September 30, 2006 8:55 PM
Don't Be Fooled By Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
Do you know some real estate agents are intentionally gaming the MLS by relisting houses after they stay in the market for too long?
From Kiplinger's Personal Finance:
Call them determined or call them unscrupulous, agents are relisting houses that haven't drawn buyers, leading other agents to believe that the houses are newly listed. This practice came to light when an alert pro in California was surprised to see the average days on the market decreasing in some multiple listing services. The sleuth, Mike Lyon, president of TrendGraphix, a data miner and producer of software for the real estate industry in Sacramento, Cal., detected relistings in high-priced East Coast and West Coast markets, but he would not disclose the names of specific metropolitan areas.
His discovery makes days on the market a questionable indicator for buyers. A better measure of a local housing market is "months' supply," or how long the current inventory will last given the current pace of sales. Between June 2005 and June 2006, months' supply increased nationally from 4.4 months to 6.8 months, according to the National Association of Realtors, so there are a lot of homes for sale in most communities. You can ask the agent for a "listing history" on any house.
04/28/07 | Freddie Mac: Housing Worst Isn't Here Yet
04/02/07 | Review: Credit Demystified
03/04/07 | An Imperfect Mortgage Calculator
03/04/07 | Some Nice Loan Calculators
03/03/07 | Mortgage Defaults Are Climbing For Alt-A Customers
11/24/06 | Bad Credit? You Can Still Get A Home Equity Loan
11/01/06 | Getting $250 for NOT Banking with Bank of America
10/27/06 | Home Prices Keep Sliding
10/20/06 | How PMI Premiums Are Decided
10/20/06 | Major Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) Options
10/15/06 | Red Flags Of Mortgage Fraud
10/14/06 | Your Can Deduct Costs Of Refinancing!
10/10/06 | ARM Holder Beware: The Mortgage Time-Bomb Is Ticking
10/09/06 | A Brief Introduction To UK Secured Loans
10/09/06 | 40-Year Mortgage!!!
10/09/06 | How To Get A Mortgage With Bad Credit
10/09/06 | 30-Year Interest Only Fixed Rate Mortgage
10/09/06 | 35-Year Mortgage In California
10/09/06 | What Is Bi-Weekly Mortgage Payment?
10/09/06 | How Bi-Weekly Mortgage Payment Actuall Works
10/05/06 | Mortgage ABC: What Is Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)
10/05/06 | How To Get The Best Mortgage Deal
10/05/06 | Mortgage ABC: What Is Conventional Loans?
10/05/06 | Things To Look When You Shop For Home Equity Line Of Credit (HELOC)
10/05/06 | What Is A Home Equity Line Of Credit (HELOC)?
10/05/06 | Home Equity Line Of Credit (HELOC) vs. Traditional Second Mortgage Loan
10/03/06 | How To Get A Home Loan After Bankruptcy?
10/02/06 | A Correction Of Mortgage Rate and Home Price
09/28/06 | Top Home Buying Tips
09/28/06 | This Time, Falling Rates May Not Help
09/28/06 | Home Prices Start To Drop
09/27/06 | Choosing The Right Mortgage
09/27/06 | What Is Cashback Mortgage?
09/27/06 | What Is Balloon Payment Mortgage?
09/27/06 | Should You Choose Interest-Only Mortgage?
09/27/06 | What Is A Bridge Loan?
09/27/06 | What Is Hard Money Loan?
09/27/06 | What Is Jumbo Mortgage?
09/27/06 | Mortgage Fraud Hit Virginia
09/27/06 | What is Self Cert Mortgage?
09/20/06 | Housing Starts Is Tumbling
09/19/06 | Option ARM Holders May Suffer
09/19/06 | Should I Rent Or Buy?
09/19/06 | How Low Will Home Prices Go?
09/19/06 | Watch For Home Appraisal Red Flags
09/15/06 | What Is A Home Equity Line Of Credit?
09/15/06 | Home Equity Lines Of Credit vs. Traditional Second Mortgage loans
09/15/06 | Home Equity Loan Or Home Equity Line Of Credit (HELOC)?
09/15/06 | Foreclosure Rates On The Rise
09/13/06 | Bankrate.com Under Scrutiny
09/13/06 | Why You Should Get Pre-Approved For A Home Loan
09/13/06 | Renting Is Not Throwing Money Away!
09/13/06 | Is It Better to Buy or Rent?
09/13/06 | Why Owning Is Better Than Renting?
09/10/06 | FICO Expansion Score And How It Will Affect You
09/08/06 | Should You Refinance Your ARM or Not?
09/08/06 | 5 Ways for Smart HELOC Usage
09/08/06 | Should You Try Option ARM?
09/08/06 | 30-Year Mortgage Rate Rebounds
09/07/06 | Common Mortgage Shopping Mistakes
09/05/06 | 5 Ways You Can Pay Off Your Mortgage Faster
09/05/06 | Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage Early?
09/05/06 | How to Get Rid of Private Mortgage Insurance?
09/05/06 | Increase Your Home's Value By (Cheap) Landscaping
09/04/06 | Six Easy Ways to Cut Mortgage Costs
08/26/06 | The Advantages of Portfolio Lenders
08/26/06 | Housing-Affordability Index Drops to Record Low
08/26/06 | 10 Cities Are Bracing For Mortgage Rate Shock
08/26/06 | The Advantages of Mortgage Brokers
08/25/06 | The Advantages of Mortgage Bankers
08/25/06 | Mortgage Rates Fall For 5 Weeks In a Row
08/24/06 | The Difference Between Mortgage Bankers and Mortgage Brokers
08/24/06 | Mortgage ABC: Debt-to-Income Ratios