Holiday Retail Sales May Jump 4.5% as Housing, Jobs Rise

Retail sales are projected to increase as much as 4.5 percent this holiday season, in line with last year’s gain, as a rise in home prices and decline in joblessness keeps consumers spending.
Total holiday sales are expected to rise to $963 billion to $967 billion, led by non-store sales from online and catalog retailers, Deloitte LLP, a New York-based consulting firm, said today in a statement.
“Rising home prices with steady job creation may buoy consumers,” Daniel Bachman, Deloitte’s senior U.S. economist, wrote in the note.
Unemployment dropped last month to its lowest level since December 2008, while sales of homes rose in August and housing prices have gained 15 percent since last year. Still, many retailers, from Macy's Inc. to Wal-Mart Stores Inc., missed second-quarter sales estimates and cut forecasts as consumers feeling flush prefer to spend their money on bigger items like cars and home-related products.
“There has been some positive momentum leading into the fourth quarter this year,” Alison Paul, a retail sector leader at Deloitte, said in a phone interview. “The well-heeled, prosperous families continue to be fairly optimistic in spending. Where you’re going to see some of the struggle is in the lower-income and lower-middle class.”
Those lower-income households are restraining purchases as their incomes are restricted by a 2 percentage-point increase in the payroll tax. The proportion of Americans living in poverty in 2012 -- 15 percent-- remained close to a two-decade high and median household income was stagnant, according to a Census Bureau report released Sept. 18.

Holiday Hiring

Holiday hiring by U.S. retailers may fall about 6.9 percent this year amid shaky consumer confidence and as stores implement more efficient practices reducing demand for seasonal workers, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. Retailers will hire about 700,000 temporary staff this year, down from 751,800 last year, the Chicago-based employment consulting firm said today in a statement. Last year’s hiring reached a 12-year high and was up 14 percent from 2011, the firm said.
Some retailers have begun announcing holiday hiring plans. Wal-Mart said today that it would boost holiday hiring to 55,000, a 10 percent increase from last year’s 50,000 seasonal hires. Target Corp. said in a post on its website last week last week it would take on about 70,000 workers, 20 percent fewer than year a year earlier.

Mobile Shopping

Non-store retail sales are forecast to climb as much as 13 percent and “continue to surpass overall retail sales growth,” according to Deloitte’s report.
The increase in non-store sales is the smallest since Deloitte began estimating the figure in 2010. The estimate is reined-in from previous years, when the forecasts overshot the actual data, rather than a potential reduction in non-store sales, Paul said.
Mobile-influenced store sales will account for 8 percent, or about $66 billion, of in-store sales this holiday season as shoppers use their smartphones to browse retailers’ sites, conduct product research and compare prices, Deloitte said. Customers using their mobile devices are more likely to make a purchase than other shoppers in the store who aren’t, the firm said. Shoppers who research their purchases online also help to boost in-store sales as retailers further integrate their stores and websites with features like in-store pickup.
Last week, Chicago-based researcher ShopperTrak said sales in stores may advance 2.4 percent in November and December, the smallest increase since 2009 as customers visit fewer stores. Retailers may offer promotions for holiday as early as Nov. 1 to take advantage of the shorter shopping season, ShopperTrak estimated.
This year, there are 25 days between the day after Thanksgiving -- known as Black Friday -- and Christmas, compared with 31 days in 2012, and four instead of five weekends.
Lindsey Rupp/Bloomberg

How to Hire the Perfect Real Estate Agent

A real estate agent can often help you sell your home faster, and get a better price than if you try to do it on your own. But to get the best deal possible on your home, you’ll want to hire a real estate agent that’s a good fit for you and your property. Here’s what you need to know before you hire someone to sell your home.
Find Someone Local
When selling your home, getting someone who really knows the area is critical. Potential buyers are sure to ask a ton of questions about schools, parks, shopping and other quality-of-life issues in a neighborhood. You want a realtor that’s going to be able to really sell the neighborhood to a buyer. Ask real estate agents how many houses they have sold in the neighborhood, whether they live in the neighborhood, and, if so, how long they have lived there.
Ask For References
A key part of due-diligence on any realtor, asking for references can give you great first-hand information on how attentive a real estate agent will be. Of course, unscrupulous real estate agents can cherry-pick a few past clients that they know will speak well of them, so you should insist on speaking with recent clients. If they have to go back a few years to give you a reference, or if they seem reluctant to give you any names at all, it’s a sign they have something to hide.
Check Their Workload
Most realtors will represent a few people at any given time, but you want one that will really focus on your interests and make time for you. Ask how many clients they currently have and how many hours per week they spend on each client. You will also want to check their availability. Many people are forced to house hunt on evenings and weekends, so a realtor that will only show your house on weekday mornings isn’t going to help you that much.
Make Sure They Sell Houses Like Yours
Not all properties are created equally. If you’re looking to sell a middle-class single-family home, you don’t want to hire someone that mostly sells condos, commercial real estate or million-dollar mansions. So before you hire a real estate agent, make sure the agent has substantial experience selling homes similar to yours and in your price range.
What’s the Timeline?
With the housing market still suffering from sluggishness, it can be a tough time to sell a home. While you should be prepared to sell your home quickly, you should also have a plan in place in case it doesn’t. Ask real estate agents how long they will represent you. If a home doesn’t sell in a month or two, are they just going to abandon you? Do they have experience selling homes that take time to sell? You don’t want to waste a lot of time picking a real estate agent, only to have to do it all over again in two months.
Ask About Fees
Most real estate agents will work for a percentage of the selling price of the home. But many agreements also include a bunch of other fees. Make sure you understand the agreement before you sign and what you will be getting for your money. For instance, many real estate agents will include home staging as part of the contract, but some might add extra fees for these sorts of services.
Are They Part of MLS?
The Multiple Listing Service, or MLS, is a nationwide database of houses on the market, regardless of which company is selling the home. To give you the best chance of selling your home, you’ll want an agent that has access to MLS. Agents that simply list on their own company’s site won’t help you nearly as much as real estate agents that list on MLS.
-Fox News/

 

"There is Nothing Short About It......"

Welcome future homeowner! If you have been hearing a lot about short sales lately, that`s because many homeowners who are struggling to afford their monthly mortgage payments are now entering into a short sale. A short sale occurs when a mortgage lender agrees to take a lesser amount than what is owed on the home in order to avoid foreclosure. Many of the homes on the market now are short sale homes. Buyers do need to know the pros and cons about buying a short sale home on the market. A competent REALTOR is your best source for finding short sales within your area and helping you work with the seller`s bank to make a short sale offer. Let`s look at the advantages and drawbacks of the short sale from a buyer`s perspective.
Short Sale Advantages
Prices for short sales are typically lower than other comparable homes within the market. This is because the lender needs to sell the house in order to recoup the money they loaned to buy the home, and the seller wants to sell the house to avoid foreclosure. The biggest advantage to the short sale is getting a bargain on your home. Short sale process takes a longer time to complete, many buyers put in an offer on a short sale but many walk away during the process. If you are willing to wait, this can be an advantage.
Short Sale Disadvantages
The biggest disadvantage to the short sale is that they do take several months in many instances to complete, and that during this time period, other buyers may become interested in the short sale property, too. Also, most of the short sale process is dependent upon certification by the lender. Depending on the bank and state, many lenders are not willing to accept low offers on the property. Buyers are often turned down if the offer is not up to the expectations of the lender, even when the listed price for the house has been met. Many times, a short sale listing price is ridiculously low, and the lender ends up now approving it, which is a frustrating and misleading to potential buyers who are looking for a short sale. The low price usually creates multiple offers. This can be frustrating for serious home buyers. Short sale properties are usually sold `as is`. Of course, this does not waive the buyer`s right to inspect the property and walk away from the escrow if needed.
If you are considering buying a short sale property and need guidance, or if you are a homeowner considering short sale of your own property, you need to talk with a licensed REALTOR right away.

Marketing Tips to Sell Your Home

Today`s real estate market is more of a buyer`s market than ever, and the housing market is ripe with homes for sale. Selling a home today can be tough, and we are full-time real estate agents that will work hard to sell your home. We have the right mix of internet marketing strategies to best present your property and draw in potential buyers for your home.
Tips for Marketing Your Home - Displaying Signage
Signage allows passersby to see that your property is for sale and provides a number for potential buyers to immediately get in touch with your agent or you. Think of signage in the yard and on the property as free advertising. Distinctive signage is important when selling your home. Having the sign of a well-known REALTOR® in your yard is a guaranteed way to get more 'lookers'.
Tips for Marketing Your Home - Taking Photos
The sagest advice that can be given to a homeowner looking to sell their home is to take great photographs of the home and the property. This means taking high quality photographs of the home from all angles, including exterior and interior shots. A REALTOR® typically works with a professional photographer or utilizes their own high-end photography equipment to capture just the right photographs for your listing.
Tips for Marketing Your Home - Creating a Virtual Tour
A virtual tour of the home is a wonderful way to provide access to the home 24/7/365 to potential buyers. You don`t have to be selling a three million dollar home to create a virtual tour. In fact, buyers in all price ranges now expect (and love) the virtual tour. The virtual tour will literally allow the buyer to go from room to room, viewing the home at a 360-degree view. Tours can have music added to them, or professionally narrated scripts. Most REALTORS® consider the inclusion of a virtual tour to be vital to a successful listing.
Tips for Marketing Your Home - the Internet
90% of buyers use internet to search for homes in today`s market. Internet marketing is a large part of getting exposure for your home to better reach potential buyers. This is a complex process, but the main part of a selling marketing campaign. Make sure your property is properly listed in MLS with virtual tours, on agent`s website, a dedicated property website, routine posting in Craigslist, posting in Youtube, and syndicating the property listing to major real estate classifies and directories.
These are just some of the tips that we suggest for marketing your home. Get in touch with us now, we`ll show you our step by step marketing plan for your property!