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Winter Wonderland 2

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Other things you have to ensure in your house before winter comes especially if you will not be in it for the entire season:

See to it that exposed pipes in your basements and in the garage are correctly insulated, check them for cracks and leaks. If possible, have your water sytem drained by a trained professional. Remove garden hoses and drain exterior faucets, you can turn off the water supply by using the shut off valve. Prevent your pipes from freezing by setting the thermostat in your house to at least 50 degrees. Apply weather stripping to your doors and replace peeled or cracked caulking on windows.

Marketing Srategy

To be able to succeed in real estate marketing, you must be truly committed to your work. Breathe real estate, eat real estate, sleep real estate. Home owners now a days tend to sell their property on their own rather than contact a broker or real estate agent. These people usually have knowledge in the real estate business. So how can you put yourself in a position where they will hire you for your service?
First is, you must develop your reputation as a good and honest agent. Always be ready to serve the client and be ready to help out with the documents or paper works after closing the sale. If you rendered the best service to a client, chances are, you’re going to be trusted and recommended by the same people, even through word of mouth. This simply is the best way to earn your way to the top rank.

CHASING THE CONSUMER

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It’s hard to go anywhere or do anything without being exposed to marketing and a rapidly growing number of ways designed to lure us into buying new products.Yet it’s not that our desire to be bombarded with marketing and advertising has increased; quite the contrary, we don’t want it. Just think of the “Do Not Call” list and the legislation that has been enacted to reduce spamming.”? Even our new love for TIVO and DVRs is the result of a strong desire to zap out unwanted commercials.According to Trend #4 in the Swanepoel Trends Report for 2007, the Internet, while it continues to be a great solution, has provided its fair share of complications.”? For example, type in “Homes for Sale” on Google or Yahoo and you will get results numbering in the multiple millions.”? Yet according to Realtor.com there are currently only approximately 3 million properties for sale.The reason lies in the fact that the real estate industry is still marketing all over the board and really doesn’t understand the online marketing channel. In many cases the industry is complacent in its approach to marketing and the methods it employs; it still holds onto old “trusted” methods while jumping onto anything new.

The New Age of Urban Living

In many cities across the world, there has been an increasing demand for fine living spaces and master-planned communities. With home buyers and real estate investors demanding luxury amenities, fine finishes and more features, a condo and housing boom has resulted in some magnificent real estate developments and boutique residences.

The Types of Urban Living Homes in North America
There are many opportunities for a prospective individual or couple to get into the real estate market. Whether you are looking for a permanent residence or a real estate investment home, both the United States and Canada markets provide numerous types of housing that will suit your lifestyle and requirements. Obviously, the most expensive but most sought after urban living real estate property is a home. Not only does a private home provide you with ample space and privacy, but they are really at a premium in most major cities and towns these days as they have become quite expensive, especially homes and residences near city centers and major transportation routes.

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Canada: Housing Market Drops

According to some evidence, Canada’s housing market is been dropping for four consecutive months, at least 15% below than last summer. In the first quarter of 2008, the average resale of home prices declined. And the demand for new residential building and single-family home permit has sharply dropped, and unsold new homes are trending higher. Another factor for the housing decrease, is the inhospitable weather and home renovation expenses are beginning to cost higher.

Canada is making a risk in doing an eventual price correction for its real estate market. While inventories of unsold houses are getting high, market for this is not overbuilt, wherein new houses built are regulated. Also, Canadian lenders have maintained a conservative loan qualifying criteria and sometimes an adjustable mortgage rate, to help lessen foreclosure.

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Home Prices Continues to Drop

Record shows that as early as this year, home prices continued to decline in increasing rate. Single-family home prices dropped by 11.4% in 10 major metropolitan areas last January, this is according to S&P/Case-Shiller home-price indexes. This index data track the price path of single-family homes in particular metropolitan area by matching it to the price pairs of many individual houses. In their data, Las Vegas and Miami were the weakest home market last

January with at least 19% decline. Followed by Phoenix, with 18.2% decline and Washington & Minneapolis with 10.9% and 10% decline, respectively

Also, because of an increased abundance of foreclosed homes in the market is likely pushing down house prices in some areas.

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Banks: Foreclosure Increases , Sales Decreases

Now days, foreclosure is alarmingly increasing in higher rate and because of this, lenders are acquiring homes faster than selling them off.

About 2% of home loans were foreclosed by the end of last year, and was noted as the highest foreclosure rate since the Mortgage Bankers Association started collecting data.

It was also mentioned that the heaviest concentrations of foreclosed loans are in Florida, Nevada, Ohio, Michigan & Indiana. Rallying in the foreclosure are California, Arizona & Georgia. And because of this increase, it is expected that about two-thirds of homeowners will lose their homes.

And some of these houses in foreclosure state will not totally be owned by banks. Because borrower will go into deals with the lenders on easing the loan terms and allowing them to catch up on payments.

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Florida: Increased Market for Townhouses

The market for townhouses has increased throughout the state. This is because single family home prices have gone up.

Townhouse is a cross between a condo and a single-family home and offers the best criteria of both worlds. These units are detached with private entrance or gate and the owner need not worry taking care of a landscaping.

This type of units is not viewed same with the condo boom, but seen as a substitute to higher land and construction costs of a single houses.

Townhouses production has increasingly grown for the past five or six years in south Florida. Because of this boom and low prices, more family are buying or moving into townhouses.

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CondoTel

A CondoTel is a condominium project that is operated as a hotel with a registration desk, cleaning service and complete with all the amenities that a hotel can offer The units are individually owned. Unit owners also have the option to place their unit in the hotels rental program where it is rented out like any other hotel room.

There are advantages and dis-advantages to condotel ownership.

Advantages
- Pros include rental income to offset ownership expenses, a great vacation home, a cared-for home and potential price appreciation.

Dis-Advantages
- You might have to make a reservation for your own unit several days or weeks in advance. There are risks associated with all hotel ownership as well, such as occupancy rates that might be based on general economic conditions and potential destruction of the property.

Generally, condotels cannot be considered as your ‘first’ home. It is good for investment or as ‘second’ home only.

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Top-Earning Town for 2007

There are just places that have everything every family could have wanted – high economic opportunity, safe environment, better schools and an air of community sense. If there is a place that will fit in the expression, “don’t even bother to ask how much it actually costs, you sure can’t afford it”, it is Hillsborough in California.

The population of this wealthy place is about 10, 500. The average household income of the residences here is $263, 456. If you are planning to move in to this place, you should be confident that you could afford a multi-million house because a single house could cost you $2.6 million on the average.