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3 Simple Steps Can Help Agents Win Repeat Business

What can you do to create more repeat and referral business in 2014? Peter Knight, managing director of the U.K.’s Property Academy, had some great answers at the National Association of Realtors’ convention in San Francisco.

Knight’s session highlighted a major theme that was present throughout a number of last year’s sessions at NAR: “people, not property.” Knight’s “people first” approach not only turns the traditional sales funnel upside down, but it skewers a number of real estate’s sacred cows as well.

Read his recommendations…

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Housing Recovery Sparks Pickup in Home Seizures

Though the housing market continues its halting recovery, thousands of homeowners  are still struggling in the aftermath of the worst financial collapse since the Great Depression. Even as the overall foreclosure level has retreated to pre-2006 levels, the average length of cases already in the pipeline has increased.

But that may be changing.

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Can Selling Real Estate Make You Rich?

Money

Many will find that while breaking into real estate may be easy, getting established is tough. Landing those million-dollar listings means succeeding against all odds.

Only 2% of Realtors, a trademarked term used by the National Association of Realtors to which the majority of real-estate agents belong, earn more than $250,000 a year. The median annual income nationwide was $43,500 in 2012, up from $34,900 in 2011.

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Job Growth to Drive 2014 Housing Market

The housing recovery is expected to remain strong in the new year, driven by economic growth and an improving employment picture, economists say.

In fact, job growth likely will be one key to driving housing growth in the new year. An estimated 2 million or more jobs will be created in 2014, predicts Lawrence Yun, National Association of REALTORS(R)’ chief economist.

As employment picks up, greater demand for housing is expected to occur and a surge in homebuilding activity. Celia Chen, housing economist at Moody’s Analytic, predicts a “homebuilding boom” in 2014 that will spark even more jobs — from construction workers to manufacturers — and bring about greater demand for housing overall.

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Top 10 Housing Bets for Investors

US

Investments in single-family homes for rental properties will remain an attractive venture in many markets in the new year, says Ingo Winzer, president of Local Market Monitor. Winzer notes that Texas and Oklahoma offer some of the best bets “with their low unemployment rates and ability to profit for years from new shale oil and gas development.”

Local Market Monitor and HomeVestors, an investment company that brands itself “We buy ugly houses,” named the following top 10 housing markets for investing in single-family homes for 2014. All of these markets have posted strong appreciation in the past year but are still underpriced by up to 28 percent.

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As Home Prices Rebound, Lenders Rush to Unload REOs

The recovery in home prices this year is prompting banks to sell off their REO inventory at a brisker pace. Sales of bank-owned homes made up 10 percent of residential sales in November, the third consecutive month for increases in REO sales, RealtyTrac reports.

“Lenders are taking advantage of this environment to unload more of their bank-owned inventory and in-foreclosure inventory at the foreclosure auction,” says RealtyTrac’s Daren Blomquist. “But as the backlog of distressed inventory available dries up in many of the markets with the most efficient foreclosure processes — namely California, Arizona, and Nevada, with Georgia not far behind — overall sales volume is declining and will continue to do so until more nondistressed sellers enter the market.”

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Does the Garage Interior Matter to Home Buyers?

Carroll garage

Although you normally may not give it a second thought, the appearance of your garage matters when your home is on the market.

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Boomerang Buyers Expected to Boost Recovery in the New Year

Housing foreclosure authorities LoanSafe.org and YouWalkAway.com have created a new website to help people re-enter the housing market after having been through a previous foreclosure. The website is called AfterForeclosure.com and helps those most affected by the housing crisis take charge of their financial future and own their own home again.

Based on a poll of their combined members, LoanSafe.org and AfterForeclosure.com are confident that these potential buyers will make 2014 the year of the “boomerang” buyer.

Changes in lending guidelines and population shifts make these buyers essential to the recovery of the housing market. Jon Maddux, co-founder of AfterForeclosure.com says: “Alienating this large and growing pool of potential buyers does not bode well for the market in an environment where natural housing advancement has been largely disrupted.”

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Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Climb by Most in Seven Years

Graph - up

Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose in October from a year ago by the most in more than seven years, signaling the real-estate rebound will keep bolstering household wealth in 2014.

The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property prices in 20 cities climbed 13.6 percent from October 2012, the biggest 12-month gain since February 2006, after a 13.3 percent increase in the year ended in September, a report from the group showed today in New York. The median projection of 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 13.5 percent advance.

A dwindling inventory of foreclosed properties has helped restrict the supply of homes for sale, pushing up prices even as higher mortgage rates cool demand. The real-estate market will probably get its next boost from gains in employment that are lifting consumer confidence in the economic expansion.

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New Mortgage Rules Won’t Knock Out Many Borrowers

For Sale and Sold

Are you in the market for a house and worrying about whether it will be harder to get a mortgage after Jan. 10, when new federal rules kick in? Don’t fret. For most people the rules won’t make much difference. If the new rules do prevent you from landing a mortgage loan, it could be a sign that you aren’t financially ready for homeownership.

Read the details…