INFOGRAPHICS: Distressed Properties in 2010

INFOGRAPHICS: Distressed Properties in 2010

by | May 2, 2011

See a visual representation of distressed properties in our market!

One request we’ve frequently gotten from subscribers is to display data on Short Sales and Bank Owned properties. As a result, we have created brand new infographics to show how distressed properties identified as Short Sales or Bank Owned were represented in the 2010 housing market. This is the first report in an ongoing series that will show you how our local market has been affected by the economic downturn.

(Click the image to enlarge)

The above infographic shows a visual representation of the number of Bank Owned and Short Sales in all areas in the RMLS™ system during 2010. The top half shows new listings and sales for the entire year, while the bottom half shows new listings and sales by quarter. To download or print the infographic, click here.

Below are links to additional infographics for some of our larger areas:
Portland Metro
Clark County, WA
Lane County, OR
Douglas County, OR
*If you want information on percentages of distressed sales in other areas not represented by our infographics, please contact us at communications@rmls.com.

As can be seen from the above infographic, the percentage of distressed sales within the overall housing market greatly increased in closed sales compared to new listings. Additionally, the amount of Short Sales decreased by more than a third when comparing closed sales with new listings. The quarterly trend shows an increase of new listings which were distressed, particularly in Quarter 3 and Quarter 4. Looking at sales, Quarter 2 and Quarter 3 both show decreases in distressed sales compared to Quarter 1, and Quarter 4 ended with only a 0.1% rise in distressed sales compared with Quarter 1.

Here are some additional facts about distressed properties in 2010:

  • Distressed properties comprised 24.1% of new residential listings, and 29.3% of residential sales.
  • Short Sales were 11.8% of new listings, and 8.9% of sales.
  • Bank Owned properties were 12.3% of new listings, and 20.4% of sales.

For Fun: My Beatles Mix for Real Estate Agents

by | Sep 9, 2009

It’s a big day for Beatles fans. Their full catalogue was re-mastered and re-released, plus the long-awaited arrival of Beatles Rock Band.

It doesn’t sound like Beatles songs will be available on iTunes yet, but if you have an extensive Beatles collection, here’s my recommended Beatles mix for real estate agents (my reasoning in parenthesis).

  • A Hard Day’s Night (You work hard, you come home)
  • Crying Waiting Hoping (Originally by Buddy Holly. Could be renamed, “Ode to a Short Sale”. I hope there’s not a lot of crying, but I know from personal experience there can be a lot of waiting and hoping.)
  • Getting Better (The real estate market has been getting better!)
  • Help! (Exactly what a Realtor can provide!)
  • In My Life (“There are places I remember”, and when those places are for sale, call your Realtor!)
  • It Won’t Be Long (Your clients will be “coming on home”)
  • Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (Can’t leave this one off the list! “They have built a home-sweet-home”)
  • Penny Lane (I wonder what the real estate market is like there)
  • Searchin’ (Replace “her” with “a home”; good for when you’re searching the MLS)
  • We Can Work It Out (Nice, optimistic song for agents during negotiations)
  • When I Get Home (The title speaks for itself)
  • Yellow Submarine (If the land of submarines really existed, I imagine it would be pretty pricey real estate)

Does anyone else have other suggestions for a Beatles/Real Estate mix? Leave a comment!

Image courtesy of Alejandro González G.

RE-acular Vernacular: adjectives in real estate listings

by | May 29, 2009

REALTORS® have a tough job in trying to accurately & positively portray their listings, while also trying to set them apart from the pack (especially with a high-level of inventory), and I imagine it’s probably hard at times to find the right word (I can sympathize). With that said, I thought it might be interesting to see what adjectives are commonly (and not so commonly) used.

I did a quick survey of  adjectives on active listings in RMLSweb; the survey was of words that appear in the “comments” (private or public) fields in RMLSweb.

The winner was “great” at 34%, followed by “beautiful” at just over 20%. However, I should note that I do have some suspicion that the term “great room” may have affected the outcome. 

Here are the Top 20 results:

Click on the graph for a larger view

Those are the top 20, but I also spent a lot of time in the old Synonym Finder book by J.I. Rodale that we have sitting around the office. I checked out 65 words total in this highly UNscientific study (I had to stop somewhere!) Here’s the full list.

I probably missed some other common ones, but one can only spend so much time… let me know if you noticed any omissions!

Looking for Unique Language for Your Listing?

If you’re looking to be unique in your listing language, here are some words that I didn’t see in any listings:

Bewitching
Prodigious
Winsome
Wondrous
Tip-top
A Number 1 (ala Frank Sinatra)
Bang-up

Also, if you want to reach out to the younger generation, check out the Online Slang Dictionary – some very good stuff there.

This is what it looked like when I tried:

“This crib is totally fresh. It is in a bomb diggity location just outside of Portland. The kitchen is totally bonkers, with choice granite countertops & bumping hardwoods.”

DISCLAIMER: I don’t actually recommend that you use any of the aforementioned adjectives in your listings… However, if you want to, more power to you.