The Foreclosure Machine Cranks Up Again

Hi Folks,
   Welcome to 11/11/11. Crazy date! But it's Friday!

   You know, there are countless folks out there who have been breathing a little easier for quite some time, due to the halt in Foreclosures (if you recall, the "robo-signing" crisis a while back), however, it appears that the Foreclosure starts are on the rise once again.

   “Rising foreclosure start rates are likely a sign that servicers are playing catch-up on actions that have been delayed over the past year,” states Diane Pendley, managing director of Fitch Ratings, in a recent article on DSNews.com ("Foreclosure Starts Rise as Servicers Process Backlog of Delinquent Loans"), written by Krista Franks.

   Fitch reported that the Foreclosure start rates for severely delinquent private-label residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) loans have "stayed above 10 percent since September — a rate they have not reached since November 2009", with an even larger amount since then. Additionally, the article mentioned that the foreclosure starts for loans delinquent for six months or more "have almost doubled in the past five months". What will happen with the increase of distressed properties? You guessed it - pressure on the Housing Market.

   Further along in the Foreclosure process, the actual Foreclosure completions in judicial states "hover near their historic lows", the article says, to which Fitch says is due to "servicers’ continued loss mitigation efforts, a backlog in court foreclosure filings, and weak demand in the housing market.” Diane Pendley, managing director of Fitch Ratings, says that about a year after "deficiencies in the foreclosure process were brought to light", that Mortgage servicers now generally feel they have "implemented the corrective actions that they determined were needed".

   With the backlog, Fitch says that the effects of rising foreclosure starts may take more than a year to be evident, however, any way you look at it, there will certainly be more distressed inventory going on the books and will certainly impact the Housing Market.

   What are your thoughts?

Would You Like Our Blog Posts Sent Directly to your E-mail? Here's How:
1. Locate the "Follow this Blog by Email" box on the Right Side of your Screen.
2. Type your E-mail address in the box, and click "Submit"
3. Check Your E-mail and Confirm Your Subscription...it's That Simple !

Have a Great Weekend, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Websites: http://www.lease2buy.com and http://www.homerunhomes.com

TAGS: #foreclosurestarts #distressedproperties #housingmarket #inventory #robosigning #mortgagebacked #RMBS

Evaluating Your Home For Sale

Good Morning,
   Happy Columbus Day to those of us residing in the USA. If you are lucky enough to have the day off from work, enjoy your day, and thanks to all for checking in with us.

   When you are selling Real Estate, whether it be your own home, or, the home of a client, it is important to take various factors into consideration, such as price, condition, and location.

   In regards to price, you will want to look at the most recent closed sales in your area (and the data must be less than six months old). You want to confirm that your price is right, no pun intended. As Chris Griffith recommends in her story, "Reevaluate your real estate to sell this season", on the Naples News website, you should also ask your real estate agent (or the agent you’re interviewing) to "list your real estate for an absorption rate", and that you'll want to check how much "inventory your home is competing with neighborhood wide or even in your home’s price range" (this should be checked periodically for any changes/adjustments).

   When it comes down to condition, the old adage of "you never get a second chance at a first impression" holds true here. As Griffith says, "There is little opportunity for a second chance to get them back through the door once they’ve been turned off by something negative", and calls it a "a downright shame" if it was a correctable negative condition like cleanliness or neatness that was toxic to your potential buyer. One interesting point Griffith makes is that sometimes, "homeowners are a little too close to the forest to see the trees", and need to take a long and hard look (or get a second opinion) about their home, the cleanliness, etc.

   Location, Location, Location. We've all heard that before when discussing Real Estate. Griffith suggests that you, "Compare apples to apples and be prepared to adjust the price to correct the differences", and provides the following example; "two nearly identical homes, one on a lake and one backing up to a sound wall next Interstate 75, sport very different values". Location "can influence buyers positively or negatively", adds Griffith.

   These 3 factors are a huge component of your potential sale. Can you think of anything additional? Perhaps the demeanor of the homeowner or the agent? The weather during an open house?

Would You Like Our Blog Posts Sent Directly to your E-mail? Here's How:
1. Locate the "Follow this Blog by Email" box on the Right Side of your Screen.
2. Type your E-mail address in the box, and click "Submit"
3. Check Your E-mail and Confirm Your Subscription...it's That Simple !

Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Websites: http://www.lease2buy.com and http://www.homerunhomes.com

TAGS: #sellingRealEstate #absorptionrate #inventory #closedsales #price #condition #location

Young Inventory Translates To Quick Markets

Good Morning Folks,

   As we all know, there are a wide variety of measures and indices that gauge the health of the Real Estate market. One of the most important of there are the New Residential Sales figures, which incidentally, were up 6.8% from July 2010 to July of this year.

   Another such measure, and quite an interesting one, is one that was recently discussed in an article on Inman News ("11 fastest-moving real estate markets in July"). As described in the article, "Realtor.com released a list of metros with the lowest median age of inventory at the site -- a measurement of how long a property from a given metro area typically spends on the site". Essentially, the logic is that if homes are not sitting in inventory for too long while waiting to be sold, this indicates quick turnover, and thus, a fast-moving market.

   The biggest winner in this category, per the Realtor.com site, was Denver (median age of inventory was 32 days, which was the lowest among the Metros). Additionally, 6 California metros appeared in the list, and Detroit made the list, which is a good sign for their struggling Housing Market.

   Now, the converse of this measure would be the Metros with the highest median age of inventory, thus, slow-moving markets. The slowest one? Naples, Florida, with the highest median age of 153 days. Naples was not lonely in the list, as 7 of the 10 Metros tagged as the slowest-moving markets were in Florida.

   Inventory data is definitely not a new concept, but when it is examined from this perspective, it certainly paints a picture of the markets that are moving, shaking, and in some cases, sleeping.

   What are your thoughts/comments on this?

Would You Like Our Blog Posts Directly to your E-mail? Here's How::
1. Locate the "Follow this Blog by Email" box on the Right Side of your Screen.
2. Type your E-mail address in the box, and click "Submit"
3. Check Your E-mail and Confirm Your Subscription...it's That Simple !

Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Websites: http://www.lease2buy.com and http://www.homerunhomes.com

TAGS: #RealEstate #NewResidentialSales #inventory #Realtor #California #Detroit #Florida

Housing Permits, Starts, And Completions All Rise

Hi Everyone,
   Hope you're having a productive and peaceful week. I come to you with some good housing news today!

   For the 12 months spanning July 2010 through July 2010, the 3 components of the New Residential Construction Housing statistics all showed an increase.

   From July 2010 through July 2011, Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits jumped 3.8%, Privately-owned housing starts jumped 9.8%, and Privately-owned housing completions rose 9.5%, per the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

   What does this mean?

   This paints an overall picture of increased real estate activity from the same period a year ago. My opinion - this is a good thing. However, we are still sitting on a large inventory of existing homes, with a large percentage of that inventory as foreclosure/short sale properties. To gain a better assessment on that very important piece of the market, we will have to see what the National Association of Realtors (NAR) posts for their Existing Home Sales Index for July (due out Thursday Morning).

   Please Stay Tuned !

Our Blog Posts Delivered Directly to your E-mail - 3 Quick Steps:
1. Locate the "Enter your email address" box on the Right Side of your Screen.
2. Type your E-mail address in the box, and click "Subscribe"
3. Check Your E-mail and Confirm Your Subscription...it's That Simple !

Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Websites: http://www.lease2buy.com and http://www.homerunhomes.com

TAGS: #residentialconstruction #buildingpermits #housingstarts #housingcompletions #realestate #foreclosure #shortsale