Signed Contracts for US Homes Increase, Report Shows.

Home contractIn the latest sign that the U.S. real estate market is improving, more Americans signed contracts to purchase homes in February than in nearly a year.

The National Association of Realtors released the data, which showed that the seasonally adjusted pending home sales index increased 3.1 percent to 106.9 in February.

That’s the highest it’s been since June 2013!

If you’re preparing to list your home anytime soon on the local housing market, we encourage you to continue reading to learn more about this trend!

US Home Sales Are On the Rise!

Here are some additional highlights from the recent National Association of Realtors report:

  • Buying activity increased in the Midwest and West during the month of February, although it actually decreased slightly in the Northeast and South.
  • Existing homes sold at an annual pace of 4.88 million in February, which is slightly below last year’s levels.
  • The supply of homes was just 4.6 months, compared to five months a year ago. It should be noted that a six month inventory is considered a balanced market.
  • Average 30-year fixed rates were 3.69 percent last week, according to the mortgage giant Freddie Mac. That was down from a 52-week high of 4.41 percent recently.
  • Home prices have increased 17 percent since the middle of 2012, which is when the market bottomed out.
  • Analysts are particularly encouraged by the recent gains because it means that the housing market was able to overcome such unforeseen and uncontrollable hurdles like freezing weather and a particularly harsh winter.

Experts say that the upturn suggests that the spring home buying season will be robust.

They added that home sales are likely to be further supported since the unemployment rate is down to 5.5 percent.

In fact, the unemployment rate is down to its lowest level in nearly seven years!  And employers have added 3.3 million jobs during the last year, including 295,000 jobs in February.

All of this is giving would-be home buyers more buying power as well as consumer confidence. This, in turn, is leading more to enter the national housing market in search of their dream home.

We’re Your #1 Real Estate Resource!

We hope you found the above information insightful as a prospective home seller.

As you can see, it really is a great time to list your property on the market.  After all, there’s plenty of pent-up home buyer demand and home sales activity appears to be picking up.

Please check back here soon for more valuable insight on that national housing market and how it may impact you.  We’d be happy to offer our expert insight in order to help you enjoy a successful outcome as a home seller!

Paul Wheeler at Breakthrough 2013

We, at Accent Realtors, would like to extend a huge thanks to Cadey and Alex Charfen for having us at Breakthrough 2013! We all had an amazing time and are so grateful for the opportunity. Paul had a wonderful time speaking at the conference; it was such an honor to be there. We hope to be at next year’s Breakthrough! Check out this video from Alex and Cadey Charfen: http://youtu.be/LC76K6x2fg8

Productivity

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A lot of people ask me how to make their days more productive. We all have the same 24 hours in everyday, and how we use it is critical to our success. One of the best things I have learned about productivity is that if we are working in our areas of talent, we can be much more productive.

I try to spend 80% or more of my day in things I excel in. The benefit of this is that you generally really enjoy those activities as well. So, find out what your strengths are. There are too many personality assessments out there to count but most will pinpoint the type of work you will be most effective in. They will tell you whether you will be good with detail work or strategic planning or face to face with clients selling your services. They are wonderful resources to get you started in the right direction.

Another way to increase productivity is to be very intentional about your daily accomplishments. Each morning, spend time doing planning and in solitude. During this time you want to evaluate your day, your business, and your successes.

One of the most effective strategies I have in being productive is that I get up before everyone else does. I usually wake up between 4:00 and 5:00 in the morning. I have found it gives me a head start on the day and my brain is very creative at that time of day. I am able to learn more and find better solutions for my life. My daily ritual is to get up and make coffee and then head to the home gym to exercise for an hour. During that time I listen to audio books on my iPhone at 3 times the normal speed. This way I can listen to two to three books a week and continually improve my knowledge base. I have found that education will solve any challenge you might be having in your life. It doesn’t matter if it is business related, marriage related or even challenges you might be having with your children. I also do my daily planning and solitude during that time and answer the questions that keep me focused on the highest priorities for the day.

Questions I recommend are as follows:

How did I fill my cup yesterday?

Right now I feel? Why?

What is the one thing I want to do today? What is my intention?

What could I do today to change the course of my business?

What task is so urgent that it would damage my business if it were not accomplished today?

Which processes in my business could be improved?

How can I improve these processes?

What friction points exist today?

Are the friction points different than yesterday?

Lately I have learned…

5 things I am grateful for today…

I am joyfully anticipating…

Last but not least, structure your day in blocks of time, so that you are always focused and intentional in your activities vs. multi tasking and putting out fires. If you can block time to make calls or to do your appointments, you will accomplish so much more in your day. Hope this helps and don’t hesitate to call or email if you any questions.

Paul Wheeler

Tulsa Real Estate

Service Providers We Love!

Accent Realtors is always proud to share the “Service Providers We Love!”  These are companies that we have come to trust and rely on over the past 20 years to help us best serve our clients.  We believe that these service providers are the best at what they do.  In the following video Paul discusses how passionate he feels about these preferred service providers.   View the video now!