Are You on Active Rain?

If you are a real estate agent, broker, insurance agent or anyone in between, you should be on the ActiveRain network. With over 160,000 members (and counting) ActiveRain is a hub for real estate professionals looking to engage, interact and communicate with one another, just check out my profile. I've received some great responses from some of the articles I've produced. It has certainly helped grow my network.

'The rain' has many useful features. Members can host a blog, create a group, acquire 'associations,' and is great for getting referrals. The more 'active' you are on ActiveRain, the most points you acquire, pushing you to the top of pack in your specific area. Most blog post - if directed at a particular local market - could get you to the top of Google searches as well.

But most of all, ActiveRain is a great place to meet great people and share interesting ideas. And it's FREE. So sign up today and get active!

Square Footage Matters: Largers Homes Headed for Obsolescence?

A recent article on the Wall Street Journal Blog discussed the median household income over the last decade in relation to the average square footage increase of new single family homes. While the median household income has not changed significantly over the last decade, the average square footage has increased dramatically. Square footage matters, and our Housing In Crisis report produced months ago discussed this booming trend:

The Housing in Crisis report indicated that the variance increase in the average to median sale price from 6% to 22% can be most notably attributed to building size. Property data from public records noted that during the recent construction boom, many areas of the country experienced home sizes exceeding 2,200 square feet by the end of 2008.

Essentially, homes got larger while homeowners’ pockets didn’t. Couple this with significant overbuilding and easy lending and the keys to a housing boom are in place. Now with the economy looking towards recovery, this excess of larger homes – or ”McMansions” - could suffer from a demand shortage in some areas. This also forces builders to consider new construction with smaller floor plans to accomodate buyers. Will larger home values drop to meet demand? Are we seeing a halt to larger construction for some time? These answers remain to be seen.

What is certain is that square footage matters. As the market begins correction, the basic economic laws of supply and demand should return back to balance.

Housing Market Wrap-Up

More Home Sellers Cutting Prices
How To Read Between the Lines of Real Estate
Housing Bottom – Oh Really?
Enroll into AccuriZ and Receive a Free Trial
Foreclosure Stabilize in August, but Borrowers Still Late
Housing In Crisis
Insiders at Toll Brothers Continue to Dump Shares Ahead of Reported Housing Recovery
Mortgage Assistance Program
Real Estate is Cyclical, Seasonal and Emotional

Summer Breather: Positive News leads to Increased Confidence

White pants and white shoes go in the closet after Labor Day!

And so should the commentary we have become addicted to over the last six months regarding the Real Estate Market. The rhetoric of “worse is to come” claiming the headlines should be replaced with the optimism of a full fledged recovery in 2010.

I have presented several blog posts during the past eight weeks dealing with Housing in Crisis, Mortgage Assistance Programs and most notably the Cyclical and Seasonal real estate markets. Our efforts to attain over 40 million public records covering the top 100 MSA’s has been successful, yielding positive results that analyze actual property data and sales activity, not a tracking index.

Because real estate is complex, many analysts seek a simple solution to explain the patterns of buying and selling activity. But there is no simple solution; given that location and square footage are two critical elements that affect property values.

We have received over 100 comments to our blogs which tend to agree with this. So my challenge to those who follow our posts is to join in and become more Active! Your comments do not just reach us; they reach other members who can benefit from your insight and guidance.
Opinions on the real estate market will only change when more analyses of public records and the property data associated with those records are presented and accepted by the blogosphere. This is not a small block of users that can be ignored.

Sure, there remain problems in the market. Sure, appraisers are being conservative. And yes, some agents may be crossing the line. But the bottom line is this:

Positive News leads to increased confidence. Increased confidence will lead to more sales and thus all Real Estate Agents benefit. We are headed towards a housing recovery and we need to announce it. So submit a blog post or comment where you have experienced something positive in the past three months or what you see ahead.

You can make a difference!