Post from: Ann Arbor Real Estate | Ann Arbor's #1 Source for Real Estate Information!

4951 St Andrews, Ann Arbor, MI 48108 | Liveblog, Real Estate Chat & Open House Event

2:00 pm, Sunday, November 16th - Will Anyone Show Up?

4951 St Andrews Ann Arbor MI | Team366 Real Estate Chat

It’s Sunday, November 16th and all the open house signs have been hung with care!

Welcome to the liveblog of an Ann Arbor Michigan Home open house.  Or, as we on Team366 like to call them, a Real Estate Chat.

The purpose of an open house has traditionally been to expose a listing to the area buyer community.  Ads are taken out, signs planted, maybe even postcards sent out, and the day of the open house, a small prayer is recited to lure interested parties through the door.  The era of the internet has changed the effectiveness of an open house.  Now, prospective buyers come through the front door with more information than ever before.  In many cases, the buyers know detailed facts about the neighborhood, community and in increasingly many cases, huge detail about the subject property specifically!

Team366 decided to shift how we approached open houses.  Given the level of detail many folks already have on hand, we decided to simply host a two hour window when anyone interested in the home, or the area could drop on by and chat with us about real estate.

Today, I am holding a real estate chat at the gorgeously well appointed 4951 St Andrews Ct, Ann Arbor, MI 48108.

2:23 pm - Did I Mention it Snowed?

I mean it was a darn near white out driving to the real estate chat today!  Middle of the day and the amount of snow flying around made it feel as though it was about 5:30 pm, or just before the sun goes down!

“Really Todd? Fascinating.  Who cares about the weather?  I’m here to learn about real estate, not your commute!”

Yeah, I hear that.  The point of bringing up the weather is that it can, and does, affect folks’ desire to go see properties.  Let’s face it, unless you NEED to purchase a home in winter time in Michigan, there are better things you would rather be doing.  Watching football (bite your tongue! The Lions don’t “play” football!), sitting in front of the fireplace, taking in a movie.

We have often found that many folks, whether or not they need to move, will go open house touring when the weather is at least sunny, warm and the home meets a few of their criteria.

“Then that begs the question, why force homeowners out of their homes for 2 hours on a Sunday, if it’s simple chance that interested lookers will even show up?”

For the sellers, it is another item to check off the list of things done to expose the home for sale.  For buyers, it’s an opportunity to see homes that just caught their attention.  For agents, it is an opportunity to meet prospective buyers and sellers.  It allows us an opportunity to show buyers and sellers how we do what we do.

2:35 - Guest Number 1 Arrives

First guest has arrived and found our real estate chat via the signs whilst dropping a son off at a friends home.  They are looking to “upsize” and with 3100 sqaure feet, and an additional 1500 square feet in the finished, daylight basement, this home has plenty to offer.

2:48 - Guest Number 1 Departs

I will say this about the Real Estate Industry, it certainly gives one the ability to talk to many different folks!  This guest is looking to up size their current home and enjoyed the amenities that 4951 St Andrews Ct, Ann Arbor, Michigan had to offer!

3:10 - More About The Home & A Phone Call

4951 St Andrews, Ann Arbor, Michigan has a lot to offer today’s buyer!  3,172 square feet, plus 1,500 sf in the finished, daylight basement, this home features four bedrooms, and four and a half baths.  Gorgeous clear maple cabinets compliment Granite cinnamon blue countertops.  Professionally landscaped yard opens up to the second tee/first green of Stonebridge Golf Course.  The generous eat-in kitchen, dining room and brick paver patio, combined with the finished basement with wet bar, make this executive home a great space for entertaining.

This post was delayed because I couldn’t type and hold the phone between my ear and shoulder…… I can only do three things at a time!

3:30 - The Internet & Real Estate

So, if it’s not painfully obvious by now, Team366 and I see tangible reasons to embrace the internet when it comes to marketing and talking about Ann Arbor Homes for sale.  As you have seen across an hour and a half of a modified open house (we call them Real Estate Chats) it can be hard to talk with folks about a home or real estate in general, if they don’t show up to see us in person.

Ahh, but there in lies the catch!  What about the folks that wanted to be here, that wanted to come to the real estate chat, but were unable to due to prior commitments or work schedules?  They may not be (most likely are not!) interested in my ramblings about real estate chat v open houses, and whether or not I got lunch today (did not).  But they will be interested in learning more about the property!  And that’s where the internet plays such a huge role in how Team366 markets properties for our clients.

Our listings feature the exclusive Listing Syndication System (LSS).  We make effective use of many different avenues of online marketing.  Narrated walkthrough videos and hi-res photos are simply the beginning!

When the average listing is able to generate 7 Google indexed backlinks and our LSS can generate, in some cases, nearly 5,000, is there a benefit to having that much exposure?

Yes.

Nearly 80% of our listings sell within their contract time frame.  When the board average is nearly 1 in 5; that is, nearly 20%, that’s a tangible benefit.  It’s one of the things that has set us apart and placed us in the top ten of real estate teams in the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors.

3:40 - Give Away Time

Ok, so it’s now time to point folks to a discount coupon to a great store in Ann Arbor.  Morgan & York is a great location to stop by and pick up some breads, cheeses, wines and even confectioneries for your next get together.  Not only do they have the items you want, but their staff are exceptional at helping you put together great selections.  Say you wanted to have a wine and cheese themed holiday gathering, the staff at Morgan & York can help you pull it all together.  To help, they have allowed me to give a coupon for $5 off you next order at their store.

4:00 - Heading Out

Well, this real estate chat wasn’t as productive as I thought it would be.  I think the weather conspired against me…  I did enjoy, however, writing about the real estate chat process, what this beautiful home has to offer and communicating with friends via twitter.

The snow has continued, albeit in the flurry format and not the ridiculous white out mentioned earlier!  Be safe all and I will see you on the ‘net or, hopefully, in person!

Ta ta for now!

Buyers:  Search all Ann Arbor Area homes for sale. List updated every 15 minutes
Sellers:  Learn about Team366’s proprietary Listing Syndication System (LSS), the area’s BEST marketing system.

_{Todd Waller
Team366 | Real Estate One
734.564.7465
Search for Homes in Ann Arbor
Visit Team366.com}

Post from: Ann Arbor Real Estate | Ann Arbor's #1 Source for Real Estate Information!

Ann Arbor Area Open House | 4951 St Andrews, Ann Arbor, MI | A Live Blogging Event

4951 St Andrews Ann Arbor MI | Team366 Real Estate Chat

This Sunday, I will be hosting an Open House at 4951 St Andrews, Ann Arbor, Michigan from 2 to 4 p.m.  To make the event even more interesting, I will be live blogging throughout the event!

That’s right!  Drop by the Open House for an opportunity to experience this beautiful home in person and learn about the Team366 proprietary Listing Syndication System (LSS).  Or if you can’t make it to the open house, check this space between 2 and 4 pm on Sunday and take part in a chat about the Ann Arbor homes for sale.  This space will be updated as events unfold during the open house.

You may have heard that this has been a horrible year for selling real estate in Ann Arbor.  Well, check us out online or in person and learn why nearly 80% of the homes we list, sell quickly!  It’s one of the reasons we are in the top ten amongst Ann Arbor Area Real Estate Agents.

Here are some links about this anticipated event:

• 4951 St Andrews, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108 - More Information about the home
  
• Team366 Proprietary Listing Syndication System - How Team366 Markets Properties
  
• Ann Arbor Michigan Homes for Sale - A Couple Tips to Keep In Mind

See you there or here!

_{Todd Waller
Team366 | Real Estate One
734.564.7465
Search for Homes in Ann Arbor
Visit Team366.com}

Post from: Ann Arbor Real Estate | Ann Arbor's #1 Source for Real Estate Information!

Ann Arbor Area Real Estate Statistics - October 2008

Sounding like a broken record, Big House Data has published the October 2008 Housing Statistics stating the obvious in the Executive Summary:

The key to any successful sale in this market includes two keys: price and quality. If you’ve got great quality and the best price in comparison to your competition, you will be the next sale in your market. Pfizer taught us this in early 2007 and the lesson still applies.

Around the Ann Arbor, Michigan real estate market, there are a few neighborhoods where supply is low, demand high and the right priced home not only receives multiple offers, the sellers are getting offers over their list price!  While not the norm, the very fact that this occurs at all is the silver lining for sellers and those watching the real estate market around Ann Arbor.

Average List Price - October 2008

Ann Arbor Area Housing Stats | Average List Price | October 2008

The overall average list price in October was $213,038, down over 11.5%.  For the ten months of 2008, the average list price is down over 7.5%. compared to October 2007.

Average Sales Price - October 2008

Ann Arbor Area Housing Stats | Average Sales Price | October 2008

October saw an average sales price of $193,060, down nearly 10% from October 2007.  Compared to the nine months of 2007, the average sales price is down nearly 10.5%.

Number of Listings v Closings - October 2008

Ann Arbor Area Housing Stats | Listings v Closings | October 2008

With 758 new listings in October 2008, that represents an nearly 12.5%drop over October 2007.  For the year, listings are down nearly 28.5% 254 closings in October 2008, up over 16.5% compared to October 2007.  Year to date, compared to the same timeframe in 2007, the number of closings is up over 6%.

Todd Waller
Team366 | Real Estate One
734.564.7465
Search for Homes in Ann Arbor
Visit Team366.com

Post from: Ann Arbor Real Estate | Ann Arbor's #1 Source for Real Estate Information!

Bad News/Good News For Ann Arbor Area Home Owners

The most recent issue of the Michigan Realtor (MAR) is out and has a great article outlining the Michigan housing market compared to the rest of the country.  To sum up the article:

• Michigan did not rise to the housing value heights that other states have;
• Housing market recovery will likely follow an economic recovery in Michigan;
• Michigan housing prices are back to 1999/2000 price points.

Team366 and this blog have talked about price being king when it comes to real estate sales.  The Big House Data summary for the Fourth Quarter 2007 Inventory Report state:

Putting the area on notice, that to sell a home, you need to be at or lower than the
2000 and 2001 price points, many Pfizer’s relocation department showed us what it takes to sell homes in slow markets….Price.

And that summary from last year has continued to hold true in the Ann Arbor area real estate market for 2008.  The article from MAR backs up the fact that Michigan housing values are back to 2000 price points….as a state.

Another interesting fact to glean from the MAR article is that while the national housing market continued to accelerate the number of homes sold, the 2005 housing market in Michigan was down, even though prices remained relatively the same.

Average Sales Price of Michigan v National Homes

Figure one, taken from the article, shows the average sales price of homes sold in Michigan versus the nation.  What is curious is that the nation starts at a higher average sales price than Michigan.  Also intriguing is that from 2004 to 2005, Michigan’s average sales price remained stagnant while the national average sales price continued to climb through 2006. Figure two, also taken from the article, shows the number of sales per year.  Again, this is Michigan sales against the national sales.  This time, however, to ‘level’ the playing field, all sales are indexed against the year 2000.  This means that the number of sales for the state of Michigan and the nation equal an index value of 100.

Michigan v Nation Units Sold (Indexed, Year 2000 =100)

By examining this graph, we see that the number of transactions in Michigan for the year 2007 was below the number of transactions in the year 2000.  We can also see that the decline in the number of units selling in the state of Michigan began from the year 2004 to the year 2005. Compared to the national trends, we as a state were ahead of the nation in entering into a housing market slowdown.  It can also be inferred that we will likely pull out of the housing market decline before the rest of the nation, but that inference has too many “but’s” in it for this analyst to be comfortable!

It could be posited that Michigan is kind of like the canary in the coal mine: if the canary isn’t doing well, soon the whole shaft is gonna be coughing!  The automotive industry stumbled, hard, and Michigan took it is taking it on the chin.  Combine the slow down in manufacturing with an economy that is now sputtering, and a credit crunch that makes bankers reach for the antacids and Michigan has been weathering this “storm” for quite some time.

The silver lining for the good folks of Michigan is three fold:

1. We didn’t have too far to fall compared to the rest of the nation, so our “readjustment” could be over soon;
2. Investors have noticed Michigan’s property values (just like Warren Buffet buys low and sells high, it’s a good sign of the bottom when investors swoop in);
3. All the folks that left the state gave up their claim to Michigan’s greatest commodity -FRESH WATER!

Frankly, if you’ve made it this far through the post on real estate housing trends, you deserve a cookie and a pat on the back!  Don’t hesitate to drop a comment or give us a ring to talk further about the housing market and how it affects you.

Buyers:  Search all Ann Arbor Area homes for sale. List updated every 15 minutes
Sellers:  Learn about Team366’s proprietary Listing Syndication System (LSS), the area’s BEST marketing system.

_{Todd Waller
Team366 | Real Estate One
734.564.7465
Search for Homes in Ann Arbor
Visit Team366.com}

[48108]

Post from: Ann Arbor Real Estate | Ann Arbor's #1 Source for Real Estate Information!

6.5 Reasons To Demand A Video Walk Through of Your Ann Arbor Home

Photo Courtesy of | spoon |

This past weekend the Detroit Free Press had an article about virtual tours and how they enhance a property’s presence online.  There is even a throw-away comment about YouTube and online video.

The money quote:

The advantage of using a virtual tour is that if buyers develop a good first impression from the tour, they may be more likely to make an offer once they see the house in person.

Virtual tours do go a very long way in showing a property’s best aspects.  In combination with virtual tours, Team366 has found that narrated walk through videos, not just still photos put to music, allow prospective buyers to learn whether a property meets their desires.  This goes a LONG way to having really interested buyers actually on the doorstep of the home.

In fact, as I pound the keyboard for this post, there is a showing on one of my properties taking place.  The person seeing the property found our listing on YouTube, saw the walkthrough video, and called their agent to set a showing!  This buyer has driven by the property, experienced the photos and walkthrough video, and has made the decision to see this home above nearly 20 other similar properties.

6.5 Reasons You Should Demand A Walk Through Video of Your Home

While some agents think a virtual tour is only necessary for homes over a certain price, we believe they are standard operating procedure.  In fact, we also do narrated walk through videos of our clients’ properties as a matter of course.

Video Allows Sellers:

• To create more opportunity for buyers to learn about your property without hitting the doorstep.  This cuts down on the number of last minute showings;
  
• Convenience/Peace of Mind.  That means that when potential buyers are scheduling showings, they are looking to convince themselves that the home is what they’ve seen online;
• Exposure not seen before in how properties are marketed.
  

Video Allows Buyers:

• Access to the property 24 hours a day, 7 days a week;
• To experience the home from their own couch or office chair;
• To share the experience with their friends, and family.  This allows buyers the ability to share the home and get responses from folks they trust.

Bonus:

• How cool would it be to show your friends and family the home you are selling/purchasing on YouTube?
  

An Example:

Earlier this year, Team366 sold a listing to some buyers that worked third shift.  During the winter, this meant that they could not get to the house while the sun was up!  The purchasers did not see the home in the sunlight until the day of the inspection….after their offer had been made and accepted!  At the closing table, they commented that the narrated walkthrough video was what made the difference.  Because their in person walk through of the house met their impression of the video walk through, they were comfortable enough with the exterior of the the home to make the offer!

Needless to say our clients, the sellers, were ecstatic to sell their place when everyone told them it wouldn’t sell in the winter time!  They were also impressed that the walk through essentially generated “warm” buyers scheduling showings.  Prospective buyers were familiar with the property, knew what they were walking into and therefore simply looking to qualify the home for their needs by seeing it in person.

What’s been your experience with real estate video?

Buyers:  Search all Ann Arbor Area homes for sale. List updated every 15 minutes
Sellers:  Learn about Team366’s proprietary Listing Syndication System (LSS), the area’s BEST marketing system.

_{Todd Waller
Team366 | Real Estate One
734.564.7465}

_{Search for Homes in Ann Arbor
Visit Team366.com}

Post from: Ann Arbor Real Estate | Ann Arbor's #1 Source for Real Estate Information!

For Sale: 4951 St Andrews, Ann Arbor, MI

Golf Course Living & Elegance

4951 St Andrews, Ann Arbor, MI	This elegant Stonebridge property is located on a huge cul-de-sac lot backing up to the second tee and first green of the Stonebridge Golf Course. Featuring over 3,100 square feet of space, this home has 4 bedrooms and 4.1 bathrooms.
Expansive ceilings, hardwood floors and tons of light make this home inviting and easy to entertain within.  Just look a the kitchen!	4951 St Andrews, Ann Arbor, MI
4951 St Andrews, Ann Arbor, MI	Professional landscaping, 3 car side-entry garage, crown moldings, finished basement, Hunter-Douglas blinds, brick paver patio and sprinkler system just begin the list of reasons to see this home.

4951 St Andrews, Ann Arbor, MI features Team366’s proprietary Listing Syndication System.  We make use of narrated walk through videos and a syndication system that pushes your property to the “corners” of the internet.  Interested in learning more?  Give Todd a Twitter, call us at 734.476.1343 or drop us a note at info-at-team366-dot-com.

Team366 | Real Estate One
734.476.1343
Search for Homes in Ann Arbor
Visit Team366.com

[48108]

Post from: Ann Arbor Real Estate | Ann Arbor's #1 Source for Real Estate Information!

GREAT NEWS! Over 93% of Ann Arbor Area Residents Are Employed!

This may appear flippant given all the rough economic news we’ve been force fed recently, but it’s a fact!  93.5% of Ann Arbor area residents are employed!  Holy Smokes!  Given the amount of doom and gloom we’ve seen economically, I expected there to only be five of us still working!

Oddly enough, 93.5% is the number of folks in the United States that are still gainfully employed!

Why is it important that 93.5% of nation, and the city of Ann Arbor, are employed?

MMMM...Lemonade!

It’s important because we’ve been focused on negative news for a LOOONG time.  93.5% employment rates mean that there are a lot of folks working, earning a paycheck, living day to day and helping move a sluggish economy along.  Recognizing that 100% employment is a pipe dream, at what point, at what level of unemployment should we as a nation actually be scared?

It is important for all of us to keep our eyes and thoughts on the positive in every day life.  Lemons into lemonade.  There IS a silver lining to all of these times.  What exactly the good news is, remains to be seen for many. For us, Team366, we’ve seen this time as an excellent opportunity to assist folks in their housing decisions.  It may be a rough housing market, but homes are still being bought and sold.  And we’ve been talking with our clients on how to navigate the rapidly changing real estate market.

Buyers:  Search all Ann Arbor Area homes for sale. List updated every 15 minutes
Sellers:  Learn about Team366’s proprietary Listing Syndication System (LSS), the area’s BEST marketing system.

Photo Courtesy Of sweetbeatandgreenbean

_{Todd Waller
Team366 | Real Estate One
734.564.7465
Search for Homes in Ann Arbor
Visit Team366.com}

[48108]

Post from: Ann Arbor Real Estate | Ann Arbor's #1 Source for Real Estate Information!

Ann Arbor Real Estate Investors: Why Commercial Real Estate?

Educational Seminar:  Why Commercial Real Estate?

Presented by Money Source Financial Services

Where:  Michael’s Chop House

When:  12:30 pm, Wednesday, November 12th, 2008

Who:

• Jeff Marchiorlatti, Regional Vice President - KBS Capital Markets Group
• Keith Hall, Executive Vice President - KBS REIT Board of Directors (via conference call)

Please RSVP to Philip Grimm 734.213.0300 and tell them you saw it here on the Team366 blog.  RSVP by November 6th, 2008.

Post from: Ann Arbor Real Estate | Ann Arbor's #1 Source for Real Estate Information!

Hope for Ann Arbor Area Homeowners?

Say “I’m a Realtor(R),” these days and most folks in Michigan will look at you with sympathy.  The response is typically, [low whistle], “Wow, so um, how are things this year?”  Here in the Ann Arbor real estate market Team366 has not only kept our heads above water, we’ve doubled our business this year!

One of the reasons we’ve been able to increase our business is our ability to advise clients.  A recent re-posting of a subprime mortgage post from a year and a half ago seems darn near prophetic.  The post ends with these two lines:

This subprime implosion will force lenders to ensure their buyers have good credit and good documentation to back up a mortgage. This all translates into a tightening of the underwriting requirements and a “liquidity constriction.” [ed. emphasis added]

And what have we seen this year?

The tightening of lending standards, the tightening of the purse strings of the banks, and a general unwillingness to move the real estate ball forward until SOMETHING shakes loose.

On the heels of reposting that article, the RSS reader threw out another gem of an article from this past weekend about loan modifications.

Photo Courtesy of iron fillings

Is this that something?

Loan modifications could be the answer to many homeowner’s problems.  But is this the answer to our current housing debacle?  Does renegotiating the monthly payment and/or interest rate on a mortgage ensure that the housing market slows its decline more quickly?  Does this simply delay a bottom to the market?  Is it a false bottom?

This author believes that if the terms of a mortgage CAN be changed, that it goes a long way to easing homeowner anxiety.  It will definitely assist in keeping families in their homes.  As pointed out in the article, the current loan

modification programs that the FDIC is currently utilizing simply defer principal amounts and allow rate modifications to slowly snap back to the original over 5 years.

Post from: Ann Arbor Real Estate | Ann Arbor's #1 Source for Real Estate Information!

A Re-Post: The Subprime Market: "Six-inch Hooker Heels"

[originally posted June 27th, 2007.  This post garnered crazy hits, for obvious reasons.
It seemed a decent post to blow the dust off of and re-examine as Bill Gross was bang on
a year and a half ago.]

The subprime blowout is not over?

So, cruising around today on the RSS feeds and bump into this little beauty of an article on Inman News. Nevermind the icky feeling I get seeing two sumo wrestlers practicing their sport, there is something special about an article that describes how the most recent housing boom was somehow influenced by mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) as “six-inch hooker heels.”

As written about earlier this year on this blog, the subprime mortgage market is like a briarpatch. You may know exactly what you are looking for, but the density and tenacity of the “wait-a-minute” vines quickly cause one to loose track of what it was they went into the briarpatch for in the first place.

The odd thing about the stand out phrase, is that it is not aimed at how attractive the subprime mortgage product was to the consumer….and attractive it was! That descriptor is used to describe how attractive MBS and CDOs were to ratings agencies looking for a better return on their money.

So is the subprime implosion over? A recent discussion with a financial planner at Merrill Lynch revealed they believe it to be overhyped and therefore not nearly as large as predicted. And then there is Bill Gross, the manager of PIMCO, the world’s largest bond fund, and the originator of that wonderful descriptor. Here’s his take on the subprime market from the article:

Gross says that using the current default rate of 7 percent on subprime mortgages — which he says equates to total losses of between 3 percent and 4 percent — “the holders of some BBB investment grade subprime-based CDOs will lose all of their moolah because of the significant leverage.” And if subprime total losses hit 10 percent, he predicts, “even some single-A tranches face the grim reaper.”

At the end of the day, home buyers still have a lot of inventory to look over. Interest rates, while they have shown their desire to inch up, are still near historic lows. This subprime implosion will force lenders to ensure their buyers have good credit and good documentation to back up a mortgage. This all translates into a tightening of the underwriting requirements and a “liquidity constriction.”

For more on this topic or questions about real estate, contact Team366 here.

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