From the May 6, 2008 Wall Street Journal, in an article by Cyril Moulle-Berteaux.
The dire headlines coming fast and furious in the financial and popular press suggest that the housing crisis is intensifying. Yet it is very likely that April 2008 will mark the bottom of the U.S. housing market. Yes, the housing market is bottoming right now.
The boom made housing unaffordable for many American families, especially Read more »
I got an email advertising the website “RealEstateNewsDesk.com”. It takes news feeds from several different sites like Google News, NYTimes.com, and MSNBC.com and puts them all on one screen for you.
Most of the articles are residential themed, but there may be some use for you.
Honestly, I haven’t watched 60 Minutes in years. Last week they bared their teeth and went after real estate agents and the 6% commission. Here’s a link to the transcript of the story, along with some excerpts.
Even with today’s housing slump, real estate agents will pull in about $60 billion this year. And the reason is, as any homeowner knows, they charge a six percent commission on the price of every house they sell. So, for instance, a home that goes for a half a million dollars will net agents $30,000 right off the top.
For realtors, the six percent commission is sacrosanct. It’s remained in place, even as the price of homes has quadrupled over the past 25 years.
But as correspondent Lesley Stahl reports, things are beginning to change. What happened to travel agents, stock brokers and book sellers – the encroachment of the Internet – is beginning to affect real estate agents. And the sacred six percent is under assault from online discounters.
Sacrosanct? As in “Regarded as sacred and inviolable”, Sacrosanct? 6% isn’t a holy number to anyone I know. Who told them that? Read more »
I found out about Flipper Nation from my friends over at the Rain City Guide, a Seattle-centric real estate blog that shows us a little link love from time to time.
Headlines show that the real estate market has hit its peak and it’s only a matter of time before the bubble bursts. The market seems to be saturated with wannabe real estate tycoons.
Let’s hope they have room for two more: Richie Tatum and David Kimball. They are way too late in the game Read more »
The little letter to the editor I wrote last week was published in Friday’s Commercial Appeal. Here is the official version.
Real estate commission’s a bargain
The writer of your May 16 letter “Not the business of legislators” repeats the familiar cry: “Sell real estate by yourself and save thousands in commissions.” That would be great if it were true.
From July 2005 to June 2006, the median price of an agent-assisted home sale in Memphis was $212,000. The median price of a home sale by an unrepresented seller was $166,000. That’s a difference of $46,000. Figuring a good agent will cost you 7 percent of your $212,000 (about $15,000), you’re better off by $31,000 using an agent. Everyone wants to save money, but being a “do-it-yourself” real estate agent is no better than being a “do-it-yourself” lawyer or doctor.
Will Hicks
Memphis
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Don’t let people tell you the residential market’s bad.
From the Commercial Appeal:
Although the median price of a house in Shelby County is a modest $127,000, the number of houses priced 10 times that amount has increased substantially during the past five years in the Memphis area.
In 2001, the Memphis Area Association of Realtors reported 17 homes worth more than $1 million sold in the Memphis area. By 2006, the number of million-dollar houses sold rose to 73. Read more »
Punk chica Avril Lavigne bought a little love nest with her rocker husband in Bel-Air, down the road from Los Angeles.
From the L.A. Times:
Lavigne, 22, wanted to build a home but settled on buying one that was fairly new with substantial upgrades. The three-story house behind gates has eight bedrooms and 10 1/2 bathrooms in 12,000 square feet. The Tuscan-style residence, on an acre, also has an elevator, an office, a state-of-the-art kitchen, a steam shower, a sauna, a pool, a spa and garage space for 10 cars.
The same article had a blurb on the best player on your Memphis Grizzlies, Mike Miller.
Yesterdays Parade magazine (That insert in-betwixt the Best Buy ad and all the coupons) had the article: “5 Biggest Real Estate Myths”. Parade doesn’t have the article posted online, but here are the “high” points:
1. Only a licensed real estate broker should sell your home.
Reality: The National Association of Realtors tends to propagate this assertation: You’d turn to a doctor when sick, so why not have a broker handle your most valued asset? But not everyone needs a third party. After all, who knows more about your home than you?…
Here’s your reality: It’s not about who knows the most about your house, it’s about who knows the most about the local market, who knows the most about marketing your property, who knows the most about exposing your house to the highest number of potential buyers.
If you’re going to go with the good ol’ doctor analogy, use it correctly. Why go to a doctor when you’re sick? After all, who knows more about your body than you? “Who knows more about your home?” It’s not about individual product knowledge, it’s about industry and market knowledge.
2. Your broker wants to get the highest price for your home.
Reality: Most brokers just want to get a deal done, says John T. Reed, author and publisher of the Real Estate Investor’s Monthly newsletter. “They’ll tell you, “I’ll be pushing for the higher price, because my commission is linked to the price”" he says. But agents may be pushing for the first reasonable offer…
Here’s your reality: Read more »
Will Hicks is an affiliate real estate broker licensed in the State of Tennessee. Prior to his career transition into real estate, Hicks was a SCUBA Instructor with the International ALERT Academy of Big Sandy, Texas and the National Academy of Police Diving, based in Miami, Florida.
Hicks says he’s been asked many times about the odd transition from SCUBA Instructor to Real Estate Agent. “Teaching people how to SCUBA dive was the most fun 10 years of my life. But you can’t eat fun.” You can’t pay the rent with it either.
You can reach Will Hicks in Memphis at (901) 758-5670 or (901) 828-9200.
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