Tracy Royce

This article was orginally posted on MSN....please note the copyright and link to the full article at the bottom!

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"Late last month, Standard & Poor's reported that its S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price index of real-estate values increased this past quarter over the first quarter of 2009, the first quarter-on-quarter increase in three years. Its index of 20 major cities also rose for the three months ended June 30 over the three months ended May 31, with only hard-hit Detroit and Las Vegas experiencing declines. The week before that, the National Association of Realtors reported that sales volume of existing homes was up 7.2% in July from June.

In short, the data suggest that real-estate prices hit a bottom some time during the second quarter and have now begun to rise. There's no way to be certain that this marks the end of the long, painful correction that followed the real-estate bubble, but clearly prices are no longer in free fall.

That means if you've been sitting on the fence, it's time to act.

But with real-estate prices nationally now down about 30% from their 2006 peak and showing signs of turning up, the prices aren't likely to go much lower. Every real-estate market is local, and so there may be a few exceptions. Overall, though, I can't imagine a better time to buy than right now.

In addition to bargain prices, buyers should find plenty of homes to choose from. The inventory of unsold homes was 4.09 million units in July, up 7.3% from June, according to the National Association of Realtors. And mortgage rates this week were at a two-month low of close to 5%.

Even the stricter appraisal process is working to the advantage of buyers. Appraisals are coming in far lower than most sellers have been expecting, forcing them to face the new reality of sharply lower prices. And with stricter standards, lenders aren't going to let buyers borrow more than they can afford, which protects buyers and helps to keep prices down.

The flipping days are over

Unless you're really prepared to accept the demands (and headaches) of being a landlord, I don't recommend direct ownership of real estate as an investment. The days of buyers lining up to buy and flip Miami Beach and Las Vegas condos are mercifully gone. There are much easier ways to make money in real estate, such as buying into real-estate investment trusts or buying shares in homebuilders and other housing-related businesses, such as Home Depot (HD, news, msgs).

Historically, the mean rate of return on real estate has been around 3%, according to research from Yale economist Robert Shiller, who co-developed the Case-Shiller index. Shares in REITs and other stocks have often done much better."

(Original article can be found at http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/RealEstate/its-time-to-invest-in-real-estate.aspx, all copyright remains with the author and their respective publications. )

My comments: Although I feel like this author has presented some meaningful stats, I COMPLETELY disagree that buyers should not look to RE as an investment right now. There are many of us that still believe we haven't hit "true" bottom, due to the rising unemployment rate/amount of foreclosures to keep coming on the market.

However, learning to manage your properties and run it like a business, rather than "dealing with headaches of being a landlord", as he puts it, can put you very much in the position to create passive income on cash flow properties.

What do you guys think? Great time to buy or go run and hide until the end of 09???

What do you think in your market?

There's always this precious couple of moments before you wake up, that your mind drifts to the days happenings, maybe what you'd like in your life, or just the things you have to do. So, are you jumping out of bed, excited that your purpose in life has been fulfilled by, the Almighty Short Sale?

My guess is, your answer is a resounding "No". So why are you doing them? Are they making you more money? If so, great! Are they worth your time? If they are, awesome!

If not, what IS the best use of your time? Listings? Marketing? SALES? I would sure hope so. "But Tracy,", you might be saying.."I HAVE to do short sales! That's where the market is at."

"Ahh, dear Agent" I retort. "Do you cut your own hair? Rebuild your own transmission? Finish renovating the bathroom that your husband abandoned, promising it would "only take two weeks"?!)..(ok, maybe that's pushing it, just making sure you're still reading).

My point is, do what I did. Link up with people in the industry that are a glutton for punishment and have people pounding the phones and following up relentlessly, so you can go out and drive sales and manage your pipeline. Check out their stats first, because some agencies keep them in house and do well with it. Some don't.

If you wanna know who I use you can call me at 602-741-1602, or email me at RoyceOfRealEstate@gmail.com

"Will I EVER get this short sale done?"

What's most important is realizing that, although YES short sales are here to stay for awhile, that doesn't mean you have to personally transact all of them. Most offices, similarly, have transaction coordinators and assistants to do the things that are not the best use of your time.

If you want to know who I get to do mine for free, you can call me at 602-741-1602, or email me at RoyceOfRealEstate@gmail.com

Although there will always be ways to make money in real estate, that doesn't mean you have to learn everyone's job around you and do it yourself. Same thing goes with negotiating short sales. Keep your listing. Mind your sanity.

Let me know if I can help!

Tracy Royce

RoyceOfRealEstate@gmail.com

602-741-1602

Your two target buyers in this market are probably first time home buyers, and investors. You're dealing with two ends of the spectrum, and if you're experienced in the retail side, working with investors can be a different animal.

I've worked in non-traditional real estate, more specifically, for private real estate investors, for over 8 years now, with little to no involvement (by choice) on the retail side as an agent. (As in, I'm blogging this to avoid studying for my RE licensing course...sheesh).

Here are some insights about the investor mindset, and how you as an agent can attract and keep those buyers coming back for more.

1.) Keep it numbers

Most of your cash/investor buyers own businesses, have families, have other investments, and know there is opportunity in the market. You don't need to massage them the way you might with a FTHB. Show them a performing asset, and they'll show you the money.

2.) Sell on bottom line

Try to get away what the property value (might) be worth, because next month that's going to change. Not to say don't pull conservative comps to show what todays value might be, but unless you are scouring MLS and submitting 100 offers a week to find fix and flip properties, your investors are going to be holding these properties to rent. Break down their cash on cash return and cash flow over a 12-36 month period. Compare that to what might be their return say in an IRA, Mutual Fund, Etc., and why this makes more sense.

3.) Don't worry about the ripped up carpet, paint, and "pretty" add ons

You're not selling to the wife that will adore the spice rack and lovely jet tub in the bathroom where she can relax. You're selling to an investor that is going to ask, What do I need to do to bring this to rent ready condition, how much will that cost, and what can I get for rent? (again, cash on cash return, and cash flow).

Some investor buyers will prefer "Rent ready" homes, whereas others can easily see past the condition, and absorb the responsibility to fix it up in the exchange for a lower price. So if it's ugly, don't apologize! Get on the phone and sell it!

I hope this is beginning insight for the agents who are breaking into working for investor buyers, because there are going to be more of them!

What are you guys seeing with your investor buyers? Is it about the same?

Let me know your thoughts!

To your success,

Tracy Royce

"The Royce Of Real Estate" :)

Wow, I know it's been awhile since I've posted here, but what a whirlwind the last month or so has been. I'm FINALLY getting my real estate license (I've been doing real estate for almost 8 years now), and our business is going incredibly well, so I've been a busy bee!

We've closed over 30 deals closed in May alone, and June is already set up to break records.

Most of our business is in short sales, but we are also starting to see more and more wholesale deals come back down the pipeline. We started of getting direct wholesale deals from homeowners in 05-07, but with the market changing, understandably the majority of our sales have been through Short Sales.

The common thread is, if it's a good deal, it's moving. Less and less has it become important about area, condition, etc, what we're seeing getting multiple offers on, contingies waived, what investors are salvating at, etc, tends to be lower price-point properties that can cash flow. (Relatively speaking, a lot of buyers are paying cash so technically it will automatically cash flow). But we are also seeing beautiful high-end properties move faster...because they are such a great deal!

What are you guys seeing in your markets? The same? More buyers? More investors?

I'd love to hear your comments!

And if you're looking for deals to sell to your investor clients, or you have wholesale deals that you'd like to sell, let me know! Especially if you are in AZ I would love to see how we can work together!

To your success,

Tracy Royce

New statistical data shows Phoenix home prices have gone down by 50%, and have reached the pricing they were at in 1999.

Coupled with information from ASU saying that most of the inventory being bought is under $200,000, and construction is down, NOW is the time to buy SFR's and condos!

In my opinion, for any of you looking to start investing and starting to want to create residual income, my suggestion is, start to look into seller financing if you can't get loans to have the financing in your name, and begin to hit this portion of the market hard.

We already are seeing anything under $100K go very very quickly, and if you ever needed a stronger sign of when to start purchasing homes at rock bottom prices to add to your rental portfolio-----HERE'S YOUR SIGN!