National Association of Realtors Releases December Figures

Nationwide home sales jumped 6.5% in December according to the NAR.

The biggest positive news came in the West, where sales jumped 13.6% during the month and are 31.6% higher than a year ago. Unit sales, which are sales of apartment buildings, contributed to the bulk of the jump in the West.

Feedback from our fellow professionals in the East Bay indicate that listing presentations are on the rise as home owners prepare for putting their homes on the market for the Spring selling season.

Buyers are everywhere. Open houses are seeing 20 to 30 groups come through in a day. Multiple offers are being made on bank owned properties – many are seeing 8 to 12 offers.

The way things are going, this Spring may be the hottest down market the East Bay has ever seen – just another unique happening in an historic market going places no one has gone before.

FYI – fellow Realtors are reporting that many clients are under the misguided assumption that all of that lost value in home appreciation will return in a few years. Not so, say the "experts." Expect appreciation to be normal (around 3%) for years to come. Don't expect an appreciation run up any time soon.

Outsourcing to Reach the Multi-Billion Dollar Hispanic Market

As a real-estate agents scramble to stay in business, one of the resources they may want is someone to a) answer calls while they're with other clients and b) communicate with Spanish-speaking clients.

Frustrations abound when one is unable to communicate effectively – and this goes for any situation, be it personal or business. And businesses, especially in the economic climate that we’re in, cannot afford to lose clients because of this. And so, in an effort to find a solution that would not require a large infusion of money, we did some research, and are now looking into outsourcing as a means to reach the growing Hispanic market. 

Outsourcing has been around for several years, but I, personally, have not considered it until now. It is a way, for real-estate agents and others to have an assistant answer their calls, take and relay messages, and assist in pulling information from the web while agents are in meetings or showing properties to clients. Remote assistants can perform any task that does not require face-to-face interaction. And, there are bi-lingual (English/Spanish) assistants available to those who work with the Hispanic community – all this, at a cost far below what you might expect. 

The downfall in the economy has necessitated the need to find ways to remain competitive, or even to just keep your business. Outsourcing can be a tool that could help you and your business survive this economic downturn. 

Last week, I met with Tom Proell, Sales Manager, for Prialto, a personal outsourcing solution for businesses and individuals needing help with phone receptionists, time management, productivity assistance and Spanish fluency. You can contact Tom at (650) 489-4144 or email him if you are in need of cost-effective personal outsourcing that can also help provide better service to the Hispanic community.

Capt. Sullenberger & Lorrie Sullenberger Are Danville, CA's Most Recognized Residents

Yesterday, the town of Danville, California turned out in style to welcome, acknowledge and celebrate Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III. Accompanied by his wife, Lorrie, Sully Sullenberger sat patiently, humbly and with quiet reserve as Danville Mayo, Newell Arnerich, presided over the welcome home event.

While the sky threatened rain, it seemed even the sun was under the spell of the moment as it kept breaking through to the surprise of the crowd. 

The small town square in Danville was packed with local residents as well as more newsvans, cameramen and reporters than the town has ever seen.

Capt. Sullenberger received the keys to the city (only the second key to the city of Danville to be given out in its 150 year history), a city proclamation, a U.S. flag that has flown over the White House, an honorary Danville Police Officer designation (badge number 1), acknowledgment from the Fire & Rescue and so many more that I couldn't keep up with the notes.

Lorrie Sullenberger said a few about her quiet hero that had many eyes filled with tears. Captain Sullenberger only spoke a couple of sentences to thank the community for its support and graciousness.

The local Danville retaurants. Like Chows below, were doing a booming business and traffic was at a standstill – below is a shot take at the intersection of Hartz Avenue, Railroad Avenue, and Hartz Way.

I went down to The Counter in Walnut Creek last night to grab a burger. I took along the issue of People magazine that contains some quotes from flight 1549 passengers. The evening tears seemed to make the burger sweeter. 

Isn't it great to know that there are trained professionals in this world like Sully Sullenberger that can remain calm in extreme situations and allow all of their training and skills to save the day?

Captain Sullenberger is also a safety consultant – SafetyReliabiity.com

Lorrie Sullenberger is a fitness expert – Fit and Fabulous Outdoors.

Response From Craigslist Ad Says a Lot About the Real Estate Industry

This morning, Paul, Craig, and I were discussing our need for a new escrow coordinator/office person. The young lady currently occupying this position is moving out of state, so we have the need.

Though we're busy and growing, the real estate industry is still facing significant challenges. Business can be quite erratic from week to week and month to month. Gene Mackey from Countrywide Home Loans said he sees 2009 as a bipolar market – big swings – up then down. Interest rates, jobs, foreclosures, government programs, etc. each contributing part of the dynamic.

Here's the ad I ran on Craigslist:

HarperMees & Associates with Keller Williams Realty in Danville, CA

Part time position 4-6 hours 4-5 days a week – some flexibility

Must be self-motivated and able to multi-task.

This would be an excellent position for a college student wanting a career in real estate, someone who has prior experience in real estate or the mortgage industry.

Send email or resume with work experience, qualifications or desire to learn 

In less than 5 minutes the phone started ringing and email poured in. Within 15 minutes, I removed my phone number from the ad. The responses were all over the board with some very experienced and qualified professionals responding. I felt bad. Surely, the respondents didn't realize what a basic, part-time position we have to fill, so I sent out this response to over 30 people:

Thanks for your response to our need for an escrow coordinator

To say the least, I have been overwhelmed with responses.

To help you determine if this position might be of interest to you, I am providing more details

Currently, we have a college student helping us with escrows. She has her license from another state, but is familiar with real estate and the escrow process.

We pay her a minimum of $850 a month for 2 to 3 hours a day and she comes in 4 to 5 days a week depending on her schedule.

Monthly income can vary, because we pay her a bonus on each closed escrow over her set minimum.

As you can see, this is not a position for someone who needs an immediate full time income to support themselves. But, our business is growing and there is an opportunity for the right person to grow with us.

We also have two niche markets, we need licensed agents to help us exploit. If your current situation isn't feeding you enough leads, then you might be a good fit for one of these.

I received at least 15 responses which included things like: still interested -it sounds perfect for me – times are tough, I'll take anything.

Many of the respondents have been recently layed off from real estate teams, brokers or mortgage companies. Some are college students looking for part-time work. Some are licensed agents with years of experience. Some have up to 7 years of experience with coordinating escrows.

I knew things were tough in the industry, attendance at the local Realtor marketing meetings has fallen dramatically. But, we're busy and there are a lot of homes being sold because prices have fallen and there are a lot of investors and buyers looking for a good deal.

I thought filling this position was going to be impossible. In a way, it's sad to say that it looks like it is going to be very easy and we are going to find a very qualified person to do so. Hopefully, we can all work together to get the economy humming along again 

Countrywide Home Loans of Danville California

Last night, Countrywide Home Loans of Danville, CA threw a small appreciation party for about 100 local real estate agents that are helping Countrywide with its efforts to move as quickly as possible to get bank owned properties sold to qualifying buyers.

DataQuick released new information based on December sales:

Fully half of all existing homes sold in the Bay Area in December were foreclosures unloaded by banks at fire-sale prices. Those sales sent median prices tumbling to new lows and attracted droves of buyers, according to a real estate report released Wednesday.

Both investors and first-time home buyers are avidly pursuing foreclosure bargains.

A total of 5,171 existing homes changed hands in December, about two-thirds more than in the previous year. The fact that half of them were foreclosures stood in stark contrast to figures last December, when just 14 percent of sold homes were bank-owned.

The median home price dropped 48.4 percent in Contra Costa County. The median marks the point at which half the homes sold for more, half for less. It reflects the composition of homes sold rather than an across-the-board change in all home values.

Experts said that banks increasingly are unloading foreclosed homes at bargain prices.Home loans for more than $417,000, the old "jumbo" limit, used to account for more than 60 percent of the Bay Area's purchase financing. Last month it was 21.8 percent.

Talking to many of the local Realtors attending the event, I found that most are very busy in this current market. Most agents report multiple offers are coming in on foreclosures and say that Countrywide's processing of foreclosures has become more efficient over the last few months. This means less hassle and stress for buyers and investors.

Some of the reps I talked to from Countrywide say they expect another round of significant foreclosure activity in the next few months as several factors that have been delaying the REO process are now behind us.

Our FREE In-Depth Market reports updated weekly, break data down by zip code and price point.

Contact Paul for more information  925-963-4246