Real Estate Sales Pick Up...6/15/2009 8:45:00 AM
January 2010 Local Market Update:
Real estate sales began picking up as buyers snatched up homes at depressed price levels not seen since 1995. As a rule, sales involving foreclosures and short sales take longer than usual to close because of their inherent complexity. Still, they represent a significant portion of sales activity. How can you get in on a good short-sale deal? It takes a certain amount of fortitude and patience, plus a lot of luck.
In 2009, there were a record 2.8 million foreclosures in the US according to RealtyTrac.
What's a short sale? Selling a home for less than the amount the current owner owes the mortgage company is called a short sale. Buying a home that is a short sale is different from buying a property that is actually owned by the bank, known as an REO, or real-estate owned property, or a property that is in foreclosure. All of this sounds arcane, but it's lingo that anyone shopping for a home needs to understand to navigate today's marketplace.
A short sale can be a good deal for a buyer, and it can help the seller avoid having a full foreclosure on his or her credit record. Although a short sale and a foreclosure negatively affect a seller's credit score, in a short sale the damage can be minimized if the homeowner can persuade the lender to report the debt to credit bureaus as "paid as agreed."
See Mortgage Debt Relief Act For Details and Forms
In a short sale, the proceeds from the transaction are less than the amount the seller needs to pay the mortgage debt and the costs of selling. For this deal to close, everyone who is owed money must agree to take less -- or possibly no money at all. That makes short sales complex transactions that move slowly.
Do you know someone that owes more than their home is worth and doesn't know what to do? Please let them know we are here to help... contact me There's nothing that our skilled certified short sale specialists can't handle!
A recently announced extension of the government's housing rescue plan is making it easier to buy short-sale properties. The program spells out a short-sale process and provide standard documents:
Short Sale Guildelines FHA Guidance Re: Short Sales & Short Sale Payoff If you're house hunting and spot what seems like a great deal, chances are good that you are considering a "Short-Sale" or "Bank Owned" (REO) property up to 60% off.
Please let us know how we can help you in these challenging times.
Many sellers of residential real estate will find that in a buyer's market, the buyer's have a buffet to choose from. Sellers are always looking for new and innovative ways to stand out as the better choice in the line.
Contact me for innovative ways of marketing your home.
This is the Best Real Estate Investing Market in the History of Our Country!
Needless to say, this buyer's market is not going to last forever.
2010 will present "generational opportunities" for investors to buy at or near cyclical lows. 30-year mortgage rates have dropped back down to their record low mark. Foreclosures also remain high, meaning that there's significant pressure on prices -- it remains a buyer's market! Those factors combined sound like a good recipe that should result in a great time to buy a home.
All recessions lead to recoveries; we are already in the beginning stages of a massive recovery now. The stock and bond markets have posted staggering gains in 2009. Home prices are stabilizing and earnings are improving. The real estate market moves in approximately 20-year cycles. You've heard of buy low and sell high. Guess what? The "buy low" time is right now! Right now we are in a Down Cycle. The key is to take advantage of these conditions NOW before the market takes an inevitable up-turn.
Don't wait till the Robin appears... Make your life a life worth living well!
Will housing outperform the overall economy in 2010 as we pull out of the Great Recession? Nothing is absolute in the predictions business, but there are solid indications that, yes, housing is likely to rebound more energetically than the overall economy. Here's why:
Even the most bearish Wall Street analysts now concede that home sales are up in many areas from year-earlier levels -- sometimes by extraordinary percentages.
Those who make a close study of our local housing market have made their predictions for 2010. Larry Murphy, of RealtyTrac, a respected local housing market expert, is looking at 2010 to be similar to 2006, when there was no appreciation in house values. In 2009, there were 5,184 new home closings, the least since 1985; Murphy expects an increase in sales in 2010, but he foresees a decline in the median price of
new houses, which was $212,883 in December. That was a decline of 20 percent from 2008.
Resale, or existing, home sales were up 57 percent in 2009, over 2008, with 48,075 closings. The median price of existing homes was $120,000, down 25 percent from December, 2008. Median prices were $125,000 in April, 2009, indicating a leveling off in depreciation.
Analysts, including Murphy, anticipate there will be 26,000 foreclosure homes coming onto the Las Vegas market in 2010, up a little from 23,981 in 2009, which is not the huge number others have anticipated. This steady stream would provide a two month inventory. In other words, based on last year’s sales figures, houses will remain on the market about 60 days before selling.
The median price of a bank owned house is $116,900, compared with $150,000 for a short sale. Murphy predicts short sales will account for 15 percent of all sales in 2010, as banks realize short sales are more profitable.
Other local experts see some economic indicators improving in Las Vegas. They see more visitors, more gaming revenue and more house sales.
Too many new homes were built between 2000 and 2005, according to Murphy, about 50,000 more than were needed. Of these houses, about one-quarter were purchased by investors and second home owners. 38,000 homes were built in 2005 when only 18,000 were needed.
There were 230 active subdivisions at the end of 2009 compared with 350 at the beginning of 2009. In January, 2008, there were 525 new subdivisions.
Nevada MLS data indicates there were 23,803 houses for sale in January 2008. In December 2009, there were 10,262,
a 2 and a half month supply.
The advertisement below is not endorsed or recommended by Linda Strasberg