Real Estate Marketing Examiner

Real Estate 2009 End-of-Year Recap

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:20:17 -0700

The good news is: the worst is over in terms of a lag in home transactions and the bad news is homes that are selling are on the low end and are made up of distressed sales such as foreclosures and short sales. Watch my 2009 year-end rea...

Earthquake insurance: Is it worthwhile?

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:13:17 -0700

Insurance has to be one of the most boring topics in the world. That is, unless you live in an earthquake prone-area where you'll be glad you're insured in case the big one happens. I buy earthquake insurance, because I live in an area (Seattle) that...

Update on housing industry (video)

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:54:17 -0700

I appeared on CNBC recently along with Armando Falcon, the former head of OFHEO (now called Federal Housing Finance Agency) and Susan Wachter, Wharton School of Business professor. I invite you to watch this 5:09 minute video on the housing industry....

Is your HELOC frozen or has it been reduced?

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:57:44 -0700

Has the big freeze happened to you? One of the side effects of the economic downturn has been the freezing or reduction of home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) by banks. It makes sense why banks would do that. If their borrowers are already in the ho...

What is a short sale?

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:12:07 -0700

Simply, it's when the sale of the house is less than what the owner still owes on the mortgage. Many lenders will agree to a short sale and forgive what is owed on the mortgage when the owner cannot make the payments due to financial hardship. ...

Do sports stadiums increase value of nearby homes?

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:37:45 -0700

Since Major League Baseball's All-Star game is upon us, Zillow data analyst Steve Brownell came up with an interesting real estate angle:"Do ball parks in neighborhood increase the value of neaby homes?"Sure, there's the Starbucks rea...

Types of lenders

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 21:50:06 -0700

If you're buying a home and need to choose a lender, who do you use? A mortgage broker or a bank? And, who are correspondent lenders and loan officers and how they relate to a buyer's needs?Here's a quick summary from the article "What are...

10 things to look for in a buyer's agent

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 23:21:02 -0700

If you're ready to buy a house and you're looking for a real estate agent to help you (also known as a buyer's agent or buy-side agent), here is a list of top 10 things to look for in finding a buyer's agent:1.) Does agent have broker's license or re...

Web Appeal is the New Curb Appeal

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:41:38 -0700

What's the secret to selling a house in this recession? What attracts buyers? Recently, ABC News correspondent Elisabeth Leamy wrote an online article, "The Secret to Selling a House." She contacted me for my input on what attracts ...

Speculations about housing market bottom

Wed, 20 May 2009 11:09:49 -0700

Where's the bottom to the housing market? When will the bottom come? These are the media's favorite questions to ask, and you can't blame them. However, these questions are only relative to where you live because the only thing that matters is when l...

Home values decline 14.2% year over year

Thu, 07 May 2009 13:35:39 -0700

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the housing front continues to slide as U.S. home values are down for the ninth consecutive quarter, declining 14.2 percent from a year ago, according to the latest Zillow.com Q1 Real Estate Market Repor...

What is the difference between interest rate and APR?

Mon, 04 May 2009 12:59:44 -0700

Do you know the difference between interest rate and APR (Annual Percentage Rate)? Don't worry, a lot of people don't know.A colleague of mine at Zillow, Nate Moch, recently wrote a blog post explaining the difference between interest rate and APR. W...

New tool for real estate junkies -- Zillow iPhone App

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:02:24 -0700

If you have an iPhone, love real estate and find yourself always on the go, there is a real estate tool that was just released that is a must-have for your arsenal: it's the Zillow iPhone App and best of all, it's free. Here's how it works:--Turn you...

Making Home Affordable details released

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:05:35 -0700

Details on President Barack Obama's "Making Home Affordable" plan were just released yesterday, as well as Obama's loan modification proposal. While as many as 9 million struggling borrowers will be helped by these plans, it will take a whi...

Rest your eyes on some drop-dead gorgeous homes

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:09:15 -0700

I recently did a post on the housing bailout plan on Active Rain -- a real estate site where real estate agents and brokers gather to share ideas, network and sometimes kvetch. You can read what I like and what I don't like about the housing ...

Radio interview with OC Register

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:32:28 -0700

No payback on proposed $15,000 tax credit

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 09:12:56 -0700

Leave it to a former real estate broker who's been there, done that to put some teeth into a proposed $15,000 tax credit for homebuyers. Johnny Isakson, a Republican Senator from Georgia, is the prime sponsor of an amendment that would give h...

Credit Suisse report on existing home sales

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:03:36 -0700

The good news is that homes are starting to sell, which is reducing supply. The bad news is that the prices for those sales are declining rapidly. Credit Suisse, existing home sales report, Jan26 2009 P...

"I'm buying, and I need advice on a mortgage"

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:53:15 -0700

My cousin sent me the following email today: Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE ...

Getting ready for 4.5% mortgage rates

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 10:32:28 -0700

With mortgage rates already close to 4.5%, there's optimism in the housing sector that 4.5 can't be too far off. Here's a great video post that explains what you should do to get ready... Current Mortgage Rates Your browser doesn't support frames....