NAR Installs 2009 Officers

ORLANDO, Fla., Nov 10, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Charles McMillan, a Realtor(R) from Irving, Texas, was installed today as 2009 president of the National Association of Realtors(R) at the association's Board of Directors meeting during the REALTORS(R) Conference & Expo here. More than 20,000 Realtors(R) and guests from the United States and abroad attended the annual meeting this year.
(Logo: Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080923/NARLOGO)
In 2008, McMillan was NAR president-elect, and he was NAR first vice president in 2007. He also served twice as NAR Region X vice president, which comprises Texas and Louisiana. A Realtor(R) for more than 20 years, he is a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth. McMillan was president of the Texas Association of Realtors in 1998, and named Texas "Realtor(R) of the Year" in 2000. He was president of the Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors(R) in 1991, and was selected as GFWAR's "Realtor(R) of the Year" in 1986.

Vicki Cox Golder, a Realtor(R) from Tucson, Ariz., is 2009 president-elect. A Realtor(R) for 35 years, Cox Golder owns Vicki L. Cox & Associates in Tucson, specializing in commercial, farm and land brokerage, as well as building and development. In 2005, she was NAR's Region XI vice president, representing Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Cox Golder was president of the Arizona Association of Realtors(R) in 1994, and served as president of the Tucson Association of Realtors(R) in 1991. She was named "Realtor(R) of the Year" by her local peers in 1989.

Realtor(R) Ron Phipps from Warwick, R.I., is 2009 first vice president. A Realtor(R) for more than 30 years, Phipps is broker/president of Phipps Realty in Warwick, specializing in residential brokerage. In 2003, he was NAR's Region I vice president; the region comprises Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Phipps was president of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors(R) in 2000. He was also president of the statewide Multi-Listing Service (MLS) in 1993. He was named Rhode Island's "Realtor(R) of the Year" in 1995.

James L. Helsel Jr., a Realtor(R) from Lemoyne, Pa., remains as NAR treasurer in 2009. A Realtor(R) for 34 years, Helsel is a partner with RSR Realtors(R), a full-service real estate company in Harrisburg, Pa. He served as NAR 2002 Region II vice president, which comprises New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. In 1994, Helsel was president of the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors(R). In 2001, his state peers named him "Realtor(R) of the Year."
Gary Thomas, a Realtor(R) from Orange County, Calif., is 2009 vice president and liaison to government affairs. A Realtor(R) for more than 30 years, Thomas is president of RE/MAX Real Estate Services in Orange County, specializing in residential brokerage. In 2001, he served as president of the California Association of Realtors(R), and was also awarded the "Realtor(R) of the Year" by his state peers. Thomas was president of the Saddleback Association of Realtors(R) in 1987, now known as the Orange County Association of Realtors(R).
Steve Brown, a Realtor(R) from Dayton, Ohio, is 2009 vice president and liaison to committees. A Realtor(R) for more than 30 years, Brown is broker-owner of Irongate Inc. In 2005, he was Region VI vice president, which comprises Ohio and Michigan. In 2002, Brown was president of the Ohio Association of Realtors(R). At the local level, Brown was president of the Dayton Area Board of Realtors(R) in 1995, and was selected Broker-Owner of the Year by the board in 1998.
NAR's 2009 regional vice presidents are:
Bonnie Guevin, Manchester, N.H., Region I (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont); Joseph Canfora, East Islip, N.Y., Region II (New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania); Dale Ross, Potomac, Md., Region III (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia); Jane Cox, Lancaster, Ky., Region IV (Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee); Russell Grooms, Jacksonville, Fla., Region V (Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi);
Cathy Sherman Bittrick, Grand Rapids, Mich., Region VI (Michigan and Ohio); Stan Sieron, Belleville, Ill., Region VII (Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin); Scott Louser, Minot, N.D., Region VIII (Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota); Doug Smith, Little Rock, Ark., Region IX (Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma);
Connie Kyle, Baton Rouge, La., Region X (Louisiana and Texas); Keith Kelley, Las Vegas, Nev., Region XI (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming); Jim Johnston, Pocatello, Idaho, Region XII (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington); and Toby Snitkin Bradley, Santa Barbara, Calif., Region XIII (California, Guam and Hawaii).
The National Association of Realtors(R), "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
Information about NAR is available at www.realtor.org. This and other news releases are posted in the Web site's "News Media" section in the NAR Media Center.
REALTOR(R) is a registered collective membership mark which may be used only by real estate professionals who are members of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS(R) and subscribe to its strict Code of Ethics. Not all real estate agents are REALTORS(R). All REALTORS(R) are members of NAR.
SOURCE National Association of Realtors

Translating the Real Estate Numbers: What do they mean October 2008

The National Association of Realtors just released the housing numbers for September. Believe it or not, there is actually some good news. Seasonally adjusted, national sales of homes improved and were sold at an annual rate of 5.18 million. This is above the 4.9 rate that we had seen this summer. This rate is up 5.5%, which is great news. The reason that we are finding ‘a floor’ on the volume of sales is that we are finally moving from attractive prices to compelling prices. The average price moved from $210,500 in September of 2007 to $191,600 September of 2008. This is a drop of 9.0%
One of the main reasons for this significant drop is the mix of houses being sold. A significant portion of homes being sold are ‘REO’s” (Real Estate Owned, by banks, typically foreclosed) and short sale. If 1 in 4 or 5 houses fit in the distressed category, price will come down. Obviously this is what has happened in Rhode Island. But the result of lower prices has been an increase in the pending index of homes in the Ocean State. In 2008, the number of house pending increased by 9% over September of 2007. This is also encouraging news.
One other really important fact in the report is that over 80% of the purchases in September were owner occupied. This is a much higher than normal percentage.
This means that the people buying are purchasing for shelter and will in fact occupy the home. This is a strong stabilizing trend. It also suggests that these buyers will be re creating neighborhoods and taking better care of their properties.
What is also absolutely apparent is that the numbers range broadly across the country and here in Rhode Island. We tend to look at the national numbers and assume they apply directly to our city/town and or neighborhood. This is not the case. As all real estate is local, you need to look at the data for your immediate area to really know what is going on. A Realtor can provide the data and the analysis. Get the advice. The real estate rule which has been: location, location, location is now “all real estate is local.”


To Recap:

What do the number mean?

There is a floor for the number of houses sold just over 5 million nationally.
Prices are still correcting.
Inventory is dropping which will help stabilize the price.
1 in 4/5 Houses in Rhode Island is a foreclosure or a short sale.
Most buyers are in the market to buy a home to occupy for them selves.
Buyer Purpose for buying: shelter.
We really are in a global economy.
Yet all Real Estate is LOCAL.

Home sales, prices decline in Northeast cities

Existing home sales in the Northeast tumbled nearly 19 percent in August from last year, while the median sales price in the region fell 3.8 percent to $271,000, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday.

Compared with the country as a whole, home sales were a bit weaker in the Northeast, but prices held up better. Nationally, sales -- without adjusting for seasonal factors -- were down 15 percent in August from a year ago, while the median price slid 9.5 percent to $203,100.

The Associated Press-Re/Max Monthly Housing Report, also released Wednesday, showed August sales dropped by more than 20 percent in seven of the nine Northeast metro areas tracked. The report analyzed home sales recorded by all real estate agents in those areas, regardless of company affiliation.

But barring a national economic meltdown, the Northeast is likely to emerge from its housing slump before other regions in the country, said Nicolas Retsinas, director of Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies.

The reasons are twofold: The region didn't experience the ambitious overbuilding plaguing the Southwest, California and Florida and the Northeast also isn't suffering from a severe economic downturn like the Midwest.

"I can see the Northeast working through its excess of inventory and trolling around the bottom for a while," Retsinas said. "I can't even think about when that will begin to happen in those other areas of the country."

Retsinas pointed out, though, that job losses on Wall Street could eventually hurt home sales and prices surrounding New York city. In August, sales fell nearly 26 percent, the AP-Re/Max report showed, while the median price slipped less than 5 percent to $460,000. The numbers include Suffolk, Nassau and Westchester counties, but not New York city.

For the second month in a row, Pittsburgh recorded the worst sales decline at 32 percent from August 2007. But the city's median price posted the smallest drop in the region at less than a half-percent to $131,400. Even better for the market, the supply of unsold homes shrunk by a quarter last month.

"I think the economic conditions are leading some people, the traditional move-up buyer, feeling that maybe this is not the right time to put my house on the market," said Tony Mete, president of the Realtors Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh.

He expects sales to continue to lag in September but more inventory to drop off. Mete hopes the possible $700 billion bailout of the U.S. financial system that Congress is debating this week would free up more mortgage money for buyers.

Only the most creditworthy buyers are qualifying for home loans as lenders have raised the bar for borrowers to qualify for a mortgage.

Those stricter credit standards have cut out about a quarter of potential homebuyers in Philadelphia, said Harry Caparo, chairman of Coldwell Banker Preferred in Philadelphia.

"The general condition of the mortgage market and uncertainty of the buyer are the issues today," he said.

Philadelphia also recorded a median price dip below 1 percent in August. Home values fell to $235,000 during the month, while sales activity declined 28 percent. The supply of homes on the market shot up by almost 22 percent.

Caparo expects September sales to be down another 20 to 25 percent after a "substantial drop" in pending sales in the last few months.

MaryAnn Sgobba, president of the Passaic County Board of Realtor, also laments that buyers don't think they can get a mortgage, so they're discouraged from even looking.

The number of sales fell almost 20 percent in the greater Passaic, N.J., area, including sales from the nine surrounding counties. But prices dipped just under 6 percent to $399,900 last month, a welcome adjustment compared to other cities, Sgobba said.

"We're not unhappy with August's stats," she said.

But the supply of unsold homes is ballooning in the Passaic area. Inventory jumped 26 percent in August from a year ago, which could put more downward pressure on prices if sales don't keep up.

More people are contacting Sgobba about current listings, a good sign she said, which could lead to more sales in September. She also hopes the housing rescue plan passed in May, which includes a credit of up to $7,500 for first-time homebuyers, will boost sales.

Foreclosures are the largest obstacle for Providence, R.I., where nearly one of five sales are distressed properties, said Ron Phipps of Phipps Realty in Warwick, R.I.The discounted properties are weighing on values too. The median price plunged by nearly 15 percent last month to $230,000, the largest drop in the Northeast, the AP-Re/Max report showed. Sales there also fell 22 percent in August.

"We've gone back to 2004 pricing which was pre-housing boom," Phipps said. "I'm looking very much to bottom in prices this fall or winter."

The median home price in Augusta, Maine, posted the second largest decline last month. Values there lost nearly 13 percent to $141,500 as the volume of sales slowed by almost 30 percent. Inventory was nearly unchanged.

"We're still in an adjustment period so we'll be down through 2008," said Bill Sprague, a partner at Sprague and Curtis Real Estate in Augusta. But he expects sales to perk up next year

J.W. ELPHINSTONE

The Associated Press September 24, 2008, 3:02PM ET

www.phippsrealty.com

Realtors soldier on in down market

For real estate agents coping with Rhode Island’s struggling housing market, last week’s meltdown on Wall Street was hardly welcome news. Nothing that threatens to undermine buyer confidence or the availability of credit is ever good news for the real estate business.

But as the fall real estate market gets under way, most brokers and salespeople, already used to new market realities, are continuing to soldier on, according Rob Scaralia, president of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.

“We’re still working our way through it,” Scaralia said of the market downturn.

Turmoil on Wall Street has the potential to hurt consumer confidence, he said, “by creating some uncertainty” for buyers.

But the inventory of residential properties for sale in Rhode Island was down across the board this month compared with September last year, according to the association. There are 6,693 single-family houses for sale, compared with 6,874 last year; 1,536 multifamilies for sale, compared with 1,864 last year, and 1,762 condos for sale, compared with 1,793 last year.

“The candid answer is we’re not sure yet if it will have any impact on us,” Ron Phipps, of Phipps Realty, of Warwick, said of the financial crisis on Wall Street. Phipps is a former president of the Realtors’ association.

In his own office, “we had a major closing [last Monday], and two more closings scheduled at end of September,” Phipps said. “I think people are doing what we need to do.”

Phipps said the challenges at this point are all the foreclosed properties that have flooded the market and the credit crunch.

“When one in every four or five transactions is REO [real-estate owned, or foreclosed properties], that makes it particularly difficult,” Phipps said.

Bargain-savvy buyers can’t help comparing prices of market properties with the distressed ones. And the sale of distressed properties — including foreclosures and short sales — “take forever to resolve,” Phipps said.

Lenders often take weeks or even months to respond to an offer to buy a foreclosed or short-sale property, Phipps said.

These delays have become legendary in recent months as lenders’ loss-management divisions have been overwhelmed with the sheer numbers of foreclosures and requests for short sales.

Tightened credit is an issue, Phipps added. “The demand is fairly strong,” he said. “…The problem is access to the money … We need to create true liquidity.”

“I think that the days of all of those funky no-doc loans, and the crazy loans that were out there, and the risky loans, we’re not going to see them for a while to come,” said Stephen Tetzner, an owner of HomeStar Mortgage Inc., of Providence, and one of the directors of the Rhode Island Mortgage Bankers Association. Tetzner said the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac earlier this month “did wonders for mortgage rates,” delivering the lowest rates since April or May of this year.

“There is a credit crunch,” Tetzner admitted. But people with good credit, who can document their income, “can get financed,” he said. Low down-payment programs are still available through FHA, and Rhode Island Housing is still able to help qualified first-time buyers with 100-percent financing, he said.

Tetzner added that condominium financing is more difficult in this market because “mortgage insurance companies are scared about the values” in the condo market. Many condo financing programs now require a bigger down payment, he said. And he said that condo conversion projects with less than four units “are not insurable” under HUD guidelines.

But the Fed’s decision last week to hold off on a further cut in interest rates “is not necessarily a bad thing,” Tetzner said. “Just because the Fed lowers rates doesn’t mean mortgage rates will go down.” Fear of inflation can drive up mortgage rates even after the Fed cuts rates, he said.

This market, as difficult as it is, “is not as challenging as it was in the early 1980s after the credit union crisis,” Phipps said.

Phipps said he strives to be honest when buyers ask him to “guarantee that the price won’t drop” by admitting that it is a possibility.

He said he tells buyers that although property may lose some value in the short term, “in the interim you’re going to be in the house you want.”

But for people who plan to stay in a house only for a year? “Maybe you ought to rent,” Phipps said.
Christine Dunn, Providence Journal September 21,2008

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Ron Phipps Testifies at Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C. - September 18, 2008 - (RealEstateRama) — Homeowners who are struggling to make their mortgage payments must have more options available to them to avoid foreclosure, particularly in the area of short sales, according to National Association of Realtors®‘ testimony before the House Financial Services Committee today.

“When people lose homes to foreclosure, our communities, the housing market and our economy all suffer,” said Ron Phipps, 2009 NAR first vice president nominee. “Expanding the use of short sales would benefit consumers, lenders and the surrounding community.”

A short sale is a transaction in which the seller’s mortgage lender agrees to accept a payoff of less than the balance due on the loan. The lender often receives a higher amount of the remaining loan balance than it would from the sale of the property after a foreclosure. This helps support home values in the surrounding community. Short sales also help homeowners maintain some level of credit.

“Short sales can be used to avoid foreclosures, and can be less costly than a foreclosure to the lending institution,” Phipps said. “Unfortunately, many Realtors® are increasingly encountering roadblocks that prevent troubled homeowners from taking advantage of short sales. We hear that lenders are often taking a very long time to decide whether to accept a short sale, often resulting in the loss of the home buyer and the sale, and negatively impacting the neighborhood and the community,” said Phipps.

Realtors® cite many reasons for the difficulty in completing a short sale. These include burdensome paperwork, appraisals that do not consider the sellers’ duress or number of foreclosures in the community, over-burdened loss mitigation departments, and the complications created by second mortgages.

NAR has created a working group to examine the problems and difficulties surrounding short sales and to educate its members on how to best work with their clients through this process. NAR is also reaching out to its partners in the housing and mortgage industry to encourage adoption of principles and practices to streamline the short sale process. “We are asking all lenders and their servicers to deliver a clear answer, in writing, within a reasonable timeframe,” Phipps said.

“Our nation faces significant challenges in dealing with the economic turmoil fostered by the housing market,” said Phipps. “To combat this, we must assist those families threatened with the loss of their home by using all of the tools that we have at our disposal. Short sales offer families who cannot avoid losing their home a way to repay a portion of their debt obligation while maintaining a level of dignity during the process and somewhat salvaging their credit, enabling them to perhaps someday own a home again. NAR and its members stand ready to work with Congress and other industry partners to improve and implement all foreclosure mitigation efforts.”