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DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2011 - For the 59th month in a row, Nevada continues to have the highest foreclosure rate in the country — despite a new law that took effect in October that changed the state’s foreclosure process and was expected to curtail foreclosures there.
Although foreclosures were down 43 percent year-over-year in Nevada, its foreclosure rate still remained higher than any other state.
The following are the top 10 states with the highest foreclosure rates in the country in November, according to RealtyTrac data.
1. Nevada: 1 in every 175 home received a foreclosure filing in November
2. California: 1 in every 211 homes
3. Arizona: 1 in every 256 homes
4. Utah: 1 in every 290 (This state saw a 74 percent increase in November from October in foreclosure activity.)
5. Georgia: 1 in every 330 homes
6. Michigan: 1 in every 330 homes
7. Florida: 1 in every 358 homes
8. Illinois: 1 in every 427 homes
9. Ohio: 1 in every 500 homes
10. South Carolina: 1 in every 517 (This is the first time South Carolina has made it into the top 10 for foreclosure activity since RealtyTrac began tracking in 2005.)
Source: RealtyTrac
DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS |...
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DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011 - In facing large inventories of foreclosures, Bank of America is considering a program that would allow investors to buy a foreclosed home and then rent it back to the former home owner, HousingWire reports.
Bank of America is looking for ideas on how to handle the large inventories of foreclosures in some areas where demand hasn’t picked up.
"We are looking at programs where you can capture somebody before the REO process and offer a deed-for-lease," Ron Sturzenegger, who leads the bank's legacy asset servicing division, explained to HousingWire. "We would go to the customer and say, 'We'll do a short sale. Will you be interested in leasing your property back? We're still going to sell the property. You will no longer be the owner. But you can be a tenant now in that same property and save you from moving on.'"
The program is still in very early stages and more details need to be worked out, Sturzenegger noted.
Interested and want to know more? See this
link.
...
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November 2011 property transactions in the Sarasota real estate market totaled 602, up 12.7 percent over last November. The total also exceeded the October 2011 sales figure of 577. The market has remained strong and stable as the winter season gets into full swing, reflecting continued confidence in Sarasota as a destination location.
In fact, the Today Show’s real estate report from Barbara Corcoran in late November noted that Sarasota was one of the top recovering markets in the nation. Corcoran said Sarasota is a “beautiful beachfront community” that offers residents and visitors “a sophisticated, urban cultural experience” that is propelling sales and prices in 2011.
Read the entire
report....
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Florida Realtor reports (JUPITER, Fla. – Dec. 6, 2011) with real estate prices low, many people are considering buying an investment property and becoming a landlord.
It might sound simple, but real estate pros warn that there’s a lot to know. The landlord who doesn’t follow such basic guidelines as conducting a thorough background check can get stuck with a nightmare tenant. It takes both business sense and common sense.
“Most of my tenants, 98 percent, are terrific,” said Jupiter real estate broker and investor Carl Presto, who owns 60 properties. “The problem is that 2 percent.”
The down economy that has resulted in real estate bargains also means it’s more difficult to find a tenant who can afford to pay first and last month’s rent and a security deposit upfront. Landlords report they have to go through 30 to 40 applicants before finding a qualified tenant.
Landlords also find they are competing with foreclosed houses, which some people rent below market, forcing rents lower.
Although picking up a cheap condominium unit might be tempting, David Dweck, founder and president of the Boca Real Estate Investment Club and a real estate broker and investor, advises avoiding them. Instead, buy a duplex, triplex, small apartment building...
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WASHINGTON – Dec. 2, 2011 – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced yesterday that they would suspend evictions of foreclosed single family and 2-4 unit properties from Dec. 19, 2011, through Jan. 2, 2012. While lenders will continue completing legal and administrative paperwork, no families will be thrown onto the street over the holidays.
“The holidays are meant for families to spend time together, especially if they’ve gone through the stress of financial challenges and foreclosure,” said Terry Edwards, Fannie Mae’s executive vice president of credit portfolio management. “No family should have to give up their home during this holiday season. Fannie Mae is committed to helping borrowers avoid foreclosure whenever possible and we encourage any homeowner who is having difficulty making their payment to reach out for help.”
While Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac back roughly half the mortgages in the U.S., some lenders also promised to place a moratorium on evictions over the holidays. Bank of America and Wells Fargo, for example, told CNNMoney that they had no plans to evict troubled homeowners before 2012.
Beyond altruism, the mortgage industry hopes to avoid bad publicity at a time of year when news stories focus on charity and kindness.
The eviction moratoriums apply...
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Financial analysis firm 24/7 Wall St. has identified the housing markets expected to offer some of the biggest discounts for home buyers. Many of these markets have been plagued with large gluts of foreclosures that have dragged down prices. In fact, six of the 10 markets on the list have had median home prices fall to less than half what they were five years ago, according to 24/7 Wall St.
The following housing markets offer home buyers some of the biggest discounts:
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Fla.
Median home price: $170,000
Home value decline from peak: -51.4%
Predicted change in home value through 2Q 2012: -6.5%
See the entire list
here....
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Property sales for October 2011 in the Sarasota real estate market outpaced last October, with 577 this year compared to only 487 at the same time last year. This represents an 18.4 percent increase, and could be a harbinger for a busy season.
There was also a small increase in transactions compared to September 2011, when 570 sales were recorded. Overall, sales in 2011 are on pace to exceed last year, a remarkable fact considering that 2010 sales were at the highest level since 2005.
The inventory of available properties for sale in Sarasota, after dropping precipitously over the course of 2011, was again up slightly in October to 4,525 from last month’s 4,430 level. The inventory sunk to a 10-year low of 4,408 in August 2011.
The October 2011 median sale price for single family homes dropped to $149,838 from last month’s figure of $165,000. But the amount was higher than last October, when it was $147,500. The condo figure has been fluctuating for several months, and rose slightly in October 2011 to $143,000 from last month’s figure of $140,000. Last year at this time, the figure stood at $158,525. The year-to-date median sale price was $155,000 for single family homes and...
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LOS ANGELES (AP) – Nov. 11, 2011 – More U.S. homes entered the foreclosure process in October than in the previous month, with Florida, Pennsylvania and Indiana registering among the largest monthly increases, new data show.
Some 77,733 properties received an initial default notice last month, up 10 percent from September, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.
The number of homes scheduled to be auctioned or repossessed by lenders also posted monthly increases.
All told, notices of default, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions – warnings that can eventually lead to a home being lost to foreclosure – hit a seven-month high in October.
The numbers are further evidence foreclosure activity is picking up.
Read the whole article
here....
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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- As the foreclosure backlog continues to build up, delinquent borrowers are spending even more time in their homes without making mortgage payments.
Once borrowers start missing payments, they spend an average of a year and nine months, or 611 days, in foreclosure before banks repossess their homes, according to LPS Mortgage Monitor. That's more than twice as long as three years ago, when the average was 251 days. Earlier his year, the average was 523 days.
"The number of defaults in the pipeline has been huge and we had more problem loans than ever before," said Herb Belcher, who supervises analytics for Lender Processing Services (LPS), which provides mortgage industry information and analytics to big banks.
With so many bad loans, servicers have had to prioritize which ones they can deal with and which ones to push aside.
Read the entire article....
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DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2011....Prices are rising in Florida: Florida cities have had the largest year-over-year increases in average list prices, according to the latest real estate data from Realtor.com. Florida cities make up 9 of the top 10 places for highest year-over-year list price spikes, based off of August data of 2.2 million listings in 146 markets.
Nationwide, the average list price is $320,325, up 2.36 percent year-over-year.
Here are the
top 15 cities boasting the highest percentage of year-over-year increases in average list prices....
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Sept. 23, 20111 - Condominium sales in the region climbed about 8 percent during August, but prices -- as they did with single-family homes -- sank last month.
Sarasota-Bradenton experienced a 7 percent increase in sales, from 240 units a year ago to 256 last month. Charlotte County-North Port's small base of sales saw an 18 percent increase, from 34 to 40.
Prices, however, in the market fell universally.
The median sales price in Sarasota-Bradenton was $123,300 last month, down 10 percent from a year ago and about 2 percent from July.
In Charlotte County-North Port, the $76,000 median was a 5 percent drop from a year ago and a 15.5 percent decline from July.
Foreclosures and other distressed sales continue to dominate the region, especially in Charlotte County, and accounted for much of the drop, experts said.
Statewide, 7,098 condos changed hands during August, an increase of 17 percent from a year ago.
The median sales price of $91,100 was a 12 percent increase from a year ago and was up a fraction from July.
Read the full story here....
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Nick Timiraos S writes Economists, builders and mortgage analysts are predicting the weakened U.S. economy will depress housing prices for years, restraining consumer spending, pushing more homeowners into foreclosure and clouding prospects for a sustained recovery.
Home prices are expected to drop 2.5% this year and rise just 1.1% annually through 2015, according to a recent survey of more than 100 economists to be released Wednesday. Prices have already fallen 31.6% from their 2005 peak, as measured by the Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller 20-city index.
If the economists' forecast is accurate, it means housing faces a lost decade in which home prices recover just a fraction of what was lost between 2005 and 2015, leaving millions of homeowners with little, if any, equity in their homes. The survey was conducted for MacroMarkets LLC, a financial technology company co-founded by Yale University economist Robert Shiller.
The housing bust has chilled consumer spending—the largest single driver of the U.S. economy—with eroding home equity contributing to the so-called reverse wealth effect that prompts people to spend cautiously because they feel poorer
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This week MortgageLoan.com reported that financially distressed homeowners with Freddie Mac mortgages will have a new option for loan modifications beginning next month.
The new option, called a Standard Modification, is designed for borrowers who are ineligible for a Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) loan modification or have previously defaulted on a HAMP or other loan mod. For those who are approved, the program reduces a borrower's mortgage principle and monthly payment by at least 10 percent each, thereby making the payments more affordable.
To qualify, homeowners must be at least 60 days past due on their mortgage, that is, having missed at least two monthly payments. Those who are not at least 60 days past due can qualify by proving they are in imminent danger of default, through demonstrating an eligible hardship and providing verification of income.
Read more about it here....
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REALTORMagazine reports delinquent home owners are living in their homes longer, rent-free. Home owners with a loan in foreclosure haven’t made a payment, on average, for 20 months or 599 days--a new record, according to new data by Lender Processing Services Inc.
Of nearly 1.9 million loans that are 90 or more days delinquent--but not yet in foreclosure--42 percent of the home owners have not made a payment in more than a year, with an average delinquency of 397 days--another record, LPS reports.
Read the entire story here....
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By DEREK KRAVITZ, AP Real Estate Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Foreclosures made up roughly one-third of all home sales this spring. While that's a smaller share of sales from the previous quarter, it's six times the percentage of foreclosures in a healthy housing market.
Foreclosure sales, which include homes purchased after they received a notice of default or that were repossessed by lenders, accounted for 31 percent of the market in the April-June quarter, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.
The share of the market would likely have been larger this spring if not for a state and federal investigation into faulty paperwork by banks and servicers. The probe has led many banks to delay foreclosure sales. Once that is complete, foreclosures will likely surge later this year.
As a slice of all home purchases, foreclosure sales peak two years ago at 37.4 percent. In the second quarter, they declined from 36 percent in the January-March period.
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Great NW Bradenton location. Conveniently located to schools, shopping and beautiful Anna Maria beaches. Home situated on .27 acre home site in well established area. Public records show home as 3 bedrooms, 1 bath but is actually 2 bedrooms, 2baths. Bonus room could be 3rd bedroom. Living room features wood burning fireplace and family room overlooks large backyard. Property being sold as is with right to inspect.
See it here....
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Foreclosure sales continue to drop, but foreclosure inventories remain high in many markets across the country. By the end of May, the number of mortgages that were 90 or more days delinquent, combined with the foreclosure inventory, outpaced foreclosure sales by 50:1, Lender Processing Services Inc. reports.
The biggest drop in foreclosure sales occurred in East Coast states. For example, foreclosure sales plummeted 96 percent in Washington, D.C., 80 percent in Maryland, and 79 percent in New York, according to Lender Processing Services’ monthly mortgage monitor report.
Mortgages that are 90 days or more delinquent, combined with the foreclosure inventory, totaled more than 4 million in May. Foreclosure sales at the end of May totaled 78,676.
The average time a home owner spends in foreclosure continues to get longer. More than 33 percent of home owners in foreclosure have not made a mortgage payment in more than two years.
Source: “Foreclosure Sales Plummet in May,” RISMedia (July 5, 2011)...
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4 Questions for a Pro: Short Sales
Friday, July 1, 2011 Andrew Bers has been involved with real estate since the late 1970s. He has sold millions of dollars worth of residential property, and he is an expert on foreclosures and short sales, earning "specialist" accreditation by the National Association of Realtors. Correspondent Chris Angermann sat down with him at the RE/MAX Alliance Group office on Webber Street to discuss short sales.
Q:Why do we continue to have so many short sales?
A:At the end of last year, the number of Americans who owed more on their mortgages than their homes were worth rose. Close to 50 percent of the homes in Florida are "underwater." At some point, owners make a determination to sell, sometimes informed, sometimes based on fear, or because they can't carry the mortgage anymore. Short sales — bank-negotiated settlements — are better than foreclosures. They have less impact on credit scores, and in some situations it's possible to sell the property without tax consequence or having to make up any deficiency... ...read full post
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens presents a night to celebrate freedom commencing at 6:00 p.m. until the fireworks end. The Gardens' breathtaking Bayfront location and live music by "Impulse" will ignite the Monday evening celebration. Impulse's musical style ranges from Reggae to Soca to R&B classics with a few surprises along the way.
Children's activities and lawn games for the entire family will take place on the Great Lawn. An all American BBQ and Cook-out as well as beer, wine, soda, and other beverages will be available for purchase. Bring your blankets or chairs to appreciate the spectacular community fireworks along the Bayfront.
Tickets are $20 for adults; $17 for members; $17 for member guests; children 11 and under enter free. Make reservations online now or at the Welcome Center from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 900 South Palm Avenue. All Pre-sale ticket buying ends at 3:00pm on July 4th. Tickets will then be available at the Welcome Center at 6:00pm on July 4th. Please no reciprocals or guest passes, as this is a fundraising event. There are no refunds or exchanges. If the fireworks display is cancelled, all purchased tickets can be exchanged for a one-day Regular Garden Admission Pass valid...
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FloridaRealtor has written a good overview of the challenge before the state Supreme Court in regards to lenders who use faulty paperwork to foreclose on homes.
"The core issue focuses on ownership of the mortgage. Thanks to complex financial instruments, the lender servicing the mortgage does not always have paperwork giving it the authority to foreclose; and in some cases, paperwork showing mortgage ownership has been pushed through with questionable signatures and research." says FloridaRealtor.
Read the entire story....
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...isn’t a new phenomenon in the housing crisis. But with home values continuing to decline, more owners are finding themselves in a position where they may see it as a savvy business decision to destroy their credit rather than wait years for prices to recover. Marty Likier is one who knows the mental hurdles that have to be crossed to make the decision.
Read Marty's story at
LoanSafe.org...
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Buy Now - Retire Later
In the June 27th issue of
Forbes Magazine, there is an article that exemplifies what we have been telling our buyers. NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY. If you are looking at retiring in the near future, buy that dream retirement home now.
The article highlights several good areas to buy, including south Florida and explains how to manage it till you are ready to live in it and some of the tax advantages and disadvantages.
Read the article here and see how you can have the retirement home of your dreams....
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LONGBOAT KEY, FL– Andrew Bers with RE/MAX Alliance Group has been awarded the Accredited Buyer’s Representation (ABR®) designation by the Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council. (REBAC) of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR).
Andrew joins more than 30,000 real estate professionals in North America who have earned the ABR® designation. All were required to successfully complete a comprehensive course in buyer representation and an elective course focusing on a buyer representation specialty, both in addition to submitting documentation verifying professional experience.
REBAC, founded in 1988, is the world's largest association of real estate professionals focusing specifically on representing the real estate buyer. There are more than 40,000 active members of the organization world-wide. THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, "The Voice for Real Estate," is the world's largest professional association, representing over 1,000,000 members involved in all aspects of the real estate industry.
In addition to the ABR designation, Bers has received numerous industry awards. His web site, mixed media campaigns, direct mail and property brochures have received ADDY Awards for advertising excellence. His web site was chosen Top 10 by the Florida Association of REALTORS Magazine. Bers has been ranked as a top REALTOR® worldwide and has been awarded the Five Star /...
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More good reasons to seek qualified help when seeking to do a short sale: SANTA ANA, Calif. – June 8, 2011 – Banks and distressed home sellers stand to lose more than $375 million this year from a short sale scam that has sellers and banks agreeing to sell homes at very undervalued prices, according to a new study by CoreLogic.
In discovering the short sale fraud scam, CoreLogic analyzed 450,000 nationwide short-sale transactions in the last two years.
Read the entire story here....
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Good news for many Florida homeowners - WASHINGTON – June 8, 2011 – Fannie Mae recently announced new rules that will require mortgage servicers to act more quickly and consistently in helping troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure.
Fannie told servicers they must strive to build a “strong customer service relationship,” better understand why the borrower is missing payments, and educate them on ways to prevent foreclosure.
Read the entire story here....
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Continuing our promise to give you the tools to make important decisions we updated our sales reports for Longboat Key, Anna Maria Island, Siesta Key and the downtown Sarasota area. To see what has sold in your building or neighborhood since January 1st of this year visit our
Sales Reports page.
May saw a significant number of sales homes and condos close. Not as many as April but it still puts this year far ahead of the previous two years in sales. The number of foreclosures continues to be a large portion of sales and we expect that rend to continue thru the end of the year.
We here on our team are still actively working with sellers who are looking for help in deciding if a short sale or foreclosure is a better option for them. We had over $1,000,000 in listings under contract for the month of May alone.
With last weeks reports of home prices double dipping - dropping below a recent low - and current interest rates on mortgages, we believe there is no better time to buy a home. If we can assist you or someone you know, please call us at 941-383-3741....
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Herald-Tribune May 31, 2011 One of the most widely watched indexes of home prices in the nation plunged for the second quarter in a row, revealing continued weakness in the nation's real estate market.
The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index, which measures 20 major metropolitan markets across the U.S., declined 4.3 percent during the three months ended March 31 compared with the same period a year earlier. The quarterly drop follows a 3.6 percent decline during the three months ended Dec. 31.
Regional statistics of late have run counter to the nationwide data, however, signalling that Southwest Florida, at least, is beginning to rebound from a housing crisis that was worse than in many parts of the country.
Read the entire article here....
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REALTOR Magazine: For the sixth straight week, fixed mortgage rates inched down, reaching new lows for 2011. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.60 percent this week while the 15-year mortgage averaged 3.78 percent, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey.
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A total of 759 property sales were closed in the Sarasota real estate market in April 2011, continuing a strong spring surge that reached the 800 level in March. The recent sales rush has taken the market to the highest levels since the fall of 2005 when sales started to decline. Prices also maintained their highest levels of the year in April 2011 for both single family homes and condos, and the available property inventory dropped to 5,258, a big drop from last month's level of 5,501, and less than a third of the available properties on the market during the 2004-2006 real estate boom.
Read the entire report here....
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The
Wall Street Journal this week reported that although we are hearing a lot of good stories about home prices being low and money cheap to borrow but some are saying that with inventory nationwide at an all time low, perhaps it is the seller right now who has the upper hand.
Many buyers are looking for discounts because they lack confidence that prices have reached a bottom, and sellers won't have much pricing power as long as buyers such as Mr. Hammack and Ms. Hunter are in no hurry. "It may take some time, but I'm willing to wait," Ms. Hunter says.
The Wall Street Journal's quarterly survey of housing-market conditions in 28 major metro areas shows inventories of unsold homes remain high but fell during the first quarter. Listings were down by nearly 25% from one year ago in Miami and Orlando, and by 12% in Phoenix and Portland, Ore., according to figures compiled by John Burns Real Estate Consulting.
Read the story in its entirety and see for yourself.
If you have any questions or would like to consider now the time to list your home, please give me a call. I'm here to help you with all your real...
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Maybe this will help....mortgage rates went down again last week.
- 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.80 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending April 21, 2011, down from last week when it averaged 4.91 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.07 percent.
- 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.02 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.13 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.39 percent.
- 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 3.16 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.25 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 4.22 percent.
You could not be in a better position to buy right now. Prices are at an all-time low and money is cheap!
Are you looking for a first home? second? vacation home? There are some incredible deals here on Longboat Key. Still can't decide? Call Robbie or myself and we...
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The RE/MAX Collection page on
remax.com has been redesigned and restocked with new resources. The page includes a carousel of luxury listing photos and a geo-location feature. See what we can offer here in Sarasota or Longboat Key Florida or anywhere the US.
Visit it here.
When looking for the finest in luxury property, look for The RE/MAX Collection®.
A certain portfolio of homes qualify for The RE/MAX Collection® – an exclusive RE/MAX real estate marketing program for luxury homes. To be eligible for The RE/MAX Collection®, properties must be three times the average listing price in your local area.
Expertise to Match Your Sophisticated Lifestyle
RE/MAX Alliance Group associates understand the preferences of homebuyers and sellers in the luxury market. We recognize your special needs and use our resources and connections to your advantage. Our associates are able to provide extraordinary expertise to clients interested in buying or selling homes in the area’s most distinguished neighborhoods.
An exceptional program for exceptional properties
The RE/MAX Collection program was created to address the special needs of our clients in the luxury market. Since its creation, we’ve developed a reputation for our unparalleled expertise, expansive network of experienced agents and excellent marketing strategies.
As a high-end real...
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