Where Are Housing Prices Going?

To Your Success 6-27-2011 from Joe New on Vimeo.

Posted in Joe's Monday Message

A Window of Opportunity for House Sellers

There has been much confusion as to where housing prices are headed. We have actually blogged on the issue recently. Today, we want to give our opinion on this subject for the short term. We believe sellers have a window of opportunity for the next 90-120 days in which to sell their homes for maximum price. We believe there will be increased downward pressure on home prices later this year and the first half of 2012.

Why renewed downward pressure?

Any item’s price is determined by ‘supply and demand’. In many parts of the country existing housing inventory is already high and actually increasing. In addition, an inventory of distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) will be coming to market later this year. This inventory has been delayed for the last several months because of faulty paperwork by the banks when they originally attempted foreclosure proceedings on these homes.

Celia Chen, of Moody’s Analytics explains:

“Foreclosures are weighing on the outlook for U.S. house prices, and the slow resolution of issues surrounding the so-called robo-signing scandal is keeping distressed homes off the market”.

The New York Times also recently reported on this issue. They looked at the delays in certain states. As an example, this is what they found in New York:

“Last September, before the documentation crisis, nearly 1,500 New Yorkers lost their houses as a result of foreclosure, according to LPS. The average over the last six months: 286. That is far lower than at any point since the recession began.”

Banks are now correcting these errors.

There is evidence that the banks are getting their documentation in order and about to again increase their foreclosure repossessions. Housing Wire reported:

“Since major lenders delayed foreclosures to fix a broken process late last year, the amount of filings declined, but in May signs emerged the effect might be wearing off.”

They went on to quote RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio:

“…lenders are somewhat unevenly pushing batches of bad loans through foreclosure as they overhaul their paperwork and documentation procedures and as they determine that some local markets are able to absorb more foreclosure inventory… Foreclosure processing delays continue to mask the true face of the foreclosure situation, although there were some clues in the May numbers of what lies behind that mask.”

What will this mean to home prices?

As this inventory comes to market, it will impact prices in two ways:

1. It will provide discounted competition for buyers
2. It will impact the appraisal values of all homes in the area

Again, we quote Celia Chen:

“It is quite possible that house prices will pick up slightly in the second or third quarter of this year, as foreclosure sales remain depressed while nondistress sales pick up…By the fourth quarter of this year, however, the distress share will rise, sending the house price index back down…

House prices will founder until early next year and start rising in earnest at the end of 2012.”

Bottom Line

There is a window of opportunity currently which sellers should take advantage of. Waiting until later this year or until next year will not guarantee a higher sales price. If anything, it probably guarantees the exact opposite.

Posted By:  KCMBlog.com

Posted in Keeping Current Matters

Lessons From the ICU: Code Blue

Silence is bro­ken as the announce­ment blares over the intercom:

“Code Blue, Tower A, Room 627…

Code Blue, Tower A, Room 627…

Code Blue, Tower A, Room 627…”

The “Blue Team” rushes to Room 627 and every­one in the Crit­i­cal Care Wait­ing Room stops what they are doing.

Books lay in the laps of pre­vi­ously fero­cious read­ers. Ear buds con­nected to iPods are held in the hands of pre­vi­ously focused lis­ten­ers. Fin­gers stop typ­ing and gen­tly rest on the key­boards of lap­tops, con­ver­sa­tions stop, and almost everyone’s eyes are fixed on the speaker on the wall as if the words could be seen.

“Code Blue” indi­cates that a patient is in trou­ble and has need of imme­di­ate help. In most cases, it means the patient needs resuscitation.

For a brief moment, every­one in the room is focused on two things:

Which tower?

Which room?

If your loved one is in Tower B, you can return to the book you were read­ing, the con­ver­sa­tion you were hav­ing, or you can try to go back to sleep. If your loved one is in Tower A, you wait for the room num­ber, hop­ing that the num­ber they call is not sig­nif­i­cant to you.

Hear­ing a dif­fer­ent tower let­ter or room num­ber brings imme­di­ate relief. How­ever, every time the silence is bro­ken by a “Code Blue,” stress lev­els spike and the col­lec­tive blood pres­sure of the wait­ing room goes up. It’s a tense moment for everyone.

At first, I thought we would just have to endure this emo­tional roller coaster. But after a while, I knew that I needed to find a way to turn this neg­a­tive into some­thing pos­i­tive. I could learn to cope, or find another way.

It was then I real­ized that, in most cases, the per­son who is the sub­ject of the call, the per­son who may be about to die, now has a chance to live… all because the “Code Blue Team” was called to action.

That which was once an unset­tling inter­rup­tion had become an announce­ment of an oppor­tu­nity for some­one to live!

Instead of being fear­ful, I was thank­ful for the “Code Blue” team. I was thank­ful they were trained and ready to be called into action when needed.

The announce­ments didn’t change. The only dif­fer­ence was that I re-set my mind. I looked for the pos­i­tive and found a way to trans­form my thinking.

In what area of life do you need to re-set your think­ing? What could that do for you?

Posted By: Irrefutable Success

Posted in Championship Living

Putt Unobstructed

Even if golf analogies are not your bag, there was one lesson from the world of golf recently that could help us all.

At age 22, Rory McIlroy, creamed the field this last weekend at the US Open. Much will be written about his character and comebacks. But for me, the greatest lesson of the weekend was actually from past champion-turned-announcer, Johnny Miller.

In an obscure moment of the tournament, Zach Johnson missed a putt from about 3 feet away. Miller commented, “Folks, you just have no idea how hard it is to make the little putts once you have the years of experience. You stand over them and you just know too much and remember how much you have to lose.”

In that moment, I knew this comment wasn’t just about golf.

As 22 year-old McIlroy was bouncing from hole to hole making shots like…well, like a 22 year-old, Zach Johnson – a very accomplished, seasoned pro – was missing an easy putt. Like many of us, he carried his experiences around with him, and they can be heavy and burdensome.

Think of every time that you didn’t make that call or reach out to that client for fear of something going wrong. The fear doesn’t have to be massive to cause you to hesitate. Maybe it’s the memory of a past rejection. Maybe it’s the fear of not living up to a past success.

I believe that putting like a 22 year-old again is attainable. Living your life free from your own past experiences could be one of the single greatest actions you ever take.

Nobody makes every putt. Everybody must face rejection and loss.

As you stand over your own putt today, remember McIlroy. Free yourself from yourself. There is no guarantee that your ball will go in the hole, but you will make a lot more shots when you play lose and free.

Stay focused today. You have some disciplines in your business and your life that require you to be unobstructed.

Be liberated from your fears.

Posted By:  Reality and Hope

Posted in Productivity

IS YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE HOLDING YOUR TEAM BACK?

During my coaching sessions at EntreLeadership Master Series in Orlando, there were a few themes that kept popping up. One of those was leaders having problems with their teams not going the extra mile. Not taking on more responsibility. The first instinct is that you hired lazy people. In many cases that is true.

But there’s a combination that I’ve found that explains why so many team members are so hesitant. When a leader is perceived to be a bully, or condescending, or leads with fear, then I find that they tend to have a team that, in their own words, “won’t go the extra mile.”

Why, you ask? It’s simple really. When team members are made to feel like all they can do is fail, they won’t try to succeed.

If they can’t ever make you happy, and all they get is friction, their minds tell them to stop doing so many things that leave them vulnerable to a verbal flogging. Now if you’re sitting there saying, “Wimps! They just need to get over it!” then you probably have these people on your team.

When you keep your team in a constant state of shell shock, you can’t expect them to take risks. They know that if they do, there is a chance they will get punished for failure, which leads to more tongue lashings. So how do you know if this is your team? Ask some questions.

• It’s not you. It’s me. Start with your spouse. I know, I know, this already sounds bad. But really, who knows you better? Ask them if they feel like maybe, possibly, you might tend to be a little, teeny bit rough as a leader from time to time. If you have to throw a bucket of water on them to stop them from rolling around on the floor laughing, then take that as a “yes.”
• Do you … wanna tell him? Ask your leaders. Now, this gets a little tougher because they aren’t going to want to answer you honestly for fear that you’ll react like you always do … if you’re that person, that is. So you’re going to have to let them know it’s safe for them to be honest and crystal clear. If you hear something you don’t like, you can’t take it out on them.
• He gets it, he really does. Finally, ask your team. This is the toughest of all because you feel like this is weakness in their eyes. And if they say “yes,” then surely there’s going to be some revolt the next time you get onto them for taking the last of the coffee and not making a new pot. Trust me, it’ll be okay. They will have more respect for you if you show them that you’re working on it.

You can’t be expected to change overnight. And you can’t expect them to trust that you’ve changed overnight. But what do you have to lose by trying? Your attitude and their lost productivity. The one silver lining is that they really do want to please you. If they didn’t, they would already be gone. (This might explain some of the losses you’ve had.) Ultimately they want to make you happy, but not at the expense of getting in trouble.
Posted By: Michael Hyatt

Posted in Leadership

Who will your clients listen to?

“To Your Success” June 20th 2011 from Joe New on Vimeo.

Posted in Joe's Monday Message

Lessons From the ICU: Living with the “F” Word

Every day you choose to live with an “F” word.

Allow me to take you into the ICU wait­ing room, which had recently become my sec­ond home for a period of three weeks. While in that wait­ing room, I saw one of two dis­tinct expres­sions on the faces of every person:

“Fear” and “Faith.”

The “F” word they chose in their heart even­tu­ally worked its way out. What they were think­ing man­i­fested itself into words, and what they were say­ing man­i­fested itself into action.

Every­one in that wait­ing room knew there were only two out­comes avail­able for their loved one in ICU– to die in the hos­pi­tal or to be released. There­fore, at least to some extent, every­one was in the same sit­u­a­tion. Nobody chose their cir­cum­stance, but every­one chose their “F” word.

The peo­ple who focused on faith seemed to deal with the sit­u­a­tion at hand much bet­ter than those with fear.

Fear drove peo­ple into rude con­ver­sa­tions with doc­tors, nurses, and sup­port staff.

Faith pro­duced an atti­tude of thank­ful­ness and words of grat­i­tude and encouragement.

Fear brought out the worst in people.

Faith brought out the best.

In such a chal­leng­ing sit­u­a­tion, fear is a nat­ural response, but faith is an inten­tional choice. Every­one can decide to have faith, but it’s a choice that must be made again daily… some­times hourly.

Just as I was begin­ning to think I had this Fear vs. Faith thing fig­ured out, I real­ized that it was even big­ger than I had first thought.

Every doc­tor, nurse, and sup­port per­son was also mak­ing the same choice. In addi­tion to the pres­sures of their job, each one had other things going on in his or her life that impacted their inter­ac­tions with each other and the peo­ple they were try­ing to help. It wasn’t just in the micro­cosm of the wait­ing room that choices between Fear and Faith were being made… it was everywhere.

Every sin­gle day, you have a choice between Fear and Faith. And every time you choose, it plays either a pos­i­tive or neg­a­tive role in your life.

Which “F” word are you choos­ing today?

Posted By: Irrefutable Success

Posted in Championship Living

Moments of Greatness

I have recently been coaching people on the concept of reengagement. There are some disciplines in our businesses and lives that we know are critical to future greatness, but they require us to take steps in order to get back on track.

So we ask ourselves, “Why did I get off track to begin with?”

There is just no easy answer to that question. In fact, trying to figure out why we stop doing those activities that we know are good for us is a funky form of deflection. It can distract us from simply stepping back up and getting with the program.

Exercising is a perfect example of this.

Here is the pattern: we make a commitment to exercise. We adjust our schedule, and we actually execute for a while. One day, something comes up, and we miss a workout. It could be illness or just an urgent project that took priority, but one workout turns into two, and then three. Slowly, and with amazing subtlety, we stop altogether. We say things like, “I got busy,” and we walk away from an activity that we know is good for us.

The fact is, we could probably teach a course to others on the benefits of any of the disciplines we know we need to do.

This pattern ubiquitously repeats itself with so many activities in our lives. It is so common, in fact, that most people get fed up with the incessant repetition and simply stop trying to reengage. They think, “Why even try? I know I will eventually fail.”

With this mindset, too many people choose to live life and conduct business at a level that is far below their potential. This is exactly why Dale Carnegie speaks about “the humble willingness to start over.” It takes humility to look in the mirror and decide to try again.

Not only is it okay to start over, it is mandatory if we are to become the people we want to become. Humility is necessary because you have to choke down your pride about why you fell off the discipline track again.

Today, instead of thinking about all of the reasons why you don’t do the things you know you should, just go do them. Yes, you had past moments of greatness, but you can and will have future ones as well. It is completely reliant on your own will.

The choice is simple: stay amongst the ranks of those who play at a mediocre level, or get back up and endeavor to hit the fundamentals like you know you should.

In the end, we may learn that greatness was more of a choice than we ever imagined!

Coach Steve

Posted By:  www.realityandhope.com

Posted in Productivity

WORKING FOR A BIGGER PURPOSE

What if work wasn’t just work? What if work was a vehicle to live and share a bigger purpose?

I believe there’s a flawed perception in our society that in order to live a life of purpose we have to leave our jobs and go solve world hunger, feed the homeless, move to Africa, or start a charity.

While these are all noble, needed causes with many who are called to do these very things, for others of us our bigger purpose can be found in the here and now, in the jobs we have, right under our noses. And when we find and live this purpose, it will provide the ultimate fuel for a meaningful life.

You may not build libraries around the world, but you can find the bigger purpose in reading to your children. You may not feed the homeless every day, but you can nourish your employees and customers with a smile, kind word, and care. And while you may not start your own non-profit organization, you can begin a charity initiative at work. After all, “charity” means “love in action.”

You can make a difference every day and touch the lives of everyone you meet. While these people may not be starving because of a lack of food, you can provide them with a different kind of nourishment that will feed their souls (and feed your own in the process).

Here are a few examples:

• I heard of a janitor who worked at NASA. And even though he was sweeping floors, he felt his bigger purpose was contributing to put a man on the moon.
• I met a bus driver who knows his purpose is to help kids stay off drugs.
• I met an administrative assistant who has become the Chief Energy Officer of her company.
• I received an email from a man in the mortgage business who sees his job as a way to help couples save their marriages by keeping their homes.
• I know a Popeye’s Chicken employee named Edith in the Atlanta Airport who makes thousands of air travelers smile each day.

The list goes on … ordinary people with an extra-ordinary purpose.

In any job our purpose waits for us to find it and live it.

I can’t tell you what your purpose should be, but I can tell you that every one of us can find a bigger purpose in the job we have.

I can tell you that every job, no matter how glorious or boring it may seem, will get mundane if we let it.
Purpose keeps it fresh. And when we are filled with purpose, we tap into an endless supply of energy.

Don’t wait until you go to Africa to start living with a mission. Don’t wait until the weekend to feed people who are hungry. Bring your mission to work, start working for a bigger purpose and nourish others in the process.

Posted By; MichaelHyatt.com

Posted in Leadership

Why They Are Saying to Buy A Home Now

Despite what appears to be a non-stop wave of tough news regarding real estate, four major media players have come out this month with the same advice: It Is Time to Buy a Home! Here are the four articles and a breakdown as to why the advice makes sense.

The Wall Street Journal: Why It’s Time to Buy

CBS Money Watch: Why the Time to Buy is Now

Forbes Magazine: 9 Reasons to Buy a House Now

National Public Radio: For Many, It’s Still a Good Time to Buy a Home

With prices continuing to depreciate in most regions of the country, some may wonder why these four entities are suggesting to their readership that now is the time to buy. Each organization realizes that PRICE is not as important as COST. The cost of a home can go up even if prices continue to fall. Unless you are an all cash buyer, you must take into consideration the expense of mortgaging when calculating the full cost of a home. Here is some information to consider.

Interest Rates

Currently, interest rates sit at historic lows. However, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, PMI and the National Association of Realtors are all projecting approximately a 1% increase in mortgage rates over the next year. A one percent increase in rate negates a ten percent fall in prices.

Lending Standards

The government has proposed a tightening of lending standards called Quality Residential Mortgage (QRM). If accepted as proposed two things will happen:

1. The qualification process for loans will become more difficult
2. The cost of a loan will increase

Bottom Line

There is a reason more and more financial organizations are suggesting to their followers that now is the time to buy a home: because the cost of purchasing a home is about to increase (even if prices continue to fall).

Poasted by: KCMBlog.com

Posted in Keeping Current Matters