Leslie Appleton-Young of CAR #53

This week Bruce Norris is joined once again by Chief Economist for The California Association of Realtors, Leslie Appleton-Young. Bruce and Leslie discuss how lenders are exiting existing properties differently this cycle, feedback from frustrated REO agents, a due on sale moratorium, why adjustments in the lending industry has to change, short sales and how lenders aren’t cooperating, how lender cooperation might change in 2008, Realtors and auctions in 2008, the California budget deficit and its effect on real estate, possible changes with Proposition 13, if California is losing migration, the California rental market, contraction in employment in the real estate industry, how buyers are cautious, the demanding buyer, home ownership as an investment, the willingness for buyers to jump in 2008, how 25%-50% of markets were investors in some markets in recent history, 2007 versus 2008 and how transactions will bottom, C.A.R. predicting further declines in transactions, mortgage resets in 2008, how 2009 will be a better year, and possible solutions and their unintended consequences.

Leslie Appleton-Young is Vice President and Chief Economist for the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.), a statewide trade organization with over 195,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate.

Mrs. Appleton-Young directs the activities of the Association's Member Information Group. She oversees the analysis of housing market and brokerage industry trends, member communications, and membership development activities. She is also closely involved in the Association's strategic planning efforts and is a well-known speaker in California’s real estate community.

Before joining C.A.R. in 1984, Leslie Appleton-Young was a consultant with Telesis Inc. in Rhode Island. She also spent several years working as a research associate at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and as an instructor at the University of Pennsylvania.

Mrs. Appleton-Young earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and her Masters from the University of Pennsylvania.

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Leslie Appleton-Young of CAR #52

This week Bruce Norris is joined by Chief Economist for The California Association of Realtors, Leslie Appleton-Young. Bruce and Leslie discuss how people join C.A.R, how the market has changed and things unexpected in the market, jumbo market problems, how Realtors audiences have changed as far as what they are looking for from C.A.R., how Realtors are seeking strategies and how to deal with unrealistic sellers, total membership during the boom, the wait-and-see attitude on membership numbers but how so far they are stronger than expected, what successful agents did to make 2007 work, how to profit in 2008, California short sales and California REOs, how the California commercial real estate market is fairing, how finding a niche is important, the First Time Buyer Fair and a partnership with the Los Angeles Times, who becomes the dominate buyers in a down market, how median home prices only recently went down, the Case Schiller index, how to truly figure out market value, why it’s important not to follow the market down and price correctly off the bat, California REO sales vs. expected California retail sales in 2008, reason why lenders haven’t adjusted HELOCs, variability by market and how the Inland Empire has more inventory, and why C.A.R. will stick with their newer First-Time Buyer Affordability Index.

Leslie Appleton-Young is Vice President and Chief Economist for the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.), a statewide trade organization with over 195,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate.

Mrs. Appleton-Young directs the activities of the Association's Member Information Group. She oversees the analysis of housing market and brokerage industry trends, member communications, and membership development activities. She is also closely involved in the Association's strategic planning efforts and is a well-known speaker in California’s real estate community.

Before joining C.A.R. in 1984, Leslie Appleton-Young was a consultant with Telesis Inc. in Rhode Island. She also spent several years working as a research associate at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and as an instructor at the University of Pennsylvania.

Mrs. Appleton-Young earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and her Masters from the University of Pennsylvania.

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Mark Dotzour of Texas A & M #51

Bruce Norris is joined once again by Chief Economist and Director of Research for the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, Dr. Mark Dotzour. Bruce and Dr. Dotzour discuss commercial real estate, how commercial real estate will see similar financial problems, how the decline in the U.S. dollar makes real estate to foreigners look cheap, CAP rates and the future of commercial real estate, how CAP rates work, how Texas compares to California in price and market cycles, Texas and price inflation in the coming years, migration to Texas, how Texas is the number one exporting state in the country, unintended consequences of government solutions for the lending industry, Greenspan’s take on fixing the economy, how Bernanke compares to Greenspan, how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will come into play in the coming years, and possible tax law changes.

Dr. Mark G. Dotzour is the Chief Economist and Director of Research for the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. He earned his Ph.D. in the Department of Finance at the University of Texas at Austin in 1987 and served as Associate Professor of Real Estate and Finance at Wichita State University for 10 years. As Chief Economist, he is currently doing market research to monitor how global and national trends are likely to impact residential and commercial real estate markets.

Prior to his academic career, he was president of Gleneagles Development, Inc., developing residential subdivisions in Wichita, Kansas. He also served as president of Dotzour Inc., Realtors, which was a residential brokerage firm in Wichita.

He has been at the Real Estate Center since August, 1997. Since then, he has published 59 articles in magazines and given over 700 presentations to more than 90,000 people. His research findings and comments have been published in the Wall Street Journal , Money Magazine, USA Today and Business Week. He was a recent guest on the Jim Lehrer Newshour on PBS.

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Mark Dotzour of Texas A & M #50

This week, Bruce Norris is joined by Chief Economist and Director of Research for the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, Dr. Mark Dotzour. Bruce and Dr. Dotzour discuss how global trends have affected residential real estate, how interest rates are determined, how central banks have lost some control over monetary policy, how the lending industry is changing, how lenders found out the ultimate way to protect themselves from risk, bond agencies missing that risk, how the U.S. has exported some toxic paper and why it worked, the ramification of downgraded ratings, the credit crunch, how the U.S. just started seeing the damage from the mortgage market, how March will bring more realistic news, foreign investors, China and credit securities, real estate boom in foreign markets, what our interest rate should really by in the current market, how the U.S. would see higher interest rates, inflation in the U.S., recession and effects on Asia, stagflation and comparison to past cycles, why real estate is in demand as an asset, and Texas prices.

Dr. Mark G. Dotzour is the Chief Economist and Director of Research for the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. He earned his Ph.D. in the Department of Finance at the University of Texas at Austin in 1987 and served as Associate Professor of Real Estate and Finance at Wichita State University for 10 years. As Chief Economist, he is currently doing market research to monitor how global and national trends are likely to impact residential and commercial real estate markets.

Prior to his academic career, he was president of Gleneagles Development, Inc., developing residential subdivisions in Wichita, Kansas. He also served as president of Dotzour Inc., Realtors, which was a residential brokerage firm in Wichita.

He has been at the Real Estate Center since August, 1997. Since then, he has published 59 articles in magazines and given over 700 presentations to more than 90,000 people. His research findings and comments have been published in the Wall Street Journal , Money Magazine, USA Today and Business Week. He was a recent guest on the Jim Lehrer Newshour on PBS.

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The Norris Group Team Show #49

Bruce is joined once again by the experts at TNG: Craig Hill the hard money loan officer, Andrea Jennings the agent, and Greg Norris the property buyer. Bruce and Craig discuss what Craig needs to see for those looking for a hard money letter, what mistakes he's seeing in the market, how investors are buying, what risks not to make in a down market, and bulk buys. Greg and Bruce discuss the use of comps, pricing in a down market, how quickly prices are descending, how to figure out what a property is worth, how quick he’s gotten at repairs, how often auctions are spitting out deals, performance by auction companies, deficiencies he stays away from when looking at properties and the change in auction attendance. Andrea discusses selling what TNG buys, why price and condition are important, buyers in the current market, why there is lots of hand holding, and how picky they are about repairs.

The Norris Group officially started in 1997 when Craig Hill joined The Norris Group to open up the hard money loan division. Since inception, The Norris Group has added several team members including full-time Realtor Andrea Jennings and full-time property buyer Greg Norris. Together The Norris Group team has almost a century of combined experience.

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