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The housing market seems to be on the upswing, and some experts say that by 2014, the market will be back on track. Last week NAR noted that investment properties are on the rise, and the National Institute of Home Builders reports that contractors have high expectations for remodeling this year. According to data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, home price indexes for 38 states ended 2011 above their early-year lows and 30 states reported more than two quarters of growth by the end of 2011. However, Kiplinger.com notes that how each individual state recovers will depend largely on how it deals with foreclosures; in states that require judicial review before signing off on a foreclosure, backlogged properties can slow down the progress in the market.

In 2012, online real estate marketing promises to be more challenging than ever before for real estate agents and brokers. This is largely due to the sheer number of competitors that have been, or are finally becoming Internet savvy in their marketing efforts. While being an expert on search engines isn’t attractive to many people, developing an overall strategy to win search engine placement on the web is now critical and should be a cornerstone in promoting your personal or professional brand and generating a steady source of ongoing leads. Organic search engine placement is a powerful way to gain dominance over your competitors in the single largest area where your customers are initiating the process of which home to buy or sell and deciding which agent to hire.

Housing starts will nearly double and home prices will begin to rise in 2013, with prices increasing significantly in 2014. Those rosy predictions come from a new semi-annual survey of 38 of the nation’s leading real estate economists and analysts by the Urban Land Institute’s Center for Capital Markets and Real Estate. The economists foresee broad improvements for the nation’s economy, real estate capital markets, real estate fundamentals and the housing industry through 2014, including: • The national average home price is expected to stop declining this year, and then rise by 2 percent in 2013 and by 3.5 percent in 2014.;

Sales of investment and vacation homes jumped in 2011, with the combined market share rising to the highest level since 2005, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. NAR's 2012 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey, covering existing- and new-home transactions in 2011, shows investment-home sales surged an extraordinary 64.5 percent to 1.23 million last year from 749,000 in 2010. Vacation-home sales rose 7.0 percent to 502,000 in 2011 from 469,000 in 2010. Owner-occupied purchases fell 15.5 percent to 2.78 million. Vacation-home sales accounted for 11 percent of all transactions last year, up from 10 percent in 2010, while the portion of investment sales jumped to 27 percent in 2011 from 17 percent in 2010.

Markets that experienced the biggest boom in foreclosures in 2009 and 2010 today are experiencing a decline in new foreclosures. New data from the National Association of REALTORS®’ Local Market reports shows that the national foreclosure rate eased from 2.8 percent in June of 2011 to 2.7 percent by December, with 113 of the 163 markets surveyed experiencing a decline in their foreclosure rate over this period. While the improvement was widespread, the largest aggregate declines occurred in markets where the rate had ballooned in 2009 and 2010. Markets in Florida

It is becoming increasingly clear that the U.S. economy is improving, creating a more favorable backdrop for residential real estate investment. Our nation’s economy is kicking into second gear; monthly job gains have exceeded 200,000 for three consecutive months, providing the necessary fuel to create modest economic growth. An improving economy translates into positive wage growth, boosting consumer confidence which in turn, boosts home buying. Sales of existing homes registered 4.59 million annualized units in February, reflecting a housing recovery that began in mid-2011. Similarly, sales of new homes registered 313,000 annualized units in February, compared to 295,000 annualized units in July of last year.

Pending home sales were down slightly in February but remain notably above the pattern in the first half of last year, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, eased 0.5 percent to 96.5 in February from 97.0 in January but is 9.2 percent above February 2011 when it was 88.4. The data reflects contracts but not closings.

Do you routinely use customer testimonials to enhance your sales presentations and strengthen your marketing material? When it comes to effective marketing and business development, a glowing endorsement from a client is the gold standard. Using testimonials is a great way to build credibility and develop rapport. In addition, customer endorsements are an effective sales tool when responding to a prospect's objections. Nothing promotes credibility faster in the mind of a skeptical prospect than a heartfelt and sincerely written testimonial from a trusted third party source. There are many ways to request a testimonial from a customer, but as with most things, timing is everything. For example, don't ask for a testimonial from a customer that you're meeting for the first time, because you may appear overly aggressive.

(MCT)—Spring arrived very early this year in much of the country, bringing what traditionally is the best time to buy and sell real estate, even through the downturn. Issues of tight credit linger, and median home prices continue to decline, though more slowly. Yet there appear to be enough positive indicators to push once-reluctant sellers into the market. Among those pluses: record-low fixed interest rates for mortgages and the highest affordability levels since record-keeping began in the 1970s.

The person who coined the phrase "time is money," must have been a sales rep paid on commission. In the selling profession, the old cliché rings true; if you are not talking to a prospect or customer, you're unemployed! How effectively do you manage your time? Do you spend your time as you would any other precious, nonrenewable asset? Or are you the type of salesperson who is stressed-out, constantly jumping through hoops and consistently running late for meetings and client appointments? We measure time far better than we manage it. In today's high-tech world, physicists have become extremely proficient at measuring time. The atomic clock, based on

February existing-home sales declined from an upwardly revised January pace but are well above a year ago, while the median price posted a slight gain, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Sales were up in the Midwest and South, offset by declines in the Northeast and West. Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, slipped 0.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.59 million in February from an upwardly revised 4.63 million in January, but are 8.8 percent higher than the 4.22 million-unit level in February 2011.

Is that a question you’ve ever asked yourself? Have you ever wondered why some real estate agents do well in today’s economy while others fail? There is a huge discrepancy right now between people who are failing and people who are succeeding. Having been a real estate business coach for the past 15+ years I’ve had the privilege to observe how real estate agents function. And this experience has included new agents and seasoned agents, and the experience of watching them work through hard times and good times. In addition, I’ve even had the privilege to be able to participate in helping them to become successful.

For the first time in 18 months, home prices in February rose higher. With a median price of $171,881, prices in the 53 cities surveyed by the RE/MAX National Housing Report rose by 1.1% over February 2011. Home sales were even higher, up 8.7% from one year ago. With a positive sales trend of 8 straight months above the previous year, it’s looking like 2012 will witness a very strong home-selling season, RE/MAX reports. As a result of reduced foreclosure activity, inventory continued a downward trend for the 20thstraight month, 22.4% lower than the housing inventory in February 2011.

This spring, brokers and agents will be able to transform the way they interact online with the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR). The new my.REALTOR.org provides each member the ability to choose the information areas and news topics they receive online from NAR. The end result is a highly personalized member-Association experience, customized by you. “Using my.REALTOR.org will be a remarkable experience for our members. They will be able to instantly access the up-to-the-minute information that is most important to them, in an appealing layout that works anywhere, in any format—

For decades, being able to get clients to instantly like and trust you was a must-have attribute for a real estate agent. This, in turn, required you to be personable, available and knowledgeable. However, the introduction of technology into the real estate industry has changed the once-cherished relationship between agent and client. Suddenly, loyalty is rare, because clients are now able to find homes on their own. They call agents based on availability and because the agent happens to represent the property the client is interested in. Phone calls have dissolved into text messages, and clients tend to interact more with your website than with you as a person.