The National Association of Realtors corroborated RE/MAX’s bullish report with one of its own. The NAR’s data show that March was a decent month for existing home sales, with sales up 3.7 percent to an annualized rate of 5.1 million units.  More homes were on the market, 3.55 million, but the solid rise in sales dropped the supply to 8.4 months.

The beleaguered homebuilders can see an improved selling market as we head into the late spring/early summer months. Housing starts in March rebounded 7.2 percent following a monthly 18.5-percent drop in February. The March annualized pace of 549,000 units came in significantly higher than analysts’ estimate for 510,000 units. The improvement was led by a monthly 7.7 percent boost in single-family starts. More encouraging, housing permits gained 11.2 percent after decreasing 5.2 percent in February.

Over the past six months, the monthly housing data have shown improvements, or at least stabilization, in pricing and sales. Of course, real estate is seasonal and year-over-year comparisons are usually the focus. On that front, the data are generally lower. However, it is not an apples-to-apples comparison. This time last year, we were still operating in a more subsided market, thanks to the federal tax credits, so it’s really meaningless to compare the normalized market of today to the tax-credit-supported market of yesterday.

It wasn’t even close.

RE/MAX led all national franchises in total transaction sides (754,333) and transaction sides per agent (13.1). That per-agent productivity easily surpassed Coldwell Banker (7.1 sides per agent), ERA (6.3), and Prudential (6.2), and was more than double that of Century 21 (5.4) and Keller Williams (5.1).

This is the 13th consecutive year that RE/MAX agents have led the U.S. industry in production.

That means when you hire a RE/MAX agent, you are getting someone with more hands-on, up-to-date experience.  So, whether you live in Seattle, on the Eastside or Mercer Island, consider looking for the big red, white and blue balloon and choosing a RE/MAX agent to give you the service you deserve when buying or selling real estate.

It’s community gatherings like the Farmer’s Market that help make Mercer Island a great place to live. An event to celebrate this season’s opening and to help strengthen and sustain the market is scheduled for Sunday, May 12th. See details below:

WHEN: Sunday, May 12th; Silent Auction at 5:30 pm; Dinner at 6:30 pm

WHERE: Lilly’s Restaurant in the Aljoya; 2430 76th Avenue, Mercer Island

COST: $45 per person

HOW: Purchase tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/?MICelebrationDinner

If you’re unable to attend, but would still like to help out, your needed donation can be given at www.mifarmersmarket.org/donate/

The Wise Words of Ludwig von Mises

Who in the world is Ludwig von Mises? He was an Austrian economist who was known for his contrarian views on how markets and people interact with each other. Mises had insightful views on business. Here’s one:

“ It is not correct foresight as such that yields profits, but foresight better than that of the rest. The prize goes only to the dissenters, who do not let themselves be misled by the errors accepted by the multitude.”

 For the past year, I’ve been counseling buyers, particularly Seattle area investors, to act and not to wait until all signs point up, because when everything looks positive (or when everything looks negative), the multitude is in control.

Today, negativity still pervades the market, making it a buyer’s market. (In 2006 and early 2007, we could have said there was a “multitude” of positivity, which made it a seller’s market.)

The problem is, it’s difficult to stand against the multitude, even though it’s often in our best interest to do so. Many people find it uncomfortable to separate themselves from the crowd and look past today’s problems to today’s opportunities.

Fortunately, to be a successful dissenter, we only have to be mostly correct, not completely. You would be mostly correct in assuming that buying real estate at today’s prices and at today’s rates will prove very profitable a few years from now.

To learn more about the opportunities available, please feel free to contact me.

Mises, a contrarian economist

When interviewing an agent, you would do well to assess which category the agent falls into, and whether or not you want to work with that personality type.

The Lackey is essentially an order-taker. If he has opinions, he keeps them to himself. He does whatever his clients tell him to do without objection. Sounds good – unless you stop to think that the reason you’re hiring an agent is to take advantage of his experience and expertise. You want and need guidance!

The Warrior believes nothing was ever gained without a battle. She thinks she is serving her clients well by wrangling over every detail of the transaction with everyone else involved. Great! She’s looking out for your interests big time.

However, this approach tends to fan your emotional flames and elicit the fighter in the agent and buyers or sellers on the other side of the transaction. A cooperative spirit flies out the window, and thus the Warrior’s antagonism often torpedoes what otherwise could have been a successful transaction.

The King tells you how it is. For example, rather than working with you to mutually arrive at a starting price for your home, he tells you unequivocally what it will sell for. And he certainly isn’t going to get his hands dirty helping you prep the home for the market.

The King values his time more than yours and makes that evident in such ways as refusing to preview properties for you when you’re searching for a home.

A more disastrous way the King’s arrogance shows up is in having little regard for licensing or real estate law – after all, he’s above the law. The trouble that can get you into should be obvious.

The Ambassador takes a collaborative approach to the practice of real estate. She educates her clients on best strategies for buying and/or selling. She is a tough, but fair-minded negotiator who seeks agreements that work for everyone, and she strives to keep emotions cool.

The Ambassador collaborates with the transaction’s other principals to solve problems as they arise, and looks for whole new solutions when roadblocks are met. Her primary goal is a successful, peaceful transaction that meets her clients’ primary goals.