Real Estate Market in 2009

With the global financial crisis, real estate investors are on the lookout for the future of real estate.

The years 2007 and 2008 have been cloaked with a gloomy condition. While it's still early to predict what the real estate market can be in the 2009, there have been early indications of what's in store for us.

Generally, the real estate in 2009 will resemble this picture. Unlike the 30-50 percent declines in the previous years, there will no longer be a noticeable price drop as consumer confidence continues to falter. This seems like doom but there's no other lens to look from.

Luckily for those with a good credit standing, 2009 is the best time to invest in the real estate. This is just one of the few positive things left in 2009.

In states like California, the number of homes for sale will dramatically decrease by 45 percent or even more. This entails a domino effect on the industry. There will be at least 10% layoffs in the construction industry. Fewer homes will also mean fewer sellers.

Banks, as a dominant sector in the real estate, will release REO inventory slowly just to increase housing prices. Due to the increasing pressure experienced by these banks, there will an increase in revenue as they cut losses. Added pressures will also prompt these banks to outmaneuver rules to rent out houses rather than bringing them back to the market. This strategy can help banks raked in profits while waiting for the market to recover from a terrible financial damage. House rentals will also compel banks to furnish these properties.

Just to get ahead of the game, competitors will be featuring various real estate offers. But this does not mean that buyers will get easy on their spending. In this case, it's always cash buyers who win over those who apply for housing loans.

The real estate market in 2009 will have a tougher competition and a few competitors eventually. As a result of this, there will be a few choices left for home buyers. The need for a good negotiator is imperative during this time but the condition seems not to welcome experienced real estate agents since most of them will be leaving the industry.

When it comes to financing, the problem is not only limited to those with existing loans. People applying for loans will have to undergo a rigorous and cumbersome process with their banks. This may force home owners to sell their residential properties and settle as renters.

As to foreclosures, banks may change their rules just to accommodate foreclosed sellers to purchase another house after six months.

The gloomy state of the real estate market is based on facts and current trends. It would wise to keep track of the changes in the industry especially when it comes to new government measures implemented by the new administration. But before you expect for a turn around in the 2009 market, get yourself ready for the danger ahead.

To learn more about real estate. Check out http://www.realestatebright.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tiraton_Athiwat

How Are Real Estate Agents Paid

In Illinois, all real estate agents must be licensed under a sponsoring broker. That sponsoring broker, either an individual or a company, is the only entity that can directly receive income, whether fees or commissions, from the public for conducting real estate transactions. Agents are compensated for income producing activities by their broker.

While an agent may be an employee of the broker, most agents in Illinois work as independent contractors and are paid by commission. This requires, by License Law, an independent contractor agreement between the agent and broker specifying what each will provide to the other and under what terms. Such an agreement provides some tax benefits to both, although probably more to the broker, and allows somewhat more freedom to the agent than would an employment agreement. As an independent contractor the agent is responsible for his/her own taxes and social security liability and nothing is withheld from the commission payments.

There are several models for broker/agent compensation plans, but the most common is some sort of commission split schedule. In some plans, the agent may have a monthly fee payable (desk fee) to the office in return for a set commission split on all agent generated business. Most of the franchise companies (Prudential, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA, etc.) use graduated commission schedules where the agent's split is based on the agent's level of production, although some may also offer desk fee arrangements.

The majority of brokers are members of a Multiple Listing Service through which they offer to share earned commission with other broker members who cooperate in the sale. Most transactions have two sides with a listing broker and selling broker, as well as agents working under each. If an agent is on the listing side (on a 50/50 split agreement) and another agent brings in an acceptable offer, the earned commission would be split four ways:

Sale: $300,000

Agreed Commission: 5%

Amount: $15,000

50% to Selling Broker: $7,500. (split with Selling Agent)

Amount to Listing Broker: $7,500.

50/50 Split: $3,750 to Listing Agent

Typically, as the agent production increases, perhaps on an annual basis, his/her split will advance. While it is common to see productive agents on 70% or more splits, it's important to remember that the sponsoring company needs operating capital and some profit to continue in business. On a commission split program the sponsoring broker will usually bear the cost of rent, secretaries, phones and utilities, company advertising, maintenance, and office equipment to allow the agent to do business with only minimal out of pocket expense. Agent expenses will include things like Realtor® Association fees, local board dues, MLS fees, automobile expense, insurance (usually including a professional liability policy: Errors and Omissions), and individual business promotion expenses.

http://www.prudentcareers.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Cromie

How a Small Mistake Can Cost You a Fortune As a Real Estate Investor

Admit it: One of the main reasons you pulled the trigger on a Real Estate investing career is because of the potential you saw to pull cash in hand over fist over the next year or two as the market works its way through the pile of foreclosed properties. There's nothing wrong with wanting to secure your future and give notice to your boss that he or she will have to learn to get by without you. If you're going to do that, though, you'll have to get an education in real estate investing - and avoid some of the little mistakes that can cost you a fortune.

Some of the gurus like to stand up on the stage and go on and on about how they made mistakes on their way to overwhelming success, and there's no doubt that they're right. Where some of them go wrong is by wasting time giving a long-winded explanation about some huge, complicated mistake that nearly cost them the shirts off their backs.

Big mistakes are bad.

But it's little mistakes that can kill you.

For instance, assuming that all you need to succeed as a Real Estate investor is the little real estate investment course you bought after watching a guru's infomercial late one night when you were too lazy to stand up and walk the three feet to where you left the remote control. Admit it: They talked a good game and they got you - hook, line, and sinker.

The opportunity they told you about is real.

But a little bit of information and a lot of happy crappy isn't enough to make you rich. That little mistake could cost you more than you realize. It might just cause you to lose faith in your dream of real estate riches.

If you want good vibrations, drink Sunkist. If you want explosive Real Estate investing profits, get a real education. Learn more than just a brief overview or outline of real estate investing techniques, because the ability to make big money in real estate centers around how much you know, what you can do, and how you can do it. It doesn't hurt to be motivated to get started, but without a fully loaded arsenal of practical real estate investing knowledge, your options are as limited as your chances of true success.

If at least part of your education in real estate investing doesn't include learning how to actually do a subject to transaction or other common real estate investing techniques, you may as well be marching off to war with some cream cheese icing and an electric mixer instead of a weapon. My point is that when you're trying to invest in real estate you have to know how to do these simple transactions.

little mistake that could cost you a bundle in lost time and current, as well as future, profits, is the thought that a good mentor won't bring enough to the table to be worth the investment.

Not a good thought.

A good mentor can tell you a lot. Like some of the ways he or she managed to lose money in real estate investing. There are hundreds of ways you can structure real estate transactions that could have you whistling all the way to the bank. Unfortunately, there are thousands of ways to lose money in real estate. A mentor can fill you in on some of the gory details that could cost you an arm and a leg.

There are also little tips and tricks you could learn from a mentor that might take you years to learn on your own. Like knowing when to shut up when negotiating with a distressed property owner. In certain situations, your natural inclination will be to fill an uncomfortable silence with small talk or idle chatter.

Did you know that if you would just lean back in your chair and shut your mouth the seller might just concede your point, accept your offer, and you could strut out of their house with a signed agreement in your hand - an agreement that could put tens of thousands of dollars into your pocket?

Little mistakes like these can be reminders that knowledge and experience are critical to your success as a real estate investor. And lacking knowledge and the good judgment that could be passed on to you by a good - or even great - mentor are key ingredients in investing failure.

I know it's only money, but wouldn't you rather it be all the little things you do right that adds thousands to your bottom line rather than a bunch of little mistakes that wind up costing you a deal - or your dreams?

Go ahead, start your investing career. But whatever you do, aim for huge success.

Because little mistakes really stink.

About the Author Sean Flanagan went from dead broke, living off Ramen Noodles and selling used pallets from the roadside for $20 a day, to a self made real estate multimillionaire in under 2 years time. He now shares his secrets with thousands of students across the country. He has a FREE audio course titled 7 Secrets to Making Big Bucks in a Slow Real Estate Market which you can get right now by quickly visiting http://www.yuckyhouseleads.com He also gives away a coaching program for new real estate investors where he offers a risk free trial to prove to new real estate investors how much money they can make with his program at http://www.yuckyhousesystems.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sean_P._Flanagan

Real Estate License

I should point out that in real life, buyers hardly enter into signed agreements with real estate agents.

Most buyers and sellers use the Internet at some point to accomplish real estate research. He same expertise that your clients seek out when they want to plan a savings account for their child"s education, formulate a retirement plan, or protect the value of their estate.

Estate protect

Many home buyers are not abundantly educated about the coverage needed to protect a home or real estate investment. Estate planning consists of assorted actions, with almost all having three primary and oh-so-important purposes: to protect your privacy, to reduce taxes, and to make probate simple for your heirs. When you invest in real estate it is essential that you understand the types of insurance coverage that will best protect your property. We need to brief ourselves in order to protect our clients and our industry against the persistent attacks and ever-changing tactics of real estate con artists.

Estate taxes

If your parents have an estate great enough to be concerned with estate taxes, then they probably won't want to give up that annual exclusion because it would ask for that they use up that much more of their unified credit against estate and gift taxes. The client may also need to do some additional estate planning to meet other important objectives: "Avoiding probate" Reducing or eliminating estate shrinkage" Providing sufficient liquidity to cover estate settlement costs" Minimizing federal estate taxes and state death taxes" Providing for the orderly disposition of a business or professional practice"

Maintaining the family"s lifestyle and meeting other financial security objectives,To avert making mistakes, people need professional advice from a qualified attorney, trust officer, accountant or other financial advisors. Estate planning consists of many actions, with almost all having three primary and oh-so-important purposes: to protect your privacy, to reduce taxes, and to make probate simple for your heirs.

Estate planning consists of many actions, with almost all having three primary and oh-so-important purposes: to protect your privacy, to reduce taxes, and to make probate simple for your heirs. Over a period of time, your house will be transferred entirely to your son without any gift or estate taxes.

It is no secret that estate taxes can claim up to 55% of an estate that is taxable, which is no mystery why so many businesses fall into debt, become bankrupt, or are sold due to the death of the owner or partner.

Estate sales

Being an astounding sales person and entering the real estate market does not guarantee similar sales success. The second level of virtual real estate investing is buying up networks of content sites and focusing the traffic on profitable product lines, affiliate product sales, services of all kinds, and for advertising commissions. It is also important to the real estate and mortgage industries, as each sale earned could generate thousands of dollars in sales commissions.

Christopher Jackson- World Trade Marketing wtmsecured@mail2world.com USA Find real estate listings, realtors, mortgage rates, home loans, condos, town homes, home buying, find commercial property.

http://www.wtm-income.net/real-estate/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_Jackson

The Truth of Real Estate Cliches

By L Eskildsen 

Ever landed on a cliché expression and wondered is there any truth to this statement? Some familiar slogan written on the bathroom walls begins to haunt you... You've heard something so many times it sounds like gibberish but for a moment, you stop to examine its origin... its potential veracity. In real estate there are many such expressions, and it's important to explore them to know what sort of truth, if any, is written on the bathroom walls... and plastered all over the internet, for that matter.

Let's begin with the most reported and repeated phrase in real estate, "Location, location, location". This is the notion that the number one selling point for any property is its location- not the house itself, but the value in the location it sits on. Now, as much as this is the most nauseatingly repeated slogan in the business, much of it stands strong and true. If a market plummets, better locations will never suffer as hard of a hit as other less desirable areas. But, it's important to qualify that along with the truth of this statement, is a contradiction. Sometimes it's better to invest "just next door" to the prime "location, location, location." Many prime neighborhoods become priced out for the average buyer, in which case what is "hot" begins to spread and the "it" location starts to take in other near-by areas.

"Price to sell", is another golden phrase you may have had to choke down in your real estate transactions. This one is certainly true. It seems obvious that you'd want to price anything at the right price in order to move it. But what is not really explored in this hiccup of a phrase, is, what is "the right price"? There are a couple situations that many sellers assume to be "the right way" to price their home. One is to price low, with the desired intent to spark a bidding war. The other idea is to price a house as high as possible- in competition with the highest home on the block.

Both these approaches hold a particular set of problems. A low priced home can have the desired effect of brewing up a feisty bidding war and garnering a winningly high sale price- but only if the market is hot, the home is in pristine condition and located in an incredibly desirable neighborhood. Oftentimes in such a situation the seller is simply stuck with a serious of low ball offers that undermine his or her expectations.

If a seller prices too high, they run the risk of the property sitting for a long time and then eventually having to cut the price down the line. None of this bodes well for the reputation of the home in the eyes of buyers agents. An overpriced home can be an instant turn-off to clients and eventually agents won't bother showing it. In the eyes of sellers, a home that has been "just reduced" begs the questions, " why reduced?.. "what's wrong with it?"

So, with pricing it's a matter of consulting an expert to get that "right price." Have your home appraised by numerous realtors and get a detailed history of what other properties in your neighborhood have sold for in the past while. From here, you can really assess how your home stacks up and what is going to be "the right price" to sell your home as quickly as possible, and for a price your happy with.

How about, "But the worst house on the best street". So again, there is a whole lot of truth buried in this repeated catch phrase. When you buy the best house on the best street, there's not a whole lot you can do to quickly leverage your investment. It's already the best house on the best street. If, however you're lucky enough to score the worst house on the best street, then your sweat equity and improvements should pay off. There is already a high constant value in the home's, "location, location, location." All you have to do is improve the property itself.

But to play devils advocate, this may not ring true if you are categorically against putting any improvement time and money into the house in question. The worst house on the street is not going to do much for you if you just sit there and do nothing. This truism, is only as true as the work you put into making lemons into lemonade- and transforming that worst house on the street into, at the very least, " no-longer the worst house on the street."

Let Leslie Eskildsen, REALTOR for Coldwell Banker Previews, help you with your Orange County real estate needs. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=L_Eskildsen

Philadelphia Real Estate - Buy Or Sell

By Noah Ostroff

What is the current state of the Philadelphia Real Estate Market? Is it time to buy or time to sell? In the first quarter of 2008, employment declined by 20,385 jobs in January and February. The job losses brought about an increase in the average monthly unemployment rate from 5.8% in the first quarter to 7% for the first two months of the second quarter. Despite the job losses, the job situation still remains strong in Philadelphia County. Combined with historically low mortgage rates, home sales should continue at a strong pace. (trendmls)

According to the economic data report from trend mls, the average price for a home in Philadelphia went up to $188,000 from $184,200 in the previous quarter. Their are currently 10,194 homes on the market, with 2791 homes sold in the 1st quarter of 2008. There were also 44 new homes built, which was down a bit from last quarter where their were 87 new homes built. It is also taking a bit longer to sell a home these days, with buys having more to choose from, they are shopping around for the best deal now. The average days on the market from the time a home was listed to the time it has sold went up to 74 days from 65 days the previous quarter.

Philadelphia has not been hit as hard as some of the other major cities in the US. The Philadelphia real estate market is actually a great market right now for buyers. On a scale from 1-5 with 1 being a buyers market, and 5 being a sellers market, the Philadelphia market is ranked at a 2, which means it is a good buyers market right now. There are alot of really great deals out there and with sellers pushing their prices down to be competitive, homes are selling much faster than a year ago.

If you would like to find out more information about specific zip codes and the detailed statistics at each of the zip codes, please send an email to nostroff@cbpref.com or click here Noah Ostroff Coldwell Banker Preferred Licensed PA Realtor http://www.cbpref.com Coldwell Banker Preferred is a real estate agency specializing in residential and commercial sales for buyers and sellers in the Philadelphia and surrounding areas. Noah Ostroff nostroff@cbpref.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Noah_Ostroff

Prudential Carolina Changes to Carolina One Real Estate

By Lee Keadle 

Prudential Carolina Real Estate, the largest real estate company in Charleston, recently changed its name to Carolina One Real Estate. The company opted not to renew its 10 year franchise agreement with Prudential which was coming up this year. The name change officially took place May 1. A month after this transition, Carolina One is still the top real estate company in Charleston and has received overwhelming support from its agents as well as its clients.

The company's 16 offices and almost 900 agents will still operate primarily the same way as before the transition. However, the company will now have more flexibility to incorporate new ideas into the local real estate market. It will also have more national and international networking opportunities, which is important since Charleston's real estate market has gained more of a global presence in the past five or so years. Getting more exposure should encourage more growth in Charleston's real estate market, which is already considered one of the top markets in the country.

Carolina One Real Estate will be affiliated with the Chicago-based Leading Real Estate Companies of the World. This network recruits real estate companies that are established and that already have a good market share within their areas. Carolina One's new network boasts 700 successful real estate companies and approximately 145,000 agents which make up 5,000 offices in 38 countries.

In a business that thrives on independence and local connections, Carolina One has made a name for itself in the Charleston real estate market by having the most closed sales of any company for the past 11 years. Carolina One has gained this position through hard work and a strong focus on customer service. Carolina One will use the good reputation it has earned along with its new affiliation to give its customers the best service possible.

Visit our Carolina One website to learn about Charleston and South Carolina real estate in general. We have all 18 of Charleston's areas, including the most popular, the Mt. Pleasant real estate market! Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Keadle