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Tip of the Month

Month’s Supply of Inventory – Explaining it to Consumers

Month’s Supply of Inventory (MSI) shows the time, in months, that it would take to “sell” the remaining inventory for the month in question. This metric is a one number summary of how market supply and demand are changing from month to month.

Please note: this data is from San Diego

To calculate this figure, take the number of properties that were For Sale on the Last Day of the month divided by the number that went Under Contract (Pending) during the month (the most contemporaneous measure of buyer activity). Calculated this way MSI becomes a “leading” indicator of sales activity.

Using the “same” month comparison over different years is a popular real estate yardstick because there is no seasonality involved in the measurement. Thus, any changes that have taken place are primarily due to market forces, for example, the collective behavior of all consumers participating in the market.

Adding the “linear” trend line helps you recognize whether the rate of sales activity is changing over time or not; and to what approximate degree. An upward sloping trend line indicates an increase in MSI (sales rate is slowing); a downward sloping trend line indicates a decrease in MSI (sales rate is increasing); and a flat trend line indicates that there has been very little change in MSI (the rate of sales).

Generally, anything that is below 3 months is considered a strong sellers’ market, 3-6 months is a balanced market, and above 6 months is a strong buyers’ market. What is your market inventory doing?

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Congratulations to those of you who have registered zipForm® 6 or WINForms® as part of your C.A.R. member benefit. During the renewal period (3/1/10-3/31/10), all WINForms® users must upgrade to zipForm® 6. Beginning April 1, access to WINForms® will be terminated. All users, including those who already upgraded to zipForm® 6, must renew their software user licenses by March 31 to continue receiving access to this valuable resource.  Users who do not renew their software license by March 31 will be unable to use the program until they complete the renewal process.

Your zipForm® 6 member benefit is available in two versions: zipForm® 6 Professional (formerly WINForms Online®) and zipForm® 6 Standard (formerly WINForms® Desktop).  Members can upgrade to both zipForm® 6 Professional and zipForm® 6 Standard for free.

zipForm® 6 Professional enables you to automatically import existing transactions and work online from any computer.  zipForm® 6 Standard allows you to import all previously saved transactions from WINForms® Desktop.  Additionally, the new File Manager lets you sync all files between your computer and online storage instantly, ensuring that you always have the most recent contracts.

Important facts about zipForm® 6:

1. Upgrading from WINForms® to zipForm® 6 is not automatic; users will need to manually upgrade to zipForm® 6.
2. Transactions in WINForms® accounts will not be lost when upgrading to zipForm® 6.  All files will be seamlessly migrated to the new zipForm® 6 account.
3. On April 1, all C.A.R. members will be required to use the zipForm® 6 program.
4. Upgrading is easy.  C.A.R. has provided an abundance of helpful information to assist users.

Follow one of the options below to renew your current software:

I: Renewal process for current zipForm® 6 Professional (Online):

1. Log in to your zipForm® 6 Professional via www.car.org
2. Upon log in, you will be prompted with the Renew Now button
3. You will taken to My Products page, click Renew button
4. You will need to Accept the End User License Agreement, and then click the Continue button to complete renewal process
5. You will be redirected to the zipForm® 6 Professional page, and prompted with the 14-month storage policy message board. Once you click Continue, you are taken to the zipForm® 6 Professional transaction page to access your forms
6. If you have zipForm® 6 Standard (Desktop), this will also automatically renew the desktop version. No further action is needed.

II: Renewal process for current zipForm® 6 Standard (Desktop):

1. Double-click the zipForm® 6 Standard icon on your desktop and you are prompted with the Renew Now button. Once you select Renew Now, the zipForm® 6 Standard application closes.
2. An internet window will open.  You will be directed to My Products page (an internet connection is required) to click Renew button
3. Accept the End User License Agreement and click the Continue button.
4. When finished, you will be shown the message confirming that they have completed the upgrade process.
5. You must double-click the zipForm® 6 Standard icon on your desktop to resume using the software.
6. If you have been using zipForm® 6 Professional (Online), this will automatically renew the online version. No further action is needed.

III. Upgrading from WINForms® Desktop:

1. Double-click your WINForms® Desktop application
2. You will be prompted with Renew Now message box
3. A Pop-up message will appear, and you will be directed to http://www.car.org/tools/zipForm6/DesktopUpgrade/
4. You will choose the option to upgrade to zipForm® 6 Standard (new Desktop version)
5. As a C.A.R member, you can select PC or MAC download buttons to begin downloading in your computer from the My Products page
6. You will be taken through the download process by clicking NEXT and Accept the End User License Agreement
7. Software validation is required to complete the registration (the same as the current upgrade process). That means you need your www.car.org username and password or your NRDS number and last name.

IV: Upgrading from WINForms Online®:

1. Log in through www.car.org.
2. Click the WINForms Online® icon from Quick Links
3. You will be prompted to click the Renew Now button
4. You will be redirected to the My Products page to click on the Renew button
5. The End User License Agreement page will appear, you will need to click Yes and Continue buttons to complete the zipForm® 6 Professional upgrade process
6. You will then see the 14-month Storage Policy notice, once you click “Continue”, you’re taken to the transactions page to access the forms.

Once you’ve made the move to zipForm® 6, you can immediately access all of the transaction information that was stored in your WINForms® account.  For more information on how to upgrade, click here: http://www.car.org/tools/zipForm6/.  C.A.R. currently offers a host of free webinars to help you get acquainted with the new zipForm® 6 and ePUBS™ programs. For a complete webinar schedule, visit http://www.car.org/education/webinars/.

To know which new online courses are coming and when, check-out the ‘Upcoming Courses’ section at REALTOR® University. Or, join our email list and stay up-to-date with upcoming REALTOR® University courses and special online education announcements.  visit…

http://www.realtor.org/narlservredirect.nsf/pages/NT00001606?OpenDocument&WT.mc_id=LS030310&CAT=Educ

Thanks to Right Tools, Right Now, the online Successful Buyer Representation in New Home Sales course at REALTOR® University is now available at a discount. Sign up and save today on this course on learning where and how to find new home sales business. Visit www.REALTOR.org/RightTools for details. Read more…

http://www.realtor.org/prodser.nsf/RightTools/OnlineTraining?OpenDocument&wt.mc_id=RT1105&WT.mc_id=LS030310&CAT=Educ

The U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, in partnership with the Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network, launched PreventLoanScams.org, a new Web site to prevent loan modification scams.

The Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network developed the Web site to provide homeowners with a single destination to report alleged scammers. Complaints filed online are added to a national complaint database and forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement agencies for review. The Network estimates that the Web site will assist approximately 50,000 homeowners affected by scams. Additionally, HUD has directed its local fair housing and housing counseling grantees to begin reporting alleged loan modification scams via the Web site.

More info.