I’m getting an increasing number of calls to the VAR Legal Hotline about the legal and ethical issues REALTORS® face in increasingly-common short sales. In this brand new 29 minute webcast, I address some of the most frequently asked questions such as:

1. Is it legal or ethical to require the seller to state that the home is a short sale listing in the MLS?
2. What happens when a ratified contract with a third party approval clause fails because the third party rejects the offer?
3. What are my obligations when the bank asks me to reduce my commission on a short sale?
4. Why aren’t lenders be required to pre-approve the selling price before short sale listings are entered into the MLS?
5. Are “conditional commissions” permitted in the MLS?

Scott Rogers, with Coldwell Banker Funkhouser in Harrisonburg, VA, I mean.

Amid all the hyperbole and sweeping generalization in the media about the state of real estate markets nationwide, Rogers had added a dose of reality to that most-essential of REALTOR® marketing branding tools: He’s added his market’s monthly home sales data to the back of his business card. Clever, huh? Good conversation starter, certainly. Business tool? Absolutely. And remarkably low-tech (though of course he does direct folks to his blog for “more analysis”).

And yes, he prints new cards every month.

I really love my job! I deal with people every day, and when my efforts are successful my clients are happy. I deal with agents every day too (yes, they are people too), and there aren’t so many who are happy these days. Some people who are trying to sell their homes in today’s market aren’t happy either. Everyone wants top dollar for their home and, in their perception, they aren’t getting it. Frustration ensues, and a feeding frenzy of negativity between agents and sellers surrounds them like a huge, dark cloud. It just doesn’t have to be that way.There are several things that sellers can control when placing their home on the market.

• Timing - Most of the time sellers can control the time of year their property is to be introduced to the market. Some times are better than others.
• Price - Completely controlled by sellers. Realtors may recommend a range in which to price but the listing price is solely controlled by the owner of the property.
• Condition - I always recommend areas of improvement when preparing a property to list. Sometimes a home needs paint, sometimes cleaning, sometimes a whole lot more than that, but sellers control the maintenance and condition of the home. If you have a property for sale and it is messy or cluttered, only you can correct that.
• Terms - When an offer comes in, your tolerance level dictates whether it is acceptable. Most of the time a counter-offer reflects what you really want, but sometimes sellers aren’t ready for what they see. An offer can start a chain of events that takes time, but the events are sometimes consolidated into 24 or 48 hours. Not good! Read on.

There are also a couple of things that are controlled by the market. They are simply beyond a seller’s and agent’s span of control:

• Competition - Houses are placed on the market every day, and pricing these days is sometimes not reflective of actual market conditions. Nevertheless, it’s out of our control. We don’t decide the prices of other homes. We instead want to use them to your advantage.
• The Economy - We cannot control interest rates, the media, or general buyer sentiment that results from economic issues.

What do agents control?

• Promotion - We control how to market your property for sale, where and how to advertise, and use our networks to help get your house sold. My marketing plan is similar in some respects to that of other Realtors, but I am a lot more personal about it. List with me to find out just how aggressive I really am…but I digress…this isn’t about me! I want to write about seller’s loss!

So, out of all of these elements and so many variables between them all, who controls how quickly a house sells? Is it the agent? Sometimes, but he controls only one element of the sale. Is it the seller? Sometimes, but she controls only four of the elements of the sale. Is it the market? Sometimes, but interest rates and the economy wiggle every day. Is that crystal clear to you?

Let’s look at the primary element of any given home sale; the price. If your home is priced right, given all of the other variables in the home sales equation, it will sell. I promise!

Let’s say seller x lists his property at $700,000 when everything comparable to him in his neighborhood is selling for $600,000. (more…)

Raw data is…well…raw data and that means if you misread the numbers, read them with bias, or even read them in a vacuum, it’s easy to misconstrue any sort of research. Home sales stats are no different and this realization is one of the driving factors in the renovation of Virginia’s home sales report.

VAR has now formed a strategic partnership with GMU’s Office of Housing Policy Research that adds additional value and context to its home sales reports. The main aim of the partnership is to produce more in depth quarterly accounts of Virginia home sales that view the state’s housing situation from a chronologically broader and more analytical viewpoint, improving on the snapshot analysis that was the former focus of monthly reports. The new report format now includes not only raw data from local associations, but also

• A look at both national and state markets
• Statistics on job growth and other important economic indicators
• Housing affordability analysis and
• Honest interpretation of the facts

In addition to reinventing the report format, VAR and GMU have also renovated its distribution. Members and the general public can still download reports online, however now media have the opportunity to call in and get an in-person perspective from Virginia’s REALTOR(r) leaders and expert researchers.

The Virginia 2008 first quarter home sales report is now available online and its most important messages are implicit: Perspective is critically important and considering context is crucial.

A Few Highlights…

If you’re looking at national stats, recession is likely. If you zoom into Virginia, our economy has continually outperformed the nation, is still experiencing job growth, and these factors and the diversity of industry across the state contribute to a healthy economic outlook.

Nationally households with an average income can afford 47 percent of homes on the market. When you zoom into Virginia you see households with an average income can afford 50-60 percent of homes on the market.

Nationally and in Virginia prices are dropping and in most areas stabilizing. In both cases, this is contributing to an overall housing affordability increase and created market entry opportunities for a new sect of savvy buyers.

It’s no secret that home prices in Northern Virginia are expected to continue to decrease; however, that’s only half the story. In Prince William, one of the hardest hit areas; pending sales have increased from 1,645 in the first quarter of 2007 to 2,341 in the first quarter of 2008. This isn’t surprising with interest rate decreasing and price stabilization, it seems like prospective homeowners are starting to get the message. Now IS a great time to buy.

No one knows exactly what the next stage will be in the life of the imaginary “national” housing market and its also true that unlike 2004-06 not just anyone can be successful in real estate. But for the smart buyers, sellers, and REALTORS(r), there’s a lot of opportunity for wealth building and Virginia is still one of the best places to be in real estate in the nation.

Don’t take my word for it; check out the good, the bad, and the real Virginia perspective on the housing market at www.VARealtor.com/HomeSalesReport today.