Archive for the ‘Intero Real Estate Services’ Category

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Intero Insider: Why Plunging Home Sales Won’t Kill Real Estate

By Gino Blefari | August 31st, 2010 0 Comments

The latest housing news is pretty grim: existing home sales fell 27.2 percent in July from the previous month to 3.3 million, the lowest in more than a decade. We’re definitely seeing the expected drop-off coming off the end of the home buyer tax credit.

Most of us saw this coming. The very point of the home buyer tax credit was to pump life into the market and entice buyers to move off the fence. Take it away and you’re merely peeling back the covers from the real situation, showing that many potential buyers are tepid, scared of losing their jobs, optimistic that prices will come down just a little more, or simply not able to get a loan.

Amid this news, the New York Times featured a story saying that housing is no longer considered a means to build wealth.

But that’s where I need to stop and think.

There’s no getting around the fact that the market is slow and expected to be slow through the end of the year. True.

And there’s no question that flipping houses is not the part-time moneymaking hobby it once was during boom years. Very true.

But to swear off real estate as a means to build wealth is a bit dramatic. It’s true that in most cases, a buyer cannot look at a house solely as a monetary investment. It’s simply not that – it’s more. It’s a roof over your head. It’s the place where your children grow from toddlers to young adults. It’s where you spend your days and nights living your life.

A home is shelter, but it’s also ownership. Last I checked, you can’t really put a price on the kind of pride that comes with homeownership. Ask anyone whether it’s a dream of theirs to own a home and you’ll likely hear a resounding “yes.”

Again, it’s the intangibles of real estate that will keep this market alive.

A home is not a casino slot machine. It’s not a mutual fund. But it is a relatively safe way to spend your monthly housing budget. In the long-term, homes will still return value to their owners – and while it may not be in the form of doubling your returns, it is a true asset, a thing that you own free and clear after the mortgage is paid.

At the end of the loan, it’s still yours, not the landlord’s or the bank’s. Yours.

So even amid a declining market while analysts and pundits decry real estate a non-wealth builder, a dead end, myself and 60 million+ other homeowners disagree. We decided to put our money into our homes and are proud of it. I don’t think that sentiment is going to change overnight.

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Intero Insider: What Lower Demand Means

By Gino Blefari | August 25th, 2010 0 Comments

The data on the street points to lower demand for homes and increased supply throughout the end of the year. This is a recipe for market slowdown, for sure. But the news means different things to different people and entities.

Here is my take:

Home buyers: The best news is first. Buyers have it made right now. Interest rates are now at all-time lows. Not historic or near historic, but all-time lows.

And of course the higher inventory and lower demand in many markets gives the buyer more to choose from and more negotiating power simply because there is less competition from other buyers.

Bottom line for home buyers is that this news is good – excellent, in fact.

Home sellers: Simple math and physics tell us that when one side of a scale is up, the other side is down. Sellers may be on the down side of the equation here, but there is an upside. Fortunately, for the seller, this simple math can never account for the intangibles like an elite neighborhood, amazing schools, or the emotion that often is real estate.

Every sale needs just one buyer – the right one. When this occurs, the seller gets what he or she needs and moves on.

Bottom line for home sellers is that it may be tough, but definitely not impossible. If your location is coveted or your home has a lot of other appeal, there’s no need to fret.

The housing industry: Slowdown for the second half of the year, but not a halt. Be prepared for longer deals and more hurdles. These may be frustrating times, but many successful entrepreneurs are made in times of economic hardship. Be patient, work hard and don’t be afraid to innovate. Now is not the time to retreat.

Bottom line for the industry is that these slow times will weed out the weakest professionals.

Renters: Fewer home buyers can mean more renters so look for much more competition when you’re searching for your next rental. Rents may climb in some markets.

Bottom line for renters is that it may not be the best time to look for a new place. If you are financially and psychologically ready to become a homeowner, you might want to check out your buying options instead.

The economy: A slow housing market is not the greatest news for the economy as a whole. But the underlying factors causing the slow housing market are actually of more concern to the economy right now – slow job growth, massive deficit, deflation risks.

Bottom line is that the housing market will continue to be a topic of discussion in Washington. Look for more programs or program ideas to help tip the scales to faster growth.

To conclude, you see there are winners and losers in the low-demand, high-supply scenario. It’s all in how you see it. Opportunities are there for everyone.

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Ah, Loan Contingency Periods, aka Scrutiny on Your Bounty

By Ed Gory | August 18th, 2010 0 Comments

One of the most critical things when getting your mortgage to purchase a home is the loan contingency.  Speaking from recent experience, and understanding the new reality of overly scrutinizing lenders, here are Ed’s must-know things when it comes to loan contingencies:

Don’t Take Shortcuts

Firstly, please, please, please, work with a mortgage lender who has a proven record of being able to secure a loan.  This has got to be one of the most important to-do’s before you go out shopping for a home.  This is as important, and may even be more important than the loan rate you lock in.

Yet, with still so many choices out there – direct lenders, mortgage brokers, etc. – you may ask yourself, how do I find a good one?  The best source, I’ve found, is to get recommendations from friends, relatives, or trusted realtors.

A good lender who’s truly looking out for your best interest should ultimately be able to tell you what you can and cannot afford.  A great lender will go above and beyond to get the job done.

Do Your Homework

Where are your downpayment funds going to come from? From your own savings? Cashing out some WebVan stock? A gift from your solvent parents?  Whatever the source of your funds, you have GOT to make sure you let your mortgage lender know early on in the process.  Any  funds that are NOT coming directly from your own savings, might be subject to major scrutiny by the lender – and you may find yourself having to provide a boatload of documentation showing where the money’s coming from, or, in the case of a gift, additional scrutiny on whoever was giving you the money.  And of course, as Murphy’s Law would have it, that kind of scrutiny can very well happen at the 11th hour when you least expect it, probably right before you’re supposed to close escrow.

Final Thoughts

Be realistic about your loan contingency period. Don’t put it at 14 days if you’re not 110% positive that your lender can do it. Better to be conservative and ask for more days than you think you’ll need.

Be sure your lender knows of any red flags during the contingency period. Find this out early on in the process. Continually ask your lender what the current conditions to close (CTCs) are, and are they being met.

Remove your loan contingency as close to on time as possible. No one, particularly the sellers and the sellers’ agent, get more stressed out when loan contingencies aren’t removed on time.

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Intero Insider: Good News for Employed AND Unemployed

By Gino Blefari | August 17th, 2010 0 Comments

In times of economic hardship, most news tends to focus on the bad stuff: unemployment, consumer spending, consumer confidence, slow economic growth. This may be why a recent economic story in The New York Times caught my eye: “For Those With Jobs, a Recession With Benefits.”

The headline says it all – the silver lining. It seems obvious, but for those lucky enough to still be employed, these are great times to be a consumer.

Just look at interest rates for mortgages. If you’re employed and looking to buy a house, you’re part of a group of borrowers who will lock in rates so low even buyers from a few months ago would cry. 4.375% percent (APR 4.579%) on a 30-year fixed!! That is something to brag about. Even an $8,000 home buyer tax credit cannot beat the savings achieved on these borrowing costs.

Further tipping the scales in favor of today’s employed are wages. According to the NYT article, “The typical jobless person has been out of work six months. The typical worker has received a raise.” Since the start of the recession in December 2007, real average hourly pay has risen nearly 5 percent.

This is obviously bad news for those who have been out of work for some time. But again, the bright side: Rising wages are good news for housing. And while the market may not see a huge pop from this right away, higher wages at least provide confidence for those buyers who are in the market today, and those sellers who are hoping for a match.

Remember: Every home sale needs just one qualified buyer. Your pool of buyers starts to increase with every job that is secured.

A lifeboat for unemployed homeowners

But even amid bad times for the jobless, there was some good news out of Washington last week. The Obama Administration is prepping $3 billion in financial assistance to aid homeowners in the states most affected by unemployment.

The assistance program will send $2 billion in aid to state Housing Finance Agencies for programs for borrowers who are struggling to make payments due to job loss. Another $1 billion in aid will come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide up to 24 months of assistance to homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure.

So you see, it’s not all bad right now. Let’s hope it works!

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Intero Insider: Housing News a Mixed Bag

By Gino Blefari | August 3rd, 2010 0 Comments

The best way to sum up housing market news right now is: the data show things are improving, but remain at not-so-great levels. Sorry to break it to you this way, but at least there are some positives.

Let’s dig in:

  • New home sales were up 23.6 percent in June, according to Census Bureau statistics. And while this was a great increase from May, the rate was 16.7 percent below the level in June 2009.
  • Also, home prices rose in May, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller 10-city and 20-city home prices indexes. Prices in the 10-city index increased 1.2 percent and prices in the 20-city index increased 1.3 percent. Compared with a year earlier, the 10-city index rose 5.4 percent and the 20-city reading increased 4.6 percent.
  • Existing home sales slowed 5.1 percent in June from May, according to figures reported by the National Association of Realtors. It was the second month of decline for existing sales, which many say was partly due to the expiration of the housing tax credit (contracts had to be in place by April 30 to qualify). But the June sales figures were up 9.8 percent from June 2009. NAR also said the inventories were up and prices were stable.

Now, the fun part: what does all this mean?

Well, first let’s not overlook the fact that there are indeed sales happening. So even if you’re of the “sky is falling” mind, you can’t deny that people are still buying and selling homes.

Second, we all pretty much knew that home sales would dip in the months after the tax credit expired. While the tax credit may not have created transactions out of thin air, it certainly put a fire under a great number of buyers to move quickly. Now the market doesn’t have those buyers who, under normal circumstances, may have bought in the summer instead of the spring.

Third, the fact that prices held steady and showed some increase is a good sign.

The reality here is that the housing market moves on. Life events will continue to drive transactions. Sure, times are tough for home sellers and those of us who work in this industry. But we at Intero actually see these times as a great opportunity to succeed. There are some great deals out there for today’s buyers and investors. Borrowing conditions are fantastic for those who qualify.

These are times when innovation really does stand out and make a difference.

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Intero Foundation 7th Annual Golf Tournament

By Teressa Francis | July 20th, 2010 0 Comments

Are you ready to play?

The 7th Annual Intero Foundation Golf Tournament sponsored by Bank of America is next Thursday, July 29th from 12:30 p.m. until 6 p.m. at Cinnabar Hills Golf Club in San Jose.

We are still looking for golfers, so sign up today!

Click the registration card image below to view and print. Mail forms to Deitra Catalano c/o Intero Foundation Golf Tournament 10275 N. De Anza Blvd., Cupertino, CA 95014 or fax to 408.516.8133.

Besides golf, the day features a BBQ lunch, dinner and a raffle.

The Intero Foundation’s mission is “to create awareness in the community by demonstrating good corporate citizenship” and to support organizations that focus on assisting children, their education and their personal development.

It’s gonna be a great day, so see you there!

Thanks again Bank of America!

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Intero Real Estate Services, Inc. executives keynote prestigious global real estate seminars in Singapore and Hong Kong

By Teressa Francis | July 9th, 2010 0 Comments

Blefari and Moles share innovative approach to distressed property opportunity globally as well as in the U.S.

CUPERTINO, SILICON VALLEY, USA – July 1, 2010 — Intero Real Estate Services, a leading U.S. real estate brokerage that has recently expanded its brand globally, as a franchisor, through Intero Franchise Services, Inc. and Intero International Franchise Services, LLC, announced that its Chairman, Robert Moles, and CEO, Gino Blefari, recently made keynote presentations at two prestigious global real estate seminars in Singapore and Hong Kong to share insights learned from leading the exponential growth of a global brokerage company in the distressed property market.

Gino Blefari, Intero® President and CEO, spoke at the iProperty Real Estate Seminar 2010 in Singapore about distressed property opportunity both globally and in the U.S. He said that while real estate is still very much a local business, market insights and technology innovation can be shared globally to new markets and new business partners. Both factors have been critical to Intero’s own growth.

“Not all markets are distressed markets, but all markets have distressed property opportunities. California has been at the epicenter of the global housing crisis, yet Intero has grown to lead in market share in Santa Clara County, the largest market in Silicon Valley, in spite of this challenge. We did so by leveraging technology and honing a deep understanding of current market dynamics and letting those insights guide our actions,” Blefari said.

Robert Moles, Intero® Chairman, gave a keynote presentation about the global distressed property opportunities at the SMART Investment & International Property Expo in Hong Kong in June. Said Moles on the experience, “We are excited to share our story of success in distressed markets with agents and investors from across the globe as we continue the worldwide expansion of our brand.” Moles continued, “Our experience in California gives us a unique perspective on thriving in a difficult market.”

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What you Need to Know About Green Home Certifications

By Tadas Narauskas | May 27th, 2010 0 Comments

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the greenest of them all?  As if we didn’t already have hundreds of eco labels to worry about every time we visit a store, now there are green home certifications that are mushrooming up all over the Bay Area and the country.  Understanding these new ways of classifying quality and operation costs is becoming a must, especially when you build, remodel or in the market for a home.  Yet another chief reason for being able to decipher these new terms is to avoid growing generalizations or greenwashing.

Frankly, most folks could careless about “green” homes. Very few want to pay extra for labels they don’t understand.  And why should they?! Price and quality are and should be the two high priority areas of concern.  However, green homes address much more than just fancy “eco-friendly” building materials.  They also encompass elements like energy efficiency, indoor air quality, water efficiency, materials use (recycled, reclaimed, sustainable), community and environmental impacts.

Third party sources play an important role in verifying that green homes are truly are as they are cracked up to be in their marketing.  Here are the three most prevalent green home titles you are most likely to see in our Bay Area neighborhoods:

Green Point – This rating program is a child of Build it Green, a non-profit based in Berkley.  GreenPoint uses a scoring system where a GreenPoint rater evaluates a home’s green features “allowing homes to be compared on a level playing field.”  The program rewards building professionals and homeowners who create green homes by allowing them to brand their products with a recognizable seal of approval.

Be aware though; it doesn’t take much to get yourself a “GreenPoint” title.  When you see this little word “Elements” next to the rating (up to 50 points) it means only a small part of the house has some sort of green feature.  When you see “Whole House,” stated next to the score, this is more exciting but again, pay attention to the score.  Some “green” homes are notorious for focusing on energy efficiency but very little attention is given to indoor air quality.  I’ve seen it and smelled it, it’s a fact.

LEED – (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) is an internationally recognized voluntary green building certification system from the US Green Building Council. It verifies that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.

LEED homes have the potential to use 20-30% and some – up to 60% less energy.  Certifications have various levels of “greenness” and are categorized into Certified, Silver, and Gold & Platinum. Neither of these certifications is easy or cheap to get.  When you see a home owner or builder boasting a LEED seal of quality, rest assured they had to jump through some serious hoops to get it.

Energy Star – It is very likely that up until now, you thought Energy Star applies only to your appliances and electronics.  I was very surprised to find out that it pertains to homes also.  To earn the ENERGY STAR, a home must meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These homes are at least 15% more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC), and include additional energy-saving features that typically make them 20–30% more efficient than standard homes.

There you have it, the most common green home certifications in Bay Area.  As a general rule, it is always a good idea to dig deeper when you see a home that claims to be “green”.  Always look for third party verifications and other proof.  Let’s leave the “greenwashing” to the household cleaning product industry.

More on Green Homes:  http://SanJoseGreenHome.com

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Intero Real Estate Services climbs to #17 on the 2010 REAL Trends 500 list of America’s largest real estate companies

By Teressa Francis | May 27th, 2010 0 Comments

Silicon Valley-based brokerage and franchisor is the youngest firm among the top twenty companies on prestigious list

CUPERTINO, SILICON VALLEY, USA – May 27, 2010 — Intero Real Estate Services (http://interorealestate.com), a leading U.S. real estate brokerage that has recently expanded its brand globally, as a franchisor, through Intero Franchise Services, Inc. and Intero International Franchise Services, LLC, announced that it ranked #17, based on sales volume, on the prestigious REAL Trends 500 list of America’s leading real estate companies for 2010.

Intero is also the youngest company within the list’s top twenty firms – a fact that underscores the rapid growth and success of the Intero brand. Intero was founded in 2002 and broke into the REAL Trends top 25 in its second full year of operation – a first for any real estate company.

The REAL Trends 500 list is published by REAL Trends, Inc., a publishing company considered to be a leading source of real estate analysis and information.

“We are honored to make the REAL Trends 500 again – it represents a who’s who of American real estate companies,” said Gino Blefari, Intero President and CEO. “The fact that Intero is one of the youngest firms on the list is particularly meaningful to all of us at Intero who believe real estate is ready for our brand of innovation.”

Intero’s growth is driven by re-thinking the real estate brokerage. The company was among the first to syndicate listings on the Internet, has been recognized for its outstanding Website and has reinvented the real estate office. Intero is now expanding its brand nationally and internationally through master and single-unit franchising.

“The REAL Trends 500 has always been a marker of success in this business,” said Bob Moles, Intero Chairman and former President and CEO of the Real Estate Franchise Group of Cendant Corporation, the largest franchiser of residential and commercial real estate brokerage offices in the world. “The fact that the Intero® brand has made it so far so fast is a validation of our commitment to sustained innovation.”

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Intero Real Estate Services, Inc. makes new, more efficient real estate office model available to franchisees worldwide

By Teressa Francis | May 4th, 2010 2 Comments

The ‘AndareSM‘ Office, launched in Silicon Valley, enables real estate brokers to sustain profitability while delivering a compelling customer experience

CUPERTINO, SILICON VALLEY, USA – May 4, 2010 — Intero Real Estate Services (http://www.interorealestate.com), a leading U.S. real estate brokerage that has recently expanded its brand globally, as a franchisor, through Intero Franchise Services, Inc. and Intero International Franchise Services, LLC, has announced that its groundbreaking Andare office model is now available to companies choosing to affiliate with the Intero brand.

The Andare model, first piloted by Intero in Silicon Valley, re-wrote the book on what a real estate office should be: a cost-efficient operation that delivers a memorable experience to agents and consumers alike. Gone are the seldom-used cubicles, replaced with wired pods for agents who drop-in and head out. Gone are the fax machines, file cabinets and copiers, replaced with wireless Internet and Web-based transaction management. The Andare office is an environment built for today and tomorrow, not yesterday.

A multimedia presentation of the Andare office can be viewed online.

‘The economics of a real estate brokerage today are different than a few years ago – that’s a fact that cannot be ignored’ said Gino Blefari, President and CEO of Intero Real Estate Services. ‘The real estate office as we have known it needed to change, so we reinvented it completely with Andare.’

Intero has developed a turnkey plan for franchisees around the globe to create their own Andare offices. Research, floor plans, operational and management practices and consulting are available to Intero affiliates that wish to open Andare offices in their markets.

‘Andare was a big part of my decision to affiliate with the Intero brand because it gave me something new and exciting to bring to the marketplace and will put me on a profitable track from day one,’ said Sandy Miller, the owner of the soon to be built Intero Rancho San Diego, California branch. ‘There’s a lot of talk about innovation in real estate right now, but Intero was the only company that delivered substance.’

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