Selling AZ With Rebecca : May 2013

Friday, May 31, 2013

Mortgage Rates Climb to Highest Level in Year

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2013

Fixed-rate mortgages soared higher this week, reaching their highest averages in a year, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage -- the most popular choice among home buyers -- has climbed nearly half a percentage point since the beginning of this month -- from 3.35 percent to 3.81 percent this week.

"Fixed mortgage rates followed long-term government bond yields higher, following a growing market sentiment that the Federal Reserve may lessen its accommodative policy stance,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Improving economic data may have encouraged those views.”

Despite the uptick, mortgage rates remain low by historical standards, Freddie Mac reports.

The mortgage giant reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending May 30:

30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.81 percent, with an average 0.8 point, rising from last week’s 3.59 percent average. A year ago at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.75 percent.
15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.98 percent, with an average 0.7 point, rising from last week’s 2.77 percent average. Last year at this time, 15-year rates averaged 2.97 percent.
5-year adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.66 percent, with an average 0.5 point, also up from last week’s average of 2.63 percent. Last year at this time, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.84 percent.
1-year ARMs: averaged 2.54 percent, with an average 0.5 point, dropping from last week’s 2.55 percent average. A year ago, 1-year ARMs averaged 2.75 percent.

Source: Freddie Mac

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2013/05/31/mortgage-rates-climb-highest-level-in-year

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Thursday, May 30, 2013

Mortgage Applications Drop 9% Last Week

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2013

Interest rates soared to their highest level in a year while mortgage applications fell again last week by 9 percent, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports.

For the third consecutive week, refinance applications dropped, falling 12 percent for the week ending May 24. That marked the single largest weekly drop this year for refinance applications. Refinance applications are at their lowest level since December.

Meanwhile, applications for purchases -- viewed as a leading gauge of future home sales -- rose 3 percent last week, the MBA reported.

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.9 percent -- the highest since May 2012, the MBA reported. The average 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was also on the rise, increasing to 3.1 percent from 2.96 percent the week before.

Source: “U.S. mortgage applications down 9% last week: MBA,” The Wall Street Journal (May 29, 2013)

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2013/05/29/mortgage-applications-drop-9-last-week

Survey: RE/MAX is No. 1 Name in Real Estate

Posted 5/28/13
New survey results prove what you knew from experience, and what your prospective clients need to hear: When asked to name real estate brands, more buyers and sellers think of RE/MAX than any other brand in the U.S. and Canada.

And there’s more: RE/MAX is the brand they think of first.

These are the findings of a third-party survey of U.S. and Canadian homebuyers and sellers completed in March for RE/MAX, LLC.

The survey results are the basis for ready-to-use marketing statements that differentiate RE/MAX from the competition.

You can access the marketing statements using the Marketing Claims and Sloganssection of RE/MAX Mainstreet. Click on the “U.S. Claims” or “Canadian Claims” links.

You can also:
• Download a summary of the U.S. survey and claims• Download a summary of the Canadian survey and claims

In the survey’s “aided awareness” results, nearly 90 percent of U.S. respondents recognized RE/MAX when they read a list of real estate brand names. In Canada, the percentage was even stronger at nearly 97 percent.

But the ultimate test of a brand’s strength is “unaided awareness,” when respondents are asked to name companies without being presented with a list of names. In this portion of the survey, RE/MAX was mentioned more than any other real estate brand. RE/MAX also was the brand most often mentioned first – giving it the highest top-of-mind awareness in both the U.S. and Canada.

The phone survey was conducted between November 2012 and March 2013 by MMR Strategy Group. Respondents included recent homebuyers, sellers and those who intended to buy or sell a home. In the U.S., the sample size was in excess of 2,500. A similar methodology was used in Canada with a sample size of more than 600. In both countries, the results were statistically significant to a 95-percent confidence level.

http://public.remax.net/public-news/Pages/CI-REMAX1Name.aspx

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Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Investors Place Big Bets on Widespread Housing Recovery

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2013

Investors are picking up shares of appliances, building materials, and even pickup trucks in betting on a widening housing recovery, The Wall Street Journal reports. Investors say that the increase in residential construction and home renovation represents a big opportunity on Wall Street.

The recovery is in "the very early innings," Russell Croft, a portfolio manager at Croft Leominster Inc., told The Wall Street Journal. "[I’m trying] to find the secondary or tertiary stocks that might be influenced by housing."

Following a run-up in shares of homebuilder stocks -- like Lennar, KB Home, and Toll Brothers -- investors are now diversifying, looking at such companies like appliance maker Whirlpool (which has surged more than 170 percent since the end of 2011) and Ford Motor Co. for pickup trucks. Investors are looking for anything housing-related, including companies that manufacture related items from roofing and floorboards to drywall and faucets.

Home improvement retailers Lowe’s and Home Depot have each soared by about 60 percent over the last 12 months.

With home prices still below about 28 percent from their 2006 peak, investors are seeing plenty of opportunity ahead for the housing market.

"The housing market is one of the best investible themes out there for 2013 and for 2014 as well," says analyst Kevin O'Keefe with Brown Advisory, which oversees $33 billion in assets.

Source: “Investors Spread Their Housing Bets,” The Wall Street Journal (May 27, 2013)

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2013/05/29/investors-place-big-bets-widespread-housing-recovery?om_rid=AACssQ&om_mid=_BRpi0MB8y26XTu&om_ntype=RMODaily

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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

8 Fast-Growing Cities

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | TUESDAY, MAY 28, 2013

Americans are continuing to flock to Texas. The state boasts the most cities that added the highest percentage of residents in the past year.

However, New York continues to hold the crown as the largest city in the U.S., and added 67,000 new residents between July 2011 and July 2012—which is the largest gain of any city in the nation.

The following cities saw the biggest increases in new residents between July 2011 and July 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau:

New York
- New residents: 67,000
- Population: 8.3 million
Houston
- New residents: 34,625
- Population: 2.2 million
Los Angeles
- New residents: 34,500
- Population: 3.9 million
San Antonio, Texas
- New residents: 25,400
- Population: 1.4 million
Austin, Texas
- New residents: 25,400
- Population: 840,000
Phoenix
- New residents: 24,500
- Population: 1.5 million
Dallas
- New residents: 23,300
- Population: 1.2 million
Charlotte, N.C.
- New residents: 19,000
- Population: 775,000

Source: “10 Big, Booming Cities,” CNNMoney (May 2013)

Read more

What Makes and Keeps a City Hot?

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2013/05/28/8-fast-growing-cities

Friday, May 24, 2013

Social Media Users Outsell Other Salespeople

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | FRIDAY, MAY 24, 2013

Social media may be the key to ramping up sales, according to a new survey. In 2012, 72.6 percent of salespeople who used social media for selling out-performed those who weren’t using social media, according to new research conducted by Jim Keenan, a social sales specialist. What’s more, Keenan’s firm found that social media users were 23 percent more likely to exceed sales quotas than their non-social peers.

More than 40 percent of those surveyed say they’ve closed between two and five deals as a result of social media. Another 10 percent of respondents attributed their social media efforts directly to closing transactions.

So how much time are successful salespeople devoting to social media? Keenan’s firm found that 50 percent of salespeople say they spend less than 10 percent of their selling time using social media. The top sites they identified were (in order) LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and Google+.

Source: “Study: 78% Of Salespeople Using Social Media Outsell Their Peers,” Forbes (May 19, 2013)