According to the 2019 NAR profile of home buyers and sellers, 40 percent of sellers had to reduce their price at least once. If prices have already peaked in your market and have now started to decline, an even greater number of sellers will be reducing their listing prices in the very near future.

In addition to an increase in inventory, what are the other tell-tale signs that your market has peaked?

If you’re seeing any of the early warning signs above, there’s another danger lurking ahead: If prices have begun to decline, the comparable sales you’re using to price the property may be too high.

This may be one of the most difficult challenges in the business. One strategy that works extremely well with most sellers, including CPAs, attorneys and banks, is to select the appropriate comparable sales for the last six months and then calculate the average price per square foot for those properties that closed during that time period.

Even if you employ all of these approaches, some sellers will tell you, “We’ll wait until the market gets better.” To overcome this objection, show them the cost of waiting.

If your market has begun to slow down, mastering the declining market conversation is critical. Start preparing now so you’ll be ready if and when one of your high-end listings, or your whole market, slips into down market territory.

A group of top Keller Williams earners, market center owners and regional leaders have gotten their way: As of April 1, 2020, KW associates that jump ship to a competitor will no longer be able to receive profit shares from the company’s lifelong revenue program.

The policy is not retroactive and will only apply to associates that join on or after April 1.

Keller Williams’ International Associate Leadership Council (IALC) made the change Feb. 15 at the franchiser's Family Reunion conference in Dallas, Texas. The council also increased the profit sharing vesting period, which is how long a KW associate has to be with the company before lifetime profit share benefits are unconditionally bestowed, to seven consecutive years, up from three consecutive years.

The policy changes are mandatory and must be implemented by April 1

The changes seem to be the result of efforts made by a group of top KW earners last year to change the profit share program to limit it to associates that remain with Keller Williams.

Keller Williams declined to comment on the rationale behind the changes and on whether they would affect agent recruiting. The company has 159,372 agents in the U.S. and Canada and a total of 169,317 agents worldwide, as of Dec. 31, 2019. The company has lost agents in four consecutive months.

 FHA’s “life of the loan” policy on mortgage insurance is one of its most unpopular features. Many first-time buyers shy away from FHA when they learn that FHA requires them to keep their FHA mortgage insurance as long as they have an FHA mortgage.  

In line with its mandate to provide mortgage credit to under-served populations, FHA is more lenient than many conventional lenders on giving qualified borrowers a second chance after foreclosures and bankruptcies. 

Borrowers with credit scores as low as 580 can qualify for FHA financing with 3.5 percent down. Scores between 500 and 580 can be eligible for mortgages with 10 percent down.

There’s no guarantee that FHA-approved lenders will give you a better rate on an FHA loan than a conventional one, but they usually do. 

FHA will not finance second homes, vacation homes, investment properties, or flips (a property purchased within 90 days of a prior sale.)  Properties must be primary residences where owners live for the majority of the year. The FHA requires that a buyer moves into the property within 60 days of closing.

Lenders assess a borrower’s ability to handle a mortgage by the debt-to-income ratio.  The “front-end” ratio looks at housing-related debts only (monthly mortgage payments, property taxes, etc.). The “back-end” number takes all recurring monthly debts into account. This can include the mortgage payment, credit cards, car loans, etc. 

The current (2019) limits for FHA debt-to-income ratios are 31 percent for housing-related debt (mortgage, property taxes), and 43 percent for total debt or less. In December 2019 the actual average DTI for FHA purchase loans was 28 percent front-end and 44 percent back-end. For conventional purchase loans, the DTI average wasmuch lower, at 23 percent for housing expenses and 36 percent for all monthly debt payments .

A study last year by the Urban Institute found that borrowers with better credit scores are better off with a conventional mortgage than FHA.

Both FHA and conventional borrowers will pay less each month as their credit improves, but the difference in cost between FHA’s mortgage insurance and private mortgage insurance (PMI) makes a conventional loan a better deal.

All these years later, Jon Bon Jovi is still living on a prayer and hoping for a home sale.

The singer from the iconic 1980s rock band has put his New Jersey estate, modeled after European castles, on the market for $20 million.

Known as High Point Estate, the 18,000-square-foot property is designed by architect Robert A.M. Stern in the style of French chateaus. It sits on 18 acres of landscaped grounds designed by the Olmsted Brothers, the same architectural firm that worked on Central Park in New York.

The home is designed with regal grandiosity in mind — wide windows, wrought-iron accents, French balconies as well as chimneys and gutters. Inside, you will find 12-foot ceilings, a two-story foyer, a grand fireplace and staircase, painted flooring and parquet flooring.

Along with six bedrooms and seven bathrooms, the property also has a bar, a spa, recording studio and an elevator to take visitors between stories. The grounds also boast seven garages, a dock with a boat lift, an outdoor pool and two side cabanas. Gloria Nilson & Co. Real Estate is representing the property while Christie’s International Real Estate is marketing it around the world.

Bon Jovi, who as the lead singer of Bon Jovi since the 1980s, is considered rock royalty. He’s won a Grammy, been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and is best known for classics like “It’s My Life” and “Livin’ on a Prayer.”