Real Estate Blog

With each conference that Zillow participates in, we hear more and more stories about agents who are generating business from the site, and the annual NAR conference in Orlando was no exception. Check out this great story from Cindy in Flint, MI who got a buyer after posting to Zillow for the first time!

The range of questions we heard at the booth varied widely, but here are some of the most popular ones:

1) Just how accurate are Zestimates anyway? This greatly depends on the amount of information we get from sources such as the public records. Nationally, we have a median margin of error of 11.7% (we update accuracy statistics quarterly). You can view the accuracy rate for your specific county — or any other county that we cover — by visiting our Zestimate accuracy page. After seeing this, many agents agreed this is useful data to help explain differences in their numbers and the Zestimate to their clients.

2) How can I use Zillow as an agent? Many agents did not know that they could post rich listing data to the site for free, or that a syndication service such as ListHub or Point2 was already doing this for them. When their listings were on the site, the next thing agents should do is to register for a free profile. Make sure to use the same email address when registering as what is coming to us in the feed — doing this will ensure that your photo shows up on all of your listings. Also important is to have a profile page with links to your website, blog, or videos and to be included in our new Professionals Directory. Oh, and all this is for free!

3) How do I get my profile or listings to come up first in a home search? Today the profile is weighted based on how much you participate on the site. If you want to move higher up in the list, we suggest you do things like upload more photos on your listings (or practice Zestifarming) or participate in our discussions area. We have a ton of ways to get free exposure, but we also have advertising products for those who want even more exposure. Showcase Ads, which are targeted by ZIP code, are a great way to bring more exposure to a particular listing, open house, or your business. You can select if you would like to be seen in your target ZIP code(s) 25, 50, 75, or 100% of the time, based on your budget.

Finally, we had a lot of people ask about listing presentation materials. Download a Zillow specific piece here to communicate with sellers where you are advertising their home.

Thanks again to everyone who made the trip to Orlando and stopped by our booth. We are always excited to hear your feedback about the site, but we were especially excited to hear your success stories!

Go here to see the original:
Back From The NAR Conference In Orlando

Home values declined 9.7% in the third quarter of this year relative to their levels one year ago, according to Zillow’s Real Estate Market Reports.  This marks the seventh consecutive quarter of negative year-over-year declines, each quarter turning in a greater negative annual change than the prior quarter. For comparison, the revised second quarter annualized change in the Zillow Home Value Index was 8.6%.  For the first time this quarter, the depth and duration of the housing downturn in some markets has translated into flat or negative five-year annualized appreciation rates.  Twenty-seven of the 163 markets covered experienced negative five-year annualized value changes and another twelve markets had basically no change over that period of time.  For example, Stockton real estate has dropped 3.8% on an annualized basis since 2003 and Boston home values have dropped about one percent annualized over the past five years.  Some markets are now teetering on the edge of seeing no appreciation over the past decade such as Detroit where real estate values have increased less than one percent on an annualized basis over the last ten years.

In terms of outlook, in some hard-hit markets there are some positive signs, such as increasing sales volumes and slightly lower inventory levels. And, in some markets like San Francisco, for example, the annual change in the Home Value Index was less negative in the third quarter than it was in the second quarter (-14.4% for Q3 versus -14.6% for Q2), a possible indication of a slowdown in market declines in these markets.

But, overall, there remain some daunting storm clouds on the horizon.  Foreclosure rates remained high with 18.6% of transactions in the past year being foreclosures nationally. This continuing stream of foreclosures into the marketplace puts downward pressure on home values in two ways: by increasing the inventory of unsold homes (creating more supply than demand) and by introducing lower priced supply into the marketplace.  Moreover, we estimate that 14.3% of all single-family homes are in negative equity as of the end of the third quarter, a situation that makes it more likely a home will enter foreclosure versus being sold for a loss when a household encounters financial stress.  And, turning to financial stress, there are abundant signs that more households are encountering or will encounter such stress in the coming months as the economy enters a recession of unknown length, bringing with it job losses (the unemployment rate of 6.5% is at a 14 year high) and decreased consumer confidence (Consumer Confidence Index dropped 38% in October to its lowest level ever) which will serve to dampen consumer spending.

Meaningful reductions in inventory numbers will be challenging given these foreclosure rates and given the suspected presence of a large amount of “shadow” inventory, homes that are not currently on the market (and thus not reflected in the official inventory numbers) but which could quickly come onto the market given a slight improvement in conditions.  This shadow inventory consists of all those homeowners who either have tried to sell already with no success or those that want to sell but are waiting for better conditions.  It is essentially the pent-up supply of homes that has accumulated during the downturn.  Thus, sales volumes must pick up to a pace that exceeds the normal rate of sellers entering a well-functioning market, plus the rate that foreclosures are putting more homes into the market, plus the rate that shadow inventory will bleed this pent-up supply back into the market once it starts to recover a bit.  So, if we think of the inventory of unsold homes as a bucket of water, then the bucket already has a historically high level of water in it and we keep pouring more water into it at a pretty fast clip.  The hole that draws water out of the bucket is going to have to be pretty big to effectively drain it.

Read the original:
And That Makes Seven in a Row: Real Estate Turns in Another Down Quarter

You’ve heard of contests that require you to write an essay and win a house. Or homes that are sold in a raffle. They usually go up in flames, but down in Florida, a real estate investor seems to have come up with a unique new approach. Donna Kalman, a provider of short- and long-term housing in South Florida,  has created an online word jumble skill challenge game that she says is fair and benefits everyone: the seller, the buyer, the agent, and the lawyers. It’s called Perfect Place Contest.

Simply, you choose the house you want to try to win, pay a fee of $10 to $50 and then play the word jumble game on Perfect Place. The fastest person to unscramble the words over a set number of weeks or months wins the house. And, of course, you can enter as often as you like.

On the other side of the equation, Kalman would like to sell enough “chances” to cover the cost for everyone involved. For example, for a $250,000 house she has on the site, she needs to sell 5,000 chances at $50 apiece.  But, if the game closes before the maximum amount of entries is reached, persons with the highest scores will receive gift cards. Not sure how the sellers make out in this situation. Kalman says she knows the legal ramifications of ideas like this and says her rules have been written and reviewed by lawyers with a fine-toothed comb.

It will be interesting to hear about the first house that is “won” fairly and squarely through a word jumble game.

Source:
Unscramble Some Words, Win a House

Mortgage rates on the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace were down slightly last week, with 30-year fixed rates falling to 6.09% from 6.26% the week before, according to the Zillow Mortgage Rate Monitor.

On Zillow Mortgage Marketplace’s rate tables, it looks like the most recent rate, as of Monday night, was 5.90%, and that rates have been pretty steady for the last few days.

Rates fell the most in Michigan, where they went from 6.48% two weeks ago to 6.04% last week.

Read more:
Mortgage Rates Steady Around 6.00% This Week

One woman in Oregon, Ohio, isn’t getting an Extreme Home Makeover, but she is getting an “Extreme Roof-over.” According to a story in The (Oregon, OH) Press, Sheri Ulinski was hosting friends and family at her home at 1917 Garner Ave for a reception following her husband’s death when a co-worker from her job at Teledyne Turbine Engines in Toledo, OH, noticed her porch roof was leaking. One thing led to another and Sheri’s co-workers, friends and family decided that Sheri needed an entire new roof. They held a bake sale, a 50/50 raffle, and a spaghetti dinner to raise the funds for the roof materials and cost to install it.

The tickler of this story is that Sheri and friends are spoofing the Extreme Makeover schtick by doing a video of their own. Sounds like a hoot. In this dire economy, stories like this and the one about a complete stranger purchasing a woman’s home and saving it from foreclosure are uplifting. As usual, people helping each other is what makes us all a little nostalgic for a good ‘ol barn-raising event. Way to go, Oregon, Ohio and the folks at Teledyne Turbine.

Read the original:

Jim Reppond of The Seattle Specialist hosted the 116th edition of the Carnival of Real Estate, selecting posts he thought were “sticky” enough to get the reader to read the entire post and finding value in doing so. Our own Diane Tuman was among the three winners with her post “Will the Obama White House go Solar?” Geek Estate’s James Shiner also pulled in honors with his post, “Social Media in Real Estate — Part 2: Facebook.” Jim Reppond quips, “…Facebook can be a place for spreading real estate information and branding, not just a place for college kids to hit on each other.” Funny. Go dig into the CoRE #116.

The carnival will make its next appearance on Monday, Nov. 17 at Agent Genius Mag. Please submit your best post by Sunday, Nov. 16, to be considered. Are you a real estate blogger and would you like to host a future edition? If so, get instructions on how to do so here. Please check the complete FAQ list if you have other questions as to how to participate.

See the rest here:
Carnival of Real Estate #116

(Red circle indicates Obama’s location at the Punahou Circle Apartments in Honolulu, HI)

President-elect Barack Obama claims Chicago, IL as his home (here’s more on Obama’s Chicago home), but he spent his formative years in Honolulu, HI, where he lived with his grandparents in the Punahou Circle Apartments at 1617 S Beretania St, Honolulu, HI (the Zestimate is for the entire apartment). His old neighborhood is referred to as the Makiki/Lower Punchbowl area where homes go from $100,000 all the way to millions.  This Honolulu Advertiser article has photos of Obama walking around his old hood when he visited his dying grandmother in October.

Read more:

From the Times Herald in Newnan, GA today comes a story of an unfortunate house fire that can simply be summed up by its last line:

“Gantt advised against using a blow torch to rid a home of cobwebs.”

Thanks for the tip, Gantt. 

(and thank you Perez Hilton for the story.  How do you find this stuff??)

Home Maintenance Tip of the Day

(Photo mashup courtesy of Treehugger.com)

It’s only been three days since Democrat Barack Obama locked up votes to become the 44th president of the U.S. Now comes the fun part: honoring your promises. Not that Obama promised to put solar panels on the White House, but he has advocated for a new attitude when it comes to energy.

So, Treehugger.com has already pitched President-elect Obama - in LOLcats style (“I can has cheezburger”) — to re-install solar panels on the White House. Evidently, 39th president Jimmy Carter installed a set of solar panels during his tenure in 1979 — ironically, during a similar energy crisis — and Ronald Reagan removed them in 1986 to have work done to the roof.

The panels on the White House would certainly set an example of what we need to do as a country, but what is our own individual cost if we wanted our homes to go solar? Coolerplanet.com put together a “Solar Power Rating” map of how your state rates in terms of solar incentives. And, here’s a quick little calculator to estimate how much a solar panel system would cost.

Will the Obama White House Go Solar?

Kirkwood’s Extreme Makeover house
1366 SE Spruce Rd, Port Orchard, WA
For sale: $650,000
See more Port Orchard, WA real estate

This isn’t a story about an Extreme Makeover home that the owners could not afford, or that went into foreclosure, but rather a story about a family whose marriage broke up and, as a result, the home must be sold due to Washington’s community property law. Even though the Windermere listing states a price of $650,000, the home is allegedly down to an asking price of $550k.

In a report by the Kitsap Sun, the Kirkwood family — Dawne and Michael and their five children — received their Extreme Makeover in 2005 after they were living in cramped conditions due to black mold infesting their home. Dawne and Michael divorced this past August, forcing them to sell the house. The house looks absolutely gorgeous — take a look at this Windermere slide show.

Here is the original:
Port Orchard Extreme Makeover Home for Sale

We are excited to announce that Weichert, Realtors will now regularly be sending listings to Zillow.com for people to view when searching properties for sale online.  With more than 40,000 listings represented by over 500 offices throughout the country, Weichert’s partnership with Zillow will be extremely beneficial to our users nationwide. In addition, by sending listings data to Zillow, Weichert agents will automatically gain free marketing for their listings, exposing them to the 5.5 million people that visit the site each month.

For agents whose listings are currently being fed to us in a listings feed and would like more free exposure, please register on Zillow and create a free profile.  Remember to make sure and use the same email address as what is coming to us in the feed.  Creating this profile will ensure that your photo shows up on all of your listings, and that you are included in the Zillow Professional Directory.

If you’re interested in getting started with the Zillow Listings Feed program, please visit www.ZillowFeeds.com. Or, for more information about the Weichert/Zillow partnership, check out the press release.

Go here to see the original:
Warm Welcome to Weichert

Meg Ryan’s house
755 Stradella Rd, Los Angeles, CA
For sale: $19.5 million
See more Bel Air, CA real estate

The “for sale” status of actress Meg Ryan’s home has been kept under wraps for the past few years — known as a “pocket listing” — but it looks like the wraps are off, according to Ann Brenoff of L.A. Times’ Hot Property. Celebrities such as soccer star David Beckham and Posh were said to have viewed the house, as well as Ben Affleck and wife Jennifer Garner.

Listing description — Truly enchanting and romantic. A gated and private drive is the approach to this 1931 restored Spanish compound. Features include: double story stenciled beamed living room, a bar “a la” 1930’s Los Angeles, Formal dining room and superb cook’s kitchen; All rooms open to and overlook the 180-degree view of the city. Incredibly private knoll setting with pool. A screening room w/separate entrance.

Dennis Kozlowski’s house
37 Squam Rd., Nantucket, MA 02554
For sale: $16.45 million
See more Nantucket, MA real estate

While former Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski sits in a prison in upstate New York, serving three years as part of an 8 1/3- to-25-year prison term after being convicted of looting his company, his sprawling Nantucket, MA, waterfront estate is for sale, lowered from $23 million three years ago to $16.5 million, according to Wall Street Journal’s Private Properties.

Listing description (by Maury People of Sotheby’s International) — Trellis covered deck leads to French doors into foyer with vaulted ceilings, raised paneling, crown molding, custom stenciled floor and views of the Atlantic! Grand columns frame the entry into formal living room, wood burning fireplace with marble surround. Living room opens to casual living space with wet bar, entertainment center and a wall of rounded glass that slides open to the deck and path to beach.  Dining room overlooks deck and yard, another wall of glass doors lead to the barbeque area and outdoor dining all with Atlantic views over the beach… more info, photos.

Jay Buhner’s house
3219 300th Ave SE, Fall City, WA 98024
For sale: $12 million
See more Fall City, WA real estate

Former Seattle Mariners outfielder Jay Buhner, who made bald beautiful in Seattle, has listed his B2B Ranch for sale for $12 million. Is Jay leaving the Seattle area for his native state of Kentucky?

Listing description (by Maria Danieli of Windermere) — Notably appointed and unique in every way, this extraordinary custom home of 7500 square feet features dramatic timber framing and a solid copper roof, combined with a massive great room design. An astounding 35 foot floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace is the home’s focal point. Hickory floors, distressed alder cabinetry and doors. 4 bedrooms, all en-suite, 6.25 bathrooms in total… more info, photos.

Tori Spelling’s house
1955 Thayer Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90025
For sale: $2,395,000
See more Los Angeles real estate

According to Ann Brenoff of the LA Times, actress Tori Spelling (daughter of Candy and the late producer Aaron Spelling), is selling her home in Westwood (aerial view above) because she purchased another one in Encino, CA. Not that Tori can’t afford multiple, million-dollar homes, but what’s surprising is the modest nature of this home, by Hollywood celebrity standards, at least.

Listing description — Nestled in a charming pocket of Westwood, this home is ideal for entertaining featuring French doors off the main rooms that lead to lushly manicured yard, separate outdoor dining area with built-in barbeque and solar powered saltwater pool with baja shelf and spa. Large, elegant master suite with high ceilings, two large, oversized custom closets and magnificent city views. The property boasts a grand living room with designer fireplace, media room and formal dining room. Take a photo tour of Tori’s house.

Toby Keith’s house
3637 W End Ave, Nashville, TN 37205
For sale: $1.595 million
See more Nashville, TN real estate

According to Luxist, country singer Toby Keith’s Nashville estate is for sale for $1.5 million. Keith has had a remarkable background, working as a derrick hand in the oil fields of Oklahoma, then dabbling in semi-pro football, then he got his big break in the music industry in 1993.

Listing description (by Broker South Realty) — Old World Design Meets Stylish In-town elegance that is secure & private. With all of the amenities of new construction plus outdoor living space & pool! Soaring ceilings, tile & hardwood floors, wine cellar, bulit-ins, tile roof, 2-car garage.

Original post:
Celebrity Roundup: Meg Ryan, Dennis Kozlowski, Jay Buhner, Tori Spelling and Toby Keith

This is the first year that Zillow is exhibiting at the National Association of Realtors convention, happening this week in Orlando.  We hope you’ll stop by and see us.  Our booth is #2063. 

At the booth we’ll be signing Realtors up for their free profiles and free listings in the Professional Directory.  We will also be showcasing some of our latest advertising products and offering a discount as a show special.  Please stop by and check us out.

Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

Here is the original post:
Visit Zillow In Orlando At The NAR Convention

It’s Election Day and it’s your duty to vote and maybe to impress your friends with some trivia on homes of former U.S. Presidents. See the bird’s eye views of 21 homes of former presidents such as Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, John F. Kennedy, and James Madison, plus the homes of 2008 presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama.

Read more:
Presidential Homes of JFK, Nixon, Ford, Taft, Wilson, Reagan and More

Mortgage rates have been swinging up and down for the past few weeks, and last week wasn’t any different. Rates for 30-year fixed mortgages rose to a weekly average of 6.26 percent, up from 6.00 percent the week before. Fifteen-year fixed and 5-1 ARM rates were also up.

As of Tuesday morning, it looks like those rates are staying pretty steady, with the national 30-year fixed rate at 6.19 percent, according to Zillow Mortgage Marketplace.

Rates in some of the states were up as high as 6.48 percent last week. Check out the chart below and be sure to visit Zillow Mortgage Marketplace for the most up-to-date rates. More information can also be found in the press release.

Credit:
Mortgage Rates on Rollercoaster Ride