Socialebb Strategies and Solutions

I'm in final planning stages for a new weekly television talk show on a cable network in Tucson. I'm stumped on a name and hoping someone who reads this blog, or my Facebook page, or my Twitter stream, will share some creative genius that assigns the perfect name for the new show. I selected Tucson Housing Matters but changed my mind after seeing a similarly titled show on an NBC network.

The show will focus on housing, real estate, and help for distressed homeowners facing foreclosure. It will be broadcast in Tucson and shown on the Web simultaneously, with archived footage available on the Web 24/7, giving the show an audience beyond Tucson and Arizona. Therefore, the word Tucson in the title is not essential.

Please share your suggestions in the comments section. Thanks!

Popular editor, newscaster, and writer Blanche Evans is staking new claims on the real estate Net in a personal quest to combat the effects of negative press on an industry under siege.

“We are entering the fourth year of a so-called national housing correction, where home prices have ceased escalating on a median basis, and home buyers all over the country are sitting on the sidelines. They’re being frightened into making any sort of move by a relentless national press that repeats misinformation without confirming their facts,” says Blanche.

Blanche was the hugely popular Editor of Realty Times for 11 years and author of five books.  She left Realty Times to develop the EvansEzine for REALTOR associations and local multiple listing services as the “go-to” place for real estate news.

“While it’s true that many areas are in deep trouble with housing prices rolled back to 2003 prices, and inventories rising with as much as one-third in short-sales and foreclosures, it’s also true that local real estate markets vary widely,” says Blanche. 

She claims that the national media has created a “fear factor” that scares people into financial distress and points to Dallas as an example of a fear paralyzed real estate market.

“Dallas is the number one job market in the country,” says Blanche. “Median home price is an affordable $150,000, yet more than 25% of consumers surveyed there blame media reports for reluctance to buy real estate.”

“The Dallas Morning News just published an October 10, 2008 editorial by its real estate editor, Steve Brown. Stating the obvious, Brown claims that the ‘fast and loose real estate market is history’ and that there will be a ‘fundamental shift in how people look at real estate’,” declares Blanche. “He goes on to say that 25 to 30 percent of peak demand for housing ‘is gone and won’t be coming back.’ Buyers who are left will have to ‘make true down payments and show real repayment ability’ resulting in fewer home sales, fewer home starts and less appreciation.

“What Brown fails to mention is that Dallas didn’t participate in the bubble. Home prices in Dallas have been below the national median for over 17 years. Further, he fails to relay the good news about the area,” says Blanche.

“If the local real estate editor writes that he does not want to buy a home, what is a reader to think?” asks the feisty editor. “Dallas recently added 20,000 people to employment rolls. Do we really want to tell 20,000 people not to buy homes?”

Blanche says print publishers have a financial motive to create consumer fear: “Their job is to get people to look at news on a local level, scare them to death, and get them to buy magazines.

“We’re coming out swinging! We are here to defend the industry,” she says.

“Any market is good or bad for somebody”, adds Blanche, “Our EvansEzine will bring a balanced perspective to the housing sector.

“There are still good programs for first-time home buyers and anyone who qualifies for an FHA loan can get one,” she says. “People are losing good opportunities these days because they are paralyzed with fear."

Blanche promises to work online with social media and Trulia to provide the industry with a balanced perspective that is reasonable and not fear-based. She tells agents and brokers to stop spending advertising dollars at newspapers and magazines that are bad-mouthing the real estate industry. “Use media like EvansEzine and Trulia for balanced stories about the real estate market,” she says.

(Blanche Evans is the co-founder of evansEmedia, inc., publisher of The Evans Ezines. She is a nationally known journalist, author of five real estate books, and a popular keynote speaker for associations and brands.  For more information on evansEmedia and The EvansEzine, please contact her at , or call 214-686-4202.)

Following a stock market freefall yesterday, John Tuccillo, Ph.D, the former chief economist of the National Association of REALTORS, was Justin Zimmerman’s guest on Good Morning Real Estate  and answered REALTORS’ questions in a straight-talking, no-holds barred analysis of the bank bailout and the state of the housing industry. 

“We are here because of a lot of decisions by people who should have known better,” he declared, “and a massive loss of expertise among real estate professionals.”

Tuccillo says many markets are improving, despite the bailout.

“The way a market rises or falls is a function of the economy in the market,” said Tuccillo, citing employment and other underlying market fundamentals. He said the best markets are energy related, pointing to Texas, Wyoming, and New Mexico. Other markets enjoying upturns include Des Moines, IA, Louisville, KY, and Huntsville, AL, where transfer of military operations is responsible for employment gains.

Local markets offer a lot of variation and you cannot say the housing market is good or bad on a national level with any credibility, said Tuccillo. “It is hard to get across to people, but  that’s what sells media, Telling people to be afraid is like a national sport.

“We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” Tuccillo quoted Franklin Delano Roosevelt and charged the media with trying to create a notion of another Depression.

Q. How do you deal with a media that won’t give up?

John Tuccillo:  “Real estate gents have to go back to the basics, to the way they worked in the 1980s and 1990s,” he said. “”Use MLS [multiple listing service] data to draw out what is going on in the market. Look at the specifics in any market area:  What is the number of new listings at this price? Are prices going up or down? What are days on the market statistics? What is the ratio of list price to sale price? Take those numbers and play them out so the consumer has facts to determine the reality of the marketplace.

“You have to come in with facts about what is happening in market.

"Talk to buyers about the bargains in the market. The people who have nothing to sell are best positioned in this market,” he said, adding, "Buyers who are willing to hold properties for seven to 10 years are going to make a lot of money.”

“Do not try to convert the media. It’s like teaching an elephant to dance,” said Tuccillo.

Q. Agents are concerned that bank will not do short sales. Will it be harder to negotiate short sales after the bailout?

John Tuccillo:  Banks are not in business to own property. There are a lot of local offices managed by people who are not decision makers. Short sale decisions are made in corporate offices. There is a lot of scope for people to do short sales with people with assets. Investors will buy asset packages from the banks that presently hold them and they ultimately will hold the paper and be  responsible about short sale decisions.

“REALTORS should continue to press the short sale idea. The bailout will cast these assets in a different light, they may become MORE available rather than LESS available,” he said. “There are still people who have credit ratings and financial wherewithal who meet lender qualifications for financing.”

Q, How will legislation affect the second home market?

John Tuccillo:  “I think it [the secondary home slowdown]  is a temporary hiccup. There is a drop off in demand for second homes while people defer their decisions to buy second homes. They are almost completely choked off by lending. There is overwhelming demographic demand for that kind of product,” he said, predicting lenders will respond with new loan products to meet growing demand.

“The luxury market escapes this because it runs on its own logic,” he said. “The demand for luxury homes is stable and this market will continue to thrive.”

Q. What will the industry look like over the next six months?

John Tuccillo: " I think real estate is ahead of the economy. In most places of the country markets will improve over the next six months. Foreclosures will be down, sales will increase,  prices will remain weak. The economy will pick up in- mid to late 2009."

The economist said FHA is a sound and productive loan program that lets people get into houses for lower down payments but he does not expect to see temporary increased loan limits over $700,000 become a permanent lending staple. Increased loan limits expire at the end of the year.

"We are not going to jump into great times again in next six months but we will see improvement.

"A year from now interest rates will be two percent higher than today," he predicted.


Q. What will our industry look like in five years?

John Tuccillo:  Most real estate markets in 2010 or 2011 will resemble the 2003 market on an upward sales and price trajectory, following increased housing demand by Boomers.

REALTOR ranks doubled between 2000 and 2006. Most of these agents have not worked in a down market. Tuccillo said the industry has seen a history of the “80/20” principle, with 20% of the real estate agents capturing 80% of the market. He predicted the ratio will shrink to 95/5 by 2010.

"Real estate agents need to understand this is a relationship business conducted in cyberspace and their electronic social networks. Consumers grant an assumption of trust online," he said. “Face-to-face, touchy feely Boomer stuff will be replaced with blogs and social networks. Agents who understand the expectations of younger buyers and sellers and how to develop relationships with them will succeed.

"It is tougher to qualify buyers now if they don’t have 10 to 20 percent to put down," said Tuccillo. "Buyers need credit and down payment funds and agents need to work harder with buyers to qualify them.

"Show me the money!" he said. "Agents must ask buyers for documentary proof about net worth and savings. You must ask for proof about any statement a buyer will make to buy a house. You have to be tough about asking for proof," he told REALTORS.


Q  What are the top reasons to buy or sell real estate today?

John Tucillo:  "There is only ONE reason to sell -- if a property owner has to move!

"There are two reasons to buy a home today."

1. There are lots of bargains. Buyers can purchase homes today they could not buy three years ago at greatly reduced prices.
2. Buying at the bottom of the market gives purchasers the opportunity for maximum potential for appreciation over time.