More money has been lost to indecision than was ever lost to making the wrong decision. The economy and the housing market have caused some people to take a “wait and see” position that could cost them in lost opportunities as well as almost certain higher costs in the future.

To illustrate what the opportunity cost might be, let’s compare what the value of the down payment two years from now would be if it was invested in a certificate of deposit, the stock market or used to purchase a home today.

A 3.5% down payment on a $175,000 home is $6,125.00. If it was invested in a CD that would earn 2%, a person would have $6,372 in two years. The earnings would be taxed as ordinary income tax rates. It wouldn't earn much but it would be safe and secure.

The same amount would grow to $7,013 in the stock market if you picked the right stock or fund and it yielded 7%. The earnings would be taxed at the long term capital gains rate. The return could be greater but so is the risk involved.

If this person were to purchase a home today that appreciated 2% in value over the next two years, the equity in the home would grow to $18,769 due to value going up and the unpaid balance going down.

The question, we all must ask ourselves is “where should our money be invested?” Try Your Best Investment to see the difference it will make based on your price range, down payment and earning rate.

Nationwide housing production fell 9.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 893,000 units in June, according to newly released figures from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The drop was due primarily to a nearly 30 percent decline in the South. All other regions posted monthly gains.

“A modest 2.6 percent increase in single-family permits falls in line with the general optimism that we are hearing from our builders,” said Kevin Kelly, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Wilmington, Del.

Single-family housing starts were down 9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 575,000 units in June, while multifamily production fell 9.9 percent to 318,000 units.

Regionally in June, combined single- and multifamily housing production rose in the Northeast, the Midwest and the West, with respective gains of 14.1 percent, 28.1 percent and 2.6 percent. Total production fell by 29.6 percent in the South, the nation’s largest region.

“Take away the South and nationwide housing starts would have been in positive territory this month,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “This sharp regional decline could be due in part to lots and labor shortages, which are particularly acute in that part of the country. However, the general direction of housing production is trending upward, and we expect 2014 to be a positive year.”

Issuance of building permits registered a 4.2 percent decline to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 963,000 units in June. Multifamily permits dropped 14.9 percent to 332,000 units while single-family permits increased 2.6 percent to 631,000 units.

The Northeast, South and West registered overall permit losses of 15.5 percent, 6.3 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively, while the Midwest posted a 6.6 percent gain.

For more information, visit www.nahb.org.

Q: What online marketing tools should real estate professionals add to the mix in order to successfully grow their business?

A: Online marketing is one of the most important areas in which to grow your business. Some available tools for online marketing include Google, forms of social media marketing, and email marketing.

Two ways to leverage Google’s traffic are by using search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM). Both of these search engine tools are complex enough to take years to specialize, yet simple enough to understand the fundamentals fairly quickly. Additionally, both deliver powerful results.

If you’re new to SEO, find easy-to-use, SEO-friendly technology that allows you to create a standalone listing page and a “Contact Us” form. WordPress can be a great tool to create simple listing pages with almost no technical expertise needed. Then, create an SEO-friendly page, highlighting your listing. Make sure you indicate page titles using good, clean tags, and accurately describe the Web page’s content. Always use brief but descriptive titles, and make use of the description meta tag.

For many real estate professionals, the mere thought of bringing a new team member—or two—on board is all it takes to talk themselves out of even entertaining the idea.

However, creating a successful agent team will not only benefit your company (hello increased productivity, profitability and job satisfaction, goodbye having to tackle everything on your own), it’ll also go a long way toward improving your life and relationships outside of work. And who doesn’t like getting two things for the price of one? By forming a team, you’ll find yourself with more free time on your hands (just when it thought it wasn’t possible), which will ultimately result in a better attitude toward life. I can see you breathing deeper already.

Read how this Power Team closed a $16 million deal in four months!

While timing is everything—if you don’t have enough business to keep everyone busy and paid—adding to the mix will most likely cause more harm than good. But if you find yourself struggling to get everything done despite working 80 (or more) hours a week, bringing in a few extra hands may be the best thing you do this year.

If you’re still on the fence when it comes to incorporating a team-based approach into your business, take some time to think about the following statements. If any of them ring true, it may be time to start looking for some reinforcement.

• You have more clients or leads than you can handle. You’re actually referring surplus prospects to your competitors.
• You’re experiencing an increasing number of missed opportunities due to time and resource constraints.
• You find it more and more difficult to meet deadlines, or you’re chronically missing deadlines.
• You see an increasing number of mistakes and miscommunications in your work.

• You feel as though you never have enough time to do what you need to do—or would like to do.
• Family members are complaining that you don’t spend enough quality time at home.
• You skip vacations to catch up on work.
• You feel alone and frustrated. You want to share ideas and get feedback before bringing those ideas to life, but you have nobody to bounce those ideas off of.
• You have great ideas for improving your business, but you’re missing the key skills and talents to implement those ideas.

Sound familiar?

Even if you’re not 100 percent ready to jump on the team bandwagon just yet, keep the following sentiment from Mother Teresa in mind: “I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.”

Nationally, 67 percent of consumers plan home renovations within the next six months, according to the latest realtor.com® Home Improvement Survey.

More than 1,500 visitors to realtor.com® from May 19-29, 2014, responded to the survey. Over two-thirds of respondents plan to renovate an area of their homes immediately, and 20 percent of those surveyed plan to list their homes for sale before the end of 2014.

Similar to last year, the most common budget range for home improvements is between $2,001 and $5,000. Eighteen percent of those planning to renovate before the end of the year expect to spend between $10,000 and $20,000. Home owners are most likely to spend that money remodeling kitchens, bathrooms, backyards or patios. The top reasons for the remodeling are greater enjoyment of the home and improved appearance, according to the survey.

We’ve all been there: trapped at your desk on the gloomiest of days. In diva-esque fashion, the sun refuses to come out of its dressing room. Is it just me, or are the colors in most offices downright dismal, not to mention fluorescent lighting that makes most of us look like green-tinged creatures from beyond. But I digress.

If you’re like me on those days, you’re probably imagining being somewhere else. A place where noises like paper shuffling and tap-tapping of keyboards are replaced with exotic bird songs and gently lapping waves. A place so remote, your cell barely registers service. Goodbye, work-related emails! Butterscotch-strawberry swirl sunsets, palm trees swaying amid cool ocean breezes…I’ll take one private island to go, please.

I may not be ready to fork over serious cash for my own piece of paradise, but I’ll keep the daydream alive by considering the logistics of purchasing an island. And who knows? There may be someone out there who’s squirreled away enough change to actually do it. But fair warning: snatching up a spit of land in the great blue deep is no easy task. Before taking the plunge, think carefully about these factors.

Inventory & Cost - Per the Private Island Buyer’s Guide, fewer than 1,000 islands are listed on the market each year – but limited availability isn’t the only hurdle. How do you know that island you’re coveting is actually worth its hefty price tag? The reality is, you can’t know for sure. Islands are difficult to appraise due to the relatively low amount of comparables. Time spent on the market isn’t a benchmark, either, because buyers are few and far between. Cue investor woes.

Accessibility - Nobody wants to arrive at their destination devoid of happiness because they got held up at the baggage claim. Pick an island in a location that suits your allotted travel time. A long flight won’t be an inconvenience if you plan to visit for an extended period of time, but if you’re looking for a weekend getaway, you’ll want something nearby with a shorter commute. Another fun fact: many islands lack the infrastructure to support proper medical care. You’ll have to figure out where the nearest hospitals or clinics are, and establish an open line of communication so you can reach out in case of an emergency.

Ownership - There are two ways you can hold a title to an island: freely or with a lease. Freehold titles imply just that: that slice of heaven is all yours. Opting for a leasehold means you’ll own the island for x amount of time – usually between 30-99 years! Leases are generally less expensive and an ideal choice for foreign buyers, as there isn’t a ton of red tape to work around.

Environment & Culture - Your final homework assignment: researching the island’s climate and customary ways of living. Will you embrace local tradition? Are you going to be happy with seasonal changes (read: storms that rival biblical disasters) or maneuvering through rugged terrain? Brush up on the basics before you commit.

For me, I think I’ll keep dreaming…

In addition to ensuring the supply of affordable rental housing, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) supports jobs and provides benefits to the economy, reports the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Using the NAHB economic impact model of home building, revised industry estimates reveal that the LIHTC program supports almost 96,000 jobs in a typical year.

NAHB recently updated its economic impact model of home building, which indicate that for every 1,000 rental apartments developed approximately 1,130 jobs are supported for a year. Approximately 60 percent of those jobs are in the construction sector, with the remaining in associated industries such as manufacturing, transportation, and business services.

To estimate the typical annual economic benefits of the LIHTC program, we used average unit allocation totals from 2008 to 2012 from the National Council of State Housing Agencies Factbook data source to calculate industry activity totals. Newly built units were estimated using the NAHB apartment economic impact model, while substantial rehabilitation and acquisition/rehabilitation unit impacts were estimated using the remodeling part of the model on aggregate dollar basis.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is seeking input on draft requirements that would apply to private mortgage insurance companies that insure mortgage loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If put into effect, these requirements would apply only to private mortgage insurers that are currently approved to do business with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, as well as those seeking approval in the future.

“NAHB is concerned that this proposal could increase the cost and impede the availability of private mortgage insurance at a time when the housing recovery remains fragile,” says Kevin Kelly, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Wilmington, Del.,

It’s disappointing, frustrating and sometimes, discouraging when you lose a home you want to buy.

One of the hardest lessons for today’s buyers is that writing an offer doesn’t mean that you’ll get the home or even a counter-offer. The low inventory affecting many of the housing markets requires a different strategy to give you the best chance to get the home you want.

1. Make your best offer initially; you may not get a chance to accept a counter.
2. Submit a written pre-approval letter from the lender.
3. Increase earnest money above what is considered normal.
4. Make a larger down payment.
5. Eliminate unnecessary contingencies.
6. Don’t ask for personal property not included in the listing agreement.
7. Pay your own customary closing costs.
8. Shorten the inspection period.
9. Buy the home “as is” subject to inspections which still allows you to get your earnest money back if the inspections are unacceptable but doesn’t require the seller to make repairs.
10. Write the seller a hand-written, personal letter telling them why you want their home; include a picture of your family.
11. If you can pay cash, do so and arrange financing after closing. Be prepared to show proof of available funds.
12. Schedule the closing as soon as possible but let the seller know you can be flexible.
13. Once you decide on a home, act with expedience.
14. Ask your real estate professional if they have any other suggestions.

Think of making an offer like applying for a job. You want to make your best impression and show why you are the best choice. You won’t always know that there are multiple offers. Approach the process like the competition is doing their best to get the home.

The summer season means poolside weekends, outdoor recreation and long-awaited travel plans. While you’re out having fun in the sun, be sure your homeowner’s insurance applies to seasonal hazards, which can put you in the red if you don’t have adequate coverage. Keep these areas in mind:

• Pool Insurance – Pool accidents are much more common than you think – and if they happen in your backyard, you’ll be liable. Protect yourself from paying sky-high medical expenses or going through legal proceedings by ensuring you have the right amount of coverage. For a maximum safeguard, adopt an umbrella policy.

• Home Rental – If you’re planning to rent out your home for vacation use, be certain you meet all insurance requirements: some allow short-term rentals under your regular policy, but others may call for more coverage. Additionally, long-term rentals can cost up to 25 percent more. Regular rentals (not for vacation use) will not be covered.

• Vacation Rentals – If you’re the renter, speak with your agent about whether your homeowner’s insurance covers damage where you’re renting. If you’re booking through an online portal, check to see if there’s a policy in place for unforeseen events.

Source: Bankrate