June and July 2011 News

As a short sale realtor in Knoxville, I am fortunate to be able to deal with many sellers that really need my help in order to close a chapter in their lives and move on. In order to qualify for a short sale, you must have a HARDSHIP present in your families life. Just because your home is not worth what you bought it for a few years ago, does not mean that you can short sale your home. As homeowners, we must take responsibility for our financial decisions. It is not our governments fault that our home is not worth what is was in 2006. The situation we are in is because of irresponsible lending and irresponsible purchasing. Your first thought when you go to buy a new home needs to be can I really afford what I am looking at?????

CLICK HERE to read a very interesting article about short sales and the length of the process.

Markets across the country are in full-fledged correction mode. That combined with the prevalence of foreclosures has analysts at the research firm Capital Economics convinced that the double dip in home prices will continue throughout this year. In fact, they say the structural factors that are constraining demand, such as higher down payment requirements, probably mean that prices won’t rise consistently until 2014.

The Knoxville Association of Realtors® is about to release the latest upgrade to our Multiple Listing Service (MLS) The new MLS will have much better search capabilities, including a completely redefined way to classify the sub area of a home. This new MLS should allow us to serve our customers more efficiently.

Realty Executives Realtors is the leading real estate agency in Knoxville TN. I just came from our monthly sales meeting and was very pleased to hear that we generated more closed sales, listings, and successful real estate transaction than the majority of all real estate agencies in the greater Knoxville area.

I just integrated MLS search capabilities into my Facebook Page. You can now search the Knoxville MLS without ever leaving Facebook! Click here to visit my Facebook page.

May 2011

Prospective Homebuyers Interested in Foreclosures at a Discount

A new study conducted by Trulia and RealtyTrac found that 56 percent of U.S. renters and 47 percent of current homeowners are at least “somewhat likely” to purchase a foreclosed home. Along with having some concerns about hidden costs and still-declining home values, many potential buyers expect to save money if they buy a foreclosure. On average, survey respondents said they would expect to pay 38 percent less for a foreclosed home than a similar home that was not in foreclosure – not too far above today’s average discount of 36 percent.

Short Sale and Foreclosure Certification brings new listings:

I was contacted by Chase bank recently to begin handling their short sale and foreclosures listings in the greater Knoxville area. This will allow me to have a greater inventory of investor properties. Check back soon for further details.

April 2011

Latest Housing Market update:

Last week, Standard & Poor's released new data about home prices in the U.S. The S&P/Case-Shiller gauge of home prices is down for the eighth consecutive month. The 10-city and 20-city indexes both fell 1.1 percent in February from January and were down 2.6 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively, from a year ago. Year-over-year prices rose only in Washington, D.C., while 10 markets reached their lowest point of the recession and post-recession period. Many economists believe prices will continue to fall, although at a slower rate, through much of 2011.

328 Ridge Circle closing today:

Thanks Tracy and Michael for being such great clients. I wish you both the best of luck in the future. Do not hesitate to call if you need anything at all..

Home Prices Move Closer to 2009 Lows:

Data released this morning by Standard & Poor’s show that the 20-city composite reading of the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index fell another 1.1 percent in February 2011 when compared to the previous month. The 20-city composite is down 3.3 percent from its February 2010 level. Washington D.C. was the only market to post a year-over-year gain with an annual growth rate of 2.7 percent.

Distressed Homes continue to hurt our housing market:

Sales of previously owned homes rose 3.7 percent last month as the spring buying season began to take hold, according to data just released by the National Association of Realtors. The trade group described March’s reading as “continuing an uneven recovery,” following the 9.6 drop recorded in February. Distressed homes – typically sold at discounts in the vicinity of 20 percent – accounted for a 40 percent market share in March.

Legislation Introduced to Speed Lender Response to Short Sales :

Two lawmakers, one Republican and one Democrat, have joined forces to push federal legislation through that would facilitate wider use and shorter transaction timelines for a foreclosure alternative that some say could be a lifeline for millions of underwater homeowners while drastically reducing the number of empty, repossessed homes lining U.S. neighborhoods – the short sale.

The bill, introduced by Reps. Tom Rooney (R-Florida) and Robert Andrews (D-New Jersey), would impose a deadline of 45 days on lenders to give an approval, disapproval, or status of a decision on an offer for a short sale.

According to a statement from the congressmen, consumers have had difficulty executing short sales as lenders have taken months to decide whether to accept proposed short sale prices, which can often derail the sale altogether and send the homeowner into foreclosure.

Rooney and Andrews say their legislation, the Prompt Decision for Qualification for Short Sale Act of 2011, will bring the processing time for short sale price approvals in line with the home-buying and home-selling consumer’s expectations – at most 45 days after submitting the request for short sale approval.

Latest Home for sale in Knoxville:

I just listed for sale a 3 bedroom 3 bathroom 1690 sq. ft. home in Friendsville. The home has been recently updated to include new tile in kitchen and baths, crown molding throughout, new hand scraped hardwoods, fresh paint, new counter tops, new fixtures and an awesome hot tub! Click here to see the Knoxville MLS details

Latest Housing Report not that positive:

The National Association of Realtors said Monday that sales of previously occupied homes fell last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.88 million. That’s down 9.6% from 5.4 million in January. The pace is far below the 6 million homes a year that economists say represents a healthy market. Nearly 40% of the sales last month were either foreclosures or short sales, when the seller accepts less than they owe on the mortgage.

One-third of all sales were purchased in cash — twice the rate from a year ago. In troubled housing markets such as Las Vegas and Miami, cash deals represent about half of sales. The median sales price fell 5.2% to $156,100, the lowest level since April 2002.

Millions of foreclosures have forced down home prices and more are expected this year. Tight credit has made mortgage loans tough to come by. And some potential buyers who could qualify for loans are hesitant to enter the market, worried that prices will fall further. High unemployment is also deterring buyers. Job growth, while expected to pick up this year, will not likely raise home sales to healthier levels. New-home prices are now 45% higher than prices for previously occupied homes. A more normal difference is about 15%, an indication that old homes on the market are being sold at comparatively cheap, and affordable, levels.

Foreclosures sink to a 3 year low:

New data from RealtyTrac shows that foreclosure filings nationwide dropped 14 percent between January and February, as overall activity last month sunk to its lowest level since February of 2008. RealtyTrac says total foreclosure filings - including default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions - were reported on 225,101 properties in February, a 27 percent decrease from a year earlier and the biggest year-over-year decline since the company began issuing its report in 2005.

Short Sales are taking way to long:

A survey published recently by Santa Barbara, California-based property valuations company Equi-Trax reveals the majority of short sales are taking four or more months to complete, and Realtors say lenders are to blame.

Of the survey’s 626 respondents, 53.6 percent said that in their experience, on average, short sale transactions take four to six months.

More than 18 percent said the transactions take seven to nine months, 7.3 percent said the process takes 10 to 12 months, and 2.6 percent said the process takes more than a year to complete.

Only 18.2 percent said it takes three months or less.

An overwhelming 56.8 percent said the greatest challenge in completing a short sale is lenders, while 2.4 percent blamed challenges on the clients. About the same amount of participants (57.6) said lenders need to shorten the time they require to complete short sales.

Home Foreclosures Taking much longer than before:

- The average U.S. borrower in the throes of foreclosure hasn't made a mortgage payment in 17 months, up from nearly 11 months two years ago — and the time frame may get even longer. According to a report from the USA Today, Banks and mortgage servicers, who collect payments for lenders, are taking more time to complete foreclosures because of huge volumes of defaulted mortgages. Other factors include time-consuming reviews for loan modifications and additional delays that followed revelations late last year about improperly filed foreclosure documents in tens of thousands of cases.

Last year, the number of days that the average borrower in foreclosure went without making a payment stretched from 410 in January to 507 in December, says LPS Applied Analytics, which tracks 37 million mortgages. Before the foreclosure crisis, the norm was more like 250 days, says Herb Blecher, LPS senior vice president.

Just Listing:

- I have exciting news! I just listed a bunch of beautiful lots in Kingston TN. As a realtor here in Knoxville, I get excited when I get to sell lots on the lake. CLICK HERE to see the details on the lots for sale.

Pools, Good or Bad?:

- As a Knoxville Realtor I get questions sometimes that I think are a great topic to discuss. One question I was asked yesterday was if a pool adds value to a home or decreases value to a home. This is a difficult question to answer, but I thought that I would let you know my thoughts. Pools without a doubt make the average home more difficult to sell. Most people with small children steer away from pools because of the risks to children. There are also special homeowners insurance regulations regarding pools. They add additional monthly and yearly maintenance costs, as well as work. In this market, the last thing that you want to do is limit your potential buyer pool. I also feel that very expensive homes benefit more from pools than those priced in the $100k-$400k market. Well landscaped and hardscaped pools can be an attractive feature for certain people, so just understand that you must be willing to accept the fact that your home might be on the market at bit longer than usual. If you wish to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to call or email me.

Knoxville Homes for sale Trends

- According to the latest report from the Knoxville Association of Realtors, Knoxville's housing market appreciated 2% in the last 4 quarters. In the last 3 years we are showing a depreciation of 8.5%. This might seem high, but if you compare those numbers to the annual U.S. appreciation rates, -.6% (1 year) and -19.9% (3 years), we are doing pretty good. This is most likely due to our industry in the Knoxville area. Knoxville s fortunate to have Oak Ridge and the various feeder business that are associated with it. Check out all of the latest Knoxville real estate statistics by reading my newsletter. Click Here.

Home Prices and Inventory Start Year Down: Altos Research

The first week of January typically marks the seasonal low point for home sales, new listings, and closings, as weather and holiday celebrations keep buyers and sellers from the market, and this year is no different, according to Altos Research. The company says both home prices and inventory are down for the lion’s share of the nation’s regional markets. Scott Sambucci, Altos’ VP of data analytics, says he expects home prices to hit a new trough in 2011, ultimately ending the year down 5 to 10 percent after some seasonal bounce during the earliest part of the year. Click to read more from DSnews