News, Information & Hot Issues

Agent Education Opportunities

The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® recently launched a new designation, the Green Designation, a two-day course that provides a broad understanding of green real estate principles—from the concepts of sustainability, new urbanism, and smart growth to the application of industry ratings and evaluation standards in real estate.

In March, you will have three opportunities to earn this designation in Northern California. The course, which has a two-day classroom component and an online component for the core course and an online component for the elective course, is designed to be a practical resource that shows real estate professionals how to explain to consumers what makes a home, building, or property green; how to list and market green properties while fulfilling one’s legal and professional obligations; and how to implement green practices on the road and in the office. Additionally, the course is designed to teach agents how to position their businesses to meet consumers’ desire to purchase green-enhanced homes. Cost is $295 for the two-day classroom component and $125 for the elective online component (your choice of a residential-, commercial-, or business-specific course); payable in two installments. Individuals who have completed another green real estate training program (EcoBroker® and Earth Advantage S.T.A.R.) prior to November 2008 are not required to take the Residential Elective Course.

For more information, contact candacem@car.org .

March 17 and 18 > At the Bay East Association of REALTORS®; contact Vickie Perreira at (925) 730-4075 or vickiep@bayeast.org.

March 19 and 20 > At the Sacramento Association of REALTORS®; contact Judy Wegner at (916) 437-1207 or jwegner@sacrealtor.org.

March 26 and 27 > At the Solano Association of REALTORS®; contact Anita Hawkes at (707) 644-5525 or ahawkes@saor.org .

Cybernews

Dwellicious Bookmarks Real Estate

Gen Y is a collaborative group. When it comes to finding a home, this group is likely to consult friends before a REALTOR®. Taking a page out of the social site Delicious’ playbook, Dwellicious, a new social bookmarking application, allows users to place property listings from numerous sites in a “shopping cart” for, you guessed it, discussing these listings with friends.

Where does that leave the REALTOR®? Those with a Dwellicious Pro account can view the types of properties that interest their clients and their clients’ comments. In addition, agents and brokers can track their listings and clients’ use of Dwellicious and their syndicated listings’ traffic on the Dwellicious site.

For more information, visit Dwellicious.com/pro.


Newscan

Business briefs & bottom-line boosters

Century 21 Pulls Plug on TV Ads

>> Century 21 Real Estate, the first real estate franchiser to purchase national TV ads in the 1970s, is moving more of its advertising dollars online—search-engine marketing, display ads, and partnerships with real estate listing sites—and will stop running national television spots, according to Inman News. The real estate firm notes it boosted online lead generation by more than 237 percent in 2008, while the cost per lead dropped 62 percent from a year ago. Local Century 21 agents and brokers are not affected by the corporate decision and will continue to advertise on cable outlets.

Name Change for NAIOP

>> The National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), a leading association for the development industry, has changed its name to Commercial Real Estate Development Association, while retaining the same initials of the acronym. The name change reflects the association membership’s expansion from predominantly office and industrial properties into medical office, mixed-use, and retail spaces.

White House to Keep FDIC Chairman Shelia Bair

>> Shelia Bair, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s outspoken chairwoman, who has figured prominently in the handling of the IndyMac and WaMu bank failures, has received a nod from the Obama Administration and will retain her post through 2011, when her term expires. As early as 2007, Bair presented her ideas—often ahead of the Bush Administration—for modifying mortgages and forestalling foreclosures.

Association News

Local Associations Provide Clarus™ Products to Members

The Burbank, Santa Barbara, and Southland Regional associations of REALTORS® have signed agreements to provide both Clarus™ MarketMetrics™ and Clarus™ Investor™ as free member benefits, Real Estate Business Services Inc. (REBS) announced recently. Clarus™ MarketMetrics™ and Clarus™ Investor™, together, retail for $480 for an annual individual user subscription.

Clarus™ MarketMetrics™ generates market and price-point analysis charts and reports derived from MLS data for REALTORS® to share with their clients. These reports can be invaluable as a prospecting tool, as an aid to setting seller expectations, or as a companion set of data to justify a buyer’s offer. Clarus™ Investor™ enables agents to engage clients in a healthy discussion about adding real estate to their investment portfolio.

For more information, visit www.clarusresource.com .

Developments

Good-bye, McMansions?

You can learn a lot about a country’s economic history from its homes, says the author of A Field Guide to American Houses, Virginia McAlester, whose comments appeared in a January article in the Los Angeles Times. For instance, cookie-cutter rows of small tract homes speak volumes about the scarcity of building materials after World War II. Grand Victorians are timepieces from the early 20th century. McMansions, with their energy-inefficient cathedral ceilings, will remind us and future generations of the excesses between the Dot.com era and the subprime meltdown of 2007.

If McAlester is correct, your future listings will be smaller, perhaps have an attached home, and be positioned closer to other homes. If that’s the case, soundproofing will be an important feature, as will energy-efficient enhancements such as energy-monitoring systems and solar panels.

There is some evidence that this trend is under way. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reports that 89 percent of its members are planning or building smaller homes in late 2008.  NAHB, which notes that the average size of new homes in 2007 was 2,479 square feet, also found that homes started in the third quarter of 2008 averaged 2,438 square feet, down from 2,629 square feet in the second quarter.

Street-wise

Consumer News You Can Use

FHA Toolkit

The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® has released a Federal Housing Administration Toolkit designed to help you assist buyers in obtaining FHA-backed mortgages. Visit the FHA Resources section of www.REALTOR.org for more info.

HUD Provides Foreclosure and Financial Counseling

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has launched “Keep Your Home. Know Your Loan,” a consumer campaign that includes print, radio, and television public service announcements (PSAs), as well as a toolkit for non-profit counseling agencies that will support the effort. The Department is launching this campaign to help consumers earlier in a financial crisis and to fight the explosion of “pay-to-play” loan modification scams. In each PSA, consumers are directed to call HUD’s toll-free counseling hotline (877-HUD-1515) to arrange free face-to-face meetings with a counselor near them.

REALTORS® can access HUD’s toolkit and distribute the PSAs via business card templates and flyers: www.hud.gov/keepyourhome/index.cfm.

In addition, agents can assist clients by identifying HUD-approved counselors in their area at www.hud.gov/keepyourhome and refer clients to these agencies and counselors.

C.A.R. News

Southern California Home Buyer’s Fair to Teach Home-Buying Process

The second annual Southern California Home Buyer’s Fair is scheduled for Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles. Produced by C.A.R. and cosponsored with the Los Angeles Times, the Southern California Home Buyer’s Fair is free to the public, and will feature more than 50 educational how-to seminars, including “How to Find and Work With a REALTOR®,” “How to Qualify for a Home Loan,” and “How to Buy Your First Home.” Seminars will be offered in both English and Spanish. The Southern California Home Buyer’s Fair Web site (www.homebuyersfair.com) contains more complete information. The event is designed to educate and inform consumers about the home-buying process and why now may be an ideal time to purchase a home.

The Southern California Home Buyer’s Fair also will feature more than 65 exhibit booths where attendees can obtain information from industry experts about a vast range of programs pertaining to homeownership and the home-buying process. Brokers, agents, or local associations interested in an exhibit booth should contact Betty Thomas at bettyt@car.org .

Your Calendar on car.org

• Want to learn more about real estate-related educational opportunities, industry events, and local association orientations, or want to promote your event? Then bookmark the homepage of car.org, where you will find a robust and up-to-date Calendar with the latest happenings around your region and the state. The Calendar sorts events by month and type (Education, Industry Event, and Local Association Meeting). You are encouraged to submit your event listings to tonyv@car.org .

Legislation

LOL is Banned on the Road

You’ve acclimated to using your cell phone with a hands-free device when driving. Now, two more laws will impact you in your car. The first (SB 28 Simitian), makes it a ticket-able offense to write, send, or read text-based communication on an electronic wireless communications device, such as a cell phone, while driving a motor vehicle. Previously, this was illegal only for individuals under 18 years of age, but now has been expanded to all drivers.

The second (SB 1567 Oropeza), allows a portable GPS device to be mounted in a 7-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield on the passenger side of the vehicle, or in a 5-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield on the driver’s side. These are the only two locations on a windshield where a GPS device can be mounted. The GPS device can be used only for navigational purposes while the motor vehicle is being operated, and it is required to be mounted outside of an airbag deployment zone.

Industry Trends

Novel Programs Keep Vacant Homes’ Lights On

The market is sputtering but creativity is not. Here are two innovative responses to the downturn that prevent vacant homes from becoming eyesores that drag down surrounding property values. 

Fannie Mae’s National REO Rental Property Policy

The mortgage lender’s National Real Estate Owned Rental Policy will allow qualified renters in Fannie Mae-owned foreclosed properties to stay in their homes. The policy applies to renters occupying foreclosed properties at the time Fannie Mae acquires the properties. Renters occupying any type of single-family property will be eligible, including residents of two- to four-unit properties, condos, co-ops, single-family detached homes, and manufactured housing. Eligible renters will be offered a new month-to-month lease with Fannie Mae or financial assistance for their transition to new housing should they choose to vacate the property. While the company markets the properties for sale, Fannie Mae will hire real estate practitioners or property management companies to manage the properties. The company will not require security deposits to be posted in connection with this program. For more info, visit Fannie Mae’s Web site and review “National REO Rental Property Policy FAQs.”

For more information, please visit www.fanniemae.com/index.jhtml .

Designer HomeTending

Call this one housesitters with benefits. Designer HomeTending, which just opened two offices in Los Angeles, locates pre-qualified renters who possess top-quality furnishings to reside in homes, keep the homes in immaculate and open house condition, pay the utility bills, leave during showings, and pack up and vacate when the home sells. The home tenders pay minimal rents, basically living in mansions for the price of a studio apartment. Designer HomeTending has offices in Boise, Las Vegas, Denver, and Salt Lake City. The service is available to real estate agents and homeowners at no cost. For more information about the Los Angeles offices, call (323) 215-5615 or visit www.designerhometending.com.