Here’s a brief recap of the 2010 annual data just released by RealEstate Business Intelligence (RBI) covering the Washington, DC metro housing market.

Here’s a brief recap of the 2010 annual data just released by RealEstate Business Intelligence (RBI) covering the Baltimore metro housing market.

I was brought in by RealEstate Business Intelligence (RBI), the statistics and research arm of MRIS to further their effort to provide more transparency in their regional housing market.  One of the first things I did with their information, whose depth and quality is unlike anything else I have ever analyzed, is build a pending home sales index for the Washington, DC Metro and Baltimore Metro markets.

The biggest problem in understanding the state of housing today is the quality and timing of the information. This podcast is a review of my thoughts on the subject and why a pending home sale index tends to be better at providing the state of a housing market than price indices.

Hint: they lag the moment when buyer and seller agree on a price aka “meeting of the minds” by as much as 5 months, don’t consider the different seasons of the year and are often skewed by seasonal adjustments.

I have a great discussion with Jon Gollinger, Founder and CEO, Accelerated Marketing Partners who sets me straight on the concept of accelerated marketing as a process (hint: it’s not all about auctions).

In early 2009, he and I were part of a New York Times page one story on his marketing prowess.

Jon pulls no punches when it comes to understanding the consumer – they are the ones who set market price.  I have long admired his skill in creating a market environment that attracts real participation, best exemplified in his company slogan:

“You bid it, you win it.”

Here’s a quick recap of the 2Q 2010 Queens Market Overview that we prepare for Prudential Douglas Elliman that was released today.

Here’s a brief recap of the 2Q 2010 Brooklyn Market Overview I authored for Prudential Douglas Elliman and released today.

Here’s a brief, ok not so brief, recap of the Manhattan Rental Market Overview I authored a last week for Prudential Douglas Elliman.

Here’s a brief summary of the 2Q 2010 Manhattan Market Overview released today.  I’ve been authoring a series of market studies covering the New York City metro area for real estate firm Prudential Douglas Elliman since 1994.

Think lender pressure on appraisers is a distant memory?  Think again.  Here is some commentary on a new report that indicates appraisal fraud is up 50% over the past year.  It is laid out in Kenneth Harney’s excellent column in the Washington Post.

“Despite 2009 restrictions, mortgage and appraisal fraud spiked”

I also provide commentary on a recent episode with a bank client we now refuse to work with who pressured our firm to raise the appraised value of a property or they would not pay us for services already rendered.

In fact, they didn’t really understand what they were saying.