Tips for Keeping Sellers Sane
Living in a home and keeping it in good condition can be a big challenge for current owners, but being prepared to deal with disruptions of home showings is essential.
Here are some suggestions for helping sellers manage this feat. These tips come from Dian Hymer, author of House Hunting, The Take-Along Workbook for Home Buyers:
Buy a big plastic tub for each room. When a prospective buyer is on the way, suggest they de-clutter by throwing unattractive essentials like toys and toothbrushes into the tubs, then stowing the tubs in the garage or a closet.
Develop an escape plan. Encourage sellers to decide in advance where they’ll go when potential buyers are on the way over. It doesn’t have to be far — taking a walk through the neighborhood is probably good enough.
Ask sellers to be flexible about showing times. Setting severe limitations makes it harder to sell a home.
Leave the lock box with the home owner. Even when the showing instructions in the Multiple Listing Service indicate that practitioners are to call sellers before showing, there are likely to be drop-ins. Allowing sellers to take the lock box off will protect them from unscheduled visits.
Unless it is absolutely necessary, listing associates shouldn’t insist on being there for every showing because it makes it very difficult to find a time that works for everyone.
Source: Inman News, Dian Hymer (04/28/08)
Record High of Vacant Homes for Sale
The number of vacant homes for sale in the United States set a new record in the first quarter of 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Monday.
The Census Bureau reported that 2.9 percent of U.S. homes or 2.28 million properties, not including rentals, were vacant and for sale. It was the highest quarterly number as far back to 1956 when records of such vacancies were first kept.
The West had the biggest gain in vacancy rates among home owners, rising to 3.2 percent in the January-March period from 2.6 percent in the same quarter a year earlier. Vacancy rates inched up in the Northeast and remained steady in the Midwest and South.
Source: The Associated Press, Alan Zibel (04/28/08)
The inventory is falling!
Being a bit bold here and calling out that after a very long time I see the inventory falling. Plenty enough to go around for sure but this is a good sign overall. The next 30 to 60 days will show whether this is true in regards to a trend. Anthem,Avondale, Chandler,Glendale and Surprise have shown a significant drops in inventory, while Scottsdale jumps out with their inventory continuing to climb.
If you have been sitting on the sidelines waiting it’s time now to make sure your loan is approved and not just pre-qualified. Have a qualified person on your side. Remeber it’s a home and look at it as a five year purchase.
Here’s the chart for the valley:
Residents Question Rising Property Taxes
Home owners across the country are facing higher property taxes at a time when rising food and gas prices, declining home prices, and increased job losses already are taking a toll.
Municipalities are hiking property taxes to balance their budgets, and some local governments are delaying tax cuts that were planned years ago.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis reports a 6.1 percent boost in state and local government spending costs between the 2006 fourth quarter and 2007 fourth quarter, versus a 2.6 percent jump for the national economy.
Property taxes have been raised 9.7 percent in Spring Valley, N.Y., and 4 percent in Arlington County, Va., for instance, and could surge 17 percent in Memphis.
Observers note that municipalities often turn to property taxes when they need more money, with a Census Bureau report indicating that property taxes make up 40 percent of general revenue for local governments on average; but some home owners think officials should cut services instead.
Although home price drops ultimately will lower a home’s assessed value and reduce property tax bills, it takes time for market conditions to affect appraisals. In response, many home owners are requesting reassessments.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Conor Dougherty (04/25/08)
Lenders Stall Short Sales, Practitioners Say
Real estate practitioners across the country believe mortgage lenders are worsening the housing downturn by taking months to make decisions on short sales and sticking to high internal target prices.
As a result, home buyers are abandoning short sale properties, forcing them to be sold in foreclosure sales that typically result in lenders accepting lower prices than they could have achieved in a short sale.
“The only question banks should ask is can they make more in a short sale than in foreclosure,” according to Lighthouse Point, Fla.-based real estate practitioner Ron Rosen, who cites a “broken” system. “The answer is that in nine out of 10 cases they will lose more money in a foreclosure. But banks seem to be asking a different question.”
Some practitioners contend that lenders lack the appropriate systems and staff to handle short sale requests, while lenders insist the short sale process is complicated by the need for approvals from investors and mortgage insurers.
Still, practitioners note that a more efficient short sale process would boost prices and reduce inventory.
Source: Reuters, Nick Carey (04/22/08)
Real Estate TV Changes With Market
Real estate television shows are starting to tap into the concern Americans have about whether or not they’ll be able to find buyers for their homes or get their asking prices.
On TLC’s new show, “Date My House,” anxious sellers stage overnight “dates,” in which potential buyers spend the night at the house. Sellers try to “seduce” these buyers into making a “long-term commitment.” The show’s host, Bob Guiney from ABC’s “The Bachelor,” shouts at the beginning: “The real estate market has come screeching to a halt!”
HGTV has a similar new series, “Sleep On It,” in which potential buyers spend the night inside a home before deciding whether to buy.
And another upcoming HGTV show, “Good Buy? Bad Buy?” taps into buyer anxiety about the changing real estate market. The shows premise: “Buying a house is the biggest financial risk you will ever take.”
Source: Time, James Poniewozik (04/21/2008)
NAR Commends Preston’s Nomination as HUD Secretary
WASHINGTON, April 18, 2008
The following is a statement by National Association of Realtors® President Richard F. Gaylord on today’s nomination of Steve Preston for Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
On behalf of NAR’s more than 1.2 million members, I want to thank President Bush for moving quickly in nominating a new head for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. NAR has had a positive experience working with Administrator Steve Preston in his role with the U.S. Small Business Administration, and we believe he will do a fine job representing HUD and helping the nation navigate through the housing downturn and the mortgage crisis.
Mr. Preston’s past experience, both as CEO of ServiceMaster and as SBA Administrator, gives him good insight into the needs of small businesses that serve the real estate and housing industries.
We congratulate Mr. Preston on his nomination and look forward to working with him at this critical time for our nation’s economy and the housing market. Together, with Congress and the administration, we look forward to implementing new legislation and regulation that will help stabilize the housing market.
Why Are Short Sales So Troublesome?
Short sales seem like a win-win for everyone involved, but as real estate professionals know, short sales can be hard to pull off. It can take months for the mortgage company to respond to an offer, and the lender or lenders often balk at the price.
Why doesn’t the process go more smoothly when it seems like a much better deal for everyone than foreclosure?
Paperwork. Gathering all the information needed to evaluate a short-sale offer can take time, says Patrick Carey, an executive vice president with Wells Fargo. The loan servicer must first determine whether the homeowner really can’t continue meeting the loan payments, then get an appraisal or broker’s opinion of the home’s value.
Many steps, approvals. Mortgage servicers also try to ensure that the proposed sale is an “arm’s length” transaction between two parties rather than something like a sale to a relative on sweet terms. They must also determine whether the buyer has sufficient funds or the ability to get a loan. If all those hurdles are cleared, the servicer may still need to get approval from the investor that owns the loan and provide an analysis showing that the investor will be better off with a short sale than with another solution.
Complications often arise. There are additional complications if the borrower has a mortgage and a home-equity loan. In that case, both parties must approve the deal – which is a challenge when the sales price may not even be enough to cover the mortgage balance.
Minimize delays. Carey suggests that home owners contemplating a short sale immediately call the loan servicer to get the approval process started, rather than wait for an offer.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Ruth Simon and James R. Hagerty (04/17/2008)
Bargain Home Prices Boost Sales
In cities where housing prices have fallen dramatically, bargain hunters are swooping in and pushing sales upward.
Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Sacramento, and San Diego have all seen sales increases recently after a period of price declines, according to a March report by Radar Logic, a real estate data and analytics firm. In Detroit, sales of homes and condos rose 12.8 percent in February compared with a year ago, according to Realcomp.
The most aggressive shoppers include investors, particularly nationally based ones who are cherry-picking single-family homes in good neighborhoods all over the country.
International buyers also see U.S. home prices as a bargain. With the dollar down against the Euro, European buyers get particularly good deals, but buyers from Asia and Canada also are active, according to international real estate practitioners.
First-time homebuyers are finding this a good time to dip toes in the water. In November 2007, 39 percent of purchasers were first-time homebuyers, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.
Source: USA Today, Stephanie Armour (04/17/2008)
Mortgage Applications Rise
Mortgage applications rose last week for the second week in a row, up 2.5 percent to 743.4 on a seasonally adjusted basis from 725.6 a week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly mortgage applications survey.
On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 2.7 percent compared with the previous week and was up 16.4 percent compared to the same week a year ago.
Most of the increase came from refinances, which increased 5.2 percent from the previous week. Purchases actually decreased 0.8 percent.
The refinance share of mortgage activity was 53.5 percent of total applications, up from 52.2 percent the previous week.
Interest rates decreased slightly.
30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.74 percent from 5.78 percent.
15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.27 percent from 5.39 percent.
1-year ARMs decreased to 7.02 percent from 7.06 percent.
Source: Mortgage Bankers Association (04/16/2008)
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