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HomeServices of America Acquires The Long & Foster Companies

By Susanne Dwyer

HomeServices of America, Inc. has acquired The Long & Foster Companies, adding the firm’s 11,000 agents and 230 offices primarily in the Mid-Atlantic, the company recently announced. The acquisition includes Long & Foster Real Estate and its affiliates Long & Foster Insurance, Long & Foster Property Management, Long & Foster Settlement Services and Prosperity Mortgage. The regional leader, which ranked No. 3 in RISMedia’s 2017 Power Broker Report for sales, closed $28.9 million in sales volume last year.

Long & Foster Co-Founder Wes Foster will remain on board as Chairman Emeritus, while President and CEO Jeff Detwiler will serve as CEO.

“Finding the right partner to maintain the legacy, culture, and integrity of Long & Foster was of utmost importance to me,” says Foster, who co-founded the company with Henry Long. “I couldn’t be more pleased that we are joining an organization known for its impeccable reputation and commitment to protecting brands. Joining HomeServices ensures that our history of market leadership and industry expertise continues.”

“The Long & Foster brand and its legacy of integrity and service will continue as it has for the past 50 years,” says Detwiler, who will continue managing the day-to-day operations of the company, as well as oversee growth initiatives. “Joining HomeServices makes us an even stronger company. HomeServices is an outstanding organization that shares our commitment to delivering exceptional customer service. This is a clear win for our clients, agents and employees.”

“This is an important transaction for HomeServices and we are incredibly proud to have The Long & Foster Companies join the HomeServices family,” says Ron Peltier, chairman and CEO of HomeServices. “Wes, together with his executive team, regional leaders, sales managers, and agents, has built an extraordinary organization that exemplifies an exceptional level of expertise, vision, and leadership. We are honored to be part of Long & Foster’s future and are committed to its continued growth and success.”

“This is a fantastic fit for Long & Foster, which will continue on in the great tradition its founder, Wes Foster, created,” says John Featherston, president, CEO and publisher of RISMedia. “Another strategic, strong move by HomeServices to bring on a highly-regarded, innovative, well-run organization.”

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition expands HomeServices’ footprint to more than 41,000 real estate professionals in 30 states and the District of Columbia. Long & Foster, headquartered in Chantilly, Va., serves Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey.

For more information, please visit HomeServices.com.

For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

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From:: Real Estate News

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Making a Year-Round Commitment to REALTOR® Safety

By Susanne Dwyer

Each September, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) observes REALTOR® Safety Month. This is an excellent opportunity for all REALTORS® to reflect on the importance of staying safe on the job, while embracing a commitment to follow good safety practices throughout the year. Sadly, incidents involving the personal safety of real estate professionals continue to occur every day.

As a broker, you’re in a unique position to provide safety leadership for your agents—a role that can make a notable difference in the knowledge, awareness, and ultimately, the safety of every person in your office, as well as your clients. NAR has a number of resources to simplify and support your efforts.

Several of NAR’s newest and most popular safety tools include:

REALTOR® Safety Webinars – Each April and September, NAR hosts a free webinar for members. This September, in conjunction with REALTOR® Safety Month, the commitment to spread the word on safety has been expanded to include two programs with safety experts exploring timely topics:

Safety: Do This Now
Presented by: Andy Tolbert
When: Wednesday, September 20 at 1:00 p.m. CST

Stay Safe by Building Better Business Relationships
Presented by: Tamara Suminski
When: Wednesday, September 27 at 1:00 p.m. CST

These important topics are in addition to nearly 20 other safety webinars archived online, covering a wide variety of issues related to data security and cyber safety; open houses, foreclosures, vacant homes; and personal safety. Visit www.NAR.realtor/Safety/Webinars.

2017 Member Safety Report – Each year, NAR surveys members on professional or work-related situations that prompted fear, their use of self-defense weapons and safety apps, and proactive safety procedures in their brokerage. The goal of the report is to measure and understand the safety risks REALTORS® might face, while helping brokerages benchmark their efforts and identify resources, as well as areas for improvement in their safety protocols. To view the latest survey findings, visit www.NAR.realtor/Safety.

NEW! NAR Safety Reimbursement Grant Program – Introduced this year, the grants provide funding assistance, up to $2,500, to state and local REALTOR® Associations to help implement a Safety Program or initiative for their members, and to encourage ongoing awareness of REALTOR® Safety.

Although grant recipients for 2017 have been selected, the 2018 grant application process will open in the first quarter of 2018. Make sure your state and local associations are aware of the program and apply next year. Visit www.NAR.realtor/Safety/Grant.

Social Media Safety Tips – Each week, NAR’s official Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages post a new safety tip in the form of a shareable visual graphic. Follow NAR (@nardotrealtor), or search for #RealtorSafety, to capture and share these tips for your agents.

Does Your Office Have a Safety Plan?

According to NAR’s 2016 Member Safety Report, less than half of NAR members said their office has standard procedures for agent safety, and another 28 percent responded, “I don’t know.” If your office hasn’t instituted safety procedures, start now. Even if you do have procedures in place, now is the time to make sure everyone is informed and following them. The time to prepare is …read more

From:: Real Estate News

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Riding the Wave of Momentum

By Susanne Dwyer

Barbara_Dunkle

In the following interview, Barbara Dunkle, REALTOR® with Seacoast Real Estate in Portsmouth, N.H., discusses Homes & Land, marketing, technology and more.

Regions Served: Rye, New Castle, Portsmouth and North Hampton, N.H.
Years in Real Estate: 25
Best Tip for Finding Success in the Luxury Market: Be patient and listen to what the client’s needs are.

What do you like most about working in the real estate industry?
What I enjoy most is the fact that every transaction is different. Not only that, but it’s an exciting profession to be involved with because you don’t know what you’re going to get into next.

Please describe some of the trends you’re currently seeing in your market.
Our market is very active right now, especially in the high-end. That being said, it was slow before, and we don’t know how long this momentum will last.

What are your best strategies for keeping Seacoast Real Estate top of mind with former clients?
Staying top of mind with former clients is all about keeping them informed as to what’s currently on the market. We do this through both email and social media. As far as our social media strategy, we have hired someone who is responsible for searching the internet for interesting content that’s newsworthy as far as what the market is doing.

In what ways do you use technology to better serve your clients?
It’s critical that I have my iPhone with me 24/7 because people expect an instant response today. Communicating with clients who don’t necessarily use the technology we prefer is a bit more challenging, but at any given time, most of the clients I’m working with prefer to communicate via the same channels we do.

You utilize Homes & Land as part of an integrated marketing strategy that includes print publications. How does that benefit you?
Homes & Land is the best listing tool. In fact, it used to be called the bible of real estate advertising, and some still refer to it as such. Not only does it provide a decent way to represent a property, but our clients are impressed with the publication, and expect to be in it.

For more information, please visit www.homesandland.com/benefits.

Paige Tepping is RISMedia’s managing editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at paige@rismedia.com.

For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

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Time to Close for Millennials Swings From State to State

By Susanne Dwyer

The average time it took millennial mortgage borrowers to close a loan was 44 days in July, but swung from state to state, according to Ellie Mae®’s recently released Millennial Tracker™, a measure of millennial mortgage applications. Closing a purchase loan took 42 days, while closing a refinance loan took 46 days.

Time to close varied by state, with borrowers in California looking at a 37-day window and borrowers in New York looking at a 60-day window.

“Between the competitive housing market with limited inventory and the 30-year note rate at a 2017 low, some millennial homeowners may be deciding to stay put and take advantage of the opportunity to refinance,” said Joe Tyrrell, executive vice president of Corporate Strategy for Ellie Mae, in a statement. “With many more millennials interested in becoming homeowners for the first time, however, the purchase market is still very strong.”

The average time it took for millennial borrowers to close an FHA loan—one of the more popular types of loans for millennials—was 44 days, up by one day from June, according to the Tracker. The average time it took to close a VA loan was 50 days, up by five days from June.

Millennial borrowers’ average FICO score rose in July, to 724 from 723 in June.

Source: Ellie Mae

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From:: Finance and Economy

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Time to Close for Millennials Swings From State to State

By Susanne Dwyer

The average time it took millennial mortgage borrowers to close a loan was 44 days in July, but swung from state to state, according to Ellie Mae®’s recently released Millennial Tracker™, a measure of millennial mortgage applications. Closing a purchase loan took 42 days, while closing a refinance loan took 46 days.

Time to close varied by state, with borrowers in California looking at a 37-day window and borrowers in New York looking at a 60-day window.

“Between the competitive housing market with limited inventory and the 30-year note rate at a 2017 low, some millennial homeowners may be deciding to stay put and take advantage of the opportunity to refinance,” said Joe Tyrrell, executive vice president of Corporate Strategy for Ellie Mae, in a statement. “With many more millennials interested in becoming homeowners for the first time, however, the purchase market is still very strong.”

The average time it took for millennial borrowers to close an FHA loan—one of the more popular types of loans for millennials—was 44 days, up by one day from June, according to the Tracker. The average time it took to close a VA loan was 50 days, up by five days from June.

Millennial borrowers’ average FICO score rose in July, to 724 from 723 in June.

Source: Ellie Mae

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From:: Real Estate News

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The Best States for Single Parents

By Susanne Dwyer

Parents raising children solo have unique needs. A recent study by GOBankingRates identifies the states with the most favorable conditions for meeting those needs, including an ideal median income:

  1. New Jersey
    Median Household Income: $72,093
    State Support: Expanded Medicaid, earned-income tax credit and paid family leave program
  1. Rhode Island
    Median Household Income: $56,852
    State Support: Expanded Medicaid, earned-income tax credit and paid family leave program
  1. Michigan
    State Support: Expanded Medicaid and earned-income tax credit
    Bonus: The average grocery cost and home list price in Michigan are among the lowest in the nation.
  1. Washington
    State Support: Expanded Medicaid, earned-income tax credit and paid family leave program (effective 2019)
    Bonus: There is no state income tax in Washington.
  1. Illinois
    State Support: Expanded Medicaid and earned-income tax credit
    Bonus: Illinois has the fourth-lowest employee contribution amount for employer-sponsored family health coverage.

Source: GOBankingRates

For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

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From:: Real Estate News

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AstraZeneca shares tick higher on lung cancer drug study results

U.S. shares of AstraZeneca PLC rose in the extended session Friday after the drug maker released promising results from a lung cancer drug study. AstraZeneca American depositary receipts rose 2% to $32.90 after hours. The company said a late-stage clinical trial of its drug Tagrisso improved progression-free survival rates in certain lung cancer patients to a median 18.9 months compared with the 10.2 months seen in patients given standard of care treatment.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

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Data center company Switch plans IPO

Switch Inc. , a Las Vegas-based data-center company, filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday afternoon for an initial public offering. Switch owns large data centers in Las Vegas as well as Reno, Nevada, and in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is developing a new facility in Atlanta. Revenue grew nearly 20% from 2015 to 2016, to $318.4 million, according to the filing, though profits fell more than 50%, from $73.5 million to $31.4 million. Revenue in the first half of 2017 grew about 17% from the same period in 2016, to $181.3 million. The company will use the proceeds to buy out investors in Switch Ltd. and take control of that company though Switch Inc., which was just incorporated in 2017. A multi-class share structure will allow founder and Chief Executive Rob Roy to maintain control, as his shares will have 10 times the voting rights of common shares. Switch plans to list its stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWCH.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

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Liberty Tax names Ed Brunot its CEO

Liberty Tax Inc. , the parent company of Liberty Tax Service, said late Friday Ed Brunot has been appointed the company’s chief executive. “I was brought on to make organizational and policy changes to drive culture, performance and efficiencies, and I look forward to working with the Board of Directors and our executive team to roll out a plan to leverage the many opportunities that exist for our company,” Brunot said in a statement. Liberty shares were flat in the late session after ending the regular trading day down 0.2%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News