Anybody worried about Mortgage Rates!

Hi fellow Realtors and Point2 associates, We receive an update daily from our local mortgage broker with the current rates for the day. This morning we opened an email from another local mortgage broker and had to take a step back and really think about it. The following are a few excerpts from the email courtesy of  Bill Black
Branch Manager, America One Finance.

Could we see a repeat of 1993-1994, when 30-year fixed interest rates rose from 6.69% to 8.23% in just five months? The sharp rise we saw last week was the result of an economic shift in the global market. Two different foreign central banks, similar to the Federal Reserve in the US, increased their short-term interest rates in an effort to fend off inflation. The first increase took place in Europe, with New Zealand following soon after. The results, while dramatic worldwide, were particularly so here in the United States, where interest rates increased across the board. (These figures are according to HSH Associates.) While no one can predict exactly what will happen, experts in the bond arena have expressed concerns that rates will continue to increase throughout the rest of the year. Some believe that the Federal Reserve will be forced to raise interest rates prior to year end. This would increase interest rates for existing Home Equity loans, credit card loans, and potentially existing ARMs.

Should we be advising our clients to (sell) (buy) now? Do you guys think we are really headed for 8+% ? As a side note, I visited HSH Associates website and added a banner showing the daily interest rate to our website, it is automatically updated daily, if anyone is interested.

               Fred

I posted this on the message board also, but since there was an earlier post in regards to the amber alert (Topic: Technology, Website Suggestions), I posted here as well.

Take care when adding script to your website.
Compatibility problems may arise between different browsers. I recently added a java script to our website for the amber alert ticker. I thought I had checked the operation of the code in other browsers, Firefox, Netscape, Opera, and ie7.
However I recently became aware the code from http://www.codeamber.org is not compatible with the Firefox browser. If you would still like to use the amber alert ticker here is one that does work with the Firefox and Mozilla based browsers. http://www.projectsafekids.org/ticker/

Hope this helps as the code from codeamber.org causes all the links on the page you are displaying the code to "freeze-up", if that happens to be your homepage the result is not good, as many people use the very popular Firefox browser.
If you have installed this ticker on your website check on it's functionality with firefox, or have a friend check it for you, I have visited several members sites who are using the code, and they are all "locked up", when viewed with firefox.
Fred

I had a flashback while reading an earlier post about buyers, and after having this happen recently, I thought the old "wives tale" buyers are liars, was just that.( in the business just 2 1/2 years! ) ( me, not the other half! SHE TOLD ME SO! ) Here is what happened, any similar stories?

I had worked off & on for the past few months with VERY qualified buyers who stated they would NEVER buy in XYZ neighborhood! PERIOD!!!  Maybe 45-50 showings later, I convinced them to preview (1) one home in XYZ neighborhood, & SOLD!!!  This convinced me that buyers are liars.  Is this real "real estate"?

 Fred

Hello all, I am not an SEO expert; my wife introduced me to the real estate business a couple of years ago and needed some help on the tech end in the field of computer knowledge. Blind leading the blind; and to top it off she does nothing in our business, (you need to ask Jay Thompson about this; he understands). In an effort to promote our website I had subscribed to a link referral network I first learned about by reading posts on the Point2 message board, this is the site. http://www.linkreferral.com/adwel.pl 

At first I enjoyed the great reviews and did see increased traffic on our site, only the visitors are usually other website owners & not potential clients. That is not the reason I made the choice to remove the link for linkreferral.com from my home page; rather I found that if an adult related site made the top 5 in reviews for the week, it placed visitors to my homepage only 1 click away from adult content. ( They do have an option at sign-up which somewhat confuses the user to believe they are excluded - not the case! )

I Just wanted to give Point2 members a heads up as I saw a large number of you linking to this site, Ram included. http://www.ramforhomes.com/ And while on the subject of less than forthcoming websites I recently quit using the services of sitemeter.com, check out this post; one of many. http://www.geeknewscentral.com/archives/006955.html

You guys make the decision, just wanted to give you a heads up.    Fred

As part of the fee's paid to our local CENTURY21 brokerage we utilize a third party virtual tour company to help promote our clients listings. I have recently noticed a significant number of agents who are fellow members of our local MLS utilizing a "branded" version of a virtual tour for listings that contains their personal contact information. While this practice is in violation of our MLS rules, I do not believe most agents do this intentionally; rather I feel they are more likely than not, blissfully unaware of the violation.

This situation brought to my attention a potential conflict in regards to "branded virtual tours" placed in an agents Point2 listings. Would placing the branded version of a virtual tour on a Point2 listing violate the rules for the handshake agreement and cause you to be blocked? Has anyone else experienced this in regards to their local MLS, and when would the use of a "branded" virtual tour at any time be appropriate? Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks' Cathy & Fred