Most Expensive Zip Codes in the U.S. for 2007

In case you missed it last week, Forbes published their list of the 500 most expensive zip codes in the U.S. for 2007.
07620 (Alpine, New Jersey) and 33109 (Fisher Island, Miami Beach, Florida) tied for the top spot, with a median price of $3.4 Million.
The rankings are based on median sale prices from June 2006 to July 2007 and are dominated by zips in California, Florida, and the NYC metro area. If the rankings surprise you, it is worth noting that, as with all such studies, the methodology determines the results. As the author notes:
Though often shorthand for neighborhoods, ZIP CODES don't change to reflect shifting neighborhood or demographic boundaries. The result? Our list is a bit slanted toward low-density enclaves like Alpine, where there are 333 people per square mile, as opposed to parts of Manhattan, where there are 45,800 people per square mile and a larger variance of home prices.

Keller Williams Launches Luxury Home Division

Keller Williams Realty announced today that it will be launching a new division of the company dedicated to serving the high-end home market. The new venture, introduced at the company’s recent annual Mega Camp event, is the product of more than a year of researching and Masterminding by a group of Keller Williams leadership and associates. “We know that when we listen to what our agents need, we develop the right product for them,” says Mary Tennant, president and COO of Keller Williams Realty Inc. “This program was built by our agents, for our agents. As an agent-centric company, we wouldn’t do it any other way.” Luxury Homes by Keller Williams is a members-only program that gives eligible associates a designation as experts in serving luxury home buyers and sellers. The training component of the program will be provided by industry heavyweight, The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing (http://www.kwluxuryhomes.com), as part of a new partnership between the Institute and Keller Williams Realty. Institute founder Laurie Moore-Moore says, “The luxury home market is out-performing the real estate market nationally, so the timing of the Keller Williams Luxury Homes program is absolutely perfect.” The new program is spearheaded by Dee Shultz, a long time leader in the luxury homes market in Austin, Texas, and she says the new program will allow more KW associates to capitalize on the luxury homes market across North America. “When you look at the luxury homes market – it’s been more stable than the real estate market as a whole, so we want to arm our agents to capitalize on that opportunity,” says Shultz. “We know that this program will provide both a strong support system for our agents currently servicing affluent clients, and a firm foundation for growth to our associates who are looking to key into the market,” she adds.
When the program makes its official debut October 1, KW Luxury Home Consultants will be able to take advantage of new branding and marketing materials, an International Web presence (www.kwluxuryhomes.com) and agent-to-agent referral opportunities, as well as discounted pricing for advertising in targeted print publications including the Robb Report, DuPont Registry, Unique Homes, The Wall Street Journal, L.A. Times and The New York Times.

www.WyattPoindexter.com

Housing market defying predictions of doom

Existing-home sales defied frenzied predictions of disaster by remaining steady throughout the nation in July, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors in late August.
"The market is holding on despite temporary mortgage disruptions," said NAR Senior Economist Lawrence Yun. "Home sales probably would be rising in the absence of the mortgage liquidity issues of the past two months," he said. "Some buyers with contracts have been scrambling when loan commitments did not materialize at the last moment, while other potential buyers are simply waiting for the mortgage market to stabilize. The rise in sales and prices in the Northeast region in recent months is promising because this was the first region that underwent sales and price weakness after the boom. Now, it appears that it will be the first region to climb back, indicating that other regions could follow a similar path," Yun said.

Housing Market in Oklahoma City

Rises in mortgage and interest rates in the past couple of years have caused the recent slow down in the housing market. Nevertheless, the metro area is outperforming many largers cities where homes are losing value, and Oklahoma City's market is at the very least consistent in its affordability compared to other markets. Most experts contend that the home builders are not getting ahead of the somewhat reduced demand, a situation that would cause excess inventory.The fact that Oklahoma City is expanding due to the growth in downtown and the gains in various business sectors figures to help the market, and rates are still at relative lows, despite their recent increases.That leads many economic experts to believe that Oklahoma City's housing market is fairly healthy.

www.WyattPoindexter.com