Posts Tagged Foreclosure

Portland Oregon Metro Real Estate Market Conditions for May 2010

Posted by Danny in Monthly newsletter on May 20th, 2010

Cougar continues his acclimation to our family.  He is a 4 year old blue gray cat that we adopted from the Oregon Humane Society over three months ago.  Last month, I stated that we purchased his first collar and are now letting him have some nice weather romps instead of him dashing outdoors on the wettest of days.  Turns out, he has a strong fear/dislike of collars and from the moment it is on he will act only to take it off.  Since he has a microchip for identification and does not leave our yard, we have had to make to make a collar exception for him.  Our other cat Gracie Joy immediately “lost” her collar and tag after Cougar was exempted.  She had never done that with her safety breakaway collar in 9 years.  I found it under one of our fence gates and she is happily wearing it again, for now.

On to real estate market conditions…  With the extended and expanded home buyer’s tax credit expired, except for some active duty military personnel in which the credit will continue to be available for one year, real estate market trends were fairly predictable.  There was a final push of buyers taking advantage of the credit and successful closes following the increase in March 2010 pending sales.  Portland-Metro real estate market activity remained improved last month over the same period a year ago.  Closed sales were up 49.1% versus April 2009 and pending sales increased by 60.8%!  In addition, new listings increased by 23.8%.

Comparing last month to March 2010, closed sales increased by 7.9% and pending sells continued to improve by 24.5%.  I was surprised to see that new listings dropped by 5.5%.  The pace of home sales and decrease in new listings was seen in active inventory, which is calculated by dividing the total number of active listings for a month and dividing it by the number of closed sales, that has fallen to 7.3 months.  Still, 6 months is commonly stated as a healthy balance for active inventory indicating that it is still a buyer’s market.

Sales prices comparing 2010 to 2009 are following the same trends, which were still down by 3.1% while the median sales price was also lower by 4%.  Month to month had a second month of improvement with April 2010 sale prices up when compared with March 2010 with a meager 0.6% increase, along with a rise of the median price by 0.5%.  Last month’s commentary remains the same; the tax credit may have increased real estate transactions, but the amount of sales activity may have finally pushed home prices up from their bottom values of this market.  Hopefully, real estate activity will continue in this direction, signaling an overall improvement in our economy and the values of homes for their owners.

If you are in the market to purchase a home, now is a good time to buy.  There are plenty of properties available (14,182 as of April 30th), sale prices are still relatively low and continuing to go up (although I predict a small decrease in sales prices with the expiration of the tax credit), and interest rates are still low.

Would you like to receive more detailed information about?

  • Realtor services?
  • Short Sales or Foreclosures?
  • Your neighborhood or others that you are interested about?

Please contact me at:

dannyshepard@oregonfirst.com

www.dannyleeshepard.com

503-267-8370

I am a real estate agent with Oregon First, licensed in the state of Oregon.

All statistics listed are quoted from the April 2010 issue of RMLS Market Action. The Regional Multiple Listing Service releases the previous month’s statistics near the 15th of the current month.

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Portland Oregon Metro Area real estate market conditions for March 2010

Posted by Danny in Monthly newsletter on March 18th, 2010

My mother-in-law returned home during severe weather last Saturday in the Northeast. We are grateful that she made it home safe after a long and difficult return flight and drive from the airport. We had a great visit. Having a usable guest room made a world of difference towards livability for all of us during a long stay. I had the pleasure of showing her several condominiums in Hillsboro and Northwest Portland on the last couple of days of her stay. Her granddaughter Mackenzie has put up a strong argument for her to convince grandpa to relocate from out of state to this area. Our weather only improves our cause.

Our new cat Cougar and resident cat Gracie Joy have become good friends, though Cougar still thinks of the guest room/office as his room while Gracie spends most of her time downstairs. We are alternating between using the front door and garage to prevent Cougar from exploring his new neighborhood too soon.

This past month, I earned the Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource designation from the National Association of Realtors. There is no such thing as a distressed property; it’s the owners that are distressed. If you know someone that is facing foreclosure, there may be options available and I would appreciate your referral to assist them. If you are looking for an even better deal in this buyer’s market, short sales provide an opportunity to help someone in financial trouble. If the time table for a short sale does not suit you, banks are eager to remove foreclosed properties from their balance sheets. These types of transactions are significantly different from more traditional home transactions; but I am aware of these differences and knowledgeable on the best methods to successfully navigate purchasing short sales or foreclosed properties.

Portland-Metro real estate market activity remained improved last month over the same period a year ago. Closed sales were up 18.4% versus February 2009 and pending sales increased by 45%! In addition, new listings increased by 12.4%. The tax credit appears to have successfully jump-started spring real estate activity.

Comparing last month to January 2010, pending sales were up 20.5% and closed sells improved slightly to 2.9%. New listings dropped a mere 1% after an increase of 87.1% between January 2010 and December 2009. Active inventory, which is calculated by dividing the total number of active listings for a month and dividing it by the number of closed sales, increased by 0.3 months and is now at 12.9 months with 13,101 active listings.

All sales price indicators continued the same trends. Sale prices were down compared to February 2009 by 8.5%, and the median sale price also decreased by 9.3%. February 2010 sale prices were also down when viewed against January 2010 with average prices dropping by 3.3% while the median price decreased by 2.1%. The tax credit may have increased real estate transactions, but the high number of properties available continues to push prices down.

If you are in the market to purchase a home, now is still the perfect time to buy. There are plenty of properties available, sale prices have still continued to drop, and interest rates are still low. Additionally, if eligible, the extended and expanded home buyer’s tax credit is still available if in a purchase contract by April 30, 2010 and closed by June 30, 2010.

Would you like to receive more detailed information about?

  • Realtor services?
  • The extended and expanded home buyer’s tax credit?
  • Short Sales or Foreclosures?
  • Your neighborhood or others that you are interested about?

Please contact me at:

dannyshepard@oregonfirst.com

www.dannyleeshepard.com

503-267-8370

I am a realtor of Oregon First, licensed in the state of Oregon.

All statistics listed are quoted from the February 2010 issue of RMLS Market Action. The Regional Multiple Listing Service releases the previous month’s statistics near the 15th of the current month.

Tax credit information provided by the IRS at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=215791,00.html?portlet=7

Additional tax credit information provided by the National Association of Realtors FAQ on Homebuyer Tax Credit Changes, available on request.

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This Beaverton real estate agent is now a certified Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource.

Posted by Danny in Short Sales and Foreclosure on March 8th, 2010

I have just earned the National Association of Realtors certification as a Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource.  This specialized training has prepared me to provide better service to my clients when seeking to purchase short sales or bank-owned properties.  It has also improved my skills to help clients look to other avenues that may help them keep their home.  If that is not an option, I am can provide assistance to determine if a short sale is a viable alternative to foreclosure.

Financial institutions are not in the business of holding and maintaining real estate properties.  They would prefer to have these properties sold.  Foreclosure auctions rarely offer the best prices for buyers and seldom provide any access to inspect the properties before the auction.  Once a property fails to sell at auction, it is then called bank-owned or REO.  Beaverton, Portland, and otherwise throughout Oregon, real estate markets now contain many bank-owned properties.  They typically listed at better market prices than comparable properties, but purchasing from banks has certain disadvantages.

Purchasing a short sale property provides the opportunity to buy a home at competitive current market prices while helping an owner that is facing the threat of losing the home to foreclosure.  The seller may be more responsive to buyer concessions than the holder of a REO.  Despite a common short sale myth, the bank with the lien on the property is not a party to a purchase transaction.  Approval of the original lender is just another contingency for the sell to be completed.

As a real estate agent listing a short sale property, I insure that all possible steps have already been taken for the lien holder and any other lenders with an interest in the property to approve a reasonable offer after the buyer and seller sign a purchase agreement.

If you have any questions or interests in short sales or foreclosed properties or know a home owner that I may assist, please contact me at 503-267-8370 or at dannyshepard@oregon.

Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource

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Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA) goes into effect on April 5, 2010

Posted by Danny in Short Sales and Foreclosure on February 19th, 2010

If you have questions concerning this program or know a distressed home owner in need of viable options, please contact me at:

dannyshepard@oregonfirst.com

503-267-8370

Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA)

On November 30, 2009, the Treasury Department released guidelines and forms for its new Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA). HAFA is part of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). HAFA provides incentives in connection with a short sale or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure (DIL) used to avoid foreclosure on a loan eligible for modification under the HAMP program. Servicers participating in HAMP are also required to comply with HAFA. A list of servicers participating in HAMP is available at MakingHomeAffordable.gov.

HAFA applies to loans not owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, which will issue their own versions of HAFA in coming weeks.

HAFA is a complex program, with 43 pages of guidelines and forms, designed to simplify and streamline use of short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure. HAFA:

  • Complements HAMP by providing a viable alternative for borrowers (the current homeowners) who are HAMP eligible but nevertheless unable to keep their home.
  • Uses borrower financial and hardship information already collected in connection with consideration of a loan modification.
  • Allows borrowers to receive pre-approved short sales terms before listing the property (including the minimum acceptable net proceeds).
  • Prohibits the servicers from requiring a reduction in the real estate commission agreed upon in the listing agreement (up to 6 percent).
  • Requires borrowers to be fully released from future liability for the first mortgage debt (no cash contribution, promissory note, or deficiency judgment is allowed).
  • Uses standard processes, documents, and timeframes/deadlines.
  • Provides financial incentives: $1,500 for borrower relocation assistance; $1,000 for servicers to cover administrative and processing costs; and up to $1,000 for investors for allowing a total of up to $3,000 in short sale proceeds to be distributed to subordinate lien holders (on a one-for-three matching basis).
  • Requires all servicers participating in HAMP to implement HAFA in accordance with their own written policy, consistent with investor guidelines. The policy may include factors such as the severity of the potential loss, local markets, timing of pending foreclosure actions, and borrower motivation and cooperation.

The program does not take effect until April 5, 2010, but servicers may implement it before then if they meet certain requirements. The program sunsets on December 31, 2012.

Source: http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/short_sales_hafa

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