I News Brief
1. Nationally, home prices rose 5.9 percent, compared to the fourth quarter of 2005, reported the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), and 1.1 percent from the third quarter of 2006. Year-over-year price increases were the lowest recorded since 1999. House price appreciation is, for now, more in line with historical norms,” OFHEO director James Lockhart said in a statement. The release contrasted with a report earlier in February from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That reported a 2.7 percent year-over-year decline in median prices of homes sold during the fourth quarter of 2006, rather than just a slowdown in appreciation rates. Many experts consider the OFHEO index a more accurate indicator of the direction of housing prices because it measures repeat sales - the price of a house sold during the reporting period is compared to what it fetched the last time it was sold. NAR reports prices for all homes sold.
2. A big boost in Rohnert Park’s affordable housing totals entered the books when a grand opening event was held at The Arbors, Friday Feb. 23. This is the multi-use apartment project for 56 individuals and families on City Center Drive. It will have spaces for stores, boutiques or coffee shops on the ground floor facing City Center Drive. The location is east of State Farm Drive near the public library. The Arbors has Hinebaugh Creek as its northern boundary, units ranging in size from one-bedroom flats to three bedroom townhouses and raises the number of affordable homes in RP to more than 2,000 units. It’s the third collaboration the city has made with Burbank Housing.
3. Petaluma City Council members are poised to reconsider a decision to allow a large shopping center on one of the city’s last big retail sites, following protest from neighbors. On a 4-2 straw vote last week, the council designated the 36-acre property on McDowell Boulevard as all-retail, citing sales-tax dollars lost to other communities because people leave town for basic goods. A shopping center anchored by Lowe’s has been proposed for the property, which fronts Highway 101 near the site of the proposed Rainier Avenue interchange. The shopping center proposal is subject to a separate review by the city. However, after hearing from neighbors fearing traffic congestion and other problems, the council plans to consider designating the property instead for a mix of commercial, office and residential development. A vote could be taken March 19.
II. Realogy to Distribute Property Listings to Trulia.com and Google
Real estate giant Realogy Corp., with corporate brands including Coldwell Banker, Century 21 and ERA, today announced a major play to broaden its online exposure for property listings that are represented by company-owned and franchise offices. About 500,000 Realogy-affiliated property listings that appear at the Century21.com, ColdwellBanker.com and ERA.com Web sites will also be distributed to Google and to real estate search engine Trulia.com. The decision follows a trend in the shift of real estate advertising and marketing efforts to the Internet as buyers are increasingly surfing the Web for property information.
About 80 percent of buyers use the Internet to search for a home, according to a consumer survey released in November by the National Association of Realtors, compared with 77 percent in the previous year’s survey. Realogy earlier conducted a four-month pilot study in which the company provided listings from the ERA.com site to Trulia.com. Trulia reported that 15 percent of search traffic to ERA.com originated from Trulia.com during that trial period. Meanwhile, Google has also been growing its inventory of searchable real estate information through its Google Base classified information portal, which allows agents, brokers, companies and MLSs to upload property information at no cost.
“Our brand Web sites are some of the most highly trafficked and comprehensive sites in real estate today,” said Richard A. Smith, Realogy vice chairman and president, in a statement. “Our announced distributed listing strategy follows an intense study of the advantages of the broad distribution of our listing inventory. This serves as a milestone in our strategy to maximize the advantages of the Web for the benefit of our franchisees, our operating company and our customers.” According to the announcement, about 58 percent of all Internet searches on “real estate” and related terms are conducted on Google and its search partner sites, and about 375 million unique global users conduct searches on Google.com each month.
“For the buyer, viewing listings online is just part of the equation,” said Alex Perriello, president and CEO of the Realogy Franchise Group, in a statement. “From the Google and Trulia Web sites, consumers will be linked to the brand sites where they can learn more about individual properties, communities and the home buying process. Home sellers will naturally benefit from the additional marketing exposure for their properties.” Sami Inkinen, COO and co-founder of Trulia, said in a statement, “We’re thrilled to provide the Realogy network of real estate professionals with new ways to promote their listings and serve their clients using Trulia.com. Broker franchisees and agents can now offer their listings and contact information through Trulia for free.”
Most of the Realogy property listings can already be viewed at Trulia.com, and the remainder “will be accessible … in the coming weeks,” the company said. An estimated 320,000 real estate sales professionals belong to Realogy’s franchise networks, who represent about 25 percent of the total membership in the National Association of Realtors trade group, and its affiliated agents participate in one-third of U.S. real estate transactions.
Realogy officials announced that the company will “continue to expand its listings distribution strategy by seeking out appropriate alliances and Internet channels to promote properties that appeal to particular lifestyles and niche markets.” As an example, the company announced an agreement to display select properties on LandandFarm.com, a site that specializes in country properties including farms, ranches and hunting retreats. The Trulia.com Web site has experienced 25 percent month-over-month growth for the past six months, and the company also reported that it passed the 1 million-listings mark in November 2006 and has more than 1 million unique visitors each month.
Launched in 2005, Trulia has earlier announced agreements to display property listings supplied by other major real estate industry companies such as Keller Williams Realty, Weichert Realtors, Long & Foster Real Estate and Real Living.
Blue Oak Mortgage Minute 3/2/07
