We’ve reported previously that mobile marketing means big business. 79.4 million people will be using mobile devices to shop in 2013. That’s over 50 percent of the digital marketplace. You can’t afford not to invest in mobile marketing technologies. Here is Mashable’s list of five tools you can use for improving your mobile marketing game.

1. Mail Chimp – Email marketing is one of the most popular ways to use technology for keeping in touch with your costumers, and there are many mobile tools for managing email.

MailChimp, for example, is an online tool for email campaigns. They’ve recently added mobile tools that let you view your email stats, check Twitter to see who is tweeting about you and manage your mailing and subscriber lists.

You can also build mobile friendly newsletters, for users who read your emails on their mobile devices. They can also use Chimpadeedoo to sign up for your newsletter via iPad. One company, Monkey Joe’s, used this app to grow its subcriber list from 250 to 10,000.

MailChimp has a free plan in addition to their pay plan. The free plan allows you to have 2,000 subscribers and sent up to 12,000 monthly emails. It includes all of their mobile-friendly features.

2. Red Stamp – For those of you seeking to add flare to your digital messages, Red Stamp enables small businesses to create and send personalized emails with letterheads, business cards, notes, invitations and announcements using your mobile device.

If you’re looking to make an impression with your digital correspondence, check out Red Stamp –- the company just launched Create Your Own Collection that enables small businesses to create and send custom, branded letterhead, business cards, notes, invitations and announcements from mobile and desktop devices.

To use Red Stamp, you must pay a one-time fee of $29.99 for custom design and set-up, and a 4.99 monthly fee for unlimited sharing. You can also order paper postcards for 99 cents, including postage, and Red Stamp will ship the cards for you.

3. Swipely – Swipely makes it easy for customers to join mobile loyalty programs by sending a text message, working seamlessly with the payment cards customers already use, rather than requiring paper cards, punch cards or key chain cards.

One restaraunt in the San Francisco Bay Area uses Swipely for its mobile loyalty program. In only one month they found that 60 percent of customers that who accessed the mobile signup page also joined the loyalty program. Hundreds of customers signed up, allowing the restaurant to market to those customers with email.

Swipely’s loyalty program is free, but you must be an existing Swipely customer.

4. TextUs.Biz – According to Time magazine 32 percent of people would rather text than talk on the phone. TextUs.Biz facilitates texting between businesses and customers via computer or iPad. Agents can use the service to keep in touch with customers by sending appointment reminders or promotional offers, and customers and text agents to request appointments or reservations.

You can send up to 100 messages for free with TextUs.Biz, but after that, the basic cost is $24/month for 1,500 messages, $44/month for 5,000 messages, and $74/month for 10,000 messages.

5. Facebook – According to research reported by Mashable, mobile users check Facebook approximately 14 times a day. You probably already have a Facebook page, but here are some new products you might not be familiar with.

Facebook Offers are virtual coupons. They are available on mobile computers as well as desktop options. Promoted Posts allow you to promote certain posts so they appear higher in your customers news feeds. Facebooks Pages Manager App allows you to manage these features on your mobile device.

The post Five Mobile Marketing Tools for Tech-Savvy Agents appeared first on Houston Agent Magazine.

One of the more persistent questions among housing analysts is how Generation Y, the generation of Americans born between 1979 and 1995 that currently totals roughly 80 million people, will change the makeup of the U.S. housing market, and whether those changes will, in turn, affect how real estate operations are conducted.

Numerous studies and hypotheses on the subject have trickled out in recent months, but the Urban Land Institute (ULI) may have released the most authoritative survey on the subject. Bearing the rather grandiose title of “America in 2013,” the ULI surveyed more than 1,200 adults in early 2013 about their housing and lifestyle preferences, and the results suggest a pronounced change for housing in the coming years.

Housing Preferences in the Gen Y

Perhaps the most radical change that Generation Y homebuyers will likely bring to housing will be a return to walkable, dense urban environments. Though sprawl and large lots have defined housing in the U.S. for the last 60-odd years, ULI’s survey finds a much different outlook among Gen Yers:

• For instance, regarding the density and walkability of an area, 62 percent of Gen Yers prefer mixed-use developments, and 76 percent place a high value on the walkability of a community.
• Meanwhile, 40 percent of Gen Yers prefer city living, while 54 percent are renters.
• Perhaps most importantly of all, 18 percent of Gen Yers used public transit for their commute to either work or school (compared to just 6 percent of all respondents). Furthermore, more than half place a high priority on their proximity to public transit, and 23 percent report walking to their destinations, the highest percentage among all generations.
• Even when incorporating other generations, the aforementioned trends were largely unchanged: 61 percent of respondents prefer a smaller home that allows for a shorter commute to work; 53 percent want to live close to shopping; 52 percent prefer mixed-income housing; and 51 percent prefer access to public transportation.

A Return to Urbanism in the U.S.?

So, what does all this mean? Though ULI’s survey does not necessarily suggest an about-face for American housing – that homebuyers will immediately sell their suburban dwellings and frolic to densely packed urban environments – it does show, rather clearly, a definite shift in residential preferences among American homebuyers, one away from car-dependent developments and towards closer-knit, walkable environments, and likely a shifting perception among Americans of what a “neighborhood” looks like.

J.J. Molaison, the manager of Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene’s Inner Loop office, said her area is seeing a huge influx of younger professionals attracted to the area’s restaurants, shopping and parks, all of which are within walking distance. And with such a shifting demographic of buyers, she added, her agents have tweaked their own communication methods.

“Agents have changed how they communicate,” Molaison said. “They are texting instead of emailing, using social media and asking clients how they want to be communicated with.”

The post This is How Gen Y Will Revolutionize Housing appeared first on Houston Agent Magazine.

U.S. consumers may not be quite as smart regarding the residential mortgage process as many agents would like, according to a new survey from Zillow.

According to the website’s latest Mortgage IQ survey, consumers are incorrect about major aspects of the lending process a third of the time, though that may not be an entirely bad thing as far as agents are concerned.

What’s YOUR Mortgage IQ?

Some of the more notable results from Zillow’s survey included:

• Thirty-four percent of first-time homebuyers are unaware of the fact that there are home loans available that require down payments of 5 percent or less. Whether that means those homebuyers have never heard of the FHA or not, we’re not sure, but Zillow’s own Mortgage Marketplace reported that in the last two years, there has been a stunning 570 percent increase in loan requests with down payments between 3.5 and 5 percent, and the Obama administration’s Housing Scorecard continues to report a disproportionate market share for FHA mortgages.
• Consumers are also unaware of the fact that they can shop for mortgages: 26 percent of those surveyed said they thought they were obligated to close their loan with the lender that pre-approved them, and 24 percent thought the best available rates and fees would always be through the bank they do business with.
• Finally, 34 percent of respondents thought that all lenders are required, by law, to charge the same fees for their credit reports and appraisals.

Is There an Agent in the House?

On first blush, those results may seem horribly demoralizing, considering that so many consumers are so off on some of the mortgage processes’ most important qualities; however, there is one encouraging nugget that emerges from such information: it reinforces the need that so many have for an experienced real estate professional!

Therefore, you’ll want to make sure that you are abreast of the latest developments in the mortgage markets, so that you can provide reliable information about the lending process to your clients. Along with reading high-quality news sites, such as the excellent Calculated Risk and, of course, Houston Agent magazine, you’ll also want to maintain close relations with a preferred lender. As we constantly highlight in our Ask a Lender series, a preferred lender can be invaluable in educating clients on current mortgage trends, and having such connections will undoubtedly reflect well on you as an agent.

The post How Smart are Your Clients on the Mortgage Process? appeared first on Houston Agent Magazine.

Nearly every media outlet imaginable has jumped on the housing-recovery bandwagon, reporting on the numerous signs that housing has awoken from its long, painful slumber. Heck, even the Wall Street Journal, that most notoriously fickle of observers, has declared housing to be in recovery!

Yet, there remain outliers to housing’s success story that add smidgens of nuance to the recovery narrative; of course, we do not intend on being the Negative Nancy and raining on everybody’s housing parade, but we think it only fair to point out the four areas of the greater economy that could pose hurdles for the housing market in the coming months.

1. Rising Interest Rates – Interest rates are at historic lows, and they’ve fallen so dramatically that owning is now cheaper than renting in nearly every major metropolitan marketplace. Yet, it’s a certainty that rates will increase, and it would be foolish for any of us to become too comfortable with such low rates, because they are, you know, historic! And though rising rates will not necessarily derail the housing recovery, it’s worth factoring in what impact they could have.

2. Slow Employment Growth – Though the economy has been doing much better in recent months (it’s 165,000 new jobs in April was a particularly good sign), it’s still a far way off from a full recovery, and economists expect it will take five years of similar job growth for the economy to return to pre-recession levels of unemployment – and without a solid base of jobs, fewer Americans will be able to make home purchases.

3. The Changing Mortgage Landscape – According to recent readings, the U.S. government backs roughly 97 percent(!) of new mortgages via the FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but that overwhelming percentage will almost certainly change early next year when the FHFA, the entity that regulates Fannie and Freddie, adopts the qualified mortgage standards from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a move that is expected to raise mortgage standards substantially. It remains to be seen whether private lenders will step up and fill that void, or whether lending will fall as a result of the regulations.

4. The Burden of Student Debt – Finally, there is the escalating burden of student debt. Totaling $1 trillion and now surpassing housing debt, student debt has become such a problem that, for the first time in years, consumers without student debt obligations are receiving mortgages at a greater rate than consumers with student debt. Typically, borrowers with student debt were considered a safer bet for banks, given that their academic degrees granted them higher-paying jobs, but the situation today – where the delinquency rate for student borrowers exceeds 30 percent – has reversed that scenario.

Agents, are you concerned? Will these hurdles play out in time? Comment below!

The post 4 Hurdles for the Housing Recovery appeared first on Houston Agent Magazine.

Homes sales are up, inventory has stabilized, and by many accounts, new construction it putting up its best numbers in the post-boom housing market. And now, the latest study by Lender Processing Services (LPS) has shown that slowly and gradually, we can add another notch to the housing recovery belt: a healthy mortgage market.

Most notably, LPS found that only 0.84 percent of new loans are considered “problem loans,” meaning, seriously delinquent loans that were current six months ago. That’s the lowest level for problem loans since 2007, and the problem-loan rate is now nearing the pre-boom levels of 0.55 percent.

True, the mortgage markets are not fully recovered, what with a 6.59 percent delinquency rate (the historical average is more around 3 percent); however, there was much to like in LPS’ Mortgage Monitor, which studied more than 40 million residential mortgage loans through the month of March. Herb Blecher, LPS’ Applied Analytics senior vice president, said equity has shown particular improvement.

“The overall equity trend has been a very positive one,” Blecher said. “LPS’ latest data shows that the share of loans with LTVs greater than 100 percent has fallen 41 percent from a year ago.”

But of course, LPS’ Mortgage Monitor contained many other stats, the most important of which are collected in our infographic below:

The post Less Than 1 Percent of Today’s Mortgages are Bad appeared first on Houston Agent Magazine.

Jennifer Stence is a Realtor at Veronica Mullenix Real Estate Group in Katy.

Every week, we ask a Houston real estate professional for their thoughts on the top three stories from the week before. 

This week, we talked with Realtor Jennifer Stence of Veronica Mullenix Real Estate Group in Katy. Stence, a Katy resident, began her real estate career in the 1980s and left to spend time with her kids and teach in the Katy school district for 10 years. She returned to the business five years ago and specializes in Harris County, Ft. Bend County, Waller County, Austin County, and the Katy/West Houston real estate market. 

Houston Agent (HA): Studies show that home prices, home sales and inventory are as competitive as ever. Do you see this occurring in Katy? And how long do you see this continuing?

Jennifer Stence (JS): Yes. Katy is a desirable area because of the school district, primarily, and there is lots of building going on and lots of people moving into the area. I think as long as the economy in Texas, and Houston in particular, is strong, the people will keep wanting to move here.

There are a lot of great things about Houston. We have a good climate, we don’t have to shovel snow. The manufacturing is picking up in Houston, oil and gas is doing well, medicine is here. I don’t see any reason for this to end anytime soon.

HA: The nation’s foreclosure market has been improving, and Houston’s marketplace is ahead of the nation. Have you been seeing many foreclosures on the market lately?

JS: You know, I think there are fewer foreclosures and fewer, fewer short sales. Most of the areas that I’ve worked in, I have not worked with a whole lot of foreclosures or short sales. But from what I’ve noticed, there are still areas where there still are some bank owned properties, but for the most part, I see them going down.

I think for one thing, there are more buyers. I think that properties are selling quicker so that they’re not sitting on the market for a long time. Typically, if you have a distressed property, you can’t make your payments, you have to sell. You put it on the market and it doesn’t sell, it doesn’t sell, it doesn’t sell and it goes into foreclosure. Now the market is active, busy and when you put a house on the market, it sells. It doesn’t go to foreclosure.

I hope this continues for a while. As long as there’s an increase in buyers in the area, people with distressed properties should have an easier time selling them. Hopefully, they won’t end up going back to the bank.

HA: What kind of business strategies are helpful to you and your business?

JS: I use social media – particularly Facebook and websites. I post a lot of things that I think would be of interest to the community on my Facebook page. I also utilize my company website and my presence with the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR). For new agents who are starting out, patience and hard work is the key to succeeding!

I like referrals – they’re very important. I try to send out “sold postcards,” when I’ve sold a house in a neighborhood that I’m interested in doing business with in the future. I stay in touch with my clients – I send them emails from time to time or articles that I think they would find relevant to their situation about the current state of the market and things happening within the Houston area.

The post Viewpoints: Jennifer Stence, Realtor, Veronica Mullenix Real Estate Group, Katy appeared first on Houston Agent Magazine.

Walter Davis, Realtor, Champions Real Estate Group, Houston

What was your first job in the realty industry?
My first job in the real estate business was with a new home builder, where I helped close communities in Sugarland and Katy and later opened new communities in northwest Houston. During this time I also became knowledgeable as a licensed mortgage professional.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. Chicago is a great city filled with many different cultures and lifestyles.

What is your favorite free-time activity?
I enjoy coaching kids in sports and mentoring young men during my free-time when I am not spending it with my children and wife.

What do you do to relax when you’re stressed?
When I am stressed, I generally work. Working does not stress me out so I am continually learning new aspects of real estate, coaching, and mentorship.

Growing up, what did you want to be?
When I was young I just wanted to be successful. I wanted to be married and have kids and work with people.

If you could have lunch with a well-known figure (living or not), who would it be and why?
If I could have lunch with a well-known figure it would probably be Abraham Lincoln because I would love to pick his brain on how he saw the future and what we could be as Americans.

Where is your favorite place to hang out?
I love to go to the movies. It is definitely one of my favorite places to hang out but I enjoy being in homes and looking at the possibilities.

What do you love most about the industry?
I love interacting with people and helping them fulfill their needs. I also enjoy that this is an industry that continually changes and requires us to stay on top of our game in order to help people fulfill their needs in home ownership.

How do you distinguish yourself from the crowd of agents?
I am an agent that is familiar in all the primary aspects of real estate but most importantly I am a believer that my clients needs and dreams are my number one priority, so I treat each and every customer that way no matter what their situation is.

What is the most difficult aspect of your job?
I do not believe my job is difficult on any level because the most important factor when working with clients is listening to their needs. If you are not listening then the job can be more difficult.

Where do you go to network and meet new clients?
I go to networking events and work with builders regularly but I spend most of my time meeting new clients through referrals.

What has been your greatest accomplishment?
My greatest accomplishment in my life has been being married for over 17 years and creating a enjoyable environment for my family.

What was the last good movie you saw or book you read?
The last good book I read was, “Coming Back Stronger: Unleashing the Hidden Power of Adversity, written by Drew Brees.

What is your favorite restaurant?
One of my favorite restaurants is Cracker Barrel, but I really enjoy eating at Los Cucos.

Architecturally speaking, what is your favorite building in Houston?
The JP Morgan Chase tower is one of my favorite architectural buildings in Houston, because skyscrapers remind me of the city of Chicago.

What kind of car do you drive?
I drive a midsize vehicle and F150.

Smartphone or paper?
I believe in both. New technology is my favorite because it is fast and efficient but some people are not aware of how to use this technology so I enjoy using traditional methods as well.

What is your favorite city after Houston?
I would have to name a few but I love my hometown of Chicago. I would put L.A., New York City, and Miami in the conversation as well.

In 10 words or less, what is your advice for someone new to the industry?
“Learn, listen, be efficient and truthful, confident and work hard every day.” Okay, that was 12 words.

Do you want to be featured in our Agent Snapshot? Fill out our questionnaire, and you’ll be featured too!

The post Agent Snapshot: Walter Davis, Realtor, Champions Real Estate Group, Houston and Surrounding Suburbs appeared first on Houston Agent Magazine.

If the Census Bureau’s latest numbers are any indicator, April was a wild month for new housing construction in the U.S., with building permits and housing starts rising and falling in equally dramatic fashion.

And behind the dramatic sways was a familiar culprit – the ever volatile sector of multifamily housing.

Topsy Turvydom in New Construction

First, building permits, which are sought by builders for future construction projects, rose by extravagant amounts in April, increasing 14.3 percent from March and a jaw-dropping 35.8 percent from April 2012 to an annual rate of 1.017 million; that’s the highest level for building permits in five years, and the increase was largely driven by the nation’s surging multifamily housing sector. Authorizations for multifamily units rose 32 percent from March to April, while single-family home authorizations rose a more modest 3.0 percent.

Yet, where multifamily housing was a boon for permits, it was an anchor for housing starts. Multifamily starts were down 37.8 percent from March to April, which sank overall housing starts by 16.5 percent; though housing starts were still 13.1 percent above April 2012, the monthly decline knocked them down to their lowest level since November 2012.

The Single-Family/Multifamily Divide

But still, on the single-family home side of the equation, there was much to like. As Bill McBride pointed out on Calculated Risk, single-family starts were up 20.8 percent yearly in April, and for 2013′s first quarter, they’re up 39 percent from 2012. And considering that overall housing starts were at an 853,000 annual rate – when housing starts averaged 1.5 million per year from 1959 to 2000 – there’s still plenty of room for growth.

Are there any takeaways, though, regarding multifamily housing? If anything, April’s numbers on building permits only confirm that we can expect more multifamily developments to come down the pipeline, and as the Architecture Billings Index continues to show, there are still plenty of developers out there prospecting for more condominiums and rental units.

The post Housing Starts Plunge, Building Permits Soar in New Census Bureau Data appeared first on Houston Agent Magazine.

Prospecting for new clients is among the least glamorous of real estate’s many activities, and the stereotypical image behind prospecting – endless cold calls,  drip email marketing campaigns, door-to-door canvassing – make the activity seem as much fun as pulling teeth.

Yet, beyond the stereotypes, there is a whole other world of prospecting, one that is fun, and lively, and interactive, and as is the case with so many aspects of real estate, there’s nothing stopping you from embracing such strategies. Here are three to consider:

1. Inventive Branding – Your real estate business is only as good as your brand, and it behooves any agent to make their brand as ubiquitous and recognizable as possible, without seeming intrusive or pushy. How can that balance be achieved? Consider creative, inventive places to incorporate your brand. For instance, think about unorthodox places to print your company logo and contact information, such as water bottles, which you could distribute to members of your gym, your son/daughter’s little league team. Or look into creative sponsorships, such as bowling leagues, or school field trips; when I was in high school, our marching band planned biannual trips to Disney World, and a Realtor in the area always met new clients through his sponsorships of the band’s fundraising efforts, which involved his logo appearing boldly on event banners and the like.

2. Public Events – Rather than spending a weekend going door to door, let the potential clients come to you with a fun public event! Something like a barbecue for your neighborhood/subdivision is the perfect opportunity to introduce yourself to customers, show off your impressive market knowledge and, naturally, impressive everyone with your impeccable culinary skills.

3. Make the Usual Unusual – Finally, think about ways to make the most common, boring aspects of your real estate business unique and interesting. For instance, we recently learned of a Realtor who attached sticks of gum to all of his business cards; such a strategy is not only hugely creative, but incredibly cost-effective, and it gave the Realtor an immediate edge on his competition. Think about what other aspects of your business could use a similar, refreshing approach.

The post 3 Fun Ways to Prospect For Clients appeared first on Houston Agent Magazine.

Realtors and appraisers don’t always see eye-to-eye when it comes to valuing homes. This can be especially frustrating when seemingly everything else is working well in the booming Houston market. I’ve put together some of the most common reasons homes don’t appraise and some suggestions to try and help make sure you don’t run into any problems.

With sales and prices up, everything about the real estate market seems great, but making value in an appreciating market can be tough for appraisers. This is because of an inherent flaw in appraisal methodology.

Appraisals use sales from the past to determine current market value. In a rapidly changing market, the past may not accurately depict the current market conditions. While appraisal methodology can adjust for an appreciating market, many appraisers are reluctant to do so for fear of push back from underwriters.

To combat that problem, always let the appraiser know if you have multiple offers, and be willing to accept back-up offers no matter how good the first offer is. This suggests market acceptance of the pricing of your home and not a lone rogue buyer offering too much out of ignorance or exuberance. If your market is improving, make sure the appraiser knows it.

One way show this is by use of the statistical features in the Tempo MLS. If the average neighborhood sales price for the past 12 months is more than 3 percent higher than the prior 12 months, it’s a pretty good argument that the market is appreciating. In some cases, the prices don’t yet reflect the increases but the leading indicators; marketing times, supply of homes, sales volume and list to sales ratios indicate an imbalance in supply and demand that precedes an appreciating market. Given an appreciating market or multiple offers, an appraiser may be able to make market condition adjustments and justify a higher value.

Appraisers rely more on sales than active listings or pending sales because a closed sale is evidence of how much a buyer was willing to pay and when they paid it. A listing may never sell, and if it does, we don’t know when or at what price. Always consider the competing listings when marketing a home, but be aware of the sales when accepting an offer.

Appraisers have guidelines when selecting comparables. Fannie, Freddie, FHA, etc., have guidelines for what is considered comparable. Individual lenders may have additional restrictions as well. In general, comparables that require adjustments of more than 10 percent for any individual characteristic (size, quality, view, etc.), 15 percent for the net adjustments and 25 percent for the gross (sum of all) adjustments suggest a lower level of confidence and therefore higher risk.

As such, a 3,000 square foot home would not likely meet these criteria when appraising a 2,000 square foot home. Similarly, a $200,000 home is a poor comparable for a $300,000 home, regardless of what adjustments you feel are warranted. The thinking is if a comparable needs that much adjustment, it is not really comparable. When selecting comparable sales, the fewer the adjustments, the better.

By far the most common reason some homes fail to appraise is because of price per square foot ($psf) valuation. The $psf is the fastest and easiest way to value a home, but because it is so simplistic, it is the most wrought with error. $psf assumes that the entire value of a home is based on the number of square feet it contains. It fails to distinguish between fixed costs and variable costs.

Fixed costs (lot, appliances, site improvements, garage) remain roughly the same regardless of the size of the home, and may make up 30 to 40 percent of value in a suburban location and even more in areas with high land values (The Heights, Memorial Villages). $psf becomes most problematic when comparing two different size homes. In theory, if two homes have similar fixed costs of $50,000, a 1,000 square foot home should cost $25 per square foot more than a 2,000 square foot home, because the fixed costs are divided by a smaller number. This is why larger homes typically have lower $psf cost than similar smaller ones.

To find out how much buyers really pay for each additional square foot of home, compare two homes of different size that are similar in all other aspects. Both are two-story, don’t have a pool, no view premiums, the same number of baths, etc. Subtract the lower sales price and divide that by the difference in square feet. Typically that number amounts to 25 to 50 percent of the sales price per square foot. So when pricing a home, $psf is okay to use when making an apples to apples comparison. Short of that however, keep in mind that smaller homes typically have a higher $psf than larger ones, and one-story homes typically have a higher $psf than two-story homes.

Steve Kahane is the owner of Greater Houston Area Appraisals and a certified residential appraiser. He can be reached at:

Phone: 832-875-6090
Email: steve@ghaa.net
Fax: 832-550-2070
Website: www.ghaa.net

The post Why Homes Don’t Always Appraise – And What Agents Can Do About It appeared first on Houston Agent Magazine.