According to the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors, mortgage rates have dropped 62%….since 1981. 

Before you snicker, we were one of the lucky ones in 1981 (with rates over 16%) who obtained special financing from a builder- a 14% -3 year arm.   The 2% saving was enough for us to move forward with building a home. 

Borrow $150,000 in 1981 and your payment was $1171.31.  Borrow $150,000 today and your payment is $814.42.

Many buyers are waiting for the bottom and risk missing out on low affordable interest rates.

Bottom line, if you qualify for a mortgage, this may be the time to start looking for a home or condo.  Not sure whether you are qualified -contact a reputable loan officer through your agent, bank or credit union.  If you have any questions- call or email.

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Remember the Pepsi Challenge?  Making comparisons to see what you like is important for everything you do, and that’s especially true when it comes to marketing.  Sticking with the same program every year is the fastest way to guarantee irrelevance – you have to stay on top of growing trends, target new buyers and maintain a lean budget.  And that’s exactly why we bring you the Trulia Challenge.

More and more brokers call me every day while they are putting together their 2009 budgets.  One of the most common questions I get: “What can you do for me that Realtor.com can’t?”  Well, we can give you a lot more, and for a lot less.  Take the first step of the Trulia Challenge, and see which column looks best for your brokerage.  We think Trulia’s innovative features and flexibility (plus the multitude of FREE) leads to a pretty conclusive winner.

Getting the most bang for your buck is more important now than ever.  The Trulia Challenge isn’t exactly a taste test, but we think you’ll find the results to be delicious. Watch what these real estate pro’s had to say when they took the Trulia Challenge at the 2009 Inman Real Estate Connect in New York City.  Then contact us for step two.

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photo credit: bindermichi

I use Twitter to keep in touch with clients and to watch headlines and breaking news. Some of the people I subscribe to are industry leaders or regional companies, I also follow CNN and the NYTimes. The NYTimes has some of their sections twittering separately, like @nytimesworld, @nytimespolitics, etc.

My 10 Twitter Tips:

1) Use the “Find People” tool and search for things you are interested in Real Estate, Fishing, New York City, etc.

2) Follow people that actually “tweet”

3) Do not just twitter personal promotion and advertisements, that is SPAM!

4) The “#” in front of a word, or letters, like “#icny” means that this is a post about an event or popular topic. #icny was used for Inman Connect New York, #Obama may be used for news about Obama, etc.

5) Follow @NYPierre and @trulia if you want to see some twitter action, most of Real Estate’s techiest agents and leaders are on Twitter too.

6) As a real estate agent, you should twitter the following things whenever you can: “Just got a closing in City, State” Just got an offer in City, State”, Just listed a great home in City, State”. This will inspire people who care about those areas or real estate in those areas to follow you. It will also counteract all that negative press out there that says people AREN’T buying homes – they are!

7) Use Tinyurl.com to create a shorter URL for long things, like listings. It is very easy, copy and paste the main link - like your listing URL on Trulia - and paste it into tinyurl, it will shorten it for you for Twitter use.

Twitpic is another tool to post photos right from your phone to your twitter account and add text - like “look at this new listing” and it will insert a link to the photo.

9) Twit about local events, things you are going to, maybe people near you are there too and want to meet - note, keep a lookout for stalkers?

10) Keep it social, don’t think of it as work, follow people first to get an idea of what you can say. you can even reply to other twitters directly.

Bonus tip: Twitter can update your Facebook status too! Look for the application on Facebook.

Post Inspiration: Wendy Forsythe at the BHGRealEstateBlog 

Have tips of your own? Please add them as a comment below.

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Did the new year really change anything in real estate for Cincinnati, West Chester, Fairfield, Mason and surrounding areas?

Slowly but surely, homes and condos are selling.  The chart below is just a snapshot of properties which have gone pending (sold but not yet closed) since January 1, 2009.

If you don’t see your neighborhood listed and would like more information call or email.  Or if just want to stay up-to-date with the latest real estate information- subscribe.

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Everbody wants great service!

So it was no surprise when Melanie Staggs sent an email introducing herself as the “Personal Shopper” for Ohio Valley Antique Mall on Rte 4/Dixie Highway in Fairfield.   The place always seem to busy- every time I drive by the parking lot is full.

But just like real estate, business is business and adding a personal shopper should help motivate people (like me) who may have an interest-but absolutely no knowledge- to shop a little more.

The Ohio Valley Antique Mallis an unique business for Fairfield and the new customer base is good for everybody in the area.

Need help- give Melanie a call @ 513-874-7855 

Related Articles:  Old is New ,  Antique Shoppers

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Last weeks most viewed Question on Trulia Voices was asked by Jennifer Hancock, a home buyer and seller from Fairfax County - Timing of buying and selling. She wants to know if she should sell her current home first and then find her dream home or start looking for her dream home first and then sell. It’s an excellent question. Answers can vary as it depends on a host of variables. Let’s see what our Trulia Voices real estate community had to say…

Thoughts from our Trulia Voices Real Estate Community

The first real estate agent to answer was Jeff Royce from Frankly Real Estate in Fairfax, Virginia. Jeff’s answer was so detailed that he turned it into a blog post on his own blog, OurFairfax.com. What a great way to re-distribute a valuable piece of content - nice going Jeff! Here is a snippet of Jeff’s answer to Jennifer, ” In a buyers market like we have in Northern Virginia, people who are looking to sell their current home and purchase another have a tough choice to make. Should they sell their current home, or purchase their next home first? There is no one-size-fits-all answer, but here are a couple of scenarios to consider:

A. Sell Home 1, Then Buy Home 2: In this market, you have a lot of control over the purchase of your home. If you sell Home 1 you will know exactly what you have to work with financially as you approach the purchase of Home 2. You will also get a better price on both homes. That is because you will not be under any pressure to sell Home 1, therefore you will not be tempted to jump at a low offer. You will get a better price on Home 2 because you will be working with a definite timetable, and will not need to make your offer contingent on the sale of your home. A seller who has to deal with a sale-of-home contingency will, almost by definition, expect more money for the sale of their home. Sellers look for two things when they are selling their home: top dollar and security in the sale. Which would you rather give them?….”

Monika Kumar, a real estate agent and leader of RealtyGeeks Team - National Realty in Reston, Virginia said, “Looking at the market conditions, putting your house on the market by well preparing it to sell meanwhile browse the listings as well visit the areas and narrow down the location you may want to move. Once your house goes under contract with most contingencies removed at that point put a contract on your next home in your narrowed down area. NOW this is an ideal way to move when you have a house to sell.”

Glenda Cherry is a real estate agent with Avery-Hess in Fairfax County, Virginia said, ” I have clients who are in a similar situation - they have a house in a great school district, but their kids are grown so they want to move to a different type of community and don’t really care about the schools. After many discussions, we decided it would be best for them to wait until the spring to put their house on the market (it has incredible landscaping!) and start seriously looking once their home is under contract. In the meantime, we’ve been looking at homes in various communities - that way, they’ll already know which communities they prefer and will be able to closely target their home search when the time is right.”

Marty Jones is a real estate broker with Marty Jones Realty in Cashiers, North Carolina who said, “I would think one of the main considerations for your plan would be the mortgage amount of the home you currently own, and the debt, if any, you plan to incur on the second home.

If your current home takes a while to sell, is it financially feasible to pay both mortgages? If the answer to that question is yes, and it would not create a financial hardship, I would say take advantage of the current market conditions and go ahead and purchase in the desired school district. You might also consider renting the current home for a while to offset the mortgage.

If two mortgages would create a financial hardship, I would suggest waiting until your current home sells. You could sign a contingent sale contract, but if the first home doesn’t sell, and you can’t carry both mortgages, it will be an exercise in futility. It could also mean that you incur expenses related to the purchase, such as inspections, surveys, etc., that will be wasted.”

Theresa McSpedon is a real estate agent and Trulia Pro with Coldwell Banker in Stamford, Connecticut who said, “SELL, SELL, SELL, SELL FIRST.”

My Thoughts

Thanks to the Trulia Voices real estate community for providing such thoughtful answers for Jennifer. As many have pointed out, their are numerous scenarios that can dictate which steps you should take first. Because of this, there really is no one right answer, especially not knowing the details of her financial situation. We wish Jennifer and others in this situation all the best.

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Remember when you were a kid and couldn’t wait for snow?

Bundled up in layers of clothes heading outside to build a snowman (or snow person) or hurl snowballs at your siblings and neighborhood friends.  And, on a really good snow day, even your parents ignored discipline after you repeatedly pelted them with snowballs while they tried to shovel the driveway.

Such great memories of enjoying snow.

Well in real estate there are no fun snow days!

Most buyers will not bundle up in layers of clothes and dance along the icey roads to go look at properties until the snow stops and the driveways are snow free.

Face it- if your home is on the market- snow is your friend and your enemy.  It’s your friend because while the neighborhood kids drag snow and slop into the house- chances are nobody will attempt to make an appointment to show the property.  Snow is the enemy of real estate because it’s jams the brakes on a market that is just gaining momentum.

Oh well-it is just a few days- but be prepared.  If you have a property for sale make sure the driveway, walkways, porch (and whatever) are cleared. 

Remember, the snow will pass and the buyers will be out looking for real estate by the end of the week.

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Buyers are hovering around homes in West Chester, Fairfield and greater Cincinnati Ohio- looking for the perfect spot to land.

The problem with hovering is mortgage rates may go up- stalling -then crashing your chance to land on the right property.

Today’s mortgage rates for qualified buyers (qualified buyers= decent credit scores) are hovering around 5%.  So if you are looking for a home in West Chester (average sale price $244,000) and need a mortgage for $200,000, principal and interest is $1,073.64 per month.  If the rate goes up to 6% the payment jumps to $1,199.10.   The difference is approximately $126 a month or $1512 a year (or $45,360 over 30 years).

Hovering in a buyer’s market is only good as long as both interest rates and housing prices are going down. 

 Given the number of showings and contracts currently flying around the office- I think we are seeing the bottom on  housing prices.  If you want to wait and see how much lower interest rates will go- you may have a valid argument for circling.  But what will happen if mortgage rates go down and housing prices stabilize and begin to increase?  The net effect may be the same monthly payment on a smaller home.

Everybody wants to buy low and sell high- just make sure your real estate hovering doesn’t create such a large dust cloud that you miss your chance to land on the right piece of real estate at the right price.

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This week we’re featuring Arn Cenedella, a real estate agent and Trulia Pro in Menlo Park, CA  who has been in real estate since 1978.

Here’s what Arn had to say in response to the recent blog post by our CEO, Pete Flint: “Did we just pass the tipping point in online real estate?”

“My interactions and experience with Trulia have been fabulous.  I have always felt welcomed by Trulia - Trulia and I were never in competition.  Trulia wants to make the consumer experience the best it can possibly be and Trulia realizes real estate agents are an important part of the process.  I recognize that Trulia can help my business and it helps thousands of consumers.  I have been to Trulia’s office in SF as part of a realtor focus group and I felt their people were interested in what we had to say.  So congrats to Trulia - I feel we are partners.”

Arn, we understand it hasn’t always been an easy ride and we appreciate the faith you’ve put in Trulia to help support you. Thank you!

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The Staples “Easy Button” says it all!

Today real estate listing information pretty much flows to the designated web sites-cbws.com to coldwellbanker.com to realtor.com to openhouse.com to base.google.com to trulia.com  to …..well you get the picture.  List a home in West Chester on Wednesday and by Thursday most of the sites have all the data.  Sort of one touch to get the details flowing.

Unfortunately Web 2.0 -the so called social networking internet iteration struggles with “flow through” of information.  If I post a new article on thecincyblog or put listing information on Active Rain, I then have to manually update Twitter, Faceboook, MySpace…..and so on.

I want  a “Web 2.5″ where I control social networking information from my personal black box then push that “easy button” and update Twitter, Facebook and……

Whining -you bet I am- but sometimes I feel like a full-time internet data clerk which takes time from the things I enjoy- like blogging and real estate.

Any suggestions for simplifying things- please let me know!

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