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Category Archives: Agent “Doing Business” Discussions
New Home Sales for April Show Promise for Housing Market Recovery
New home sales in April increased from last March and exceeded economists’ expectations
New home sales for the month of April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 454,000, up 10,000 from last March, according to the latest Census Bureau report. Financial blog Calculated Risk mentions that this number exceeded the expectations of economists, which was believed to be a seasonally adjusted rate of 425,000.
Read the full article from Chicago Agent Magazine
Mortgage Rates Projected to Increase
The Mortgage Bankers Association, Fannie Mae and the National Association of Realtors have all projected that the 30-year mortgage rate will be at least 4% by the end of 2013. If we assume that rates will still be at 4% in twelve months, here is the difference a buyer will pay if they wait.
Article via KCM Blog
RealtyTrac: U.S. Foreclosures Down in April
Foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 144,790 U.S. properties in April, a decrease of 5 percent from the previous month and down 23 percent from April 2012, according to the RealtyTrac® April 2013 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™. Total foreclosure activity also hit its lowest level since February 2007.
The report also shows one in every 905 U.S. housing units with a foreclosure filing during the month. Other high-level findings from the report:
- Scheduled judicial foreclosure auctions (NFS) increased 22 percent from March to April and were up 31 percent from a year ago to the highest level since October 2010 — a 30-month high.
- Scheduled non-judicial foreclosure auctions (NTS) in April were down 7 percent from March and down 43 percent from April 2012 to the lowest level since December 2005 — an 88-month low.
- A total of 70,133 U.S. properties started the foreclosure process in April, down 4 percent from the previous month and down 28 percent from a year ago.
- Lenders repossessed 34,997 U.S. properties in April, down 20 percent from March and down 32 percent from April 2012 to the lowest level since July 2007 — a 69-month low.
- As of the beginning of May, A total of 11.3 million mortgages nationwide were seriously underwater, meaning combined amount of mortgages secured by the home was at least 25 percent more than the estimated value of the home. That represented 26 percent of all outstanding mortgages, but was down nearly 1.5 million from the 12.8 million seriously underwater mortgages in May 2012.
- Illinois foreclosure activity decreased 12 percent monthly and was down 17 percent annually, but the state still posted the nation’s fourth highest foreclosure rate: one in every 501 housing units with a foreclosure filing.
- Chicago was number 10 on the list of metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates (one in every 389 housing units).
Article via Chicago Real Estate Forum
MRED’S APRIL 2013 MONTHLY MARKET REPORT
The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index recently showed that home prices in 20 major metropolitan areas had increased at the strongest pace since the bubble years. At long last, major national indices are telling the story that local MLS data users have known for months or even years. Yes, the housing market is recovering. The recovery varies by geography and market segment, but things are certainly better than they have been and are showing no signs of letting up.
New Listings in Chicagoland were up 11.0 percent for detached homes and 8.6 percent for attached properties. Listings Under Contract increased 47.5 percent for detached homes and 57.1 percent for attached properties.
The Median Sales Price was up 7.8 percent to $180,000 for detached homes and 6.3 percent to $138,200 for attached properties. Months Supply of Inventory decreased 48.1 percent for detached units and 61.8 percent for attached units.
The prickliest thorns in our collective side are still lack of inventory and subdued listing activity. In some neighborhoods, consumers have 50 or 60 percent fewer options from which to choose than they did a few years ago. That’s causing bidding wars in popular areas. Despite the competitive landscape for buyers, housing remains one of the brightest lights in an otherwise subdued economic recovery.
Want to see the numbers? Click HERE to go the Statistics home page on MREDLLC.com and start digging in.
All Indications “Point” to MREDpalooza Being a Great Success
Point2 Joins with MLS Industry Heavyweights for Major Event
Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), Chicagoland’s multiple listing service (MLS), has announced that Point2 is sponsoring and attending MREDpalooza as a ZAP! level Sponsor.
Point2 provides real estate marketing and lead management software to brokers and agents in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa, as well as listing data aggregation and syndication solutions to real estate multiple listing services in the United States, and Boards and Associations across Canada. Point2’s solutions also include the consumer real estate listings portal, Point2 Homes, in addition to property management software for small to medium size organizations managing up to 1000 units.
Real Estate Digital (RED), another Zap! level sponsor, will be unveiling its line of MRED SelectSites, state-of-the-art agent and broker websites, at MREDpalooza. RED is a leading provider of integrated technology, media and data solutions to real estate franchisors, brokerages, agents, MLSs and Realtor® associations.
In addition to having booths at MREDpalooza, both Point2 and RED will be demonstrating and explaining their full lines of products throughout the day in their own private training rooms.
”Point2 is excited to be participating in MREDpalooza,” said Saul Klein, Industry Principal of Point2. “MRED is recognized as an industry leader and the quality of their programs always exceed expectations. You’ll kick yourself if you miss this one.”
“We are thrilled to be part of MREDpalooza this year, which promises to be Chicago’s tech event of the year,” said John Hensley, Chief Product & Technology Officer of Real Estate Digital (RED). “There’s no better place to launch the MRED SelectSites web platform than at this premier event!”
Market Leader has also joined the MREDpalooza sponsorship lineup. Market Leader is a real estate software company providing a full suite of solutions from lead generation to customer relationship management.
“Not to sound too over the top, but we have been astounded by the reaction of the real estate industry to MREDpalooza,” said MRED CEO Russ Bergeron. “Clearly vendors and MRED customers alike see MREDpalooza for the wonderful opportunity it is, and we’re looking forward to seeing everybody at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont on June 18th.”
MRED has a few sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities left, and encourages anybody interested to get in touch as soon as possible. All MREDpalooza participants will enjoy significant interaction with thousands of MRED’s customers.
About MREDpalooza
MREDpalooza is the largest free real estate tech expo in the country. Taking place Tuesday, June 18, 2013, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois, MREDpalooza will be a great opportunity for MRED’s customers to learn, at no cost, about a myriad of real estate products and services to enhance their businesses.
MRED is planning for several thousand attendees and scores of vendors, many of whom, like Point 2, have already committed to attending. Training sessions and demos will be offered throughout the day, providing more in-depth understanding of many of the products and services. Those wishing to attend or exhibit at MREDpalooza are asked to visit MREDpalooza.com for free registration and sponsorship information.
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. For more information please visit MREDLLC.com.
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