How has Real Estate changed in the past decade?

In the last decade, a lot has changed in the real estate industry from how buyers go through the process to how prices have changed while some things haven’t changed like the median age of buyers, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

So what's the scoop? Here's what NAR research has shown us:

1. 1999: 37% of buyers searched for a home online. 2009: 90% of buyers searched for a home online.
2. 1999: median home value is $137,600. 2009: median home value is $172,600 (but not that some reports reflect that when accounting for inflation, the value hasn’t changed at all this decade).
3. 1999: 82% of buyers purchased detached, single family homes. 2009: 78% of buyers purchased detached, single family homes.
4. 1999: 46% of buyers choose suburban neighborhoods. 2009: 54% of buyers choose suburban neighborhoods.
5. 1999: 68% of buyers were married couples. 2009: 60% of buyers are married couples.
6. 1999 and 2009: the median age for buyers was 39.
7. 1999 and 2009: “neighborhood quality, affordability, and convenience to work and school have consistently been top priorities.”

It is interesting that the biggest change is that most buyers now search for their home online. This can be through many different websites - some with fantastic, up to date information, others with information that is outdated or simply wrong.

What remains the same? Buyers and sellers benefit from the knowledge and skills of a REALTOR® - someone that knows how to use the information that is available to us to create the best opportunities possible in today's new world.

Who can you think of that needs our help? You know what to do next - put them in touch with us!

Rebates for Appliance Buyers in 2010

The 2010 plan to encourage energy efficiency is the government rebate for appliance buyers. The plan lets people swap their old appliances for new energy-efficient models at very low prices.

Here are some things to keep in mind:
· State plans vary. For state by state specifics, check out the state-by-state javascript:void(0)rebate program.

· Is it really a deal? It may not be worth replacing appliances that are fewer than seven years old, but older models can represent a real deal. Joe McGuire, president of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, says a 20-year-old refrigerator uses three times as much power as a new Energy Star-approved model.

· Buy now before it ends. There is only about $300 million available and some states got more money than others. It is expected to run out fast.

Source: The Associated Press, Vinnee Tong (12/30/2009)

The January 2010 Newsletter is here!

One of my 2010 Resolutions is to stop procrastinating (as much anyway!) so I thought I'd get started early so that hopefully it will stick!

The January 2010 Edition of my monthly newsletter is now available for download.

Did you know that we can help you, your friends, your family and your colleagues lease apartments in Austin and the surrounding areas in addition to helping them buy and sell real estate? We can even refer your friends and colleagues to other top notch Real Estate Consultants across the United States and in Canada through our By Referral Only Referral Network. Who do you know that needs help buying, selling, renting or leasing? Please - don't keep us a secret!

Colleagues vs. Competitors

As I've been teaching more and more I often find myself in a conversation about the "colleague" perspective in Real Estate.

You see, so many professionals in our industry look at one another as competitors. I remember back in pre license school, I was sitting next to a woman (we'll call her Jane) who was going to go work with her mom. Jane's mom built her own business when Jane was growing up, so she had lots of insight and ideas that many of us had not had the opportunity to gain.

Jane started to talk about some of the things she was going to do to build her real estate career....then she paused, looked at me, and said "well, I shouldn't tell you any more because then you'll steal my ideas." I can play this video back in my brain like it happened yesterday.

I think when we look at each other as competitors, it causes us to be less than kind, less than professional, and sometimes, less than honest. One of the things I always share in my classes is that if I'm sharing something that I do that has worked for me, and a participant in the class would like to try it too, I'll give them everything I have to help them be successful.

Why? Because I think it's the right thing to do. There's plenty of business to go around. And let's be honest...is it really reasonable to think that my list of 250 contacts that I regularly stay in touch with has that much (or any) overlap with anyone else's list?

Real Estate is much bigger than me, it's much bigger than you, and it's much bigger than Austin. What we do as professionals in this industry impacts so many people and so many professions it is hard to wrap your brain all the way around it. Wouldn't it be great if more of us worked from the "colleague perspective" and helped support one another as we provide amazing service to our clients?

Imagine what that would be like..... And then work to help make it a reality!

Those cool things from days gone by

My earlier blog related to super cool NEW excitement.

This one is related to super cool OLD excitement.

Remember those cool "things" from years gone by? Like the cool road signs you'd see on family vacation? Or the cool t-shirts available at the diner you'd stop at on the way to Aunt Millies? Or the post cards you'd find in the visitors center right after you crossed a state line?

Vintage Roadside is working to preserve some of those memories. Check out the site for more information. They have a great collection of t-shirts as well as great stories about the fun establishments that are now few and far between.

Boeing's new Dreamliner shoudl fly today!

Flight has always been fascinating. Today, Boeing will test fly the new 787 Dreamliner - filled with cool technology that we can and can not see. Check out this blog for more info.

I wonder if the seats are comfortable??? ;)

Paying attention to your credit accounts

Many of you know my thoughts on credit cards (and banks in general). They're evil. There is simply no way around it.

Here's what is prompting today's post.

I have all of my recurring business expenses charged to one specific credit card. It makes my end of the year tax work much simpler. Each month anywhere from 2,000 to 3,500 bucks are put on this account. When the statement comes, I pay the balance off in full. The credit card company hates this.

The interest rate on this account was 9.9%. Not the lowest on earth, but it really doesn't matter to me since I pay the balance off every month.

A few things have recently happened.

1 - my grace period was reduced. Now instead of 30 days, it is 12 days. That means that I'm almost always paying interest on my purchases, because the grace period is up before the statement even comes.

2 - the electronic statements used to be sent 10-15 days before payment is due. That recently changed to 2-3 days. So if I'm not paying attention, it can be really easy to make a late payment.

In fact I did have a late payment...a payment was due 2 days after the statement was emailed to me. This resulted in a $39 late fee, and my interest rate going to the default rate of 28%.

I called and discussed this issue with a customer representative, who happily removed the charge from my account. She would not, however, change my interest rate back to the 9.9% that I had. She said I was late, and although she could remove the charge she could not change that I was not responsible enough to pay the bill on time.

You can imagine what was going through my mind when she said that.

I asked her how long it would take for the rate to go back down, she said 6 months. So, even after not having a late payment for six years, I had to wait 6 months for it to go back down. Now remember, they have also reduced the grace period - so now I'm paying nearly 30% interest on some portion of my balance.

So I got this great idea - I set up automatic payments of $50 every two weeks. In an effort to make sure I never have a late payment again, and to reduce any interest I am paying.

Great in theory. But, the credit card company responded by not sending statements AT ALL anymore. When I inquired about this, they indicated to me that they only send statements on accounts that have a payment due. My payments are made in advance, so I never have a payment due.

Pretty slick huh.

Does anyone really wonder why consumers are screaming for reform????

10 things I've learned in 2009

2009 has been a great year for me. Lots of changes, lots of learning, lots of new connections, lots of new friends, and lots of optimism for all that 2010 holds.

As the year comes to a close, I thought it might be fun to share a few "one liners" (ok - some of them are more than one line!) that sum up a lot of the personal lessons I have had the opportunity to learn and grow from this year.

Here are the 10 Life Lessons I have learned this year.

1. It's always a good time to reconnect with old friends.

2. When you operate from a place of giving with no expectations, you get back a whole lot more.

3. I really dig strong, powerful women. It's those total bitches you need to stay away from. I really dig strong, powerful men. It's those total @$$holes you need to stay away from. How do you know who's who? See #10.

4. Doing the right thing is pretty easy to do - but watch out for some who say they "always do the right thing - even when nobody is watching"....many of them are in denial.

5. Treating the knowledge, skills, resources and abilities that you posses as if they are not valuable, makes them worthless.

6. When you take the risk and do the things other people are afraid or unwilling to do, you attract like minded people.

7. Never depend on other people or companies to "remind" you of anything - always set your own due dates and reminders on your own calendar.

8. Life is too short for grudges....sometimes it's hard, but you have to "build a bridge and get over it" (Thank you to Pat Strong for the great saying!)

9. You never know what the answer is unless you ask the question!

10. Listen to that little voice in your head.....EVERY TIME.

We're on the list

And it's a good list! Check out the lists of the cities with the best drinking water. That's great news for those of us trying to drink our 8+ cups of water a day!

"Your buyers will have to understand....."

I'm headed out to show some properties to a set of first time buyer clients tonight. We've been looking for quite some time, and although we have found some nice properties, we haven't found "the one" yet.

As of this morning at 11:34, there are 55 listings that meet the criteria of my buyers. This will be important as you read and process this post.

Of the five we are viewing, four are HUD properties (very smooth, reasonably easy process for agents to work with). The final is a short sale. Short sales are difficult. The last short sale I helped buyers purchase took us nearly 5 months.

When properties are occupied (as many short sales are), we as agents call to set a showing time. We also leave our business card in the property so that the occupants know that someone has been there.

Today as I spoke with the owner of the one short sale property we will view, I was reminded of something all sellers need to be aware of.

As I asked this person if a showing between 5:30 and 6 would be workable for her, she said "sure, your buyers will just have to understand that the house is a mess and I haven't finished getting it ready to show yet."

This is where the 55 listings thing comes in to play. What I would have shared with the seller had she been my client, is that in fact she needs to understand that there are 54 other properties she is competing with. These buyers have a lot of choices at this time. There really is no excuse to not have your property ready to sell when it is listed as active in the MLS.

So the lesson for the day is, when you are trying to sell your property, you already have one strike against you (you have a short sale listing), you are trying to get the most money for your property as possible in a down market, and there are 54 other properties you are competing with - you must work extremely hard to eliminate all the objections the buyer may raise when it comes to your property.

Although short sales are an unfortunate process, sellers need to remember that the bank is trying (in theory!) to help you avoid foreclosure - something that will present turbulence for you for many years to come. Although the process is irritating and cumbersome, it is better than having a foreclosure on your credit history.

Know someone that could use sound professional advice in order to be successful in today's market? Please, don't keep me a secret!

Good news for short sales

Anyone who has been involved in a "short sale" transaction knows that the process can be terribly cumbersome.

Recently, the US Treasury announced new guidelines to help smooth the process.

I think these guidelines will certainly help the process - and this is a good start. We have much more work to do in order to make the short sale process a more positive one for all those involved.

Who do you know that needs help selling their house through a short sale process or navigating the short sale offer process? The agents at Cardani Group, REALTORS® are here, ready to help. Our own Greg P is a Certified Distressed Property Expert - so please don't keep us a secret!

The December newsletter is here!

Check out the December edition of Chad's Chit Chat.

The new year will bring some fun changes to the newsletter - so keep your eyes peeled for the January 2010 edition as well.

By the way, who is the next person you know that could use our help buying or selling Real Estate in the Austin area? Please, don't keep us a secret!

Reducing your ecological footprint

Green seems to be the new black these days. We've heard people say "Oh, I'm green" and "Oh, that's green" and "Oh, YOU should be green" - but unlike the Green Eggs and Ham book from our early years, there doesn't seem to be much more content to those statements.

This article, again from our friends at Austin Monthly, has 50 ways you can reduce your ecological footprint. Many of them very simple.

So as you're thinking about what changes you'd like to make for the new year, consider some of these ideas. Our planet with thank you!

And while you're at it, consider a subscription to Austin Monthly, full of great articles directly related to life in our fantastic city!