Archive for November, 2011

Intero Insider: Housing Is At Its Most Affordable in 20 Years – Except Here

By Gino Blefari | November 29th, 2011 0 Comments

As far as real estate statistics go, one of the most useful and interesting is the housing affordability index. What good are sales numbers and prices if not put into context? The affordability index provides that context, telling us the percentage of homes in a given location that a family earning an average income can afford – by traditional standards.

The Housing Opportunity Index released earlier this month by the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo shows that housing affordability was near its highest level in 20 years in the third quarter. A near-record 72.9% of all new and existing homes sold during this time were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,200.

What’s fueling this feel-good statistic are major price drops in markets across the country and record low interest rates: two factors that obviously bode well for home buyers (especially first-time home buyers who aren’t depending on the same market conditions to sell a house). Interest rates on a 30-year fixed mortgage are still hovering around 4.2%, which means borrowing is cheap by historic standards. And while prices have stabilized in some markets, they’re still much lower on average nationwide than they were five years ago.

What are the most and least affordable markets right now in the U.S.? Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla., where 92.5% of all homes sold in the third quarter were affordable to families earning the median income of $53,800, was the most affordable major housing market. Other major metros that ranked as among the most affordable were Toledo, Ohio; Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa.; Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind.; and Ogden-Clearfield, Utah.

The least affordable major market was in New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J., where only 23.3% of homes sold in the third quarter were affordable to families earning the area’s median income of $67,400.

It’s not surprising that the New York metro division has owned the title of least affordable market for more than three years. Other major metro areas that share the bottom of the affordability index were San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif.; Honolulu; Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif.; and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif.

Here we are in the Bay Area – where the nation’s least affordable housing markets still sit. Fortunately, in real estate, “least affordable” can also mean “most desirable,” which means that despite affordability issues, we still have demand from buyers who want in. With the tenacity of our tech economy and record low interest rates, I don’t believe that affordability problems will derail our markets here. Affordability may slow appreciation a bit over time, but that first rule of real estate wins every time: location. Clearly, buyers still like their coastal real estate.

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The Intero Foundation donates over $200,000 in 2011 to organizations that support children in need

By Teressa Francis | November 28th, 2011 0 Comments

Intero Real Estate Services Agent’s and Employees Contribute Back

Silicon Valley, California (November 28, 2011) – The Intero Foundation (www.interofoundation.org), a non-profit organization, founded by Intero Real Estate Services founders in 2002 to benefit children in need, announced that it has donated over $200,000 to 20 charities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area in 2011 as part of its mission to positively impact the growth and well being of children in our communities.

John Thompson, Intero’s Executive Vice President explains, “Agents donate a portion of their commission per transaction. As a company, this commitment makes a big statement. Therefore, when you drive by an Intero for sale sign or work with an Intero Realtor, feel good that at risk children in the community will be served and we thank each and every one of you for your support.”

“When Intero Real Estate Services was founded just nine years ago, its founders set out to create a company that was different. That difference would be based on values,” states Founder, President and CEO of Intero, Gino Blefari. “One of those values is Commitment. The Intero Foundation is our vehicle for expressing a meaningful and sustained commitment to our community.”

Intero Foundation CFO, Cathy Jackson adds, “The organizations we support may be smaller, but they have a huge impact on thousands of lives in the Bay Area. Unfortunately, they’re often over shadowed by the larger nonprofits that people are more aware of. For many of the organizations we give to, our donation makes up a large portion of their annual budget. They really rely on us for help in keeping their programs and services up and running.”

The Intero Foundation continues to impact the growth and well being of children and youth in the communities we serve. Empowered by Intero agents and employees, the Intero Foundation has given over $1.9 million in grants to nonprofit organizations that support children in need. In 2011 alone, over $200,000 was granted to organizations benefitting children in need.

Small Steps
Family Connections
Advocates for Children
Family Supportive Housing, Inc.
Just Read Centers
Rape Trauma Services
My New Red Shoes
Breakthrough Silicon Valley
Abilities United
Achieve Kids
JustMATH
At the Crossroads
CASA of San Mateo
SPARK
Pajama Program
Role Model Program
Reach Potential
Good Karma Bikes
CCPY
Turning Wheels for Kids

The Intero Foundation is funded, promoted and governed by Intero agents – each of whom are vested in the health of the communities in which they work and live. An executive committee, led by Intero President and CEO Gino Blefari, provides strategic guidance. All members of the Intero community – executives, staff and agents – donate their time to further the Foundation’s mission.

Intero and its agents have always believed in the importance of giving back to communities in which we serve, and 2011 was a perfect example of ‘paying it forward’.

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Intero Insider: Home Sales Trending Up

By Gino Blefari | November 22nd, 2011 0 Comments

The housing market flashed some more good news this week as we learned existing home sales were up from the previous year’s levels for the fourth straight month in October. As we dig into the details here, I want to look at what it means and how it may impact buyers and sellers.

The latest report from the National Association of REALTORS® shows existing home sales up 13.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million homes in October. Although national sales numbers are harder to get excited about (because real estate is local and our local markets can be vastly different from the national trend), this is generally good news because it shows a positive upward trend compared to the same fourth-month period a year ago.

In simpler terms: we’re looking at a pretty strong case here that the bottom of the market has been reached, and we’re well on our way to recovering. That doesn’t mean we’re on our way to the next boom, of course, but it’s good nonetheless.

Perhaps more interesting than the sales numbers, though, is the data about who’s buying:

  • 29% of sales in October were from all-cash buyers
  • 18% of sales were from investors
  • 34% were from first-time buyers
  • 28% were distressed sales

The data about who’s not buying is also interesting. The NAR says that the number of sales contracts that fell through in October jumped to 33% from 18% in September, and 8% a year ago. The group says contract failures are cancellations caused by declined mortgage applications, failures in loan underwriting from appraised values coming in below the negotiated price, or other problems like home inspections and job loss.

What does this mean for buyers and sellers? The fact that contract failures almost doubled in a month’s time is a huge red flag that buyers need to have their finances and paperwork buttoned up tightly in order to get a mortgage. Buyers and sellers also need a good understanding of current appraised values before pricing homes and making offers.

I think patience is also in order when attempting a transaction in today’s market. Even though we’re seeing positive signs, there are still a lot of potential problems that can come up in the loan process. Expect that things will take longer than you think. Buyers may need to go to several lenders before you find the right loan. Sellers may end up going through several purchase contracts before the cards align and the buyer gets the loan, the appraisal comes in at the right value, and all is clear to move through escrow.

Is the worst over? No one really knows. One report out this week was commenting on the fact that the birth rate is the lowest in the country since 1999, saying that this lower rate of population growth is a bad sign for housing. However, the life expectancy in 1925 when my dad was born was 54 years old and today it is 79 years old, which means people are living in their homes longer.

We still have a lot of unsold inventory on the market, but it was down 2.2% in October – another good sign. We may not be walking on air, but the latest numbers show we do have something to be thankful for.

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Intero at the 2011 N.A.R. Expo

By Teressa Francis | November 22nd, 2011 0 Comments

We were very excited to showcase for the first time at the 2011 Realtors® Conference & Expo on November 11-14th in Anaheim, CA! Our booth was modeled after our contemporary and fresh concept of a real estate office reinvented, known as Andare.

At NAR we were able to spread the word about Intero to people from around the world, as well as keep everyone informed online with a LIVE STREAM of conversations between our leaders and leaders we met at the convention on our Facebook page.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by, helped and showed their support!

Check out some photos from the weekend:

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Intero Insider: Buying a Home in Earthquake Country

By Gino Blefari | November 15th, 2011 0 Comments

Over the last few weeks, we’ve experienced several moderate earthquakes in the Bay Area. No major damage, no deaths and no injuries. So no big deal, right? We must be used to this by now.

In reality, though, earthquakes are a major factor for home buyers. They can be a great source of fear and anxiety. Let’s explore how buyers can consider these natural occurrences in the smartest way before closing a deal.

Basic construction
Unless you’re buying a new home, chances are that the one you’re considering buying has been through dozens of small to moderate earthquakes. To get a sense for how the house has held up, be sure to closely inspect the foundation for major cracks. This is routine in home inspections under any circumstances, but especially significant if you’re buying in this area. Pay attention to the small details during your home inspection, and seek advice from your agent if you’re not sure of the impact.

When was the home constructed?
If it’s an older home, has it undergone any seismic upgrades or retrofitting in the last 10-20 years? While these upgrades are no guarantee that a home will outlast “the big one,” in many cases they will ease your mind and help prevent small problems from growing much worse over time through several small or moderate quakes.

Proximity to a major fault line
We’ve all seen and heard stories about homes on the Hayward fault that have walls and floors that are separating more and more each year. Just because your home is close to the fault line doesn’t mean this will be you in 10 years. But if it’s really close, you should consider having an engineer check whether there’s any current shifting going on with the house. (And you really should know how close your home is to the fault line to begin with.)

When to call a geo-technical engineer
Not all home purchases in the Bay Area will require a visit from a geo-technical engineer. However, a big red flag would be that the house is built on the side of a hill that is very close to a major fault line. Houses in these circumstances may actually be sliding down the hill by an inch – or fraction of an inch – each year. Again, this might be fine, but better to know before you buy the house. No surprises!

Do you need earthquake insurance?
Earthquake damage is usually not covered by typical homeowner policies, so don’t assume you don’t need it if you’ve already got property insurance. A good way to think about it is to consider how much of your investment in your home you are willing to put at risk. If an earthquake caused major damage to your home and its contents tomorrow, how quickly could you get back on your feet with your own savings? You’ll want to think about the amount of equity you have in your home and the approximate value of your belongings when considering how much earthquake insurance to buy.

In the Bay Area, earthquakes are to be expected and many of us aren’t surprised when the building starts to shake without warning. But when buying a home, these are the basics all buyers in earthquake-prone areas should think seriously about. These may seem routine, but it’s surprising how many buyers will overlook these things – especially when they’ve already fallen in love with a property.

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Intero at the NAR Convention in Anaheim, CA this week!

By Teressa Francis | November 9th, 2011 1 Comment

We are very excited to be showcasing for the first time at the 2011 Realtors® Conference & Expo! Be sure to stop by and visit us in booth #265, modeled after our contemporary, cafe-style office design, November 11-14 in Anaheim, CA. And if you can’t make it, don’t miss the LIVE STREAM of our booth’s activities on our Facebook page.

Partners Gino Blefari, Tom Tognoli, John Thompson, and Bob Moles as well as some of our franchisees from Texas, Nevada, San Diego, Valencia, Rancho Cucamonga, and the Desert Cities will be onsite and conducting interview style discussions throughout the weekend. With a special guest appearance by Leslie Appleton Young, CAR’s Chief Economist scheduled for Saturday at 3:15pm.

The Intero Insider interview schedule:
(Catch the LIVE stream on www.facebook.com/interoRE)

SATURDAY, Nov. 12th
10:30am EVPJohn Thompson – Creating Your Vision and Purpose to be Successful
11:30am 1000Watt Consulting – What you Should be Doing, Planning and Applying Given the Breakthroughs in Technology
12:40pm Chairman Bob Moles – The Influence of International Buyers in the U.S. Housing Market & Why it’s Important Your Brokerage has an International Presence
1:20pm President & CEO Gino Blefari – Characteristics of Top Producers, Staying Relevant in Today’s Market
2:15pm Danny Morel, Intero Rancho Cucamonga – The Importance of Making a Transition From Being a Manager to Being a Coach
3:15pm Leslie Appleton Young (C.A.R. Chief Economist) – 2012 economic forecast and iPad2 Giveaway

SUNDAY, Nov. 13th
10:45am Danny Morel, Intero Rancho Cucamonga - The Importance of Making a Transition From Being a Manager to Being a Coach
11:45am RIch La Rue, Intero Palm Desert & La Quinta – Growing a Brokerage in a Challenging Market
12:40pm COO Tom Tognoli, and Katie Maxwell, Intero West Ave – Leveraging Social Media to Grow Your Brand and Create Culture
1:20pm COO Tom Tognoli & EVP John Thompson – What’s Really Holding People Back from Getting What They Want
2:30pm Michael Rescigno, Intero Valencia - Shopping for a Brand or Brokerage: What to Look For
3:30pm VP of Franchise Services, Chris Stuart – Fiscal Fitness: Maximizing Profit in Your Real Estate Brokerage and iPad2 Giveaway

We’ll also be giving away an iPad2 on Saturday and Sunday! You could get a chance to get your hands on one. Stop by the booth to register to win.

Come show your support and experience the Intero advantage. You will walk away with a brighter and more profitable outlook on the future – a fresh new approach to real estate.

See you there!

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Intero Insider: The Growing Wealth Gap Between Young and Old

By Gino Blefari | November 8th, 2011 0 Comments

New research out from the Pew Research Center this week finds that the wealth gap between older and younger Americans is widening. The new data found that households that were headed by Americans age 65 and older were worth 47 times more than those headed by people 35 and younger – $170,494 vs. $3,662.

It’s a stark jump from 1984, when the data showed older households were worth 10 times more than their younger counterparts – $120,457 vs. $11,521.

The interesting point for our discussion is that real estate is cited as the main cause of the disparity.

It’s not unusual for older Americans to have more wealth than their younger counterparts. In fact, common sense tells you that if the typical path of Americans is to start with little, work hard and save money, you’ll end up with a lot more when you’re older. The point that everyone is riled up about is that the wealth gap has significantly grown between the two age groups.

Real estate has played a role here because:

  1. The older households likely bought their homes before the run-up in prices took the nation by storm, which means they haven’t seen a significant drop in their home values compared to what they paid. In fact, they have the benefit of time on their sides, and that has enabled them to keep most of their gains.
  2. Declining home equity has been one factor in the wealth of the younger age group. They’ve had less time to build equity, and may even have bought at the top of the market, turning their gains upside down or taking out a substantial cut.

With the downside of this news aside (no one wants to think about our younger generation starting in a worse position than in generations past – or worse, being left behind altogether), the upside here for housing is that it’s a good concrete example of the value of home ownership on a household’s financial prosperity over the long term.

I talk a lot here about the real values of home ownership getting better over time, and this research supports that in full. The main takeaway from this research for me is that we have to do more to help younger Americans realize the value of home ownership and get into homes they can afford as early in their lives as they can financially handle.

Sure, not everyone is ready for home ownership in their 20s or even early 30s. But if we reinforce the value as one of prosperity and a path to financial security, I think we’ll see more young households striving to do it right.  A few years of poor market conditions and declining values in the grand scheme of things didn’t do much harm to the demographic that had more time in their mortgages and equity. That’s a great message that really speaks to the long-term value of home ownership.

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The Intero Foundation brings value

By Teressa Francis | November 7th, 2011 0 Comments

If there ever was a doubt about the value the Intero Foundation brings, not only to the children and the charities it serves, but also the positive branding and PR we all receive in our communities, we sincerely hope you take two minutes to read through the five bullet points of this message with an update of some things that have been happening with Intero and the Intero Foundation!

  1. Intero and our Foundation recently recognized for its contributions and commitment by Congresswoman Jackie Speier and Assemblyman Richard Gordon.

  2. Your Bank, Western Bancorp, with a recent donation check of $2,300 to the foundation! Our Loan officers and the Bank are making contributions from your loan referrals…so keep those referrals coming! Thank you Western Bancorp! You make a difference.
  3. Intero recently finished a campaign with Whole Foods Market, where their customers were introduced to Intero and our Foundation in their store and 22,088 of them agreed to donate 5 cents of their purchase to our cause, raising $1,104.40 and spreading our branding with this positive exposure to all their customers. (Thank you Toni Roberts for setting this up!) Here is a quote from one of their Corporate offices: “I had such a blast with this partnership, and am so impressed with everyone at Intero. you all are such great people, and I am so happy to see the dedication you all give to support your Foundation and our community children.” Raschel Hutton, Marketing Team Leader – Whole Foods Market
  4. PR that Intero received in the newspaper with the recognition of a grant the Foundation made to Abilities United.
  5. During a most recent E-Waste collection day for the Foundation at an Intero office, a stranger drove up, rolled down their window, and gave an unsolicited  check for $200! The remark simply was ‘you are doing such good work and I wanted to support it with a contribution.

The people in our communities are noticing and recognizing our brand and commitment to being more than a company that just sells a lot of Real Estate. We are making a difference in what we do and who we are being.

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Intero at the NAR Convention in Anaheim, CA next week!

By Teressa Francis | November 3rd, 2011 0 Comments


We are very excited to be showcasing for the first time at the 2011 Realtors® Conference & Expo! Be sure to stop by and visit us in booth number 265, modeled after our contemporary, cafe-style office design, November 11-14 in Anaheim, CA.

Partners Gino Blefari, Tom Tognoli, John Thompson, and Bob Moles as well as some of our franchisees from Texas, Nevada, San Diego, Rancho Cucamonga, and the Desert Cities will be onsite for assistance and will be conducting interview style discussions throughout the weekend.

Special guest appearance by Leslie Appleton Young, CAR’s chief economist scheduled for Saturday.

And don’t miss out on the iPad2 giveaways on Saturday and Sunday! You could get a chance to get your hands on one. Stop by the booth for more details.

Come show your support and experience the Intero advantage. You will walk away with a brighter and more profitable outlook on the future – a fresh new approach to real estate.

See you there!

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Intero Insider: Why Home Values Are So Misunderstood

By Gino Blefari | November 1st, 2011 0 Comments

Home values – it’s a topic we hear about a lot in the news, and one of great concern to home buyers and sellers, but one I feel many people gravely misunderstand. A survey released last week from Zillow underscores this misunderstanding.

The survey’s headline reads: “42% of Home Buyers are Unrealistic About Home Value Appreciation,” and goes on to explain that despite the recent economic downturn and volatility in the nation’s housing markets, 42% of those surveyed said they believe home values typically appreciate by 7% per year.

On a national level, home values declined for five consecutive years during the downturn. Historically, in a “normal” market, home values tend to appreciate at an average 2-5% per year. What is it that creates such an unrealistic view on home values – even now as much of the economy is still suffering?

Psychology of ownership: I think part of the reason home buyers are so optimistic about values appreciating is because they truly believe in the value of home ownership. In their minds, owning a home is the ultimate economic security, and one that will return financial value to their lives in many ways. Because it is so valuable to them, they feel like the numbers on appreciation move faster than historically they have.

Leftover boom mentality: Many buyers today witnessed the insane appreciation seen during the 10-year housing boom. News headlines constantly read crazy stats like “California home values up 20% from a year ago.” I think that collectively, we got used to this and quickly lost sight of history, which shows home values increasing at a much slower pace.

In a fast-moving society, home ownership is a slow means of financial gratification. However, even the stock market requires 10+ years to truly profit for the average investor. But you’d never know that by the programs you see on TV and the offerings of being able to pick and trade stocks online while you eat lunch.

I think it’s important as real estate service providers to give consumers the context around home values and what is so-called “normal.” Home ownership is a long-term investment that should be made first and foremost as a way to provide a stable place to live, then secondly as a way to create financial security. We can’t let consumers assume that buying a house is their ticket to retirement, just like we can’t let them assume that values will continue to decline forever.

A house is a different kind of asset than other financial investments. You can’t unload a house like you can with other investments. And home values only really matter when it’s time to buy or sell anyway. I say we promote the true value of owning a home as what it was always meant to be: owning your own home, the place you live, the place where you build a family and create your life’s memories. If its value appreciates in the process (which, historically, it normally does over the long-term), then that’s great. But keep those expectations in line with reality and don’t make any buying decisions based on what you think the resale value will be a year from now. That’s just the kind of boom mentality that got us into this mess in the first place.

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