You are assuming the owners did it.

Wow.

Those outdoor pics are so nice and then the house is just destroyed. I’d heard the stories about things like this happening, but it’s just beyond to see it in practice

I’m not always a fan of the moralizing that’s happened over some of the foreclosures and choices to walk, but I’d still call this flat out wrong and probably criminal. Good times…

I try to get all my MJ news from Jimmy Kimmel. He puts the whole story in its proper perspective.

http://www.trulia.com/property/1081781415-6184-SW-149th-Ave-Miami-FL-33193

You heard it here first. The National Association of Realtors had Michael Jackson killed.

Now if it were something like the Times re-dating the article and it was the same day as the re-date, that would be one thing. There I’d complain about the times (as I did about this one above because I think it’s been kicking around since before July 9 also).

But hey, maybe my next post will be to announce Michael Jackson died. ;-)

RE: Kary L. Krismer @ 21 –

It is very simple, don’t click it, don’t read and don’t whine about it.
These articles you are tired of hearing about are just what is circulating in the mainstream press these days.
Maybe you would be happier not reading a blog about how messed up your industry is.

Maybe if you had a better description of what the article was about I wouldn’t have clicked it. The fact that you said Smartmoney was smart about brokers was not only misleading, but also indicates you don’t understand much about the industry.

That article is junk. It shows even more ignorance of the topic than is typical in reporting in general.

How many thousands of comments have been made on this blog since its inception?

Counting this comment, at the time it was posted: 58,260. Better get to readin’.

1. The increase in short sales and reos that causes excessive fallout or delay of pendings.
2. The sharp decrease in new listings.

I wonder what the 2nd half will bring:

- Sharp increase in NTSs and forcelosures? ( Is June’s number part of a trend or a one time event ).

Anyone who predicts anything else new of significance to enter the stage in the 2nd half of 2009?

Apart from this 2009 seems to otherwise chug along the 2008 line of low volume and decreasing prices
with a short break for a lackluster spring bounce

It is very simple, don’t click it, don’t read and don’t whine about it.
These articles you are tired of hearing about are just what is circulating in the mainstream press these days.
Maybe you would be happier not reading a blog about how messed up your industry is.

The number one goal of holding an open house is to sell the house, and that’s especially true of the owners live there and have to effectively be kicked out of their house. The listing agent is more likely to have that goal than some other agent from their office (depending on the compensation agreement between them, if any).

I bought my very first house after previewing it through this process.

RE: Everett_Tom @ 10 –

You’re correct that quite a few buyers are doing this with the plan of using an alternative model to purchase the house and get a commission rebate.

People have been debating the value of open houses even prior to our downturn. Since our downturn I had one instance where two buyers saw the house at the open house, made a second visit during the open house at the same time, and both made offers through agents. Having open houses was very important to that seller, and the schedule was actually part of our contract. It worked.

Oh, and that wasn’t unique, except the part about them coming back a second time at the same time. I’ve had at least one other situation since the downturn where an open house generated multiple offers through agents who were not present at the open house.

The other one that has been popping up a lot is the one of the “study” of how people answered a hypothetical walk-away question.

By Kary L. Krismer @ 8:

And even in this market, an open house can help sell a house.

Sure, it can sell a house, but the question is whether it’s worth the effort.

I don’t get it. When it’s harder to sell a house you go to extra effort to do so. So it’s more important now.

Finding a buyer in certain markets can be tough. Why wouldn’t you want to go to extra effort to try to find one? It can be the difference between success and failure–which is a significant difference.

Anytime I get a chance to get people talking about BACON I will take it.

If I see an piece that is recently published about real estate I will post it. There is no need to get arrogant about how uninterested you are in old news…..

yeap- the foreclosure numbers were not pretty, The CNN reporter said “now it’s the unemployment”…Sure; who could see this coming when people were buying homes counting on two salaries to be able to make the payments?

Or, the 30 year old “accountant” in Atlanta feature in HGTV’s “My first Place” that went for a $380K home, 100% financed, $2800 mortgage. I would love to see where she is now (the show was from 2008 and she worked for……wait, wait…….a developer!!!)

Foreclosures are up 16%.

It was past Yelm, down a road with signs marked “volcano evacuation route.” What? That should have been my first clue? :-)

No disrespect to the residents of Yelm and all points east. Beautiful country but a terrible commute to my office downtown.

It is in the forums that agents who hold a house open can get more shoppers into the home from the internet. Advertising an open on your company website got popular this year. The NWMLS also has an open house function. Craigslist is mashed with open house postings.

People see the property on line and want to view it without an agent. The old Sunday news paper ads are not what they used to be. When asked the vast majority of people either live in the neighborhood or saw the property on line.

BFE= Bumf**k Egypt?

You’re correct that quite a few buyers are doing this with the plan of using an alternative model to purchase the house and get a commission rebate. As for whether it works for the average seller, is hard to say. Anecdotally I can say it worked for me in a FSBO sale a few years back. And boy did I get lucky.

In 2006 I foolishly bought a house in a new subdivision in the middle of BFE. It was a pure flip and I never intended to live in it. The bad news came when the houses were built and a solid 80% of them turned up for sale on the MLS by other flippers. It was a total ghost town of empty homes with for sale signs on almost every lot. I had an agent list mine for a reduced commission but it sat for nearly 6 months without a bite. None of them got a bite. So, I cancelled the listing, dropped the price by the 3% commission, put up a FSBO sign, and did open houses on two consecutive weekends and hell if I didn’t sell it. Managed to get my down payment, upgrade money, and all my monthly payments back and was aboslutely thrilled to get off scot free. Probably the luckiest deal I’ve ever done.

I think you would do frighteningly well being the FREE BACON listing agent.

Actually there were some write ups on the redfin fourms (or maybe the SREP blog, can’t remember now) about open houses, apparently more and more folks are using them as a way to get into homes without having to pay for an agent (e.g. the redfin model.. after the first few visits)

e.g.

1) select homes on-line
2) see which ones are open / plan trip
3) visit 4 – 6 homes

In other words, open houses may become more important as more and more MLS info is put on the web (and perhaps someday all the agents / offices / whatever actually post their open houses in the MLS).

The old put up a sign with balloons and hope someone comes does seem like a long shot…

And even in this market, an open house can help sell a house.

Sure, it can sell a house, but the question is whether it’s worth the effort.

I’ll bet FREE BACON can sell a house too. Maybe I’ll get a license and become the FREE BACON Listing Agent. Or maybe not.

</snark>

Some of the points are good, but most of those are obvious. And some are simplistic. E.g. the first one about open houses. Sure they can lead to contacts with buyers, but that’s more likely when it’s a non-listing agent holding the open house (something not discussed). And even in this market, an open house can help sell a house.

Smart Money is smart on real estate brokers.

Or ” modern” in the sense of ” we just got indoor plumbing AND electricity.”

$500K for a place that needs $100K+ of renovations/upgrades to even reach early 1990’s styling? Wood pannelling?!?! That upstairs bedroom looked downright dungeony. You know, like a “gimp room.” I must be looking in Seattle.

I hear the plan is rob Medicare Peter to pay for Health Reform Paul….I can bet the retirees are openning champaign bottles to celebrate.

You’re right, the kitchen looks like some small/cheap homedepot do-it-yourself with used appliances with $100 price tags.

I thought it was the dinky mother-in-law kitchen; but no, its the only kitchen pictured…

read the description and then check out the “Modern Kitchen” in the photos. Do these real estate agents live in the same decade as the rest of us? There is something to be said for embellishment but this is straight up lying. Just sad.