Archive for August, 2008

Real Estate, Politics, and the OODA Loop

If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Internet-savvy real estate agents have an advantage over their off-line or Web 1.0 competitors with increased decision-making capabilities and faster implementation. And we all know better informed and faster decisions equate to more sales and commissions.
I want to tell [...]

27Aug2008 | Tom Royce | 1 comment | Continued

Lawrence Yun Discussing Current Real Estate Market

There is an interesting interview with Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtor. He discusses why cities are getting hit hard right now and what the government should be doing to expand mortgage availability.

Click to watch video on CNBC
And to hear a much fuller interview check out Dustin Luther’s 4realz.net round [...]

27Aug2008 | Tom Royce | 0 comments | Continued

Case Shiller June, 2008 Numbers

While the year over year results for the June, 2008 Case Shiller report will make ones toes curl, the month over month is not that bad. 9 of the 11 reporting markets saw an upswing which we have not seen a in a long while.
The cities that were down were in the worst hit markets [...]

26Aug2008 | Tom Royce | 1 comment | Continued

Mortgage Fraud Costs Lenders 1 Billion Dollars Over Last Decade

I thought you would like to know…
The other part of this that interested me is that Florida accounted for nearly 25 percent of the mortgage fraud instances reported.

Mortgage fraud has represented about $1 billion in losses over the past decade, the Mortgage Bankers Association has said.
The increase in reported incidents comes as lenders raise [...]

26Aug2008 | Tom Royce | 1 comment | Continued

Case Shiller Shows 15.4 Decline in 2nd Quarter, 2008

The new numbers are out in the Case Shiller Index and continue to indicate the market is still in decline. What is encouraging is that the rate of decline is slowing and that we may be approaching the bottom.
This analysis is consistent with what Karl Case (The Case in Case Shiller) said in May. [...]

26Aug2008 | Tom Royce | 0 comments | Continued

California - The Top 10 Cities With The Highest Median Home Prices

When it comes to real estate, California is a schizophrenic place. You have some parts of the state that can not sell a home if it is not a foreclosure while other parts are seeing dramatic price increases. Los Gatos has had a 36.6% increase over the past year while Mill Valley is up 28.6%.
So [...]

26Aug2008 | Tom Royce | 2 comments | Continued

Led Lighting Brightening Up Home Energy Use In Near Future

As homeowners face fuel surcharges and higher rates in their electric bills this month (Mine was absolutely insane.) LED bulbs for home interior and exterior lighting will make more sense.
The future is not now for home LED lighting, entry prices still top 100 dollars a bulb. However, pricing for new technology is always high [...]

25Aug2008 | Tom Royce | 1 comment | Continued

Do We Really Want Internet Connected Refrigerators?

Appliance makers are all worked up about designing internet connected appliances that can communicate together with other appliances. But the real question is, does the consumer really care about this convergence?
I have to tell you, and I am pretty tech savvy and into the internet, I could care less if my fridge had wi-fi… To [...]

25Aug2008 | Tom Royce | 2 comments | Continued

The Mess Behind The Housing Crisis

You have heard it countless times, American’s were using their house as a piggy bank and as their primary means of savings. We all to one degree or another saw the house as an investment vehicle to one degree or another.
Housing Appreciation is the American Way!
But this New York Times editorial by Tyler Cowen [...]

25Aug2008 | Tom Royce | 0 comments | Continued

Michael Phelps Buys 1.69 Million Dollar Baltimore Condo

Gold medal winning swimmer Michael Phelps has taken the plunge and purchased a condo in Baltimore, Maryland. The price tag for Phelp’s home comes in at a cool 1.69 million dollars but he is getting his money’s worth. The condo is a reported 4,020 square feet overlooking the Baltimore harbor.
According to TMZ.com the condo [...]

24Aug2008 | Tom Royce | 2 comments | Continued