Real Estate Agent, Realtor

Why some real estate agents are not realtors®

What are the differences between REALTORS® and real estate agents?

Being REALTORS® and being real estate agents are not exaxtly the same.   All real estate agents are licensed to sell real estate, the basic difference between a real estate agent and a REALTOR® is a REALTOR® is a member of the National Association of REALTORS®.  With that designation, a REALTOR® must subscribe to the REALTOR® Code of Ethics. 

What does the REALTOR® Code of Ethics mean to a consumer?  Why do you as consumer should care? 

All Realtors® are licensed to sell real estate as an agent or a broker but not all real estate agents are Realtors®. Only Realtors® can display the Realtor® logo. Realtors® belong to the National Association of Realtors and pledge to follow the Code of Ethics, a comprehensive list containing 17 articles and underlying standards of practice, which establish levels of conduct that are higher than ordinary business practices or those required by law. 

Less than half of all licensees are Realtors®.

17 things that a REALTOR® promises to do that non-affiliates do not:

#1) Pledge to put the interests of buyers and sellers ahead of their own and to treat all parties honestly.

#2) Shall refrain from exaggerating, misrepresenting or concealing material facts; and is obligated to investigate and disclose when situations reasonably warrant.

#3) Shall cooperate with other brokers / agents when it is in the best interests of the client to do so.

#4) Have a duty to disclose if they represent family members who own or are about to buy real estate, or if they themselves are a principal in a real estate transaction, that they are licensed to sell real estate.

#5) Shall not provide professional services in a transction where the agent has a present or contemplated interest without disclosing that interest.

#6) Shall not collect any commissions without the seller's knowledge nor accept fees from a third-party without the seller's express consent.

#7) Shall refuse fees from more than one party without all parties' informed consent.

#8) Shall not co-mingle client funds with their own.

#9) Shall attempt to ensure that all written documents are easy to understand and will give everybody a copy of what they sign.

#10) Shall not discriminate in any fashion for any reason on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.

#11) Expects agents to be competent, to conform to standards of practice and to refuse to provide services for which they are unqualified.

#12) Must engage in truth in advertising.

#13) Shall not practice law unless they are a lawyer.

#14) Shall cooperate if charges are brought against them and present all evidence requested.

#15) Agree not to bad mouth competition and agree not to file unfounded ethics complaints.

#16) Shall not solicit another REALTOR'S client nor interfere in a contractual relationship.

#17) Shall submit to arbitration to settle matters and not seek legal remedies in the judicial system.

The National Association of REALTORS® was founded in 1908 and has more than one million members

 

http://www.realtor.org/

Sales Stats 2009

Sales Statistics for RIVERSIDE County CA

Realist's most recent sale date for this county is01/28/2010

Single Family Residence
Time Period	Number of Sales	Median Sale Price
Dec 2009	3,692	$200,000
Dec 2008	3,940	$210,000
Nov 2009	3,176	$205,000
Nov 2008	3,318	$220,000
2009 YTD	42,792	$193,000
2008	39,955	$260,000

Condominium
Time Period	Number of Sales	Median Sale Price
Dec 2009	378	$180,000
Dec 2008	288	$180,000
Nov 2009	344	$180,000
Nov 2008	217	$185,000
2009 YTD	4,037	$164,500
2008	3,710	$240,000

Ref: First American Title Co.

Movin' On Up...to a Deluxe Treehouse with Style

Movin' On Up...to a Deluxe Treehouse with Style

Posted Feb 3rd 2010 9:14AM by Kaomi Goetz 
Filed under: Design

Not ready to completely move-out of your parents' house and give up access to free laundry? Why not build something in their backyard? And if there's a cluster of healthy pine or magnolia trees, German design firm,Baumraum may be your next phone call.

Baumraum has designed some amazingtreehouses in their native Germany and other locales that make us want to ditch our urban shoebox abodes for one of these sky-high dwellings.
Baumraum specializes in arboreal homes about the size of a small caravan or RV trailer. Each unit is made to order to fit clients' needs, so anything from size, insulation, wiring, built-in furniture, mini-kitchens and flatscreen TVs are all up for discussion. Even a flushable toilet is not off-limits if there's a nearby water supply and existing sewage features on the property.

The cabin shells and interiors are pre-fabricated in Baumraum's shop. Larchwood or Oregon pine are often used in the exteriors, but they don't limit themselves to wood; light metal, textiles and synthetics are also considered in their designs.


What Baumraum won't do is build something that will destroy the natural life of a tree. Instead of using bolts or nails, they secure the treehouses with steel cables and textile belts that aren't damaging and encourage continued growth of the host trees. 

Owning a Baumraum original costs anywhere from $25,000 to nearly $200,000, so you may need Mom's cooking and that free laundry after all in order to afford one. But from the looks of it, you're guaranteed to have some of the best views in your neighborhood.

http://www.rentedspaces.com/2010/02/03/movin-on-up-to-a-deluxe-treehouse-with-style/

4 Demographic Trends That Will Affect Housing

4 Demographic Trends That Will Affect Housing

The report cites four major U.S. demographic trends that will have a major impact on housing.

1. Aging baby boomers (ages 55 to 64 years old): They will keep working, and many will be forced to stay in their suburban homes until values recover. Those who are able to move will choose mixed-age living environments that cater to active lifestyles. Walkable suburban town centers also will appeal to this group.

2. Younger baby boomers (46 to 54 years old): They are now entering their prime earning years but they will lack home equity and unlike the older members of their generation, they won't be able to purchase second homes. This will likely curb the prospects for the second-home market.

3. Generation Y: They are larger than the baby boom generation (with a population of about 86 million). As they enter the housing market, they are less interested in homeownership than their parents were when they were young adults. "They will be renters by necessity or choice for years ahead," says John K. McIlwain, author of the report.

4. Immigrants - both legal and illegal: They are nearly 40 million strong. They often prefer multi-generational households and if they can afford them, larger homes in neighborhoods with a strong sense of community.

Source: The Urban Land Institute

http://www.ibtimes.com/contents/20100201/4-demographic-trends-will-affect-housing.htm

In Depth: Cities With The Fastest-Falling Home Prices

Real Estate

Cities With The Fastest-Falling Home Prices

Francesca Levy, 01.18.10, 06:00 AM EST

These metros saw their price tags drop most in the last three months.

If you've been holding your breath for that home-price upswing that the more optimistic forecasters predicted last year, you're out of luck. The real estate slide--though it's now a mild one as opposed to the double-digit drops of 2008--isn't going to abate soon. Home prices are dipping nationwide, down 1.4% by one measure, and will inch perilously close to their January 2009 bottom, according to a new report from Altos Research, a Mountain View, Calif.-based research firm.

Some metros have it worse than others. San Diego has seen the greatest three-month drop in asking prices of the 27 markets Altos tracks, falling 7.3% between October and December 2009. In that city, volatility is the name of the game. Prices drifted upward for the first half of 2009, prodded by new sellers who were encouraged by modest bumps in pricing. But when fall's seasonal slump hit, the trend reversed dramatically.

In Depth: Cities With The Fastest-Falling Home Prices

Although home prices are always weakest in the fall--they typically peak in the spring and hold steady through the summer--Altos' numbers reflect an unsteady market in general. Its 10-city composite, which it uses as a proxy for the national market, shows a 1.4% drop since October. When stimulus measures like the first-time homebuyer tax credit (which expires in June) and historically low interest rates abate, the market could continue to suffer.

"The combination of an expired tax credit and rising interest rates would be a catalyst for re-testing the [January 2009] bottom," says Mike Simonsen, CEO of Altos.

Behind the Numbers
For our list of cities with the fastest-falling home prices, we used Altos Research's January market update, which looks at asking prices, inventory and days on the market single-family homes--but not condominiums--in 27 of the country's closely watched real estate markets. It uses homes for sale in each city's Metropolitan Statistical Area--a census-defined area that the federal government uses to collect statistics--for its data.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/18/falling-home-prices-lifestyle-real-estate-foreclosures.html?feed=rss_forbeslife_realestate

Cities With Fastest Falling Home Prices

Real Estate
Cities With The Fastest-Falling Home Prices
Francesca Levy, 01.18.10, 06:00 AM EST
These metros saw their price tags drop most in the last three months.

November sales and price report

November sales and price report

For release:
Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009

C.A.R. reports November home sales increased 4.7 percent; median home price increased 5.8 percent

Multimedia:
· Click here to view a data table comparing peak prices and current prices in areas throughout
the state

Quick Facts:
· Existing, single-family home sales increased 4.7 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted rate
of 536,720 units on an annualized basis.
· The statewide median price of an existing single-family home increased 2.4 percent in November to
$304,520 compared with October 2009.
· C.A.R.’s Unsold Inventory Index fell to 4.5 months in November, compared with 7.1 months in
November 2008.

LOS ANGELES (Dec. 22) – Home sales increased 4.7 percent in November in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home rose 5.8 percent, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.

http://www.car.org/newsstand/newsreleases/novsalesandprice/

A buyer asked me whether he should buy. He should buy when he is ready to buy!