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Digital Resources for REALTORS® to Take Your Business to the Next Level

by Real Estate ArticlesResources

There’s a plethora of resources at your fingertips that can help you grow your business and be a better REALTOR® to your clients. Here are a few of our favorites and where to find them.

STATS, INFOGRAPHICS & MARKETING MATERIALS
RPR®
RPR, or Realtors Property Resource, provides REALTORS® with data. Easily search properties, create and send branded reports, and view local market statistics, anytime, anyplace. www.narrpr.com or the NTREIS dashboard

ListReports
Generate marketing materials for your listing including open house flyers, property reports, neighborhood demographics, infographics with local information & more. www.listreports.com

Breakthrough™ Broker
Brand professionally created infographics for real estate agents, as well as postcards, social media posts and other marketing materials. Breakthrough™ Broker also has lead generation strategies and business planning tools as well. www.breakthroughbroker.com

MarketViewer
A real estate market analytics portal exclusively for members of TAR where you have instant access to market stats across thousands of geographies in Texas. www.texasrealestate.com/members/research/marketviewer

NTREIS
NTREIS Local Marketing Updates/Reports and Monthly Market Indicators each month with information from the previous month. www.ntreis.net/resources/statistics.asp

NTREIS Trends
An interactive market analytics tool, based on MLS data. It allows the user to instantly access nearly any view of the local housing market, all with an immersive interface. NTREIS dashboard

Texas A&M Real Estate Center
Housing activity statistics from over 50 MLS systems in Texas, released monthly. www.recenter.tamu.edu

TOOLS FOR FARMING
REiSource®
Specializing in data mining and lead generation, REiSource® is a nationwide database tool that helps you narrowly focus your business contacts and leads as well as helps to identify your most viable prospects based on sophisticated search options. Contact Republic Title Business Development Rep.

Remine
Remine puts REALTORS® in the center of the transaction. Remine’s interactive map and data-based filters help REALTORS® quickly and easily find new leads, track current and past opportunities. NTREIS dashboard

Realist® Tax
Realist® from CoreLogic® is a public-record database that seamlessly integrates with MLS to provide in-depth property and ownership data, market information, street and aerial maps, as well as market trends to its users. NTREIS dashboard

SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT
Canva
Easily create beautiful and professional designs and documents to use in your business for social media, email marketing and even postcards & flyers. www.canva.com

Ripl
Create branded videos and images in minutes, then instantly post to all your social media accounts at once. www.ripl.com

Planoly
Plan, edit, and schedule your social media content now so you don’t have to later. All the Instagram and Pinterest visual planning and management tools you need in one easy tool. www.planoly.com

Unsplash
With over 1 million free high-resolution photographs, Unsplash is the perfect place to start when looking for images to use in correlation with your social content. www.unsplash.com

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Texas Housing Insight – April 2020

by Real Estate ArticlesResourcesStats

Here is the April 2020 Summary from Texas A&M Real Estate Center.

Texas Housing

Total Texas housing sales declined 17.6 percent in April amid economic uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Showings of homes for sale were not explicitly prohibited by the month-long statewide stay-at-home order, but potential buyers and sellers were certainly more reluctant to host and attend in-person tours and open houses. Nevertheless, demand remained stable as the average days on market slid to 57 days, although loan applications for home purchases decreased while lenders implemented stricter lending standards.

On the supply side, both housings starts and building permits plunged more than 20 percent despite construction being considered an “essential” business under the statewide mandate. Median home-price appreciation decelerated but remained positive as corroborated by the Texas Repeat Sales Home Price Index. The coronavirus outbreak is the greatest threat to the Texas housing market since the 1986-90 recession via disruptions to buyer and seller confidence, the negative income shock, and wariness of visiting and showing homes for sale. The Real Estate Center, however, projects the rate of decline in single-family housing sales will slow in May relative to April.

Supply*

Contemporaneous and anticipated construction activity continued to fall during the coronavirus-induced downturn. The Texas Residential Construction Cycle (Coincident) Index, which measures current construction levels, sank to its lowest reading since 2017 as industry employment plummeted. Decreased building permits and housing starts offset falling interest rates, pulling the Residential Construction Leading Index down to levels around those last seen in January 2007.

As economic uncertainty ramped up due to coronavirus concerns, single-family construction permits nosedived 22.2 percent. Nevertheless, Texas remained the national leader with Houston and Dallas issuing 2,829 and 1,856 nonseasonally adjusted permits, respectively, despite declining about 25 percent. Other locales registered more moderate decreases between 11 and 17 percent, but San Antonio permits fell for the sixth consecutive month to 632. Austin issued 1,618 permits, double the per capita statewide rate, while Fort Worth posted 1,002. On the other hand, Texas’ multifamily permits improved for the second straight month, increasing 16.1 percent.

Total Texas housing starts fell more than 20 percent to a year-and-a-half low as building activity slowed under social distancing rules. Meanwhile, single-family private construction values dropped 26.9 percent in April to a seven-year low after adjusting for inflation. Every major metro registered a steep decline, with San Antonio values contracting by a third. Houston’s metric sank 22 percent after flattening the previous month, while Austin and DFW values decreased for the second straight month. Single-family construction, however, is expected to rebound in the coming months as housing demand remains relatively stable.

The state’s supply of active listings fell to its lowest level year to date (YTD), offsetting plummeting sales and pulling Texas’ months of inventory (MOI) down to 3.4 months. A total MOI around six months is considered a balanced housing market. Inventory for homes priced less than $300,000 (where four-fifths of total sales take place) slid to 2.7 months. On the other hand, luxury home inventory (consisting of homes priced more than $500,000) ticked up for the first time in eight months as falling sales outweighed a decline in the supply of active listings. So, despite falling sales, the overall market remained relatively tight and in short supply.

On the metropolitan level, the Houston MOI registered the greatest drop but remained above the statewide level at 3.6 months. North Texas inventory flattened at 2.7 and 2.5 months in Dallas and Fort Worth, respectively. San Antonio’s MOI increased slightly to 3.3 months, while Austin’s metric reached 2.1 months. Most of the expansion happened in the higher price ranges. 

Demand

With COVID-19 impacts well underway, total housing sales dropped 17.6 percent in April to their lowest level since 2015, decreasing in every price cohort. Homes priced less than $300,000, however, accounted for two-thirds of the decline, corresponding to the sales composition. Texas sales decelerated from a double-digit pace in the first two months of the year relative to the same period in 2019 to just a 1.5 percent clip when comparing the first four months of the year.

Sales activity in the Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) declined at a faster rate than the previous month, with Austin and Houston sales volumes falling by a fifth. Sales plunged 18.7 percent in DFW, largely due to decreases in the $200,000-$300,000 price cohort. San Antonio was the only major metro to not register reductions across the price spectrum as homes priced from $400,000-$500,000 reached an all-time high. However, the MSA’s total sales still slid 14.3 percent.

Despite massive layoffs across the state, housing demand remained healthy as Texas’ average days on market (DOM) extended a year-long downward trend, sinking to 57 days. Some of this resiliency may reflect disproportionate job losses occurring at the lower-end of the earnings spectrum which primarily consists of renter households. Austin’s metric slipped to its lowest level in five years at 47 days, while the San Antonio DOM inched down to 59 days. The average home in Houston sold after 59 days, stabilizing around its year-ago level. Demand softened slightly in North Texas as the DOM ticked up to 52 and 44 days in Dallas and Fort Worth, respectively but remained strong compared with the statewide average.

Ongoing concerns, such as the global coronavirus pandemic and critically low oil prices, pulled interest rates down in April. Both the ten-year U.S. Treasury bond yield and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation’s 30-year fixed-rate dropped to their lowest readings on record at 0.7 and 3.3 percent, respectively. Despite the former reaching a series low, mortgage applications for home purchases decreased for the third straight month plummeting 28.5 percent YTD amid coronavirus-related disruptions to the housing market and stricter lending standards. Applications to refinance home loans fell 13.2 percent in April but maintained positive YTD growth after doubling since year end in the first quarter. However, Center staff expects applications volumes to recover in the coming months assuming housing demand remains stable.

Prices

The Texas median home price flattened at $247,400, posting its lowest annual growth rate this year at 4.2 percent. Austin’s median home price sank to $316,400 after double-digit YOY hikes the previous two months when the proportion of homes priced more than $300,000 exceeded 60 percent for the first time ever. Home-price appreciation in Dallas and Houston also decelerated to around 3 percent, with the metric hovering around $296,700 and $248,800, respectively. On the other hand, YOY growth in Fort Worth and San Antonio accelerated, pushing the median price up to $252,900 in the former and $240,600 in the latter.

The Texas Repeat Sales Home Price Index, a better measure of changes in single-family home values, provides insight into how Texas home prices evolve. The index indicated home price appreciation decelerated in April on both the state and metropolitan levels. Texas’ index rose just 3.6 percent YOY, with the larger locales sliding well under the statewide average. The Dallas and Houston metrics increased only 2.3 and 2.6 percent, respectively. Austin’s index maintained the highest annual growth rate of 6 percent. The Fort Worth and San Antonio indices slowed to 3.8 and 3.2 percent YOY growth, respectively, contrasting median home price data. Favorable housing affordability relative to other parts of the country supported the Lone Star State’s economic growth after the housing bubble burst a decade ago. Texas needs to maintain affordability for the housing market to remain a stalwart in the current recession and subsequent recovery.  

The Real Estate Center projected single-family housing sales using monthly pending listings from the preceding period (see Table 1). Only one month in advance was projected due to the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and the availability of reliable and timely data. Although activity is expected to worsen, the rate of decline decelerated at the statewide level, from a 13.6 percent decrease in April to an anticipated 10.1 percent decrease in May. The drop in single-family sales in DFW and Houston is also expected to slow with the metric falling 10.4 and 7.4 percent, respectively. Central Texas, on the other hand, contradicted the overall state trend as the sales are estimated to plummet at a faster rate in May, 17.6 and 11.0 percent in Austin and San Antonio, respectively, relative to the previous month.

* All measurements are calculated using seasonally adjusted data, and percentage changes are calculated month over month, unless stated otherwise.

Source – James P. Gaines, Luis B. Torres, Wesley Miller, Paige Silva, and Griffin Carter (June 11, 2020)

https://www.recenter.tamu.edu/articles/technical-report/Texas-Housing-Insight

Top 5 Reasons to Refinance Your Home Right Now

by Real Estate ArticlesResourcesTitle Information

With interest rates at all-time lows, now is the time to consider refinancing.  Did you know there are title policy discounts available to some homeowners when refinancing?  There is! Here are the top 5 reasons to refi now.

LOW RATES

Mortgage interest rates are at an all time low and are currently averaging at 3.25% but can be as low as 2.5% for some!

SAVE MONEY

Securing a rate 1-2% lower than your current mortgage can save you hundreds of dollars a month.

PAY DOWN / PAY OUT

Alleviate the burden of high interest debt by refinancing your loan with a new, lower rate or shorter term loan to potentially save thousands of dollars over the course of your loan.

AVAILABLE TITLE POLICY CREDITS

If the loan you will be refinancing is a previously insured loan that is less than 4 years old you may be entitled to a 50% credit on the cost of the new title policy. If the loan being paid off is between 4 and 8 years old you may be entitled to a 25% credit on the cost of the new title policy.

REMODEL OR MAJOR ONE-TIME PURCHASE

Take advantage of the equity you have in your home to
take out a home equity loan for that remodel you’ve been
thinking about for years or for a major one-time purchase.

For more information on refinancing, or to discuss your options contact your local lender.  If you have questions about title insurance and fees contact your local Republic Title Office.

Print Version

 

The Census and North Texas Real Estate

by Real Estate ArticlesResources

What is the census?

The 2020 census aims to count every living person in the United States and five U.S. territories. In mid-March, homes across the country began receiving invitations to complete the 2020 Census. Once the invitation arrives, you should respond for your home in one of three ways: online, by phone, or by mail. When you respond to the census, you’ll tell the Census Bureau where you live as of April 1, 2020.

Why is the census so important?

Responding to the census largely affects the amount of funding your community receives, how your community plans to allocate those funds, and the amount of representation your community receives in the government. Results from the census determine the distribution and allocation of $675 billion in federal funding to hospitals, schools, libraries and housing programs, among others.

How does the census affect real estate?

Results are especially important for REALTORS as the data will inform the federal government about housing needs, demands, and trends. It also helps real estate investors decide where to build new homes, businesses and improve various neighborhood aspects. Ensuring a correct counting of the number of people in the state of Texas helps to provide billions of dollars in infrastructure funding as well as multiple congressional seats. Responses from this census will help produce statistics about homeownership and renting, data which serves as one indicator of the nation’s economy.

At Republic Title we want to help insure that all of our customers elect to be counted in the census and want everyone to know that your personally identifiable information is protected by law and cannot be shared outside of the Census Bureau.

Additional Census Resources

For more information on the census, visit www.2020census.gov

Thanks to our friends at Collin County Association of REALTORs who made videos in 26 different languages explaining the census. https://www.ccar.net/census/

 

Sources: http://2020census.gov , https://www.nar.realtor/ , http://texasrealestate.com

 

Texas Housing Insight – March 2020 Summary

by Real Estate ArticlesResourcesStats

Here is the March 2020 Summary from Texas A&M Real Estate Center.

 



Please note this review does not account for the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak but reflects the market through March 2020.


With half the month affected by the domestic coronavirus outbreak, total Texas housing sales decreased 4 percent in March, but still resulted in moderate first quarter growth. This decline does not bode well for second quarter home sales, when shelter-in-place and stay-at-home orders were implemented, increasing the reluctance of potential buyers and sellers to visit and show homes for sale. Supply-side activity decelerated amid uncertain economic conditions, but average days on market indicated steady demand. Median home-price appreciation remained stable, corroborated by the Texas Repeat Sales Home Price Index. The coronavirus outbreak is the greatest threat to the Texas housing market since the 1986-90 recession via disruptions to buyer and seller confidence, the negative income shock, and wariness of visiting and showing homes for sale. Preliminary effects showed in the March data with more significant impacts almost certain to appear during the second quarter of the year.

Supply*

Contemporaneous and anticipated construction levels took a step back in March after reaching post-recessionary highs the prior month, signaling a coronavirus-induced downturn. The Texas Residential Construction Cycle (Coincident) Index, which measures current construction levels, declined due to industry wage and employment cuts. Decreased building permits and housing starts offset falling interest rates, pulling the Residential Construction Leading Index down.

According to Metrostudy, activity at the earliest stage of the construction cycle cooled as the number of new vacant developed lots (VDLs) in the Texas Urban Triangle declined 5.4 percent quarter over quarter (QOQ) after reaching a post-recessionary high in 3Q2019. Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and San Antonio VDLs fell for the second straight quarter, most notably in the $300,000-$400,000 price range. On the other hand, Austin’s VDLs exceeded its average in 2019 while Houston lot development surged to a record-breaking 10,700 amid accelerated activity in the lowest-priced cohort (homes priced less than $200,000).

Quarterly fluctuations in the major metros’ single-family construction permits reflected movements in VDLs. On a month-over-month basis, issuance slowed across the board, although Texas continued to lead the nation in nonseasonally adjusted permits on both the state and metropolitan levels. Houston and DFW topped the list, issuing 4,116 and 3,506 monthly permits, respectively. Austin ranked fifth after Phoenix and Atlanta with 1,869 permits, while San Antonio permits numbered 966. Meanwhile, Texas’ multifamily permits fell about 5 percent QOQ despite monthly improvements in March.

Total Texas housing starts normalized after skyrocketing the previous month, decelerating to 4.6 percent QOQ growth. In the single-family sector, Metrostudy data confirmed strong supply-side activity in Houston with a post-crisis record 9,000 homes breaking ground in the first quarter. Dallas and San Antonio single-family starts flattened to start the year after reaching post-recessionary highs the previous quarter. In Austin, starts showed signs of normalizing after rapid growth during 2019.

Following solid improvement to start the year, single-family private construction values dropped nearly 6 percent in March to end the quarter with modest growth. San Antonio continued to correct downward after a rapid climb during the second half of 2019. Austin construction values decelerated in 1Q2020, while Houston’s showed signs of flattening. Values in North Texas, however, accelerated 6.4 percent QOQ.

Decreased sales slowed the decline in Texas’ months of inventory (MOI), which settled at 3.2 months. A total MOI around six months is considered a balanced housing market. Inventory for homes priced less than $300,000 (where four-fifths of total sales take place) held at 2.5 months as a sizeable reduction in sales offset a downtick in the supply of active listings. In the luxury home market (comprised of homes priced more than $500,000), the MOI fell below 7 months but remained elevated compared to the lower-priced cohorts.

Movements in inventory levels differed among the major metros. The San Antonio MOI dipped to an all-time low of 2.9 months, while North Texas inventory slid below 2.5 months in Dallas and 2.3 months in Fort Worth. On the other hand, Austin’s metric ticked up above 1.7 months as fluctuations in the metro’s inventory for homes priced under $300,000 mirrored the state’s change. Houston registered broader increases for an overall MOI of 3.7 months with only luxury home inventory shrinking (but still exceeding eight months).

Demand

As COVID-19 concerns affected the showing and visiting of homes for sale, particularly during the last half of the month, total housing sales fell 4 percent in March with decreases in every price cohort. The monthly decline, however, was more palatable than the 10.2 percent national plummet. Moreover, Texas sales increased 2.2 percent QOQ, exceeding the countrywide growth rate of 1.4 percent.

Monthly resale transactions contracted in each of the major metros for a statewide drop of 3.3 percent, but changes in quarterly sales volumes differed. Dallas and San Antonio existing-home sales rose 4.9 and 3.5 percent QOQ, respectively, with the latter maintaining positive momentum. Houston also exhibited an upward trend albeit at a more moderate rate, increasing 1 percent QOQ. In Austin and Fort Worth, quarterly resale volumes fell flat.

In the new-home market, homes priced more than $300,000 accounted for the 2.1 percent QOQ increase in the Texas Urban Triangle. North Texas and Houston new-home sales surged 7.8 and 5.2 percent, respectively, with the latter recording improvement five quarters in a row. Momentum in Central Texas faltered as sales declined 1.5 and 7.2 percent in Austin and San Antonio, respectively, from post-crisis records at year end.

Ahead of the most serious coronavirus impacts, Texas’ homeownership rate rose to its greatest level since 2012 at 64.4 percent in 1Q2020, just one percentage point less than the U.S. rate. On the metropolitan level, all four major metros registered an increase in homeownership. Houston reached a post-recessionary high of 65.5 percent, while the San Antonio metric also exceeded the statewide average with 66.1 percent homeownership. In Dallas and Austin, homeownership was slightly lower at 62.6 and 58.9 percent, respectively. Homeownership rates could suffer as COVID-19 foreclosure-protection policies expire later this year.

Texas’ average days on market (DOM) flattened at 59 days, indicating still-healthy demand. Houston’s and Fort Worth’s DOMs steadied at their yearlong averages of 58 and 44 days, respectively. The San Antonio metric ticked up slightly to 62 days, but the average home sold after only 50 days in Austin and 51 days in Dallas. The downward trends confirmed robust demand despite falling sales.

The domestic coronavirus outbreak and falling oil prices pulled interest rates down in March. The ten-year U.S. Treasury bond yield dropped to 0.9 percent, while the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation’s 30-year fixed-rate remained less than 3.5 percent. While applications to refinance home loans doubled in the first quarter, mortgage applications for home purchases fell 11.3 percent in March amid reduced showing and visiting of houses and an uncertain economic climate. Decreased home purchase mortgage applications may indicate a slowdown in sales in the coming months.

Prices

The Texas median home price rose to $249,000, a 5.8 percent YOY increase. Austin pushed the statewide metric upward, posting double-digit home-price appreciation for the second straight month as the median home price reached $337,200. In San Antonio, the median price accelerated 6.6 percent YOY to $241,000. However, home-price appreciation moderated in North Texas and Houston where the median prices remained below record highs. The Dallas metric hovered at $298,100 as Fort Worth’s and Houston’s declined to $249,000 and $249,400, respectively.

The Texas Repeat Sales Home Price Index, a better measure of changes in single-family home values, provides insight into how Texas home prices evolve. The index indicated more moderate annual home price appreciation of 3.8 percent, but the rate of change steadied, similar to the median home price. The same phenomenon was observed on the metropolitan level (growth rates for each metro’s median home price exceeded its respective index, but the pace trended in the same direction). Austin’s index maintained a rapid clip, rising 5.9 percent YOY. The Dallas and Houston indices also picked up, increasing 2.5 and 3.0 percent, respectively. Growth in Fort Worth’s and San Antonio’s indexes slowed but remained slightly elevated at 3.6 and 3.4 percent, respectively. Favorable housing affordability relative to other parts of the country supported the Lone Star State’s economic growth in the years following the burst of the housing bubble a decade ago. Texas needs to maintain affordability for the housing market to remain a stalwart in the impending recession and subsequent recovery.  

The data reported here reflect only preliminary COVID-19 impacts on the Texas housing market, although the Saudi-Russian oil price war greatly affected the energy commodities and related employment in March. The anticipated events of the next few months and the revised economic expectations for the second half of the year will overshadow recent optimistic conditions. The government stimulus bill signed late in March allowing forbearances on federally backed mortgage loans, moratoriums on evictions, and direct financial payments to Americans earning within an income threshold will aid current homeowners, but is unlikely to spur additional, immediate-home sales.

The Real Estate Center forecasted single-family housing sales using monthly pending listings from the preceding period (see table). The Center projected only one month in advance due to the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and the availability of reliable and timely data. In April, statewide sales are expected to fall by more than three times as much as during March, plummeting 14.4 percent. Austin and North Texas activity may act similarly. Houston and San Antonio single-family sales, however, are predicted to nosedive around 17.4 and 12.2 percent next month after relatively moderate decreases of 3.0 and 3.5 percent, respectively, in March.

________________

* All measurements are calculated using seasonally adjusted data, and percentage changes are calculated month over month, unless stated otherwise.

Source – James P. Gaines, Luis B. Torres, Wesley Miller, Paige Silva, and Griffin Carter (May 11, 2020)

https://www.recenter.tamu.edu/articles/technical-report/Texas-Housing-Insight

 

How to Host an Open House Using Facebook Live

by Real Estate ArticlesResources

Open Houses are a vital part of buying a home. For agents who have had to cancel all their open houses due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, this can impact your ability to sell properties. Thankfully, Facebook LIVE offers agents the opportunity to tour clients through a listing during a real-time, interactive broadcast – a Virtual Open House. The best part is that you don’t need any fancy equipment or a huge crew, just your smartphone and a Facebook page. In this post, we discuss everything you need to know about using Facebook live to tour your clients through a listing. Don’t let this COVID-19 pandemic prevent you from hosting an open house.

What is Facebook Live?

Facebook Live allows you to broadcast a conversation, performance, Q&A or virtual event. You can go live on a Page, in a group or an event, and your live videos will also appear in people’s New Feed. For more information on Facebook Live, visit: https://www.facebook.com/facebookmedia/solutions/facebook-live

How to Set Up Your Facebook Live Open House

Now that we’ve discussed what Facebook live is, it is now time to talk about how to set it up. Below are some practical steps/directions to make going LIVE easy.

How to Create an Event from Your Page:

  • Go to your Business Profile Page (or your personal page-but remember FB rules-if your advertising you should be doing this on your FB Business page).
  • Tape to “Create” a post and choose “Event” from the list.
  • Add an event photo, perhaps the front of the house, then enter your event’s title, location, date, and time.
  • Save the event, then post a link to your listing, and send to your clients!

How to go LIVE from your Page:

  • Go to your Business Profile Page (or your personal).
  • Tap “Create a Post” and choose “LIVE” from the list.
  • Make sure the app has access to your camera and microphone.
  • Set permissions to “Public”.
  • Add a description to the video – highlight the house information.
  • Tap “Start Live Video” to being your Open House Live!

Useful Links:

Below are some useful links that explain how to go live on Facebook

How to Properly Advertise Your Facebook Live Open House

To ensure people show up, think about the strategies you use to generate awareness for your actual open house. People need to know when and where. That is why it is so important to properly advertise your open house. If you don’t properly advertise it, people won’t know about it and as a result won’t show up. Below are some things that you should do to advertise your Facebook live open house.

Use Facebook Events

You can use Facebook Events to get your Open House on their calendar, send updates and reminders. You can create an event on Facebook by navigating to your News Feed, clicking on Events and then Create Event.

Send Out Email Blasts

Send an email blast to your network letting them know when to tune in to your Facebook Page for the LIVE; include a link to your Facebook Page. Post those same details on your website, and your listings. There are many email marketing programs online that you can use including Constant Contact, Mail Chimp, and iContact.

Use Direct Outreach

Directly reach out to potential buyers from your cancelled Open House and invite them – this will make them feel like a VIP. Maybe you already advertised this Open House prior to the shutdown or have advertised it via Social Media.  Contact those leads and invite them to your virtual open house.  You could also personally invite all the neighbors in a 10-20 house radius.

How to Host an Open House Using Facebook Live

Your first time broadcasting live can be a little intimidating, but if you do some pre work, things can run rather smoothly. Your audience expects information and authenticity over production quality. Below are some tips on how to host an open house using Facebook live.

Prepare Beforehand

Plan your tour the same as you would with a live client. Where are you going first, what are you highlighting in each room? It never hurts to rehearse. Making a good first impression is important.  Declutter the home, make sure it is clean, remove as much personal items as possible, etc.

Be Sure to Introduce Yourself

You should always begin your Facebook live open house by introducing yourself, sharing your credentials, and top lining what’s great about the home. Building trust with your audience is key to success. Introduce yourself with confidence and grow your personal brand. Potential buyers, on the other hand, get to know  you before ever meeting.   Agents are encouraged to show their personality on camera, be memorable, and most of all – be honest and bring value to the audience.

Remind People Who You are and What Property You’re Touring

Introducing yourself just once at the beginning of your Facebook live tour is not good enough. This is because people may come in and out while you’re LIVE. Therefore, it is critical that you periodically remind them who you are and what property you’re touring.

Interact with Your Audience

Interact with your audience; build in time for each room to pause and answer questions from the comments. If you know your audience well enough, you can engage them by spending extra time on the parts of the property that matter most. If they have pets, show them the ample yard and the fencing. If they are interested in the appliances, go in for a close-up of the high-end appliances, etc.  Personalization is essential to success.

What to do After You Go Live on Facebook

After the LIVE stream is over, the video becomes on-demand content, which can then be shared, downloaded, edited, and re-purposed. It is highly likely that even more people will see your LIVE tour AFTER you’re finished. Here are some things to do after you go live on Facebook.

Send the Link of The Live Stream Your Clients

You can use links to the “Live After” video on your listings and send to clients who missed the tour. To help boost your viewership among people who didn’t join you for the live show, try sharing a quick post thanking people for watching.

You can also ask for new questions and comments to generate additional engagement. The people who view your videos like to feel appreciated, so show them some love wherever you can.

Save and Edit Your Video

Save your live video to edit. You can use a shorter clip to post on your page. Think of these as house highlights.The agent now has video content that can be shared on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, or even email.

Read Comments from Your Audience

Use comments from the audience to gauge what type of information they are looking for about the property and tailor your future ad to these comments. 

Follow Up with Prospects

Follow up with your prospects on Messenger, they may eventually be interested in putting in an offer. The fact is, your prospects are on Facebook already if they are commenting on your video while it’s live.  After guests leave your virtual open house, use messenger to interact, engage and ask questions.  Nurture those leads now even if they choose not to buy.

PRO Tips:

You don’t need a whole crew to have a decent production. Here are some tips to help you feel like a Pro:

  • Test your connection throughout the house so you know if there will be any connectivity issues.
  • Turn off notifications before you begin your broadcast!
  • When you’re in rooms, consider placing the phone on a tripod for stability while you speak.
  • As you are walking or panning through a room, go SLOWLY – slower than you think necessary, as fast jerky actions can be disorienting. Consider using a stabilizer.
  • Have the listing information handy in case you get a question.
  • Watch some other home tour videos – note what you like and what you think doesn’t work.

Texas Housing Insight – February 2020 Summary

by Real Estate ArticlesResourcesStats

Here is the February 2020 Summary from Texas A&M Real Estate Center.



Please note this review does not account for the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak but reflects the market through February 2020.

Prior to the domestic coronavirus outbreak, Texas housing sales increased 2.3 percent in February during healthy economic conditions and low interest rates. Housing demand was robust, although inventories were constrained, especially for homes priced less than $300,000. Strong supply-side activity, however, was poised to alleviate some shortages. Home-price appreciation accelerated, but the Repeat Sales Index suggested more moderate price growth. The coronavirus outbreak is the greatest threat to the Texas housing market via disruptions to building material supply-chains, the negative income shock, and wariness of visiting and showing homes for sale. These effects may show up in the March data but will likely have a significant impact during the second quarter of the year.

Supply*

Contemporaneous and anticipated construction levels reached post-recessionary highs in February. The Texas Residential Construction Cycle (Coincident) Index, which measures current construction levels, ticked up amid industry wage and employment improvements. Falling interest rates and increased building permits and housing starts supported growth in the Residential Construction Leading Index.

Single-family construction permits extended a yearlong upward trend, rising 1 percent. Texas led the nation with 11,211 nonseasonally adjusted permits, accounting for more than 17 percent of the U.S. total, but ranked sixth in per capita issuance. At the metropolitan level, Houston topped the list with 3,515 permits but actually declined 1.8 percent after adjusting for seasonality. Austin and Dallas comprised most of the state’s increase, issuing 1,631 and 2,486 nonseasonally adjusted permits, respectively. San Antonio permits fell to 773, but the metric remained elevated in Fort Worth at 954. In the multifamily sector, permits decreased 5.6 percent after a modest start to the year.

Texas housing starts surged 21.5 percent to its greatest post-crisis level with improvements in both the single-family and multifamily sectors. On the other hand, single-family private construction values dropped 4.7 percent after adjusting for inflation. As with permits, Houston was responsible for most of the contraction. Austin and DFW values flattened, while San Antonio only partially recovered from a 13 percent plunge in January.

Record sales and a dwindling supply of active listings pulled Texas’ months of inventory (MOI) down to an all-time low of 3.2 months. A total MOI around six months is considered a balanced housing market. The MOI for homes priced less than $300,000 fell to 2.5 months, while inventory for luxury homes (those priced more than $500,000) also declined but remained elevated at 7.5 months. This disparity exemplifies the shortage of affordable housing, although efforts have been made to more closely match demand and supply.

Inventory in the major metros decreased across the board. Austin maintained the most constrained inventory with an MOI of 1.7 months, followed by Fort Worth at 2.3 months. The Dallas and San Antonio metrics slid to 2.7 and 3.0 months, respectively. After a brief expansion to start the year, Houston’s inventory fell below 3.7 months as the metro’s supply of active listings contracted for the first time in six months, largely due to reductions in the lower price ranges.

Demand

After stalling the previous month, total housing sales during February rose 2.3 percent in an environment of low interest rates and solid employment growth. Sales for homes priced more than $400,000 accounted for much of the gain, whereas activity for homes priced less than $400,000 decelerated.

In nearly all of the major metros, sales for homes in the luxury price bracket were the greatest contributor to overall closings. Central Texas sales increased 2.2 and 2.1 percent in Austin and San Antonio, respectively, while Dallas sales rose 3 percent. Although sales for higher-priced homes in Fort Worth climbed 10.3 percent, total sales flattened as activity in other price ranges took a step back. Houston was the exception. Homes priced between $200,000-$400,000 comprised two-thirds of the city’s overall 4.8 percent improvement.

Texas’ average days on market (DOM) ticked down to 58 days, indicating healthy demand. The metric stabilized at 56 days in Houston and at 53 and 43 days in Dallas and Fort Worth, respectively. Demand was especially robust in Austin, where the DOM declined to 49 days after shedding more than a week off its year-ago level. San Antonio’s DOM ticked up slightly to 62 days but hovered around its seven-year average.

Growing concerns over the coronavirus outbreak and falling oil prices pulled interest rates down in February. The ten-year U.S. Treasury bond yield decreased to 1.5 percent, while the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation’s 30-year fixed-rate fell below 3.5 percent. Mortgage applications for home purchases slowed but maintained 2.7 percent year-to-date (YTD) growth. Refinance activity remained sluggish from month to month, although the number of applications received was astronomical relative to the same period last year.

Prices

The Texas median home price accelerated 6.3 percent YOY to $249,100 as demand strengthened and inventory shrank. Austin’s median price reached double-digit YOY growth for the first time since 2015, skyrocketing nearly 13 percent to $335,600. The metric in San Antonio ($242,000) and Houston ($252,100) rose 6.8 and 6.4 percent, respectively. On the other hand, home-price appreciation softened to around 5 percent growth in North Texas, resulting in a median price of $297,500 in Dallas and $249,100 in Fort Worth.

The Texas Repeat Sales Home Price Index, a better measure of changes in single-family home values, provides insight into how Texas home prices evolve. The index indicated more moderate annual home price appreciation of 3.2 percent. Except for in San Antonio, where the metric picked up its pace to rise 3.4 percent YOY, the metropolitan indices’ growth rates slowed from the month prior. The Austin index registered just 4.6 percent growth compared with the metro’s much greater home-price appreciation. Houston’s index increased 2.8 percent, while the Dallas and Fort Worth indices rose 2.5 and 2.9 percent, respectively. Favorable housing affordability relative to other parts of the country supported the Lone Star State’s economic growth in the years following the burst of the housing bubble a decade ago. Texas needs to maintain affordability for the housing market to remain a stalwart in the impending recession and subsequent recovery.  

The data reported here indicate the strength of the Texas housing market prior to the domestic COVID-19 outbreak and plunge in oil prices. The events of the past month and the economic expectations for the second half of the year will overshadow recent optimistic conditions. The government stimulus bill signed late in March allowing forbearances on federally backed mortgage loans, moratoriums on evictions, and direct financial payments to Americans earning within an income threshold will aid current homeowners, but it is unlikely to spur additional home sales.  Even though we expect the real estate sector will be less affected than many other industries, the Center’s 2020 housing projections will in all probability be reached. The total impact of the impending recession on Texas’ housing market is yet to be seen.

Source – James P. Gaines, Luis B. Torres, Wesley Miller, Paige Silva, and Griffin Carter (Apr 10, 2020)

https://www.recenter.tamu.edu/articles/technical-report/Texas-Housing-Insight

February 2020 DFW Area Real Estate Stats

by Real Estate ArticlesResourcesStatsVideo

The February 2020 DFW area real estate statistics are in and we’ve got the numbers! Take a look at our stats infographics, separated by county, with MLS area stats on each county report as well! These infographics and video are perfect for social sharing so feel free to post them!

To see past month’s reports, please visit our resources section here.

For the full report from the Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center, click here. For NTREIS County reports click here.

Texas Housing Insight – January 2020 Summary

by Real Estate ArticlesResourcesStats

Here is the January 2020 Summary from Texas A&M Real Estate Center.

January 2020 Summary

Please note this review does not account for the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak but reflects the market through January 2020.

Texas housing sales stabilized in January after reaching a record high the previous month. Steady employment growth and falling mortgage interest rates continued to support housing demand, as exemplified by increased mortgage applications and a downtick in the average days on market. Inventories were constrained, especially for homes priced less than $300,000, but renewed permit issuance indicates positive construction activity in 2020. Although home-price appreciation has moderated over the past few years, tight supply levels put additional affordability pressure on top of lackluster average wage growth. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, there may be disruptions to building material supply chains and the visiting and showing of homes for sale, threatening the Texas housing market. These effects will probably be reflected in the second quarter of the year.

Supply*

The Texas Residential Construction Cycle (Coincident) Index, which measures current construction activity, balanced after trending upward for four straight months as construction employment growth slowed. The Residential Construction Leading Index dipped slightly as housing starts decreased but hovered around the post-crisis high, suggesting solid levels of construction in the coming months.

Fourth quarter private bank loan data corroborated stable construction activity at the end of the year, increasing 0.8 percent quarter over quarter (QOQ). Multifamily investment climbed throughout 2019, rising 2.1 percent to $8.6 billion during 4Q2019. The one-to-four unit sector, however, stalled through the second half of the year after reaching a cycle-high in 2Q2019 of $7.7 billion.

Single-family construction permits started the year strong, increasing 3.2 percent to a post-recessionary high after a sluggish end to 2019. Texas led the nation with 11,100 nonseasonally adjusted permits, accounting for more than 17 percent of the U.S. total but ranking eighth in per capita issuance. At the metropolitan level, Houston topped the list with 3,565 permits, followed by DFW with 3,370. Austin permits increased to 1,472 while maintaining the highest per capita rate in the Texas Urban Triangle. In San Antonio, monthly permits surged to 846. Texas’ multifamily sector increased issuance in January but failed to recover to levels reached in 3Q2019 after falling at year end.

Decreased permitting activity in the last months of 2019 weighed on total Texas housing starts in January, falling 7.3 percent amid a drawback in the single-family sector. The trend, however, remained on a strong upward trajectory. Meanwhile, single-family private construction values dropped 11.1 percent to their lowest level since June 2019 after adjusting for inflation, corroborating loan value data. After reaching an all-time high in October, San Antonio construction values trended downward, comprising half of the monthly decrease. The metric declined for the second straight month in Austin and DFW. Houston values, however, reached an annual high after improving 3.3 percent.

Strong sales activity chipped away at the state’s supply of active listings. Texas’ months of inventory (MOI) fell for the third consecutive month to 3.4 months. A total MOI around six months is considered a balanced housing market. The MOI for homes priced less than $300,000 fell to 2.7 months, while inventory for luxury homes (those priced more than $500,000) remained elevated at eight months. This disparity exemplifies the shortage of affordable housing, although efforts have been made to more closely match demand and supply.

Inventory in the major metros was even more constrained than the statewide average. Austin’s MOI fell to an all-time low of two months, while the Dallas and Fort Worth MOIs ticked down to 2.9 and 2.4 months, respectively. San Antonio’s metric registered less than 3.4 months as inventory for homes priced less than $300,000 dropped to levels unseen in more than a year after gradual improvement during 4Q2019. Houston was the exception as the metro’s supply of active listings continued to rise despite strong sales activity, boosting inventory to 3.9 months.

Demand

Total housing sales during January flattened just below record levels reached at year end. Nonseasonally adjusted sales for home priced at the lower end of the market (less than $200,000), however, were well below the series’ January historical average. Sales volumes within the price range fell year over year (YOY) despite lower interest rates and solid demand fundamentals amid inventory constraints at the lower end of the market. Homes priced less than $200,000 constituted 36 percent of total monthly sales versus 72 percent in 2011.

Sales activity in the major metros cooled after accelerating during the fourth quarter. Houston sales corrected downward 2.2 percent from an all-time high in December, while Dallas monthly sales stabilized at a record 6,000 after increasing 11.3 percent at year end. In Austin, sales for homes priced $200,000-$400,000 stalled as inventory tightened after strong activity in 2019, pulling overall sales down 1.3 percent in the MSA. San Antonio extended a steady upward trend, although Fort Worth sales volumes flattened at their annual average.

Texas’ average days on market (DOM) stabilized at 59 days, indicating healthy demand. San Antonio and Houston’s DOMs hovered around the statewide level at 59 and 58 days, respectively. In Austin, the metric averaged 51 days, shedding ten days from its year-ago level. The DOMs in Dallas and Fort Worth trended upward for most of 2019 after low levels between 2015-17 but showed signs of stabilizing at 55 and 44 days, respectively.

After speculations of a U.S.-China trade truce supported modest increases in interest rates during 4Q2019, U.S.-Iranian military strikes and initial news of the coronavirus outbreak pulled rates down in January. Current economic fundamentals at the state and national level, however, remain healthy. The ten-year U.S. Treasury bond yield fell below 1.8 percent, while the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation’s 30-year fixed-rate decreased to 3.6 percent. After declining the previous month, mortgage applications for home purchases increased 9.1 percent. Refinance activity stumbled on the month, but the overall trend remained positive considering refinance mortgage applications nearly tripled during 2019.

Prices

The Texas median home price flattened to $247,200, although YOY growth hovered around 5.6 percent for the second straight month amid strong sales and inventory contractions. The nationwide existing-home median price increased 6.8 percent YOY to $283,200 compared with Texas’ existing-home price of $239,800. The gap between the U.S. and Texas new-home median price ($352,600 and $293,000, respectively) widened to $59,000 in January after averaging $30,000 in 2019.

Movements in the median home price varied on the metropolitan level. Houston and Austin each shed $1,900 off their median home price, pulling the metric down to $247,800 and $320,400, respectively, while the median price in San Antonio steadied at $236,200. North Texas, however, registered $5,800 and $9,000 increases in Dallas ($302,800) and Fort Worth ($254,200), respectively. The rise in the former may be explained by the recent surge in sales whereas the latter’s price hike is likely an upward correction after falling $7,600 over the previous two months.  

The Texas Repeat Sales Home Price Index, a better measure of changes in single-family home values, provides insight into how Texas home prices evolve. The index indicated more moderate annual home price appreciation of 3.6 percent. Strong demand and dwindling supply pushed Austin’s index up 5.9 percent YOY. Home prices in Houston and Fort Worth increased at a pace of 2.7 and 3.6 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the Dallas and San Antonio indexes rose just 2.4 percent YOY each. Except for in Austin, home price growth in the major metros has stabilized at more moderate levels than during 2014-17. Persistent wage improvement that outpaces home price appreciation, however, is necessary to maintain overall housing affordability, which remains a challenge to the Texas home market.

Source – James P. Gaines, Luis B. Torres, Wesley Miller, and Paige Silva (March 10, 2020) https://www.recenter.tamu.edu/articles/technical-report/Texas-Housing-In…

census document form and ball point ink pen on American flag for 2020

Why Texas REALTORS® Should Pay Attention to the 2020 Census

by Real Estate ArticlesResources

The constitutionally mandated decennial census that the U.S. will undertake in 2020 will affect many aspects of your business and community. Data from the census is used to draw political district lines, determine how many congressional representatives states receive, and distribute billions of dollars in federal funds to states and local communities. 

An undercount of your community may threaten federal funds for local programs, affect infrastructure projects, and muddy the data private companies use to target expansion or investment. Shad Bogany, a past Texas REALTORS® chairman and partner specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau, has been working to get the word out about how important the 2020 census is to REALTORS® and what they can do to educate their communities.

“The census affects our business more than any other business,” Bogany says. “Whether you’re a part-time agent, full-time agent, or broker, you should want to get everyone counted in your community.”

Read more about the census process, what the 2020 census affects, and how REALTORS® can help in Texas REALTOR® magazine, and check out the resources and tips for getting involved at texasrealestate.com/2020census.

Source: February 17, 2020 – https://www.texasrealestate.com/members/posts/why-texas-realtors-should-pay-attention-to-the-2020-census/

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