Easier Said Than Done

Well it's been a very busy week again for me in Real Estate. Buyers and sellers are keeping me on my toes. I've had several showings for my current listings, return customers with renewed interest in the market, new buyers making plans to visit Aventura next month, not too mention a two day commercial real estate seminar on last Friday and Saturday.

The best thing about this week is the house I have under contract. It's funny because, I'm not a religious man, but while in synagogue earlier this week for the Jewish High Holidays, I found myself praying that the house will appraise.

Recently, I've heard several people say the same thing: "The real estate market is doing better, right?." Yes it is, but only in a certain segment of the market; the lower priced segment. Homes up to 250k seem to be moving the fastest. This is due mostly to affordability, which, don't get me wrong, is a good thing. The big problem, however, is that the inventory for such a product is evaporating. Not too mention, lower priced homes means lower commissions.

Yes there are always new listings, but mostly short sales and foreclosures. Both of which present issues relating to time and availability. Short sales, which can be a good vehicle for buyers and seller's, take a considerable amount of time for approval. Foreclosures are great too, if you can manage to get your offer accepted by the bank. Competition for foreclosures is fierce. Stiff bidding wars against all cash buyers make it difficult for the average buyer to get a contract accepted by the banks, unless you bid way higher than the list price. That, however, may then lead to an affordability issue for the buyer. Regardless, it's not that easy to deal with either circumstance.

That leaves a "Normal" sale, a transaction where the seller is not in a short sale situation and/or the house is not in foreclosure. There are just not many of these types of transactions on the market right now, especially on the lower end of the market. This is making it very difficult to find qualified buyers a house, which is basically making my job a lot harder.

So yes, the market is moving, and yes inventory is low, but it doesn't necessary mean that's it's any easier to sell house these days. If by chance you do get a house under contract, just hope it appraises. That, however, is a discussion for another post.

Thanks for Reading!

Aaron Glassman, Lic. Real Estate Broker

A-1 REALTY GROUP, INC.

http://www.a1realtygroup.net/

AG@A1RealtyGroup.net

***Picture taken in Downtown Asheville. A funky picture for a funky town.

Read Between The Lines

There are times when I can't think of anything to write about, and other times there's so much to write about that I can't figure out how to condense it all into a reasonably readable, cleverly concise, and relatively relative blog.

Not too mention, I've been finally getting some feedback about the blog. It all gets me thinking on exactly what to write about and how to write it. It's as if the blog is starting to take shape by reactions that were caused without intention. After all, it is a cause and effect world.

With so many things to write about it's hard to find one topic to delve into. I've have taken note of several headlines that I've seen recently. I've always said that the media will let us know when we've hit bottom, and the relative condition of the market. During the bust of the bubble we saw nothing but bad news. Now, if you look around, you see positive articles on housing numbers, bidding wars on foreclosures, and incentives for buying now.

Things are getting better, but there's still a long way to go. Keep your eye on local newspaper headlines and articles. Try to recognize whether they are positive, negative or idle. An example of an idle article would be something like a "How to" article as opposed to actual news. Even so, an idle article might reveal some news about the market. So be sure to read between the lines.

Here are a few headlines that caught my eye recently:

**The "Baby Boomers" are still coming to Florida. It is believed that retirees will find there way to down here, especially now that prices have begun to bottom.

**Buying a house that is not in foreclosure or short sale status may be just as good a deal without the bidding wars and wait time.

**Local down towns are not as overbuilt as people think. Ft. Lauderdale scaled back on large housing projects just before the bust. Miami is slowly but surely being bought up by vulture funds and other cash buyers.

**Constant commercials regarding the $8,000 housing credit for 1st time home buyers are all over the airwaves, hopefully enticing fence sitters to buy now.

**Mortgage rates are still at historically low levels, making housing more affordable than ever.

BIG SIDE BAR HERE: But for how much longer, and how will higher rates effect the market and said affordability) The rules and guidelines for real estate never stay the same for too long. Usually when market conditions change, so do the rules on how to govern that market. I mean, just a couple of years ago, there was no such thing as a short sale.

**There is a push by the NAR asking congress to extend the deadline and increase the credit amount from %8,000 to $15,000. Hopefully providing even more incentive to take advantage of current low rates and prices.

And there are new headlines every day.

To sum it all up, there is much to say about the market. The question is, how do buyers and sellers interpret it and more importantly, how can you take advantage of it?

Got any ideas. Be sure to send them to me. I'll be happy to post them. With your permission of course.

Thanks For Reading!

Aaron Glassman, Lic. Real Estate Broker

A-1 REALTY GROUP, INC.

http://www.a1realtygroup.net/

yoursouthfloridarealtor@gmail.com

***Photo taken at The Hyatt, Pier 66, Fort Lauderdale, FL. If you go, be sure to have the burger & fries at Pelican Landing. A quaint restaurant, with live music and a great view of the marina and port.

Enjoy!

Commercial Crash?

Below is an excerpt from an article on Yahoo.com about the next ten financial bubbles. Commercial real estate made the list at #9. Posted Sep 11, 2009 09:17am EDT by Lawrence Delevingne in Products and Trends, Recession, Banking, Housing

9.) Commercial real estate bubble: This bubble is already hissing, if not popping outright. While the economy is improving and some home sales are slowly coming back, the commercial real estate market could get far worse. As The New York Times reports, "Even though industry lobbyists were able to persuade Congress to extend a loan program aimed at prodding the stalled securitization market back to life, several analysts said it was unlikely to head off a spate of defaults, foreclosures and bankruptcies that could surpass the devastating real estate crash of the early 1990s."

As UPI notes, commercial mortgage defaults could reach 4.1 percent by the end of the year, up from 2.25 percent in the first quarter, and Real Capital Analytics estimates commercial property loans worth $83 billion have been involved in default, foreclosure or bankruptcy in 2009.
Badly hit will likely be malls. "The next financial tsunami to hit will be the widespread failure of shopping center mortgages," says Peter Monroe, co-chair of REOMAC, a not for profit trade association to CNBC. "Half a trillion dollars of commercial loans financed on historically low rates, are due for refinancing in the next three years," says Monroe. "The negative impact of these shopping center mortgages is enormous."

Here is a link to the full article, which I found very informative, http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/325783/Ten-Bubbles-in-the-Making?tickers=%5Egspc,%5Edji,xlf

Thanks For Reading!

Aaron Glassman, Broker/Owner

http://www.a1realtygroup.net/
Ymailto:YourSouthFloridaRealtor@gmail.com

***Photo copied from my title company's website http://www.a1titleandescrow.com/. I did not take this picture, however my wife did work in the buidling, on the 35th floor. The building is usually showcased on television, especially during coverage of local sporting events.

"Don't Let Me Down"

Deflated, disappointed, sad, angry, and frustrated. These are just some of the feelings Realtors feel when buyers over promise and under deliver.

Every once in a while a customer changes their mind and decides not put that offer in, or decides to use another Realtor after spending weeks or even months working with you.

Simply put, that's the business. You learn to live with it. Or do you? The question is, how do you protect yourself? I know the buyer's broker agreement is a good vehicle but most buyers feel uncomfortable signing one. Agents should get into the habit of at least asking the buyer if they would consider signing one before going out to see properties.

Sure, are there exceptions to the rule for not getting one signed, no, (I know you thought I was going to say yes). Do we make exceptions to the rule for not getting one signed, unfortunately yes we do. That's when, not the buyer burns us, but rather we burn ourselves. I know it's uncomfortable. I, myself, hardly ever use such an agreement, but now I know better.

So, what's the best way to determine if you should ask a buyer to sign one? The simple answer is that there is no simple answer. I'm sure every realtor does it differently.

Here, however, are a few things to consider before working with a customer who won't sign a Buyer's Broker agreement. First, try to determine how long you think it will take to find that buyer a house. In this market it can take quite a while, especially if your buyer is not a cash buyer.

Also a good determinant is to figure out how many areas do you plan on visiting. Does the buyer know what they want, or where they specifically want to live? If not, then you can be in for a long haul.

Of course there are many more ways to help determine who is worth working with, but like I mentioned earlier, there is no simple answer on how to do it the best way.

In closing, the "Let Down" may be part of the business, but your dissapointment can be lessened if you don't "Let Down" your guard.

Thanks for reading!

Aaron Glassman, Broker/Owner
A-1 Realty Group, Inc.
YourSouthFloridaRealtor@gmail.com

P.S. If you have any good ideas on how to screen buyers, feel free to let me know. I'll be happy to post your thoughts and share them with the rest of the World.

***Photo taken of Molly at Tweetsie Railroad, Summer '09. A cap gun went off and scared her.

Just Another Day In Paradise

WOW!, things ave really ignited. Very little time to blog, but must tell you all that the South Florida real estate market has to have hit bottom.


I showed a foreclosure the other day. In the 10 - 15 minutes I was there, 5 other parties came in. At one time there must have been about 15 - 20 people that walked through that house. Several of which were scared off by all the competition. I picked up a new buyer. That was cool.



Also, our friends North of the border are back. I've been out with one couple this passed week, and have another couple flying in next month.



Throw in two qualified buyers with good credit and 20% down, mix in a rental here and there, sprinkle in an investor or two, and hey, I have a thriving real estate business!


Put in a solid offer last week on a foreclosure: all cash, three thousand dollars above asking, close in thirty days. Didn't get it! Six other offers were presented. My guess is someone paid more, and with the appraisal issue, they probably paid all cash.

Well that's it for today. Told you I had no time. I'm busy preparing two contracts, searching for homes for my new buyer, preparing my tax returns, watching cool RUSH videos on You Tube, and listening to cool RUSH bootlegs and altered tracks on http://www.rushisaband.com/. No not Rush Limbaugh. I'm not a big fan of his, but rather that super rock trio from North of the border, RUSH.


"You can miss a stride, but nobody get's a free ride!" - Peart.

Thanks for reading!


Aaron Glassman, Broker/Owner
A-1 Realty Group, Inc.

http://www.aaronglassman.com/
a1realtygroup@gmail.com



***Picture taken Today while showing a unit at Hollywood Towers, 3111 North Ocean Blvd., Hollywood Florida. Just another day in paradise. I think I'll use it for marketing purposes in the future. Let me know what you think.


AG

Optimized Optimization

Wow, if I had a dollar for every time I got approached by someone who wanted to optimize my website on the web, I wouldn't be super rich, but I would have enough money to buy some really good coffee right about now.

I believe that one day I will pay for this service. I'd like to see, however, the service I've already paid for actually produce results, (like the website company said it would) before I spend the big bucks to pay someone else to "Optimize" me.

My website company said I would capture more leads on my website if I spent more money on products to enhance it. Now they want me to pay more to 'Optimize" my website so that it gets more traffic on the web. It sounds like what they really want to do for me, is take more of my money.

Let's see, I already have a twitter account, and a Facebook account, getting ready to link myself in, my website is enhanced, and I have a blog. How much more do I have to pay to see results?Well, by the looks of it, a lot more. The last quote I got was $3,000 a year, and that's just for 25 keywords. I think I'll enroll in a search optimization class at the local community college before I spend that kind of money. How much does a college credit cost these days?

Like I just mentioned, I think one day I will pay for an "Optimization" service. I do think it can pay off. There are just so many companies that do this sort of thing, that I will take my time in choosing one. No matter what I decide to do, I'll keep my readers posted.

Thanks for reading!

Aaron Glassman, Broker/Owner

A-1 Realty Group, Inc.

http://www.a1realtygroup.net

aglassman1@bellsouth.net

*photo taken at a Marlins baseball during this season.