With all the news (or is it hype?) about foreclosures and short sales, it’s not surprising the topic generated a lot of interest from MAAR members with more than 100 attending a panel discussion today in the MAAR Education Center. The panel - made up some local experts on both topics includeing Jeff Burress of Crye-Leike, Bonnie Garrison of Magna Bank, Kim Hairrell of Crye-Leike, and Joe Kirsch of the Law Office of Shapiro & Kirsch - spent more than an hour and a half discussing issues and answering questions related to short sales and foreclosures.

While foreclosure statistics seem to be a hot topic of debate, according to MAARdata numbers there were 2,198 foreclosure sales recorded in Shelby County during the first four months of 2008, a 12.1% increase from the same period in 2007.

The panelists covered a lot of material; here are some of the highlights:

• When working with a seller who might be in a short sale situation, find out as early as possible in the process. The seller’s lender must agree to a short sale and that process takes time.
• When a lender has a agreed to a short sale, the listing agent should consider any MLS rules that might apply and consider getting the seller’s permission to disclose the potential short sale in the REALTOR® remarks section of the MLS listing.
• It’s often more difficult to complete a short sale on a home with a second mortgage. In those cases not only one but two lenders have to agree to take less than what they’re owed.
• When working as a buyer’s agent on a short sale or foreclosure, it can take longer to get an offer accepted as it requires the bank’s approval. Bank personnel are often working with hundreds of cases at once so don’t assume yours is their first priority.
• In cases where mortgage insurance is involved, a deal can fall through even when the lender agrees because the mortgage insurer won’t accept the terms of the sale.
• Banks are not like other sellers - they’re not likely to negotiate on offers that are much below the dollar amount that they must net in the sale.
• Cash buyers are not necessarily more attractive to a bank in a short sale or foreclosure situation - don’t assume they can offer much less just because they’re paying cash. The banks don’t care where the money is coming from.
• Working with foreclosures requires a big investment of the listing agent’s time and money - they act as property managers and any maintenance expenses come out of their pocket up front.
• In a foreclosure auction, the opening bid is always from the bank or investor who owns the property.

And these points are just the tip of the iceberg. The National Association of REALTORS® offers several resources for members online, and a good starting point is the Field Guide to Short Sales and Field Guide to Foreclosures. MAAR is also offering a class specifically on short sales on Friday, August 8, from 9 a.m. to noon.

There are approximately 16,000 active listings in the MAAR MLS and approximately 4,600 active users.  While the math indicates that each MLS subscriber is carrying approximately 3.5 listings, we all know that just isn’t true.  Few subscribers have many listings.  Many subscribers have few.  Some have none.  Getting a listing is often a very competitive process.  So why are so many listings hidden?  Are you hiding yours from being found in searches in and out of the MLS? 

Public Fields:  The Public Remarks field is for describing the property.  You only have 255 characters so make them count!  Public Remarks are NOT for phone numbers, email address, websites, agent names or any other contact information.  Not only is it a MLS rules violation to place contact information in the Public Remarks field, it is a kiss of death for the listing.  Other MLS subscribers are far more reluctant to share these properties with their clients.  Often subscribers will hand pick them out of the group of listings they select for buyers to look at.  Why you ask?  It’s quite simple.  Any MLS subscriber using the MLS should be able to send a Buyer Report to his or her client without revealing at that time who the listing subscriber is.  For that same reason, Virtual Tours in the MLS must be non-branded. 

Directions & Maps:  Whenever a subscriber enters a listing in the MLS system, they are automatically provided the opportunity to verify that listing’s location on a MLS system map.  If it is incorrectly mapped, they can correct it.   Maps aren’t perfect.  They’re never as up to date as we want them to be.  But why would a subscriber entering a listing not take an additional 30 seconds to make sure their property is mapped correctly?  Again, are you hiding your listing? 

The MLS system now has a required field for directions.  That means you cannot enter a listing without completing that field.  So do it, especially if the listing is in a poorly mapped area.  Right now gasoline is almost $4.00 a gallon.  No one wants to ride around on a wild goose chase.  This is not only a courtesy to your REALTOR® colleagues, but also an opportunity to sell a home.  No one can show it if they can’t find! 

Spelling:  Collierville has 4 “L’s”.  Bartlett has three “T’s”, one of which is after the “R”.  Your property will never be found on a city search in the MLS, Realtor.com, one of the 2000 IDX sites or 15 syndication sites if you misspell the name of the city.  Here’s a tip: AUTOPOP!!!  If you use the Tax Autopop when entering a listing in Shelby, Fayette or Tipton Counties, the system will take care of correctly adding the following fields: City name, Parcel ID, Map#, coordinate, Street#, Street Name, Street Suffix, State, Zip Code, Bedrooms, Baths, # of Rooms, # of Stories, # of Fireplaces, Year Built, Garage or Carport, # of Covered Parking, Parking Attached or Detached, Acreage, Lot Size, Lot#, MAAR Subdivision, Legal Subdivision and City & County Tax. 

Putting good, clean data in the MLS is so important.  It leads to reports being sent to prospects, showings being scheduled and most importantly For Sale signs being replaced by Just Sold signs.  Do yourself and your colleagues a favor and spread the word:  Stop Hiding Your Listings.

Last Thursday evening, May 22, approximately 100 MAAR members gathered in the Education Center to celebrate those who have given back to the community.  The Community Service Awards were first established in 2004 to honor members who selflessly devote their time and energy to various non-profits and other organizations in the greater Memphis community.  At this 5th Annual Community Service Award event, nine REALTOR® and REALTOR-ASSOCIATES® and two Affiliate members were honored by their colleagues.  The nominees were as follows:

REALTOR®/REALTOR-ASSOCIATE® Category:

• Felix Bishop, Crye-Leike
• Brenda Hampton, Crye-Leike
• Donald Higgins, Crye-Leike
• Denise Martin, Prudential Collins-Maury
• Lynn Pfund, Keller Williams
• Bertha Pitts, Crye-Leike
• Jo Shaner, Keller Williams
• John Thompson, Germantown Properties
• Carlo van Rantwyk, Crye-Leike

Affiliate Category:

• Mary Davis, Howard Davis Appraisals
• Judy Stanley, Crump Mortgage

The REALTOR® winner for 2008 is Jo Shaner, who brings excitement and enthusiasm to every volunteer effort she undertakes.  Jo is involved with several organizations, including Youth Villages, the St. Vincent de Paul Soup Kitchen, Habitat for Humanity and KW Cares. 

Judy Stanley was honored as the Affiliate member winner for 2008.  Judy has been a member of the U.S. Naval Reserve for eight years, and works with the St. Jude Marathon, Grace Place Ministries- Mark Luttrell Federal Prison for Women, the Alzheimer’s Association of Memphis, American Cancer Society and Habitat for Humanity.  She is also active on the boards of the Mid-South Fair, National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, and the Auto Zone Liberty Bowl. 

Last week, thousands of REALTORS® converged upon Washington, DC for the NAR Mid-Year Meetings.  One of the main purposes of the Mid-Year Meetings is to address legislative and political issues facing the real estate industry.  In order to advance our legislative agenda, REALTORS® from every state in the country visit with their Senators and Congressmen on Capitol Hill.  If you have never been on the Hill with the REALTORS® before, it is truly a sight to see!  REALTOR® professionals are everywhere you look - sharing their expertise with their elected officials to help Congress make informed decisions as it passes legislation that greatly affects our industry. 

 This year we carried three main messages to Congress:

1. Enact Housing Stimulus Legislation
2. Improve Access to Affordable Insurance
3. Enact Small Business Health Care Legislation

I think we can all agree that the real estate industry is a little different than it was two years ago.  In order to breathe new vitality into our market, we asked Congress to pass FHA and GSE reform.  We need legislation that will make FHA more flexible, preserve the missions of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and make the temporary higher loan limits permanent.  Additionally, if Congress is going to pass a housing tax credit - they need to do it soon and make it available for any property that is purchased as a principal residence.

While we were in DC, the Senate passed the House’s Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act.  This bill should now be on its way to the President for signature.  We also asked Congress to enact legislation that will enhance the availability and affordability of homeowner’s insurance, especially in disaster-prone areas.

Finally, we again requested action on legislation concerning health insurance coverage for small business owners and REALTORS®.  This is new legislation that has been reworked to remove the objections that several Congressmen have had in the past. 

There is a reason that we say “If real estate is your business, then politics is your profession!” I hope you will join us in future years as we converge on Capitol Hill to carry the collective REALTOR® voice and have a say in the legislation and regulation that so affects our industry and livelihoods.

I am in Washington, DC at the National Association of REALTORS® Midyear meeting. The electricity of politics is in the air, and although this is one of my favorite tourist towns, instead of spending half a day tomorrow in the Air and Space Museum, I will join my fellow REALTORS® on Capitol hill lobbying our Senators and Representatives. Major talking points:

1. FHA Reform
2. GSE (Government Sponsored Enterprises) Reform - You have heard of our quasi-governmental cousins Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, of course
3. Homebuyer Tax Credits
4. National Flood Insurance Program
5. Affordable Property and Casualty Insurance
6. Small Business Health Insurance

More details, and tourist pictures later… I have to go deep into the ground to catch a quiet, fast train.

Do higher gas prices have anything to do with a decline in real estate sales prices? According to this report from CEOs for Cities, they do have an impact, especially on homes in outlying suburbs and in metro areas with weak central cities.

In the report, Driven to the Brink: How the Gas Price Spike Popped the Housing Bubble and Devalued the Suburbs, Joseph Cortright lays out how the run up in gas prices in the past few years corresponded with the popping of the housing bubble.

Between 1990 and 2004 the price of gas was essentially unchanged in inflation-adjusted terms, making a longer commute from your new home in the suburbs a non-issue, at least from a financial standpoint. Today’s gas prices averaging more than $3.50 a gallon is pinching all consumers, but likely weighs more heavily on those metropolitan areas and suburbs where people have to drive the farthest.

As such, the report found that while there is overall weakness in housing prices, price declines are generally more severe in cities and neighborhoods that require lengthy commutes and provide few transportation alternatives to driving your own vehicle.

Looking at housing values in five cities in both close-in and distant neighborhoods, the researchers found that in each case, housing prices fared worse in the more distant neighborhood. In Portland, the price of an average house in the 97202 ZIP code (3 miles from the central business district downtown) increased 7.7% from the fourth quarter 2006 to the fourth quarter 2007. During the same period, the average house in suburban Vancouver, Ore. (13.6 miles from the central business district) saw a price decline of 8.4%.

In concluding his report, Cortright offers five policy implications for leaders in all communities:

• The relative decline in prices in sprawling suburbs is likely to persist because of the continued high price of gas, and governments should plan accordingly.
• The market for higher density and redevelopment in close-in neighborhoods is likely to grow stronger, and local land use plans should accommodate this shift.
• Government can help families save money by making it easy and convenient to live in mixed-use, close-in neighborhoods served by transit.
• Reducing vehicle miles traveled not only saves families money, households that drive less have more to spend on other things, stimulating the local economy. Additionally, reducing oil consumption not only cuts greenhouse gas emissions but lowers the trade deficit.
• Many distant exurban developments may no longer be economical, and propping up building and homeownership in these areas encourages unsustainable settlement that makes families even more vulnerable to future gas price increases.

Considering that gas prices aren’t likely to fall soon, if ever, this report’s findings have some striking implications, not only for Memphis-area real estate, but the future economic success of our city.

On April 24th, U.S. Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn asked to meet with several members of MAAR to discuss the current housing market in Tennessee and how she could help in Congress.  MAAR President John Snyder, Governmental Affairs Director Aubrie Kobernus, several members of MAAR’s Governmental Affairs committee, and I were able to spend an hour talking frankly with the Congresswoman. We told her what we felt were the most important issues that needed to be addressed to help get our market improving at a faster rate.

We shared with her the importance of pending legislation to allow for lower down payments for FHA loans and risk-based pricing. Another discussion involved the type of information related to real estate markets that’s given to the media out of Washington. The concern we expressed is that they’re using information that basically covers ONLY those markets that are experiencing drastic price reductions. We asked that the representatives of the states that are not seeing the same type of problems be very loud and clear that this information doesn’t cover every market. As we all know quite well, real estate is a local issue that differs no matter where you are.

Other topics of discussion included:

• Tax credits for the purchase of a home
• The merits of a government bailout of the lenders that have bought these bad loans
• Possible legal action against lenders who fraudulently made these loans

It was a great discussion in an hour’s time and we’re hopeful Ms. Blackburn will take some of our ideas back to Washington. We’ll have a chance to reiterate these points in our visits with other Tennessee representatives during the NAR Midyear Legislative Meetings in Washington May 12-17.

The basics of the real estate profession are changing at an ever-accelerating rate.  Consumers are much more knowdegable about the industry and much more aware of what they really want and need.  What is today’s real estate agent doing to ensure they are meeting the wants and needs of the Mid-South consumer?

It seems that almost daily another national real estate website emerges with home sales and value information, sales trends and localized commentary.  With the increasing awareness of Web 2.0, the consumer has  a wide variety of resources beyond realtor.com and real estate company and agent sites.  With more resources, the line blurs between what is factual and what is based on computer models or conjecture.  The most obvious way to pull this information together is with a professional who is out on the streets every day dealing with it.  I have added Real Estate Consultant, Mollie Wasserman’s Warning to my site.  It makes a lot of sense for both practitioners and the public.

Real Estate Internet Warning©
Despite advertising claims to the contrary, the Internet is not an experienced real estate professional. It cannot consult, counsel, advise, apply knowledge of local real estate laws and market conditions, make judgments, own the result, or most importantly, understand your individual goals and needs and care about you as a client. Furthermore, while the Internet can provide information, it cannot interpret it. (used by permission, compliments of Mollie W. Wasserman)       

When I first moved to Memphis five years ago I was surprised at the city’s seemingly low self-esteem. While every city has its negatives, I couldn’t understand why so many who lived here were so down about the city considering all that Memphis has to offer: the incredible history, the music, the museums, the great restaurants - all very accessible to anyone who chooses to take advantage of them.

MPACT Memphis is taking on the challenge of reversing the city’s low self-esteem and they want your help in identifying what makes Memphis unqiue to you. The Uniquely Memphis campaign, which is part of the Memphis Fast Forward initiative, seeks to show Memphians “why Memphis is a wonderful place to live, work and play. The campaign goal is to increase the level of civic pride and create a mentality that is positive about the future of the community.”

So what do you like about Memphis? What do you enjoy about our community that you haven’t found anywhere else? When people ask you about Memphis, what’s the one thing you always rave about? Let MPACT know.