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Brought to you by:
Christy FuentesLoan Officer
Citywide Mortgage
Phone: (405)514-6401
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| 15 and 30 Year Home Loan Rates |
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| Housing Is at Its Strongest in Years |
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| The 4 Hottest Mobile Search Trends |
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| Build a Better Facebook Strategy |
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| "Why Isn't My Home Selling?" |
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// Rate Update
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15 and 30 Year Home Loan Rates
Rates in the early-to-mid first quarter fell to near historic lows, prompting the highest refinance and purchase loan application volume in six years. Low rates continue to provide fantastic buying opportunities for the second quarter and upcoming homebuying season.
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// Market Watch
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Housing Is at Its Strongest in Years
 Housing in 2015 kicked off with a bang. In January, a sharp decline in home loan interest rates coupled with announcements for lower Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance premiums resulted in purchase and refinance volume at its highest in six years, according to a CNBC report.
Lower rates gave prospective homebuyers an easier time purchasing new homes. In February, purchase applications were 3 percent higher than the same time a year ago, with most of the gains coming from FHA financing, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
Of particular note is surging job growth among first-time homebuyers, who may cautiously make their way toward their first home purchases. Lower oil prices also positively influenced consumer confidence, which is a strong indicator for home sales.
Builders Optimistic for Spring
According to a CoreLogic economic outlook report, job growth and consumer confidence in the last three months has also resulted in robust demand for new home construction and sales. Bad weather was blamed for fewer housing starts in February, but numbers show that construction is still at its highest in nine years, as reported by CNBC.
Prices and Loan Sizes Are Higher
For home loan applications in mid-March, the average purchase loan size increased to its highest level ever recorded at $294,900, according to an MBA survey. In January, national home prices had increased 5.7 percent from the same time one year ago, which marked 35 months of consecutive year-over-year gains, according to the CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI).
As spring warms this expectedly busy housing season, rumors about the Fed's interest rate moves may dampen spirits. Get the spring housing wrap-up in July's issue of REALinsight.
Sources: CoreLogic, CNBC
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// Tech Corner
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The 4 Hottest Mobile Search Trends
 According to Google's most recent consumer survey, real estate related mobile searches grew 36 percent over the previous year. With this increase in mobile searches, here are the top four homebuyer search trends you need to know:
Real-estate-related search terms peak in July. Ensure you meet the demand with a mobile-ready website that features both lead-engine and lead-capture strategies (such as contact forms) and video marketing, when possible.
Millennials are set to make their entrance into the market. A staggering 50 percent of this demographic visited real estate websites last summer—36 percent of which came from a mobile device. Set up a Google alert to stay current on buying stats for this group and discover what appeals to this up-and-coming audience.
People rely on mobile devices through the entire buying process, not just the beginning.Mobile ads help capture leads, but mapping features, "click-to-call" and other mobile tools help add functionality, giving you more opportunities to connect, and your clients more reason to give you repeat business and referrals.
Buyers like videos. YouTube is the second largest search engine on the web. Real estate video views grew by 13 percent last year. Home improvement video searches from mobile devices grew by a whopping 69 percent. If you're camera shy, check out Powtoon or Rawshorts and DIY your own animated videos.
Sources: Google, RISMedia
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// Tip Sheet
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Build a Better Facebook Strategy
 Whether you want to make sure your Facebook strategy is on target, or you haven't yet taken the plunge, here are six tips to help get your name and listings in front of local clients on the largest social networking site.
Don't use your personal Facebook account to highlight your real estate services, use a Facebook Page. Pages are more professional, and there are essential business features you'll be able to access, such as ads, traffic stats and post scheduling features.
Post about your neighborhood and show off your passion for the area. You can talk about local events and culture, stuff for kids, new construction projects, or lifestyle ideas to make the lives of your fans and followers more enjoyable.
Always post an image no matter what. Images are more engaging, and are the most "liked" content—even more than video. The more your images are liked, shared or commented on, the more they will be viewed in your followers' News Feeds.
Contests and sweepstakes may have a learning curve, but are a great way to engage and develop relationships with your fans. Check out Facebook Help for details.
Use geo-targeted ads and promoted posts for highly targeted, no waste advertising. Make sure to offer something in your ad, like a free report or other giveaway. Check out Facebook Help to get started on advertising.
Post your listings but remember the 80/20 rule of social media—make sure 80 percent of your content is about lifestyle, customer interest or other updates, and only 20 percent about yourself or your product.
Source: Wishpond
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// The List
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"Why Isn't My Home Selling?"
 Selling a home is a stressful process, especially when a home doesn't sell as fast as the homeowner expected. If you've done all you can as an agent, it may be time to consider if the sellers themselves are sabotaging their chances at a sale. Here are the top four bad behaviors:
Lack of availability: If your sellers aren't making their home available on a consistent-enough basis, set a clearer schedule or even a minimum number of hours per week when buyers can take a look.
Trolling the showings: Some sellers insist on being present for showings, unaware of the annoyance to buyers and agents. Reassure sellers that everything the buyers should know about the house will be revealed in the reports and contract, and that it is often hard for buyers to imagine themselves living in a home while the current owners are present.
Ignoring advice: There may be a host of reasons for sellers not following your guidance, so try to get to the bottom of it with empathy, good listening and thoughtful answers. Reviewing the initial selling strategy together can help you detect where the trouble lies. But, ultimately, if you can't win them over it may be time to let them go.
Non-negotiating: Some sellers just won't negotiate a "win-win" by sweating the small stuff like minor repair requests or closing dates. If you see this pattern of inflexibility potentially preventing a sale, explain how negotiations can benefit buyers and sellers equally.
Source: Trulia
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