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All of these drastic numbers and record lows have some arguing about the dependence of the housing market on government support. That argument may heat up, as the Senate voted down the bill which would have extended the closing deadline for the home buyer credit to September 30 from June 30.  It probably didn’t help that an audit found prisoners fraudulently receiving the tax credit.

In good news, pricing of homes rose for a second straight month. In California, prices rose 23 percent in May.  Speaking of California, state legislators are considering a bill that would redefine the obligations of many defaulting homeowners. Do you think other states will consider similar bills? What about on a national level?

Take a page out of Mortgage Bankers Association President Jim Pair’s book and counsel borrowers to not charge large purchases or change jobs as their applying for mortgages — if at all possible, they should wait until after closing. This will prove especially important as Fannie Mae’s introduced new requirements to recheck a borrower’s finances shortly before closing. In other advice for your consumers, Fannie Mae’s “unusual hardships” policy provides relief for homeowners with problem drywall. Pass it along!

Fannie Mae also announced this week that in an effort to deter the trend toward strategic defaulting, it will temporarily deny new loans to borrowers who deliberately default and walk away from their homes. Who would have thought a measure like this would have been necessary?

Live and work in one of America’s dirtiest cities? Perhaps you can help think of ways to get involved to clean it up!

Trulia.com reports that last month, sellers lowered asking prices on 22 percent of homes, totaling $26.7 billion. There may be many reasons why, but clearly the role of the real estate professional in pricing a home is growing evermore vital in a changing market.  This will only increase in the years to come as the Mortgage Bankers Association this week gave buyers and sellers another reason to move with a sense of urgency, saying they believe thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages will creep up to the high six percent range over the next two years.

In good news/bad news reports, the “State of the Nation’s Housing” study from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies predicts household growth could approach 15 million from 2010 to 2020, thanks to the emergence of the echo-boom and baby-bust generations, if employment picks up.  However, the US Labor Department reported only 41,000 private sector jobs last month, this is only one-fifth of the April number.

In other news from Washington, in what has been dubbed the “the mother of all bailouts,” Fannie and Freddie have been de-listed from the NYSE.  These government sponsored enterprises, which own or guarantee almost 31 million home loans, will need at least $160 billion to be fixed and can spiral up to $1 trillion.  Even the “low end” of this estimate surpasses the amount spent on bailouts of American International Group, General Motors or Citigroup.

Lastly, if you have homebuyers considering a fixer-upper with limited funds to remodel it, look into the FHA 203(k) Loan. A variety of home repairs, from painting to room additions to kitchen remodeling, can all be financed with the loan.

To all dads, Happy Father’s Day!

The number 46 million. Ukraine’s population is just under 46 million, 46 million Americans were born between 1965 and 1980 and, by 2014, 46 million people will have an iPad or other tablet device. Wow! It also turns out that “sponsored conversations” – which compensate social media users for discussing brands’ products – grew to $46 million in 2009, a 14 percent increase from a year earlier. I’m starting to think that 46 million is catching on.

Google lately has been a little late to the game, but still manages to cause waves: first with the Android and now with Google TV. It will be interesting to watch this technology develop into mainstream. Predictions on its success?

Control over Facebook’s privacy last week has opened the social networking site up to more competition. One area it certainly can’t be touched is mobile, especially with the launch of 0.facebook.com, and of course with its unprecedented reach, which bodes well for marketers.

As you all know, I love Foursquare. This week I learned that 15,000 new users each day agree! So, what are you waiting for? Try it out!

A survey from Deloitte found that consumer, in particular the affluent, believe financial recovery has arrived. How can we take advantage of this new confidence and turn it into buying behavior?

While there is currently no specific legislation to address the challenges of each, the open-ended questions proposed are thought provoking.  The expected questions will include:

• How should federal housing finance objectives be prioritized in the context of the broader objectives of housing policy?
• What role should the federal government play in supporting a stable, well-functioning housing finance system and what risks, if any, should the federal government bear in meeting its housing finance objectives?
• Should the government approach differ across different segments of the market, and if so, how?
• How should the current organization of the housing finance system be improved?
• How should the housing finance system support sound market practices?
• What is the best way for the housing finance system to help ensure consumers are protected from unfair, abusive or deceptive practices?
• Do housing finance systems in other countries offer insights that can help inform US reform choices?

Regardless of your political point of view and your thoughts on what happened in the past, truly thinking about these questions and providing answers under the auspices of what is right for the collective good of America is a brain teaser. And before you consider answering these questions, also include a few other macro-economic points to ponder:

• Foreclosures are up nationally.
  • RealtyTrac Inc. states that the number of U.S. homes taken over by banks jumped 35 percent in the first quarter from a year ago.
• Initial claims for unemployment insurance are up.
  • Claims rose by 24,000 to 484,000 in the week ending April 10.
• However, manufacturing results came in much higher than expected.
  • A reading of 31.8 versus last months of 22.9 (readings above 0 suggest expansion).
• Benchmark Treasury yields rose and mortgage backed security prices fell (which means mortgage rates raised ever so slightly) based on additional positive economic data.

So, how would you answer these expected questions from our administration?

For me, while I can (and will) provide my comments when the questions hit the airwaves (blogwaves?), the immediate answer is to just keep selling.

No matter what happens, I/we need to continue to take advantage of whatever the market throws our way and help our buyers/sellers/potential new franchisees be in a better place tomorrow than they are today.

Let’s get back to keeping it simple in the real estate business. I have several people in my life who remind me almost daily that what we do is not rocket science, it’s just real estate. So then, why do we make it so darn complicated?

I was having a conversation with one of our franchisees the other day. It started with the normal exchange of pleasantries. I then complimented him on the growth he has been experiencing in his office recently. He attracted 6 experienced agents in January and another 7 in February. A great start to the year. I should also disclose his office is located in Florida- not exactly the envy of North American real estate right now. I asked him what he attributed this strong start to the year to.

He said, this year “I’m focusing on two things everyday: agents and listings.”

I work with brokers everyday analyzing financials, looking at performance indicators, developing talent attraction strategies and numerous other things. By the end of the day, it is easy to pile up the to do’s and the tasks. In fact, usually the pile is so high that we have to spend a good portion of our time reducing the pile to manageable and actionable items. We have to eliminate the “shiny” as I like to say. These are the things that don’t directly contribute to your goals. That’s what struck me as brilliant about the simplicity of focus demonstrated by Vince Laviano, Broker/Owner of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Laviano & Associates, when he said ”agents and listings.”

Agents:

• Experienced agents are looking for leadership and an environment that will support their success. Many have been disappointed and disillusioned by the lack of both of these things from their current brokerage. If you can demonstrate that your company can provide these elements, you’ll become the destination brokerage for many great agents.
• There are still people getting their real estate license in every state, every day across the country. Don’t discount the new agent to the industry right now. Those who are getting into the business now are probably the highest quality and most talented new entrants we’ve seen in years. These are business people who you should be proud to partner with in your company.
• Your existing agents need you. They need you to lead. They need you to expand your skill set and help continually expand their value proposition to today’s buyer and seller. Don’t forget about them.

Listings:

• Having saleable listings has always been and will always be the back bone of every successful real estate professionals and brokerage’s business.
• Moving up, changing neighborhoods, financial distress, death, divorce, downsizing. People move for all sorts of reasons. Good markets and bad markets aside, as real estate professionals we have to be good listing agents. If agents focused on prospecting for listings everyday and their brokerage supported this effort through various lead generation programs, we would have a win-win situation.

We are staring down the end of the first quarter of 2010.

• What are you focusing on this year to reach your goals?
• How’s that working out for you so far?
• Has it all gotten complicated or have you kept it simple?

The United States is a wonderfully diverse nation where we enjoy the liberties of freedom and the pursuit of happiness. But to really extract the real meaning of Independence Day, it’s crucial that we take a moment and remind ourselves how it came about and what sacrificial journey was endured so that could get to this place.

From the Battle at Lexington and Concord in 1775 until George Washington bid a final farewell to his troops in 1783, America’s fight for independence from Britain was a long and arduous one. More than 25,000 men and women gave their lives in this battle with more than 25,000 who were wounded.

It’s truly unimaginable to comprehend how deeply these people loved their country and the freedoms for which they laid down their lives. If only they could know what their sacrifices led to that help shape this country and the rest of the world.

On July 4^th, 1776, we claimed our independence from British rule. Since then, we have endured world wars, conflicts and police actions to maintain the freedom we enjoy. The wars, battles and patriots who fought for freedom are depicted in movies and history books and memorialized throughout the country.

We wave the American Flag symbolically and travel to Washington, D.C. to capture snapshots of the history of this great nation we call home, but the journey for freedom is ongoing and we are surrounded by symbols of freedom every day. We have so much for which to remain grateful. To those who began the pursuit of our freedom and to those who continue in the pursuit, let’s say a collective “thank you.”

Happy Birthday, America!