The end of the first-time home buyers tax credit looms just 30 days beyond a Halloween horizon, and home sales remain strong in the lead-up to tricks and treats and the impending tax credit DEADline. For the week ending October 17, there were 954 signed purchase agreements, howling up 54.4 percent from a year ago. Almost two-thirds of these pending sales were priced below $190,000—evidence that first-time buyers are carrying a heavy share of the activity.
The strong sales we've seen over the last 15 months mean that our inventory of available homes has shrunk like the heads in a witches' brew. The 23,896 homes on the market right now represents a 21.2 percent decrease from the decidedly more scary market of 2008, and it is the lowest mark at this point in the year since 2004.
Expect home sales to begin dropping as tax credit qualifiers finish their mad rush to the closing table, but unlike those camp counselors at Crystal Lake, we'll all make it out of this market alive.
A little disruption to our lifeline will occur Wednesday, October 28 beginning at 5 p.m. Our backend system will temporarily be down, interrupting our email, phone and website connections. We expect to be running at full steam with new server power before midnight. Equipment upgrade = service upgrade.
The new video is now online This month's edition is narrated by 2009 President Steve Havig and features new music that you will be humming to yourself throughout the day.
MAAR's Q3-2009 Update to "Foreclosures and Short Sales in the Twin Cities Housing Market" was released last Thursday and can be found online.
There's some interesting new data found in the report showing that lender-owned foreclosures are now selling three times more frequently than short sales.
The annual REALTOR® membership dues are moving entirely over to eBilling on November 2. Printed statements WILL NOT be snail mailed. You will see the statement in your email inbox. Do we have your correct email address? You can easily find out:
1) Visit mplsrealtor.com
2) Click the "My Account" tab (at the top)
3) Log in and select "Review or Change Member Personal Information" to check and update your email on the spot.
DisplayKEY and SupraNET Compatibility with Windows 7
Most real estate agents update their DisplayKEY using the telephone line cradle. These agents are not affected by Windows 7, but, just so you know, the DisplayKEY is compatible with Windows 7.
The minority of agents who update their DisplayKEY through a USB connection on their PC will need to reinstall the USB drivers for the DisplayKEY if they are upgrading to Windows 7. For support, contact Agent Support at 1.877.699.6787 Option 3 > Option 2 > Option 8 or...
The SupraNET tools are being tested to ensure that they are fully compatible with Windows 7. If you intend to use SupraNET and/or the Supra Transaction Machine on a PC, please wait for further notification before upgrading or replacing it with Windows 7.
Real Estate Insights (REI) is produced by NAR Research and is full of timely real estate market research information. The NAR economic summary starts on page 4, and page 8 begins a summary on REALTOR® confidence in the real estate market.
If you're a real estate professional using technology to succeed in your marketplace, HP wants to give you an opportunity to win a mobile office. In exchange, we want to know your "technology" story.
To enter, describe how you use technology or plan to use technology to:
differentiate yourself,
increase your revenue, and/or
improve your productivity
Provide examples of technology-saves-the-day scenarios—anything to illustrate that you're an agent who is optimizing technology to win. The grand prize winner will receive an HP mobile office prize package worth up to $3,841.00. Entries must be submitted by 11:59:59 p.m. Pacific Time on October 28, 2009.
A Letter from NAR CEO, Dale Stinton
Last week Federal Political Coordinators (FPCs) from 29 states traveled to Washington, DC to lobby members of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees. The FPCs urged Congress to extend and expand the $8,000 First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit before it expires on November 30, 2009. In addition to the fly-in, NAR is employing a comprehensive strategy to ensure our burgeoning housing recovery grows stronger to help pull the economy as a whole out the recession.
NAR First Vice-President Ron Phipps testified in front of the Senate Banking Committee to highlight the necessity of extending and expanding the tax credit.
NAR members have sent more than 450,000 letters to Congress with our Call for Action.
NAR has been running print advertising in influential Capitol Hill newspapers read by Members of Congress and staff.
NAR has been running online ads in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post and on Google (ads have been viewed more than 25 million times).
The current Call for Action is our most successful grassroots effort in NAR history, but we are looking for an additional 40,000 NAR members to respond to the Tax Credit Call for Action. If you have not already, please respond to the Call for Action.
If you have further questions about, contact our tax counsel, Linda Goold at lgoold@realtors.org or 202.383.1083.
Regards,
Dale A. Stinton
CEO, National Association of REALTORS®
Take Action Now
We're in our final push to send a message to Congress telling them to extend and expand the tax credit. | GET STARTED | EXPLANATION
SAMPLE LETTER:
Homebuyer Tax Credit: Extend and Expand
Hello,
As a REALTOR® and a constituent, I can assure you that the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit has definitely been a success. Homebuyer interest and housing sales increased almost as soon as the ink was dry on the tax credit legislation. Today's lower prices and interest rates appeal to consumers, but it's been the tax credit that has attracted people to open houses and to homeownership.
That progress could grind to a halt sooner than you think. Congress must act NOW to extend the credit through 2010. Otherwise, uncertainty will return and the market might again be frozen -- possibly as soon as October.
A home buyer is eligible for the tax credit only if the home is "purchased" before December 1, 2009. That means that buyers have to find a house, complete a contract, satisfy any contingencies, secure financing and go to closing by November 30. Accomplishing those tasks by November 30 will become more difficult with every passing day. In today's market, it generally takes between 45 and 60 days to go from contract to closing.
The market has improved, but it has not yet fully corrected itself. The credit needs to be extended for an additional period of time and expanded in order to build upon the progress that's been made. Uncertainty about the future of the credit will dampen consumer demand. The best way to assure continued housing activity is to extend and expand the credit and to do that NOW.
We can't wait until late in the year to see what happens. Consumers will drop out soon if they can't predict what's in their future. Please act to extend and expand the credit through 2010.
Message from the Hennepin County's Housing, Community Works & Transit Dear Loan Officers and REALTORS®: We are encouraging all of you to frequently visit Hennepin County's website for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). We have been getting a lot of questions that are answered in guidelines, by looking at the target maps or in the FAQs. So, we encourage you to take a look at the information on the website before you call us. | Hennepin Co. NSP
Home Buyer Incentive Program
Check out www.livenearyourwork.net a website that promotes buying homes near the University of Minnesota. REALTORS® can list homes there and get free advertising. The program is offically called the University District Partnership Alliance Home Buyer Incentive Program and it is basically this:
Deferred Loan – $10,000 toward downpayment or closing costs; forgivable after 5-year home occupancy (owner-occupied homes only). | MORE INFO
For even more information, contact The Northeast Housing Resource Center at 612.378.7985.
Note: There are no other courses or designations focused on short sales or foreclosures that are recognized by the National Association of REALTORS®.
REALTOR® Senior Advisor (RSA) Lunch & Learn For those interested in elder care housing issues...
Date and Time: November 2, 11:30 a.m – 1:00 p.m. Venue: Tradition Independent and Assisted Living Address:8500 Tessman Farm Rd N, Brooklyn Park Tour: There will be a tour after lunch
The speaker, Georgia Lane from Geriatric Care Manager Elder Care Consultants, will speak on Normal Aging.
Is it "normal" for us to get forgetful when we get older? Will all of us have balance issues, be forgetful, and need hip and knee replacements? What are the red flags that a senior may need additional services?
Special Feature: Lunch will be provided at this first meeting, so you must RSVP by calling 952.908.2602. Space is limited to the first 20 to respond. | VIEW INFORMATIONAL FLYER
Spooktacular Savings
The CE Shop is offering "Spooktacular Savings" for Halloween, giving you the opportunity to enjoy a 15% discount on any online CE course taken through their branded site. Visit their course catalog at mplsrealtors.theceshop.com and enter the promotional code upon checkout: BOO.
Receive your 15% discount! It's that easy! Promotion expires October 31, 2009. Discount valid only on The CE Shop classes.
Matrix Classes Scheduled!
We've scheduled our Matrix and Matrix CMA courses (see full fall calendar). Please note that all Matrix courses through the end of the year will be demonstration only. If you wish to bring your own laptop, you may, but we are no longer able to provide laptops for use during these courses. CE will still be provided.
BookAShowing News from NorthstarMLS (and notice of downtime)
Schedule Up to 20 Showings at Once!
The maximum number of showings that can be scheduled at once has been increased from 10 to 20. You may enter them directly in BookAShowing or select them in Matrix and click the "BookAShowing" button.
Contingencies Now Disclosed Before Scheduling
When you select a listing to schedule a showing in BookAShowing, any contingencies will now display on the appointment set-up screen before you submit the appointment request. This better fulfills the requirement of disclosing contingencies at the time of a showing request and greatly reduces the frustration showing agents have been experiencing when trying to schedule a series of showings.
NorthstarMLS is working on adding contingency fields within NorthstarMLS. This will make them searchable and displayable on the MLS. Until then, List Agents/Offices are still required to enter any contingencies on an Active listing into the fields on BookAShowing (except for listings where you have disabled BookAShowing). To do this, go to BookAShowing and click the "Edit" icon for the listing. Under "Contingency Settings," select "Yes," then the type of contingency and any remarks you want to add.
List Agent/Office Can Remove Feedback Request
List Agents and Offices now have the option to remove a feedback request for any showing that has occurred on their listings. Open the showing appointment and click the "Remove Request" link on the Feedback line as shown below. This will stop feedback requests to the Showing Agent for that showing.
NorthstarMLS Matrix Down For Maintenance Thursday Early Morning
NorthstarMLS Matrix will be unavailable from approximately 12:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Thursday morning. Tarasoft is upgrading the system infrastructure for greater security and reliability of disaster recovery. If you need to access NorthstarMLS during this time, click the NorthstarMLS REsearch icon/link on NorthstarMLS.com to use the REsearch back-up MLS system. Home Base will be up and running throughout this period. We apologize for any inconvenience as the vendor performs this important upgrade.
What kind of issues keep brokers and managers awake at night? Have you wondered if your agents' actions or statements could create a liability for you? The Minnesota Association of REALTORS® has put together an outstanding program that is designed to help you in the day-to-day management of your agents and real estate business. The morning session will deal with legal issues and solutions, and the afternoon program will focus on areas of reducing your risk and improving your service to customers and clients.
Topics:
Agency Issues
Contract Issues/Forms
MLS Marketing Concerns
Dispute Resolution
Negotiations
Disclosures
Strategic Planning
Business Operations/Structure
Instructors:
Lynn Leegard, Esq.
Brad Boyd, Esq.
Michael Hoffman
Chris Galler
Henry Brandis
Linda Modlinski
Schedule:
8:00 a.m. – Coffee and Check-in
8:30 a.m. – Broker Risk Management
12:15 p.m. – Lunch and Networking
1:15 p.m. – Broker Issues and Resolutions
Cost:
$99 – Early Bird (before October 15)
$119 – October 15 thru November 1
$139 – Onsite (if available)
Advance registration is required via www.mnrealtor.com. This program has been approved for 7.5 hours of real estate continuing education. For questions, contact vbrones@mnrealtor.com or 952.912.2667.
The 2009 Emerging Markets Home Ownership Initiative (EMHI) Summit has been scheduled for November 9, 2009 at the Continuing Education and Conference Center at the University of Minnesota. CE credits have been applied for.
Following the EMHI Summit and a networking lunch, the Minnesota Home Ownership Center, in partnership with the Minnesota Association of REALTORS®, will be hosting a training and unveiling newly developed tools offering comprehensive information about entry cost and affordable loan programs throughout the state.
The 2009 REALTORS® Conference & Expo delivers money-making strategies to help you succeed with four days of intensive training and substantive programs for everyone who makes their living in real estate. Learn about opportunities to expand your market working with immigrants, foreign investors, and Americans buying property abroad. Hang with the most successful real estate pros in the country. Build your referral network and increase sales opportunities. Enjoy special events like the REALTORS® Celebrity Concert starring Reba McEntire. Combine business and fun in beautiful San Diego!
It is an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It involves intense discussions, demos and lots of interaction from attendees. It is entirely user/attendant created in that the program is developed by the attendees at the event, using big whiteboards upon which a schedule is put together in the morning. It can be rewritten or overwritten by attendees to optimize the day's events. The goal of BarCamp is to reach out to new people who will increase the common intelligence about new technologies and to create opportunities for cross-fertilization between people and new ideas.
What is Virtual Real Estate BarCamp?
In place of a rented venue, the event will be held online.
In place of breakout sessions in rooms, there will be simultaneous webinars throughout the day.
In place of hallways, folks will be chatting on Twitter, Facebook, Backnoise and TomatoChat.
In place of traveling, you will be able to attend from your home or office.
In place of an impromptu calendar, presentation slots will be filled in the lead-up to the event.
Attendance is unlimited (and still FREE!).
So as not to lose the social aspect of the BarCamp atmosphere, volunteers around the country are encouraged to organize In-Real-Life (IRL) meet-ups for immediately after the online event. Sponsorship donations will help fund the Social Media Happy Hour style gatherings, so please let the organizers know if you would like to help by volunteering your time to organize a local meet-up. As the calendar of sessions and IRL events come together, updates are being given through the RE Virtual BarCamp Twitter feed and Facebook Fan Page.
Suggestions for a Successful, In-Office RE BarCamp
Projector screens and a strong audio source.
Separate rooms for the separate webinar channels (3).
A tech-savvy assistant or manager to ensure a smooth operation.
Computers dedicated to social media avenues (Facebook, Twitter, TomatoChat.com) allowing the office to get into the national conversation.
Pizza and refreshments.
After-event meet-up. Plan an off-location meet-up to have a drink together and meet other participants from your community.
MAAR's Yo Pro (Young Professionals) group is organizing its second annual Toys for Tots donation! If you would like a decorated donation box personally delivered to your office, please contact Aubray Erhardt at aubrayo@mplsrealtor.com. She will connect you with a friendly Yo Pro member who will drop off the box and pick it up at a later date. They will handle transporting the gifts to KARE-11 TV on December 11. The Yo Pro who supplies the most toys will speak on behalf of MAAR on KARE-11 TV. Last year the winner was Matt Loskota.
MAAR is always looking for ways to help our members, so we are offering discounts, products and services from select companies. LEARN MORE about the benefits you receive through MAAR. Or visit Business AdvantEdge, one of our primary benefits providers.
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REALTOR® Senior Advisor (RSA) Lunch & Learn
Schedule Up to 20 Showings at Once!
MAAR's Yo Pro (Young Professionals) group is organizing its second annual Toys for Tots donation! If you would like a decorated donation box personally delivered to your office, please contact Aubray Erhardt at 
