2014 | Nebraska Realty - Omaha Real Estate Video Blog with Andy Alloway

What Are the Most Important Things in Life?

Looking to improve your real estate career? I'm here to help you make a smart decision when it comes to growing your business, improving your bottom line, and choosing a place to work in real estate sales. If you'd like to learn more about working with DEEB Realty, contact me at (402) 491-0100 or email andy@godeeb.com

Today, we just wanted to take a step back and say thanks for watching our videos and interacting with our company. We also want to say thanks to the REALTORS® out there, who have a very difficult job, for everything they do. We had another record year here at DEEB Realty, and we couldn't have done it without an amazing support system.

We hope you have a safe and happy holiday season. Hopefully you can take some time off from your busy schedules to spend time with your family. The time you spend away from work and with the ones you love is really the most important part of life. We tend to get caught up in our work, so it's nice to have this time of year to slow down and think about the things that really matter to us. Take the time to appreciate the good things in life, and the rest will fall into place.

We thought we would share this little reminder with you this holiday season. Again, thanks for the continued support and have a lovely holiday season!

How Do the MLS Changes Impact You as an Agent?

There are several changes on our local MLS that happened November 19 we think you should know about. First, the long-anticipated wait for the standardized new purchase agreement is over. On November 19th, it became available to all members. We hope that this purchase agreement will make your jobs more efficient and will make the process easier for everyone involved. We encourage agents and brokers to take advantage of this great tool.

Secondly, the new policy for off-market listings debuted on November 19. A new status, "active, no showing", will allow you to have information on the property if it's a "coming soon" or "off market" property. Realtors will be able to tell their clients about such properties, but they won't be syndicated through IDX and other external websites.

If you do take an off-market listing, you have to fill out an additional addendum to your listing agreement explaining the benefits of the MLS and have your client sign it. Make sure you talk to your managers at your offices about this policy, as there may be fines for not following procedures. There have also been several MLS input changes that were recommended to us and went into effect November 19 as well.

Looking a few years down the road, the Board of Directors from the NAR Conference voted to move Quadrennial Ethics training to every two years. Additionally, they adopted a policy called the Code of Excellence, which has to do with more training for agents, so be aware that you may have to do more training in the upcoming years.

If you have any questions about these policy changes, don't hesitate to give us a call or shoot us an email. We know them well and would love to help you better understand them. Thanks, and we hope to hear from you soon!

What Market Trends are We Seeing in Omaha?

Today, I'm going to take a look at recent trends in the Omaha real estate market and determine what they mean for us. Here are some of the key numbers that will surely influence how you do business over the next few months.

Number of active listings: down 10%.
Pending listings: up 25% year to date.
Closed listings: up 1.6%.
Average sales price: $185,000 up 4%.
Average new construction sales price: $285,000, up 3.5%.
Average days on market: 41 days, down 14.5%.

The number of listings through the first 10 months of this year are very similar to the number of listings through the first 10 months of 2013, we've just been selling them at a much higher rate. With prices still appreciating, now is the time to take advantage of the market and sell, sell, sell.

Conditions are pretty good for buyers as well. Interest rates remain low and we have a fairly balanced market

In short, our market is healthy and there are no signs of that changing. That being said, conditions right now are skewed towards the home seller, and you should be seeing an increase in listings and sold homes in the coming months.

If you have any questions about these market conditions, or anything else I can help you with, give me a call or send me a quick email. Talk to you soon!

New Tools Available at Deeb Realty

At Deeb Realty, we're always working to make the lives of our agents, and thus the lives of our clients, easier. We've recently instituted a new listing tool that will do just that. It integrates free virtual tours, mobile apps, individual property websites, YouTube videos, and text-based lead capture systems. This new system is a welcome addition to our already state-of-the-art marketing program, which includes listing flip books and social media syndication. The best part? It only takes a few minutes to access all of these great features.

This exciting new marketing piece is offered to all of our agents free of charge as a part of our 4000 piece marketing suite we already have in place. You can have all the tools in the world, but here at Deeb Realty, we believe tools are only as good as their functionality. We sift through the good and the bad to provide the most effective and easiest to use tools, and offer our staff assistance in using them to get the best results for our clients.

In addition to the great marketing tools we provide our agents, we are also renovating our website again in order to achieve maximum efficiency. We want our systems to be intuitive for clients and agents alike, so ease of use is a top priority for our team. We are also working to complete a uniform purchase agreement, which we submitted for a final revision to the Board of Directors on September 30. As soon as we get word on that, we'll be sure to update you.

If you are curious about how we do things differently here at Deeb Realty, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to talk about all we have to offer you!

Get Ahead - Start Planning for This Year's License Renewals

With the summer coming to an end and the kids going back to school, it can be hard to effectively manage your time. That's why, if you're due for your 2-year license renewal, you should start planning which courses you will take to meet the November 30th deadline.

First, you need to know where you can go to take the courses, or check to see if you are due for renewal. You can visit the Nebraska Real Estate Commission website or simply give them a call to find out your status. There are a number of different schools that offer courses, as well as the Omaha Area Board of Realtors and Nebraska Realtors Association. Additionally, we here at Deeb Realty offer 90 continuing education (CE) and broker-approved courses, which all of our agents receive for free.

If you are due for renewal, you'll need to take 12 hours of CE courses and 6 hours of broker-approved training. Often times, the renewal process is an afterthought that is done at the last moment; with your busy schedule, you might reason, it's best to get it out of the way just before the deadline. However, if you take time to prepare, you can get more out of these classes and expand your expertise. Try taking varied classes, ones you haven't taken before. You'll find this to be a rewarding experience and beneficial to your business.

In a few years, you will no longer be able to take correspondence, or take-home, courses. All courses will soon be either online or in-class, so it may be to your advantage to start getting accustomed to those settings.

We hope you find this information useful going forward. We want you to use the license renewal process as an opportunity to improve. If you have any questions about the process, or would like to take courses with Deeb Realty, don't hesitate to get in contact with us. We look forward to helping you grow as an agent!

Omaha Mid-Year Market Review

Halfway through 2014, the MLS stats for Omaha are looking great. We have already exceeded the highs in the market that preceded the 2008 downturn. Last year proved to be a historic year for home sales and pending sales in Omaha, and it looks like our market is only improving. Here are some of the numbers for the first half of this year as compared to the same period in 2013:

The number of closed homes is 5,995, up from 5,904.
Average list price is up $7,000.
New construction average price has risen to $340,000 from $282,000.

These numbers are good news - it appears that people have been moving up to larger homes. If you would like more information on current market conditions, or have any questions about Omaha real estate, give me a call or shoot me an email. I'd love to assist you.

Technology is Changing Real Estate Sales- How Are You Keeping Up?

Sometimes it feels impossible to keep up with the perpetual advancements in technology. As futile as it may seem at times, it's important to keep up as much as possible in order to prepare for ways in which new technology may shape your industry. Here are a few things you may not have heard of that you should keep in mind:

It's no longer good enough to have a website or blog. Almost everyone uses social media of some sort. This is a blessing and a curse. For one, it makes it easier to reach out directly to potential customers. On the other hand, it's a bit more work to update your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn consistently.
How consumers bank may be changing. There has been talk about the possibility of banking with companies not typically associated with that industry - such as Apple, Paypal, or Amazon. The implications of such a change aren't clear, but it's clearly a palatable option for younger consumers.
Alternative currency, while still in its infancy, has made waves in the media in the last year. We even heard a story that a seller was accepting the digital currency Bitcoin as payment for his multi-million dollar home. Whether or not this ever achieves mainstream use can only be speculated on, but it's important to keep this interesting development in mind.
Push notifications via Bluetooth could appear on smart phones of people walking or driving by your listed property. It could include basic information about the home and provide a link to get more information.

As we all know, technology is a fickle thing. For all we know, some of these trends will never catch on and will soon be forgotten. However, we do know that technological advances will have some sort of impact on our industry, so there is no harm in being aware of what's out there and thinking of how it may be useful. If you would like to chat about these or any other developments you find interesting, give us a call or send us an email. It would be great to hear from you!

We have a New Office at 168th and Dodge!

Deeb Realty is Building a New Office at 168th and Dodge!

It's been a long time coming, but we are finally getting a new office here in Omaha. We actually broke ground in March, but we haven't yet had the time to tell you about this development.

Our building is located on the northwest corner of 168th and Dodge, right across from Village Pointe. Construction is all going as scheduled, and we hope to move in to this new space by March 2015.

We're confident that this will be the premier real estate facility in Omaha.

We will be taking reservations for offices at the end of this summer, so please let us know if you're interested because these spaces will sell out quick.

As always, please contact us if you're interested in buying or selling real estate in Omaha. We would be more than happy to help you!

The RPAC is Looking Out for Your Interests

Why You Need to Be Involved in the RPAC

In honor of our recent local elections, today I’m discussing how Realtors make our voice heard in the political world and fight for the rights of homeowners.

The Realtor Political Action Committee, the 8thRealtors contribute to the political process and fight for legislation that promotes home ownership. Through their lobbying efforts and support for specific candidates, RPAC has a direct impact your business.

This is a brief snapshot of what RPAC does for us:

They help elect Realtor-friendly candidates who promote our agenda.
Uses your money in your state, where it impacts you most.
Contributes to over 400 congressional and senate candidates nationwide.

Here are some recent topics that the RPAC has covered:

Preservation of the Mortgage Interest Deduction: This is a benefit that homeowners have enjoyed for decades, and we want to see it preserved in the tax code.
Flood Insurance: Premiums are increasing and making homes less affordable. RPAC is fighting to reverse this trend.
Mortgage Debt Cancellation Relief: RPAC is fighting to reinstate legislation that would prevent people who received mortgage debt cancellation from being forced to pay taxes on that canceled debt.
Land Bank: The Land Bank will help develop abandoned properties and return them to the tax rolls in Douglas and Sarpy Counties.
Local Elections: All of the 7 candidates backed by RPAC were successfully elected.

To get involved with RPAC you can talk to the Omaha Area Board of Realtors, the Nebraska Realtors Association or simply contact me for more information. As always, if you have any questions about RPAC or if you would like to discuss real estate in Omaha, don’t hesitate to contact me. largest lobby in the country, helps

A New standard purchasing agreement and the ARELLO Conference

Important developments for Omaha real estate agents

Hello again and welcome back to my video blog. Today I would like to discuss some recent developments within the real estate industry that are taking place on both a local and national scale. For real estate agents in Omaha,there are imminent modifications being made that pertain to the various purchasing agreements currently being used. In addition to this, the latest ARELLO Conference took place, with the mass assemblage of state commissions and licensing jurisdictions from all over the country reviewing a wide range of different topics that will impact real-estate agents to varying extents.

New standard universal purchasing agreement

Within the Omaha area a new standard uniform purchase agreement is currently being solidified, effectively simplifying an otherwise cumbersome process for real estate agents. While an older OABR purchasing agreement is still used intermittently, a myriad of different company-specific purchasing agreements have arisen over the years in order to protect their own customers and agents. With an overabundance of different legal contracts in circulation, the process has become increasingly complicated for realtors who must know the subtle differences and particulars of different purchasing agreements.

Fortunately, a task force has been convening over the last five months to hammer out a new standard uniform purchase agreement, and luckily a lot of progress has been made, with a new standard universal purchasing agreement close to completion.

Crucial information from the ARELLO Conference

Shifting gears to the recent ARELLO Conference that took place, there were a couple of important topics relevant to Omaha real estate agents that I wanted to briefly touch upon:

Team Advertising – If you’re part of a real estate team, always make sure the name and logo of the broker you represent is visible in any of your advertisements (URL’s, e-marketing, etc.).

Limited Service Brokers – While there are some limited service brokers operating within Omaha, keep in mind they are prone to placing their customers at a disadvantage, and have also been subject to certain license law issues.

Home Inspector Licensing – Although it’s not current policy here in Omaha, there has been talk of requiring licensure for home inspectors in the future.

Property Management Licensing and Endorsement – Another form of licensure that is being considered and implemented in other regions, property management itself is becoming more of an entirely unique skillset separate from sales.

Coming Soon Listings – A more prominent feature in some jurisdictions as opposed to others, Coming Soon Listings remain a hot topic due to concerns about whether it is truly in the best interest of the customer.

Reaching out to me

Hopefully this gave you a strong overview of the different topics currently receiving a lot of attention at the commission level, along with local changes that will have a more pronounced effect on the everyday activity of agents and their real estate transactions here in Omaha.

If you have any questions regarding the recent ARELLO Conference, or you want to know more about any changes occurring locally, please feel free to contact me. Thank you once again for visiting my blog and stay tuned for more updates.

Comprehensive First Quarter Market Update for Omaha Real Estate

Looking to improve your real estate career? I'm here to help you make a smart decision when it comes to growing your business, improving your bottom line, and choosing a place to work in real estate sales. If you'd like to learn more about working with DEEB Realty, contact me at (402) 491-0100 or email andy@godeeb.com.

Omaha Real Estate Market Update for April 2014
Today I'm here to update you on what is happening in our local Omaha market through the first quarter of 2014. I'll be giving you updated market data so that you can make informed decisions whether you're buying, selling, or thinking about entering the market.

Residential Properties:
Active Listings in Omaha are at 3,593, which is 4.5% below what we had in 2013. There are 4,331 homes listed currently, and this is also a 6% drop from last year.
Average list price is $201,458 dollars, which is a 5.7% increase from 2014.
Pending sales have stayed the same (3,070 total in 2014) from last year
Closed properties has risen by 5% (2,204 in 2013 to 2,314 in 2014).
Average sale price was $169,687 (a 5.5% increase from 2014).
Days on market is down by 10.5% (66 in 2013 compared to 59 days in 2014).

New Construction:
Closed properties is up (314 in 2014 compared to 281 in 2013) by 12%.
Average sale price for new construction is $266,886 and that is a 5% increase from last year.
Median sales price is up 5.7% and currently sits at $245,625 dollars.
Days on market is down 6% from last year (97 days in 2013 to 91 days in 2014).

Existing Property Sales:
Existing property sales are at 2,000 for 2014, which is a 4% increase from last year.
Average sale price is up by 5% and has risen to $154,427.
Median price is up by 3% and has reached $131,375.
Days on market for these properties is down by 13% (62 days in 2013 to 54 days in 2014).

This is an overall snapshot of what has happened in the first quarter of our real estate market here in Omaha. If you would like more information about the market here in Omaha or if you would like to sit down and talk about what this might mean for you, then please do not hesitate to contact me.

Explaining 4 Real Estate Issues and How they will Affect You and your Property

Today I wanted to talk about some issues that we're working on at a local, state, and national level that will impact the real estate industry as well as your day to day business.

Debt Forgiveness Bill: This is a big topic right now in Washington. This bill was enacted a few years ago when we were experiencing a lot of short sales and foreclosures. In a short sale, the client had to sell a property for less than what it was actually worth because a mortgage could not be paid off. With this new bill, the amount of indebted money that was forgiven was not treated as income, so it was not taxable. Before this bill, the amount of debt was treated as income and was being taxed.

--This was helpful to people going through foreclosures because it eliminated the extra taxes that they could not afford.

--However, this bill expired in 2013 and congress has yet to reenact it. This is why it's important to respond to your mortgage broker's calls to help get this bill passed into legislation again.

Flood Insurance Bill: This was just passed through the Senate and is expected to be enacted into law quite soon. This has been on the docket for a few years now, and it should help more people obtain Flood Insurance. It will also put a cap on how much Flood Insurance can increase from year to year. In the long term this should allow for more people to buy and sell real estate in flood zones.

Acknowledgement of Homestead Properties: This is one we've been working on for a few years and the legislation has finally been written on a state level. We initially thought we had our chance to eliminate the notarization on purchase agreements for homestead properties, which is a very old, antiquated law. However, there was some unforeseen opposition and there were some other bills that took precedent over this one. Unfortunately, we may have to wait until next year to get this one passed, but we're still working on this one at the state level to get this passed.

--Once this bill is passed, you will no longer have to print out your documents and get them notarized. Instead, you can have a more seamless, paperless transaction. The hope here is to make real estate transactions more efficient.

Pocket Listings: This is an extremely hot topic right now in national, state, and local associations. If you are doing pocket listings, just make sure you're using them correctly. You should be utilizing pocket listings for the benefit of the client and not for the promise of increased compensation. The concern is that we're inhibiting the property from realizing the highest possible monetary gain, and this would be in opposition towards the spirit of cooperation that we as realtors have to acknowledge. Sometimes realtors have alternative motives for selling these properties, and we want to curb this type of activity as much as possible.

Hopefully this information has been helpful to you. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about what I have just talked about or if you would like to reach out to me for any other reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.

You can call me at (402) 491-0100 or email me at Andy@GoDeeb.com

Market Update: How will 2014 Stack Up in Regards to 2013?

Today I wanted to go over some statistics from the month of February and also some year-to-date statistics as they appear in the MLS. Doing so every month allows us to gauge where the market is at, especially after coming off of a record-breaking year. Judging by the sales pace of the first few months of the year, we think it will be another great year – although it may not be as great as last year due to the low inventory.

As of March 10^th, 2014:

·There are 3,411 active residential listings which accounts for a 7.5% decrease in comparison to last year at this time. Our inventory continues to drop; we need people to list their homes!

·The Average List Price of homes that are currently listed on the market is $202,000 which is up 7% year-to-date (YTD).

·The Average Sales Price (YTD) is $169,000 and that also represents a 7% increase in comparison to last year.

·The Existing Sales Price (YTD), which accounts for existing properties, has risen 7% to $152,000.

·The Average Sales Price (YTD) of newly constructed homes has also experienced a 7% increase to $276,000.

·In the month of February, there were 923 homes that went under contract which represents a 7% decrease from last February.

·For YTD pending properties in the market, 1,811 have gone under contract representing a 1% decrease.

·678 homes sold in February, which accounts for a 6.5% decrease

·YTD has seen 1,384 properties sell, representing a 2.7% increase in the total number of closed transactions.

If you have any questions about these statistics or real estate in general, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. Thanks and have a great day!

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