed data with the click of their mouse. The Co-Op delivers valuable property data and reports such as RealAVM™ valuations, tax and ownership records, listing history, nearby schools, neighborhood data, community demographics, real estate trends, foreclosure information, and more. The MLS Data Co-Op works with all popular browsers and platforms, and uses a common format for listings across MLSs without sacrificing locally unique data values.
“We are very pleased with the progress made so far in creating this true MLS Data Co-Op,” said MRED CEO Russ Bergeron. “It is a priority for MRED to enhance our customers’ ability to have access to the best information, increase their business and establish networks with other professionals around the country. We view the MLS Data Co-Op as one of the most effective ways we can support our brokers and their associates.”
About MRED
Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) is the real estate data aggregator and distributor providing the Chicagoland multiple listing service (MLS) to nearly 40,000 brokers and appraisers and 8,000 offices. MRED serves Chicago and the surrounding “collar” counties and provides property information encompassing northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin and northwest Indiana. MRED delivers over twenty products and services to its customers, complementing connectMLS™, the top-rated MLS system in the country per the latest WAV Group MLS Technology Survey. MRED is the 2013 Inman News Most Innovative MLS/Real Estate Trade Association. For more information please visit MREDLLC.com.
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