Cincinnati homes and mortgages

RE/MAX Elite and the Clermont financial group. If you absolutely, positively want to position yourself to be successful in today's market!



Hitwise Ranks remax.com No. 2 on Quarterly Top 10 List Based on share of visits among all U.S. Web sites in the "Business and Finance - Real Estate" category, remax.com is a Hitwise Top 10 Award winner at No. 2 for the quarter ending March 2008.

The Hitwise Top 10 Award recognizes Web sites from over 160 industries that are leaders in their field.

In March alone, remax.com received nearly 6 million hits. About half of them were direct, which means 3 million hits came from top-of-mind brand recall and consumers typing in "remax.com" to access the Web site.

Continuing efforts to increase visibility of remax.com through TV, print and radio ads, plus Search Engine Marketing strategies, put remax.com into the second-place position ahead of competitors such as homegain.com, realestate.com, century21.com and coldwellbanker.com. (Source: Carat and iProspect Monthly Report - April 2008.)

Cincinnati Homes And Mortgages

RE/MAX Elite and the Clermont financial group. If you absolutely, positively want to postion yourself to be successful in today's market!

Guest Blogger: Dave Liniger, RE/MAX FOUNDER


Has This Market Hit Bottom? May 12, 2008


If you're like me, you're getting a little frustrated with the media's reporting on the current housing market. It's a mess, a crisis, a disaster- I've heard it all. I understand that sensationalism sells, but the real problem is that the information reporters rely upon to make these dire assumptions is often inaccurate.

The good news is that some reporters are finally figuring it out! On May 1, MarketWatch carried a story written by Chris Pummer, a respected financial reporter, who contributes to many mainstream newspapers. In his report, "Home Price Data has its Flaws," he noted that the much relied upon S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index might be giving "imprecise readings of price changes at all levels."

Pummer also noted that most surveys don't agree and that many are flawed by their assumptions, and are using negative hyperbole when describing our current market. It has also been reported that S&P had admitted that their report may "paint an incomplete picture." Really, you think so?

On May 6 The Wall Street Journal printed a guest editorial by hedge fund manager Cyril Moulle-Berteaux entitled, "The Housing Crisis is Over." His premise was that April 2008 could very well mark the bottom of this market, but he emphasized that a bottom doesn't mean that we'll instantly return to 2005, but that "the trend is no longer getting worse."

Moulle-Bertreaux bases his conclusion on the affordability of housing today, the price versus household income. He also says the so called "experts" who say the market has another 30% to drop are making a "simplistic analysis that is appealing on the surface, but is flawed for a variety of reasons."

I have always said that the housing market is like the stock market, no one can predict an exact high or low. At the same time, I am encouraged today by reports from our Affiliates around the country that lead me to believe we are near a bottom. It could take until the end of the year to know for sure if things are turning around, but in the meantime, we could certainly use more accurate and sensible reporting on the situation.

But tell me what you think? Have we hit bottom? What's it like in your market? Post a message to my blog and let everyone know how things look from your view point.
Also, I would encourage you to read the two articles that are linked above and pass the word - the sky is NOT falling down and there's never been a better time to buy a house. Dave
Copyright © 2008 RE/MAX International Inc. 5/12/08

Comments: (3)

Hi Dave, I love to read about great changes in the real estate market. And your blog is right on target that the market is starting to see signs of change. We are starting to see a change in the Tampa, Florida market area. We have seen a 27% increase in sales March over Feb 2008 in the Brandon/Riverview/South Shore area of Hillsborough County Florida our office market area. The Florida Associate of Realtors reported a 10% increase in sales for the State for the same time period. If this trend continues we should have a great home selling/buying summer. Ed Pichette, Broker/Owner, RE/MAX South Shore Realty, Riverview, FL

Hey Dave, Great read of your blog this morning. The following article appeared in our local newspaper this weekend  "Sales Surge for Fourth Consecutive Month," by Zach Fox of The Californian. Several months ago I wrote an email to this reporter after he incorrectly quoted stats from our local MLS, regarding how "bad" it was. It was not as bad as he had indicated. I think after my email and subsequent conversation.this particular reporter has changed his slant on reporting news about Real Estate. This is the second article written by this reporter in the last 30 days, showing great positive news. (There was some negative news in the article, but the beginning and mostly throughout there was positive news, encouraging buyers to act now). I would encourage agents throughout the network to have similar dialogues with local reporters. David Weldon, RE/MAX Elite Team, Temecula, CA

Cincinnati 'Media Is Wrong About Housing Slump'

RE/MAX Elite and the Clermont financial group. If you absolutely, positively want to postion yourself to be successful in today's market!


Why buy a house now? You've been getting bad information. Here's why.

The financial press is worried that they might have gone too far - paralyzing the nation into recession by piling on housing. So they're finally beginning to question the indexes where they get their data, and whether the news is really as bad as it seems. Slowly but surely, headlines are changing from Don't Buy A Home Now to Is It Time To Buy?

We said it here first on Realty Times - that consumers aren't getting the full story. Indexes can be misleading because of the locations, prices, types of housing, and rates of increase they track.
In late April, Robert Shiller, founder of the Case-Shiller Index, announced that there was a good chance housing prices would fall further than the 30 percent drop during the Great Depression.
Shiller has plenty of reason to be negative - he makes money when people buy housing hedge funds, licensed with data obtained through his company Macromarkets LLC.

Now, finally, one brave journalist is writing that Case-Shiller is flawed.
In his story "Home-price data has its flaws," Chris Plummer of MarketWatch slammed both Shiller's Index and the Associated Press for being "grim reapers."

For the first time, S&P Index Committee Chairman David Blitzer "acknowledged his organization's overall and metro-market readings paint an incomplete picture."
No kidding. The index covers only 20 markets, heavily weighted to the most volatile metros in the nation.

Plummer also lampooned the AP for writing that "despite that index's limited seven-year history, home prices plunged by a record percentage at their fastest rate ever."
He also notes, "The glaring discrepancy in this case is that 17 of the 20 metro areas posted record annual declines, and yet 78 percent of the 330 metropolitan regions that the NAR tracks reported price increases ... ."

Bravo, Plummer. But the rest of the financial press still has a long way to go.
When Shiller says home prices are going to fall 30 percent, not one reporter who covered the story asked this simple follow-up question: "Bob, during the worst part of the Great Depression, one in four people were out of work. Our unemployment rate is a little over 5 percent. So what's going to drive home prices that low?"

Instead, no one did even the minimum Wikipedia search to find out what conditions were really like 75 years ago.

What that means is not only are the indexes misleading - the reporting is worse.
Right now we have mortgage interest rates three points below historical norms. We have housing inventories five months greater than balanced markets. Combine that with unemployment that is a half percent lower than the recession of 2003, and you have excellent homebuying conditions.

Stop listening to the media. Go buy a home.

Cincinnati 'Media Is Wrong About Housing Slump'

RE/MAX Elite and the Clermont financial group. If you absolutely, positively want to postion yourself to be successful in today's market!

Cincinnati Homes and Mortgages

RE/MAX Elite and the Clermont financial group. If you absolutely, positively want to postion yourself to be successful in today's market!


Mortgage Market Update:

The Federal Reserve met in late April and reduced the fed funds rate, the rate at which banks lend money to each other, by a quarter-point. The fed funds rate now stands at 2 percent, down from over 5 percent in September 2007. Wall Street analysts believe this may be the last rate decrease in store as the Fed seeks to keep inflation in check.
Fixed-rate mortgages remain stable and hover in the high 5 percent range, up slightly from one month ago.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported a March slowdown in Existing Housing Market, which was down 2.0 percent from February. As it stands, the NAR is anticipating an annual sales volume of 4.93 million homes for 2008.

Finance Q and A:

Q: Is it better to obtain a no fee loan, or one with points and a lower interest rate?

A: Each loan has its benefits. The no fee loan is a practical option for many buyers today, but comes with a higher interest rate and higher monthly payment. Buyers who choose a no fee loan often do so if they think they will be moving again, or if they need the money for something else.
Buyers who pay points up front and reduce their mortgage rate will benefit from a smaller payment. This is a practical approach for buyers who plan on staying in their residence long enough to recover their upfront cost.

Each situation is unique. To find out which option is best for you, contact your mortgage professional today!

Tip of the Month:

With the number of foreclosure investment opportunities on the rise, would-be investors are wise to consult with their mortgage professional first about possible financing options. Depending on credit, some investors can still arrange conventional financing, while others may want to explore lines of credit or borrowing against existing equity. Find out what options are available by calling your mortgage professional today.

SELLING REAL ESTATE IN CINCINNATI

RE/MAX Elite and the Clermont financial group. If you absolutely, positively want to position yourself to be successful in today's market!


If at First You Don't Succeed, You're in Excellent Company

In her new autobiography, "Home," Julie Andrews tells of taking a screen test for MGM studios when she was 12 years old. "They needed to gussy me up a bit because I was so exceedingly plain," she writes. "The final determination was 'She's not photogenic enough for film.'"
J.K. Rowling's book about a boy wizard was rejected by 12 publishers before a small London house picked up "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone." Decca Records turned down a contract with the Beatles, saying "We don't like their sound." Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor who said he "lacked imagination." Michael Jordan was cut from his high-school varsity basketball team sophomore year.

See photos and read more about well-known figures who overcame setbacks
What makes some people rebound from defeats and go on to greatness while others throw in the towel? Psychologists call it "self-efficacy," the unshakable belief some people have that they have what it takes to succeed. First described by Stanford University psychologist Albert Bandura in the 1970s, self-efficacy has become a key concept in educational circles, and is being applied to health care, management, sports and seemingly intractable social problems like AIDS in developing countries. It's also a hallmark of the "positive psychology" movement now sweeping the mental-health field, which focuses on developing character strengths rather than alleviating pathologies.

Self-efficacy differs from self-esteem in that it's a judgment of specific capabilities rather than a general feeling of self-worth. "It's easy to have high self-esteem -- just aim low," says Prof. Bandura, who is still teaching at Stanford at age 82. On the other hand, he notes, there are people with high self-efficacy who "drive themselves hard but have low self-esteem because their performance always falls short of their high standards."

Still, such people succeed because they believe that persistent effort will let them succeed. In fact, if success comes too easily, some people never master the ability to learn from criticism. "People need to learn how to manage failure so it's informational and not demoralizing," says Prof. Bandura, who signs many of his emails, "May the efficacy force be with you!" ("I've failed over and over and over again in my life. That's why I succeed," Michael Jordan has said.)
FORUM

Readers, have you had moments of self-efficacy? What setbacks have you suffered ... and how did you overcome them? Share your thoughts.FOR MORE ON THIS TOPIC, SEE:

• "Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control," by Albert Bandura (1997)
• "Self-Efficacy in Changing Societies," edited by Albert Bandura (1995)
• "Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Adolescents," edited by Tim Urdan and Frank Pajares (2006)
• "The Power of Resilience" by Robert Brooks and Sam Goldstein (2003)
• "Rejection" by John White (1982)
• Self-Efficacy Web site

Sometimes, the rest of the world just hasn't caught up with an innovator's genius. In technology, rejection is the rule rather than the exception, Prof. Bandura says. He points out that one of the original Warner Brothers said of sound films, "Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?" Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were rebuffed by Atari Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. when they tried to sell an early Apple computer. And sometimes genius itself needs time. It took Thomas Edison 1,000 tries before he invented the light bulb. ("I didn't fail 1,000 times," he told a reporter. "The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.")

Where does such determination come from? In some cases it's inborn optimism -- akin to the kind of resilience that enables some children to emerge unscathed from extreme poverty, tragedy or abuse. Self-efficacy can also be acquired by mastering a task; by modeling the behavior of others who have succeeded; and from what Prof. Bandura calls "verbal persuasion" -- getting effective encouragement that is tied to achievement, rather than empty praise.
INDEPENDENT STREET BLOG

Wendy Bounds on optimism and entrepreneurship. Read her latest post and share your thoughts.
"I teach teachers here, and one of the things we teach them is how to build up children who have been told they aren't competent," says Frank Pajares, a professor of education at Emory University who has been a leader in using self-efficacy to nurture academic confidence. "We all have mental habits, and once they are set, they are as hard to break as stopping smoking or biting your fingernails."
It's not too late to recover. "You can develop a resilient mindset at any age," says Robert Brooks, a Harvard Medical School psychologist who has studied resilience for decades. One key, he says, is to avoid self-defeating assumptions. If you are fired or dumped by a girlfriend, don't magnify the rejection and assume you'll never get another job or another date. (Maintaining perspective can be tough in the face of sweeping criticism, though. A teacher said of young G.K. Chesteron, who went on to become a renowned British author, that if his head were opened "we should not find any brain but only a lump of white fat.")
And don't allow a rejection to derail your dreams. "One of the greatest impediments to life is the fear of humiliation," says Prof. Brooks, who says he's worked with people who have spent the last 30 years of their lives not taking any risks or challenges because they are afraid of making mistakes.
What if you really do lack the talent to succeed at whatever you're trying to do? That's a tricky question, psychologists say -- one that's on display in the early episodes of "American Idol" each season. Try to objectively assess how much you are likely to improve with training and hard work, and how much it's worth to you, or whether there are other ways to enjoy your passion -- being a coach instead of a player, for instance. On the other hand, what if Dr. Seuss had given up after his 27th rejection and not tried once more? In the words of Henry Ford: "Whether you think that you can or you can't, you're usually right."
Write to Melinda Beck at HealthJournal@wsj.com
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Talk of Town Hall Meeting and Foreclosures

RE/MAX Elite and the Clermont financial group. If you absolutely, positively want to postion yourself to be successful in today's market!



This is a our guest blogger, RE/MAX Founder Dave Liniger

Make the best with what you've got. They've always been good words to live by, but they really make a lot of sense this year. With the housing market what it is, I've been telling agents across the country, there's no choice, you have to work with what you've been given. That was also the theme of our first in a series of RE/MAX Town Hall Meetings, broadcast LIVE, on RE/MAX Satellite Network last week. I hope you tuned in, because it was one of the more popular programs ever shown on RSN. We had so many emails and phone calls we had to extend the show an extra fifteen minutes.You can still download the Town Meeting handout materials on Mainstreet.

Margaret hosted the meeting that included a panel discussion with three leading experts- RE/MAX agents, of course- who talked about taking on short sales, REOs and foreclosures. And these agents really knew the topic well! At the beginning of the meeting, I mentioned that I had recently spoken with a friend who's a builder in Scottsdale. According to him, for every property in foreclosure that is sold or mitigated, two more come on the market. And it doesn't show any sign of letting up in 2008. Out of a projected total of 6 million home sales, well over a million could be foreclosures.

Maybe you've never had any interest in the short sale or foreclosure business. Maybe you should rethink that. As our experts said, it can be good business if you put some work into it. But also, I certainly believe in being an advocate for your clients. If you have clients in foreclosure, you need to know as much about the process as possible. And you may need to be persistent about it, like our Town Hall Meeting expert, Nancy Freeman. She has the knowledge and energy to be an effective advocate for her clients.

As always, the NAR web site has some good articles with pre-foreclosure and foreclosure tips for agents. And, RSN has an online course on Foreclosure Prevention and Opportunities for Buyer-Clients, scheduled in June. You might also want to check out the video tips on ATOD. They're here on Mainstreet under the RE/MAX University tab.

Like I said in the Town Hall Meeting, foreclosures aren't for everyone, but they're in every town. Give it some thought. And watch for more Town Hall Meetings on RSN in the coming months.
I'll be out traveling the east coast this week for our Be Great in 2008 series. We've hit nearly 20 cities so far! You know me, I have plenty to say about today's market and I'm happy to talk with anyone. But what about you? Don't fail me now. I want to hear what you have to say about the market, the topics discussed in the Town Hall Meeting. Please send your comments in and I'll be taking notes for BlogStreet as I make the tour next week.

Raleigh, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Columbus- here I come!

Note: The RE/MAX Town Hall Meeting broadcast on April 14th will be rebroadcast in the future and will also be streamed online. Check Mainstreet for more information. The next Town Hall Meeting is scheduled for June 12 at 2 p.m. ET.