John Hall & Associates RSS Feed Update

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Oh and our new blog address is JohnHall.com/blog

Thank you for reading our blog, we hope to be back on track publishing the good stuff soon!

Phoenix Home Sales Statistics – April 2010

April’s numbers are telling us something. I guess it’s up to us to figure out what. I’ll need a couple of articles for April’s review. First the numbers-9200 closings!!! Wow, 4th month in a row of increases both Month over Month and same Month-year over year (y over y). Actually we have had same Month-y over y increases for the last 23 months-another indicator of market improvement. With 14,506 in Pending status, this trend should continue for another month or two. Yes, I realize that the tax incentive is going away, but the Pending’s have to close by 6/30 to be eligible for the tax credit. The Pending’s, combined with the 8000+ AWC’s are at record levels.

Probably most of the focus this month will be on prices and where are they going. Prices are bumping along, up 1 month then down the next. April’s price numbers might make news this month because the 12 month average will be up for the first time in a while. What? That’s right even though the month to month are up then down, our Average Sales Price (ASP) is up 8% over April of 2009. But as reporters are prone to do, they may report on April’s ASP being down 3% from 12/09. Median Sales Prices (MSP) are also up-10% same Month y over y; and 1% from 12/09.

Let’s return to the 9200 closings for April. 38% were REO’s and 22% were Short Sales (SS). You can see that the trend-“REO’s decreasing-with SS increasing” will continue by looking at the Pending’s-33% are REO’s and 29% SS; the AWC’s-over 7000 are SS; and even Active Listings where SS make up 27% with REO’s @14%.

The foreclosure numbers will also be making news this month. Initial numbers for April indicate completed foreclosures were down 20% from March’s record numbers. And Pending foreclosure numbers dropped another 2268-the largest drop on record.

Short Sale Seminar with Jim Sexton

May15th Old Republic Title is hosting Short Sales Exposed.  It’s a short sale panel discussion with Designated Broker Jim Sexton, Duane Fouts, John Foltz, Michelle Lind, and Steve Chader.

The event is… May 19th 9-noon.

The cost is… zip-zero.

The location is… Scottsdale Center for the Arts 7380 E. Second St

You can register… here.

We’re moving JohnHall.com to WordPress

logo by: koka_sexton

…which also means we are redesigning JohnHall.com.  It’s been a fun learning opportunity as we design and convert our existing website over to the self hosted wordpress platform. Our conversion date will be May 13th. Of course we expect it to be a smooth flip of the switch that only results in seconds of downtime. (sarcasm? sarcasm.)  Our goal is to minimize the downtime, we’re just not sure how long it will take.

The switch should not affect the Intranet system – it’s not changing.  During our conversion the intranet should still be available at JohnHall.com/intranet.

Special thanks to the flickr users that set their image licenses to Creative Commons.  We’re taking full advantage of your generosity and photo skills.  We will be paying attribution from our about page.

Many thanks to Superlative Real Estate Websites for agreeing to work with our design deadlines and powering the home search and agent roster.

If you’d like a sneak peak at the new site – we’re still working on it here.  If you’re wondering which WP theme we’re using – Headway.

Moral of the story, please be aware from May13-May 15 there may some dust (or falling beams) from our construction project at JohnHall.com.  Thanks again for your patience as we improve our web presence.

Phil Sexton & Bill Evans

Create Videos With Zero Editing

Last Saturday I attended Scottsdale Camp at Sky Song in Scottsdale.  I learned (and am going to share) 2 ways to create videos without having to do the tedious part of editing. (WooHoo!)  They should also fit into your budget – $FREE.99!!

First, youtube.com/searchstories.  Here’s my attempt to create something interesting.  No screenshots were harmed  in the making of this film. I did zero video editing to create this.  Simply type in search terms, check the box next to the music that you want and push publish.

Here’s my shot at it…

(h/t: Justin Mchood)

To be honest, this was the easiest video I’ve ever created. The hardest part was figuring out what to type in the boxes.

Next I learned about Animoto, the second no editing video creation tool. For this example, I decided to spice up normally boring virtual tours by creating a rock video version of our Scottsdale Virtual Office Tour.

(h/t: D. Patrick Lewis)

Not bad for an automatic tool!?!?  Alright, your turn.  Go get yourself a FREE youtube account and a FREE animoto account and start creating awesome videos!

Phoenix’s Bank Owned Home Numbers

Tom Ruff of the Information Market posted March’s foreclosure numbers recently, which caught my eye regarding the REO market in Maricopa County.

Let me explain. March had 8045 Notices posted which was a 6% increase over February. While that may sound like bad news remember March had 3 more ‘business’ days and the 2010 numbers were 25% below March 2009.

The number of ‘Canceled’ Foreclosures was 3747-the highest month ever. More Short Sales and Loan Mods? (Probably) The Canceled numbers were 7% higher than 2/10 and 15% higher than 3/9. Again starting to sound like good news.

The banks completed 5556 Trustee sales, also the highest month on record. This may be attributed to the longer month and/or the end of a quarter. With the completed sales and the canceled sales, the month showed a 1314 drop in “Bank Owned” properties-the current Shadow Inventory. In fact the number of Bank Owned dropped 2634 for the quarter, the first drop for a quarter since Q1 2006. Wow some might be starting to think the ship is turning.

I did some personal study of the 16,342 current ‘Bank Owned’ properties. I found 4970 active in ARMLS; 384 AWC; 4524 Pending; and 203 Closed so far in April. That’s approximately 10,000 of the 16,000. Are the Bank Owned-but not on the market numbers growing? It appears so-Is that bad? Probably not. Remember the Fannie Mae program of ‘rent backs’ after foreclosure? Wouldn’t that lead to more ‘Bank Owned’ but not on the market?

Again thanks to Tom for his counting, reporting and explaining. It certainly helps to make some sense of what’s happening in today’s greater Metropolitan Phoenix market.

Greater Phoenix: March Real Estate Review

Initial numbers are in for March. Yes March madness continues. Number of Closed Escrows for March is 8846, that’s a 16% increase over 3/09 and a 34% increase over 2/10. 2010′s YTD Closed figures show a 19% increase over 2009′s 1st Quarter numbers.

REO sales numbers are continuing to decline as a percentage of sales-39% of Closed; 34% of Pending; and 15% of Active listings. Short Sales on the other hand are increasing with 21% of Closed; 30% of Pending (or 3930); another 6585 in AWC status (89%); and 27% of Active listings.

The other noteworthy item is the number of Pendings and AWC’s. Total Pendings on April 1 are 13,190; and total AWC’s are 7429. That’s an awful lot of property in escrow. Let’s hope the AWC short sales get approved and closed.

I’ll comment on Prices at a later date since my initial review of closed sales found over $25 million dollars in sale price discrepancies.

Facebook and Superlative Open Office Meetings

Instead of scheduling 1 on 1 meetings to answer technology questions that I receive, we’re going to try something brand new! Based on the feedback from this open office post we are going to answer the questions in the bullpen or conference room of the Paradise Valley branch.  Come one come all.  It doesn’t matter which company or industry you’re apart of – everyone is welcome. Yes you.

Question 1: Can I make a facebook fan page for my subdivision?

Answer 1: Yes, it looks like there are already a couple of fan pages for your subdivision, but they appear to be automatic-posting hubs, which means there is no real value.  Take a look at facebook fan pages for real estate agents.  I’ll be happy to meet with you in order to get it set up.

Facebook Fan Page Open Office Meeting: Monday March 22nd @ 11am

Question 2: Will you help me figure out how to edit my Superlative website?

Answer 2: Yes, what would you like to know?  (Insert questions about importing google maps, slideshows, and calendars. Install a live chat link, feature blog posts, and team bios.)

Superlative Open Office Meeting: Tuesday March 23rd @ 10am (or after the regular PV office mtg)

Invite you friends. Bring your computers. Let’s work together!

Social Media Marketing Institute (SMMI) coming to Arizona

The Arizona Association of REALTORS® is working with the SMMI to bring this class to Arizona. Also see their calendar for free upcoming facebook classes.

Social Media is Simple to Engage In … But It’s Easy to End Up As a Car Wreck

Consumers can now engage with real estate professionals on the terms of the consumer and with the consumer’s approval and permission; leading to a better understanding of consumer wants and needs through effective engagement and listening.

The two-day Certified Social Media Marketer (CSM) designation course teaches you to:

• Understand the difference between interruptive and consumer permission-based marketing and how Social Media allows the consumer to avoid receiving advertising and marketing messages they wish to avoid.
• Comply with the National Association of REALTORS®’ Code of Ethics Articles 12 & 15, understanding how changes to those articles affect responsible interaction on Social media platforms.
• Avoid misrepresentation, plagiarism and reputation issues through proper risk management techniques and safety awareness.
• Implement Social Media tools (Twitter, Facebook, Blogging, LinkedIn, et al.) as part of an overall strategy.
• Develop business strategies for social networks, social bookmarking, blogging, micro‐blogging, lifestreaming, file sharing, and related tools.
• Understand etiquette, branding and the effective steps to connecting with consumers in a manner that contributes value to the consumer’s community online.
• Implement systems to protect client data and privacy.

Date: March 29 & 30
Location: Phoenix Association of REALTORS®
Cost: $249* course fee includes one year Institute membership ($99 value)
*($50 discount off regular registration fee of $299)
C/E: 14 general credit (AAR school)

What past students say: Testimonials

You’ll leave the course with a written plan with actual strategies to close REAL business using social media.

And, you’ll learn how to manage your risk when using social media – go to budurl.com/SMMIAZ to sign up!

Do you know about FHA 203k rehab loans?

If not, you may want to either read this lengthy info on the HUD website, or you are welcome to attend this free…

FHA 203K Learning Seminar

Presented by Alex Jovicich – New Front Group, Joe Prestia at Valley Services, and Margo Rockas and Matthew Belmont of OnQ Financial.

They will be discussing 203K purchases, repairs, and other questions as they relate to contracts and escrow processes in a 203K FHA purchase.

Where:
John Hall and Associates Tatum Branch – Kiva Room
11211 N. Tatum Blvd. Suite 200
Phoenix, AZ 85028

When:
March 31st 2010 at 12:00pm

Who:
Everyone.  Yes you.  No need to be with John Hall & Associates or in the real estate business.  This is open to ALL.