Real Estate News for Tuesday, August 29th, 2006

Glitzy high-end homes are the real stars of 'Listing'. If real estate listings are the new pornography, then ``Million Dollar Listing" should be rated triple-X. Mind you, this new Bravo reality series does stuff a bit of a plot in between its explicit homes-with-views action, just to warm things up. It's cast with a crew of Malibu and Hollywood realtors who sweet-talk one another and kiss-kiss their wealthy clients. But we know that all along they're just dying to show their goods, finalize their sales, make their commissions. Source.

House Real Estate Hearings - Prosecution Rests And Defense Steps Up. It is often overlooked by critics that real estate is a success based business. If a seller does not sell his house or a buyer does not purchase one, their agents receive 0% commission regardless of the time and money invested. Even when a commission is received, it often comes some months after the time or money is expended. Both Lewis and Ms. Vredeycogd-Combs cited recent studies that indicate commissions have been trending down - going from 6.1 percent in 1991 to the current average of 5.1 percent. The median gross income for real estate professionals has decreased 6 percent notwithstanding that agents receive no healthcare or retirement benefits. On a net basis, the average agent salary is lower than that of school teachers who receive benefits and work only nine months a year. This is because of the large increase in the number of agents entering the industry. NAR, he said, reported a 26 percent increase in membership over the past two years and a 40 percent increase over the past five years. There are now 2.6 million licensed agents in the U.S., one for every 115 people. Mr. Lewis probably made the most cogent arguments of any of those testifying at the hearings. If you can, take the time to read his entire prepared statement HERE. Source.

Real estate flipping declines in California. Report cites fewer opportunities for fast money. The "flipping" of homes in California declined to its lowest level in more than three years, according to HomeSmartReports.com, a company that offers information on real estate sales trends and property values. Investors are apparently pulling back, and "chances for a quick turnaround and profit are diminishing," according to a company statement. Source.



Housing Truth from Main Street. An interesting blog by Sheldon Liber who insists that there is no housing bubble and that there is always a need for real estate. It's always nice to have a variety of opinions out there. That is the greatest thing about the internet. Source.

Mexican resort areas boom in soft real estate market. Cooling U.S. market hasn't stopped wealthy investors from setting up shop in Mexico. n the past, foreigners have been wary of investing in Mexico because of legal problems, corruption and red tape. But changes in Mexican laws have made it easier for foreigners to own property through bank trusts. Major U.S. companies have begun offering mortgages and title insurance. Mexico also is drawing more attention from Europe. Last year, Spanish companies were the top investors in the tourist industry, pumping $416 million into resort properties. U.S. investors followed with $321 million, according to the tourism agency. Source.

Yahoo rolls out a more comprehensive property site. Yahoo Inc. is upgrading its real estate site with a range of new features including current U.S. home valuations and aerial neighborhood views, the Internet media leader said on Tuesday. The refreshed Yahoo Real Estate site (http://realestate.yahoo.com) gives users access to data on 3 million real estate listings, mainly from Prudential Real Estate, and comparative data on up to nearly 50 million homes from online property research start-up Zillow.com of Seattle. Source.

Big inventory of unsold homes. Experts say it's return to normal after boom. The inventory of unsold new homes in Southern California soared to its highest level since 1990 by the end of the second quarter, according to a report that will be released Wednesday, and construction activity has dropped dramatically as builders adjust to the slowing market. At the end of June, there were 16,595 new houses and condominiums for sale from Santa Barbara County to San Diego County (excluding Imperial County), up 171 percent from the end of July 2005, according to a report that will be released by the Real Estate Research Council at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. That's the biggest supply overhang since 20,942 new homes languished on the market at the end of 1990, said Michael Carney, the council's executive director. The record inventory is 32,191 new properties in the middle of 1982. In Los Angeles County, the unsold new home inventory rocketed an annual 375 percent, to 1,975 properties at the end of June. That's the most since 2,054 new homes were on the market at the end of 1995. The most distress, however, is in San Diego County, where a record 6,927 properties were on the market at the end of June. Eighty-four percent are attached units, probably most of them condominiums, Carney said. Southern California now accounts for 3 percent of the unsold new home inventory in the U.S. and 14 percent in the West. Source.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
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