State Representative Phil Lovas visits with Elite Real Estate – 9-23-2014

State Representative Phil Lovas visits with Elite Real Estate – 9-23-2014 State Rep Phil Lovas spent the afternoon visiting with Diana Buonincontro the owner of Elite Real Estate to discuss issues that are affecting small businesses throughout the valley.

Why Redfin, Zillow, and Trulia Haven't Killed Off Real Estate Brokers

Bussinessweek.com By Brad Stone March 07, 2013

Over the last decade, the Internet has seeped into that bedrock of the U.S. economy: the housing market. A group of growing and mostly profitable websites have sprung up to help guide consumers through what in many cases will be the largest and most nerve-wracking transaction of their lives. Four sites—Redfin and Zillow (Z), based in Seattle, and Trulia (TRLA) and Realtor.com, based in the San Francisco Bay Area—attract 61 million of the 67 million visitors to real estate websites each month in the U.S., according to ComScore (SCOR). They also generate hundreds of millions in revenue and have helped turn buying a house into entertainment—a spectator sport that can be enjoyed without darting surreptitiously into random open houses. Ninety percent of consumers now start their real estate journeys on the Web, according to the National Association of Realtors.

It all looks at first glance like the same kind of electronic marketplace that has eliminated travel agents, decimated classified ads, depressed stock brokers, and taken the swagger out of car dealers, but it hasn’t dented the fortunes of real estate brokers. A majority of buyers and sellers still wind up working with traditional brokers, one on each side of the deal.

Not only have brokers resisted the attack by the Internet’s real estate sites but their fees remain stable. Real Trends, a research firm, reports the average commission paid to the buying and selling brokers was 5.4 percent of the price of a home in 2011, up from 5 percent in 2008. (The seller’s agent collects the commission from the seller and then splits it evenly with the buyer’s agent.) That’s considerably higher than the median rate in markets abroad, where there may only be one agent involved in the transaction, such as the U.K. (a 1 percent to 2 percent fee), Germany (3 percent to 6 percent), Israel (4 percent), and the Netherlands (1.5 percent to 2 percent), according to a 2007 report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. “Ten years ago almost no one started their home search online. And yet none of that value has come back to the consumer,” says Glenn Kelman, Redfin’s chief executive officer.

VIDEO: Redfin Has 20% More Listings than Zillow, Trulia

Redfin has been trying to change the equation since its founding nearly 10 years ago, and its story partly explains how one species of middleman has hung on with such tenacity. Unlike other real estate websites, Redfin employs its own agents who trudge through open houses, pound for-sale signs into lawns, and work directly with buyers and sellers. Departing from the model of traditional brokerages, however, Redfin pays its agents with an annual salary, rather than commissions, and ties bonuses to customer reviews of their performance.

It can save customers a lot of money, but Redfin, which had more than $50 million in revenue last year, has grown more slowly than competitors such as Zillow and Trulia, which display listings and other information and then pass customers off to traditional real estate agents, who finish the deal. Redfin represents less than 3 percent of buyers and sellers in Seattle, its hometown, and has a negligible market share in the 20 other major metropolitan areas where it operates. It is also not yet profitable, partly because of the cost of hiring brokers and setting up offices when it enters new markets.

Economists have long been perplexed by the resilience of the real estate agent. Theory suggests that the relationship between agent and buyer or seller is far from optimal, and that conflict is often borne out in practice. At the root of the difficulty is what economists call the Principal-Agent Problem, which describes the diverging, often conflicting, interests of the principal (the customer) and the agent representing him or her. (Since agents bear much of the costs of selling a house, in the time they spend hosting open houses and touring with clients and the money they spend advertising property, they’re rewarded for pressuring clients into selling quickly and accepting suboptimal offers, or, in the case of a buyer’s agent, for allowing the client to pay too much.) In 2008, Stanford University economics professors B. Douglas Bernheim and Jonathan Meer published the results of their study of nearly 30 years of house and condo sales on the university campus. They found that an owner’s use of a broker to sell their property reduced the eventual selling price by 5.9 percent to 7.7 percent, compared with homes sold by the owner directly.

Glendale City Council approves O’odham casino deal

 Aug 13, 2014, 5:48am MST UPDATED: Aug 13, 2014, 6:50am MST
Glendale City Council approves O’odham casino deal

Glendale’s City Council approved a deal with the Tohono O’odham Nation related to the tribe’s proposed casino.
Phoenix Business Journal
Following a 4-hour-plus meeting last night, the Glendale City Council approved a deal with the Tohono O’odham Nation related to the proposed casino that will generate $26 million in annual revenue for the city over the next two decades.
The Arizona Republic reports the council listened to dozens of public comments during the often heated session Tuesday night.
Specifics of the deal call for the Tohono O’odham Nation to pay for its own infrastructure and police and fire protection at the site near Northern and 91st avenues, then make annual payments to Glendale beginning six months after gaming starts.

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Economists optimistic about West Valley's business outlook

Economists have upgraded the West Valley's business prognosis from cautiously hopeful, the outlook a year ago, to downright optimistic.

"We have the winds at our back after having a stiff wind in our face for a long time," John Graham, president and CEO of development firm Sunbelt Holdings, told business leaders this week. "The West Valley is an area we believe in."

The feeling of relief was evident among about 300 members of Westmarc. The West Valley coalition of business, civic and educational leaders gathered at the Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park for the annual economic development summit on Wednesday.

The same group had gasped at last year's summit, when Arizona State University economist Dennis Hoffman showed business leaders charts illustrating unprecedented losses in Arizona jobs, businesses and population during the recession.

The mood at the Wigwam was many degrees lighter. A panel of real estate and business leaders praised the ongoing construction of Loop 303, a key highway project that they said will pave the way for a new boom in jobs and growth in the West Valley.

Loop 303 is a "game-changer" in the same way that Loop 202 made Mesa an attractive place to locate companies and employees, said Barry Broome, president and CEO of GPEC, the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.

When construction is complete, Loop 303 will loop from Interstate 10 to Interstate 17.

A classic growth market

Civic and business leaders should do more to advertise and exploit West Valley amenities, such as the football and hockey stadiums, a foreign trade zone, ASU West and the undeveloped White Tank Mountains, Graham said.

The developer noted that the region has a "shovel-ready mentality" that will be vital to landing big employers as the nation's economic recovery continues.

"The bottom line is we're very optimistic," Graham said. "We're seeing tons of activity."

Peter O'Neil, a senior research analyst for Colliers International, said that the West Valley sees the worst and the best of economic cycles because it is a "classic growth market." It contracts more severely than the rest of the Valley but also expanding more rapidly, he said.

The region saw explosive growth during the real estate boom and is again on that path, O'Neill said.

Potential for growth

Part of the reason for the optimism is that the West Valley is the only part of the Phoenix metro area that can consistently deliver large sites that have road access, water and other desirable features, Broome said.

GPEC research indicates that it could thrive as a center for the import-export market, Broome said.

"At the end of the day, it's all about building market potential," Broome said. "I think market potential is going in the right direction. I'm excited about it."

But he cautioned that large employers expect to be offered incentives, such as breaks on property taxes, even if that is difficult on the local political level.

"It isn't about buying a company," Broome said. "It's about executing against the expectations of that company."

Solar is another industry that's set to take off in the next few years, and the West Valley is well positioned to take advantage of that, Broome said.

But, he added, that regional leaders need to be ready to move quickly to resolve permits and bureaucratic issues for large-scale deals.

"Businesses won't wait for things," Broome said. "That is a huge advantage."

West Valley looks the way metro Phoenix looked in the 1960s -- a region with a small population that has a huge potential for growth, said Jerry Colangelo, co-chairman of the Arizona Commerce Authority.

"What we need everyone in the room to do is believe in it, trust in it," Colangelo said. "Think about today and think about what's going to happen in the next 25 years."

Loop 303 projects

West Valley cities and developers already anticipate the completion of the 39-mile Loop 303 in the next few years. Projects already being planned or under way near Loop 303:

 Prasada regional mall with commercial, official and residential space in Surprise.

 A commercial section in Peoria's master-planned Vistancia development.

 PV 303, a master-planned business park in Goodyear.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/glendale/articles/2012/04/19/20120419economists-economic-winds-west-valleys-back.html#ixzz31i025zYS

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Recovery Spreads Beyond Energy States

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 09, 2014

The housing recovery is gaining strength in regions beyond just the booming energy states, according to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Leading Markets Index.

"It's a promising sign to see areas like Los Angeles and San Jose joining the top ten largest [metros] showing a recovery,” says NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “We still expect 2014 to be a strong year for housing and to aid in the overall economic recovery. The job market continues to mend and, with that, we will see a steady release of pent-up demand of buyers."

The index shows that 59 of the 350 metro markets tracked by the index have returned to or exceeded their last normal levels of economic and housing activity.

The index examines current housing permit, price, and employment data to see how close markets are performing at their historical normal levels.

Also, 28 percent of metro areas tracked had their score rise this month. Eighty-three percent have shown an improvement over the past year as well.

Topping the list on the index, Baton Rouge, La., continues its streak on the index, performing at 42 percent better than its last normal market level. Additional major markets that are exceeding their previous norms are: Honolulu; Oklahoma City; Austin and Houston, Texas; San Jose, Calif.; and Harrisburg, Pa.

Smaller metros showing the strongest recovery continue to mostly be centered in states experiencing the energy boom. For example, Odessa and Midland, Texas, have markets that are performing at double their strength prior to the recession. Other top-performing smaller metros include Bismarck, N.D.; Casper, Wyo.; and Grand Forks, N.D.

"Things are getting slowly better overall," says NAHB Chairman Kevin Kelly. "And with the housing market now entering the spring buying season, the fact that the nation's economy is headed in the right direction is a very promising sign."

Source: National Association of Home Builders

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Existing-Homes Sales report for February 2014

Last Friday, the National Association of REALTORS® released their Existing-Homes Sales report for February 2014, which provides a great vantage point on how the U.S. Housing market has developed over the past year.

Here’s the regional breakdown of existing-home sales:

Northeast

·         Total sales down 12.7% since 2013

·         Median price up 1.5% to $237,000

Midwest

·         Total sales down 12.3% since 2013

·         Median price up 8.6% to $140,900

South

·         Total sales down 0.5% since 2013

·         Median price up 8.3% to $163, 400

West

·         Total sales down 10.1% since 2013

            ·         Median price up 18% to $279,400 

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10 Markets Where Inventories Are Rising Fast

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Buyer / Seller Market? East and West Coast Differ

Buyer / Seller Market? East and West Coast Differ

More Subprime Mumblings Emerge

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | THURSDAY, MARCH 06, 2014

More lenders are jumping into the subprime loan market again, ready to give borrowers with flawed credit another shot at the housing market.

“As the economic recovery continues, new entrants see an opportunity to lend at interest rates approaching 10 percent and sometimes much more,” The Wall Street Journal reports.

Firms such as Lending Club, Springleaf Holdings Inc., and FreedomPlus are among such lenders that have joined the arena, but they prefer a different term than “subprime,” which conjures up days of the housing crisis when many subprime borrowers defaulted on loans. Instead, FreedomPlus says it calls the market “emerging prime,” and Lending Club prefers the term “near prime.”

FreedomPlus is reportedly targeting about 80 million people with credit scores between 600 and 700 and offering loans up to $35,000 that must be repaid over two to five years. The average rate it’s charging customers is 18 to 20 percent.

"The recession knocked a lot of people to their knees," says FreedomPlus President Joseph Toms. "Now, they're in a better position and nobody is willing to lend to them."

But some banks are hesitant to jump back into the market due to new mortgage regulations and risk to their reputation, says Amy Crews Cutts, chief economist at Equifax.

"You have to be alert to the trade-off between serving consumers and being viewed as taking advantage of them," she says.

Source: “New Lenders Spring Up to Cater to Subprime Sector,” The Wall Street Journal (March 5, 2014)

Cheap Obama mortgages to get more expensive

Courtesy of CNN.com

Cheap Obama mortgages to get more expensive

By Les Christie  @CNNMoney March 4, 2014: 11:37 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Nearly 783,000 homeowners who had their mortgage rates reduced under the government's Home Affordable Modification Program will see their payments increase by an average of almost $200 a month in the next few years, which will likely lead some borrowers to re-default, a federal watchdog warned.

Launched in 2009, HAMP helped troubled borrowers by either reducing the principal they owed or the monthly interest they paid, with many receiving rates as low as 2%.

But modifications under the program remained fixed for only five years and starting this month, the earliest borrowers in the program will begin seeing their rates climb by 1% a year to a high of 5.4%, the Special Inspector General's report on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) said.

As a result, some 33,000 borrowers are expected to see their rates increase this year.

Currently, the median mortgage payment among these borrowers is $773 a month. Once all rate hikes are factored in, their payments are expected to climb to a median of $989 a month.

"We're already seeing alarming re-default rates and are really worried that this could lead to more," said special inspector general Christy Romero. "It will be a real challenge for people to pay the higher amounts."

As of November 31, 359,000, or 28%, of borrowers with HAMP-modified mortgages had already re-defaulted on their mortgages and nearly 100,000 more were deemed "at risk" of default, SIGTARP reported.

Four states, including California, Florida, New York, and Illinois, accounted for half of all of the HAMP modifications that are expected to see rates climb. Some borrowers, particularly in expensive coastal markets, could see their mortgage payments climb by as much as $1,700 a month, SIGTARP reported.

The rate increases will begin this year and run through 2021.

 

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Phoenix man arrested as part of $110 million Ponzi scheme

Mike Sunnucks Senior Reporter- Phoenix Business Journal

FBI agents arrested the owners of a now-defunct California real estate firm Wednesday, accusing them of running an alleged $110 million Ponzi scheme with Phoenix connections.
Michael Stewart, 66, of Phoenix , and John Packard, 63, of Long Beach, Calif., owned and ran Pacific Property Assets. The Southern California company was established in 1999 with a business model focused on purchases, ownership and sales of apartment complexes in Arizona and California.
They face federal charges of mail, bank and bankruptcy fraud, according to prosecutors. They were indicted on the charges by a federal grand jury last month. They each could face as many as 320 years in prison.
PPA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010. That was later made into Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy.
The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission filed a complaint against the pair in 2012 alleging another company they ran called Apartments America LLC defrauded approximately 650 investors for its Arizona and California real estate purchases. Stewart settled that case with the SEC, according to documents from the regulatory agency.
PPA’s offices are closed. Stewart’s counsel could not be reached for comment. Packard’s California attorney also was not available for comment.

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Ken Meade Realty Sold: Coldwell Banker acquires West Valley business institution - Your West Valley News: Breakingnews

Ken Meade Realty Sold: Coldwell Banker acquires West Valley business institution - Your West Valley News: Breakingnews

Social Media for Realtors - 2014

When 90% of all buyers start online, why not focus your marketing efforts on the 90%?  Social Media, your website, blog, videos and any other online media marketing is the key to creating a larger online footprint for your business.  The more information that's online regarding your business the better.  My social media foundation started with Pinterest and I designed my social media marketing plan around it.  For more information on where to start visit AgentPinning.com for a free step by step guide on Pinterest for Realtors.  http://www.pinterest.com/elitearizona/

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