Some of Arizona’s most Successful Agents call John Hall & Associates home.
Monthly Archives: May 2010
God Bless the Fallen
Happy Memorial Day to all our readers.
Greater Phoenix Short Sale Market Report
For last week’s short sale seminar Old Republic Title commissioned Michael Orr to create a special report explaining the state of the short sale market in greater Phoenix. The report has been posted to Old Republic’s NewLeading EdgeUcation.com website. Here’s a direct link to the 10 page pdf.
Have a safe Memorial Day weekend.
Are you ready for a Hands-On Facebook Class?
Come one come 25 (aka max capacity) to a Facebook Workshop at the Tatum and Shea John Hall & Associates office. Chicago Title’s Bill Risser and Lisa Capes will be teaching this workshop to REALTORS® interested in…
- Privacy Settings
- Creating Friend “Lists” (allows for easier privacy controls)
- Creating a Business Page (aka Like Page (previously known as Fan Page))
- Setting your custom URL (facebook.com/yournamehere)
Since this is a hands on workshop, please bring your laptop and be ready to work. If you need help accessing the wireless internet, please be courteous to the rest of the class and arrive early. This is an open office meeting, all REALTORS® are welcome, not just John Hall & Associates REALTORS®.
When: June 2, 2010 10am-Noon
Please RSVP here. <–facebook event link
Should I use Diverse Solutions or Listingbook?
[Clarification: There are many more products available for IDX than the two mentioned, but this agent asked about these two specifically. For a list of others, go here.]
I recently received this email (minus the links)…
Hi Phil,
Great photos of the golf tournament! Wish I could have been there.
Are you able to briefly explain the difference / advantage of DsSearch Agent from Diverse Solutions vs. Listingbook? I understand they both have the “free99” model. One thing I like about DS is that if a prospect is doing their own search, they have a map view to see how where the property is located. This helps avoid doing further research when it is not the part of the city they want to be in.
Do you find one is a stronger contender for Buyers vs. Sellers, or do they provide equal help? It appears to me that DS is better for Buyers, and Listingbook helps both, but perhaps more geared to Sellers?
Thanks for any feedback you know or may have heard from other Realtors.
As I was writing my response, I thought this Q&A would be a good fit for the blog. I asked permission to turn it into a blog post and it was granted! Cue the response…
The biggest difference (besides the design/user interface) is that Diverse Solutions product is public facing. The listings are displayed to the world without needing an account. This helps you build a friendlier website. With their pay for product you can display listings for a particular area on a particular page. For example, if you have a page on your website geared towards Scottsdale Condos, you can actually display all condos that are for sale in Scottsdale to your web visitors. No need for them to log-in to see the listings.
Listingbook is not public facing. No one can see any listings without first creating an account. This comes with some benefits because once people are logged-in you can track what they are looking for and what listings they view. It then sends you a daily report updating you on the users’ activity. The Listingbook product also has extra statuses – pendings and solds – so users have access to more listings than any other product (as far as I know).
They both have pros and cons, they can both be used for buyers and sellers. I don’t think you need to choose one or the other, use them both. One strategy may be to use diverse solutions for your public website, and use listingbook as an exclusive private area for your clients.
I know there are REALTORS® out there using both public IDX websites and portal products like listingbook or flexmls. My question to you is HOW? Do you use one for sellers and one for buyers? Do you pick who uses what or just link them both from your website? Let’s help each other figure out the best way to do it.
2010 MDA Charity Golf Classic Wrap-Up
Another successful charity golf tournament to raise money for the Arizona Chapter of MDA. On May 10th, 2010 we had 110 golfers, a number of sponsors and a troop of volunteers show up at Troon North Golf Club just after sunrise. It was our annual John Hall & Associates Golf Classic for MDA and we were able to raise $19,800!
Special thanks to all sponsors!
Lunch Sponsor
Stewart Title
Gold Sponsors
Arizona Republic
Cobra Solutions
Fidelity National Title
Carr Group / Service One Home Warranty
Thomas, Thomas & Markson, P.C.
Silver Sponsors
AmTrust Bank
Superlative
The Talon Group
Bronze Sponsors
Old Republic Title
Counsel Mortgage Group
Suburban Mortgage
PrimeLending
Hole-in-One Sponsor
Arrowhead Harley-Davidson
Congratulations to the Winners!
1st Place
Ryan Horner
Scott Johnson
Pat Holden
Justin Gilham
2nd Place
Bill Sahaar
Kathy Sahaar
Peter Sahaar
Billy Mason
3rd Place
Evan Carr
Dan Stewart
Tommy Moore
Kurt Saulnier
Closest to the Pin
#2 Chris Adams
#7 Bill Mason
#13 Jim Shady
Hit The Green Contest
#13 Jerry Calley
#16 Shane Higginbotham
#7 Kathy Sahaar
Longest Putt Contest
Tracy Tolleson
Tom Boyles
Tom Martinell
Chuck Quigg
Opportunity Drawing
6 Day/5 Night Stay Los Cabos Golf Resort – Joel O’Desky
50′ HD TV – Michelle Lindsey
Cornelis Hollander Sterling Silver Necklace – Brian Hughes
PGA Superstore VIP Membership Performance Lab – Tracy Tolleson / Marge Lindsey / Connie Green
$200 Eddie V’s Restaurants Gift Certificate – Jenny Werner
Sanctuary Spa Gift Certificate – John Hart
And if you weren’t able to make it to our event, here’s a link to our photos on flickr that will give you a flavor of the fun. Once again thanks to all who participated. See you next year!
What is HAFA?
Well, it stands for Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program but that doesn’t really give you any details. It’s is a short sale assistance program that the government rolled out April 5, 2010 in order to help homeowners avoid having to go through a foreclosure. There are a lot of details to this program, but a few of the benefits that I’ve heard include:
- Up to $3,000 for Seller to relocate
- Specific communication timeframes that bank and seller must play by. Meaning you get a response from the bank within 2 weeks of submitting purchase offer.
- Borrowers are released from future liability for the first mortgage debt (no cash contribution, promissory note, or deficiency judgment allowed)
How do you find out if you’re eligible for HAFA?
Straight from MakingHomeAffordable.com:
Mortgage servicers and investors write their own guidelines under the Federal requirements to determine how to implement the program. For more information about your options, you should contact your mortgage servicer. If you have questions about the program, or want guidance about how these options may impact your personal situation, you may wish to speak to a HUD-approved housing counselor for free.
Is your loan servicer working with HAFA?
Check this website to see if your Mortgage Servicer is on the list.
HAFA Resources
There is excellent information on the Making Home Affordable website, REALTOR.org has published a HAFA FAQ PDF, and last but not least, here is a 2 minute video produced by CDPE.com explaining more about the program.
So what’s the word from the REALTORS® out there on the streets helping homeowners with short sales? Have you closed deals using the HAFA program?
Jim Sexton – Short Sale Seminar Tomorrow
With so many different classes this week I thought I’d send out a quick reminder that Old Republic’s Short Sale Seminar with Jim Sexton, John Foltz, Michelle Lind, Steve Chader, and Duane Fouts is tomorrow morning from 9-12. If you’d like to register, click here.
It’s being held in Old Town Scottsdale near the intersection of Drink Water and 2nd Street – at Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts.
Zero dollars to attend. Zero credit hours. Come to learn from some of the brightest minds in the industry.
We still need your help!
Even though we’ve got the new website up and running, we’re still working out the bugs. In the event you come across any broken links – please let us know!
You can either leave a comment here, email webmaster@johnhall.com, or hollahollaholla at me 602.953.4043 x2223.
Thanks for your help, now back to the regular scheduled articles.
Phoenix Home Sales Statistics – April 2010
April’s numbers are telling us something. I guess it’s up to us to figure out what. I’ll need a couple of articles for April’s review. First the numbers-9200 closings!!! Wow, 4th month in a row of increases both Month over Month and same Month-year over year (y over y). Actually we have had same Month-y over y increases for the last 23 months-another indicator of market improvement. With 14,506 in Pending status, this trend should continue for another month or two. Yes, I realize that the tax incentive is going away, but the Pending’s have to close by 6/30 to be eligible for the tax credit. The Pending’s, combined with the 8000+ AWC’s are at record levels.
Probably most of the focus this month will be on prices and where are they going. Prices are bumping along, up 1 month then down the next. April’s price numbers might make news this month because the 12 month average will be up for the first time in a while. What? That’s right even though the month to month are up then down, our Average Sales Price (ASP) is up 8% over April of 2009. But as reporters are prone to do, they may report on April’s ASP being down 3% from 12/09. Median Sales Prices (MSP) are also up-10% same Month y over y; and 1% from 12/09.
Let’s return to the 9200 closings for April. 38% were REO’s and 22% were Short Sales (SS). You can see that the trend-“REO’s decreasing-with SS increasing” will continue by looking at the Pending’s-33% are REO’s and 29% SS; the AWC’s-over 7000 are SS; and even Active Listings where SS make up 27% with REO’s @14%.
The foreclosure numbers will also be making news this month. Initial numbers for April indicate completed foreclosures were down 20% from March’s record numbers. And Pending foreclosure numbers dropped another 2268-the largest drop on record.
Short Sale Seminar with Jim Sexton
May19th Old Republic Title is hosting Short Sales Exposed. It’s a short sale panel discussion with Designated Broker Jim Sexton, Duane Fouts, John Foltz, Michelle Lind, and Steve Chader.
The event is… May 19th 9-noon.
The cost is… zip-zero.
The location is… Scottsdale Center for the Arts 7380 E. Second St
You can register… here.
Designated Broker Office
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