Color Your Way to Marketing Success

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Erin Johnston

Daily Real Estate News | Friday, February 12, 2016

If you’re looking to freshen up your marketing materials this year, make sure you know how colors can impact consumer perception of your real estate brand. TruConversion, a conversion rate optimization platform, recently looked at how consumers can be swayed by brands using certain colors in their product and marketing efforts. The main takeaway? Ninety percent of consumers judge branding based on color.

Colors that work.

Eighty-five percent of consumers say color is the primary reason why they buy a product, and certain colors can help consumers get a quick read on what your company stands for. If your company is targeting male buyers, black, blue, and green will appeal to them the most, according to the study. Female buyers are attracted to blue, pink, and green.

Businesses trying to attract traditional buyers should use pink, rose, and sky blue, while businesses wanting to reach consumers on a budget should use navy blue and teal in their marketing and product design.

How consumers perceive certain colors.

  • Red: Enthusiasm, passion, vigor.
  • Purple: Royalty, exclusivity, spirituality.
  • Blue: Trust, power, tranquility.
  • Green: Growth, balance, hopefulness.
  • Yellow: Joy, friendliness, optimism.
  • Orange: Fun, refreshing, positivity.

Branding best practices.

When it comes to brand color, less is definitely better than more. In fact, the study found that 95 percent of the world’s top 100 brands use only one or two colors in their logo design. Red and blue were the most common color choices for many top brands.

On the other hand, incorporating certain colors can give potential clients a negative impression of your company. The study found that in many instances black, light blue, brown, grey, and light pink have negative connotations for many consumers, and brands should try to avoid using them.

Source: “Infographic: How Colors Influence Consumers,” Contently (Feb. 3, 2016)

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Save Money on Car Insurance: Own a Home

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Erin Johnston

Daily Real Estate News | Wednesday, February 10, 2016

A new study finds that auto insurance is higher for renters than home owners. A study by the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America finds that major auto insurance companies charge good drivers up to 47 percent more for basic liability auto insurance if they don’t own a home.

Premiums averaged 7 percent higher — about $112 more per year — for drivers who are renters than home owners, the CFA found.

The study found that Liberty Mutual had the highest disparities, with premium hikes averaging $307 more per year (19 percent higher) for state-mandated auto insurance coverage.

The CFA argues that the use of home ownership status by auto insurance companies burdens low- and moderate-income good drivers.

“To raise people’s auto insurance premium because they can’t afford to buy their homes unfairly discriminates against lower-income drivers,” says J. Robert Hunter, the CFA’s insurance director and the former insurance commissioner of Texas. “A good driver is a good driver whether he or she rents or owns a home. Insurance companies should not be allowed to target people based on home ownership status.”

The CFA’s study analyzed rates for minimum limits in liability coverage in 10 cities from the nation’s largest insurance companies, including State Farm, Nationwide, Geico, Allstate, Progressive, Farmers, and Liberty Mutual.

Researchers found differences among the cities examined. For example, in Louisville, renters were charged 47 percent, or an additional $768, more than home owners for a basic auto insurance policy by Farmers Insurance, and in Newark, renters were charged 26 percent more by Liberty Mutual. On the other hand, in Oakland, Calif., all companies charged the same premium to good drivers, whether they were renters or home owners. That is because California has consumer protection laws that prevent auto insurance companies from weighing a person’s home ownership status or other socioeconomic factors when setting premiums. Instead, the driving safety record, annual mileage, and years of driving experience must be factored in.

“Virtually every state requires drivers to buy insurance, but we shouldn’t force them to buy a home in order to get the best price,” says Douglas Heller, a consumer advocate who worked with the CFA to analyze the study’s data.

 

Source: Consumer Federation of America

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Boost Curb Appeal with $100 in 4 Easy Steps

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Erin Johnston

Daily Real Estate News | Monday, February 08, 2016

Does your listing need a more inviting first impression from the outside? Stager Cora Sue Anthony with Antony Staging in Oakland, Calif., says you don’t have to break the bank to get an instant lift to a home’s curb appeal. In fact, in a short video she highlights how spending just $106 on some paint and a new light fixture could instantly amp up a home’s curb appeal.

Here are four steps that can entice buyers:

1. Paint the front door. Try out a bold color – such as red – to get buyers’ attention focused on the door.

2. Paint the mailbox. Try either red or black. Anthony says since she painted the home’s door red in the video example, she painted the mailbox the opposite color – black.

3. Paint the railings. Use black to add depth.

4. Change out the light fixture. Make sure the new light fixture matches the aesthetics of the home’s exterior, but this can dress up the outside while also brightening the space.

Need more help for sprucing up your listing’s exterior? Check out these helpful hints:

Source: “How to Get Curb Appeal on a Budget,” realtor.com® (Feb. 5, 2016)

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Fewer Buyers Are Bringing All-Cash to Close

Posted on February 5, 2016 by Erin Johnston

Daily Real Estate News | Friday, February 05, 2016

One in three buyers paid all-cash to close on their real estate transactions near the end of 2015, according to new data from CoreLogic. The share of all-cash transactions dropped to 33.9 percent in October year-over-year – way down from the 46.6 percent peak reached in January 2011.

The number of all-cash transactions dropped to 33.9 percent year-over-year in October. Still, historically on a pre-crisis average, cash sales tend to make up about 25 percent of the market. CoreLogic estimates that cash sales will return to that level by mid-2018.

Sharp declines in REO sales is the main reason cash sales are steadily dropping, CoreLogic notes. REO sales comprised 7.3 percent of all residential home sales in October 2015, a third of the peak in January 2011 at 23.9 percent.

“Foreclosure completions have fallen substantially over the past few years across the nation,” says Frank Nothaft CoreLogic’s chief economist. “This has led to a drop in REO sales. Roughly one-half of REO homes are bought for all cash. Thus, the drop in REO has been an important reason for the national decline in the cash share of all sales.”

The following states continue to see cash sales remain higher than 40 percent in October:

  1. Alabama: 51.7%
  2. Florida: 46.7%
  3. New York: 46.3%
  4. West Virginia: 44.4%
  5. Indiana: 40.8%

Source: “What’s Driving Down the Cash Sales Share?” DSNews (Feb. 4, 2016) “Copyright NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Reprinted with permission”

 

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First-Floor Master Suites: In or Out?

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Erin Johnston

Daily Real Estate News | Tuesday, February 02, 2016

As baby boomers reach retirement age, accessibility has become a popular buzzword in home design. As such, master suites on the main floor are a growing trend in new-home construction. BUILDER online recently took a look at whether that trend will stick around.

Laura Segers, vice president of sales operations at Frank Betz Associates, believes the main floor master suite has some staying power. Frank Betz Associates’ data of its top 100 floorplans shows a slight increase in the number of two-story designs with the master suite upstairs from 2013 to 2014 (14 percent vs. 15 percent, respectively) but its number of one-story floorplans rose by two percentage points. The majority of its best-selling floorplans feature accessible master suites that have no steps to enter, Segers says.

“I seem to remember this type of design appearing in the mid to late 1980’s and it has been continually growing in popularity ever since,” Russell “Rusty” Moody, president of Frank Betz Associates, told BUILDER Online. “Our in-house sales statistics prove the trend is real and here to stay- of the current top 20 best-selling designs at Frank Betz Associates, Inc. [from the last two years] 17 are one story or master-on the-main plans.”

Moody’s Analytics also suggests this design trend has staying power, given the aging population needs for accessibility; home owners’ greater desires for privacy; multigenerational demand; and demand from the second home/resort home market that tend to prefer main-level master bedrooms so they do not need to heat or cool the upper levels until guests arrive.

Source: “Trend Check: How Popular Are Main-Level Master Suites?” BUILDER Online (2015)

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4 Must-Know Tips for Buying, Selling in 2016

Posted on January 29, 2016 by Erin Johnston

Daily Real Estate News | Friday, January 15, 2016

What do buyers and sellers need to know to be smart about the housing market in 2016?

“The 2016 housing market is forecasted to be mainly a seller’s market, filled with increasing home prices, relatively low inventory and fierce competition between buyers,” says Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for realtor.com®. “Buyers looking to close this year need to keep an open mind and be prepared to move quickly when they find a home that meets their needs. For sellers, it’s about understanding the ins and outs of their local market so they can optimize the price of their home and close quickly.

Realtor.com® just released “Top Tips for Home Buyers and Sellers in 2016” to help guide house-hunters and home sellers on what’s most important for buying and selling a home this year. Here’s what they had to say.

Top Tips for Buyers in 2016

1. Don’t wait. More than 85 percent of buyers who say they plan to buy a home in the next year say they will wait until the spring or summer of 2016, shows a recent realtor.com® survey. But buyers who start their hunt early will likely face less competition and have just as many homes for-sale to consider.

2. Shop around for a mortgage. Buyers shouldn’t take the first rate-quote they receive and should talk to more than one lender. A lower interest rate could equate to thousands in savings over the life of the loan. Mortgage rates are largely expected to rise over this year. Realtor.com® is predicting mortgage rates to reach 4.65 percent by the end of this year (they’re currently just under 4 percent).

3. Don’t discount buying new. New-home construction is expected to surge this year, with an expected 16 percent increase in new home sales year-over-year. Buying new most likely means less competition and a wider selection of homes. But a caveat: New-homes typically cost more. Realtor.com® predicts the following markets will dominate with new-home sales this year: Boise City, Idaho; Charleston-North Charleston, S.C.; Salt Lake City; Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn.; and Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, S.C.-N.C.

4. Buy in the Midwest or South. The Midwest and South will likely offer the most affordable options for home purchasers in 2016. Realtor.com® singles out the following markets as offering buyers high affordability, rising inventory, and some of the most favorable lending standards: Dayton, Ohio; Birmingham-Hoover, Ala.; Harrisburg-Carlisle, Penn.;Augusta-Richmond County, Ga.-S.C.; and Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa.

Top Tips for Sellers in 2016

1. List during prime-buying season. Realtor.com®’s data shows that the prime home buying season usually begins in April and reaches a peak in June. “Sellers who list their home during the prime spring and summer months benefit from a larger population of buyers and potential bidding wars, which often result in higher prices and faster closings,” according to realtor.com®’s report.

2. Price to sell. Home prices nationwide are expected to rise 3 percent year-over-year, with a few markets like Stockton, Calif., and Las Vegas expected to see a whopping 10 percent increase this year alone. Home sellers would be wise to take their local REALTOR®’s advice to price their home adequately for the market and based on comparables.

3. Consider an incentive. Is there something extra a seller could throw in to entice buyers? Sellers who are open to negotiate beyond just price may find more success in hooking a buyer. Thirty-seven percent of all sellers offered some type of an incentive last year.

4. Sell in California. The Golden State is being singled out as having the most markets that will likely tilt in sellers’ favor this year. Job growth, rising home prices, and limited inventories are boosting housing markets in the state, most notably in Stockton-Lodi; Bakersfield, Calif.; Fresno, Calif.; and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif., according to realtor.com®.

Source: Move Inc.

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The Power of Pets

Posted on January 27, 2016 by Erin Johnston

January 2016 | By Melissa Dittmann Tracey

The real estate business traditionally has shown scant love for pets. The conventional wisdom held that sellers should conceal all traces of their dogs or cats—the toys, bowls, beds, even the animals themselves—when prepping a home for sale. But those hardline messages are clearly softening, as pets become a plus in the marketing of homes for sale.The reason for the shift has a lot to do with the numbers: Pet power is rising. Currently 65 percent of households own a pet, up from 56 percent in 1988. A record-breaking 79 million U.S. households now own a pet, according to a recent survey of pet owners by the American Pet Products Association. Indeed, 83 percent of pet owners consider their pet to be a member of the family, according to a Packaged Facts research report.

For real estate practitioners, addressing that pet love means helping buyers scout for homes that meet the needs of their pets or working with sellers to leverage their home’s pet appeal.

In fact, pet-friendly agents have found one another—and consumers—on a growing national social platform called the Pet Realty Network. The network, launched in 1997, now boasts about 300 members who pay $30 annually to be included in the directory and can add to its pet-friendly listings.

“I think the days of hiding your pet are over,” says Rhona Sutter, sales associate with Downing Frye Realty Inc. in Naples, Fla., and founder of the network. “You may not want the boisterous Labrador running to the door to greet a home buyer, but quite honestly, a home that is pet-friendly is an advantage for a house nowadays.”

The pet advantage is notable at every price point. For a $5 million listing in 2013, the Boutique Real Estate Group in Corona Del Mar, Calif., produced a video showing off a luxury 6,300-square-foot, six-bedroom home all from the perspective of a French bulldog named Rocco. The bulldog even wore a custom-made suede collar in the video, inscribed with the property’s URL, 49GoldenEagle.com. Raj Qsar, owner of The Boutique Real Estate Group, says the idea to star Rocco in the video, which came about after the dog took a liking to his team as they toured the space, helped him secure the listing. “They loved the idea,” he says.

Joining the pet craze, home builders are touting pet-accommodating floor plans, such as those with pet nooks in mudrooms. Also, luxury condo buildings are marketing amenities to pet-loving households, offering rooftop pet parks and spas (complete with “pawdicures”), dogbone-shaped swimming pools, pet fitness yoga classes and treadmill sessions, and even “yappy hours” social mixers.

Coldwell Banker last year launched a national campaign called “home’s best friend,” teaming up with AdoptAPet.com. Its brokerages partnered with shelters and rescue groups to hold events nationwide in an effort to find homes for 20,000 adoptable dogs.

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The Proper Home Seller Etiquette

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Erin Johnston
Daily Real Estate News | Tuesday, January 26, 2016

What unwritten etiquette rules should home sellers follow to show their home to potential buyers? Realtor.com® recently highlighted a few of these must-follow etiquette tips that you’ll want to share with your clients.

Don’t stay for showings. Home owners who lurk during an open house or showing can unnerve buyers. “Buyers don’t feel as comfortable when the owner is at the home watching their every move,” says Nicholas Kensington, a real estate professional with Scottsdale Real Estate. “Get out of their way so that they can start to picture themselves living there instead of being spied on.”

Keep your car out of the way. “Make it easy for visitors to park and view the home,” Kensington notes. “No one likes parking issues. Having them is a sure way to get a viewing off to a bad start.”

Take the pets with you when you go. Not everyone likes pets. What’s more, some home buyers will have allergies and your pet could make them sick. “Imagine, as a buyer, having the background music set to ‘barking dog’ while you are trying to take in the home’s nuances that you, as the seller, have worked so hard to hone,” says Brenda Hayward, a real estate professional with Coldwell Banker.

Keep out important documents. “Leaving necessary documents in an easy-to-find spot isn’t just good for selling, it’s also good selling etiquette,” says Kensington. “Put out the home inspection report, appraisal, home warranty, monthly bill information — gas, oil, electric — and proof of any major repairs are all good things to let people look through when they are considering buying your home.”

Have some refreshments available. “Putting out a few small bottled waters in a small bowl of ice is always appreciated, along with some light, easy grab-and-go sort of refreshments like mints or cookies,” says Cara Ameer, a real estate professional with Coldwell Banker.

Don’t be stubborn. Sellers who are unwilling to negotiate will likely see their home linger on the market. “Focusing on your bottom line is always important, but greed can lead to disaster,” Josh Myler, a real estate professional with The Agency, told realtor.com®. “Remember a little of something is better than a lot of nothing. Generosity will lead you to your promised land.”

See the full list of tips at realtor.com®.

Source: “8 Unwritten Etiquette Rules Every Home Seller Should Know,” realtor.com® (Jan. 25, 2016)

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Market Unrest Pushes Down Mortgage Rates

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Erin Johnston

Daily Real Estate News | Friday, January 22, 2016

For the third consecutive week, mortgage rates edged down, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage continuing its run below 4 percent, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey.

“The Freddie Mac mortgage rate survey had difficulty keeping up with market events this week,” says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The 30-year mortgage rate dropped 11 basis points to 3.81 percent, the lowest rate in three months. This drop reflected weak inflation and nonstop financial market turbulence that is driving investors to the safe haven of Treasuries. However, the survey was largely complete prior to Wednesday’s Treasury rally that drove the yield on the 10-year Treasury below 2 percent, down 29 basis points since the end of 2015.”

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Jan. 21:

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.81 percent, with an average 0.6 point, dropping from last week’s 3.92 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.63 percent.
  • 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.10 percent, with an average 0.5 point, falling from last week’s 3.19 percent average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 2.93 percent.
  • 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.91 percent, with an average 0.5 point, dropping from last week’s 3.01 percent average. Last year at this time, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.83 percent.

Source: Freddie Mac

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