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There are 29 articles written on this subject. The most recent 10 are listed here:

Egos, Zillow accuracy and more... Gen. Jubal A. Early grounded on the Potomac? Market value becoming a tough nut to crack More on the agent Bubble This day needs no reminder...

1983 - 2007 Was it something I said? Catching up on local goings on... Zillow sharpens its sword...challenges the status quo Interesting tidbits for Monday reading

You will find a complete Index of Articles by Category and by Month in the Archives.

November 28, 2007

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February 28, 2007

Geeeze...first day back, make a few posts, report some numbers and the stock market dives...

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January 31, 2007

A lot has been going on the last few weeks that we have not had the time to comment on. Here's a summary:

• Supervisors approve One Loudoun: One Loudoun is a proposed development with "World Trade Center Status." It is located on Route 7 south at the intersection of Loudoun County Parkway. A planned development that will include upscale office space, hotel, retail, restaurants, high density residential and open space. proffers include land for schools and open park space. Good for the world status of Loudoun, bad for transportation. It will take 10 years to build out. Read more at One Loudoun.
• County officials under investigation: Based on a series of articles in the Washington Post, the Commonwealth Attorney is launching an investigation of the ties between current and past county officials and the development community. Even if not illegal activity, it will still smell. Ethics is such an allusive concept.
• Developers sue the county over shutdown: The county has halted taking new applications for exceptions to the comprehensive plan. Developers are now suing. Who woulda thunk? Until we get our transportation issues resolved, slowing the process is a good thing.
• Virginia Legislators close in on a transportation plan: Lots of nail biting and hand wringing. Who is going to blink? Politics and common sense don't seem to mix well. Maybe we will get a plan this session. It will probably cost us but will be worth it if we can commute at more than 25 (or less) miles an hour.
• Varied opinions on the direction of the real estate market:I'll never understand economists. There is still a divergence of views on where the market is headed. From recovery by mid year to recovery sometime in 2008. I tend to believe the latter (and could be dead wrong). Watching my local charts, it appears we are getting somewhat if a "surge" in new contract activity since the first of the year. Prince William County is still fairing the worse of the big three (Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William) in Northern Virginia. Prices seem to be holding too. keep watching.
• One final note: I am ready for spring. Temperatures below 30 degrees with 10 to 20 mile an hour winds is not my idea of a good time to be out in it. Where did our spring like weather go that we had over the holidays? In fact, I have a flowering apricot tree that was fooled into blooming in early January. It was quite a sight.
• One final final note: I am sad to report that Pam put her license into inactive status at the first of the year. Her attention is diverted to her aging father in California who is suffering from Alzheimer's. Anyone who has an elderly relative with this terrible disease will understand how difficult it can be caring for them...even more difficult 3,000 miles away. Even though she cannot advise clients during this inactive status, she will be a wealth of council to me. She will still be able to advise clients on "showing condition" and what can be done to get a home into best shape.

That's enough for this morning. Off to service clients.

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December 7, 2006

The Blogging world is buZZing this morning about Zillow's announcement last night offering free listings tied to your homes tax and sales history in their gargantuan data base. And, it is up and running. Zillow is taking aim with their sharp, swift sword at the heart of the real estate industry. Every real estate blogger on the planet is reporting and offering opinions on the significance of this announcement and capability. My favorite commentary can be found at

• the BloodhoundBlog (Greg actually had advance notice),
• sellsius,
• Ardell and Galen at the Rain City Guide,
• Kris Berg at The San Diego Home Blog,
• Inman News and
• Jim at Real Central Virginia.

The significance of this might well be to make every MLS obsolete, realtor.com irrelevant, Google Base old fashioned, Craig's list history and significantly transform the role of a real estate agent as a central figure in the transaction to one of a real estate transaction advisor as buyers search for homes and sellers are empowered to market their own homes on a massive scale. The difference between Zillow and the rest of the world is the integration of "free" listings to the tax and sales records of nearly every property in the US. Will there be kinks? Sure, but these guys can figure out how to smooth them out. Incredible!

There is no better time for every real estate agent to figure out how to transform their business from sales agent to consultant. It may take awhile but, I truly believe this may be the single event that will force the industry to change. It is serendipitous that Pam and I had the vision to establish our business on a consulting business model with a complete, transparent fee schedule.

Watch for the mark of Zillow coming from the tip of their long sword of innovation on everything real estate. I love it! See Zillow now.

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November 13, 2006

Repeat after me: homes are selling...homes are selling. [from the Inman Blog] They are. Just not very fast.

Do sellers really not know what their agent will be paid? [from the Inman Blog] Transparency is not that hard...we do it day in and day out.

Are FSBO transactions on a downward trend? NAR thinks so. [from the Inman Blog] Maybe more are finding Fee-For-Service agents...I wish.

Sellers scrutinize the value of regular brokers' services. [Saturday Washington Post] Another reason Fee-For-Service just might be the answer.

Real Estate agents do not control buying and selling! [Bloodhound Blog] Dammit! Maybe I did learn this somewhere along the way.

Finally, the name BLOG is being questioned. [Dustin from move.com and Rain City Guide] Have you noticed I try to avoid silly jargon like post, permalink, trackbacks, categories, Blogroll, Blogosphere......what's wrong with just plain talk? You can change the name of Blog to Juice...and it still won't matter! How about Real Estate Juice for a Blog name? Somebody jump on this one. In the meantime, we keep on Blogging (or, writing articles that express our knowledge, wisdom and/or opinions on topics of interest). I think Blog is here to stay. Lets get rid of all the other techno speak! Maybe then regular people will understand us better.

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November 4, 2006

In the Saturday Washington Post:

Ego or Greed: Why homeowners can't bring themselves to lower their price. An interesting article about the psychology of pricing your home in this market. It's about neuroeconomics also known as behavioral economics. An example of "shock" by one homeowner coming to terms with listing her condo at $269,000 instead of the $280,000 she thought it was worth is a bit of a stretch... The article makes some good points and offers good advice to buyers to get what they want through other concessions and let the seller protect their ego on price.

Zillow in the barrel: Accused of overstating accuracy claims and "knowingly" deceiving the public. Let's see now...Zillow gets all its data from county government records based on assessments and recorded sales (deeds) applies some mathematical algorithms to predict market values and presents them to the public as "Zestimates" with ample wiggle room disclaimers. Let's go after the Assessors and Recorders instead. They are the ones supplying the data. What does "opening the door to a variety of deceptive and predatory real estate practices" mean? This sounds like the "I didn't know the coffee was hot" absurdity.

Finally, is a backup generator for your home in your future? There are many instances I wished I had a backup generator to provide basic support when the electrical system was down for an extended period. In the heat of the summer and the bone freezing cold of the winter. I just haven't brought myself to fork over the $5,000 to $10,000 it costs.

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September 20, 2006

CROSSING THE POTOMAC

Mutinous Ferry Roils the Waters
Boat Owner Entangled in Licensing Dispute Ignores Coast Guard's Order to Shut Down

By Fredrick Kunkle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 15, 2006; Page B03

True to its Confederate namesake, the Gen. Jubal A. Early ferryboat yesterday defied orders by the federal government to halt operations because of a licensing dispute and instead kept chugging back and forth across the Potomac River carrying hundreds of commuters.

More to this story...with photos.

White's Ferry is somewhat of a historical landmark on the Potomac River carrying commuters back and forth between Loudoun County and Montgomery County, Maryland. It's a great alternative to the long commutes to the beltway or north across the bridge at Point of Rocks on Route 15 (a two-lane historical byway that has become the de facto "outer beltway"). I know. I used the ferry for almost four years in my corporate life.

The ferry transports about 500 vehicles a day. That's 500 less on the major commute corridors out of Loudoun County. But, the Coast Guard doesn't seem to care. On the other hand, safety and a knowledgeable, licensed captain are extremely important. I've experienced many "hard landings" on the ramps, one that damaged my car.

The owner has run the ferry since he purchased it in 1946. He is well aware of the rules. Mr. Brown: get it inspected and keep your "captains" licensed. We need you. We need the ferry. We need it to be safe.

Coast Guard: This isn't an ocean going vessel. It's a raft on a cable. Don't be so punitive. Be part of the solution. Reasonable people will act reasonably.

In case you are interested you can...read more.
The ferry carries about 21 average sized vehicles and makes a round trip in about 15 minutes, loading and unloading at each end. It is basically a metal raft guided by cable across the river. As a maritime vessel, the Coast Guard has vessel inspection authority and requires a licensed captain to operate it.

Seems as though the Coast Guard performed a recent check and found the vessel did not have a required inspection certificate and was operating without a licensed captain. The Gen. Jubal A. Early was ordered to cease operations, and threatened with significant fines. The owner who has run the ferry since 1946 defied the order and continued operation. The ferry carries about 21 average sized vehicles and makes a round trip in about 15 minutes, loading and unloading at each end. It is basically a metal raft guided by cable across the river. As a maritime vessel, the Coast Guard has vessel inspection authority and requires a licensed captain to operate it.

PS: As of this writing the ferry is still operating.

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September 16, 2006

A must read article from the Washington Post:

Valuation Gets Tough When Sales Slide
By Kenneth R. Harney
Saturday, September 16, 2006; Page F01

In cooling real estate markets, it's one of the hottest questions: How do you value a specific piece of property when local home sales are down 20 percent to 40 percent from last year, inventories of unsold homes have ballooned by 200 percent or more, and all the trend lines are pointing negative?

It gets harder and harder. Our advice to sellers: look around, objectively compare your property to similar homes on the market, make your home look and feel better than your competition, price it in the lower 10% of the competitive range and be willing to negotiate. If you can't make it the best home on the market at a value price, then make it a bargain.

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In the Post this morning:

Influx -- or Glut?
Despite Slump, New Agents Rushing In

By Kirstin Downey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 16, 2006; Page F01

In the face of a real estate slump that has left home sellers longing for the good old days, when homes sold within minutes of hitting the market, real estate agents are still flooding into the business.

So many agents...so few sales. Over 100,000 agents in the DC Metro area and over 120,000 in Maryland, DC and Virginia combined. In the past year, the number of agents increased by 4,000 in Virginia. This report has many of us scratching our heads. The easy money is over. Read my lips...O...V...E...R. The law of supply and demand seems to be out of whack. Or, these people don't read. Many of us are still expecting to see a decline.

This is not an easy business (except for getting licensed...now that's easy). Recent studies show it takes 3 to 5 years to build a business that can generate an average income of something less than $50,000 per year (that may seem like a lot unless you live in Loudoun County).

At a time when the industry is concerned about its image and is focused on raising the professionalism of its practitioners, revising the entrance requirements becomes an imperative. My advice to those that want to get into this business:

• have enough financial resource to carry you 2 to 3 years,
• get some basic business education (or have suitable business experience),
• be able to create a business plan,
• understand completely the concept of customer service,
• determine what sets you apart from the crowd (develop a unique value proposition),
• be willing to work into the wee hours of the night and on weekends (ie; be available when your clients are)
and
• find a broker that will help you develop your skills and learn the "real" business of real estate.

Finally, understand the definition of professional:

"applied to describe a person (or work of such a person) with the following attributes: service orientation, making expertise available to others, based on a distinctive body of knowledge and skills underpinned by abilities and values, autonomy in performing working within defined boundaries, public recognition of the authority of the practitioner by virtue of working to ethical standards and being accountable."

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September 11, 2006

...we will never forget.

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