Home affordability in the United States is nothing short of amazing. Even though current price trends for the United States and Canada are considerably different, the same principle applies in both cases: clients need perspective and they need to look beneath surface statistics before making informed decisions

The first chart below dramatically illustrates the impact of lower interest rates on housing costs, and the relative affordability of housing in the United States. The cost of a loaf of bread and a gallon of gas has more than tripled since 1989, and car prices have nearly doubled. While the median price of a new home has increased by 70 percent, mortgage interest rates, which stood at 10 percent back in 1989, are less than half of what they were back then. The impact of rock-bottom interest rates is that the monthly mortgage payment on a median priced home in the United States has increased by a mere $4 since 1989.

Unless a buyer is paying cash, the monthly payment tends to be a far more relevant number than the home’s actual purchase price. So for buyers who are waiting for home prices to hit the floor, before buying it’s important to point out that the possibility of a slight drop in the price of a home will have very little impact on the monthly payment, while even a slight rise in interest rates (a far more likely scenario) will have a significant impact.

Continue reading ‘Do your clients get it?’

My Dear Family -

What an honor it is to be the recipient of a birthday present that unites, energizes and mobilizes Keller Williams agents all over North America to go into their communities and do these good and wonderful projects. Every year I hear about the incredible acts of kindness and awesome amount of giving and I am deeply, deeply touched.

RED Day is our culture at work. And it’s the glue that binds our company together as we express our commitment and our solid values to make our communities better places in which to live. I can’t tell you how awesome it is to see videos like the one below display our wonderful culture in action. You are incredible, and I thank you.

Continue reading ‘How can one day change North America?’

What a thrill it is to serve as a stakeholder with you as Keller Williams Realty claimed the rank of the second largest real estate company in the United States, and powers toward its certain destiny to become the No. 1. 

This awesome achievement is entirely yours – entirely a result of your talent, your tenacity, your belief in the Keller Williams distinct way of doing business, your determination to push limits, to do more, and to become more.  There is nothing that can be written or said about Keller Williams Realty that has more power or more of an impact within your sphere than you do. It’s your professionalism and your success that your clients and colleagues see. You are the brand.

Talent follows talent and the numbers prove that you are the best magnet for talent that the real estate industry has ever known. And that’s why it thrills us that 25,293 of you had a stake in a $34.6 million profit share pool last year, and that we stand to continue breaking our own records for profit share in 2011 and beyond.

Last month, I had the awesome privilege of participating in a merger celebration as more than 50 agents with the renowned Patterson Realtors in Tulsa, Okla., joined forces with our Tulsa Metro market center – catapulting Keller Williams Realty to the No. 1 spot in the market. What impressed us most about the genuine excitement for new beginnings was the one-on-one connections that powered the event. In Tulsa, as in your market, the groundwork for growth is being paved every single day with your professionalism and positive energy. 

Continue reading ‘It’s all because of YOU!’

By Bryon Ellington, Chief Products Officer and Roger Higle, Course Writer, Keller Williams Realty International

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
- Thomas A Edison

How many of us know someone who has foreclosed on their home, or is at least close to being in foreclosure? If there were 100 of us sitting in a room, 40 or more of you would have raised your hand.

As most Americans are aware, more than 40 percent of all residential real estate transactions are either foreclosed homes, or are on the road to foreclosure. Of those “on the road,” nearly one-third become short sales in which a homeowner and an agent negotiate a settlement with the homeowner’s lender to sell the property – and settle the homeowner’s debt – for less than the amount owned.

While some indicators point to positive momentum, the fact is best estimates from data firms such as CoreLogic and RealtyTrac report there are conservatively 4.5 million homeowners who are in default on mortgage payments in the United States right now.

That’s almost as many as were sold in all of 2010!
It’s time to get on board and help.

Continue reading ‘Short Sales: Do you have what it takes?’