New Website and video

I am excited that lansingrealestate.com has just received a facelift. MC Squared is making some great changes to make the web page more interactive and exciting. I have enclosed a link to the video we have produced on Lakeside. It is the first one of this kind we have done. Please email me or leave a comment about what you think. If there is something we can do better on the website please let me know, I am building it for you. On a personal note I have just joined Linked in, Facebook, and activerain. I am learning how to build my profiles now and it is fun to see so many people I work with and have known over the years getting in contact. I will attach my profile links as I get them built. I look forward to hearing from you.

Goals, education, and a propserous 2009

Sorry it has been a little while since I have written. This year has really started out with both feet hitting the ground running. I am adding another link that is focused to new construction sales people. This site features podcasts from some of the top sales people and trainers in this field. There is still a lot of good material for salespeople in other fields. You can also search under Jerry Rouleau under I -tunes and subscribe for weekly updates.
Education and training are the keys to my success in real estate. If you look at the top people in just about every field in the world, almost all of them will tell you that they are constantly learning and practicing to continually get better. Setting goals is also a common theme that you will see attributed to success by every reputable coach and almost every self improvement book I have read. One of my goals for my education last year was to read fifteen books, three more than I read last year. I achieved it and have moved my goal to 17 this year. I will be posting my reading list in the next week. If you are interested in a quick worksheet on goal setting, check out my documents link on the side f this blog under 12 steps for setting goals. This is a summary form a talk given by Brian Tracy. I have a link to his homepage under motivation.
Despite what you hear in the media, I really feel that this is going to be a great year. The opportunities are just a little different, but by having clear goals and a plan to follow I am excited to watch this year unfold. If you have any great tips on goal setting please feel free to add them in the comments section.
One last piece of news, I am really excited to be heading to the International builders show on Jan 17th. If you would like more information on the largest trade show in the US for the building industry check out www.buildersshow.com. I hope this year brings you everything you ask for.

Parade of Homes has less homes but won't dissapoint

If you have not had a chance to make it out yet, this year’s Parade of Homes™ will not disappoint. There are 55 homes in the Parade showcasing what Mid-Michigan homebuilders have to offer. I have been through 8 so far and been impressed with all of them. Seirra Homes has 3 in the Parade and the two that I have seen are both worth the time. The “Spartan Cottage” in College Fields is truly amazing. It is a custom home that is over seven hundred thousand including the lot, but once you are in it you see why. From the notty pine ceiling to the custom Alderwood cabinets the kitchen is perfect for entertaining. At the preview party the night before the Parade there were probably 50 people in the main living and Kitchen area, and there was still plenty of room to move around. The Spartan themed basement would be the envy of any MSU fan, complete with the projection TV to watch the game on. There home in the Oaks, though not as extravagant is a great value at $289,000. With almost 2600 square feet of living space it would make a great family home, and it still has many features that you wouldn’t expect in this price range.
Even though the housing market has slowed, the Parade of Homes really shows that there are great things going on in the Greater Lansing area. From the beautiful redevelopment projects downtown, to all of the single family homes and remodel jobs in all of the communities in the area. Have a great day, and if you have any questions on how to get tickets call me at (517) 202-7572 or visit www.glhba.org.

Lansing Housing Market Stabilizing

Good news for the Lansing Real Estate Market, we are finally seeing the amount of inventory on the market getting lower. In July 2007 our company found that there was approximately 15.35 months of inventory based on the amount of homes available divided by what had sold over the previous year. This information is based on data pulled from the Multiple List Service of the Greater Lansing Association of Realtors. A current snapshot using sales data from 2007 over current inventory shows that the amount of inventory has dropped to 13.2 months. This is still up from the beginning of last year, but hopefully it is a good sign of what this year will offer to us in the real estate market. New construction has also seen a significant drop. Currently there is approximately a 14.2 month supply of new homes in the Greater Lansing Area. This also shows a drop in the amount of supply currently available. Most of that is due most likely to the significant drop in permits pulled for new homes in 2007. We saw one of the lowest years for new permits pulled in the tri-county area since the early 1980’s.
In our communities we have around the Lansing area, we are also seeing an increase in the amount of traffic that is coming through the doors. We currently have three new homes being built in Lakeside, two getting ready to start in Williamston, and one that just completed in Mason. Even with an election year, it seems that barring an announcement of a major job catastrophe for the Lansing area, we have seen a turning point in our housing market.

Housing starts at 25 year low Good for Lansing

As housing starts continue to drop, some people might argue that this is further news of the real estate market falling off. Here is a link to the article at yahoo; http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080117/economy.html This is simple supply and demand. We built a few to many houses in the U.S. over the last few years, and simple economics states that as demand fell off, prices are going to fall, and production will slow. This should mean that we will finally see some of the market inventory start to reduce. We have seen a steady increase in inventory over the last few years in Lansing. This should be the year where we see that number stabilize and start to decrease.
What this area needs is job creation. We have seen some positive signs of growth with the revitalization of the downtown buildings and several of the companies in the area growing employees. The West side GM and Grand River Plant are producing award winning vehicles and our housing starts are at a 25 year low. This is a good formula for the Greater Lansing Real Estate Market. We already are the strongest economic region in Michigan based on unemployment. We should look forward to a stabilization of our real estate market over the next 12 to 14 months.
Also congratulations to Coldwell Banker Hubbell and Briarwood Realty for the Merger. Both Bob Hubbell and Bill Mcleod are great businessmen and I am sure that the combining of these companies will be great for our community. They both have exciting projects going on around town with the Stadium District, Point West, and many other new construction communities. I hope the merger goes smoothly and the combined company has continued success.

Goal Setting

As the new year rapidly approaches many people begin to work on their New Years Resolutions, or goals. Goals are something that our office takes very seriously. Through out the year we are constantly reassessing our goals, both within the company and individual employees work and personal goals. A few years ago some of the other agents and myself attended a seminar by a gentleman names Brian Tracy. If you have not heard of him, he is probably one of the best motivational speakers I have ever heard. I have included a link to his website on this blog site, and I am also going to post the notes below that we took from the seminar on goal setting. If you are looking for some direction on self actualization and goal setting, I highly suggest looking through Brian Tracy’s materials. We also have some goal templates that we use in the office, if you are interested in receiving a copy, please email me at brent@lansingrealestate.com, and I will be more than happy to send you one. If you have any tips regarding goal setting please feel free to post them here.
12 Steps:

1) Desire/Need – The force that compels us toward our goal. It is always personal or selfish.
2) Belief – Most important element. You must believe you can achieve. Make your goals challenging so they cause you to stretch yourself (gets you out of your comfort zone).
3) Write it down – This is a way to program it into your subconscious. Write in complete details exactly as you wish to have it. Have a very clear representation.
4) Determine benefit – How will you benefit from achieving your goal? This will help you see more reasons to achieve your goal.
5) Analyze your position – See where you’re at. Where you’re beginning.
6) Set a deadline – What is the latest outside date to achieve goal. You should be able to measure how long it will take to accomplish and measure your success. You should see progress along the way and get a feeling of being a winner.
7) Identify Obstacles – What will you have to overcome? There are always obstacles. Write down what these are.
8) Identify knowledge required – What knowledge do you need to obtain your goal?
9) Clearly identify people needed – THREE LAWS OF RETURN:
1. Law of Return: Sewing & Reaping – more you put in/more you get out.
2. Law of Compensation – Every action gets an equal reaction (get what you give).
3. Law of Service – Can only get success by serving others (go extra mile). More Blessed to give then to receive. More profitable to give then to receive.
10) Take all steps – Make a plan and write down all activities. Prioritize your time – 1st, 2nd, etc. Continually go back and re-prioritize.
11) Clear mental image – Should already have obtained this and should already be in existence. Play the mental picture in your mind daily!!
12) Back plan with determination & persistence – Don’t give up!! Know that there will be setbacks. Winners pick themselves up. Self-discipline is persistence in action.

Market report on Lansing housing supply

I apologize for not getting the investor interview posted, I have had some scheduling conflicts with getting the interview done. I am hoping to record it this week. I have just run a market report for my company using the Realtor multiple list data. I do this every couple of months to try and keep a pulse on our local market. When I ran these numbers in July we had seen a constant rise in the amount of homes available on the market of both existing homes and new homes. This has been right in line with the national numbers that we have all seen on T.V. and in the papers. As of the end of November there were currently 4978 residential properties listed in the MLS. Looking at the amount of homes sold year to date, this means there is currently just over 14 months worth of housing stock available in the greater Lansing area. This is about a month more of supply than was available earlier this year. We are starting to see the market stabilize especially in new construction where permits pulled for new homes have declined more than 40% year over year for two years in a row. For the first time since the early 1980’s we may see less than 600 new homes built in this area. If you are interested in buying a home, it has been over twenty years since we have had this strong of a buyers market. I have many homes that come across my desk daily that would be a good buy, and there have been several that are almost steals. Whether you are looking for a home to live in, or for an investment, now is the time to really start doing your homework and seeing what’s out there. It might not be the best time to flip properties, but if you can buy and hold, it will be worth it in the future. You can start looking at properties by going to www.lansingrealestate.com and clicking on the home search function. If you are interested in learning more about investing I have a few good links on the side of this page you should check out. If you have any questions, please feel free to send me an email at brent@lansingrealestate.com or call my office at (517) 349-9330 ext. 206. Have a great day.

Happy Thanksgiving

I apologize for not posting in the last week, but I have been out with a severe cold. I will try to post the recap of the Michigan association of planning meeting that I went to last week. Being on the development side of the business, it was very interesting sitting in a class that was designed for governemnt officials on how to design a master plan for a community. I will also have the podcast up of my interview with a first time home investor by Monday next week. I am really excited with these upcoming stories for the week and I hope you find them interesting and educational. If you have any topics that you want covered, please email me at brent@lansingrealestate.com, or post a comment. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sellers Market Unhealthy, Unprecedented time for buyers

We saw more bad news in the papers last week with foreclosures rising 54% in Ingham County. New homes being started in the area through the third quarter are also down over 40%. Currently in Lansing as of today there are 5117 houses available for sale according to the MLS. Using the average of 366.5 sales per month year to date, this would mean we have almost 14 months of inventory currently on the market in the Greater Lansing area. It is no secret that the market has switched from a sellers to a buyers market.
Believe it or not this is one of the best times in the history of real estate for a buyer to purchase. The last time Lansing’s building permit numbers dropped this low was in 1982. Interest rates were through the roof and it was extremely difficult compared to today to get a mortgage. Even with the tightening of the market, there is a program for just about any one looking for a loan. I have seen some unbelievable deals on homes that have sold in the last few months. There are many different incentives and just regular price reductions that are going to allow many people who purchase right now a chance to have large equity positions in property in the future. We just came off of the longest run in housing growth in US history. Metaphorically, the new years party ended and it is currently mid morning Jan. 1st and the hangover is really setting in. Some people really tried to play the market, especially in some parts of the country were there was 15%-30% gains per year in housing value. They jumped in at the end and are currently getting burned. Michigan’s real estate market isn’t healthy if you are a seller, but in very few instances are the consequences of purchasing a home in our hottest markets of 2004 and 2005 going to have as much of an impact dollar wise as someone who purchased in Florida or California. One thing I will guarantee you, in the future, real estate will be more valuable than it is currently. I don’t have a crystal ball to tell you how to time the market and I don’t think that we are going to see the type of market we saw a few years ago for quite some time. Our area was overbuilt, financing got a little aggressive, and it is going to be hard for a while for some people to be able to get their money back out of there homes. However, we are seeing signs of the market stabilizing.
I have accumulated the building permit data for the area for the last 30+ years. It is easy to see to see the trend of the growth and then a sharp drop off for a few years. This would coincide with the existing home real estate market as well, since new homes are primarily needed when there is growth in an area. The easiest way to track new home growth is by looking at the employment growth in an area. The more job growth the more new construction that can be absorbed in a market area. Looking at jobs in the Greater Lansing area from 2000 to 2007, there were 10,000 jobs cut out of our market. This data was not seasonally adjusted, but it still shows a downward trend which would create a situation where existing housing stock would be in over supply, let alone adding new homes. New construction permits pulled were at record highs in 04-05 which has now caught up with us. The good news, we have seen employment numbers stabilize over the last year. This is a good sign for the market, because we should start to see our local market stabilize over time. For buyers right now, if you need a home there has never been a better time to find a good deal on a piece of property. When the market does stabilize and we start to see growth, people who purchase now are going to have the best chance of being in a great equity position in a few years. If you are thinking about real estate investing, now is the time to start researching properties and neighborhoods to learn values. With foreclosures at an all time high, interest rates at an all time low, and the new job announcements in Lansing and the surrounding area this market is showing signs of being healthy again faster than many of the other areas in Michigan. If you are interested in seeing what properties are available right how, please visit my website www.lansingrealestate.com, click on listings and MLS. You can either search properties my company currently has listed, or search all listings in the MLS by clicking on the MLS button in the upper right corner. If you are interested in government foreclosure homes, check out www.homesales.gov. This will give you the list of all the government foreclosed properties in the US. For strictly HUD homes in Michigan here is the link to Michigan broken down by cities. http://sales.clfres.com/SelectCities.aspx?State=MI&DollarExclusive=Y
If you are interested in viewing any of these homes, or have any questions regarding real estate investing or purchasing, please post a comment, or email me at brent@lansingrealestate.com. I will also be posting some of the podcasts that I listen to regarding real estate investing and real estate in general, as well as links to other sites I find useful.
Please let me know what other good sites are out there, I am always looking for more information. I am working on setting up to interviews regarding real estate investing. One from an investor that just purchased and flipped his first piece of property, and one from a gentleman who has been buying flipping and renting properties for quite some time. I hope to have these within a week.

Learn how land planning and Development is done

As development and land use become an ever more heated topic in the United States, many people have questions as to how different decisions are made. Ingham county residents will have a chance to take a workshop to learn how planning and zoning works. This would be an excellent class for anyone interest in learning about board procedures, or just curious about getting involved in our region with development issues. The workshop is being put on by Ingham Economic Development Corporation. This group is dedicated to helping communities and businesses develop through education and links to local, state, and federal funding and other services. I am looking forward to attending this seminar to learn more about the process. The cost of $35 seems more than fair for this course. Here is the Link for Ingham Economic Development if you would like to learn more about them, www.ingham.org/DV/developm.htm . To register for this course, you can contact Susan at spigg@ingham.org or find out more at Lansing area events under the lecture and Seminar section. As always, with any question, or comments, please email me brent@lansingrealestate.com

Go Green Lansing

The green building movement is something relatively new on the American scene. Most people know the term green but do not know exactly what the standard is. In the residential housing industry, you can have the five star energy rating for a home, which means it is energy efficient. This is kind of the beginning standard, then you can get into the types of glues used, renewable finishings, such as bamboo flooring, and many other features that can be used to save energy and be more environmentally friendly. In Commercial buildings, I am aware of Leadership in Energy and Environment Design, or LEED. It is the standard developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. Here is the link if you are interested in finding out more about the standard, www.usgbc.org/LEED/. The National Association of Homebuilders announced that it is going green and is really pushing its new green building courses. In Lansing Gene Townsend announced his new project on the Corner of Kalamazoo and Cedar with its retail shops, condos, and apartments as a green building. I am really excited about this, and I think Gene is going to make a real impact on this town with this. As far as I am aware, this it the biggest green project that Lansing has ever seen. This may be the only true “Green” building in Lansing. This type of project is something that Lansing really needs. I hope that it is a great success for Mr. Townsend, and shows the other developers in the area that Lansing is ready to “Go Green.” (Hopefully that last line does not infringe on any copyright of any certain University)