Category: Uncategorized

By Susanne Dwyer

While Help-U-Sell offers a modern approach to real estate, the company is certainly no newcomer to the business. Founded in 1976, Help-U-Sell leapt out of the gate with its set-fee, full-service business model, breaking the traditional mold from the onset. Now serving more than 100 offices in 26 states (and counting), the company has stepped up its value proposition with an in-house IT department that offers an all-in-one tech and marketing solution for affiliates. In this special interview, COO Robert “Robbie” Stevens and Chief Development Officer John Powell give us a look under the hood to find out how the Help-U-Sell engine runs, and why its approach to the real estate business has never been more relevant.

Maria Patterson: Help-U-Sell has been around a long time, and now has more than 100 offices serving 26 states. Why does your model still work in today’s market?
John Powell: The model is even more relevant today because of the way the real estate business has changed over the years. Today, technology has solved many of the problems buyers and sellers once had. In 1976 when Help-U-Sell was founded, buyers wanted a free flow of information, and that’s what we did for years. We’d give “information without obligation,” giving buyers addresses and phone numbers so they could drive by and look at properties. Today, that information is available whether brokers like it not. For years, brokers had a monopoly on information, but it’s not a secret anymore because of Zillow, Trulia, realtor.com®, etc. Technology has universally given the consumer the information that Help-U-Sell has been providing for a long time.

MP: What sets Help-U-Sell Real Estate apart in terms of technology?
Robbie Stevens: We created our own IT department eight years ago, which offers our brokers a big advantage. Our IT team only works with our offices, which creates a much better relationship between them. We know all of our offices’ online strategies and goals, and, therefore, service them more efficiently. If you hire a third-party tech firm, it’s hard to get a quick response time. Instead, we developed the tools needed to fit our business model. For example, we handle all the MLS data in-house, which allows us to service our brokers quickly and provide them with new listing data and market statistics. We have that information in real-time.

MP: You’ve opened several offices recently. Is your technology offering part of what’s fueling that growth?
JP: Yes, technology is a big part of it, but overall, most brokers join us because of the pressure of competition from other firms. In today’s environment, many brokers are discounting, which lowers their bottom-line profit. Brokers are getting squeezed tighter and are working harder. They need to be able to increase profitability. We, on the other hand, have a proven, 40-year system, which is built around our fee structure. Brokers save the consumer thousands of dollars, and become more profitable.

There are a lot of new business models unveiled every day—and these models are just that: new. They’re experimenting. We’re not experimenting. We’re …read more

From:: Real Estate News

By Susanne Dwyer

Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Rahim & Co International is in its 41st year of delivering real estate services to local clients and investors from around the world. Despite market challenges, including housing affordability, Director of Research Sulaiman Saheh is capitalizing on Malaysia’s many market opportunities. Find out more about the firm’s success in this interview with Saheh.

Real Estate magazine: Please tell us about your firm.
Sulaiman Saheh: Established in 1976, Rahim & Co has 18 offices throughout Malaysia, with its head office in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Celebrating 41 years of serving both local and international clients, our close to 400-strong workforce, including 27 registered sales professionals, provides expert real estate services throughout the whole of Peninsular Malaysia, East Malaysia/Borneo, international regions such as ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations, comprised of 10 countries in the region), the United Kingdom, China and Australia.

RE: Please describe your current housing market.
SS: The RM (Malaysian ringgit) 60-70 billion residential market (in terms of annual market transactions), consisting of approximately 200,000-250,000 units sold annually, represents two-thirds of the property market in Malaysia. The Malaysian residential market at present is going through a consolidation period after a bull run subsequent to the 2007/08 global financial crisis.

Transaction activities have since been showing a declining trend at around 7 percent per annum from the peak in 2012. Up to 2014, despite a slowing down in property sales, the total value of transactions was still climbing; however, in 2015, the value of residential transactions dropped for the first time since 2009, and the same was expected in 2016. Nevertheless, residential prices are still holding with even a marginal increase in average house prices across major urban centers.

The average house price in Malaysia is around the RM350,000 mark. Looking specifically into urban centers such as Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, an average terraced house is priced anywhere from RM620,000 to RM1,000,000. A prime condominium unit in Kuala Lumpur ranges between RM1.5 to 2.0 million.

The marketing period for a house is dependent on many factors, like market cycle, consumer sentiment and other macroeconomic factors, on top of the property’s location, design, quality and type. Generally, a good product in a healthy market would be sold within three to six months, but during tougher times, the same property can be on the market for more than 12 months.

RE: What are some of the challenges in your current market?
SS: One issue that is hotly debated today is housing affordability. During the boom period, especially between 2010 and 2013, housing prices soared at 11-13 percent per annum, and up to 18 percent in certain areas. Although the rate of increase has been more muted in recent years, homebuyers are disgruntled about how unaffordable houses are. This, coupled with the cooling measures imposed by the central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, such as tightening of loan eligibility criteria, the relaxation of the Real Property Gains Tax and abolishment of the Developer’s Interest Bearing Scheme, prevented many homebuyers from getting approved for loans. Government programs such …read more

From:: Real Estate News

By Susanne Dwyer

Mortgage rates on average clicked down this week, continuing steady at low levels, according to Freddie Mac’s recently released Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®). The 30-year, fixed mortgage rate was 3.90 percent, on average, while the 15-year, fixed rate was 3.17 percent, on average. The 5-year, Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable rate was 3.14 percent, on average.

“Following last week’s sharp decline, the 10-year Treasury yield rose three basis points this week,” says Sean Becketti, chief economist at Freddie Mac. “The 30-year mortgage rate remained relatively flat, falling one basis point to 3.90 percent. Mortgage rates are continuing to hold at year-to-date lows amidst ongoing economic uncertainty.”

Source: Freddie Mac

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

The post Mortgage Rates Click Down appeared first on RISMedia.

…read more

From:: Finance and Economy

By Susanne Dwyer

Mortgage rates on average clicked down this week, continuing steady at low levels, according to Freddie Mac’s recently released Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®). The 30-year, fixed mortgage rate was 3.90 percent, on average, while the 15-year, fixed rate was 3.17 percent, on average. The 5-year, Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable rate was 3.14 percent, on average.

“Following last week’s sharp decline, the 10-year Treasury yield rose three basis points this week,” says Sean Becketti, chief economist at Freddie Mac. “The 30-year mortgage rate remained relatively flat, falling one basis point to 3.90 percent. Mortgage rates are continuing to hold at year-to-date lows amidst ongoing economic uncertainty.”

Source: Freddie Mac

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

The post Mortgage Rates Click Down appeared first on RISMedia.

…read more

From:: Real Estate News

More than 20 of the housing industry’s largest trade groups are calling on Congress to enact legislation that would change the leadership structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from a single director to a bipartisan commission. The groups say that a bipartisan commission would help provide a “balanced” approach to financial regulation and supervision. …read more

From:: Real Estate Wire