Executive Home Sales Starting To Go Short
We've been watching the market and many homes from the starter to the $350,000 price range are mitigated one way or another by a lender. IE: They are either bank owned (REO) or they are in a short sale situation. We've written about this in the past but there is a curiously interesting phenomenon starting to take place: Executive style homes are now starting to find themselves in the same category: Short.
Why is this happening? Well, we believe it is the market continuing to correct itself. As the prices of the lower home categories have continued to fall, the next logical step for sellers that become buyers is to move up in home category. That could be from the $150,000 home to the $250,000 home for example. However, when the executive homes failed to follow suite with the rest of the market, the buyers dried up even more for the $1M homes. There was/is too much of a gap for the home buyer to leap over to get into that final stage of an Executive Home.
The interesting thing is that the prices of these homes have PLUMMETED. You may have not noticed when the $300,000 home retracted in value to $200,000 (as much anyhow). You cannot pass on the elephant in the room though when it goes from $2,000,000 in value to under $1,000,000. That one is hard to miss.
So, as the market continues to lower itself (We're firm believers that the bottom is nowhere near in site), more and more people will need to attempt to sell there home via short sale.
Please get a hold of Twin Cities Short Sale Realtor when you have questions regarding your personal situation.
A Bailout For Underwater Homeowners
Source: Thomson Reuters
It appears the Obama administration is toying with the idea of reducing the amount of debt owned on a mortgage for homeowners who are underwater (owe more than the home is worth).
Although this is a large convenience for homeowners, it's the taxpayor who is going to be writing the check for this. If one were to think electing time is coming, it could be the taxpayor who is writing the check straight to the current administration.
Only time will tell if any lenders actually pick up this service for homeowners and only time will tell if it is successful or not. For the current time, please contact us at the Twin Cities Short Sale Realtor to discuss your personal situation.
10 Celebrities Facing Foreclosre
Times are hard no matter who you are. Most of the market is dominated by short sales or foreclosures. Here are a few A lister's that seem to have run into some financial woes too!
http://www.zillow.com/blog/10-celebrities-flirting-with-foreclosure/2011/03/23/
As always, please contact the Twin Cities Short Sale Realtor to discuss your personal situation.
Interesting Real Estate Facts
19 Interesting Real Estate Facts:
Fact 1: 11 % of all US homes are vacant.
Fact 2: Homeownership rate has dropped to 1998 levels.
Fact 3: Home prices are falling again..as we predicted last year…the housing double dip is here. Many economists expect further price (value) depreciation in 2011. Depending on the market and the price range….expect 5-10% additional value loss.
Fact 4: From the peak in 2006 US homes are expected to have lost close to 40% + in value nationwide.
Fact 5: In 2010 repoed homes reached the 1 million mark. A new unfortunate record.
Fact 6: 72% of the major US metro areas had an increase in foreclosures in 2010 over 2009.
Fact 7: 8 million Americans are at least one month behind. We know that when an owner is just ONE PAYMENT behind the probability of default skyrockets. Today’s one missed payment (30 day late) is tomorrows foreclosures (or short sale).
Fact 8: 5 million are at least 2 months behind. (See point 7.)
Fact 9: This year, 2011 an estimated 20,000,000 will be underwater, that’s 40% of all owners with a mortgage. The hardest hit areas of the country have simply stunning rates of negative equity: 67% in NV, 49% in AZ, 46% in Florida. 4 million US Homeowners are underwater by more than 50 percent.
Fact 10: New ghost towns are forming, Dayton Ohio 18.9% are vacant, Las Vegas whole towers of condos are simply empty.
Fact 11: THIS is officially the worst housing market in US History. Prices have already fallen MORE than even The Great Depression. 26% vs 25.9%
Fact 12: 4.2 million are unemployed for 1+ years. 9.6% are unemployed. Only 47% of working age Americans have a ft job
Fact 13: Lending requirements are getting rougher...
Fact 14: No equity..no downpayment. Last 2 years Americans have withdrawn 311 billion from savings and investment accounts. American’s are feeling broke.
Fact 15: Save Housing Fatigue has settled in over Washington D.C. President Obama didn’t mention housing once in the State of the Union. Compare that to just 2 years ago when DC was all aflutter with new housing initiatives. Is it time we talk about something that will truly make a difference..like a ‘Radical Refinance Program’ whereby owners negative equity is wiped out and they can keep their homes?
Fact 16: The American mindset about homeownership has shifted. After so many have been burned by homeownership its safe to assume that they will be very reluctant to dip their toes back into the water. Expect a continued increase in demand for rental units.
Fact 17: Social stigma of doing a strategic default is gone. People are now making the same business decisions that banks and other large investors do when underwater on investments.
Fact 18: The real estate industry is contracting. Fewer everything.. from loan officers to real estate coaches are needed. This trend won’t turn around until the baby boomers kids start having kids of their own. 7-10 years from now before we see a significant shift in housing demand due to the changing demographics.
Fact 19: Like in any consolidating industry there will be fewer operators doing more transactions. As more people leave the real estate industry the remaining agents, LOs etc will do MORE transactions.
Please contact us for a free consultation on your personal situation.
**These facts were made available from Tim and Julie Harris.
2011 Housing Predictions
2011 Real Estate Housing Predictions:
What should we expect in the world of real estate in 2011? Many people are hoping that we are near a rebound, or at least hoping we're not losing ground anymore. If that's you, it's time to take your heard out of the sand. Real estate is still in a huge decline.
I've preached several times over that we're not out of the woods and that we'll see another 20% drop in home prices, at minimum over the next few years. It seems some others are thinking the same way now. I'd sure like to take credit for these other predictions but we all know they have no idea who I am or what this blog is. They simply put the obvious facts together and came to the same conclusion as me. Clear Capital is predicting an average of a 3.7% housing drop nationally. This does take into account some areas that will see an increase, but unfortunately, The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul aren't in those areas.
So what can you do? Well - if you're planning on a long term home, then you really have no worries. Housing prices will eventually recover and with you paying the home down, you'll be just fine. If you're struggling financially or have a hardship like a job transfer or loss of income etc, maybe it's time that you review the choices that are available so you can get back on the track of financial independence.
The Twin Cities Short Sale Realtor is happy to discuss your personal situation at a time acceptable to you. Please contact us!
Is HAFA A Good Thing For Short Sales?
Is HAFA Good For Short Sales?
We've been getting a lot of questions lately about what HAFA is or how HAFA effects a seller during a short sale. First and foremost - for those of you that just thought: "What the heck is HAFA?", it is the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives. I'll summarize the positives of this program and try to break it down as must as possible.
Fist and foremost, it's important to note that this program is designed for home owners to actually work with the lender as opposed to just walking away from the home. In actuality, even though the lender doesn't want to take a loss during the short sale (which they will), it's more difficult for them to have to foreclose on the home and sell it themselves. After all, lenders make money on interest, not owning and selling real estate. Also, as previously written about, Fannie and Freddie are getting serious and making an effort to actually chase down homeowners who just bail. Making an effort to work with the lender through the HAFA program will actually stop this "chase" from the giants.
So what's in it for the homeowner to actually go through this process? Well - there's a couple things: First, the homeowner can get up to $3000 in relocation assistance. I would say this is somewhat of a positive. Think about it, you owe the bank thousands of dollars more but they are willing to pay you for the short sale. That seems like a decent deal. Here is the big one though: If you're approved for HAFA, there can be no deficiency judgment for the outstanding balance. That's huge. So for example if you owe $200,000 for your home and the bottom line is $150,000 - you don't owe them the extra $50,000 and they can't ask you for it! The third positive is that Fannie and Freddie will be satisfied that you worked with them to avoid foreclosure on the home. You won't have to worry about a letter showing up asking for settlement or payment on your home loans anymore.
Feel free to contact the Twin Cities Short Sale Realtor to discuss your personal situation.
Bank Of America Halts Foreclosure Sales
BOA Stops Foreclosure Sales:
Last week Bank Of America announced that it is stopping foreclosure proceedings. The short of the reasoning is that there may have been some improper evictions of homeowners with signatures from attorneys on documents that did not have the authority to sign.
What does this mean for the Minneapolis and St. Paul housing market? It really depends on how long this is going to last for. There is little question that a good portion of the homes that are for sale on the market are lender owned or short sales. As I've stated before, housing is simple economics too. The more supply, the lower the prices (assuming the same demand). If BOA is stopping it's proceedings, we could see a lower supply of housing which could cause a temporary rise in home prices. If this were to happen, of course it would be temporary and as soon as BOA starts to add it's inventory back into the market, supply will go up and prices back down.
It will be interesting to see the next week or two and how this situation plays out. Keep posted for updates.
As always, feel free to contact us to schedule a time to talk about your personal situation.
Foreclosure Sales Account for 31% of Real Estate Sales
Foreclosure Sales Skyrocket:
RealtyTrac, the leading online for foreclosure (REO) properties announced that during the first quarter of 2010, 31% of ALL HOME SALES were either foreclosure (including short sale) or REO (bank owned) homes.
The report continues to say that REO sales were discounted 34% from standard sales. Short Sale and Foreclosure (non-REO) properties were discounted 15% from standard sales. This is what is driving our market down and this will continue to drive our market down until the foreclosure mess has been fixed.
The media has started to turn also. After the first quarter, we saw housing reports that the recovery is coming. Those same media outlets are now saying housing is doomed and gloomy. As we've said all along at the Twin Cities Short Sale Realtor, until the foreclosure mess is fixed and demand is equal, or begins to increase above supply, housing prices will continue to slump.
Contact Us at the Twin Cities Short Sale Realtor to discuss your personal situation.
Fannie Mae Announces KnowYourOptions.com
Fannie Mae's new website: KnowYourOptions.com
Fannie Mae has recently rolled out a new website (www.KnowYourOptions.com) geared towards struggling homeowners and the options available. The website is structured with two major points, the first being ways to stay in your home, the second with options to leave your home.
To stay in your home, options include refinancing your current mortgage, a repayment plan to catch up on late payments, a forbearance or modification of your mortgage, or a deed-for-lease program. All have their pluses and minuses and all will need to be worked on with your lender.
Options to leave your home of course include a short sale, or a Deed-In-Lieu of Foreclosure. The path taken most often is the short sale, which we are experts at.
Please contact us at the Twin Cities Short Sale Realtor to discuss your personal situation.
Housing Double Dip Is Coming
Twin Cities Housing Is Hurting:
Meredith Whitney, CEO of Meredith Whitney Advisory Group, LLC recently summarized the housing market to CNN as a mess, with lower prices on the way shortly.
I've consistently said that housing in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul and surrounding areas will decline 10-15% over the next 1 to 2 years. Ms. Whitney said housing will dip another 10% over the next 6 months. I believe this to be a comment regarding the national average. The Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul are typically above the national average when it comes to housing. Here are the reasons behind her comments:
1.) Banks have started releasing their inventory. This is the first time this has happened in the past year. More inventory comes back to the supply vs. demand simple economic outlook. More supply, less demand, lower price points.
2.) When it was reported that housing prices were up for the first half of 2010, it was not reported that 45% of the market was first time home buyers cashing in on the government first time home buyer tax credit. Those buyers are now gone.
3.) The mortgage market has had it's 9th consecutive month of shrinking volume. This statistic alone shows that not as many buyers are buying.
4.) Consumer credit is getting tighter. If buyers cannot be financed for a new home loan, they cannot buy.
5.) Unemployment is now the leading cause of mortgage defaults. In recent years, it was bad loans that restructured themselves that hurt homeowners. Now it is the unemployment that is causing homeowners not to be able to afford their homes.
6.) State and Local Government are actually cutting jobs. In years past, it was the State and Local Governments that would be hiring when the recession is close to an end. Since they are cutting, we can assume that they are not as optimistic as the current administration contends.
All said, there are many negative signs in our economy that are hurting the housing market. Until unemployment is solved, until the majority of the REO/Foreclosure homes are sold, and until there are some more lenient lending guidelines, the housing market it in for a plunge.