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Realtors make more — 25 percent more in 2012, says NAR

Posted by Andrew Kantor
May 14 2013 - 10:08am

Congrats on the raise.

According to NAR’s 2013 Member Profile, Realtors are doing much better this year — earning 24.6 percent more in 2012 than they did in 2011. (That’s two years in a row that Realtor’s income rose.)

Essentially, fewer Realtors + more total sales = more money for each Realtor.

Here are some specifics to mull over:

In 2012…

Good news: DPOR updates its license transfer process

Posted by Andrew Kantor
May 9 2013 - 2:58pm

Earlier today, all Virginia brokers received the following notification:

NY to real estate agents: No, you can’t have that title

Posted by Andrew Kantor
May 8 2013 - 11:28am

No matter how many time you've run Shado-pan Monastery, you can't have this on your business card.The New York Department of State recently told real estate agents there that — independent contractors or not — you can’t give yourself some highfaluti

Fed-induced housing bubble? Flip a coin

Posted by Andrew Kantor
May 8 2013 - 11:01am

You may notice that we don’t run certain types of stories very often here. For example, "Experts predict…" pieces. Why not? Because expert predictions about economic matters are nonsense.

Jon Stewart on MERS

Posted by Andrew Kantor
May 8 2013 - 10:16am

It took a while, but Jon Stewart finally got around to doing a segment on the Mortgage Electronic Registration system.

Why the "R" is so much more than a logo

Posted by Andrew Kantor
May 7 2013 - 2:58pm

VAR launched two REALTOR® image commercials today.  The spots have received great feedback so far. We are testing them first in the Richmond market and hope to continue to air around the state in the near future.

One is focused on the REALTOR® pledge and the other on what a REALTOR® can do for the consumer, both resulting in the Realtor logo/brand being a promise.  So… look for the R…look for the REALTOR® promise.

Check them out (bet you’ll recognize some faces too) and let us know what you think!

Support YPN (it’s free) and score a free Wellcome Mat account (it usually isn’t)

Posted by Andrew Kantor
May 2 2013 - 10:56am

If you sign up to support a Virginia branch of the Young Professionals Network by Wednesday, May 8, you’ll get a free account with the real estate-focused Wellcome Mat video-sharing site.

That’s it: Say you support YPN just by filling out a quick form (kinda like a petition), and get a free account with a very cool service.

First, what’s YPN?

Don’t be fooled by the name. The “Young Professionals Network” might be more aptly called the “New Realtors Network.” It was launched by NAR in 2006 as a way to give new Realtors “the opportunity to connect with each other and build a stronger link to the industry.”

Essentially, its goal is to get new Realtors and pros to work together, and help get those new folks involved with the profession a few baby steps at a time.

Study finds discrimination across Virginia

Posted by Andrew Kantor
May 1 2013 - 10:39am

Despite the law, Latinos are still receiving “adverse treatment” across Virginia — that’s the result of an investigation across Virginia by the Equal Rights Center and the law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath.

Essentially, they conducted “matched-pair” test inquiring about rental properties. That means they sent ‘equivalent’ whites and Latinos to ask about the same properties — ages, martial status, income, etc., were the same.

“In 55 percent of tests,” the report found, “the Latino tester received adverse, differential treatment as compared to the white tester, in at least one respect.”

Home ownership at lowest rate in 18 years

Posted by Andrew Kantor
May 1 2013 - 9:17am

Nothing more to say — this is all over the news. A new report from the Census Bureau found that home ownership in the U.S. dropped to its lowest level since mid-1995, as more people rent rather than buy.

Quoth Bloomberg:

Bill would remove roadblock for mobile-home loans

Posted by Andrew Kantor
Apr 29 2013 - 4:30pm

A bill being introduced in Congress by Reps. Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Stephen Fincher (R-TN), and Gary Miller (R-CA) is trying to fix what the legislators feel is an unintended consequence of new rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that cover "predatory" or "high-cost" loans.

Here’s the deal: Mobile or manufactured homes typically cost a lot less than a typical suburban property. Basic math means that the cost of originating and servicing loans for those properties might be the same in terms of dollars, but are much higher, percentage-wise, in a small loan.