Real Estate Pros Are Fourth in Car Crashes A recent article in New York Newsday based upon information from www.insure.com and Quality Planning Corp. rank realty agents fourth on a list of top 10 vehicle crashers by profession, and experts attribute their high number of accidents to the fact that they are always on the road and frequently talk on the phone while they drive. The November 2009 study reports an average 102 accidents and 39 speeding tickets per 1,000 real estate brokers on an annual basis. Wow, only #4.  Who are the others driving, texting, eating, and taking notes while on the phone?  So who do you think is number 1 thru 3? 09/16/2010

10 Reasons to Buy a Home Time magazine is being overly pessimistic in its recent cover piece that called into question the benefits of homeownership. In fact, now is a great time to buy. And, what's more, tomorrow will be a great time to own, because the fundamental strength of homeownership hasn't changed. Why is now a great time to buy? Here are 10 reasons:1. You can get a good deal. Prices are down 30 percent on average. They're at a level that makes sense for people's income. 2. Mortgages are cheap. At 4.3 percent on average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, your costs to own are down by a fifth from two years ago. 3. You can save on taxes. When you add up the deductions for mortgage interest and others, the cost of owning can drop below renting for a comparable place. 4. It'll be ... 09/16/2010

Going GREEN Return on Investment Green and Save.com has a handy table to determine the return on investment (ROI) of many energy saving features a homeowner can add. Energy efficient improvements are organized into several categories including Green Tune-Up, Green Remodeling and Green Advanced Systems.  Some common green add-ons and their ROI at a glance:CFL Light Bulbs - Added cost of $60 saving $80 annually with an ROI of 133.3% over 10 years Programmable Thermostat - Added cost of $115 saving $180 annually with an ROI of 156.5% over 10 years Hot Water Heater 'Blanket'  - Added cost of $25, saving $30 annually with an ROI of 120% over 10 years Seal Duct Leaks - Added cost of $450, saving $300 annually with an ROI of 66.7% over 10 years  Read the complete list here. 09/16/2010

US homes lost to foreclosure up 25 pct on year but there are other solutions.  Talk to your REALTOR first! Alex Veiga, AP Real Estate Writer, On Thursday September 16, 2010, 12:04 am EDT US home repossessions spike in August to highest level since start of mortgage crisis LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Lenders took back more homes in August than in any month since the start of the U.S. mortgage crisis.   The increase in home repossessions came even as the number of properties entering the foreclosure process slowed for the seventh month in a row, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday. In all, banks repossessed 95,364 properties last month, up 3 percent from July and an increase of 25 percent from August 2009, RealtyTrac said. August makes the ninth month in a row that the pace of ... 09/16/2010

In business just like with the law, ignorance is no excuse. It matters little that you have friends who agree with you, best practices in business are defined by business practices and not by friends. Friends in our lives serve lots of purposes and business consultant can be one of those purposes. Everyone needs friends that can help him or her gain a perspective on aspects of their lives that they may not have a clear enough view for them. Let’s be honest about friendship to begin with. People become friends for a variety of reasons, but business acumen is pretty far down the list as a top reason. Mentors are a different animal all together. Mentors are more about business and career than friends are, so mentors can provide you competent analysis. Friends help you have fun, you share ... 09/13/2010

    Jing Project - Screen Capture Made Easy Believe it or not the Print Screen button on your keyboard actually used to fire up the printer!  With the evolution of technology and cloud computing comes a myriad of useful tools and one that I highly recommend is called Jing. Tech Smith is the company that first introduced us to Snag It, which many agents have come to know and love.  The downside of Snag It is that it comes with a bit of a learning curve. Enter Jing:  Also by Tech Smith, Jing simplifies the art of screen capture/sharing and has really big and easy to use buttons, which makes using it daily to help improve your marketing doable for all tech skill levels.  Jing has the ability to capture both simple images as well as video screen capture and has been one of the most well re... 09/12/2010

To Dream the American Dream, a FREE webinar session from EXIT Realty. In order to provide accurate information and answer questions that our clients have on our country's real estate market, EXIT Realty is providing a FREE webinar experience to the general public. Check out the latest informative session at The American Dream Find out tips and information for First Time Homebuyers, Investors, Buying a Second Home, etc.  Find out about what to look for in choosing your next real estate professional....education, marketing. Plus, find out what is the most important question to ask!  Go to The American Dream.   09/09/2010

Home Purchase Applications Rise 6.3% Applications to purchase homes increased 6.3 percent last week compared to the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly survey. On an unadjusted basis, purchases rose 4 percent compared to the previous week, but were down 38.8 percent from the same week a year ago.The Refinance Index decreased 3.1 percent from the previous week."Purchase applications increased last week, reaching the highest level since the end of May. However, purchase activity remains well below levels seen prior to the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit, and is almost 40 percent below the level recorded one year ago," said Michael Fratantoni, MBA's vice president of research and economics.Mortgage rates rose slightly la... 09/08/2010

Something that should be posted in every school . . . Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it! Rule 2: The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself. Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both. Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity. Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about yourmistakes, learn from them. Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now.. They got that way from pay... 09/07/2010

Arkansas Homes Sales Up in June According to the data collected by the Arkansas REALTORS Association, and published in Arkansas Business, homes sales in Arkansas were up .56% in June.  Hey, that isn't much, but at least it is moving in the right direction. Pulaski County was actually down by 2% with 400 homes sold.  In Saline County, homes sales were up 20%, but it had less than 145 units sold.  Northwest Arkansas even saw an increase.  Benton County was up 14%.   As for price, statewide price was down 1% to a median price of $148,256. Comparted to the national average of a 27% drop in June, the Arkansas market is still basically stable and consistent.  If you need to sell, it is still a good time to sell it.  If you need to buy, it is an excellent time to buy! To view all available hom... 09/07/2010

August home sales, inventory and days on market moved the six month trends up in all three categories. Listings on the market up up the most at 1.73% and continued a upward trend every month since April of this year. Home sales was almost flat being up only .99%. This is the smallest growth in the sale trend since April. West Pulaski County (area 17) which includes Chenal continues to improve but being the area with the longest Absorption Rate it still remains one of the weakest areas for sales to inventory. These numbers compared to last  August  are  up  in all three areas from last August numbers. The Average Days on Market are up from 86 to 94 days. All in all not all that much change. Buyers continued to look but there does not seem to be an urgency in the market for them to make a... 09/07/2010

Little Rock Ranks #6 Little Rock's MSA ranks #6 among 315 US Markets for making single-family real estate investments, according to a recent survey by Local Market Monitor Inc. According to the survey, Little Rock was labeled a good market for conservative investors.  LMM forecasted a moderate drop in overall home prices during the next 12 months for the Little Rock MSA, followed by a trending slight increase. For those of us who have been working the Little Rock MSA over the past few years, this comes as no surprise.  The Little Rock MSA did not experience the massive drop in real estate over the past few years that other major markets did.  We also did not experience the massive increase in the real estate market that other major markets did in the early to mid 2000's.  Little Rock ha... 09/07/2010

Exceeding Expectations, Pending Home Sales Rise 5.2% from rismedia.com RISMEDIA, September 3, 2010-Following a sharp drop in the months immediately after the expiration of the home buyer tax credit, pending home sales have modestly risen, according to the National Association of Realtors. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator, rose 5.2% to 79.4 based on contracts signed in July from a downwardly revised 75.5 in June, but remains 19.1% below July 2009 when it was 98.1. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, cautioned that there would be a long recovery process. "Home sales will remain soft in the months ahead, but improved affordability conditions should help with a re... 09/03/2010

Sellers, You Need a Digital Marketing Strategy I have been 'facebooking' with college friends of mine who are trying to sell a home in Nebraska for 6 months now.  As I was providing my expert and professional (sarcasm) opinion on the matter, it did shock me that the current agent was only doing the 'old school' form of advertising, and that the sellers figured that was pretty good. Here is what advertising had been done:  Open Houses, Hardcopy flyers outside on the curb, MLS entry, and the every so effective (sarcasm again) REALTOR open house.  All of these, according to every survey conducted are 'out of date' practices that only capture a small percentage of the buyers.  I guess this was a little better than the typical 3 P's of Listing - (1) Put it in the MLS, (2) Put a sign in the Y... 09/03/2010

Frugal Tips for Making a Home More Appealing Homeowners who want to sell but don't have a lot of cash to spruce up their properties might consider these tips from Bankrate.com (and comments from me) for upgrading a property without spending a fortune. Polish up the kitchen. Add new cabinet door handles, replace lighting and update the faucet set. Unless the cabinets are mica, give them a fresh coat of paint. Order new doors for kitchen appliances.  Scott Deaton: All of these are very inexpensive and the kitchen is one area of major focus for all buyers. Tidy up the bath. Replace the toilet seat. Clean up the floor with vinyl tiles or sheet vinyl applied over the old floor. Re-grout the tub and, if the tub is dingy, add a new prefabricated tub and shower surround.  Scott Deaton:  Inexpen... 09/02/2010

EXIT Realty is Growing! New Licensee Picks EXIT Realty Deaton Group Little Rock, Arkansas (Grassroots Newswire) August 26, 2010 -- Summer Ajlouni joins the growing team at EXIT Realty Deaton Group.   "We are excited about having Summer on our team at EXIT Realty Deaton Group.  She is excited about her new career, and is ready to learn the business, and be a true professional REALTOR to our communities," states Scott Deaton, Broker/Owner of EXIT Realty Deaton Group.   "I chose EXIT for several reasons.  A few of them being the training programs, the competitive marketing tools, and a very friendly family oriented workplace," comments Summer Ajlouni.  EXIT Realty Corp. International boasts over 1300 franchises sold and over 50000 agents recruited across North America. EXIT Realty provides... 09/02/2010

Do we need another tax credit? A recent article from realtor.org, says the tax credit needed to end and another would not be good.  Rumors have been flying around about the possibility of another tax credit.  Many experts, including real estate agents, agree that another tax credit should not be implemented.  The consensus seems to be we need to see what the actual demand for housing is, and that the tax credit will not solve anything until our economy, especially unemployment, improves.  What do you think?  REALTORS?  Buyers?  Do you feel a tax credit is needed?  And valuable? I actually know of a buyer who is 'waiting' for the next tax credit to buy his house.  He needs to buy, wants to buy, but will put it off to get the free tax credit.  I told him not to expect one.  It seems this ... 09/01/2010

15 Year Mortgages are on the Rise According to a recent article on Yahoo, the volume of 15 years mortgages is on the rise, with refinancing.  It has always been my opinion NOT to recommend a 15 year mortgage to a new buyer, or someone buying their next home.  The main reason being that when you sign up for a 15 year mortgage, you are  responsible for that higher monthly payment, regardless of what the ecomonic environment may be, for your family, or the nation.     Of course, the 15 year mortgage has a much lower interest rate, currently in the mid-3's (wow), but the monthly payment can be 45% more than a 30 year mortgage payment (around mid-4's).  Just playing the numbers:  15 yr = $1015 monthly, 30 yr = $1480. My opinion is that it is better to have the 30 year mortgage, and make extr... 09/01/2010

Deaton Wins a New Camera!  Yep, while attending a technology real estate seminar today, I won a nice HD video camera.  Exellent news, but that isn't the reason for this blog.  But here is what my camera looks like!   First Topic:  if you are into this social networking 'thing', then check out twellow.com.  This is a type of yellow pages for twitter.  Check it out.  It's free. Main Topic:  We discussed what Sellers are really looking for and how Sellers choose the agent they will work with.  A survey was conducted in 2009 that addressed this topic in California.  I thought i would conduct my own survey to see what our local sellers, and fellow REALTORS, feel is most important when selecting an agent. Just comment to this post and rank your your opinion with 5 = Extremely Important and 1 ... 08/31/2010

According to this recent report at http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2010082603?OpenDocument, homes sales across the country have fallen to a 37 year low!  July sales were down 32% from June 2010.  In addition, home prices across the country dropped as well, by just over 4%. What about the Little Rock area though?  Well the news was just as bad.  According to an ArkansasOnline article, http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2010/aug/27/home-sales-dive-states-center-20100827/?latest, Pulaski County saw a 31% drop in home sales compared to July 2009. But the news isn't all bad.  Yes, the end of the tax credit probably had something to do with this down numbers, but the market throughout Central Arkansas hasn't been that bad this year.  We have seen many months this year with an in... 08/27/2010