Very different from last year’s desperately sticky sales scenario in the midst of foreclosures, short sales, high inventory and plummeting prices, 2011 has seen signs of an upward swing in the luxury home market:
- Over 500 Million Dollars in luxury property sold and lent in the last 12 months
- 10% variance, list to sales price
- Increased activity month over month in 2011
- In Paradise Valley, Scottsdale and other luxury areas, days on market is now under 365 days!
- February 2010 Paradise Valley had 6 closings, compared to February 2011 there were 38!
In light of this, we're pleased to be hosting a Luxury Forum, May 2nd, from 1:30-3:30at Gainey Golf Club in Scottsdale. The forum will provide an in depth look at Arizona's luxury home market and will be moderated by Bill Gray with the Arizona School of Real Estate. A luxury market trend report will be presented by Steve de Laveaga, SVP of Sales and Marketing of Fidelity Phoenix. The panelists for the forum include:
Walt Danley, Realty Executives
Tom Locati, Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty
Sandra Wilken, Sandra Wilken Luxury Properties
Joan Levinson, John Hall & Associates
Don Matheson, ReMax Fine Properties
Appraiser- Sue S. Miller, SRA Miller Pipher, Inc.
Mark Monson, Primary Residential Mortgage
James Voorhees, PMB Branch Sales Manager, Wells Fargo Mortgage Banking
RSVP is required, to events-fntmarketing@fnf.com.
More exciting related news, please watch next week, as we publish details of our new Luxury Marketing package!
Friday, April 29, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
New Short Sale Bill Aims to Speed Up Decision Making Process
The prevalence of short sales and foreclosures, and the process in place now for short sales, which is said to be time-consuming and inefficient, has prompted a new bill to be considered in Congress. On April 12 a bill regarding short sales was introduced into the House of Representatives. H.R. 1498, "Prompt Decision for Qualification of Short Sale Act of 2011", was submitted by Representatives Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) and Robert Andrews (D-N.J.) Its purpose is summarized, "To require the lender or servicer of a home mortgage, upon a request by the homeowner for a short sale, to make a prompt decision whether to allow the sale."
The general idea of the bill is that a mortgage servicer must respond with a decision to a borrower within 45 days from the time the short sale request is received by the servicer.
The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) immediately responded with a supportive press release. NAR President Ron Phipps commented enthusiastically and, according to the release, "praised Reps. Rooney and Andrews for their efforts on the bill and urged Congress to pass the bill quickly." Phipps said, "Streamlining short sales transactions will reduce the amount of time it takes to sell the property, improve the likelihood that the transaction will close and reduce the overall number of foreclosures. This benefits sellers, lenders, buyers and the entire community."
Our own Steve de Laveaga, SVP Sales and Marketing of Fidelity Phoenix comments on this proposed bill:
“There is no doubt this is a step in the right direction, but remember, today, most of our major servicers are at this time frame on current files. There are definitely properties that slip through the cracks but we have seen in our state of Arizona that Bank of America, Wells and Chase have all SIGNIFICANTLY increased their response times and turn times, which has resulted in more buyers and sellers getting deals done and less frustration as well on both sides. Also, what has made one of the biggest differences is the improved knowledge, process and understanding of our Realtors, who have improved here by leaps and bounds!! So, it is a good step by the government to push this forward, but the truth is, the major servicers have worked hard over the last several months with their staff and processes and are drastically improved.
Something the government could assist with is helping our Lenders find a good, jumbo, conventional lending product. We need to be able to lend to folks who want to buy an 800K house and want to put 20% down and get a good rate.”
What are your thoughts about this new bill? We’d love to hear your comments.
The general idea of the bill is that a mortgage servicer must respond with a decision to a borrower within 45 days from the time the short sale request is received by the servicer.
The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) immediately responded with a supportive press release. NAR President Ron Phipps commented enthusiastically and, according to the release, "praised Reps. Rooney and Andrews for their efforts on the bill and urged Congress to pass the bill quickly." Phipps said, "Streamlining short sales transactions will reduce the amount of time it takes to sell the property, improve the likelihood that the transaction will close and reduce the overall number of foreclosures. This benefits sellers, lenders, buyers and the entire community."
Our own Steve de Laveaga, SVP Sales and Marketing of Fidelity Phoenix comments on this proposed bill:
“There is no doubt this is a step in the right direction, but remember, today, most of our major servicers are at this time frame on current files. There are definitely properties that slip through the cracks but we have seen in our state of Arizona that Bank of America, Wells and Chase have all SIGNIFICANTLY increased their response times and turn times, which has resulted in more buyers and sellers getting deals done and less frustration as well on both sides. Also, what has made one of the biggest differences is the improved knowledge, process and understanding of our Realtors, who have improved here by leaps and bounds!! So, it is a good step by the government to push this forward, but the truth is, the major servicers have worked hard over the last several months with their staff and processes and are drastically improved.
Something the government could assist with is helping our Lenders find a good, jumbo, conventional lending product. We need to be able to lend to folks who want to buy an 800K house and want to put 20% down and get a good rate.”
What are your thoughts about this new bill? We’d love to hear your comments.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Green Real Estate
Environmental protection has gained the support of the population at large. Living green is no longer a fad, nor a trendy “statement” or “alternative lifestyle”. According to the Green Outlook 2009: Trends Driving Change, McGraw-Hill Construction, green real estate is altering fundamental market dynamics, with 70% of home buyers saying they were more inclined to buy a green home in a down economy than a non-green home.
The benefits range from tangible, i.e. financial and tax-related, to the less empirical, i.e. better health and quality of life.
There is a laundry list of tax rebates and other financial incentives designed to encourage individuals and businesses to go the greener mile. At the federal level in the U.S., individuals can reap the rewards of no less than eight different financial incentives ranging from tax credits and home loans for replacing windows and installing insulation around the house to tax rebates for hooking up a solar hot water heater.
Besides these federal incentives, nearly every U.S. state has additional state or local incentives available. Many require utilities to rebate consumers who save electricity. Some utilities even offer “net metering,” whereby consumers who generate some of their power through rooftop solar panels or other technologies can sell electricity back to the utility, thus reducing or zeroing out their electric bill—even earning money.
Both residential and commercial buildings retain a higher resale value if they include sustainable design components. The value to prospective buyers comes from knowing their utility and maintenance costs will be lower in green buildings that outperform non-green buildings.
There are various avenues for learning green real estate concepts, principles, practices and benefits from the ground up, and that offer “Green designation”. The tipping point has occurred and green, sustainable real estate is here to stay. As more and more people (including many home buyers!) are adopting a personal responsibility to "think globally and act locally" as environmental stewards of planet Earth, there has never been a better time for real estate professionals to become ambassadors in this ever-changing green world.
Are you incorporating green practices in your business, we’d love to hear about it!
The benefits range from tangible, i.e. financial and tax-related, to the less empirical, i.e. better health and quality of life.
There is a laundry list of tax rebates and other financial incentives designed to encourage individuals and businesses to go the greener mile. At the federal level in the U.S., individuals can reap the rewards of no less than eight different financial incentives ranging from tax credits and home loans for replacing windows and installing insulation around the house to tax rebates for hooking up a solar hot water heater.
Besides these federal incentives, nearly every U.S. state has additional state or local incentives available. Many require utilities to rebate consumers who save electricity. Some utilities even offer “net metering,” whereby consumers who generate some of their power through rooftop solar panels or other technologies can sell electricity back to the utility, thus reducing or zeroing out their electric bill—even earning money.
Both residential and commercial buildings retain a higher resale value if they include sustainable design components. The value to prospective buyers comes from knowing their utility and maintenance costs will be lower in green buildings that outperform non-green buildings.
There are various avenues for learning green real estate concepts, principles, practices and benefits from the ground up, and that offer “Green designation”. The tipping point has occurred and green, sustainable real estate is here to stay. As more and more people (including many home buyers!) are adopting a personal responsibility to "think globally and act locally" as environmental stewards of planet Earth, there has never been a better time for real estate professionals to become ambassadors in this ever-changing green world.
Are you incorporating green practices in your business, we’d love to hear about it!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
First Quarter Brings Positive Changes to the Market
Steve de Laveaga, SVP Fidelity Phoenix, tells the story.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Strengthening Our Community and Helping Others
Believing Business has a powerful role to play in strengthening our communities, Fidelity National Title maintains a culture of service and an authentic desire to make meaningful social impact that also delivers significant business value.
We are very pleased to be a sponsor for the annual Renewal Hours for Charity Dollars, an event designed to not only allow Arizona agents to obtain their required renewal hours but also designed to raise awareness about Cystic Fibrosis and collectively raise money for the CF Foundation. Every dollar raised during the event series will go directly to the CF Foundation of AZ.
Renewal classes start April 19th, going through May 27th. For more class details, visit http://www.fntarizona.com/, Calendar of Events, or visit us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/fidelityphoenix, and click the Events tab.
Another upcoming event we are pleased to be sponsoring is the first annual Steve Horn Charity Golf Tournament. This event benefits Streetlight PHX, whose mission is to provide safe housing, prevent further risk of exploitation and promote healing for victims of child sex slavery. Although Phoenix is a major tourist town, most people don’t realize it has become a magnet city for child prostitution and human trafficking. Human trafficking is often identified as an overseas issue; however, this nightmare exists in our very own backyard. Nearly 3 years ago a group of individuals began asking a series of “what if” questions: What if Phoenix could become an example to other cities in our nation and around the world of the enormous potential when market place leaders, city leaders, young people, churches, faith based and non-profit organizations work together to eradicate child sex slavery? What if one of our greatest testimonies to society became a unified, loving effort that not only talked about issues of injustice but also helped solve one?
This event takes place April 29th at Kokopelli Golf Club in Gilbert. Registration 6:30a – 7:15a, Shotgun Scramble 7:30a. For more information and to register please visit www.stevehorncharity.org or call 480-706-7215.
We applaud both these efforts and are proud to be a part of these events. Helping people and communities thrive is at the heart of all our community involvement initiatives.
We are very pleased to be a sponsor for the annual Renewal Hours for Charity Dollars, an event designed to not only allow Arizona agents to obtain their required renewal hours but also designed to raise awareness about Cystic Fibrosis and collectively raise money for the CF Foundation. Every dollar raised during the event series will go directly to the CF Foundation of AZ.
Renewal classes start April 19th, going through May 27th. For more class details, visit http://www.fntarizona.com/, Calendar of Events, or visit us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/fidelityphoenix, and click the Events tab.
Another upcoming event we are pleased to be sponsoring is the first annual Steve Horn Charity Golf Tournament. This event benefits Streetlight PHX, whose mission is to provide safe housing, prevent further risk of exploitation and promote healing for victims of child sex slavery. Although Phoenix is a major tourist town, most people don’t realize it has become a magnet city for child prostitution and human trafficking. Human trafficking is often identified as an overseas issue; however, this nightmare exists in our very own backyard. Nearly 3 years ago a group of individuals began asking a series of “what if” questions: What if Phoenix could become an example to other cities in our nation and around the world of the enormous potential when market place leaders, city leaders, young people, churches, faith based and non-profit organizations work together to eradicate child sex slavery? What if one of our greatest testimonies to society became a unified, loving effort that not only talked about issues of injustice but also helped solve one?
This event takes place April 29th at Kokopelli Golf Club in Gilbert. Registration 6:30a – 7:15a, Shotgun Scramble 7:30a. For more information and to register please visit www.stevehorncharity.org or call 480-706-7215.
We applaud both these efforts and are proud to be a part of these events. Helping people and communities thrive is at the heart of all our community involvement initiatives.
Monday, April 11, 2011
A Look At The Phoenix Market
Steve de Laveaga, SVP of Sales & Marketing at Fidelity Phoenix opens the Realty Executives Phoenix Executive Event with a look at the Phoenix market.
Friday, April 8, 2011
5 Tips to Create a Social Media Policy
There’s no doubt about it—social media has evolved. Social media and social networking have gone from a way to connect with high school buddies and swap reviews about the new restaurant in town, to a powerful and viable marketing platform for business. What’s more, social media is growing and changing so fast, it’s hard for anyone to keep up.
Social media presents a great opportunity for real estate firms to leverage their visibility and reach a vastly larger group of people and, in turn, entice those groups to gravitate toward their brokerage.
Real estate firms can get into potential trouble with social media, however, because most brokers have not yet created strategies or documented plans as they have with traditional forms of marketing. In today’s world, where many like to litigate at the drop of a hat, real estate companies have become risk management-savvy as it relates to traditional forms of communication, staying abreast of the laws and interpreting them for agents. When it comes to social media, however, most brokers and managers are in the same part of the learning curve as their agents. The legal risks surrounding social media are uncharted waters for all of us.
The risks inherent in social media run the gamut from minor embarrassment to seriously damaging your firm’s reputation by simply saying something stupid, inadvertently bashing a competitor, posting incorrect information, bad grammar, inappropriate photographs, etc. That’s why the first step in creating a social media policy for your firm must focus on eliminating the “play time” and focusing on the content put forth.
I’m not suggesting you start over; I’m suggesting you go back and amend some things and make some further additions to your current company policy within the subsets that make sense for social media. Whether you call it your “code of content” or professional responsibilities, make it clear that you expect your team to, at all times, be honest and professional in representation of their company as it applies both to offline and online activities.
You need to talk to your team about posting things that are meaningful and thought provoking in a beneficial way that is respectful of viewers and listeners. They also need to be informed that the sharing of information needs to take into consideration the confidentiality issues of consumers, clients and the company. You need to make sure your associates are including sources and disclosures and disclaimers as necessary.
Use the following guidelines in your social media policy for all employees:
1. Sharing information. Explain what is meant by “posting,” then break that down into content, photography, statistics, etc. As it cascades down, make sure agents are being respectful, that their information is correct and that they are providing sources where appropriate.
2. Ethics. Make sure your policy has friendly reminders not to say something about another real estate agent through a Tweet, post, etc. This can always come back to bite you later on.
3. Legal cause and potential liability, such as antitrust. Make sure the policy clearly states that commissions cannot be discussed through social media. All copyright laws, such as those through Google images, must also be enforced.
4. Disclosures and disclaimers. If agents are expressing views more narrow in focus than perhaps the standard opinion, a disclaimer along the lines of, “My personal views do not reflect the views of the company,” might need to be enforced.
5. Approval of social media marketing materials. Just as you have rules governing newspaper ads and newsletter templates, there should also be policies in place regarding blog sites and websites to ensure they meet company standards.
Be sure to keep your company policies concerning social media dynamic, so that you’re able to make timely changes as the medium evolves. Because of the vast exposure involved with social media, brokers must be more proactive to ensure their company always gets painted with the same brush.
Source: RISMEDIA, March 12, 2011
Social media presents a great opportunity for real estate firms to leverage their visibility and reach a vastly larger group of people and, in turn, entice those groups to gravitate toward their brokerage.
Real estate firms can get into potential trouble with social media, however, because most brokers have not yet created strategies or documented plans as they have with traditional forms of marketing. In today’s world, where many like to litigate at the drop of a hat, real estate companies have become risk management-savvy as it relates to traditional forms of communication, staying abreast of the laws and interpreting them for agents. When it comes to social media, however, most brokers and managers are in the same part of the learning curve as their agents. The legal risks surrounding social media are uncharted waters for all of us.
The risks inherent in social media run the gamut from minor embarrassment to seriously damaging your firm’s reputation by simply saying something stupid, inadvertently bashing a competitor, posting incorrect information, bad grammar, inappropriate photographs, etc. That’s why the first step in creating a social media policy for your firm must focus on eliminating the “play time” and focusing on the content put forth.
I’m not suggesting you start over; I’m suggesting you go back and amend some things and make some further additions to your current company policy within the subsets that make sense for social media. Whether you call it your “code of content” or professional responsibilities, make it clear that you expect your team to, at all times, be honest and professional in representation of their company as it applies both to offline and online activities.
You need to talk to your team about posting things that are meaningful and thought provoking in a beneficial way that is respectful of viewers and listeners. They also need to be informed that the sharing of information needs to take into consideration the confidentiality issues of consumers, clients and the company. You need to make sure your associates are including sources and disclosures and disclaimers as necessary.
Use the following guidelines in your social media policy for all employees:
1. Sharing information. Explain what is meant by “posting,” then break that down into content, photography, statistics, etc. As it cascades down, make sure agents are being respectful, that their information is correct and that they are providing sources where appropriate.
2. Ethics. Make sure your policy has friendly reminders not to say something about another real estate agent through a Tweet, post, etc. This can always come back to bite you later on.
3. Legal cause and potential liability, such as antitrust. Make sure the policy clearly states that commissions cannot be discussed through social media. All copyright laws, such as those through Google images, must also be enforced.
4. Disclosures and disclaimers. If agents are expressing views more narrow in focus than perhaps the standard opinion, a disclaimer along the lines of, “My personal views do not reflect the views of the company,” might need to be enforced.
5. Approval of social media marketing materials. Just as you have rules governing newspaper ads and newsletter templates, there should also be policies in place regarding blog sites and websites to ensure they meet company standards.
Be sure to keep your company policies concerning social media dynamic, so that you’re able to make timely changes as the medium evolves. Because of the vast exposure involved with social media, brokers must be more proactive to ensure their company always gets painted with the same brush.
Source: RISMEDIA, March 12, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Steve's Comments on REOMAC
Steve de Laveaga and members of the Fidelity National Title Arizona team are attending the REOMAC conference being held this week in Palm Springs, CA. Below are Steve's observations and comments about the conference. 
This is a very different conference than in years past. There are less Realtors here than in previous years, which shows that unless you have been committed you probably aren't able to do the distressed business. The Real Estate professionals I see here are all first class individuals who have built very talented teams and processes for this space.
We have had two good nights of networking and it is clear that we are seeing a dent made in the Distressed market, and the larger Servicer's are all moving towards a Pre-foreclosure model, of getting to the consumer earlier in the transaction. I am going to say this, the VERY SMART Realtors are the one's who are LISTENING and in turn getting to the front of the transaction as well!!
Thank you to all our Fidelity Arizona and National Partners for joining Fidelity National Title Arizona for a lovely evening at The Parker Hotel. Have a great conference.
Steve de Laveaga
SVP Sales and Marketing FNT Maricopa
This is a very different conference than in years past. There are less Realtors here than in previous years, which shows that unless you have been committed you probably aren't able to do the distressed business. The Real Estate professionals I see here are all first class individuals who have built very talented teams and processes for this space.
We have had two good nights of networking and it is clear that we are seeing a dent made in the Distressed market, and the larger Servicer's are all moving towards a Pre-foreclosure model, of getting to the consumer earlier in the transaction. I am going to say this, the VERY SMART Realtors are the one's who are LISTENING and in turn getting to the front of the transaction as well!!
Thank you to all our Fidelity Arizona and National Partners for joining Fidelity National Title Arizona for a lovely evening at The Parker Hotel. Have a great conference.
Steve de Laveaga
SVP Sales and Marketing FNT Maricopa
Friday, April 1, 2011
Fidelity Marketing Spotlight of the Month - Virtual Tours
If “a picture is worth a thousand words”, than what do you suppose a virtual tour is worth? Do you know that statistics from REALTOR.COM show that listings with multiple photographs and virtual tours get clicked on 40% more than listings without? Do you know that in The 2009 National Association of REALTORS® profile of home buyers and sellers 63% of buyers “deem very useful” virtual tours when searching for homes? According to “How to Photograph Houses by Stan Barron:” “Selling a house is not a real estate function… it is a marketing function, and pretty photographs sell more houses. Think about the marketing used for professional products you are exposed to. Have you ever seen a bad photograph (taken with a point-and-shoot-camera) in an ad for a BMW? Of course not. Ever seen a badly composed shot in a cosmetics ad? Never. Good photographs are worth the effort.” The rewards will be well worth it: you’re branding yourself as the area real estate marketing expert, getting more exposure and noticed by more potential sellers and buyers that will take note of your great photos, superior virtual tour, and expert marketing skills, and thus selling properties faster. Don’t get run-over by those on your heels, those staying abreast of and using the latest and best real estate technology that buyers and sellers demand. However, all that said, buyers that look at these tours want to see the important parts of the house: the kitchen, the bathrooms. They want to get a sense of the flow, so a tour that shows the walk from the entry to the kitchen, from the garage into the house, from the living room out to the yard, and isolated rooms is a waste of bandwidth. There is nothing to be learned from tours like that or dark, distorted or wavy pictures of empty rooms. A bad virtual tour is worse than bad pictures. Is that the image you want representing you, your brokerage, and your marketing skills? Don’t take chances on quality, let Fidelity National Title and Arizona Imaging help you market your listings in the best light; day and night. You’ll have quick turn time, with low res stills sent the morning after shooting, for your review. Unlimited photos are included in all tours, and there are no added costs of membership or hosting fees. With price plans from $59.95 to $299.95, there’s a plan to fit your needs. For more information on this service as well as Fidelity’s suite of other services for you and your listings, go to www.fntarizona.com, or contact your Fidelity sales executive today!