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According to the June Pending Home Sales Index released by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), contract signings are down a marginal 0.4 percent to versus prior month. Pending sales were still nearly 11 percent greater than those of a year ago.  Therefore, industry professionals and homebuyers, remain optimistic about overall market conditions. Housing demand is still strong and improving, however a jump in interest rates in concert with higher home values, lowered affordability according to the NAR. Interest rates were historically low for many months before the spike in May, and NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun noted the negative impact  on home affordability. Many regions— still suffer with inadequate existing home resale inventory.

In commenting on the June Pending Home Sales Index, Yun pointed out that a contract doesn’t always equal a closing. Buyers generally get pre-approved with a lender up front, but may wait to lock in their interest rate until they are under contract and clear to close on their home. This is sometimes as late as two weeks before the closing date. “Some homebuyers may change their minds if the rate rises too much, which apparently happened with some sales scheduled to close in June,” Yun said.

Indeed, if a buyer’s rate rises too much, the loan payments can increase to the point where the home under contract simply isn’t affordable anymore, especially if the buyers are already pushing the debt-to-income ratio on the loan. The latest Pending Home Sales Index report reiterated that most markets across the U.S. continue to experience a shortage of housing inventory. With fewer homes to buy there may be fewer contracts executed.

In this month’s Pending Home Sales Index report, NAR forecasts an 8 percent increase in home sales over 2012, and a median price bump of 11 percent. Projections are based on year to date data and expectations of steady pending contracts for the remainder of 2013.

For more information on First Preston HT, visit our website at FirstPrestonHT.com. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.

Sources:
1) http://www.realtor.org/news-releases/2013/07/pending-home-sales-slip-in-june

Technology for real estate has revolutionized the buyer’s shopping experience and transformed the sales and marketing process for real estate professionals. Inman News bridges the technology divide with Inman Agent Reboot, an exceptional series of events showcasing technology for real estate industry professionals. Last month we participated in the Dallas venue where we captured tons of technology for real estate tips, tried out several of them and decided to share our favorites. There were so many outstanding tips and techniques we opted to present them in a 3-part series. This is the second in the series. The focus here is on video marketing tools that deliver the wow. 

Video Marketing Tools

• BombBomb
  • Facilitates video emails, either singularly or as drip marketing campaigns.
  • Referenced glowingly several times during the conference.  Visit their website for demos.
• Animoto
  • This time-saving power tool doubles as a private video production suite. Subscriber provides photos and video clips and Animoto turns them into an artful video.
  • It elevates virtual tours, captivates city/neighborhood tours and helps to commemorate personal milestones.
  • Background music options are available.
• Videolicious
  • CEO, Matt Singer conducted a training session entitled “How to Create Effective Video.”  It was a fascinating live demo, complete with finished product. He demonstrated how to collect video snippets of key locations in a neighborhood and knit them together with audio narrative to create a cool “insider-neighborhood – walking tour” feel. Very effective. Here are his tips.

Video Marketing Tips:

a) If shooting with a camera phone, shoot with the phone in a horizontal position.
b) Use the “slow pan” technique to cover the target area.
c) Use small, subtle movements.
d) Use a “slow tilt” up and down to demonstrate the height or depth of a space.
e) Avoid overhead lights that can cause shadows. When photographing human subjects, have them face a light source such as a window whenever possible.
f) Consider purchasing a “wide angle lens” for your cellphone camera—costs about $20—to allow broader capture.
g) Turn up the energy! When on camera, rev up your energy level by about 150% versus your normal off-camera demeanor.
h) Use your expertise to add interesting verbal insights that viewers would not otherwise know. Use personalization to showcase best property features (e.g.: I love hosting dinner parties, and this dining room would be awesome for dinner parties!).
i) Use the “book-end approach.” Smile before pressing the “start” button and continue smiling while you press the “stop” button.

Visual Impact Tools That Help You Stand Out:

Cut through the clutter with these visual marketing tools that transform traditional graphics into miniature bill boards.

• Over – Adds visual impact to photos. This app makes it possible to add a message or descriptor directly onto a photo. It uses eye-catching fonts that help the photo tell a captivating story.

• Moo Business Cards  — Multi-function business cards allow cards to do double duty. Create a different image on each card in the deck. Showcase listings, inspiring quotes, or top local restaurants, etc. Moo offers “green business cards,” QR Code Business Cards, Facebook Cards, Luxe Cards, and full color two-sided cards, to name a few. Branded cards look great with listing photos on the reverse side.  While online take a look and see why their Luxe cards truly stand out.

In the next segment on Productivity you will learn how one enterprising broker with 42 agents reduced the  office communications bill from $560 per month to $62 per month.

For information on effective ways to manage institutional or individual portfolios nationwide, or to shop for real estate visit First Preston HT. Don’t forget to ’like’ us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

You can find the first part of our Technology for Real Estate blog series here.