Oregon

"Offering free home staging". Magic words or at least attractive words to sellers. But those words aren't coming from professional stagers, they're coming from listing agents. Smart agents who know the real value of this unbelievably effective marketing tool. Here's advice to sellers who consider signing a listing contract for that reason or sellers who recognize what an important added service that is. Be sure you understand exactly what professional staging services your listing agent plans to provide. You might get a comprehensive consultation with a Professional Home Stager, a great benefit and a great Do-It-Yourself tool that will mean a (often much faster) successful sale for you. Or...your agent could be offering a limited consultation with a pro, even offering to pay part of a professional stagers fee if you agree to have the staging done. To some listing agents offering "Free Home Staging", however, that means placing towels in the bathrooms and a plant on the kitchen windowsill. I'm NOT implying that the listing agent is trying to mislead anyone, only that the level of education and skill in Home Staging that a Realtor has can range from very little to Realtors who are actually certified or accredited as Professional Stagers. You might notice I keep saying "Professional Stager", I just want to be clear. Just as a homeowner would hesitate to have their very skilled, very conscientious plumber install a new roof, or ask the landscape maintenance company to paint the house, hesitate long enough to find out if the staging you get is up to the same quality and standard as you'd expect from a Professional Stager. A good Real Estate Marketing Team is set up to let the members do what they each do best.

Foreclosure Filings Rose 5 Percent in 3rd Quarter of 2009. Foreclosure filings, including default notices, auctions and bank repossessions, rose 5 percent in 3rd quarter, from the previous quarter and 23 percent from a year ago, according to Realty Trac's quarterly Metro Foreclosure Market Report. One in every 136 households with a mortgage loan, or 937,000 properties, received a foreclosure filing between July and September.

"Rising unemployment and a new variety of mortgage resets continue to gradually shift the nation's foreclosure epicenters in the third quarter away from the hot spots of the last two years and toward some metro areas that had avoided the brunt of the first foreclosure wave," says RealtyTrac's CEO, James J. Saccacio.

Las Vegas had the highest third-quarter foreclosure rate in the country with 5.13 percent, or one out of 20 housing units, nearly seven times the national average. Some 40,408 Las Vegas properties received a foreclosure filing during the quarter, up 9 percent from the previous quarter and 54 percent from the third quarter of 2008.

Merced, Calif., had the second-highest foreclosure rate with one in every 27 properties receiving a foreclosure filing, followed by Caper Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., where one in every 28 households received a foreclosure filing. Several cities that had not been part of the initial foreclosure wave posted the biggest year-over-year increases during the third quarter: Boise City, Idaho; Salt Lake City; and Provo-Orem, Utah.

Article compliments of Realty Trac

Trulia, Inc. has announced that 1 in 4 homes experience a price reduction during the past 12 months. More than 40% of the top 50 major metros across the U.S. are experiencing price reduction levels above 30%, significantly higher than the national average. The average discount for price-reduced homes continues to hold steady at 10% off of the original listing price.

Northeast Continues with Most Homes Reduced. The Northeast continues to see the highest level of price reductions, with 29% of current listings experiencing at least one price cut - Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire are all seeing over 30% of listings with price reductions. (Regions according to the U.S. Census Bureau).

-Northeast - 29% of listings with price reductions
-Midwest - 28% of listings with price reductions
-West - 25% of listings with price reductions
-South - 24% of listings with price reductions

"With mortgage rates still low and the expansion of the tax credit to trade-up buyers, we could see significant inventory - both new and 'shadow inventory' - hit the market during the next four-to-six months," said Pete Flint, Trulia co-founder and CEO. "Inventory levels this quarter are poised to be atypical of a normal real estate market, which could create tremendous pressure on sellers to price their homes competitively and move their property before the tax credit expires on April 30th."

Cities experiencing significant increases in percentage of listings with price reductions from June 2009 to November 2009 include:

-Kansas City, MO - 59% increase in price reductions
-Colorado Springs, CO - 43% increase in price reductions
-Omaha, NE - 39% increase in price reductions
-Louisville, KY - 37% increase in price reductions
-Milwaukee, WI - 30% increase in price reductions

Cities showing signs of the highest percentage of declines for listings with price reductions from June 2009 to November 2009 include:

-Las Vegas, NV - 34% decrease in price reductions
-San Jose, CA - 25% decrease in price reductions
-San Antonio, TX - 18% decrease in price reductions
-Los Angeles, CA - 16% decrease in price reductions
-Oakland, CA - 16% decrease in price reductions

Luxury Market Still Hardest Hit
Luxury homes (those listed at two million dollars and above) continue to bear the brunt of discounts being offered with an average of 14% being slashed from the original asking price compared to the national average of 10%. Additionally, luxury homes represent less than 2% of all current listings on Trulia, but are responsible for 25% of the $28.1 billion in home price reductions.

Article compliments of RIS Media

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, I can think of many things I am thankful for. For one, I am thankful that I have a roof over my head and a warm, cozy bed to sleep in every night. I am thankful that I live in a country where I have the freedom to express myself on blogs like Active Rain. And, I am most thankful for the men and women who fight (so I don't have to) to defend these very freedoms, so I can continue to enjoy these luxuries.

Take a look at these pictures of the men and women who are affording you the same luxury:

Many Things I am Thankful For!

Bathrooms You Won't Find in Grants Pass, Oregon!

Here is a picture of a public toilet in Houston, Texas.

Now that you've seen the outside view,

take a look at the inside view...

It's made entirely of one-way glass!
No one can see you from the outside,

but inside, it's like sitting in a clear glass box!
Now would you go? COULD YOU...?

Imagine you are at a party on the 10th floor of a hi-rise building...
You have to visit the bathroom... You open the door...

This is just a painted floor. But wouldn't this mess with your mind?

Would you be able to walk into this bathroom?

Bathrooms You Won't Find in Grants Pass, Oregon!