The Cincinnati Area Board of REALTORS® Board of Directors has approved a few changes to the CABR Contract to Purchase for use by REALTOR® members. Below is an explanation of the changes to the Contract to Purchase. The updated Contract to Purchase-Ohio is available under Contracts in Virtual Office>Agent Tools. The updated version is at the printers now and should be available in a couple of weeks. The changes made WERE NOT significant to the point that your current supply is outdated. PLEASE CONTINUE TO USE YOUR SUPPLY OF CONTRACT TO PURCHASE-OHIO UNTIL YOUR SUPPLY IS DEPLETED.
Changes in the Contract to Purchase:
Clause 3, Financing Contingency has been revised, to clarify that the settlement charges the seller is agreeing to pay are those allowed by the buyer’s lender – not the seller’s (in the event it is a short-sale, lender-owned, etc.).
Clause 7, Seller’s Certification the seller is no longer required to certify the municipality in which the real estate resides. This has been added as a buyer’s responsibility under Clause 15, Buyer’s Inspections.
Clause 8, Homeowner Association/Condominium Declarations, Bylaws and Articles has been expanded to include the Association’s schedule of monthly, annual and special assessments/fees.
Clause 17, Title Insurance has been amended to provide more flexibility in payment options for owner’s title insurance. Previously, if the buyer checked the box indicating that he chose to purchase owner’s title insurance, the seller was obligated to pay the entire cost of the premium. The clause has been changed to allow the parties to agree on an amount that the seller will pay up to, but not to exceed.
Clause 19, Conveyance and Closing “homeowner/condominium association fees” has been added to this clause
Saving Money in Challenging Times From Jim Stevenson
As you begin to execute your 2009 business and marketing plans, you might want to consider all of the no cost items that are at your disposal!
- Use what you already have. A full-service broker, boards of realty and other associations offer great tools, networking and engagement opportunities and chances are you already paid for them.
- Don't reinvent. "Off-the-shelf" products might not be 100% of what you want, but even if they are 90% of what you are looking for, it is worth the reduced expense to use them, and spend the time that you could have redesigning a piece or a tool on the phone with your clients.
- Shrink to grow! The old practices of having to get to 3,000 people to be effective is over. The "find me, sell me era" is over, and the the "know me, help me" era is in full swing. So it is far better to know everything about 100 people than nothing about 1,000! Revisit the bull's eye on your target and make personal touches.
- Warm touches can be the most cost-effective and the most impactful Hand written notes to your bull's eye are really affordable since the list will be smaller, and they are feel "special".
- Community service is always the right thing to do, but now more than ever. Not only will you feel good about it, but the organizations provide learning, networking and promotional opportunities. Younger generations (a.k.a. first-time home buyers) want a sense of purpose and are engaged in the community.
- Free space online! Take advantage of your full-service broker's profile pages and build profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn and Active Rain. But make sure to link them together. Even though this has been a best practice for over a year, it is amazing how many associates still are absent from social networking. Latest studies imply that over 35% of adults maintain at least one social networking site.
- Blog. While it seems over done in a lot of places, real estate is still relatively slow to adopt this powerful and free way to communicate with niche markets and stay in touch with your audience. Blog about your business, your community, your charities, whatever. Just get engaged and again make sure you tie all of your social networking to your blog.
- Multiple quality photos on every listing with really robust and interesting property descriptions! You may never sell a listing online, but you certainly can keep it from selling by how you present it online.
- Video is easier than ever to integrate into your online presence and will soon become the standard. YouTube has allowed us to get past needing ultra-slick production, so grab a camcorder or digital video device, post it to a YouTube account (free!) and link the video to your blogs and social networks.
- Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate! There are other business that want to market to the same audience that you do. If you have common interests, team up to share in any expenses. You will meet new businesses and people, and create more warm touches for your bull's eye!
News Article: Existing Homes Sales Show Strong Gain in December
WASHINGTON, January 26, 2009
Existing-home sales rose unexpectedly while inventory declined, led by a surge of sales in the West, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – jumped 6.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 4.74 million units in December from a downwardly revised pace of 4.45 million units in November, but are 3.5 percent below the 4.91 million-unit pace in December 2007.
For all of 2008 there were 4,912,000 existing-home sales, which was 13.1 percent below the 5,652,000 transactions recorded in 2007. This is the lowest volume since 1997 when there were 4,371,000 sales.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said home prices continue to fall significantly. “It appears some buyers are taking advantage of much lower home prices,” he said. “The higher monthly sales gain and falling inventory are steps in the right direction, but the market is still far from normal balanced conditions. Buyers will continue to have an edge over sellers for the foreseeable future.”
Total housing inventory at the end of December fell 11.7 percent to 3.68 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 9.3-month supply2 at the current sales pace, down from a 11.2-month supply in November.
Yun said the market is underperforming and hurting the broader economy. “We’ve added 25 million people to our population over the past decade and housing affordability conditions are the best we’ve seen since 1973, but household formation is much lower than expected,” he said. “Consequently, there is a pent-up demand which could be unleashed with the right stimulus, including a non-repayable home buyer tax credit. The Obama administration and Congress need to move fast to stimulate a spring sales upturn which will help to stabilize home prices and set the foundation for a sustainable economic recovery.”
The national median existing-home price3 for all housing types was $175,400 in December, which is 15.3 percent below December 2007 when the median was $207,000. There remains a significant downward distortion in the current median from a large number of distress sales at discounted prices, currently 45 percent of transactions; the median is where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less. For all of 2008, the median price was $198,600, down 9.3 percent from $219,000 in 2007.
NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth, said it’s an excellent time for first-time home buyers with good jobs. “The typical buyer plans to stay in their home for 10 years, which is the correct approach in today’s market,” he said. “With historically low mortgage interest rates, flexible sellers, a large inventory, and homes that are selling for less than replacement construction costs in much of the country, buyers who’ve been on the fence should take a closer look at today’s market.”
McMillan added that first-time buyers may want to consider an FHA loan, which offers downpayments of 3.5 percent on a safe 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.
According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 5.29 percent in December from 6.09 percent in November; the rate was 6.10 percent in December 2007. Last week, Freddie Mac reported the 30-year rate was 5.12 percent.
Single-family home sales rose 7.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.26 million in December from a level of 3.98 million in November, but are 1.4 percent below a 4.32 million-unit pace in December 2007. For all of 2008, single-family sales fell 11.9 percent to 4,349,000.
The median existing single-family home price was $174,700 in December, down 14.8 percent from a year ago. For all of 2008, the single-family median was $197,100, which is 9.5 percent below 2007.
Existing condominium and co-op sales increased 2.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 480,000 units in December from 470,000 in November, but are 18.4 percent below the 588,000-unit level a year ago. For all of 2008, condo sales dropped 21.0 percent to 563,000 units.
The median existing condo price4 was $181,400 in December, down 18.3 percent from December 2007. For all of 2008, the median condo price was $210,000, which is 7.2 percent below 2007.
Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast slipped 1.4 percent to an annual pace of 720,000 in December, and are 14.3 percent below December 2007. The median price in the Northeast was $235,000, which is 7.8 percent lower than a year ago.
Existing-home sales in the Midwest increased 4.0 percent in December to a level of 1.04 million but are 10.3 percent below a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $140,800, down 11.4 percent from December 2007.
In the South, existing-home sales rose 7.4 percent to an annual pace of 1.74 million in December, but are 11.2 percent lower than December 2007. The median price in the South was $158,600, which is down 8.0 percent from a year ago.
Existing-home sales in the West jumped 13.6 percent to an annual rate of 1.25 million in December and are 31.6 percent higher than a year ago. The median price in the West was $213,100, down 31.5 percent from December 2007.
#1The annual rate for a particular month represents what the total number of actual sales for a year would be if the relative pace for that month were maintained for 12 consecutive months. Seasonally adjusted annual rates are used in reporting monthly data to factor out seasonal variations in resale activity. For example, home sales volume is normally higher in the summer than in the winter, primarily because of differences in the weather and family buying patterns. However, seasonal factors cannot compensate for abnormal weather patterns.
Existing-home sales, which include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, are based on transaction closings. This differs from the U.S. Census Bureau’s series on new single-family home sales, which are based on contracts or the acceptance of a deposit. Because of these differences, it is not uncommon for each series to move in different directions in the same month. In addition, existing-home sales, which generally account for 85 to 90 percent of total home sales, are based on a much larger sample – more than 40 percent of multiple listing service data each month – and typically are not subject to large prior-month revisions.
#2 Total inventory and month’s supply data are available back through 1999, while single-family inventory and month’s supply are available back to 1982. Condos were tracked quarterly prior to 1999 when single-family homes accounted for more than nine out of 10 purchases.
#3 The only valid comparisons for median prices are with the same period a year earlier due to the seasonality in buying patterns. Month-to-month comparisons do not compensate for seasonal changes, especially for the timing of family buying patterns. Changes in the composition of sales can distort median price data. Year-ago median and mean prices sometimes are revised in an automated process if more data is received than was originally reported.
#4 Because there is a concentration of condos in high-cost metro areas, the national median condo price can be higher than the median single-family price. In a given market area, condos typically cost less than single-family homes.
Existing-home sales for January – including monthly revisions to sales rates for the past three years – will be released February 25. Each February, NAR Research incorporates a review of seasonal activity factors and fine-tunes historic data for the previous three years based on the most recent findings. Revisions will made to monthly seasonally adjusted annual sales rates for 2006 through 2008, as well as the inventory month's supply data. There will be no revisions to raw inventory or home prices aside from the normal prior month revisions.
The next Pending Home Sales Index & Forecast is scheduled for release February 3; release times are 10 a.m. EST. For more information, please visit: www.realtor.org/research/research/ehsdata
Existing-home sales rose unexpectedly while inventory declined, led by a surge of sales in the West, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – jumped 6.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 4.74 million units in December from a downwardly revised pace of 4.45 million units in November, but are 3.5 percent below the 4.91 million-unit pace in December 2007.
For all of 2008 there were 4,912,000 existing-home sales, which was 13.1 percent below the 5,652,000 transactions recorded in 2007. This is the lowest volume since 1997 when there were 4,371,000 sales.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said home prices continue to fall significantly. “It appears some buyers are taking advantage of much lower home prices,” he said. “The higher monthly sales gain and falling inventory are steps in the right direction, but the market is still far from normal balanced conditions. Buyers will continue to have an edge over sellers for the foreseeable future.”
Total housing inventory at the end of December fell 11.7 percent to 3.68 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 9.3-month supply2 at the current sales pace, down from a 11.2-month supply in November.
Yun said the market is underperforming and hurting the broader economy. “We’ve added 25 million people to our population over the past decade and housing affordability conditions are the best we’ve seen since 1973, but household formation is much lower than expected,” he said. “Consequently, there is a pent-up demand which could be unleashed with the right stimulus, including a non-repayable home buyer tax credit. The Obama administration and Congress need to move fast to stimulate a spring sales upturn which will help to stabilize home prices and set the foundation for a sustainable economic recovery.”
The national median existing-home price3 for all housing types was $175,400 in December, which is 15.3 percent below December 2007 when the median was $207,000. There remains a significant downward distortion in the current median from a large number of distress sales at discounted prices, currently 45 percent of transactions; the median is where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less. For all of 2008, the median price was $198,600, down 9.3 percent from $219,000 in 2007.
NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth, said it’s an excellent time for first-time home buyers with good jobs. “The typical buyer plans to stay in their home for 10 years, which is the correct approach in today’s market,” he said. “With historically low mortgage interest rates, flexible sellers, a large inventory, and homes that are selling for less than replacement construction costs in much of the country, buyers who’ve been on the fence should take a closer look at today’s market.”
McMillan added that first-time buyers may want to consider an FHA loan, which offers downpayments of 3.5 percent on a safe 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.
According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 5.29 percent in December from 6.09 percent in November; the rate was 6.10 percent in December 2007. Last week, Freddie Mac reported the 30-year rate was 5.12 percent.
Single-family home sales rose 7.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.26 million in December from a level of 3.98 million in November, but are 1.4 percent below a 4.32 million-unit pace in December 2007. For all of 2008, single-family sales fell 11.9 percent to 4,349,000.
The median existing single-family home price was $174,700 in December, down 14.8 percent from a year ago. For all of 2008, the single-family median was $197,100, which is 9.5 percent below 2007.
Existing condominium and co-op sales increased 2.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 480,000 units in December from 470,000 in November, but are 18.4 percent below the 588,000-unit level a year ago. For all of 2008, condo sales dropped 21.0 percent to 563,000 units.
The median existing condo price4 was $181,400 in December, down 18.3 percent from December 2007. For all of 2008, the median condo price was $210,000, which is 7.2 percent below 2007.
Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast slipped 1.4 percent to an annual pace of 720,000 in December, and are 14.3 percent below December 2007. The median price in the Northeast was $235,000, which is 7.8 percent lower than a year ago.
Existing-home sales in the Midwest increased 4.0 percent in December to a level of 1.04 million but are 10.3 percent below a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $140,800, down 11.4 percent from December 2007.
In the South, existing-home sales rose 7.4 percent to an annual pace of 1.74 million in December, but are 11.2 percent lower than December 2007. The median price in the South was $158,600, which is down 8.0 percent from a year ago.
Existing-home sales in the West jumped 13.6 percent to an annual rate of 1.25 million in December and are 31.6 percent higher than a year ago. The median price in the West was $213,100, down 31.5 percent from December 2007.
#1The annual rate for a particular month represents what the total number of actual sales for a year would be if the relative pace for that month were maintained for 12 consecutive months. Seasonally adjusted annual rates are used in reporting monthly data to factor out seasonal variations in resale activity. For example, home sales volume is normally higher in the summer than in the winter, primarily because of differences in the weather and family buying patterns. However, seasonal factors cannot compensate for abnormal weather patterns.
Existing-home sales, which include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, are based on transaction closings. This differs from the U.S. Census Bureau’s series on new single-family home sales, which are based on contracts or the acceptance of a deposit. Because of these differences, it is not uncommon for each series to move in different directions in the same month. In addition, existing-home sales, which generally account for 85 to 90 percent of total home sales, are based on a much larger sample – more than 40 percent of multiple listing service data each month – and typically are not subject to large prior-month revisions.
#2 Total inventory and month’s supply data are available back through 1999, while single-family inventory and month’s supply are available back to 1982. Condos were tracked quarterly prior to 1999 when single-family homes accounted for more than nine out of 10 purchases.
#3 The only valid comparisons for median prices are with the same period a year earlier due to the seasonality in buying patterns. Month-to-month comparisons do not compensate for seasonal changes, especially for the timing of family buying patterns. Changes in the composition of sales can distort median price data. Year-ago median and mean prices sometimes are revised in an automated process if more data is received than was originally reported.
#4 Because there is a concentration of condos in high-cost metro areas, the national median condo price can be higher than the median single-family price. In a given market area, condos typically cost less than single-family homes.
Existing-home sales for January – including monthly revisions to sales rates for the past three years – will be released February 25. Each February, NAR Research incorporates a review of seasonal activity factors and fine-tunes historic data for the previous three years based on the most recent findings. Revisions will made to monthly seasonally adjusted annual sales rates for 2006 through 2008, as well as the inventory month's supply data. There will be no revisions to raw inventory or home prices aside from the normal prior month revisions.
The next Pending Home Sales Index & Forecast is scheduled for release February 3; release times are 10 a.m. EST. For more information, please visit: www.realtor.org/research/research/ehsdata
Congratulations Tom Sturm!
Congratulations to Tom Sturm
The Hamilton Fairfield Oxford Board of Realtor's #1 Agent for 2008!!
Tom achieved Level 6 Recognition and was presented with his award Friday night at the annual awards dinner.
Circle of Excellence 2008 Winners
Congratulations to the following agents who achieved CABR Circle of Excellence status for 2008
Information Regarding Virtual Tours on Cincinnati MLS
We have been notified by Cincinnati MLS that Virtual Tours (example: Tours produced by Fly Inside) CANNOT include personal or company branding. It is a fineable offense and must be corrected promptly. The tours can be updated during the profile and upload process. You ARE permitted to include personal and company branding on virtual tours posted to cbws.com and coldwellbanker.com. If you have questions correcting any tours you may have uploaded to Cincinnati MLS, Kelly Biddle has volunteered to help. Please contact her and make arrangements for her assistance.
Updated Outgoing Referral Form Information
Molly Rawdon, along with her other responsibilities, has taken over the Outgoing Referral Desk. Lindsey Pusateri is no longer with the company. Molly has created a few tips on the "ins and outs of OGR's"...
- Anyone from anywhere can be an outgoing referral
- A space has been entered on the form to enter the clients Employer Information - please make sure this is filled out
- Remember to send the kind of referral you want to receive - please give as much information as possible
- Make sure you have asked the customers' permission to send them as an OGR - and then mark the box on the form
- If it is a listing referral - relocation will need the address so relocation can find the closest broker
- Please double check all contact information so that your client can be contacted quickly - within 24 hours
- Email or fax the form to Molly Rawdon @ (614) 364-7542 or at molly.rawdon@cboki.com
The new Outgoing Referral Form is located in Virtual Office under Forms Online and at each cabinet location in the office.
MLS Stats - December 2008
Active Listings:
(December 2007: 14,521) (December 2008: 13,245) Down 9%
Listings Taken:
(December 2007: 2,234) (December 2008: 2,142) Down 4%
Solds:
(December 2007: 2,302) (December 2008: 2,336) Up 1%
Expireds:
(December 2007: 2,278) (December 2008: 1,955) Down 14%
Pendings:
(December 2007: 1,896) (December 2008: 1,861) Down 2%
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