Before you read Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith, read the review that appears in The Residential Specialist.

The latest issue of The Residential Specialist looks at what's ahead for local housing markets in 2010. Read about it in "Mixed Reviews."

The March 2010 issue of Your Home is now available. Customize it and send it to clients or post to your Web site.

The 2010 Media Kit and Editorial Calendar for The Residential Specialist magazine is now available.

U.S. Foreclosure Activity Drops in February
POSTED ON: Thu, Mar 11, 2010
Foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — fell 2 percent in February from the previous month, but were 6 percent higher than a year ago, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosure properties. Foreclosure activity was reported on 308,524 U.S. properties during the month, representing one in every 418 housing units.



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Home Price Reductions Fall to All-Time Low
POSTED ON: Tue, Mar 9, 2010
About one in five residential property listings (19 percent) on the market as of March 1 had at least one price reduction, down from 21 percent at the beginning of February, according to Trulia’s March 2010 Price Reduction Report.


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REALTORS® Prefer Blackberry
POSTED ON: Mon, Mar 8, 2010
Two out of five real estate professionals who use a smartphone to conduct business use a Blackberry (41.2 percent), while 26.0 percent use an iPhone and 14.0 percent choose a Palm, according to the 2010 Smartphone Survey by Center for REALTOR® Technology.

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HAMP Not Working: Survey
POSTED ON: Fri, Mar 5, 2010
A majority of real estate professionals believe the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which was put in place last spring, has done little to help homeowners at risk of foreclosure. According to the latest Homes and Land Market Pulse Survey, only 10 percent of agents believe the program has helped reduce the rate of foreclosures in their local market.

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Pending Home Sales Decline
POSTED ON: Thu, Mar 4, 2010
Pending home sales fell 7.6 percent in January from the previous month, NAR announced this morning. The Pending Home Sales Index, which is a forward-looking indicator based on home purchase contracts signed, was 12.3 percent higher than it was a year ago.



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Freddie Mac’s Home Price Index Fell in 2009
POSTED ON: Wed, Mar 3, 2010
Freddie Mac’s Conventional Mortgage Home Price Index fell 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 from the previous year, and it was down 1.4 percent from the third quarter.

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Americans Support Government Housing Initiatives
POSTED ON: Mon, Mar 1, 2010
Many Americans believe the federal government should continue to provide housing initiatives to support home buyers, according to a survey by the National Association of Home Builders. More than two-thirds (68 percent) say they believe the government should continue to support housing, and 65 percent believe the government should do more to help families who are at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure. More women than men (71 percent vs. 58 percent) believe that the government needs to do more to help strapped borrowers. A majority of young adults under age 30 (78 percent) and 69 percent of those between 30 and 44 also support more foreclosure protection for homeowners.

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Existing-Home Sales Fall, Prices Remain Unchanged
POSTED ON: Fri, Feb 26, 2010
Sales of existing homes dropped 7.2 percent in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.05 million units from 5.44 million in December, but they were 11.5 percent higher than the 4.53 million homes sold a year ago, NAR reported this morning. This follows a drop of 16.7 percent in existing home sales in December.



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More Homes Accommodate Multiple Generations
POSTED ON: Fri, Feb 26, 2010
Interest in multi-generational homes may be on the rise. A new Coldwell Banker survey finds that 37 percent of home sales professionals surveyed noted an increase in the last 12 months in the number of homebuyers looking to purchase homes that accommodate more than one generation of their family. Almost 70 percent say they believe economic conditions have caused the increased demand in multi-generational homes. Nearly four out of 10 (39 percent) surveyed said concerns about finances prompted home buyers to move in with other generations of their family, followed by health care issues (29 percent) and a strong family bond (6 percent).

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Home Price Index Forecasts Declines
POSTED ON: Thu, Feb 25, 2010
U.S. home prices, including distressed sales, declined 3.7 percent in December 2009 from the previous year, according to First American Core Logic’s Loan Performance Home Price Index (HPI). This is an improvement over November’s year-over-year price decline of 5.3 percent. On a month-over-month basis, home prices declined 1.0 percent in December 2009.

The index forecasts that home prices will continue to fall an average of 4.4 percent through April 2010 as high levels of unemployment, housing inventory and foreclosures put downward pressure on home prices. The HPI, including distressed sales, is expected to rise 2.7 percent over the next 12 months.

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