New Home Source Professional unveiled a site overhaul this week. The new site, which was the result of feedback from working REALTORS® across the country, introduces several new tools for RMLS™ members to find new homes and communicate with clients about them.

Here are five features worth checking out:

Multiple Search Options
On the refreshed New Home Source Professional site, filters and sorting have been improved. Select multiple cities, ZIP codes, or school districts. You can even search within a map! Users will have multiple search result options including list, map, or photo view, with quick previews.

Saved Listings, Saved Searches, Listing Reports
When you find new homes or communities that you like, save them! You can save the listings, save the search, or download and print PDF reports for each property.

Your Own New Home Website
Enhance your brand as a local new home expert with a branded consumer portal. This serves as both a way to communicate with clients and attract new buyers. Free!

Drive More Leads for Your Business
Potential home buyers can visit your consumer portal (free!), search new homes, then interact with you directly. Integrate it into your current website, email signature, and social media accounts to generate new clients.

Track All Client Activity

Which actions are your clients taking? You’ll know exactly what they’re doing on the site and can respond with timely, helpful communications. Net result? Efficient use of time for both you and your client, from initial engagement through a home purchase.

Sound exciting? Connect to New Home Source Professional via the link in the left-hand sidebar on RMLSweb or by navigating to Toolkit and clicking “New Home Source.” Search for a perfect new home for your client today!

This chart shows the number of bank owned/REO properties and short sales in all areas of the RMLS™ system during the first quarter of 2016.

Below are links to additional charts for some of our larger areas.
• Portland Metro Area Distressed Properties (1st Quarter 2016)
• Clark County, WA Distressed Properties (1st Quarter 2016)
• Lane County, OR Distressed Properties (1st Quarter 2016)
• Douglas County, OR Distressed Properties (1st Quarter 2016)
• Coos County, OR Distressed Properties (1st Quarter 2016)

Here are some additional facts about distressed residential properties in the first quarter of 2016:

All areas when comparing percentage share of the market, first quarter 2016 to fourth quarter 2015:
• When comparing first quarter 2016 to fourth quarter 2015, distressed sales as a percentage of new listings decreased by 3.0% (7.1 v. 10.1%).
• In a comparison of first quarter 2016 to fourth quarter 2015, distressed sales as a percentage of closed sales decreased by 2.1% (10.6 v. 8.5%).
• Short sales comprised 1.5% of new listings and 1.9% of sales in the first quarter of 2016, down 0.7% and up 0.2% from the fourth quarter of 2015, respectively.
• Bank owned/REO properties comprised 5.6% of new listings and 8.7% of sales in the first quarter of 2016, down 2.3% and up 1.9% from the fourth quarter of 2015, respectively.

Portland metro when comparing percentage share of the market, first quarter 2016 to fourth quarter 2015:
• When comparing first quarter 2016 to fourth quarter 2015, distressed sales as a percentage of new listings decreased by 3.2% (6.0 v. 9.2%).
• In a comparison of first quarter 2016 to fourth quarter 2015, distressed sales as a percentage of closed sales increased by 1.9% (9.6 v. 7.7%).
• Short sales comprised 1.4% of new listings and 2.2% of sales in the first quarter of 2016, down 0.7% and up 0.4% from the fourth quarter of 2015, respectively.
• Bank owned/REO properties comprised 4.6% of new listings and 7.4% of sales in the first quarter of 2016, down 2.5% and up 1.5% from the fourth quarter of 2015, respectively.

Clark County when comparing percentage share of the market, first quarter 2016 to fourth quarter 2015:
• When comparing first quarter 2016 to fourth quarter 2015, distressed sales as a percentage of new listings decreased by 1.2% (5.8 v. 7.0%).
• In a comparison of first quarter 2016 to fourth quarter 2015, distressed sales as a percentage of closed sales remained unchanged (6.0 v. 6.0%).
• Short sales comprised 2.5% of new listings and 1.9% of sales in the first quarter of 2016, down 0.9% for new listings and exactly matching sales when compared to the fourth quarter of 2015, respectively.
• Bank owned/REO properties comprised 3.3% of new listings and 4.1% of sales in the first quarter of 2016, down 0.3% and exactly matching the fourth quarter of 2015, respectively.

If you’d like more information or percentages of distressed residential sales in other areas not represented by our charts, please contact us at communications@rmls.com.

This Week’s Lockbox Activity

For the week of April 4-10, 2016, these charts show the number of times RMLS™ subscribers opened SentriLock lockboxes in Oregon and Washington. Activity rose in both Oregon and Washington this week.

For a larger version of each chart, visit the RMLS™ photostream on Flickr.

This Week’s Lockbox Activity

For the week of March 28-April 3, 2016, these charts show the number of times RMLS™ subscribers opened SentriLock lockboxes in Oregon and Washington. Activity rose in Oregon and decreased in Washington this week.

For a larger version of each chart, visit the RMLS™ photostream on Flickr.

This Week’s Lockbox Activity

For the week of March 21-27, 2016, these charts show the number of times RMLS™ subscribers opened SentriLock lockboxes in Oregon and Washington. Activity decreased in both Oregon and Washington this week.

For a larger version of each chart, visit the RMLS™ photostream on Flickr.

This April, celebrate National Fair Housing Month with the National Association of REALTORS®, Fair Housing Council of Oregon, and RMLS™. April 11th marks the 48th anniversary of the passage of the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, or financing of housing. It is an issue vital to everyone in the housing industry, from REALTORS® to short-term tenants. Each April, National Fair Housing Month is observed to spotlight this important issue.

How can your office observe Fair Housing Month? Here are a few ideas:

• The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) regularly publishes online content about fair housing in the industry. Explore the most recent offerings, such as Window to the Law: Disparate Impact Liability and Fair Housing, and moderate an office discussion about fair housing practices at your next office meeting.
• NAR’s REALTOR® Action Center suggests displaying materials related to Fair Housing in your brokerage office. Could you get your town to declare April as Fair Housing Month? They can help!
• Fair Housing Council of Oregon (FHCO)  will be on hand at several events this April to answer questions and talk to the public. Catch them at Portland’s Mexican Consolate from 10am-3pm on April 4th and April 8th; the Asian and Pacific Islander Community Improvement Association Home Buyer Fair on April 9th; and the Latino Cultural Festival on April 24th.
• If you like museums, consider a visit to “Anywhere but Here,” FHCO’s traveling exhibit of housing discrimination in Oregon. The public can view the exhibit at the following locations:

March 28-April 8
Clackamas County Housing Rights and Resource Center
2051 Kaen Road
Oregon City, OR

April 11-April 22
The Portland Building
1120 SW Fifth Ave
Portland, OR

April 25-May 6
Yamhill County Housing Authority
135 NE Dunn Place
McMinnville, OR

May 9-May 20
Providence St. Vincent Medical Center
9205 SW Barnes Road
Portland, OR

• RMLS™ staff members frequently join FHCO’s Fair Housing Bus Tour that rolls around Portland in April. The tour makes stops at sites important to Portland’s fair housing history and includes speakers who personally experienced housing discrimination, speaking firsthand about the discrimination they faced.

How does your office celebrate Fair Housing Month? Share your ideas and resources below—we can all benefit from sharing what we know.

This Week’s Lockbox Activity

For the week of March 14-20, 2016, these charts show the number of times RMLS™ subscribers opened SentriLock lockboxes in Oregon and Washington. Activity increased in Washington and decreased slightly in Oregon this week.

For a larger version of each chart, visit the RMLS™ photostream on Flickr.

This Week’s Lockbox Activity

For the week of March 7-13, 2016, these charts show the number of times RMLS™ subscribers opened SentriLock lockboxes in Oregon and Washington. Activity increased in Oregon and decreased in Washington this week.

For a larger version of each chart, visit the RMLS™ photostream on Flickr.

This Week’s Lockbox Activity

For the week of February 29-March 6, 2016, these charts show the number of times RMLS™ subscribers opened SentriLock lockboxes in Oregon and Washington. Activity increased in both Oregon and Washington this week.

For a larger version of each chart, visit the RMLS™ photostream on Flickr.

This Week’s Lockbox Activity

For the week of February 22-28, 2016, these charts show the number of times RMLS™ subscribers opened SentriLock lockboxes in Oregon and Washington. Activity increased in both Oregon and Washington this week.

For a larger version of each chart, visit the RMLS™ photostream on Flickr.