The current Real Estate Agents Act (Professional Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2009 booklet makes a licensee’s duty of care and professional obligation very clear in regards to the subject of disclosure.
Recently in Florida, there has been an example of a disclosure situation on a large scale.
The Florida, Palm Beach Post published an article back in June, 2009 with the heading;
Parents in The Acreage fear possible cancer cluster; state looks at incidence rate
Health officials have confirmed the area has higher than normal rates of brain tumors and cancer among children.
Feb 17th, US CBS affiliate CBS12, started out their report by saying;
Tonight, real estate agents are reacting to the news of a cancer cluster in The Acreage.
Also in the last few days, US Fox TV affiliate WFLX have reported that;
The Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches is watching the cancer cluster situation, and they’ve just come out with a new disclosure form that people will have to sign before they buy or lease a home in The Acreage.
Could this have the potential to affect the price of homes in this nominated zone?
YOUTUBE VIDEO -- Erin Brockovich Press Conference re: The Acreage
Of note in the States, but something we hardly hear about downunder, is something called Radon. (Americas second leading cause of lung cancer) In many parts of the US this is an especially important consideration that stateside home buyers need to be informed / aware of.
Some reports here are also talking about the potential for radium to be in the water.
On the horizon though, I wonder how a situation like this example below would go;
1] agent is told by neighbours / other agents / buyers of some information about a suburb, information which is more in the “rumour” category, not officially published or confirmed data on the area….perhaps they’ve heard it before also from another source
2] agent thinks its fair to not inform buyers of this? Or agent think its fair that he/she does inform buyers of this?
3] local resident hears about this 2nd / 3rd hand and is told that was the reason this particular “informed / info disclosed to” buyer then deciding against purchasing in his/her street.
4] disgruntled local resident decides to proceed further, possibly exploring legal options, as they perceive value to his/her own property has been prejudiced, by nothing more than rumour / hearsay?
Could the Australian proposal be the harbinger of things to come here in New Zealand?
Under the heading “National Strategy on Energy Efficiency” on the Energy efficient buildings page of the Australian Governments Dept of Environment, Water, Heritage and The Arts website, is this published strategy aim;
Providing information to the housing market by requiring Australian homes to provide energy, water and greenhouse performance information to buyers and renters, starting with energy efficiency in 2011
ALL Australian homes will have to undergo a mandatory energy-efficiency assessment -- costing up to $1500 per property -- before they can be sold or rented under new laws to tackle carbon emissions.
The Sunday Mail goes on to say;
The mandatory assessment -- being drafted into law by the federal and state governments -- will rate homes by an energy efficiency star system, similar to the ratings given to fridges and washing machines.
It will apply to all commercial properties from later this year and to all residential properties from May 2011.
Hmmm………. in light of the leaky home situation here in NZ…….this could be interesting.
One wonders out loud what future stricter standards could be applied to what has passed in the last 5-10 years regarding insulation installations, and/or cladding replacements, and what if any extra costs may get passed on to said home-owner / property investor in such a situation.
NZ presently has HERS (Home Energy Ratings) but the scheme at present appears just voluntary. Although they mention, via links, the process to follow if you want to become an assessor. With a pool of assessors building…….its quite logical to foresee a situation where this process steps out of the voluntary stage and moves to mandatory. Annual Warrant of Fitness’s for rental properties dare I suggest? Certainly could be another way the govt could tax property investors.
Already law in the ACT , the state govt there has already implemented this strategy and has made ACTHERS mandatory that if you are “about to sell a dwelling which you occupy, that has been occupied or rented to tenants”….then you need to be aware that the onus is on you to “to disclose to prospective purchasers the current level of energy performance of the dwelling.”
Go here for a sample Home Energy Audit report. Today when a buyer carries out their inspection of the property at an Open Home, the onus is mainly on them to note every single thing that may have to be improved to make the home more energy efficient and nicer to live in.
For example did you notice that caulking was not used correctly between the wall and roof, things that usually only a thermal imaging camera can detect. Did you notice that there is a 4mm gap under the back door on the hinge side -- potentially in winter seeing warm air exit the home, or cold air enter.
This then would be a step up in terms of “peace of mind” for a buyer.
And based on the fact that this will become mandatory soon across the whole of Australia, its certainly food for thought downunder.
This 2009 clip from Texas also illustrates the USA perspective, especially the fact that out of 310 Austin area homes inspected, 86% failed the audit.
Could house prices be affected? Well according to this from Canberra, the answer is………?
I think we’ll be hearing more of this. Come to think of maybe its time to check out this here to see how efficient your home is or could be? A bit more Kiwi perspective here too.
Image - NASA/JPL-Caltech
Or could this “just around the corner” future, as this article suggests, be ready to provide the solution for us?
You might recall that I’ve previously spoken about ActiveRain, the no. 1 “Realtor” Network in the States.
Not just because I am one of the few overseas members there ( thats why on the admin’s advice you might notice I show up as a Hawaii realtor), but mostly because it is number 1, and even more certainly because of the way forward that it points.
What I mean in that statement is really quite important, and candidly the only way this sort of thing will ever have longevity. (check out some of their posts if you don’t believe and I dare you to tell me after reading a dozen of them you haven’t picked up at least some good advice)
Answer me this?
Do weblog readers want to be bombarded with advertising?
Do weblog readers want to be bombarded with “how great thou is” or “how great thouse deeds have been?”
Do weblog readers want to be bombarded with cunning “Last Chance” or “You’ve been specially selected” headings anymore?
The point here is that todays interested web-surfer can find all of this in a jiffy if they want, and frankly that is the whole enchilada……….finding what you want, when you want, on your terms, in the most convenient place, time & way.
………..Add to that todays designated “web-surfer” is actually a future cashed up property buyer, then you realise their radar is peaking higher than Joe 90’s……and take that to mean that their corresponding “b*llsh*t radar is just as highly tuned.
They only want………..well actually …….. only what they really want!
I, like some of my colleagues have surely sat here and felt guilty posting so regular that at times when you view the “Voices” list of notifications, out of the 4-5-6 featured posts, you can often see one of our names appear more than once.
Not for choice let me tell you……..its just that we have a story to tell, or information to impart.
Importantly, and the best thing about this platform, is that any information posted is subject to 100% public dissection, critique, …………so basically its completely open to any disagreeable persons comment, and that to my way of thinking is such a valuable resource……….but alas……….whose participating….. Hmmmm?
So……..why aren’t more professionals using it?
There is nothing to lose.
Frankly I don’t know why they aren’t.
But let me tell you, our cousins across the big ditch, think they refer to it as a “pond” in their terms, are encompassing the whole spectrum of open transparency in a ……..well …….cue the obligatory graph here
….very expansionary way………near on 20% increase in numbers, and how much is that…..only 27042 NEW MEMBERs in the last 9 months!
Let me repeat that number……
27,042
in about 9 months, amongst some of the toughest times States side real estate consultants will tell you.
And our equivalent situation here in NZ, in what I would have to term just a slightly less skewed market than that of the USA……….well count them……..someone would know……….I’d guess 20-50 at max.
Bit of a difference in numbers I’d suggest, but I’m relying on school cert maths holding up here.
I want to use all the words available in the english language to say what I think here, but on the grounds of professional courtesy…….I have to refrain.
I feel the force is amongst us, (in fact yes here it is, strangely enough very strong, at least double any other region of NZ) but anyway the observant here can easily, I hope, spot a trend in the above graphic?
Please tell me why Kiwi Realtors – Real Estate Professionals………”just don’t get it?”
Every now and then you come across something that brings a smile to your face?
Do you happen to know anyone who sees themselves as a budding villian?
If so, then it looks like the guys over at Lovely Listing have found your new home, a snip for someone of your means at USD$750,000.
A home they refer to as a Villians Starter Home.
As befitting such a security conscious person you’ll note from the above photo, that courtesy of the fact that your new residence is on the top of what looks like a volcano cone, you’ll have 360 degree panoramic views to your advantage.
Until its sold (at which time these links will just return errors) you can see this one of a kind property over here at Realtor.com or here at Redfin.com. You almost expect to see Dr Evil & Mini Me somewhere? Does anyone recall any movies scenes that this home featured in?
Definitely would be an interesting home to do an appraisal on?
You could say the guys over at LA Curbed got just a bit carried away with their description ……
…. we do mean “secret hideout where you watch your dastardly plans unfold on flat screens and cackle at your minions.” The Volcano House caps “a small volcanic peak in the high desert…Concrete and truss beams form its dome allowing the interior to embrace 360 degrees of stark, strong almost lunar landscape.” The listing doesn’t mention shark pits, control rooms, or giant laser beams, so you might have to install some of those yourself (maybe they’re just unpermitted?). The asking price is $750,000, which is nothing compared to what you’ll be able to extort from world leaders once you…..
If you are a kiwi you would have to have been living offshore if you answered “huh” to the following question…………………………
“Leaky Homes, what do you mean?”
Its quite interesting that in relevant news, stateside , states like Florida are having a growing issue/problem with their own “leaky homes” equivalent.
In their case its all to do with something called drywall, specifically Chinese drywall (in case this is news to you, check out Googles take on it, images here). Translating here, and I stand to be corrected, the kiwi equivalent would be Gib.
Anyway, in certain states time seems to have caught up with them and they now seem to be paying the price for the “cheaper is best” mentality that was so prevalent some years back. As in “Made somewhere else” and therefore not in the good ole USA.
In related news it’s also interesting, and perhaps quite timely to note that there is a bit of a hoopla in OZ at present over the fact that, courtesy of govt encouragement/rebate/etc, companies like Bradfords (aka “Batts”) are under the spotlight because they can’t keep up/supply the demand. After the Florida episode mentioned above, questions are being asked about the importation of “batts” from China.
Now that was certainly something I hadn’t thought of, iPhones, computers, electric blankets, pots & pans, YES, …………………………………but home insulation?
Seeing there’s been a bit of local press lately, particularly of insulation installation co’s profiteering from current government subsidies, it would be interesting to know………in NZ if this is, …………or could be, a developing issue?
Are we, or companies like Bradfords supplying our countries demand locally with 100% local product?
Or, is their a situation developing? Would your local supplier in good faith even know the country of origin?
The way I think, if we were to import, then that doesn’t feel quite right with this “create local jobs” type of environment the politicians are trying to encourage and frankly, are advocating they are doing. Come on Senior Sainsbury have a look at this! (sorry no overseas junket required….oooohh well maybe I shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions here)
Is that new roof insulation you just forked out for from overseas?
It is noted that in Australia’s case Bradfords & other’s are at pains to point out that the product they are importing comes from are ratified/sanctioned suppliers, and is up to the same standards as locally produced stuff. Still what does that do for local jobs.
Am I right to talk about this, or am I like a newspaper being an alarmist when there is no need?
Tell me readers!
Related News for US readers – How to KnowIf Your House Contains FES2 Toxic Chinese Drywall
Are curious about why home prices / values haven’t dropped “at least 30% from their peak” here in NZ, but have in other countries?
Other countries, whom I have read it said that “cough…and we here in NZ sneeze” then perhaps you may find reading this expose interesting when comparing the NZ situation to that of the USA.
How fortunate we are in this part of the world that the loan situation didn’t get so far out of tune with reality. Against this sort of activity then its logical and no wonder at all why values there have dropped so much, and why there are so many foreclosures. (repossessions in Kiwi talk)
One might think the transactions on the above property were just a tad suspicious?
This week the Sarasota Herald Tribune has been telling the results of what they say is a 12 month investigation and on the surface the reporting looks quite well researched. In the land of litigation they would want to be.
This week they are currently midway through publishing their findings/revelations in regard to the devastating ramifications of what was once a very popular hobby in Florida “flipping homes.”
Amid interesting snippets like….
“More than 100 properties from Palmetto to North Port doubled in price in a single day during the recent real estate boom”
…the Sarasota Herald Tribune goes on to state that they believe the toll to “Gulf properties” so far stands at half a billion dollars.
In researching the series the paper examined more than 3,000 property “flips” since 2000 in the Florida regions of Sarasota and Manatee counties.
The photo and caption below appeared in the paper yesterday. The Realtor chap mentioned was also featured in another article just recently too.
The paper reports “Based on interviews with more than 100 investors and real estate professionals and a review of thousands of pages of deeds, mortgages, foreclosure filings and other public records, the Herald-Tribune found…” heaps!
You may ask yourself, did they get any warning that it would be this bad, well it turns out yes, in this paper from none other than the Dept of Law Enforcement Commissioner himself. Obviously in a “still, what would he know” moment it appears practically no one took any notice of this sobering document at the time?
Happened across a great article that Steven Swanepoel tweeted about earlier today.
Got me thinking.
It talks about the future of Twitter, more in terms of its use for business/brand owners.
It reported about a company that had recently launched a new add series with a major Twitter component, as an integral part of a multi-million dollar ad campaign.
Starbucks put up posters in six major US cities, then asked people to go out and find them, and upload a pic to Twitter as soon as, the first 5 to win a Starbucks Coffee Card with $20 free credit.
Social media is firing back at major businesses again and this time its Stabucks’ turn to take the heat. The coffee shop giant wanted to use the power of twitter in a new multi-million dollar campaign. Filmmaker and liberal activist Robert Greenwald however saw this as an opportunity to promote his latest documentary criticizing Starbucks’ unfair labor practices and union busting.
According to Alternet.org,
filmmaker Robert Greenwald who has done a short video critical of the way that Starbucks treats employees, entered the Twitter contest as a way to get out news about his new film.
In the real world as Web 2.0 heads towards 3.0 this is the way that transparency will play out, even more business visibility and all things associated with it. If you are thinking of utlizing social media in a business sense you must be also aware that the world is getting to be a smaller place each day. And for Real Estate in this part of the world?
And for the buying public this has got to be a good thing. There is no 6 degrees of separation when it comes to Twitter? Go here to read the full article Steven tweeted earlier.
My take on it, at least from a NZ Real Estate perspective, might be……
You’ll notice the QR Code on the above sign (highlighted by green arrow)
Now with all these new model phs Telecom on their XT Network and Vodafone are releasing, many have the facility to take a photo of a QR Code and immediately take your mobile phones browser to the desired web location.
Could be as simple as….
Tweet to all followers
the first person to spot one of “XXX” Real Estates signs with a QR Code on it needs to upload it to Twitter / or email to company….for prize. (in 140 chars obviously) Or if all your QR Codes are on a white background – “first person to spot a yellow or orange one” – heck they could always snap the QR code and it itself could direct them what to do next.
Heck with today’s technology it wouldn’t even be hard for the uploader to be then automatically taken to a site that tells them they are the winner of a T-Shirt / Coffee Card, CD/DVD or so. And anyone else taking the same snap (aka “too late”) and uploading after the first person or going to the www site on the QR Code would see “sorry you missed out – ABC Citizen has just beaten you” – then capture their details so that next time a competition is run, and broadcast on the radio for example, Twitter users registered or followers might get a 5 minute head start on the radio add or similar.
Really the possibilities are immense.
The QR Code would only need to be printed on waterproof label paper, and in that way could be frequently changed.
While selling the home the code would take the interested buyers direct to the listing and details, while once its sold, the sticker could be changed to then redirect to a competition, or even other new “avail for sale” listings very similar to this sold one.
Its just a matter of time before we will start to see these 2D/3D type barcodes popping up everywhere.
Stewart – I hope it really gets picked u here soon
Pete – although this – http://3.ly/cf – is taking it a bit extreme with no other words at all on the sign there are quite a few other -http://3.ly/zI – examples – http://3.ly/OH – around the globe where folks are doing it now. In OZ, at least in Brisbane the local newspaper has been trialling it in competitions for youngsters in their Sunday Pull-out section.
Pete in an earlier post http://3.ly/ei I actually pictured an example in commercial real estate from Oz, you might want to check it out.
These has been a couple of mentions http://3.ly/uW – here in – http://3.ly/q7 – NZ, and some interesting ones – http://3.ly/gW, but no where near the mass use Japan has had for years now.
This past week one of the biggest tech things to hit the newswires was the wave.
Google looks to be onto another winner, and well they should be considering the core of their development was the brothers based in Sydney who concentrated their original efforts on an thing called Google Maps, but it seems we’ll have to wait some months for the real conclusion.
Even MS got into the act with BING (”But Is Not Google”)
You can’t help but notice that many trends from overseas, probably more specifically in equivalent OECD places like the States, the UK and Australia usually permiate, in time, their way down under to “Middle Earth”.
Why, even I remember as an ambitious young Kiwi, after an overseas trip circa 1980, what a cool wallet those Californians had invented that just zippered open via a Velcro mechanism.
Everyone I showed it to in Auckland back then wanted one.
Then 6 months later everyone seemed to be showing an absurd fasination with US baseball style caps.
In my previous post, I mentioned about how exciting it was to see transparency, in a Kiwi equivalent situation.
Here in NZ, well actually in August this year (you may have seen the positions for committee members advertised in this weekend’s papers) we will have a new government sanctioned umbrella authority overseeing all RE in NZ.
The 2009 pics displayed here are from a Florida training institution.
Ok, the shots are from a Real Estate training organisation in Florida, but should it really be as easy as the graphics depict?
Suggest to study in your spare hours to gain a licence so that you can sell someones most important asset…….?
Maybe explains why there are such wild fluctuation in RE Agent / Realtors over the last 10 years in the US, cumulating in ridiculous examples like in California where at one time this decade nearly 1 out of every 50 residents was a real estate agent.
Yesterday the May 2009 Property Report was released by realestate.co.nz.
Continuing in almost a similar vein to last month, Nelson again shows some interesting results when compared to many other parts of the country.
GRAPHIC – NZ Property Report – May 2009 www.realestate.co.nz
Nelson had the second highest increase in asking prices tracked in the April 2009 report, and continues in that pattern in May 2009 by being just outside the top 5 at number 6, out of the 19 reporting regions.
GRAPHIC – NZ Property Report – May 2009 www.realestate.co.nz
In commenting on the critical factor of Inventory levels (after all supply & demand has such a bearing on price) the report displays that Nelson is one of 4 regions whose tightened supply swings the market sentiment towards the seller side.
The report said as much
At the other extreme the areas with the lowest levels of inventory are Wellington with 16 weeks, Taranaki – 20 weeks, with Nelson and Otago with 23 weeks apiece.
And in pointing out a tightening of available for sale properties the writer goes on…
Areas representing the tightest market in respect of current inventory as compared to long term averages would be Nelson, Wellington and Canterbury.
So when compared to May 2008 the amount of new listings was down by 182 or 29%.
One could say the displayed data, is consistent with continuing to validate our reasonably stable local Real Estate market, one that does, like it has for many decades (see here – further next paragraph), continues to display the sort of data set that is concordant with a location being a buyers desired choice when it comes to a place to call “home”.
If you would like to conduct a bit more research to see what I am talking about re Nelson standing out for many decades now in price history data, head on over to MOTU, go here to read or download “The Ups & Downs of NZ House Prices”.**
Gander at the Tables starting on Page 20, (especially Table 1 and 11-12) and just see where Nelson sits when equated to the rest of the country, and you’ll be able to see what I’m talking about.
And after watching Trulia CEO Pete Flint on this Forbes video interview, you just know that what realestate.co.nz is doing by providing this monthly report (& like many REINZ reports, for free unlike others) is increasing exactly the sort of real estate transparency talked about in the interview, and the sort of info / data that increasingly US first time home buyers are demanding.
** Hall, Viv; John McDermott and James Tremewan. 2006. “The Ups and Downs of New Zealand House Prices,” Motu Working Paper 06-03.
Following the methods outlined the bestselling author Gary Keller’s book “The Millionaire Real Estate Agent”, a Realtor (US speak for a Real Estate Agent) is looking to achieve an audacious goal. By using his methods and following the plan Sarah Bandy hopes to generate one million dollars of revenue in a 52-week time span.
A particularly interesting component in this quest is her take on taking advantage of Web 2.0 methods.
From her web site….
Each week viewers will be able to tune in at www.SarahBandy.com to learn her methods, celebrate her successes, and follow every step of the way on her daring and exciting new journey.
Sarah has said she will be incorporating and using “Web 2.0″ methods, encompassing Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites to promote her show and help to accomplish her goal.
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