The Benefits of A Legitimate Short Sale Realtor

Posted in Phoenix & Scottsdale Property Available and Sold, Real Estate on 08/04/2010 08:07 am by admin

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Giving up your home can be a traumatic business, which can be made even more stressful without a short sale realtor. Not just the financial aspect can be troublesome. The emotional impact of giving up the place that is tied so sentimentally to your family is very hard to take. If it is a house that has been in your family for generations, it can be even worse.
Not only is the sentimental aspect trying, but moving and adapting to a whole new house and neighbourhood can be stressful for all the members of the family. There are so many aspects to be taken into consideration, such as the possibility of a new school, workplace or commute route to both if the new place is very far away. Building social relations with new neighbours is always challenging, especially if you’ve gotten used to the same people’s company every day. There is also the question of a new layout for the house, the decor, and possibly, repairs to the new place. There is just so much to be done.
You can make it easier for your whole family by avoiding foreclosure and its consequent blow to dignity. Instead, you can opt for a short sale. Here is the principle of a short sale- in, for example, a Short Sale Phoenix, or anywhere else for that matter, the lender gets less than the entirety that is due, he can also minimize his losses by regaining the property faster.
Because the bank will be receiving money instead of the property itself, it is more convenient for them and for you. You can avoid having an unsightly dent in your credit history, and solve this problem in record time. It is never advisable to have a poor credit history because this will affect your ability to make transactions in the future.
Although it is the most advisable measure to take, a short sale is not as simple as it sounds. In fact, it takes a lot of negotiation and skills of persuasion. Getting through to the lender is not a simple process. It can be very frustrating when people put you on hold for very long and only end up not interested. However, this is one of the realities of the whole short sale business.
Trying to estimate the true market value of your property is a challenge for those who are not in this line of business. Since the process is no cost to you calculating what the cost of the sale will be for the lender closing costs and the amount of loans set against the house is also essential.
Take note that this is a business deal, so try to obtain the best terms you can under the circumstances. You will want the highest price possible, and terms and conditions that match your specific needs. Every short sale differs with the individuals involved.
Don’t jump into a deal without considering all of your options. Try to broaden your perspective and check on the availability of properties and the typical market prices reflecting the economic situation of the moment.
These pointers all sound very complicated and it is not surprising that a homeowner would prefer not to proceed with the short sale because of all the added pressure. But there is a way out of it, and a way to make everything go smoothly- contact a short sale realtor. Because this is her line of business, she knows all the shortcuts and how to navigate around them. Because of all of these complexities the Lenders insist on a Realtor being involved. If it is not listed with a Realtor, they won’t talk to anyone.
Most of these realtors are very savy negotiators, so you can rest easy knowing you are in good hands. You can also learn a lot from them, and if you are really interested in the nuances of short sales and foreclosures, you can ask them about details like Fair Credit Reporting Act, RESPA, Short Sale Scottsdale, and the HAFA Program.
If you find out that you are a good candidate for a short sale, it is advisable to contact a short sale realtor right away and if you don’t know if you are a qualified candidate, your certified short sale realtor will help you establish that.

Maureen Karpinski
Find your Phoenix Arizona Property at Cactus Country Arizona Homes & Properties

 

July Stats for Phoenix, Scottsdale

Posted in Real Estate on 07/29/2010 07:07 am by admin

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We continue on this roller coaster as we expected and just don’t have a clear destination.

Closed transactions in June dropped off from the previous month as expected due to the expiration of the tax credit. I watch in amazement as the media report this as some sort of a really big story when it should be anticipated. I am surprised that it was not a bigger drop off. The luxury market is actually showing some strength, more on that later in the report.

Total number of closed sales in June was 8454 which is only a 7% drop from the number of sales in May, hardly big news in my book. It was still the 2nd best closing month of the year.

We continue to see signs that the middle price range from $350-700k, has stabilized.

Now for the good news in the Luxury markets. The number of closes in Scottsdale $1M+, and Paradise Valley are the most I have seen in a long time.

Scottsdale $1M+ had 62 closings and PV had 40, 102 combined. Inventory levels dropped in both market areas. Both areas have less then a one year supply of homes at the current closing rate.

The last time Scottsdale had more closings was April 2008 with 64.

The last time PV had more was November of 2006 with 42.

The last time these 2 markets had over 100 combined was August of 2007.

All of these dates were PM! (Pre-Meltdown)

We are starting to see investors betting on the return of secondary financing and that is a good sign for the future. THERE IS HOPE!
I have attached the actual stats according to the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) These are stats and facts and I know many of you enjoy seeing for yourself
As previous months, short sales are up drastically now I grant you that most of the listings out there are short sales.
1
July 20, 2010
SALES Month over Month
June showed 213 more homes sold than in May, with a total of 9,280 residential units. This continues an elevated sales pattern over five of the last seven months, and is the highest monthly sales total in the past 12 months, and the second highest month since August 2005 (when 10,031 homes sold).
SALES Year over Year
2009 was a banner year in terms of number of homes sold, the third highest on record. 2010 is showing signs of exceeding that figure. Despite NAR’s most recent data (May)1 that indicated a 2.2% decline in existing home sales on a seasonally-adjusted annual basis, the pattern here is just the opposite. Since January, monthly sales have exceeded the previous year’s monthly total in five of the six months. If sales continue on the present track, 2010 sales could exceed 100,000, making this the second highest sales year ever, exceeded only by 105,000 in 2005.
ARMLS STAT JULY 2010
1NAR May Sales report – http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2010/06/may_strong_pace
2
NEW INVENTORY
June showed a 5% increase over May (a bump to 12,303 from 11, 717), following the normal sea-sonal pattern as more sellers show their willingness to test the market during the summer selling season. Overall the new residential inventory for June remains close to the average of 12,559 new listings per month that has continued over the last 12 months. But June’s total is also the lowest for any June since 2004.
ARMLS STAT JULY 2010
TOTAL INVENTORY2
Total residential inventory for June (41,869 units) rose only slightly from the preceding month (41,317). This includes the 5% increase in new listings in June.
2Total active listings are pulled from flexmls on the 10th of every month.
3
MONTHS SUPPLY OF INVENTORY (MSI)
This metric is a new addition to STAT. It is a macro level look at how long it would take to absorb the current active residential inventory. It divides the total residential active units by the num-ber of sold units in a given month to estimate how many months supply of inventory (MSI) exists in the market as a whole.
Over the last four months, MSI has stayed in the narrow range between 4.77 and 4.51 months. Normal convention holds that MSI less than 5 months indicates a seller’s market, while an MSI equal to 5-7 months is a balanced market, and an MSI exceeding 7 months equates to a buyer’s market.
This is a look at the residential MSI for the entire market and is not representative of smaller niches. For example, the MSI for the higher price ranges far exceeds the 7 month threshold of a buyer’s market. Likewise, residential inventory at the low price end moves much more quickly than the 4.51 reported in June. Over time though, the MSI for the entire market can serve as a barometer of overall market health. Nationally, current NAR reports indicate an 8.3 month sup-ply of inventory3.
ARMLS STAT JULY 2010
3NAR May Sales Report – http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2010/06/may_strong_pace
4
ARMLS STAT JULY 2010
SALES PRICES
As predicted by the ARMLS Pending Price Index™ last month, the June Median sales price declined 2.6% from $130K to $127.4K while the Average sales price increased 1.6% to $179.9K from $177.1K in May , a slight upward trend that has continued over the last three months. The decrease in me-dian sales price while the average continues to rise, indicates continued upward movement of resi-dential sales prices toward the higher price ranges.
The Average and Median sale prices have now increased year over year for the past five consecutive months reversing 29 and 42 months (respectively) of sometimes double digit declines. Whether this is an indicator of a longer term recovery has yet to be seen, but when looking for a glimmer of good news in the many indicators, sales price would be a good place to concentrate.
LIST PRICES
After a short burst of optimism in May when the average list price ($220.9K) rose by 5% over April, the average list price in June declined to $204.6K and set a new low record for the decade, eclipsing the previous low mark of $209.7K set last December.
Likewise, the median list price declined in June to $132.5K from May’s $136K and set a record for lowest median list price since current reports have been tallied (January 2001).
Both numbers reflect a decline in prices of 3 to 7%, reversing the trend of the last three months that saw the rate of decline slow over previous months.
5
ARMLS STAT JULY 2010
THE ARMLS PENDING PRICE INDEX™
THE ARMLS Pending Price Index™ (PPI™) is a predictive market tool exclusive to ARMLS. The In-dex uses pending sales data from the Arizona Regional MLS system to predict Median sales price and Average sales price three to four months into the future. This information is only available through ARMLS the sole aggregator of pending sales data.
Pending sales data predict that the average price will drop slightly in July to $178.6K and con-tinue downward at a steeper rate in August ($170.3K) and September ($156.4K) then level out in October. The Median sales price shows more volatility rising fractionally in July and then falling back a bit in August (to $125K) and more in September before recovering in October.
If the predictions holds true, the Median price for September would be the lowest in the preced-ing nine years. The accuracy of the ARMLS PPI™ diminishes the further into the future the pre-diction are made because the sample size diminishes with time.
Overall, the Median and Average sales prices have remained relatively flat over the previous 12 months with only small monthly fluctuations. The market appears to be in a stable pattern al-though it is prone to slight dips indicating that the recovery is still tentative and subject to many outside economic factors.
6
ARMLS STAT JULY 2010
LENDER OWNED SALES
Lender owned sales have declined each month for the past 18 months when measured as a per-centage of all residential sales. From January to April 2009 the percentage was 65-66%. This month it was only 36%, nearly half of the year ago figure. As the new FNMA and Freddie Mac Home Affordability Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program is implemented, the market may expect to see the trend of lender owned sales as a percentage of total sales continue to decline. The impact of HAFA is yet to be realized but a positive impact could lead the way by example for other non-FNMA and Freddie Mac lenders to alter their policies regarding distressed home own-ers.
FORECLOSURES PENDING
Foreclosures pending in all property classes continue the downward trend of the last three months to 43,942 in June. It is unclear though if this pattern is reflective of greater lender suc-cess in expediting workouts with distressed owners to avert foreclosure, or is due to impaired lender capacity to initiate and process foreclosure inventory, due to inadequate resources. In any event, the downward trend of pending foreclosures is a welcome sign of progress toward a more normal market.
7
© 2010 ARMLS, may be reprinted with proper attribution.
ARMLS STAT JULY 2010
COMMENTARY
The market recovery remains steady albeit tentative. Patterns established over the last three months have shown only slight fluctuations. Much of the sales data over the last several months has been fueled by the first time buyer tax credit which is no longer available. Many of those tax credit sales have yet to close.
Congress did not foresee that the extended length of the contract-to-close period for first time home buyer tax credit sales would place many of these closings in jeopardy. Their extension of the closing date of the tax credit sales to September 30 should retain closings in the sold inventory totals which might have been lost had the date not been extended.
In addition many market observers remain optimistic that the effects of the new government pro-gram, HAFA, a last resort for many home owners facing foreclosure, will reduce the number of lender owned sales. HAFA aims to address many of the complaints surrounding short sale and deed in lieu of foreclosure transactions. Timing of solid market recovery is directly related to the removal of distressed properties, i.e., lender owned and short sales candidates, from the active residential inventory.
Particularly noteworthy is the market wide month supply of inventory (MSI) at 4.5 months. While this figure does not give relief to properties at the extremes of the price range spectrum, it is a barometer of market health which as recently as December was in the 7.4 month range.
ARMLS staff provides this commentary on the market as fact-based analysis, not as opinion or edi-torial positioning. Your comments are welcome and opposing viewpoints on interpretation of the market trends identified in STAT are welcome. Send your comments to
communication@ARMLS.com .
AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET
June showed a two day increase over May in the average days on the market to 98. The days on market figures have held relatively steady over the last eleven months, fluctuating slightly between 90 and 100 days. The prevailing pattern of average market times tracking proportionally to list price continues, as homes priced below $150,000 sell in less than 60 days while those over $750,000 are taking months rather than days, on average, to sell.

 

The Advantages of Short Sale Foreclosure and Getting A Certified Short Sale Realtor To Help You

Posted in HAFA (making home afforable program), Real Estate, Short Sales to Avoid Foreclosure on 07/21/2010 12:36 pm by admin

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If you are about to lose your home, it is not a pleasant business, but it can be made easier if you enlist the aid of a short sale realtor. It can be very hard on you and the entire family, the least you can do for yourself and everyone is to try and make the process go as smoothly as possible.
Benefits of a Short Sale
Instead of going through the agony and embarrassment of bankruptcy or foreclosure, a more dignified way of going about it is through a short sale. It means that the lender is willing to accept less than the total due amount.
Banks prefer to accept your money than the actual property, so everybody benefits. Your credit history will be saved, and you can avoid a lot of the emotional stress because the process is quite fast.
Not everybody can qualify for a short sale, but when possible, it is a convenient way to avoid foreclosure. If you want to find out if you are a good candidate for it, you will need a Certified Short Sale Realtor to go through your financial information and assist you in creating a strategy to attain whatever it is you are aiming for. Also, she will be the best person to tell you if what you are doing is in line with policies like the HAFA Program, Short Sale Phoenix, Short Sale Scottsdale (or whichever city it applies to) borrower protections or federal laws.
You may want to obtained the advice of an attorney and CPA depending on your situation, You should look for a good short sale realtor who is certified to help you through the whole process..
First of all, she can help you verify how much your property is worth. She can provide you with an estimate of the market value of your house. Remember a Certifed Short Sale Realtor, knows how to work the process with the banks, negotiate the contract and market the property to get to that point.
She is representing your best interests and will inevitably try to search for the best deal that can be had. It is a good idea to communicate with your realtor so that she will know exactly what you want and need. Through this, she can structure the deal to fit your best interests.
She will open you to more options. As an individual, you might not be aware of all your options when it comes to short sales- when it comes to availability, properties on the market, the usual market prices at the moment, and the opportunities you may not have known existed.
She will be able to negotiate for you with the lender. This is a difficult process because not all bank officers are authorized to accept discount. If you do it through the phone, you will be transferred to different departments and will be placed on hold most of the time. Having a Certified Short Sale realtor do this for you will allow you to avoid this long and frustrating process. When it comes to Short Sale, all banks insist on a Realtor handling the property. She will know how to get to the right person and be able to negotiate. A lot of persuasion is involved, but the basic principle is that she must be convinced that the lender can get the property back more quickly, and by doing so, cut his losses.
When you have contacted a short sale realtor, you will be ready to proceed with your short sale. You are not alone; in fact, this is becoming more and more common because more people are discovering the convenience of this strategy.

Maureen Karpinski
Find your Phoenix Arizona Property at Cactus Country Arizona Homes & Properties

 

June Real Estate Stats for Phoenix, Scottsdale, Glendale and Area

Posted in Current Market Stats for Phoenix Real Estate, Phoenix & Scottsdale Property Available and Sold, Real Estate on 06/25/2010 06:59 am by admin

maureenSALES Month over Month
Below are the stats supplied by Arizona Residential Multiple listing Service. As they come in, we have permission to send them out. This kind of information is so welcomed. Interesting that the bank owned property sales are only representing 38% of our market and I just have to think that short sales are going through the roof. Whatever it takes to get this market balanced. If you have real estate questions or needs please know I am a phone call or email away and would love to help you
Sales continue on a strong pace over the past three months. May sales of 9,077 represent a slight dip (2%) from April sales of 9,306. This trend follows a typical spring seasonal upswing pattern in sales activity. Nationally, sales, according to NAR’s most recent figures (April), show a gain of 1.52% year to date.
SALES Year over Year
Sales for May 2009 and May 2010 were virtually the same, a first for any month over the last
twelve. Last year the trend lowered in June after the spring upswing, only to remain flat through
the summer and take a plunge in November. The 2% dip in sales from April to May could be
reflective of this pattern repeating itself, but no other economic indicators signal that this April to May 2010 dip is the beginning of a downward trend.

NEW INVENTORY
New residential inventory declined from 13,871 in April to 11,717 new listings in May. The reduction in new listings added to the market since March represents is a healthy decline. Such a pattern affects the supply and demand ratio, which directly influences pricing. The downward trend may stay on course, or perhaps be affected by Sellers who will take advantage of the summer selling season to test the market.

TOTAL INVENTORY
As new inventory is declining, total residential inventory remains high with total residential inventory at the end of May at 41,326 units compared to 39,902 in May 2009. The total inventory trend remains relatively flat over the past twelve months, hovering below 40,000 twelve months ago to just above that level presently. Year over year it appears that total inventory for 2009-10 is stalled relative to 2008-09. However, the 2008-09 inventory had hit an unprecedented number close to 60,000, too high not to realize a sizable decline eventually.

LIST PRICES
The average list price in May was $220,900 which is a small (4%) but positive gain over the previous month. The median list price declined (slightly under 3%) from April to May to $136,000.The decline in the median price coupled with a rise in the average price indicates that there are more homes in the higher range that are making it to the market. Year over year the median list price remains fairly flat.

SALES PRICES
Average sales price remain virtually unchanged from April at $171,300. Median sales price for May however shows an increase over April from $127,500 to $130,000, an indicator that while additional higher end sales are coming to the market, they are not selling for as high a percentage of their list price as are the more moderately priced units. While not huge, it represents a 2% increase and continues a pattern of year over year price increases.

The ARMLS PENDING PRICE INDEX™
The ARMLS PPI™ predicts future average and median prices based on reports of pending sales
executed but not yet closed. The ARMLS Pending Price Index is available only through ARMLS, the sole aggregator of pending sales data.
The ARMLS Pending Price Index™ last month predicted that the median sales price for May would be $128,000. The actual May figure is $130,000, actualizing the upward prediction from the April forecast. In the near future, the ARMLS Pending Price Index is predicting a slight decline in median price in June, July and August, followed by a upward tick in September. The average price predicted last month for May was $173,000, and in actuality was $171,000.
The average sales price trend predicted by the ARMLS PPI™ for the rest of the summer shows an
up tick for June and July, a decline in August with an uptick again in September. Note that predictive accuracy declines the further into the future the prediction is made.

IMPENDING FORECLOSURES
Impending Foreclosures for Maricopa County for all property classes (residential, land and commercial) was 45,898 at the end of May. This represents a steady, yet slight downward trend since March. In contrast, the previous year’s (2008-09) impending foreclosures were on a significant upward trend from June 08 through May of 09. While the downward trend for the last three months is a good sign, it should be noted that the overall number of impending foreclosures is higher than at any time the previous year.

LENDER OWNED SALES
Lender owned sales (residential), which is sold inventory that the banks have taken back from the original borrowers, was at 3,430 in May, representing a much lower percentage (38%) of the overall sales in the market. This contrasts with the lender owned percentage of overall sales from a year ago of 62%. Clearly, the market is going in the right direction. As the lender owned percentage of overall sales declines, the influence of these distressed properties on median and average sales price also declines, inching us closer to a healthy market.
© 2010 ARMLS, may be reprinted with proper attribution.

AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET
The average days on market (residential) in May, declined one day from April, to 96, showing only a modest decline and perpetuating the downward trend which started in March. Over time as the days in market decline, the absorption of excess inventory will increase, nudging us closer to a balanced supply and demand.

COMMENTARY
The Valley housing recovery at present seems content to move at its own deliberate pace, with its monthly gains and setbacks. While a monthly glimpse keeps our eye on the pulse of the recovery, longer term trends speak a more reliable truth. Speculation continues on the effects SB-1070 might have on the housing market. If many homeowners, regardless of nationality and immigration status, decide to sell or abandon homes in expectation of negative economic and social impact of this new law, the tenuous recovery could be undermined.
Signs are apparent that the Valley real estate is gaining ground in its recovery struggle. The decline in new inventory being added to the market hints that Sellers who are not serious are remaining on the sidelines. The sold unit trend has continued to climb since January. The slight dip in sold units from April to May is a somewhat positive sign, since a much greater decline would have seemed logical when the first time home buyer credit went away. Its absence caused very little change in the total sold units.
Most notable is the much lowered percentage of lender owned sales relative to total sales, coupled with the decline in impending foreclosures. The proliferation of foreclosure sales wreaks havoc upon pricing. Thus, a slowing of impending foreclosures which feed the total number of lender owned sales is a trend that signals a future recovery
Maureen Karpinski
Find your Phoenix Arizona Property at Cactus Country Arizona Homes & Properties

 

In Arizona, HAFA Streamlines the Short Sale Process

Posted in HAFA (making home afforable program), Short Sales to Avoid Foreclosure on 06/10/2010 05:11 pm by admin
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If you are a homeowner in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Cave Creek,Peoria and Glendale or nearby areas and are underwater in your mortgage, you may have considered a short sale. Most people know that without the help of an experienced Phoenix realtor, this can be a lengthy and cumbersome process. However, there is now a program called HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives) that may be the right solution for you.

If you, as a homeowner, cannot afford the loan modification program under HAMP and are having problems paying your mortgage, this new law should be of interest to you! Not only will it benefit you, it benefits the servicer and investor as well by providing incentives for participating; it also provides an alternative to foreclosure.

There are guidelines, and this program is not for everyone. HAFA went into effect on April 5th of this year, and allows home owners to participate in a short sale, if you have a mortgage with a participating lender. HAFA applies to those lenders who participate in the HAMP Mortgage Modification Program voluntarily. Fortunately, most major national lenders do participate, so this is not often a problem.

Home owners must still submit many of the same documents as is necessary in a traditional short sale, but once this step is completed you will find that the process is much quicker and more streamlined. Instead of waiting for months or even a year, you may find that your home is sold in a matter of weeks. If you believe you fit the criteria for the HAFA short sale, it is essential that your property be listed with a Certified Phoenix real estate agent who specializes in short sales. , It is necessary to enlist the services of a realtor; with HAFA, They require it.

Another fact about the traditional plan that rubbed many the wrong way is that the lender did not have to get in any rush to begin the process. In fact, lenders could take as long as they like to deny or approve the short sale. With HAFA, there are stricter time-lines that are much shorter, so the lender must begin the process at the time your home is listed with a real estate agent.

There are good points and bad points to everything, and the HAFA short sale is no different. If you believe that this program may apply to you, it would be in your best interest to contact a qualified Phoenix realtor today. Foreclosure is not the only option, and researching alternate solutions could possibly save your future.

Maureen Karpinski
Find your Phoenix Arizona Property at Cactus Country Arizona Homes & Properties

 

Posted in Phoenix & Scottsdale Property Available and Sold, Real Estate, Short Sales to Avoid Foreclosure on 06/06/2010 05:34 pm by admin

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Arizona Residents: A Certified Short Sale Realtor Can Help You Avoid Foreclosure

Are you getting farther and farther behind in your mortgage, and feel you may be facing foreclosure? If you live in Phoenix or nearby areas of Peoria, Cave Creek,Scottsdale, and Glendale, a reputable Certified Arizona short sale realtor can help you see the light again by helping you get out of the situation you’re in.

The housing market has been in an uproar for a while, along with the economy. So many people have lost their jobs, which were their only source of income. It’s tough to pay a mortgage when you can barely put food on the table, but all is not lost. A professional, experienced Phoenix real estate agent with in-depth knowledge of the short sale process can help you get out from under that heavy burden!

What typically happens when you cannot pay the mortgage on your home? Your lender will often attempt to arrange a repayment plan, but that often fails or you may simply not have the money to even attempt to repay. At this point, your lender may mention a short sale, or you may bring it up yourself if you understand the process. This is why it is beneficial to you to have a Phoenix realtor on your side who has experience in this area. They understand how it works, and will do everything in their power to help you negotiate a sale with a qualified buyer. Simply put, if the bank agrees to take less money as pay-off for your home, you can avoid foreclosure and all of the negatives that go along with it.

Why would your lender agree to take less for your home than is actually owed? Banks are not in the property business. If they were to file foreclosure, there are hefty expenses involved. They also do not want vacant properties setting on the books, so many will agree to a short sale. When you decide to go this route, your credit will not be as badly damaged and you will likely be able to purchase another home in just two years, whereas with foreclosure it is often 7 years or even longer before you can buy a home of your own.

If you live in or around Phoenix and are facing financial difficulties that make it impossible to pay your mortgage, contact a highly qualified Arizona short sale realtor now. With our help, things can be turned toward a more positive direction!

Signatures
Maureen Karpinski
Find your Phoenix Arizona Property at Cactus Country Arizona Homes & Properties

 

May 2010 Real Estate Stats Phoenix and Area

Posted in Current Market Stats for Phoenix Real Estate on 06/03/2010 02:47 pm by admin

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May 2010
SALES Month over Month
Housing sales continued strong in April with the closing of 9,306 residential transactions,
up over 3% from the 8,990 units sold in March. Nationally, housing sales fell fractionally
for the same period.
SALES Year over Year
The April numbers were 3.5% higher than April-09 when 8,475 houses sold. This pace far
exceeds the national picture which showed only a 2% gain, according to the latest
numbers published by the National Association of REALTORS®.
1
ARMLS STAT MAY 2010
Active Inventory
13,871 new residential listings were added to the ARMLS system in April, a 25% increase
over the same month last year when 11,118 were listed.
However Active inventory added to the system was down 5% from the previous month,
continuing a seesaw pattern of ups and downs evident over the past six months. On an
annualized basis, inventory in the most recent twelve months is down 5% from 158,000
to 149,000 homes for sale, slightly ahead of calendar year 2009 when 147,000 homes
were listed.
List Prices
Asking prices on new listings continued steady at $212,250 as the average and $139,900
as the median price. (The median price is the range midpoint where there are as many
listed houses above as below it.) The divergence between monthly average and monthly
median continues to narrow. This indicates optimism from sellers who have been waiting
on the side lines to put their more expensive houses on the market to test the waters. In
January, the average list price was nearly 65% higher than the median. In April, that
difference was down to 51% continuing a downward slide trend that we have seen for the
past four months.
2
ARMLS STAT MAY 2010
Sale Prices
Closed sales continued to show signs of recovery, with the Average sale price of a single
-family home in the Valley falling by about $7,000 to $171,200, down from $178,200 in
March. However, the good news is that April’s average was over 7% higher than the
previous year average price of $159,700. This continues the three month trend of year
over year price increases substantiating that the market is starting to stabilize and
improve.
3
ARMLS STAT MAY 2010
The ARMLS Pending Price Index™
The ARMLS PPI™ predicts future average and median prices based on reports of
contracts executed but not yet closed. The ARMLS Pending Price Index is available
only through the ARMLS system and has shown to be a strong indicator of future pricing
trends.
The average price is predicted to rise in May and June, then settle back in July only to
start upward again in August. Year over year, this is a continuing indicator that the
short term market remains fairly steady but still uncertain. The market, driven by first
time and move-up home buyer tax credits that expired in April, will no longer be
bolstered by those incentives. For the summer, all bets are off as the spring market
ends, the snow birds leave for cooler climates, and the summer doldrums set in.
The ARMLS PPI for Median prices likewise shows erratic behavior, ticking upward
fractionally in May, then falling back in each of the next three months. This would
indicate continued activity in the lower price ranges of the market as bank foreclosures
continue to dominate the sale picture.
4
ARMLS STAT MAY 2010
“ARMLS PPI” is a trademark of Arizona Regional MLS.
Foreclosures
The foreclosure inventory continues to plague the resale market by saturating the MLS
with bank owned properties offered at below market rates. The average asking prices for
new listings dropped in April to $212,200, down $5,000 from the previous month.
Currently 5,029 or 12.3% of the 47,836 active listings in the ARMLS system are bank
owned/foreclosures. However, in the previous month of April, 3,538 of the 9,306 closed
sales were foreclosures. With 38% of the closings being bank owned foreclosures, the
downward pressure on prices is formidable. ARMLS expects this trend to continue until
the economy begins to recover and unemployment abates.
In the Pending Listing class, 4,760 of the 14,855 of pending listings, or 32%, are bank
owned properties.
For the eighth straight month, the number of pending foreclosures has hovered within 1%
either side of 50,000, according to the Cromford Associates LLC, the market research
affiliate of ARMLS. As they have since August, 2009, banks continue to file foreclosure
notices of trustees sales at a rate of 200-250 per day, a trend that is not expected to
change for quite some time.
5
ARMLS STAT MAY 2010
Market Time
All of this activity has its effect on market time. The average days on market of a sold
property in April was 97 days, down four days from the previous month. But this is down
from a high of 135 days the market experienced just two years ago in May 2008. Homes
now are selling on average 25% faster than they were just twenty-four months ago.
Commentary
The most recent 12 months show record sales, with March and April leading the charge.
Active inventory added to the market continues downward, putting positive pressure on
supply and demand, a necessity if prices are going to rise.
The housing market continues to try to make a meaningful recovery, but is hampered by
continuing unemployment and economic uncertainty on the national level. ARMLS is
seeing mixed signals from month to month since last October, but positive gains are
mixed with losses. This is a classic pattern that markets make in gaining traction toward
recovery.
ARMLS continues to see glimmers of hope, but no long term, reliable indicators that the
market recovery is imminent. We continue to be hopeful, but must at the same time
remain objective and realistic. This recovery is going to take a long time to develop and
probably won’t mean a normal housing market will return for at least two or three more
years. All information suppled by ARMLS
© 2010 ARMLS, may be reprinted with proper attribution.
6
ARMLS STAT MAY 2010

 

In Arizona, HAFA Short Sale Program Makes Quicker Work of Selling Your Home

Posted in HAFA (making home afforable program), Real Estate, Short Sales to Avoid Foreclosure on 05/18/2010 07:51 am by admin

maureen

Most Phoenix and surrounding area homeowners realize that a short sale can take a considerable amount of time. Now, the HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives) is making it easier for those who cannot meet monthly mortgage payments or secure a permanent loan modification to sell their home in a relatively short time period. A Phoenix short sale realtor can explain the process to homeowners in depth, so that they can make an informed decision regarding their particular situation.

The purpose of the HAFA program is to provide incentives in connection with a DIL (deed-in-lieu of foreclosure) or a short sale. A DIL is used to avoid foreclosure on a loan that is eligible for modification under the HAMP program. In Phoenix, Arizona and surrounding cities, homeowners who are upside down in their mortgage are looking for a way out other than foreclosure, and this is one very attractive option. Here are a few facts about the program:

Are you eligible? Here are a few of the qualifications:

Must meet basic eligibility criteria for the HAMP program.
The property must be your primary residence.
Your mortgage is behind or foreclosure is clearly in the near future.
Your monthly mortgage payment is more than 31% of your monthly gross income.
Your mortgage must be serviced by a lender who participates in the HAMP program, but the majority of them do.

Here is a basic scenario of how the HAFA short sale program works for the homeowner:

You, as the homeowner, apply for a home loan modification. Your lender then reviews your package, and determines that you do not qualify. At this point, the lender counter offers with an approved short sale agreement. Now that you are approved to do a short sale on your home, it is time to contact an Arizona short sale realtor to list your property and begin marketing it in order to find a buyer. Once a buyer is found for your home, they make an offer and if accepted, closing can take place in as little as 30 days from contract acceptance.

Anyone who has been through the short sale process knows that in certain circumstances, it can take several months to sell your home. Now, the HAFA program is making it much easier and faster for homeowners who are facing foreclosure or must get out of their homes because they can no longer afford their mortgage. Contact a reputable Certified Phoenix short Sale real estate agent today, and learn more about a possible solution for the heavy load you are carrying.

Signature
Maureen Karpinski
Find your Phoenix Arizona Property at Cactus Country Arizona Homes & Properties

 

The Short Sale: Good or Bad? What Phoenix Homeowners Need to Know

Posted in Real Estate, Short Sales to Avoid Foreclosure on 05/03/2010 11:49 am by admin

Many people have divided opinions about the short sale process. If you live in Phoenix or the surrounding areas, you may be wondering how to get out from under a mortgage that you can no longer afford. You may even be facing foreclosure. Is there another solution for your situation? This article explains the details, and why you need an experienced short sale realtor to help make all of the transactions easier.

Truthfully, the process can get drawn out longer than you would like, which is why many people avoid selling their home through a short sale. That being said, it doesn’t have to be so lengthy, which is why you need a Certified Short Sale real estate agent on your side. There are many benefits of having an agent take care of much of the work for you; they can compare home prices in the market, so you know how to price your home so that your lender is more agreeable to the process.

A good realtor can also help make finding a buyer for your home much easier. This is often a problem; buyers offer an amount that is ridiculously low, which the lender will not accept. Most of the time, your lender will be willing to work with you, if you show good reason why you cannot pay your mortgage and find a buyer who will pay a reasonable price for your home.

Foreclosure is something you absolutely want to avoid if at all possible, as it completely destroys your credit. Phoenix homeowners are urged to give the short sale process consideration, as it does not affect your credit as adversely as foreclosure does. In most cases, you will be able to purchase another home in two years or less.

Right now, many homeowners find that they owe more on their home than what it is worth; they are getting farther and farther behind in their mortgage and see no way out. This may be due to loss of a job, divorce, a death in the family or other devastating circumstances. Your lender will likely take less than what you owe on your home, simply because in the event your home is foreclosed upon the lender is left with an empty property – which is not what he wants.

Learn more about the short sale process, and how a reputable maureenwill help take the stress out of selling your home.

Maureen Karpinski
Find your Phoenix Arizona Property at Cactus Country Arizona Homes & Properties

 

Posted in Real Estate, Short Sales to Avoid Foreclosure on 04/28/2010 03:36 pm by admin

Designated Broker/Owner

Designated Broker/Owner

Arizona Homeowners – How a Short Sale Can Set You Free if You Are Drowning in Your Mortgage

Whether you live in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa or Glendale, you may find that you just cannot afford your mortgage any longer. In fact, you may owe more on your home than what it is worth, and it seems you are getting farther and farther behind. A short sale is a viable option for those who see no way out of their dilemma, and fear they are facing foreclosure. An experienced Arizona realtor can help you understand the process, and also assist you in all negotiations should you decide the short sale route is right for you.

Are you already months behind in your mortgage payments? Foreclosure may be just a few weeks away, and is something you really want to avoid. While you may hear bad things about a short sale, most of that is due to the fact that it can be a lengthy process – but if you have a reputable real estate agent, it can be much simpler and accomplished in far less time.

One thing many people find attractive about the short sale is that they can honestly tell friends and family they sold their home and avoid embarrassment often associated with foreclosure. You can also avoid having your credit completely destroyed, which can be devastating for some people. When your credit is demolished, you are looking at about 7 years of not being able to purchase anything on credit – even another home.

A short sale will affect your credit rating somewhat, but not like foreclosure does. You will likely be able to purchase another home in two years or less. Why do you need an Arizona realtor if you decide to go this route? They will help you negotiate with your lender, and also help you find a buyer for your home. Your lender must approve the offer of the buyer; a good agent can make sure that the price the buyer is offering is in the ball park, so that you do not waste time.

As long as you can prove good reason for why you can no longer pay your mortgage and your lender agrees, a short sale may be just the solution to your problem. Lenders would rather have some money on your home, because they are not in the business of owning vacant properties. If you live in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Glendale, Mesa or surrounding areas and need to consult with a professional, contact an experienced, Certified Arizona short sale realtor today.

Maureen Karpinski
Find your Phoenix Arizona Property at Cactus Country Arizona Homes & Properties

 
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