Subscribe To Our Daily Newsletter!

Technology has literally changed the face of the real estate world in recent years. Real estate has transitioned from an industrial society to a digital information society, and is in a state known as the “Perfect Storm.” There are several factors that contribute to this concept. Consumers today have access to almost anything they need online. And as more and more information permanently transitions to the Web, so have real estate consumer expectations.

The list of housing markets showing measurable improvement expanded by 29 metros in February to include a total of 98 entries on the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI), released recently. Thirty-six states are now represented by at least one market on the list. The index identifies metropolitan areas that have shown improvement from their respective troughs in housing permits, employment and house prices for at least six consecutive months. The February index adds some metropolitan areas that have been particularly weak; this is due to the fact that the IMI measures improvement from a bottom, and some of the hardest hit markets are showing signs of coming off of extreme lows. Keeping this in mind, notable new entrants to list in February include Miami, Fla; Boston; Detroit; Kansas City, Mo.; Portland, Ore.; Memphis, Tenn.; and Salt Lake City.

CoreLogic® (NYSE: CLGX), a provider of information, analytics and business services, has released its first national Foreclosure Report, which provides monthly data on completed foreclosures, foreclosure inventory and 90+ delinquency rates.

Have you often avoided making those dreaded cold calls? Do you dream of how much better your business could be but just can’t bring yourself to pick up the phone? You’re not alone. In the 15+ years that I have specialized in coaching real estate agents, I have noticed the same avoidant patterns in each of my clients. This article gives you five tips to make it easier.

Today’s real estate and mortgage markets require new skills to succeed. There are fewer qualified buyers, shrinking mortgage options, more regulations and tougher competition. For real estate professionals in particular, three emerging barriers stand in the way

If you’re a new agent just getting started in the real estate industry, the following elements are crucial as you set yourself up to hit the ground running. 1. Secure your own domain name. It’s important to have a domain name that you can use with your company-provided site or a site of your own. Domain names allow you to start branding from the beginning so that you have a solid foundation in place from the get-go. 2. Make sure you have a stand-alone website that can easily grow with you. Ask your Web provider if you can add unlimited pages, photos, videos, social media elements and even your own links and PDFs. This allows you to have a solid foundation in place even if you end up switching companies down the road.

With more and more consumers relying on mobile devices for local information, real estate professionals can no longer ignore this increasingly important channel when marketing properties. To help extend its customers’ reach to homebuyers on the go,

Last Wednesday, February 1, President Obama announced the details of a plan to help homeowners refinance their mortgages in hopes of bolstering the housing market. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, this proposal will allow buyers to save an average of $3,000 a year by refinancing into loans backed by the FHA, if they are current on their mortgage. The plan is estimated to cost between $5 billion and $10 billion, which Obama plans to cover by pressing a fee on large banks.

As an independent real estate firm or agent we often don’t have resources (time and money) to research market trends and analyze consumer behavior. So what do we do? I recently read Crash Boom, By Greg Rand (great book—lots of awesome real estate principals)

Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) recently released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average mortgage rates dropping to new all-time record lows as data on economic growth fell short of market projections.

When most business owners think about creating a brand for their businesses, they immediately think about logos or brainstorm amusing taglines. Yet, effective branding goes much deeper than this.

In my years of experience with coaching clients to maximize their success, I have created powerful tips to help accelerate progress. The first of these is to get clear on exactly what "success" means to you. I can't tell you how many agents I have worked with who have a general idea that they want to be successful but they don't really know where they want to be professionally 12 months from now.

A ProPublica–NPR news story recently suggested that a mortgage financing vehicle utilized by Freddie Mac may be preventing homeowners from refinancing. While FHFA does not typically comment on its supervisory activities, the circumstances here require some clarification, according to the FHFA, who issued the following response: Freddie Mac has historically used the structuring of Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (CMOs) as a tool to manage its retained portfolio and to address issues associated with security performance. A particular CMO structure employed by Freddie Mac resulted in the creation of “inverse floaters.”

Cartavi, a document sharing platform for real estate, has integrated with DocuSign to help real estate professionals close more deals faster in the cloud.

Mortgage originations plunged 10.1 percent from November to December, continuing a decline from 2011’s September peak. At the same time, loans originated over the last two years have proved to be some of the best quality originations on record.