I’ve been hearing a lot of chatter around Commissioner Poizner and the Department of Insurance. It’s clear they have been getting serious about compliance to the SB133 legislation—which basically states that no items of value may be given to real estate professionals. Recently a few people have been fined for illegal title marketing practices.

Now I’m not going to get into what’s allowed and not allowed, but I do understand that many real estate professionals are left totally confused on where to turn! For years agents have been able to tap their title company for sophisticated property profiles including transaction history, nearby neighbors, comps and tons of other marketing tools. That all stopped in California at the beginning of this year.

The Solution
Don’t fret, the same data you’ve been getting from your title company is now available via two websites: AgentPro247.com and LoanPro247.com. Read the full story

It’s been very exciting at Cyberhomes over the last few weeks with the launch of our new Market Forecast report.  If you’re not already aware, the Cyberhomes Market Forecast is the only report that uses loan data, foreclosures, and defaults to project changes in your local real estate market.

The initial feedback has been great!  Recently Holden Lewis over at Bankrate.com said the Market Forecast Report was “like Carfax, but for houses.”  Holden went on to say that from the report he learned “the pace of new foreclosures in his area will remain steady over the year, but that the inventory of bank-owned homes will surge. Banks will seize homes faster than they can sell them.”

Also Les Christie, writer for CNNMoney.com, shared that Cyberhomes “introduces an element of logic to a transaction that’s often fraught with emotion.” Sharing that often homeowners act too quickly and causing them to overpay.  Having a report like the Market Forecast would give them access to information that could help.  Christie says “the market report tells them that prices may be in for a sharp fall and more homes are coming onto the market, they may slow down and make a more informed offer. If, on the other hand, the report shows the market heating up, they may conclude that a quick offer can save them some money.”

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‘Twas a week before Christmas and on the same day a storm was congesting cities across the country, Inman News held a virtual Town Hall entitled “Road Map to Recovery: Reinventing The Real Estate Industry.“  Brad Inman, Publisher of Inman News, moderated a tele-connected panel of four real estate experts.

As I listened to the conversation and looked out the window, I watched as my street in the San Bernardino mountains west of Los Angeles disappeared under two feet of snow.  It was a reminder of how hard finding our way can be while the crisis continues.

The four participants – Kris Berg, broker-owner with her husband of San Diego Castles Realty; Marty Frame, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Cyberhomes; Pam O’Connor, President/CEO of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World; and Pat Stone, chairman of The Stone Group – addressed our industry’s future with insight and as much optimism as they could justify.

Like the storm, the discussion covered a lot of ground and upturned a few comfortable assumptions.  Berg said 2009 would be “more of the same” and Stone, who wrote “A Call for Expertise: De-Cruiting in Real Estate,” warned that an oversupply of commercial real estate under construction for 2009 and ‘10 will be the “other shoe to drop” and push the recovery well into 2011.

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