The holiday weekend provided time away from Cincinnati real estate.  The good news is that very few people I crossed paths knew that I’m a Realtor.  Better news, they openly talk about problems with the market and, their Realtors.  I really don’t know the “real details” but most of the problems seem to stem from raggedy process that a lot of  home sales seem to follow these days.In the good old days, most purchases (sales) were like a fairly predictable board game-think Monopoly.  You shake the dice, moved around the board and eventually the game concludes with a winner.  Occasionally there were some bumps- players sent to jail or a competitor with so many hotels on a property that you begged for mercy. 

Playing Monopoly is fairly orderly and many real estate transactions play out the same way. 

Unfortunately many of today’s deals are play out more like “Chutes and Ladders”.  You remember ”Chutes and Ladders”.  No orderly path, just on the verge of crossing the finish line and whoa….down the chute only to start the process all over again.  No amount of plotting or partnering saves a player from their fate.

If you remember “Chutes and Ladders” you have some insight into many of today’s real estate transactions.

Everybody (sellers, buyers, title companies, inspectors, lenders) all moving along -then somebody hits a “chute” and we get to start part of the process all over again.

“Chutes” can appear when:

• inspections are not completed in a timely manner
• title issues
• lenders change their minds about the loan halfway (or 3/4 of the way) through the process.
• buyers or sellers don’t communicate with their agents
• agents don’t communicate with buyers or sellers
• relocation company intervention
• short sales- lender(s) dragging their collective feet

Understanding the rules and the type of real estate board game you are playing could help reduce some of the frustration.

If you want to stay ahead of today’s real estate market subscribe today.

Best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving!

Trulia rolls out a new premium listings program for brokers. With the new product, brokers and agents will receive top placement and added exposure for being a Trulia customer. The new Premium Listings package makes it much easier for consumers to connect with leading brokers and agents.

Premium Listings includes:

• Featuring of listings at the top of the results
• Optimized and company branded home buyer contact form
• Detailed listing and lead reporting
• More brand exposure
• Dedicated customer support

This, along with our new ranking of property listings, will be a winner for both consumers and real estate professionals. Premium Listings is intended for entire companies, as opposed to just one agent. If you are an agent, Trulia Pro is still for you.

So what is different about Premium Listings? Premium Listings is based on delivering the best listings that match the consumer search criteria, at the top of the page - just like Trulia Pro. We also make it very easy for consumers to inquire about the home with a company branded contact form, one of the new features. So unlike other sites, consumers are presented with properties that exactly match their needs with multiple ways for them to contact your company. This change resulted in consumer inquiries increasing 3X during our testing this past quarter.

Here is a screenshot of the new listing details page for Ebby Halliday in Dallas, TX.

We are flexible: Unlike other websites, we don’t lock anyone into a contract that is not a winner. With formal notice, as per our agreements, we will gladly let you adjust, pause, or cancel your investment.

We keep it simple: One price, no fluctuation, includes all of the following:

• Dedicated Customer Service Representative with one business day response time
• Unlimited Featuring for your inventory with company logo on search result pages
• Optimized and company branded home buyer contact form
• 30 day billing cycle, or pay by CC
• Daily and hourly lead reporting
• Quarterly reviews to ensure your campaign is successful
• 25% increase in listing inventory without charge for up to 90 days

and much more…contact us to learn more.

Pricing is reasonable: Pricing is based on two things, the number of listings you carry in a month and the average list price of the market you serve. That’s it. We take care of the rest.

For the consumer: Our latest release also included a change to the way we rank properties. The new ranking ensures that the most complete listings, with quality information, rise to the top. We just released a whitepaper that explains how and why we changed our rankings, and what you can do to increase your exposure, please download it here.

For the agent: You can still be a Trulia Pro if your broker has Premium Listings. Together, Premium Listings and Trulia Pro deliver maximum exposure for the company, down to the individual agent. Participating Trulia Pro’s can still manage their listings and receive direct inquiries.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to e-mail me directly pierre (at) trulia.com or fill out this form.

People want to know what is happening in real estate throughout greater Cincinnati area. For a quick look at Market Action Reports by zipcode see below:

45011

45014

45040

45069

45208

45223

Prices are sliding down a bit- indicating a continuation of a buyer’s market.   This is the short version of the detailed information available for the zipcodes- call or email if you would like the details.

Related Articles: Last Week’s Numbers

According to the Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati the following HUD properties have sold/closed.

If you are tracking and/or bidding on HUD properties the report provide.  Or stay ahead of the real estate market by subscribing to thecincyblog now!

There is a lot of information floating around about the recently passed home buyer tax credit bill.  The Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors produced a useful informational piece about the extension as well as details about the credit for “repeat” buyers. For current property owners, the repeat buyer could be just enough of an incentive to move on to your next home.

See sections of the article below: 

“Congress just recently voted to extend the tax credit until April 30, 2010.

Eligibility requirements have been broadened to make the money available to both first-time homebuyers and “repeat” homebuyers who have owned a home as their primary resident for at least five of the past eight years. For most people, maximum qualifying earnings is based on their adjusted gross income (see line 37 on the 1040 federal tax form).

In most situations,single buyers can now earn up to $125,000 per year and get the full credit; and joint filers can earn up to $225,000 per year. The credit decreases for single buyers who earn between $125,000 and $145,000 and for buyers filing jointly who earn between $225,000 and $245,000. Home buyers earning more than the maximum qualifying income – over $145,000 for singles and over $245,000 for couples – are not eligible for the credit.

In either case, you must have a binding purchase contract no later than April 30, 2010, and you must close the transaction by June 30, 2010.

Any home you purchase will qualify for the credit, provided the purchase price does not exceed $800,000. This includes single-family detached homes, condominiums and other residences. However, you cannot receive the tax credit if you purchase a home from other family members: your parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, or your spouse’s family members.

Congress’ decision to extend the credit and expand it to a larger home buying group is indeed good news for everyone; not only prospective homebuyers, but home sellers, Realtors, lenders and our community at large. Economists estimate the tax credit has already contributed about $22 billion to the general economy, and a total of about two million people will take advantage of the tax credit. The extension and expansion will make it possible for more individuals to take advantage of the low interest rates and affordable prices, and most importantly, invest in their future through home ownership.”

—Reported by the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors®

The Board also provided a simple table explaining eligibility: 

 
Data from Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati

Home sales are still lower than 2008….but not losing momentum.

The first-time home buyer tax credit was extended to contracts written before May 1, 2010- so we will continue to see buyers wandering around looking for their dream home.  Pricing and the quality of existing inventory remains somewhat stagnent and as soon as a new, well priced house appears- its sold.  

Detailed information about your particular area is available upon request.

Related Articles:  September Stats; First Time Home Buyers Fueling Real Estate Market

No strangers to the real estate market, Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett and retired Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling have lowered their asking prices in hopes of finding a buyer sooner than later.

Kirk Hammett has once again re-listed his property located at 2505 Divisadero Street, San Francisco, CA 94115 in San Francisco’s Pac Heights district where he lives with his wife and two young sons. Billed as the “historic Georgian mansion,” the four-story mansion looks like it got a huge green blanket of leaves draped all over it with a few holes for sunshine. The 9,000 sqft architecturally savvy mansion includes a library, billiard room, family room, hobby room AND last but not least, music room. I mean, what would a musician’s home be without a music room?

BTW - did you know in 2003 he was ranked 11th in Rolling Stone’s list - The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time? Makes up for all the strumming you put your hand through.

Recently reducing the asking price of his property by $400,000, Curt Schilling is making another attempt to find a buyer for his estate located at 7 Woodridge Road, Medfield, MA 02052. The three-story home spans 11,000 sqft and rests among 25 acres of land. This leaves plenty of room to include a heated swimming pool, tennis court, basketball court, a seasonal ice skating rink and a professional batting cage. He’s practically got every sport available in his home!

CNBC’S Diana Olick talks about Trulia’s price reductions, Bernie Madoff’s price reduction of $1,000,000 from $9,900,000 to $8,900,000 located at 133 East 64th St New York NY 10065 as seen on Trulia and Toll Brothers news of Q4 orders jumping 42% from a year ago.

photo credit: lepiaf.geo

Our November home price reduction report shows 25.6% of U.S. homes as of November 1, 2009 have experienced at least 1 price cut of their original asking price during the last 12 months. The total amount slashed off of active for sale listings by home sellers is $28.1billion. The average national price reduction remains 10%. Over 40% of the top 50 metros around the U.S. have price reduction levels above 30%, much higher than the national average.

November Price Reduction Highlights

• 25.6% of U.S. homes as of November 1, 2009 have experienced at least 1 price cut of their original asking price
• $28.1 Billion in price reductions
• Average national price reduction remains 10%
• Minneapolis, Minnesota leads the nation in price reductions for the 1st time with 39%
• Luxury homes priced $2 million plus seeing an average of 14% cut vs. the national average of 10%
• Luxury homes over $2,000,000 on Trulia = 2% but = 25% of the $28.1 billion in home price reductions

Northeast Continues With Most Homes Reduced

The Northeast continues to see the highest level of price reductions, with 29 percent of current listings experiencing at least one price cut—Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire are all seeing over 30 percent of listings with price reductions. (Regions according to the U.S. Census Bureau)

• Northeast- 29% of listings with price reductions
• Midwest- 28% of listings with price reductions
• West- 25% of listings with price reductions
• South- 24% of listings with price reductions

“With mortgage rates still low and the expansion of the tax credit to trade-up buyers, we could see significant inventory—both new and “shadow inventory”—hit the market during the next four-to-six months,” said Pete Flint, Trulia co-founder and CEO.  “Inventory levels this quarter are poised to be atypical of a normal real estate market, which could create tremendous pressure on sellers to price their homes competitively and move their property before the tax credit expires on April 30^th.”

Cities experiencing significant increases in percentage of listings with price reductions from June 2009 to November 2009 include:

• Kansas City, MO – 59% increase in price reductions
• Colorado Springs, CO – 43% increase in price reductions
• Omaha, NE – 39% increase in price reductions
• Louisville, KY – 37% increase in price reductions
• Milwaukee, WI – 30% increase in price reductions

Cities showing signs the highest percentage of declines for listings with price reductions from June 2009 to November 2009 include:

• Las Vegas, NV– 34% decrease in price reductions
• San Jose, CA – 25% decrease in price reductions
• San Antonio, TX – 18% decrease in price reductions
• Los Angeles, CA – 16% decrease in price reductions
• Oakland, CA – 16% decrease in price reductions

Luxury Market Still Hardest Hit

Luxury homes (those listed at two million dollars and above) continue to bear the brunt of discounts being offered with an average of 14 percent being slashed from the original asking price compared to the national average of ten percent. Additionally, luxury homes represent less than two percent of all current listings on Trulia, but are responsible for 25 percent of the $28.1 billion in home price reductions.

November Price Reductions – Top 50 U.S. Cities

For more info on Trulia’s national home price reduction report, please visit our press release in the Trulia News Room