Brokers Blog

A rising number of real estate brokers are thriving in short sales despite the wide perception that short sales take a long time and are difficult to work out and complete.

Analysts, including Mark Zandi of Moody’s Economy.com, believed that more lenders agreed to short sales in 2009 as the Obama administration included short sales in its options for preventing foreclosures.

Out of the more than 2.8 million homeowners that received delinquency or foreclosure notices in 2009, over 871,000 ultimately lost their homes while the rest – about 1.9 million – were able to save their properties either through loan modifications or short sales or by simply paying their arrears and restoring their accounts to current status.

In many cities, short sales are increasingly accounting for a bigger portion of total home sales. In Indianapolis, according to the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors, as of the first week of January, 8.2 percent of home sales available for sale are properties in short sale.

In the Elk Grove section of the Sacramento area, foreclosure sales fell year-over-year by more than 46 percent in December while short sales shot up by 114 percent.

Recently, several real estate brokers in Chicago completed their training to earn the Certified Distressed Property Expert designation to be able to handle more competently short sales and take advantage of the sharply rising market for short sales.

Brokers who are trained in handling distressed sales know what lenders expect and know how to negotiate with them. Additionally, as short sales oftentimes involve deep emotions on the part of homeowners, brokers are better equipped to understand owners and to walk them through the short sale process.

In New Mexico, broker Deanna Dopslaf, president of counseling service Southwest Foreclosure Alternatives, strived to become one of a few certified default resolution experts in the state because she saw opportunities in specializing in the short sale niche. She admitted that short sales take months to complete and that commissions are uncertain, but she has discovered that she has the ability and compassion to help distressed homeowners.

In another report released by Point2 Technologies, real estate professionals throughout the U.S. said that they are optimistic about the housing sector in 2010. Real estate brokers who participated in the survey said that foreclosures and low appraisals will continue to batter the residential market, but they hope that the market corrections taking place will soon stabilize the real property sector.

Discount real estate brokers who offer full service at a lowered commission rate may work better for you than limited-service brokers. But for some customers, flat-fee brokers may be the better option. Both of these types of brokers however enable you to cut your buying or your selling costs.

So you can decide best which type of broker to choose, the differences between these two types of brokers are described here.

A full-service discount real estate broker offers sellers and buyers the full range of realty services at a commission rate lower than the predominating commission rate in the area. In a market where six or seven percent is the predominating commission rate, the full-service discount broker may charge only three or four percent.

Additionally, in states that have no laws on brokerage incentives, the full-service discount broker may provide rebates, gift certificates, vouchers, coupons or discounts to the home seller or buyer. Rebates are often equal to one-percent of the home purchase price. All these incentives are provided to encourage the use of the services of the discount broker.

According to real estate experts, rebates are often used to go around the rules of commission agreements, particularly for the home buyer and the buyer’s broker. Giving rebates to home buyers will enable discount real estate brokers to compete in attracting clients. However, this is only possible in states where there are no laws about real estate incentives.

For clients planning to hire flat-fee brokers, they should know the brokerage services that will not be offered.

A flat-fee broker, or sometimes called fee-for-service or limited-service broker, allows house sellers to choose which among the typical services provided by full-service brokers to pay for. Some flat-fee brokers have arranged different arrays of brokerage services into packages with corresponding rates, ready to be shown to prospective home sellers. Some list basic services into packages and then offer other services as options.

Many flat-fee brokers offer a Multiple Listing Service-only package. This enables home sellers who cannot access MLS to list their houses in these listings.

On the whole, flat-fee brokers fit home sellers who know how to carry out some aspects of the home selling or buying process, but who are not knowledgeable or who need assistance in other aspects while full-service discount real estate brokers fit home sellers or buyers who need all brokerage services but at a discounted cost.

Real estate for rent from condo conversions has been growing in number in Colorado and in other states as the inventory of unsold condo units keeps growing.
During the boom in 2005 and 2006, developers across the country built condos to respond to the demand for resort-style and high-rise units that support the carefree lifestyle. [...]

A real estate broker license indicates earnestness and professionalism, so if you need a broker to help you sell your house or buy an investment property, hire a property broker with a state license, a certification from a reputable real estate agency association and affiliation with a stable real estate company.
Real estate licensing in [...]

Real estate broker deals with foreign clients have been slowing, according to a survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors.
Only 22.5 percent of the nearly 3,800 real estate brokers surveyed by NAR reported dealing with at least one foreign client in the 12-month period ended May 2009. The percentage marked a drop of [...]

The possibility of earning from purchasing properties for business purposes or home building is gaining popularity. But an ordinary business-minded individual can not possibly choose the most beneficial property to purchase by his or her own. They must hire a real estate broker.
Real estate brokers may act as mediator between the property seller and buyer. [...]

The great economic depression began in the late 2006 when housing market crashed and homeowners began defaulting on their loans. The United States’ toughest economic crisis since 1930 has greatly affected the housing industry and the people that make a living out of it— agents, real estate brokers to name a few.
Home sellers and buyers [...]

In selling your home, you can be your own real estate broker. By allotting some of your energy into it, you can sell your home on your own.
By skipping the option of hiring a real estate broker, you can save 6 percent of their commission. But despite the great saving, many homeowners who want to [...]

If you have chosen your real estate broker with eyes closed, blindly pointing on a name on a list, you may not have done enough for your own benefit. Not every home broker would do their best for their client, some put their own interest first.
Real estate brokers have different antics, but here are some [...]

With a poor housing market and the availability of listings and everything you need in purchasing a property online, professional real estate brokers continue to decrease in number.
The number of real estate agents corresponds to the lack of demand in the housing industry. Hopefully their number will increase once the market recovers. But the internet-based [...]