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Aug

21
2009

Expand the homebuyer tax credit

By Inman News, Friday, August 21, 2009.

Re: 'First-time-buyer tax credit is "unfair" ' (Aug. 18)

Dear Editor:

I completely disagree with Marcie Geffner's conclusions about the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit -- all except the last one.

Unlike so many aspects of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act signed into law last February, the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit is actually working as intended -- as a true economic stimulus. Your math stops short of the real point -- that the broader economic impact of home sales goes far beyond the real estate industry.  more...

Expand, contract

By Curbed.com, Friday, August 21, 2009.

Grist has an interview with Planetizen's managing editor and recent Angeleno Tim Halbur. He says he's fallen in love with L.A., but also that Portland and New York are the U.S.'s greenest cities, that we need to be living more densely, and that city living should involve "a little chaos and grit."

Still, Halbur is intrigued by L.A.'s strong point, sprawl -- he curated "The Story of Sprawl," a DVD compilation of short films from the early to mid-20th century that illustrate Americans' abandonment of cities, and the rise of freeways and suburbs.  more...

Aug

20
2009

Life without the buyer tax credit

By Inman News, Thursday, August 20, 2009.

Re: 'First-time-buyer tax credit is "unfair" ' (Aug. 18)

Dear Editor:

Since when is life fair -- or the tax code, as far as that goes? To argue that the tax credit is artificially inflating prices for homes as prices drop in nearly all markets is just one more argument for, "Every man for himself and damn the rest."

The jobs provided by the housing industry, tax base and infrastructure upgrades are not mentioned -- just the lucky flippers and rich real estate brokers and lenders.  more...

Commission pay is 'the solution'

By Inman News, Thursday, August 20, 2009.

Re: 'Throw away the cue cards' (Aug. 7)

Dear Editor:

This opinion was a good thought and insightful until the last paragraph: "If many more agents truly understood and performed their fiduciary duties as a professional, rather than someone who has been juiced up to win the next sales competition, we would be able to actually begin getting paid for our time and expertise, rather than having to get a deal closed. We will never be true professionals in the eyes of the public as long as we get paid by commission."

This tarnished and deflated my opinion of the letter.  more...

Aug

19
2009

Malibu beach tours rile neighbors

By Curbed.com, Wednesday, August 19, 2009.

The Los Angeles Times reports on urban mischief-makers/fake scout group L.A. Urban Rangers, which gives talks and tours on the fine and mutable line between L.A.'s private and public spaces.

This month they're offering free Malibu safaris, leading groups in hanging out on the public strip of land between private beaches and the ocean.

Don't miss the video of angry Malibu-ites reacting to this awful pleb incursion.  more...

Real estate's August report card

By John Burns, Wednesday, August 19, 2009.

Several months ago, we told our clients we thought we were entering a "W"-shaped recovery, with the "first leg up" in the W driven by four things:  more...

  • tremendous affordability for those who are currently paying rent;
  • the $8,000 federal tax credit, which is currently set to expire on Nov. 30, 2009;
  • government-backed FHA, USDA, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae lending programs that offer far more aggressive loans than a bank would make; and
  • positive media reports about rising median home prices, which are primarily driven by a location mix shift away from the poorer areas of town, but also driven by price stability at the lower end of the market.

Aug

18
2009

Tax credit doesn't hike home prices

By Inman News, Tuesday, August 18, 2009.

Re: 'First-time-buyer tax credit is "unfair" ' (Aug. 17)

Dear Editor:

I don't know where Marcie comes from or if she has ever sold real estate, but the first-time homebuyer tax credit HAS NOT impacted the sale price on any properties I have seen. And in my area (an upscale community) it has NO impact whatsoever.

Another issue has been finding first-time homebuyers with the money to put down or that are creditworthy. I think, in the Central Ohio area, this (credit) has had only a small impact on the home sales, therefore not creating but a ripple of economic impact on our area.  more...

Conclusion close for contest to 'insult' suburbs

By Curbed.com, Tuesday, August 18, 2009.

Design magazines Inhabitat and Dwell are sponsoring a "Re-burbia" contest, the purpose of which is "re-envisioning the suburbs." And by "re-envision," they mean "fix," because the suburbs are hopelessly broken, don't you know?

Look, obviously we're not so into suburbs ourselves; but even we -- strident, shrill, infuriating we -- are a little taken aback by how unapologetic this contest is in its rejection of highways, mansions and strip malls.  more...

Aug

17
2009

Put 'professional' in real estate title

By Inman News, Monday, August 17, 2009.

Re: 'Real estate consultants, not salespeople' (Aug. 12)

Dear Editor:

A salesperson, to the general public, often brings to mind car salesmen, retail, etc.

Consultants are presumed to be professional businesspeople with a professional attitude -- many owning their business. I have been on both sides of the table and there is a difference in how you are treated by the public and your colleagues.  more...

Aug

14
2009

New plugin: Zillow, Walk Score, more

By , Friday, August 14, 2009.

Great news for those of you who are building your Web sites in WordPress: Zillow has announced the release of the new Local Market Explorer WP Plugin.

The LME plugin, which was built by Jonathan Mabe and Andrew Mattie, developers with Diverse Solutions, automatically creates rich pages on your blog that incorporate data from Zillow, Education.com, Flickr, Walk Score and Yelp.

   more...

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