How To Survive The Housing Slump.

An article on this week's Newsweek:

REAL ESTATE
Five Ways to Survive the Housing Slump
Expert advice for would-be sellers and buyers.

By Daniel McGinn | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Nov 6, 2007 | Updated: 2:12 p.m. ET Nov 6, 2007

The National Association of Realtors has just launched a new ad campaign touting why buying a house "is a decision you shouldn't postpone any longer" and reminding buyers that "the value of a home nearly doubles every 10 years." But real-estate agents' forecasts have a history of being ridiculously optimistic. At the other extreme, housing bears like John Talbott say homeowners' current woes have only just begun. Here's his advice for would-be buyers and sellers right now:

What was your house worth in 1997?
When John Talbott figures how far prices have to fall, he figures they'll return to 1997 levels, since that was the year in which many of the aggressive lending practices—like interest-only mortgages—really began to take off.

Take a hard look at your mortgage.
"There are very few good deals left in the world for consumers, and fixed-rate, 30-year housing debt is one of them," Talbott says, particularly if homeowners set aside money to pay it off faster than the lender requires.

Follow the bailout talk.
Talbott says most people with adjustable-rate mortgages would be better off with a fixed-rate mortgage, but that makes two assumptions: that they can afford the larger payment on a fixed-rate loan, and they believe the government isn't going to offer some sort of bailout plan for borrowers who've gotten in over their heads with mortgage debt. People in mortgage trouble who are thinking about refinancing would be wise to watch headlines about bailout proposals, he says.

Think about home renovations as an expense, not an investment.
During the boom many homeowners came to believe the money they spent on a new kitchen or bath constituted savings, since improvements would only add fuel to their home's soaring value. The bust should help people understand that every dollar homeowners spend on a renovation rarely pays back $1 when they sell the house, Talbott says. Renovations are mostly about comfort and status, not about improving home values, he says.

It may still pay to sell now instead of later.
With home values down, some people may be inclined to hold off listing a home in the hope of a quick recovery. But if Talbott is correct, home prices have only begun to fall, and someone who can sell his home for 5 or 10 percent less than what he thought it was worth during the boom would do very well.

© 2007 Newsweek, Inc.



http://www.newsweek.com/id/68639

Today's REALTORS®: Demographic Characteristics of NAR Members

Today's REALTORS®: Demographic Characteristics of NAR Members

by Paul Bishop, Anna Barlett and Jessica Lautz
NAR Research

The services provided by real estate professionals – from brokerage and property management to appraisal and relocation -- are essential to most real estate transactions. More than 1.3 million of these real estate professionals – about half of all real estate licensees – are members of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. REALTORS® bring their knowledge, experience and expertise to each transaction, while abiding by a strict Code of Ethics.

To better understand today’s REALTORS® and their important role in the real estate industry, NAR regularly surveys its members about their business activities, use of technology, demographic characteristics and their relationship to their firms. Last month in this column we examined some of the business characteristics of REALTORS®, including type of licenses held and the types of technology frequency used. In this issue of Real Estate INSIGHTS, we look at some of the basic demographic traits of REALTORS.

Demographic Profile of REALTORS®
Today’s REALTORS® run the gamut in terms of age, prior profession, and years of experience in the real estate business. But results from the 2007 NAR Member Profile indicate that:

The typical REALTOR® is a 51-year-old white female.
She has attended college, is married, owns her home, and lives there only with her spouse.
The typical REALTOR® has a household income of over $100,000.
The typical REALTOR® votes in both national and local elections. Indeed, the percentage of REALTORS® who vote is well beyond that of the electorate at large. Ninety-five percent of REALTORS are registered to vote. Ninety percent report that they voted in the last national election. Eighty-one percent voted in the last local election.

Although these are the typical characteristics, real estate practitioners are a diverse group with 2.7 million licensees and more than 1.3 million REALTORS®, many of them are not defined by the profile above.

Age and Gender
Fifty-nine percent of all REALTORS® are female. That is an increase since 2005, when 54 percent of REALTORS® were women. Females account for a larger share of REALTORS® in each age group, except for those over 60 where the gender share shifts to a slight majority for males. The majority of sales agent licensees and REALTORS who function as sales agents are female. REALTORS® who function as brokers and appraisers are predominantly male. Managers who are also involved in selling are about as likely to be male as female.

THE WHOLE REPORT AT NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTOR® :

http://www.realtor.org/reinsights.nsf/pages/marketintelligence?opendocument