Jude's Real Estate Rumblings

RISMEDIA, May 23, 2008-Trulia.com, a popular real estate search site, has unveiled a suite of free tools and services for real estate professionals that will help them better market themselves to prospective home buyers and sellers. Trulia's new offering gives agents increased visibility for their personal brand on all of their listings, and allows for a direct communication between buyers and the listing agent.

Expanding on the comprehensive services that Trulia currently delivers to real estate professionals, new value-added free services and tools include:

Brand Your Listings: This service allows agents to upload their photograph and personal contact information on every listing they have on Trulia.com. Consumers wanting more information about a listing can contact agents and brokers directly via email with a click of the Contact Me button.

Promote Your Open Homes: Agents and brokers can now market and promote their open homes more effectively. By listing an open house on Trulia.com, agents and brokers can provide all of the relevant details and drive visibility among the 70 percent of Trulia users who plan to purchase a home within a year.

See Stats for Sellers: This feature allows Trulia users to track how many times a property has been viewed, giving insight into the potential interest level among prospective home buyers. In this difficult real estate market, this data also could provide critical insight to sellers if there is a mismatch between the number of total views versus home buyer inquiries. As agents and brokers consider what marketing services are proving to be the most valuable, Trulia enables an optimal level of transparency that translates into ROI measurement.

"We're always looking for ways that we can enhance our online offerings to deliver the most value to real estate professionals while giving consumers an amazing user experience," said Sami Inkinen, co-founder and COO of Trulia. "With this robust set of services and tools, we are confident that agents using Trulia.com will gain a significant competitive advantage. It's a great way for agents to not only introduce themselves to home buyers who are searching online, but also to advertise their open homes for free to a local audience."

Along with Trulia Voices, the online forum that brings together agents, brokers, home buyers and homeowners, this new suite of tools and services gives real estate professionals yet another vehicle for reaching the over 70 percent of users planning to buy or sell a home within the next year and the 70 percent of users who are not yet working with an agent. With user traffic currently at 5 million unique monthly visits, Trulia is committed to integrating as many innovative and results-driven optimization tools to help real estate professionals capture the attention of consumers migrating online to conduct their real estate searches.

Agents not yet marketing on Trulia can submit their listings and get started at www.trulia.com/submit_listings.

"In this market, being savvy about buying and selling real-estate is only the tip of the iceburg," said Trulia Voices agent Mario Pined of Intero Real Estate. "Your online marketing prowess as a real estate professional is as great of a factor as location is for a buyer-it's vital. I'm excited to link arms with Trulia to ensure that I have the tools and services at my disposal that will allow me to bolster my online brand."

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An article from the Rocky Mountain News, reports that according to Denverinfill.com, a developer is planning a 17-story hotel and condo tower on the site of a former Burger King at 15th and Stout streets.  Planned by Ranko Mocevic, president of Hotel Gold Crown Champa LLC, the tower will have 264 hotel rooms on floors 3 through 14 and 12 condominiums on floors 15 through 17 and could open in 2010.  Ken Schroeppel, urban planner and author of the Denverinfill.com blog said, "The site has certainly been underutilized.  This is the same block with the Spire, so it's bringing a lot of density to the area."  
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/may/12/hotel-condo-tower-planned-for-downtown-denver/

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An article from Realtor Magazine Online, reports that according to experts, new trends will reshape tastes in homes and change the way agents buy and sell.  A survey of potential home buyers conducted by the National Association of Home Builders showed 60% said they would rather have a smaller house with more amenities than vice versa.  Gopal Ahluwalia, the NAHB's vice president of research said, "In the past, people would say 'Give me space and I'll add the features later.'"  Another change in the housing market is the way mortgage risk is assessed.  Experts say eventually, mortgage pricing may come to resemble pricing for homeowners insurance, which takes into account dozens of factors.  Finally, with more innovative real estate Web sites available, everyone now knows how much everyone else's house is worth, and consumers will continue to have access to housing information that was once found only in multiple listing services.
http://www.realtor.org/rmodaily.nsf/pages/News2008051203

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An article from The Wall Street Journal Online, reports that Fannie Mae is preparing to introduce a program of refinancing mortgages for people who owe more than the current value of their homes.  A situation also known as being "underwater."  Fannie's refinance plan would result in new loans of equivalent size, leaving the borrower underwater but giving him or her a lower monthly payment or at least a fixed rate.  According to officials of Fannie Mae, the new program is limited to people who have kept up on their payments so far and whose loans are owned or guaranteed by the company.  They say in some cases it makes sense to refinance such people if the new loan will reduce their interest rate or let them lock into a fixed rate rather than risking future upward adjustments.  Jeff Hayward, a senior vice president at Fannie said, "We're saying to the consumer, 'You're not trapped any more.'"  The program will allow refinancing loans of as much as 120% of the property value.  Approximately 150,000 households could qualify for these refinancings, Fannie officials project.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121035864744281229.html?mod=RealEstateMain_1

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We've got another good example of why all loans should be run through an automated underwriting system, rather than just manually submitting them to an underwriter.  The general underwriting guideline for commission income is that the borrower must show a 24 month history of that income from the same employer.  However, when we run our loans through the online automated underwriting system used by Fannie Mae, we frequently only have to provide the most recent year's tax return (instead of the past 2 years), and Fannie Mae only asks for proof that the borrower reported at least 6 months commission income.   By using the online systems, we are able to get many more borrowers approved than would normally be possible.  As a Realtor, you should insist that your mortgage broker use the online underwriting system.

An article from The Wall Street Journal Online, reports that many Americans are looking for ways to save money and examining your home-insurance paperwork could pay off.  Raising the deductible isn't the only way to reduce premium costs.  Discounts in the form of credits are also available for many homeowners.  Pete Spicer, vice president and new product manager for Chubb Group of Insurance Companies said, "Credits can really add up and become substantial."  Availability and eligibility for credits will vary by carrier.  One type of home-insurance credit is security protection credit.  With a functioning security system, many carriers offer a credit that is dependent on the type of system.  According to the Insurance Information Institute, homeowners can get at least 5% off their bill for a smoke detector, burglar alarm or dead-bolt locks.  The institute also reports that if a homeowner adds a sophisticated sprinkler system and a fire and burglar alarm that rings the police, fire department or another monitoring station, they may be eligible for a premium reduction of as much as 15% or 20%.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120984727933265245.html?mod=RealEstateMain_1

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http://www.homesinauroracolorado.com

An article from the Rocky Mountain News, reports that changes are on the way for Buckley Air Force Base with the addition of hundreds of personnel and more than two dozen major construction projects in the works or planned.  John Spann, of the base's public affairs office said, "We are one of the fastest-growing Air Force bases in the country.  The missions here at Buckley are constantly changing."  One plan that is in the works is the addition of 800 people assigned to Buckley over the next three years, a combination of enlisted, private and contractor jobs.  That includes about 600 workers at the Air Force Air Reserve Personnel Center near Lowry who will move to Buckley by 2011.  Other plans, according to the Air Force, include a $30 million building for temporary lodging, a $1.42 million kennel for military dogs, a $5.5 million training center and a $10.7 fuel-distribution complex "required to accommodate the new development."  According to Aurora Mayor Ed Tauer, the added military and civilian jobs are great for the local economy, but it's the quality of people the jobs attract that matters more.  Tauer said, "To get the extra jobs is great, but more important, it says the Air Force has a long-term commitment to Buckley."
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/may/05/booming-times-at-buckley/

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http://www.homesinauroracolorado.com

An article from the Rocky Mountain News, reports that the area of the 80121 ZIP code, which includes parts of Cherry Hills Village, Greenwood Village and Centennial, showed the greatest appreciation of home prices during the first quarter.  According to data compiled for Rocky Mountain News by California-based DataQuick, a company that tracks home prices by ZIP code, the median price of a home in 80121 jumped 26.3% to $310,000 from $245,500 a year earlier.  Pat Long of Keller Williams Action Realty said, "It has always been a hot area.  It is a very family-oriented, well-developed area.  People love it."  In northwest Denver, the No. 2 market for appreciation was 80212, which showed an 18.5% rise.  That area includes neighborhoods such as Sloan's Lake, West Highland and Berkeley.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/may/07/80121-zips-to-no-1-in-market/

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An article from RealtyTimes.com, reports that Will Rogers once said: "If you want to be successful, it's just this simple: Know what you're doing, love what you're doing, and believe in what you're doing."  One way to fuel your business is to follow your passion.  Find that niche you enjoy working with, such as teachers, first-time homebuyers, investors or small-business owners.  Another thing to increase business is to find the fun.  The more fun you have in your career, the more time and energy you will invest in it.  Finally, stay true to your core.  Set your integrity meter to high, and focus on value systems that not only serve you and your family, but also bring your best self to the forefront for your clients and customers.
http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20080508_falllove.htm

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Cherry Creek Square sells for $18 million, an article from the Colorado Real Estate Journal, reports that Cherry Creek Square, retail property in the heart of Cherry Creek North, sold to BZ Investments, a local Denver real estate firm.  The company paid $18 million for the property, which comes out to more than $500 per square foot for improvements, or $323 per square foot for land.  Cherry Creek Square includes 35,384 square feet of retail space on 1.27 acres of land.  Riki Hashimoto of Grubb & Ellis Investment Brokerage Group said, "The new owner is weighing potential options to upgrade the property or even potentially redevelop the site sometime in the future."
http://www.crej.com/news_category.php?category_id=1

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http://www.homesinauroracolorado.com