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March 22: Weekly Real Estate News and Information

The CE Shop is the leading provider of online continuing education for real estate agents. We currently serve professionals in forty-six states and are growing daily. To see our course offerings in your state, visit The CE Shop.com today!

The CE Shop and REAL Buzz Online are excited to share the forth issue of our new feature. Every Wednesday REAL Buzz Online will be inviting guest bloggers to share their expertise with you. This week we have a leader in the real estate information industry and a long time partner of The CE Shop, REAL Trends. You can learn more about REAL Trends or read more stories by visiting REALTrends.com.

by: REAL Trends, a trusted source in real estate news and information

Mortgage fraud declining

Nationwide, one in every 200 residential loans funded last year, totaling $14 billion, involved fraud, according to First American CoreLogic. Despite what looks like an unsettling amount of shadiness lurking within the mortgage market, the company says the fraud rate has been steadily declining for the past three years and is now about 25 percent lower than when it peaked in the third quarter of 2007.

Since then, First American notes, lenders have been more aggressive in curtailing mortgage fraud. According to the company's latest findings, the states where the highest number of fraudulent loans were found included California, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Based on First American's trend analysis, the highest risk ZIP codes in the United States for fraud are Jamaica, New York; Orlando and Miami, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; and Detroit, Michigan. These cities have an average fraud rate three to four times the national level.

First American CoreLogic says 25 percent of foreclosures show fraud in the initial application, and as much as 70 percent of early payment defaults show indications of fraudulent activity in the application process.

First American CoreLogic's full report will be released later this month.

Source: DSNews.com, Carrie Bay, (03/19/2010)

Fannie Mae reports on activities in 2009, changes outlook for 2010

In two separate reports released this week, Fannie Mae took a look at the past and made predictions for the future. The government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) released Helping Housing Recover: A Report on Fannie Mae's Mission Performance, describing the company's efforts to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the nation's housing finance system.

According to the report, Fannie Mae provided $823.6 billion in funding to help keep the single-family and multi-family mortgage markets operating during 2009.

In Fannie Mae's March 2010 Economic Outlook, released by the GSE's Economics & Mortgage Market Analysis Group, continued recovery in housing is the key to a durable economic recovery. Fannie Mae said home sales will likely fall further in February, suggested by a sharp decline in the pending home sales index in January.

The GSE estimated that total mortgage originations would decline to $1.31 trillion in 2010, down from a projected $1.97 trillion in 2009, with a refinance share of 44 percent. Fannie Mae expects home sales to rebound in the second quarter. In the third quarter, the GSE expects a "payback," as the tax credit will likely pull some of the demand forward. And by the end of the year, if the labor market improves as expected, sales should start to trend up on a sustainable basis.

For all of 2010, Fannie Mae projects total home sales will increase 9 percent, down from the 12 percent surge predicted in its previous forecast.

Source: DSNews.com, Brittany Dunn, (03/19/2010)

Short-sale incentives start April 5th

Potential buyers of short-sale homes might consider waiting until April 5th before making a formal offer. That's the date the federal government will begin offering lenders financial incentives to hasten the process. Under the new rules, banks will seek a BPO before the property is listed for sale and let the sellers know a minimum number they are willing to accept. If the sellers bring a buyer with a good offer, the lender must accept it within 10 days.

Not all sellers are eligible for the program, dubbed the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA), but enough are that it is probably worth waiting.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, June Fletcher (03/19/2010), National Association of Realtors

REAL Trends has been a trusted source for useful, timely and trusted information for over twenty years. They offer research and relevant information for every real estate professional.

The CE Shop is the leading provider of online continuing education for real estate agents. We currently serve professionals in forty-six states and are growing daily. To see our course offerings in your state, visit The CE Shop.com today!

The CE Shop and REAL Buzz Online are excited to announce a new feature. Every Wednesday REAL Buzz Online will be inviting guest bloggers to share their expertise with you. This week we have the outstanding entrepreneur, Jennifer Allan, who has published two books and contributed to The CE Shop course "Selling to Your Sphere of Influence." You can learn more about Jennifer by visiting her personal website: SellWithSoul.com.

by: Jennifer Allan, GRI, Author of Sell with Soul & If You're Not Having Fun Selling Real Estate, You're Not Doing it Right

What, Exactly, IS a Sphere of Influence Business Model?

A Sphere of Influence (SOI) business model is a strategy that focuses on attracting business to you from the people you know and the people you meet socially, as opposed to pursuing business from strangers. It's possible to run a 100% SOI business and never have to make one cold call, memorize a prospecting script or knock on a strangers' door! There are three primary activities in an effective SOI business model.

1. Nurturing the personal relationships you already have within your social network (that is, your friends - I call this group my "Group One." Clever, eh?)
2. Staying in touch with "everyone else" (that is, the people you know who aren't your friends - I call them my Group Two)
3. Meeting new people.

Before you panic and say that you don't have the time, money or energy to do all this socializing, relax! Running an SOI business is much less time-consuming and less expensive than just about any other systematized prospecting method, and can be far more effective, more quickly. In fact, if you spend a few years creating your personal cheering section, you can pretty much coast through the rest of your real estate career.

Nurturing the personal relationships you already have

From a philosophical perspective, this means to ensure that the people in your social network (AKA Group One) know that you care about them. In a practical sense, it means that you strive to have a personal conversation with everyone in your social network as often as you can, at least once a quarter. A personal conversation can be a face-to-face lunch or coffee date, a phone call or even an email exchange. What it's not is a concerted effort to abuse your friends with a sales pitch. Always approach your social network as a friend first, and a real estate agent second, or third, or fourth. Not the other way around.

Staying in touch with Everyone Else

Staying in touch with your "everyone else" group (AKA Group Two) just means that you keep your name in front of this crowd with periodic interesting, relevant, non-salesy written communications, delivered both through snail-mail and email. As long as your mailings are consistent and intelligent, you'll see a significant number of sales from even this minimal effort.

Meeting new people

An important part of an effective SOI model is to add to your Groups One and Two, especially in today's market where there is admittedly less business to go around. The more people you know, who know you, and think you're a generally cool person, the more that telephone will ring. Running an effective SOI business model isn't nearly as complicated as some would have you believe. Yes, it takes some organization and commitment upfront, and an ongoing effort to stay in touch with the people you know and the people you meet, but once it's rolling and you're in the SOI habit, it won't feel like work at all! In fact, it might even feel suspiciously like FUN! And "the more fun you have selling real estate, the more real estate you will sell!"

Jennifer is a former top producing real estate broker, a published author, a speaker and a trainer. She has written five books about the business of selling real estate, including her flagship book: Sell with Soul: Creating an Extraordinary Career in Real Estate without Losing Your Friends, Your Principles or Your Self-Respect. Jennifer sold real estate successfully for twelve years in Denver, Colorado.

From her first day on the job, she resisted the efforts of her company trainers, her broker and her fellow agents to persuade her to implement the "traditional" real estate prospecting techniques of cold calling, FSBO hunting, door knocking and geographic farming. Instead, she focused her business building efforts on the people she already knew, or the people she met. Without ever pestering a soul, she built a business based nearly 100% from business and referrals generated from her sphere of influence.

Jennifer is a regular columnist at Realty Times and other real estate media outlets, a member of the RE/MAX Hall of Fame, and is one of the industry`s most popular bloggers. You can read more about Jennifer`s philosophies at www.sellwithsoul.com.

Subscribe to Jennifer Allan's newsletter.

The CE Shop is the leading provider of online continuing education for real estate agents. We currently serve professionals in forty-six states and are growing daily. To see our course offerings in your state, visit The CE Shop.com today!

The CE Shop and REAL Buzz Online are excited to share our second issue of our new feature. Every Wednesday REAL Buzz Online will be inviting guest bloggers to share their expertise with you. This week we have a leader in the real estate information industry and a long time partner of The CE Shop, REAL Trends. You can learn more about REAL Trends or read more stories by visiting REALTrends.com.

by: REAL Trends, a trusted source in real estate news and information.

Cities where the recession is easing

In recent weeks business in Washington, D.C. ground to a halt as record snowfalls pummeled the area and a sparring match over national health care reform hijacked the political conversation. But the nation's capital is getting something right: It's emerging from the recession better than any other major city in the country, according to research by Forbes. Jobs in Washington are growing quickly, and in 2008 the city produced more in goods and services than almost anywhere in the country. D.C. and nine other cities (among them: Boston, Los Angeles and a host of metros in Texas) are best surviving the downturn in part because they specialize in industries that are relatively insulated from economic volatility.

Others in the top 10 include:

2. Austin, Texas

3. Dallas

4. Houston

(Tie) Minneapolis

6. Denver

7. San Antonio

8. Boston

9. Los Angeles

10. Kansas City

Federal program to encourage short sales

Beginning April 5, the Obama administration will encourage delinquent borrowers to avoid foreclosure and instead give up their homes in short sales by streamlining the process. The program will offer cash payment to the homeowner, as well as to the servicer and second-lien holder; and protect borrowers from future lender lawsuits for the unpaid mortgage balance. To curtail fraud, lenders will have to consult real estate practitioners to assess home value and minimum acceptable offer; they then must accept any offer that is equal to or higher than that.

Source: The New York Times, David Streitfeld (03/08/10)

Low rates help make home buying more affordable

Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.97 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending March 4, 2010, down from last week when it averaged 5.05 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.15 percent. The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.33 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.40 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.72 percent.

Loan modifications lead to fewer mortgage insurance claims

Mortgage insurance claims filed by servicers on defaulted loans are showing signs of tapering off, according to data released by the risk analysis and due diligence firm Clayton Holdings. Clayton's analysts attribute the decline to the increase in servicers' foreclosure prevention initiatives and fewer loans moving into REO status. The company also noted that the time from claim filing to payment has increased by over 50 days in the last quarter of 2009. Clayton says these delays are because mortgage insurance providers are spending more time reviewing individual claims and evaluating servicers' modification decisions for continued insurance coverage. Another contributing factor could also be an extended time for servicers to file claims. Clayton found that one of the major insurers is now allowing servicers one year to perfect a claim, which traditionally is 60 days after transfer of title.

Source: DSNews.com, Carrie Bay, (03/04/2010)

REAL Trends has been a trusted source for useful, timely and trusted information for over twenty years. They offer research and relevant information for every real estate professional.

The CE Shop is the leading provider of online continuing education for real estate agents. We currently serve professionals in forty-six states and are growing daily. To see our course offerings in your state, visit The CE Shop.com today!

The CE Shop and REAL Buzz Online are excited to announce a new feature. Every Wednesday REAL Buzz Online will be inviting guest bloggers to share their expertise with you. This week we have the outstanding entrepreneur, Jennifer Allan, who has published two books and contributed to The CE Shop course "Selling to Your Sphere of Influence." You can learn more about Jennifer by visiting her personal website: SellWithSoul.com.

by: Jennifer Allan, GRI, Author of Sell with Soul & If You're Not Having Fun Selling Real Estate, You're Not Doing it Right

“Rely on my Sphere of Influence? I don’t know anyone who wants to buy or a sell a home right now!”

Although the concept of generating business from the people you know (your sphere of influence or SOI) is nothing new, many agents have objections to the concept, based on some common misperceptions of how an effective SOI business model should work. Do any of these objections sound familiar to you? 

"I don't know anyone who wants to buy or sell right now and even if I did, how can I base my entire business on them?"

In my first year, I sold 25 houses, all as a result of my sphere of influence. Of those 25, all but three were people I didn't know the day I got my real estate license - they were people I met as a result of the personal relationships in my life. Some were referred directly to me by someone I knew; others I met at weddings, parties, etc.; yet others were service providers in my life who weren't my friends, but knew I had a real estate license. The people we know are the gatekeepers to everyone else they know. Impress those we know… and the floodgates shall open.

"I refuse to be one of those annoying real estate agents that the family avoids at parties."

So don't be! Contrary to popular belief, an effective sphere of influence business strategy is not about bothering your friends for their business. Sure, that's a common tactic, and many real estate agents give up on their sphere of influence because they suspect their friends are sick of hearing from them - and they're probably right. Just be a genuinely nice person with a good head on his or her shoulders... who happens to sell real estate for a living.

"I don't believe in mixing business with pleasure. If the deal goes sour, I could lose the friendship."

Could happen. Probably won't, if you take great care of your business. Yes, things go wrong, but if you can fix the problems professionally and competently, you'll probably win even MORE brownie points from your friend than if the deal went 100% smoothly. Anyway, if you do a great job for someone who knows you and cares about you, you'll get GREAT PR in your social circle for it! I'll take that risk because I have faith in myself. One caveat here - DON'T take business that you aren't confident you can handle. For example, if your buddy wants to buy a strip mall, and you're a residential agent, REFER IT. I don't believe we should "practice" on anyone, but especially not on our sphere of influence.

"I don't want my family and friends to feel obligated to use me if they don't want to."

"Obligation" is a dirty word in our business. Never ,ever, ever think that someone is obligated to use you, and don't get hurt if they use someone else. It's probably not personal (people have lives outside of our real estate business), and if it IS personal, take the opportunity to figure out why. Always give your friend or acquaintance the benefit of the doubt if they don't use you - for them, it was the right decision. Respect that. If, in your heart, you feel that your SOI is obligated to use your services, they'll feel it and resist. Conversely, if you respect their right to "choose," they also feel that and will probably beat down your door!

So, yes, you CAN rely on your SOI!

Jennifer is a former top producing real estate broker, a published author, a speaker and a trainer. She has written five books about the business of selling real estate, including her flagship book: Sell with Soul: Creating an Extraordinary Career in Real Estate without Losing Your Friends, Your Principles or Your Self-Respect. Jennifer sold real estate successfully for twelve years in Denver, Colorado.

From her first day on the job, she resisted the efforts of her company trainers, her broker and her fellow agents to persuade her to implement the "traditional" real estate prospecting techniques of cold calling, FSBO hunting, door knocking and geographic farming. Instead, she focused her business building efforts on the people she already knew, or the people she met. Without ever pestering a soul, she built a business based nearly 100% from business and referrals generated from her sphere of influence.

Jennifer is a regular columnist at Realty Times and other real estate media outlets, a member of the RE/MAX Hall of Fame, and is one of the industry`s most popular bloggers. You can read more about Jennifer`s philosophies at www.sellwithsoul.com.

Subscribe to Jennifer Allan's newsletter

Register to win a Wii and Wii Sports Resort from The CE Shop – a leading provider of online continuing education for real estate professionals.

Spring is just around the corner – we hope! To help you get through March and what’s left of this cold and snowy winter, The CE Shop would like to you escape (at home) for a fun and sun-filled spring break. Enjoy the new Wii Sports Resort that will have you wakeboarding, power cruising, canoeing, cycling and even flying an airplane from the comforts of your own home! The game offers a variety of activities for all different levels and ages. Escape with the family for fun four player action or keep it to yourself.

During the month of March everyone has the opportunity to win a Wii and the new Wii Sports Resort by answering five very short questions. There is no purchase necessary and your information will remain secret. To register go to The CE Shop and click on the “Escape” image. You can also click on the image provided with this article.

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