Real Estate – The way I see it 2012-05-18
- Housing affordability highest since 1988 http://t.co/iPwk9cae #
Real Estate – The way I see it 2012-05-17
- "A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." — Herm Albright #
- » Best of the Season: The Freshest Farmers Market Tips http://t.co/7t0e3dBL #
Real Estate – The way I see it 2012-05-16
- "You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take." — Wayne Gretzky #
- Shadow Inventory: 46 Months to Clear Distressed Housing Supply http://t.co/ToYLPuzm #
April 2012 Home Sale for Fresno County
Another month is behind us and the local real estate market is rebounding nicely. Here in Fresno County there were 763 homes sold at a median price $142,250. Yes we sold about 20 fewer homes than last month, but the median sales price saw a $7,000 boost from $135,000 in March. This is good news for homeowners, but for those looking to get into the housing market now is the time to act! We are receiving multiple offers on most homes and even the distressed homes are see offers much closer to asking price or above.
When we compare our current market to five-years ago, we find that in April 2007 there were 445 homes sold in Fresno County with a median price of $312,270. This is more than double our current median price, but we all know that the housing prices from about 2004 through late 2007 were greatly exaggerated. So when we go back 10 years and compare April 2012 to April 2002 we find there were 631 homes sold at a median price $145,120 making 2012 look pretty good with better than 200 more homes sold at just slightly less medium price.
As for the distressed properties (foreclosed and short sales) we are seeing a decline in foreclosed homes, and I’m not sure if this trend that will continue. As I have written about in the past, there is what we call “Shadow Inventory” meaning homeowners that are delinquent on their mortgages, but lenders for one reason or another have made no efforts to foreclose, allowing the homeowner to live in these homes for extended periods. Shadow inventories also do not show-up on most county reports so we really haven’t any idea how many are out there.
Now on the short sale side of life, there is a bunch. At the end of April short sales accounted for only 19% of the active MLS listings but were 52% of the pending home sales in escrow. Nearly half of these are 60 days or older. Again, as I have said before, monthly only 20% of short sales close escrow, but yet the pending number is staying consistent at around 50% so the only reasonable answer is that 30% of these homes will become foreclosures … not the best of odds, but lender are seeing a trend that accepted short sales are closing at nearly 22% higher than foreclosures. This I believe is convincing most lenders to re-write their policies on accepting short sales.
Well that was April … looking forward to a great May of helping people find their dream home.
Dan
(559) 903-0701
Posted in Foreclosures, Market Stat's, Median Price, Short Sales
Tagged #foreclosure, #fresno, #realestate, #shortsale, shadow, shadowinventory
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April 2012 Sales Update
With three week done, April is shaping up nicely and would most likely be a record setting month if we only had more homes to sell. Yes there are more buyers than we have homes creating a sellers’ market. Last April we sold 886 home in Fresno County with an Average sales price of $156k and a median price of $130k. This year we’re tracking 700 plus sales with an average sales price of $160k and median price at $142k … this is a 9% jump in median price over last year. This should make homeowners feel a little better about their investment, especially if you’ve owned your home more than 10 years. In 2001 the median home price for Fresno County was $112k, todays value is a 26% increases.
A year ago foreclosed properties were the dominant listing and sale, with short sales coming second and traditional home sellers were almost unheard of. This year, foreclosures are considerably down, short sales are growing and homeowner with equity are the dominant sellers. This is helping to drive home values up, greatly because traditional homeowner are not being force to sell, but rather are choosing too and are holding their ground on price. It’s not uncommon to receive multiple offers that are at or above asking price.
Short sales … they are still 52% of the pending sales but only 19% of the closed transactions. Lenders are trying to set procedures to speed-up this process, but these numbers never seem to change. An interesting fact is that the April median sales price on foreclosed homes is $116k whereas short sales median sales price is $150k. The last 12-month median price average shows short sales are 23% higher than foreclosure home and just slightly less that the total 12-month average of $140k. Now granted comparing foreclosures to short sales are not perfect matches, but lenders are seeing the financial benefit of accepting short sales verse foreclosure.
If you are anyone you know is interested in selling their home, please let me know. I would love the opportunity to assist!
Thanks,
Dan Greer – Realtor
Posted in Foreclosures, Market Stat's, Median Price, Short Sales, Traditional Market
Tagged #foreclosure, #fresno, #realestate, #shortsale
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Fresno’s Home Sales – March 2012
Well we finished up the month of March with 741 homes sold in Fresno County. This is just slightly less than the 758 sold in 2011 and better than the 10 year average of 651. The loss is to the median price, which dropped by a few thousand to around $135,000, but once again I argue that median price is not always relevant to home values, but rather is an indicator of what is selling.
The real story is that the local housing market is strong and getting stronger. We have more buyers than homes to sell them. Our current inventory is down to about 1,600 homes and that equates to less than a 3-month supply. This is creating a seller’s market and yes, pushing home prices up, with multiple offer and calls from REO agents or highest and best offers. It’s become very aggressive, and buyers that are thinking of offer asking price or less will most likely be left out! I know this isn’t reflective of the current median price, but it is the reality.
Short Sales and Foreclosure combined were 56% of the total sales and this is just slightly down from the 60% that has been the average for the last few years. When looking at median price on these sales I’m seeing REO properties at $102,000 and short sales at $130,000. The tough numbers to understand are how many short sales are pending … short sales makeup 22% of the actively listed homes and 19% the homes sold in March, but are 51% of the currently pending home sales. As much as I want to believe that short sales are getting easier, many still do not get lender approval and eventually become foreclosed properties.
If you have any questions or would like additional information, please feel free to contact me.
Thanks, Dan
Posted in Foreclosures, Market Stat's, Median Price, Short Sales
Tagged #foreclosure, #fresno, #realestate, #shortsale, #thewayiseeit
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Failed Short Sales – are you one of these homeowners?
In the cities of Fresno and Clovis combined there are approximately 1,200 homes actively listed for sale on the Fresno MLS and as of this posting, 25% or about 300 of those are short sales while at the same time just over 2,000 homes are shown as pending in escrow. Of these 2,000 plus homes, 52% (1,060) are pending short sales waiting on lender approval. The sad truth is that less than 25% of these pending short sales are getting lender approvals. Many of these homeowners have missed payments and are delinquent on their mortgages and facing foreclosure which is where most failed short sales end up unless the homeowner has the ability the clear-up the delinquency.
If you're one of these homeowners I would like to hear your story, and what you think attributed to your failed attempt to short sale. The local housing market is recovering and lenders are seeing the advantages of short sales over the long tedious and expensive foreclosure process, yet many short sales are still failing.
Please share your stories and experiences both good and not so good here on my blog and let’s see if we can help others.
Thanks,
Dan
Posted in Foreclosures, Short Sales
Tagged #foreclosure, #fresno, #realestate, #shortsale
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