Edina Realty to stop (some) Real Estate Listing Syndications

Posted on November 18, 2011 by

Finally….one of the big players in the Minneapolis / St. Paul Metro Market has seen the light and will stop sending their listings to the likes of Trulia and Realtor.com.

We have always felt that the third party aggregators, such as Trulia, Zillow, and Realtor.com did more damage to the consumer than good. To an untrained eye, these aggregators appear to offer more information. Often times, that information is outdated or downright wrong. But as a small broker, our protests against syndication have fallen on deaf ears. Who cares if the Syndicators have a few dozen less listings per year? We needed to keep syndicating only because the big guys, like Edina Realty, Coldwell Banker Burnet, and ReMax Results would ridicule our efforts and use our policy against us in the competitive residential real estate arena.

But the change in Policy of Edina Realty will make a significant dent in the armor of third party aggregators. Since Edina Realty seems to be involved in one out of every five transactions in this town, we welcome them to the good fight. And on the strength of their numbers, we too shall stop sending our listings to third parties.

Here is the information from Edina Realty via Craig Kammen. Read it here on Craig s site as well. Congratulations to Edina Realty for their vision in support of their industry and their clients!

From Craig Kammen of Edina Realty: “Edina Realty is responding to the changing business models of third party aggregators. Third party aggregators are not brokers and they are not required to abide by the same rules and regulations as a broker. They get listings for free from brokers around the country and then display them online, collecting and distributing leads for a profit. While some of you in the industry may understand that Trulia.com is an independent company, many of you may be surprised to learn that Realtor.com is NOT affiliated with NAR. They are a separate, publicly held business. Just like Trulia.com, their business model is based on selling lead generating advertising to agents.

We’ve since discovered that much of the data and information showcased on aggregator sites is inaccurate if it comes from non-MLS sources. According to a recent data quality study conducted by Trulia.com and published on Inman.com, 69 percent of errors in online real estate listings information were directly related to third-party syndication of information by non-MLS sources. This points to the need for more diligence regarding ownership of our clients’ data and where we send it – be it directly to an aggregator site or through syndication. “The company reviewed about 1.2 million listings from about 250 data sources during the third quarter and found about 120,000 inaccuracies in listings information. More than half (51 percent) of those inaccurate listings had errors in price, 41 percent had status errors, and 8 percent had errors in both price and status.”* *Source: Trulia.com and Realtor.com respectively

Edina Realty will no longer provide a broker feed of our listing inventory to Trulia.com starting Nov. 30, 2011. We also intend to discontinue sending our listings to Realtor.com by the end of the year. Third party aggregators are not brokers. They get listings for free from brokers around the country and then display them online, collecting and distributing leads for profit. We believe it makes the best business sense for our agents and Edina Realty to control our own listings in order to ensure that:

? Our agents don’t lose future business opportunities because a non-listing competitor pays to present themselves as the contact for your listing.

? Our agents don’t have to pay – directly or indirectly – for leads on their own listings.

? Our sellers can be assured that leads on their listing are being handled by an expert – ? The quality and accuracy of your listing data is assured.

? Potential buyers are provided with fast, knowledgeable responses via the listing agent or our seven-day-a-week customer service department.”

Posted in Real Estate | Comments Off

MN Rental Caps – Release: 10-25-2011 | The Institute for Justice

Posted on October 31, 2011 by

MN Rental Caps – Release: 10-25-2011 | The Institute for Justice.

WEB RELEASE: October 24, 2011
CONTACT:
Shira Rawlinson
(703) 682-9320
[Private Property]

MN rental cap clients

IJ clients Ted and Lauren Dzierzbicki are wondering can the government arbitrarily restrict the property rights of some but not others?

 

Arlington, Va.—In one of the greatest housing slumps in our nation’s history, the town of Winona, Minn., is making it that much harder for homeowners to hold onto their investments.

Buying a home is an important and lifelong investment, but circumstances change and selling a home in today’s housing market can be difficult.  Instead of selling, many homeowners are renting out their homes.  But the city of Winona, Minn., is imposing a ban on the number of homeowners who may rent out their properties, harming both homeowners and renters alike, and making it more likely that those who have invested in homeownership may needlessly lose what they are struggling to own.

Under Winona’s rental ban—locally known as the “30 percent rule”—the government gives only 30 percent of homeowners on any given block permission to rent out their homes.  Whether someone gets a license is the luck of the draw.  In areas with few renters, some get new licenses.  In areas with more renters, no one gets a new license.  Not only is this law unwise, it is also unconstitutional.  Today, the Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm that fights for property rights nationwide, is teaming up with a group of Winona homeowners to change the law.  The lawsuit seeks to answer an important constitutional question:  May the government arbitrarily restrict the property rights of some but not others?

“For centuries people have been renting out their home; it is a legitimate part of property ownership.” stated IJ Minnesota attorney Katelynn McBride.  “Winona is denying homeowners that right, which violates the Minnesota Constitution’s protections of our fundamental property rights.”

The ban is affecting hundreds of Winona homeowners, like IJ clients Ethan Dean, Holly Richard and Ted and Lauren Dzierzbicki.  Each put their homes on the market hoping to sell them, but the economic climate has made it difficult, if not impossible, to sell.  They want to rent out their homes to help make the mortgage payments.  But because Winona has imposed the rental ban, and they live on blocks where at least 30 percent of the block was granted licenses, they cannot.  If Winona does not lift the ban, some of them even face foreclosure.

“Renting out our home poses no health or safety threat nor would it degrade the value of the neighboring properties,” said Ted Dzierbicki.  “My wife and I are challenging the law because it is not the government’s place to interfere with a private transaction.”

Anthony Sanders, an IJ Minnesota attorney said, “This law doesn’t just violate homeowners’ right to rent out their property, it also hurts renters because the ban means both fewer places for renters to live and higher rents.”

Winona isn’t the only city in Minnesota to pass rental ban laws.  Mankato, Northfield and, more recently, West Saint Paul now forbid many people from renting their homes.  So far these laws are unique to Minnesota, but cities in other states may soon follow Minnesota’s lead.

Posted in Real Estate | Comments Off

The Recession in Perspective – Compares output and employment changes during the present recession with the same data for the 10 previous recessions – The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

Posted on October 27, 2011 by

The Recession in Perspective – Compares output and employment changes during the present recession with the same data for the 10 previous recessions – The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

The Minneapolis Fed comes up with interactive charts proving what we already knew…but it is very interesting none the less!   Click on the above link to go direct to the horses mouth.  Enjoy.

Posted in Real Estate | Comments Off

Buyer Can’t Sue After Bad Foreclosure Sale – Bloomberg

Posted on October 18, 2011 by

Buyer Can’t Sue After Bad Foreclosure Sale – Bloomberg.

US Bank was not the proper owner of the mortgage when they foreclosed, so  the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld a lower court ruling invalidating the title of the buyer.

Suddenly, buying a foreclosure becomes more risky, from a title perspective, than a short sale.  How does a title company insure against this???

Read the full story on Bloomberg HERE

Posted in Real Estate | Comments Off

According to Fannie Mae New Recession Chances are 50/50

Posted on October 17, 2011 by

News Release – Economy at a Crossroads According to Fannie Maes Economics & Mortgage Market Analysis Group | Fannie Mae.

October 17, 2011

Economy at a Crossroads According to Fannie Mae’s Economics & Mortgage Market Analysis Group

Mixed Near-Term Performance for Housing, but Subdued Trend Remains in Place

Pete Bakel

202-752-2034

WASHINGTON, DC – Despite recent marginally positive economic trends, the economy is stuck in a slow growth scenario that is expected to continue for a relatively extended period. According to Fannie Mae’s (FNMA/OTC) Economics & Mortgage Market Analysis Group, economic growth is expected to be no greater than 2 percent through the end of 2012 – a growth rate that makes the economy very vulnerable to any external shock that could trigger a downturn, the most likely of which remains contagion of the Greek sovereign debt crisis to other economies in Europe. External factors coupled with uncertainty surrounding the degree of domestic fiscal austerity, including the scheduled expiration of various tax cuts and unemployment benefits, and the impact of forthcoming regulations, remains a factor in determining how fast the economy will grow. In turn, the Group continues to gauge expectations of a recession by the end of next year at close to fifty-fifty.

“In this type of environment, the housing market remains very sluggish and consumers’ willingness to dig into their savings to purchase big ticket items is very low,” said Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan. “There’s been a little seasonal cyclical pickup in housing activity recently as spring and summer sales are generally stronger than fall and winter, but leading indicators point to housing sales bouncing near the bottom at least through the end of 2012.”

“Home prices are a key factor for any positive movement in the housing market, and the large inventory of distressed homes working their way through the market is putting downward pressure on prices. Now that we are entering a traditionally weak seasonal sales period, we expect home prices to show renewed declines after firming for several months,” Duncan stated.

For an audio synopsis of the October 2011 Economic Outlook, listen to the podcast on theEconomics & Mortgage Market Analysis site at www.fanniemae.com. Visit the site to read the full October 2011 Economic Outlook, including the Economic Developments Commentary, Economic Forecast, and Housing Forecast.

Opinions, analyses, estimates, forecasts, and other views of Fannie Mae’s Economics & Mortgage Market Analysis (EMMA) Group included in these materials should not be construed as indicating Fannie Mae’s business prospects or expected results, are based on a number of assumptions, and are subject to change without notice. How this information affects Fannie Mae will depend on many factors. Although the EMMA Group bases its opinions, analyses, estimates, forecasts, and other views on information it considers reliable, it does not guarantee that the information provided in these materials is accurate, current, or suitable for any particular purpose. Changes in the assumptions or the information underlying these views could produce materially different results. The analyses, opinions, estimates, forecasts, and other views published by the EMMA Group represent the views of that group as of the date indicated and do not necessarily represent the views of Fannie Mae or its management.

Fannie Mae exists to expand affordable housing and bring global capital to local communities in order to serve the U.S. housing market. Fannie Mae has a federal charter and operates in America’s secondary mortgage market to enhance the liquidity of the mortgage market by providing funds to mortgage bankers and other lenders so that they may lend to home buyers. Our job is to help those who house America.

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/FannieMae

Posted in Real Estate | Comments Off