mcurry81 asked:


I’ve made less this year than last in my real estate business because the market is really bad right now. I have much more in business expenses though. I don’t want to be audited, just wondering if anyone out there with experience knows what a reasonable amount in expenses for just having one sell.

Stewart

Escapeso Austin Real Estate asked:


Austin has long been a home for friendly folk- friendly to each other, friendly to animals, and friendly to the environment. What used to be considered as only the concerns of hippies and the bohemian sect, environmentalism is now at the forefront of commercial and residential design, and “green” businesses are popping up nationwide. Austin, however, was the first city in the United States to establish a local green-building program, laying out environmentally friendly and sustainable guidelines for home builders and its interested citizens back in 1991.

Since the Austin real estate market is known nationwide as the leader of these green building methods, the National Association of Home Builders chose the city as its hub to launch an industry-wide effort to establish green-building guidelines in 2004. These guidelines now provide a practical nationally recognized framework for builders to follow to reduce a home’s environmental impact by making them more energy efficient, improving indoor environmental quality, and so on. Though Austin has already been using similar guidelines for over a decade, now the rest of the country is following suit.

The City of Austin and Austin Energy provide a great resource to owners of Austin homes, and new home builders, who are looking for ways to conserve energy, and build an environmentally friendly home. The city’s website offers a list of companies willing to do an energy analysis of a home that will determine possible options to help the house conserve more energy, with suggestions ranging from air conditioning repair to weather stripping doors. The city then will offer a 20 to 75% of that cost.

For those Austinites building a new house or commercial building, the city created the Austin Energy Green Building organization to promote the construction of high quality, more sustainable buildings, and has even zoned sections of the city’s real estate to require an Austin Energy Green Building rating. Four times a year, the organization also holds a one day “Green By Design” workshop open to the public. The workshop provides an overview of the green building process, and brings in design, building, engineering, landscaping, and Austin real estate professionals with many years of experience in homebuilding and remodeling, to help make sense of it all.

In March of this year, Austin was named as the city leading the country in “cleantech” by SustainLane, an online resource center that offers sustainability tips to state and local government. The term “cleantech” refers to venture capital-based startups based in green technology, with Austin as the front runner with seven such startups, ranging from internet-controlled irrigation to geothermal energy technologies. To keep Austin on the cutting edge of green technology, the Clean Energy Incubator program was set up to help young clean energy businesses succeed by commercializing their ideas. With citizens, government, and forward thinking businesses, Austin will likely be the city to follow in the environmental battle for years to come.



Randolph

bribri asked:


I was looking into obtaining a real estate lisence in Florida. Where are some good websites or places to get my license? And what is the difference in a real estate associate and a broker? Which license should i go for? Any tips for me that would be helpful

Sherlock

Umokay asked:


Can you simply go to one of those week-long real estate schools like residential real estate licensing? And what are the qualities that help a person succeed in commercial real estate sales? Is this a young person’s game? Can you start and succeed at middle age? Would like to bank 70k-100k? Is this reasonable?

Lee

Real Estate Advisor asked:


COMMUNITY INFORMATION

Carlsbad is situated in the northern coastal part of San Diego County within the state of California. There are approximately 87,540 residents in this community and 34,052 households. The median age of residents is 38.89 years.

TEMPERATURE

The temperature in Carlsbad is relatively moderate. The warmest time of year occurs in July during which temperatures reach an average high of 69. The coldest time of year occurs in December with average temperatures falling to 55F.

HOME AND REAL ESTATE PRICES

The housing options in Carlsbad include single-family homes and properties, condominiums, townhouses, and apartments. The price of housing is as follows:

·One bedroom townhouse/condominium start in the mid $200,000s.

·Two bedroom townhouse/condominium start in the high $200,000s.

·Three bedroom townhouse/condominium start in the high $300,000s.

·Two bedroom single-family homes start in the mid $300,000s.

·Three bedroom single-family homes start in the high $300,000s.

·Four bedroom single-family homes start in the mid $500,000s.

REAL ESTATE MARKET TRENDS

As with most products and services in the United States, price shifts in the real estate industry are subject to the forces of supply and demand. Whether it’s a buyers market or a seller’s market, it is useful to evaluate home sales data for the most recent month available (June 2006), compared against the same period in the previous year (June 2005).

The median price of single-family homes dropped from $783,900 in June 2005 to $749,900 in June 2006, which represents a 4.3% decline. Fewer more homes sold in June 2006 (49 homes) than in June 2005 (95 homes). The average time to sell a home increased from 39 days in June 2005 to 58 days in June 2006.

The median price of condominiums and townhomes decreased from $481,000 in June 2005 to $434,500 in June 2006, which represents a 9.7% decline. Fewer units sold in June 2006 (36 units) than in June 2005 (84 units). The average time to sell a unit increased from 43 days in June 2005 to 58 days in June 2006.

Homebuyers and home sellers should keep in mind that the data above is simply a snapshot in time. Therefore, the data must be evaluated over a longer duration to understand enduring market trends.



Gabriel

NicoleR asked:


I want to invest in real estate but want to protect my personal assets.

Kevin

bjdmb asked:


A real estate agent told me he could help negotiate the price and get us the better deal on a newly built home. The real estate agents at the builders location says they can get me a better deal if I don’t have a realtor. Who is blowing smoke? Do I actually get a better price if I go with a realtor or without?

Eldwin

Real Estate Advisor asked:


Second home sales have been increasing over the last few years with more people becoming second home owners. In 2005 alone, 40 percent of the homes sold were second homes. Demographics, all time low mortgage rates, and healthy rise in home prices have contributed to this development in the second home market. Besides these, a major factor that has helped augment the buying and selling of second homes is the real estate professional.

The National Association of Realtors conducted research on the profile of second-home owners in 2006. According to the NAR report entitled ‘2006 Profile of Second-Home Owners’, a majority of second home sales transactions are conducted using the services of real estate agents.

The statistics are remarkable; 64 % of vacation home buyers purchased their home using the services of a real estate agent by the end of 2005 – a marked increase from less than 50 % of vacation-home buyers in 2003. Also, 65 % of investment-home buyers purchased their home with the help of a real estate agent – an increase from 53 % of pre-2003. In comparison, only 14 % of vacation-home buyers and 7 % of investment-home buyers purchased directly from builders from 2003 to 2005.

The growing role of the real estate professional is evident from the following figures:

1. Of vacation home sales made, 71 % of them were second homes and 74 % of the sales were made using the services of a real estate agent.

2. Of the investment properties sold, 85 % of them were previously owned and 62 % of the sales were made using the services of a real estate agent.

The use of real estate agents in second home sales transactions varied according to the home’ location.

1. Buyers used a real estate agent more frequently while purchasing a vacation home located in a suburb/subdivision (56 %) or a rural area (57 %) than for homes in other locations.

2. About 66 % of buyers who purchased an investment property in an urban/central city area or in a suburb/subdivision, used the services of a real estate agent more frequently than those who purchased a home in other locations.

Real estate professionals continue to be the first source of information to second-home buyers (38 % of vacation-home buyers and 34 % of investment-home buyers). The real estate professional also plays a major role when second-home owners plan to buy additional properties. If you are thinking of buying a second home or vacation home, seek out the services of a real estate agent to guide you through your next home purchase.

1. The percentage of second home owners who are more likely to use a real estate agent in their next home purchase is quite high. Among vacation-home owners it is 79 % and investment-home owners 73 %.

2. Among second home owners, 65 % of vacation-home owners and 64% of investment-property owners are more likely to use a real estate agent in their next home sales.

Given these statistics, it is no wonder that the real estate agent plays a pivotal role in helping people buy and sell second homes. So whether you are a second-home buyer or seller, enlist the services of an agent for a smooth, hassle free real estate transaction.



Kevin

Claudia B asked:


I am asking this question because of a friend
and she is trying to become an agent in Real Estate in North Carolina. Will she have to seal her records in order to do it.

Hadley

Real Estate Advisor asked:


COMMUNITY INFORMATION

Carmel Valley is a master-planned community located in northern San Diego County within the state of California. The community of Carmel Valley within San Diego is not to be confused with the Carmel Valley region in Northern California.

Carmel Valley lies within the 92130 Zip Code. There are approximately 34,471 residents in this Zip code and 12,387 households. The median age of the population is 35.16 years.

TEMPERATURE

The temperature in Carmel Valley is relatively moderate. The warmest time of year occurs in August during which temperatures reach an average high of 72°F. The coldest time of year occurs in December with average temperatures falling to 56° F.

HOME AND REAL ESTATE PRICES

The housing options in Carmel Valley include single-family homes and properties, condominiums, townhouses, and apartments. The price of housing is as follows:

·One bedroom townhouse / condo starts in the high $200,000s

·Two bedroom townhouse / condo starts in the high $300,000s.

·Three bedroom townhouse / condo starts in the low $500,000s

·Three bedroom single-family house starts in high $500,000s

·Four bedroom single-family home starts in low $700,000s

REAL ESTATE MARKET TRENDS

As with most products and services in the United States, price shifts in the real estate industry are subject to the forces of supply and demand. Whether it’s a buyers market or a seller’s market, it is useful to evaluate home sales data for the most recent month available (June 2006), compared against the same period in the previous year (June 2005).

The median price of single-family homes reached $1,080,000 in June 2006, which was a 13.74% increase over June 2005. In contrast, the median price of condominiums and townhomes decreased to $580,000, which was a 7.2 decline from the year before.

Homebuyers and home sellers should keep in mind that the data above is simply a snapshot in time. Therefore, the data must be evaluated over a longer duration to understand enduring market trends.

SCHOOL INFORMATION

There are two School Districts that serve residents of Carmel Valley. The Solana Beach School District covers the elementary schools in the northern part of Carmel Valley, and the Del Mar Union School District covers the southern region.

Students in Carmel Valley schools undergo annual testing to evaluate their academic performance. The results of these tests are combined by the California Department of Education into a composite score known as the Academic Performance Index (API), which has a range of 200 to 1000. The statewide goal for schools is to achieve a score of 800 or above.

Based on the most recent data available as of July 31, 2006, the highest-ranking elementary school in the Carmel Valley area was Sage Canyon Elementary (API = 963), followed by Torrey Hills School (API=950), Carmel Creek Elementary

(API=946), Solana Pacific Elementary (API=945), Ashley Falls Elementary (API=943), and Carmel Del Mar Elementary (API=917). Carmel Valley Middle School earned an API of 931. For high schools, Canyon Crest Academy had an API=842, and Torrey Pine High had an API =821.



Gale