Any top ten list can draw attention from the target audience, but for real estate professionals in the residential markets, there is one list that can and probably should be referred to with every listing presentation or buyer strategy meeting:
Top Ten Home Features Desired by all Home Buyers:
1. Central Air
2. Garage with 2 or more spaces
3. Walk-in closets (Master Bedroom)
4. Backyards and Play Areas
5. Cable or Satellite Television
6. High-Speed Internet Access
7. Separate shower enclosure in the Master Bath
8. Patios
9. Fencing
10. The Home should be less than 10 years old
By focusing your strategy and marketing on these key buyer friendly features, agents will be more readily able to focus clients and customers on the value of a property. This does not mean that neighborhood or community features are not a part of the equation. It simply represents a list of what buyers are looking for once they drill down to a specific list of individual properties.
Statistical Source: NAR 2007 Profile of Buyer’s Home Feature Preferences
The NAR REALTORS® Confidence Index, which measures housing market strength based on REALTORS® responses to questions about market conditions, was released on July 17th. The report shows slightly increasing confidence in single-family and condo markets current strength.
Traffic conditions, however, did decline month over month, and from the prior year. Overall, expectations remain relatively low, with survey scores consistently under the midpoint levels for all responses.
>>>>> Click Here to view the Survey
Lee Barrett, ABR®, is an expert on auctions and has been a member of the National Auctioneer Association since October of 2007. He will be presenting an online seminar, complete with Q & A session, on July 22nd beginning at 11:30am Central Time.
The one hour seminar will teach you about the basics of real estate auctions and how MRE’s are able to represent buyers. Click Here to register for this limited event live. The event will also be available for viewing on the REBAC website.
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) announced that as of July 1st a total of 14 states are now using the national registry created by CSBS and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators designed to standardize information on mortgage broker licensing.
Currently more than 16,000 loan officers are registered on the NMLS, and 40 states have committed to participate in the registry. The web-based system allows mortgage professionals to apply for and update or renew a license online using one standard application for all of the participating agencies.
5 additional states are expected to be online with the NMLS by the end of 2008. For information, visit http://www.csbs.org.
NAR has recently posted a podcast video message from Vicki Cox Golder, 2008 NAR First Vice President & Laurie Janik, NAR General Counsel, which discusses NAR’s settlement of the antitrust lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice concerning NAR’s VOW, or Virtual Office Website, policy.
Members are encouraged to watch the video online to learn more about the settlement, as well as to learn when the final settlement will go into effect and what it means to REALTORS®. There may be steps that members will need to take in order to comply with the terms of the settlement.
>>>>>Click Here to view the video and learn more
