Don’t believe it!

In the last few months Information Central has been receiving some calls from members concerned over two different claims have been made about recently enacted or pending legislation that would impact home sales. Both are false.

The first says that the Energy bill currently making its way through the senate would  require home energy audits prior to sales. This is false. The bill rather provides for some state-administered matching grants to homeowners who make energy efficiency improvements to their homes. The bill also mandates new construction to meet certain energy efficiency guidelines, but prohibits time of sale labeling. The legislation is currently pending in the senate.

Secondly, some claim that the recently passed healthcare bill includes a 3.8% transfer tax on the sale of all homes. This is also false. The new Medicare tax applies only to high income (those with incomes over $200,000 for individuals, or $250,000 for households that file taxes jointly) with ‘net investment income’. As the first $250,000 of any sale of a primary residence is automatically excluded ($500,ooo if filing jointly) from capital gains, the only people who might pay this new tax are the very wealthy who sell a property at an enormous profit. Factcheck gives examples of who might pay:

• A single executive making $210,000 a year who sells his $300,000 ski condo for a $50,000 profit. His tax on the sale of that vacation home would amount to $1,900, in addition to the capital gains tax he would have paid anyway.
• An “empty nester” couple with combined income of over $250,000 a year who sell their $1 million primary residence to move to smaller quarters. If they cleared $600,000 on the sale, they would be taxed on $100,000 of the profit (the amount over the half-million-dollar exclusion). Their health care tax on the sale would amount to $3,800 over and above the usual capital gains levy.

To help combat these false claims, NAR Government Affairs has created a handout [links to PDF]. Rest assured if there were any radical changes to the home buying and selling process, the National Association of REALTORS® would be on top of it, letting its members know the truth.

What’s a superphone, and how is it different from my smartphone?

Google introduced the term “superphone” in January with the launch of the Nexus One Google phone. According to Google VP Andy Rubin, the new term refers to all the innovations that superphones have that didn’t exist a couple years ago.    

Now there’s a lot of industry discussion on what distinguishes a superphone from the widely-used smartphones.

While a smartphone has features like a touchscreen, a camera, applications, and web browsing capabilities, superphones’ screens are larger, and they have impressive cameras that allow for high-quality photo and video capturing. Superphones also have better software that allows for more multitasking, social applications are more integrated, and web browsing is more advanced and faster due to open-source browsers.

This chart from Mobile Beat highlights some basic differences in features:

Also visit CNET.com and Gigaom.com for more specific software, hardware, and platform specifications for superphones.

Samsung’s CSO Omar Khan has said superphones are the “power of a netbook in the palm of your hand…What users expect is the same experience they have on their netbooks or PCs in an uncompromised fashion.”

A recent Pew Internet survey supports Khan’s thinking: Compared with April 2009, cell phone owners are now more likely to use their mobile phones to take pictures, text, browse the internet, and record videos.

 

So which superphones are best? JKontherun.com lists the top 5 to watch

• HTC EVO
• Nexus One
• HTC Desire
• HTC HD2
• Samsung Galaxy S

For additional information on smartphones, check out Information Central’s Field Guide to Choosing & Using a Smartphone

 

Top Field Guides for June

The list of the 10 most used Information Central Field Guides for June 2010 was released recently. They are:
1. Field Guide to Short Sales
2. Field Guide to Preparing & Staging a House for Sale
3. Field Guide to Quick Real Estate Statistics
4. Field Guide to Opening a Real Estate Brokerage
5. Field Guide to Errors & Omissions Insurance
6. Field Guide to Real Estate Office Policy Manuals
7. Field Guide to Social Networking for REALTORS®
8. Field Guide to Foreclosures
9. Field Guide to Zoning Laws & Ordinances
10. Field Guide to Real Estate Transfer Taxes

Have an idea for a new Field Guide? Send us your suggestions!

1959 REALTORS liked Ike, and the FHA

In 1959 the Federal Housing Administration celebrated its 25^th birthday. In June of that year 1200 people from 14 trade and professional organizations, including 100 REALTORS, gathered for the Industry Salute to FHA. The black-tie affair was held in Washington’s Sheraton Park Hotel.

Speaking at the banquet was President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Ike told the crowd, “there is no more valuable purchase that any man could make except a home- with one single exception. That exception is the purchase of a wedding ring. That wedding ring is the inspiration for the home and for purchasing it.”

FHA was established by act of Congress in June of 1934. Marking the anniversary, NAREB President James M. Udall wrote, “NAREB is proud to have been one of the earliest supporters of the FHA idea…the Association’s confidence has been more than justified.”

In this photo Denver REALTOR Aksel Nielsen presides over the banquet. “The FHA program represents one of the finest examples of industry and government working together with no cost to the taxpayer,” he said. “This cooperation has enabled literally millions of families to own their own homes.” FHA Commissioner Julian H. Zimmerman is seated on the far left , about to receive the plaque behind Nielsen. President Eisenhower sits between them.

The Gulf Oil Spill and the Impact on Real Estate

According to government estimates the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has released between 41 and 120 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico since April. And oil is expected to continue leaking until the relief well is completed sometime in August. While oil continues to flow from the sea floor, the long-term consequences of the spill are still unknown.

But what will be the impact to area real estate? Short-term, area sales have all but dried up as buyers take a wait and see approach to their potential purchases. And longer-term, studies point to a drop in home prices for several years. According to one study (available to members for free via ProQuest) published in by the Appraisal Journal in 2001 on a much smaller spill in Maryland, area homes can expect to see a 10 percent decrease in value for beachfront property. A recent forecast report by CoStar Group comes to a similar conclusion, estimating the spill may cost the area up to $4.3 billion over the next three years in terms of depreciated land and home prices. Their best advice? Don’t panic, and if you can avoid it, don’t sell.

However, commercial real estate is driven much more by the area’s dependence on the broader oil industry. So far office and industrial users has seen little adverse impact from the spill. Vacationers who would have filled hotels and shopped in local retail stores have been replaced by the vast army of clean-up crews and officials in charge of containment. In fact, while some studies suggest residential prices will decrease as a result of the oil spill, NAI Global’s chief economist goes so far as to say the area’s commercial real estate should suffer no long-term impact, either positive or negative, as a result of the spill.

For more in-depth coverage on the spill and to read how local REALTORS® and local Associations are coping, be sure to take a look at Erica Christhoffer’s multi-part report in our sister blog, Speaking of Real Estate. She will also have an article in the August September issue of REALTOR® Magazine. For even more coverage, the New York Times has a great interactive feature on the spill with maps, video, reports and frequent updates.

NFIP and Homebuyer Tax Credit Closing Deadline Both Extended

From the Realtor Action Center:

Congress has passed an extension of the closing deadling for the Homebuyer Tax Credit, the Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act (H.R. 5623). The extension applies only to transactions that have ratified contracts in place as of April 30, 2010, that have not yet closed. The legislation is designed to create a seamless extension; the new closing deadline for eligible transactions is now September 30, 2010. There will be no gap between June 30 and the date the President signs the bill into law.

NAR worked closely with Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle to enact this important legislation. Extending the tax credit closing deadline will help provide additional stability to real estate markets across the nation.

Additionally, the Senate has passed the National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2010 (H.R. 5569), an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program until September 30, 2010. This will allow transactions to move forward. The bill is retroactive and covers the lapse period from June 1, 2010, to the date of enactment of the extension. NAR members sent more than 250,000 letters to Members of Congress encouraging them to extend the program.

Are you using HouseLogic/RCR for your own marketing?

Houselogic is a website from the National Association of REALTORS® developed in part to connect REALTORS® with not only the home buying and selling aspects of the business, but the whole home-ownership experience. For consumers, it gives great advice on maintaining, improving, or financing a home. Topics range from how to choose a contractor to what you need to do to prepare for winter.

And if you’re a member of the National Association, you can use these articles for your own marketing – either as handouts, newsletter filler, or blog posts. Just go to the REALTOR® Content Resource side of the site, enter your NRDS number, pick a collection (or individual articles), select a format, and voila! You have content to hand out to your prospects or existing clients. I’ve inserted an article below to show how it will look in a normal blog post. It’s a pretty flexible system and a real time-saver if you’re on a deadline.

Relocation – details and broad strokes

Here at Information Central we are frequently asked for guidance from members looking for information on where people in their community are moving to as well as who is moving in. Generally members are either looking to prospect outside their local market or are looking to set up referral arrangements. Luckily our Research group has put together a great free member resource – NAR’s Relocation Reports. Please note: you will need to log in to realtor.org to see the member pricing ($0).

Data in the 10-page reports comes from the IRS, which tracks changes in location for individuals filing tax returns at the county level. As this is based on tax returns, it doesn’t capture 100% of the migration market. However, one could argue that it captures the part that is important for REALTORS® – those who file a tax return and could benefit from the mortgage interest deduction.

As with any government data, there’s a bit of a lag in updating. The most current data is from 2008, but even so, it paints an interesting picture of who is going where. Recently Forbes Magazine took the same data, creating an interactive map. Click on any county to see where people are going and where they are coming from. The broad brushstrokes of the map give a great overall sense of the life of a community. Here’s some interesting examples:

This is Cook County, Illinois, the home of Chicago. You can see that people are coming to the city from around the Midwest and the Northeast, while other people are fleeing the area to warmer climates in Florida and the Southwest.

Here’s Miami:
While the city is still attractive to New Englanders, out-migration dominates for areas further west. Couple this data with the more detailed Relocation Report and you can paint a pretty compelling picture for marketing and prospecting in your area.

This month in eBooks: New York Times Bestsellers

Every month, NAR’s eBooks collection features a hot topic or special collection of titles of interest to our members. This month we are taking a bit of a different approach and have put together a collection of recent New York Times Non-Fiction Bestsellers. The collection was built from several recent lists and features such titles as Blink (currently #7), The Tipping Point (#9), and The Accidental Billionaires (#20).

Now we won’t have the full list. Obviously our collection is going to be skewed toward the business/leadership/management side of the list, so don’t go looking for Chelsea Handler’s Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea (#4) or Tucker Max’s I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell (#13). Also our selection is limited by what different publishers will allow to be sold to corporate libraries via our distributor (grrr!).

As always, NAR’s eBook collection housed at Information Central is free to all members. All you need is a valid NRDS membership number to check out up to six titles at one time. Many of our audiobooks can be downloaded to iPods or burned to CD (check individual titles for rights). Questions or need help? Call us at 800-874-6500.

So take a look at the collection. There might be something you’ve been meaning to pick up for that next airplane flight or for your morning commute. If the collection proves popular we’ll feature it again – with new titles, as available – in the fall.

Mary Pickford’s Urban Story for REALTORS

In May, 1927, Silver Screen legend Mary Pickford wrote a letter just for the REALTORS and readers of California Real Estate Magazine.

“A city which grows and prospers is indeed fortunate,” Ms. Pickford wrote.  “Yet a community expanding rapidly in every direction faces many, and difficult, problems.”

“We must encourage our business interests,” she added.  “They must expand and grow to provide work for the thousands who come to a city to make their homes.  But while we are looking after the practical things from an industrial standpoint, we must not lose sight of the need for recreational facilities, parks, trees, good architecture, wide highways, playgrounds, and, where possible, beaches.”

Urban planning was not just a whim for her.  “This is quite a hobby of mine.  I have even made several addresses on the subject before Chambers of Commerce, the American Institute of Architects and other bodies.”

83 years ago “America’s Sweetheart” was optimistic for the future of America’s cities.  “It is my hope…to interest many others in these things, for if enough people will give their enthusiastic support to these problems they will be solved in a practical, common sense way.”

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