Housing News
Lisa Sanderson on Board
Sanderson Joins AG
Lisa Sanderson practically grew up in the real estate business. She began working, as an Assistant at age 19, for a small independent real estate company in 1987, gaining experience in administration, marketing, client service & technology before working her way to Pennsylvania licensure in 1992. She later honed her skills by working for a large building company and a large real estate franchise. In 1997, Lisa joined Bob Hay at a real estate company in the Poconos and remained there until the opening of BOBHAY.COM, REALTORS in 2002.
Lisa is currently serving her second year as President of a 1700 property homeowners’ association, and finds her experience in real estate to be an excellent fit in this position. Lisa is a leader who is also active in other organizations, including her local REALTOR Association.
Lisa is a wonderful leader, has a very SHARP sense of humor and you are really going to enjoy her writing and I can’t wait to learn from her. Please welcome Lisa in the comments!
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Housing News
Average age of houses on the rise, so is it now better or worse to buy new?
With aging housing in America, are first-time buyers better off buying new or existing homes? The average age of a home is rising, as is the price of new housing, so a shift could be upon us.
The average home age is higher than ever
(REALUOSO.COM) – In a survey from the Department of Housing and Urban Development American Housing Survey (AHS), the median age of homes in the United States was 35 years old. In Texas, homes are a bit younger with the median age between 19 – 29 years. The northeast has the oldest homes, with the median age between 50 – 61 years. In 1985, the median age of a home was only 23 years.
With more houses around 40 years old, the National Association of Realtors asserts that homeowners will have to undertake remodeling and renovation projects before selling unless the home is sold as-is, in which case the buyer will be responsible to update their new residence. Even homeowners who aren’t selling will need to consider remodeling for structural and aesthetic reasons.
Prices of new homes on the rise
Newer homes cost more than they used to. The price differential between new homes and older homes has increased from 10 percent traditionally to around 37 percent in 2014. This is due to rising construction costs, scarcity of lots, and a low inventory of new homes that doesn’t meet the demand.
Click here to continue reading this story…
Housing News
Are Realtors the real loser in the fight between Zillow Group and Move, Inc.?
The last year has been one of dramatic and rapid change in the real estate tech sector, but Realtors are vulnerable, and we’re worried.
Why Realtors are vulnerable to these rapid changes
(REALUOSO.COM) – Corporate warfare demands headlines in every industry, but in the real estate tech sector, a storm has been brewing for years, which in the last year has come to a head. Zillow Group and Move, Inc. (which is owned by News Corp. and operates ListHub, Realtor.com, TopProducer, and other brands) have been competing for a decade now, and the race has appeared to be an aggressive yet polite boxing match. Last year, the gloves came off, and now, they’ve drawn swords and appear to want blood.
Note: We’ll let you decide which company plays which role in the image above.
So how then, does any of this make Realtors the victims of this sword fight? Let’s get everyone up to speed, and then we’ll discuss.
1. Zillow poaches top talent, Move/NAR sues
It all started last year when the gloves came off – Move’s Chief Strategy Officer (who was also Realtor.com’s President), Errol Samuelson jumped ship and joined Zillow on the same day he phoned in his resignation without notice. He left under questionable circumstances, which has led to a lengthy legal battle (wherein Move and NAR have sued Zillow and Samuelson over allegations of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and misappropriation of trade secrets), with the most recent motion being for contempt, which a judge granted to Move/NAR after the mysterious “Samuelson Memo” surfaced.
Salt was added to the wound when Move awarded Samuelson’s job to Move veteran, Curt Beardsley, who days after Samuelson left, also defected to Zillow. This too led to a lawsuit, with allegations including breach of contract, violation of corporations code, illegal dumping of stocks, and Move has sought restitution. These charges are extremely serious, but demanded slightly less attention than the ongoing lawsuit against Samuelson.
2. Two major media brands emerge
Last fall, the News Corp. acquisition of Move, Inc. was given the green light by the feds, and this month, Zillow finalized their acquisition of Trulia.
…Click here to continue reading this story…
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Mark Eckenrode
September 26, 2008 at 11:27 am
woot and welcome, lisa. glad to have ya on board.
Jennifer Wilson - Agent Solutions
September 26, 2008 at 11:36 am
Way to go Lisa. I look forward to reading your posts here at agent genius. 😉
Glenn in Naples
September 26, 2008 at 11:36 am
Welcome. You have a truly great background and look forward to your articles.
BawldGuy
September 26, 2008 at 11:40 am
We already have something in common, Lisa. We both got our start in the biz as teenagers. Welcome to the party. I’ll be watchin’ for your posts, as Benn & Lani choose wisely.
Chris Shouse
September 26, 2008 at 11:48 am
Welcome Lisa can not wait for your posts. I am sure I will learn so much from you since I started in the business @50 and had finally decided what I wanted to be when I grew up LOL. Benn and Lani rock and I am sure you will be a wonderful addition.
Lesley
September 26, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Congrats Lisa! I enjoy you on twitter, looking forward to reading your posts here, too!
Kim Wood
September 26, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Yay!!! So happy for you, Lisa! I look forward to reading wha you have to say 🙂 !!!
Mike Mueller
September 26, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Yeah Lisa!
AG is on a roll…
Jason Sandquist
September 26, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Looking forward to reading your insights on the real estate market and maybe some posts from a presidents view of a homeowner association.
Desiree Daniels
September 26, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Lisa congrats on the great honor…. this is a wonderful group to be associated with. Best of luck
John Lauber
September 26, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Wow. Congrats Lisa. More good news coming out of Agent Genius.
Lisa Sanderson
September 26, 2008 at 2:04 pm
You people are so sweet! Thanks so much for the welcoming words. I hope I can live up to the greatness we have all learned to expect from AG and I am so honored to be given this opportunity. Thank you all for your support!
@bawldguy Did they even *have* a real estate industry when you were a teenager? I thought peeps just staked claims back then. (I told you that I would get you back someday for that wrong you did me awhile back, didn’t I? 😉 )
@kimwood 😡 mwa!
@ Jason: Would love to hear your suggestions on topics that might be of interest to you along those lines.
@dezdaniels brilliant!
@johnlauber PA is in da house!
Missy Caulk
September 26, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Lisa, I can’t wait to get to know you better. Starting at 19 is amazing.
BawldGuy
September 26, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Very nice — this one fights back. 🙂
Lisa Sanderson
September 26, 2008 at 2:23 pm
@missycaulk: Thank you. If you ever wanna kibbitz about being the newbies, don’t hesitate!
@bawldguy: Yes, and I never forget either grrr
@kimwood That smiley did not come out right. It was intended to be kissy, not scary!
Jay Thompson
September 26, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Wow, another stellar addition! If Ag keeps adding quality writers at this pace I can just slip off into the ether and even Lani won’t be able to know whether or not I’m overdue for a post….
Welcome aboard!
Robert D. Ashby
September 26, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Lisa, welcome to the AG family. Glad to see more talent showing up here.
Paula Henry
September 27, 2008 at 8:10 am
Lisa – Welcome to AG! Sorry to be late here – I should have written a ussell Shaw type welcome so I wouldn’t miss anyone. Looking forward to getting to know you!
Jay – who are you kidding – Lani knows! 🙂
Rich Jacobson
September 28, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Lisa: I am late to the party once again! Congrats and a very warm welcome to the AG family! We look forward to your contributions and insights!