11Jan/12Off

Short Sale In Bloomington, MN

Short Sale Home Bloomington, MN

10356 Decatur Avenue S , Bloomington, MN 55438

Short Sale Listing: 10356 Decatur Ave S, Bloomington, MN 55438

This Bloomington Short Sale Home is priced to sell.  The opportunities are endless with what you can make of this home.  The backyard and patio awaits your entertainment, the spacious interior is perfect for any growing family.  The kitchen boasts granite counter tops and cherry, hardwood flooring.  The stainless steel appliances make this home a complete package.    Please contact us today if you're interested in viewing this home!

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15Nov/11Off

Short Sale Home in Farmington MN

Short Sale Listing 18592 Egret Way, Farmington, MN 55124

Short Sale 18592 Egret Way, Farmington, MN 55124

Short Sale 18592 Egret Way, Farmington, MN 55124

This Farmington Short Sale Home is priced to sell.  It does require quite a bit of work on the interior, including paint and carpet and some sheetrock fix-ups.  There are 4 bedrooms, 2 baths and a fenced back yard.  The exterior of the home is in good condition.  Please contact us today if you're interested in viewing this home!

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7Nov/110

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.

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24Mar/110

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.

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28Feb/110

Short Sale Referral

Here is a recent referral that the Twin Cities Short Sale Realtor received:

"I was faced this year with having to sale my house.  I needed help from someone who could sale my house fast and would be knowledge in this economy and with short sales.  Due to the economy I knew the value of my home was worth less than I owed and I had to sell it quick due to my circumstances.  I had worked with Tony Ashworth in the past on a previous home he sold for my family.  As before Tony was honest in where I needed to price the home, what needed to be repaired/replaced and referred me to Joe Baker, a partner in his business who handled short sales. The day I met with Tony he had a list of things I needed to get together for Joe.  After getting all the listed information to Joe he immediately started the ball rolling.  I was braced to face many problems and aggravations in handling this sale.  I stayed braced and that's where I stayed.  Tony had the house sold within the time he told me and Joe had everything organized with the banks when we went to closing.  I never had a problem with the banks due to Joe's negotiations with them.  I am extremely grateful to Tony and Joe for handling this difficult dilemma in my short sale.  It is because of Tony and Joe's knowledge, organization and communication that made this as easy and stress less as possible"

--Holly

Please contact us if you would like your personal situation reviewed!

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7Feb/110

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.
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11Jan/110

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!

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9Aug/100

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.

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5Aug/100

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.

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2Aug/100

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.

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