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The other area on this list that’s not in Florida is the Phoenix-Mesa area in Arizona. It used to reside at the number four spot, but jumped ahead two notches between the third and fourth quarters of 2011. This area experienced more than its fair share of foreclosures, and one in every 317 homes still goes into foreclosure. However, the foreclosed homes on the market are being sold at bargain prices, which has caused a 27.47 percent decrease in the median age of inventory.

The city’s unemployment rate in November was 7.7 percent, better than the national average, which can only help boost the local economy. Real estate broker Christy Walker has an optimistic forecast. "The Phoenix market has experienced a positive change in the past year and is poised to continue rebounding throughout 2012," she says. "Employment is up, foreclosures have dropped significantly, investor sales are substantial and our inventory is hovering around a three-month supply with increasing demand."

If you ask any Buyer shopping for homes today, they will tell you it’s a dog eat dog world beating the pavements trying to find a “good” home at a “good” deal.  We are seeing multiple offer bidding wars; offers being placed on homes “site unseen” to try to beat the masses. 

There is a Supply shortage out there with only 16,592 homes showing active in our local ARMLS as of this morning, when a year ago the number was more than double that!?!  We love our Investors who are coming from Canada, Hawaii, Australia and other parts of the world buying up everything they can at our rock bottom price HOWEVER it’s been very challenging for the local families trying to break back into the market again after a Short Sale or Foreclosure as a result since most investors are offering cash and quick closes.

OUR ADVICE?: Work with a knowledgeable Real Estate Company with experience and HAVE PATIENCE!  Start searching for homes HERE and please let us know if you or someone you know needs help navigating through our ever changing Real Estate Market!

Bank Owned, REO, Foreclosure; they all mean the same thing. The last person who owned it couldn’t keep up on the payments and it reverted back to the bank in a Trustee Sale.  Now it’s up to the bank/lender to sell it to someone new and there’s a lot of competition out there these days since Lender Owned Active Listings have grown 68% in Just 5 Months!

There were 8,544 lender owned homes offered for sale as active listings on ARMLS as of September 30. As of April 30, 2010 there were only 5,090. This is a 68% growth in just 5 months. In recent weeks we have seen prices start to fall almost as steeply as we did during 2008 as a result of our market getting a huge supply in such a short period of time.

COUPLED WITH INSANELY LOW INTEREST RATES- YOU CAN BUY A HOME for just $200,000 for as little as $7000 down (FHA) & @ barely over $1000 a month (principal and interest).  At the peak of the market, it would have cost you nearly as much as 3 times for the same home (if not more) !!!

For the buyer out there today; there are deals to be had- especially if they don’t mind rolling up their sleeves and doing a little rehab work.  A year ago today there were barely half the amount of REO (Bank Owned, Foreclosures) homes on the marketplace- just look at the top row of the chart above to see those stats. Gone are the bidding wars for these homes, which do make the Short Sales less appealing. 

Typically the Short Sales that are occupied are in better shape than their vacant Bank Owned counterparts, but waiting for the unknown can hurt their appeal in comparison of getting an answer on average within a week on a Bank Owned Home. 

DO YOU NEED HELP NAVIGATING IN THIS MARKET??? CONTACT US AT 480-243-4242 OR START SHOPPING NOW HERE.

We are also happy to send you a custom list of homes that fit what you are looking for, just ask us!

Based on the graph provided by The Cromford Report (please click photo for full articles from Mike Orr explaining our current market as well) :

• During the peak of our marketplace in 2005, we had seen annual appreciation rates from 16% up to close to 50%.
• During 2008; we saw a steady decline from just below 0% declining down to below –40%.
• During 2009; we saw our market do the exact opposite and have a steady appreciation throughout the year climbing us almost entirely out of the declining market.
• During 2010; “The Year of Hope” as dubbed by Mike Orr in January 2010; we saw our market have a huge increase in appreciation due to the Obama Tax Credit for Home Buyers.  Unfortunately we now see that was an artificial demand and since it’s expiration, we’ve seen yet another decline and we are now back in the negative as of late August.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have also stopped granting postponements to their borrowers in default working out either loan modifications or short sales, which is increasing our supply of Foreclosure Inventory. Seems contradictory to what our marketplace needs in order to recover.

Interest rates are still in their lowest in years- but there seems to be so much fear out there right now as a result of the lumps and bruises we’ve endured the last few years, those people in a position to purchase seem to be holding out to make sure that pricing isn’t going down further.  Seems the last month we’ve stabilized and we are naturally correcting ourselves; but we do need to have our investors back in our marketplace to drive up demand again.  The job market still seems strong in Arizona, which definitely helps. 

Back before the craziness of 2004-2005; the average appreciation in Phoenix area had always been about 6% since the time I started in Real Estate in the early nineties.  Much of that has a lot to do with the continued job growth overall in Arizona, cost of living and quality of life with our great weather.  It’s just a matter of time before we get back to the normal 6% appreciation; especially as those borrowers re-enter our marketplace that lost their home to short sale or foreclosure in 2006/7—they are already candidates to purchase again.  By next year, the demand will increase just to that because a huge percentage of homes lost went in 08/9.

For those of you hanging on to your homes because you are afraid to Short Sale and damage your credit; we are seeing more and more people get approved to Short Sale and repurchase immediately as long as they stay current on their mortgages, so they can take advantages of today’s low low rates and low low prices.

REMEMBER- THERE IS NO WAY TO KNOW WE’VE HIT OUR BOTTOM UNTIL ITS ALREADY PASSED!  IF YOU NEED HELP WITH REAL ESTATE TO EITHER BUY OR SELL A HOME- CALL US TODAY AT 480-243-4242 OR CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED!

(Please click on photo above for a downloadable PDF of the article written by Mike Orr of the Cromford Report; bullet points listed below)

Last month; in Metro Phoenix’s Real Estate Market we saw the supply of REOs increased substantially, short sales were stable and normal listings declined in number:

• REO listings grew 11% from 5,087 to 5,626 (Greater Phoenix, all types)
• Short Sales / Pre-foreclosure listings grew 1% from 16183 to 16,347 (Greater Phoenix, all types)
• Normal listings fell 5% from 18,123 to 17,226 (Greater Phoenix, all types)

• Because sales pricing is higher than last year, we saw a more significant 8.6% jump in dollar volume which is good news for the optimists.
• It seems likely that almost anyone who wants a "starter home" in 2010 and could get approved for a home loan has already purchased one before the Tax Credit expired at the end of April.
• Overall we can say with confidence that the luxury market is now showing strong signs of improvement while the low end end of the market is weakening significantly. The weakness in lender-owned homes is particularly noticeable, with REO sales volume down 36% year on year. 
• These annual charts are very slow to react to changes but confirm the bottom of the market is now over a year behind us.  The most important measures of real home pricing – the average price, median price and average $ per sq. ft. of homes that actually sell have been moving in a general upward direction for Greater Phoenix since April/May 2009.
• New notices of trustee sale dropped another 8% from April, to the lowest monthly number (6,471) since July 2008. Trustee sales also dropped 8% to 4,090, the lowest total since November 2009. 
• Nevertheless market distress remains very high and will dominate the market for at least the next two years. Short sales are becoming more significant as each month goes by, while lender-owned properties become gradually less so.
• The market is still fragile and although it has stabilized over the last year, we must caution that in the last several days the Cromford Market Index has been falling fast due to weakening demand matched with a fairly strong and stable supply.
• The biggest question we have right now:  Are the changes we have seen in the last month merely due to the end of the tax credit or are the result of more significant changes in the demand for housing??

Stay tuned for next months update and we hope to be able to answer that question for you.  In the meantime; if you’d like to discuss your particular situation with one of our very talented and experienced Realtors, please call us at 480-243-4242.

What is the default process?  I’m going to try to explain what the information on this chart means but… it is when someone starts getting behind on their mortgage payments and they are usually at least 3 months behind before the following occurs:

Basically, there are only 4 results that can happen when a person isn’t able to stay current on their mortgage payments:

• NOTS= NOTICE OF TRUSTEE SALE is sent to the homeowner.  This notice gives them 90 days to do something otherwise the bank will try to sell them home at a Trustee Sale. (Please see resource tab of website for more information and a slide show re: what happens at Trustee Sales) Most lenders will either issue a postponement or a cancelation of the Trustee Sale (aka Foreclosure Proceeding) as long as someone contacts them and tries to work out an alternative solution.  Unfortunately the majority of homeowners facing this do nothing and put their heads in the proverbial sand and ultimately do lose their homes, which only adds to this crisis.
• REINSTATEMENT OF LOAN= This means that the Lender will allow the borrower to add the missed payments to the end of the loan and allow them to become current under the original loan terms.  In this situation one normally needs to show that it was a one time problem that caused them being late.  It’s also commonly called a Forbearance.  For most this isn’t an option. 
• LOAN ADJUSTMENT= By proving a hardship, one can request what is called a loan modification in hopes of getting the payments reduced to where they are affordable.  Financial information must be sent to the Lender with an application to be considered.  The government has stepped in and have some programs (HAMP and HAFA) intended to help those in need but in my opinion, they aren’t enough.  This process can be tedious and time consuming and many give up.  In some opinions, these are just temporary Band-Aids because to get principal reductions to what the current value is has not happened with anyone I have met or heard of .  The recent stats are that 58% that do get approved for these loan modifications end up in default again as well.  I had one client recently that fought with her Lender for a year and they extended her loan to 40 yrs and reduced her interest rate but changed the loan from an interest only and in the end it only reduced her payment $100, which wasn’t the help she had asked for.  Typically the Trustee sale is either cancelled or put on hold by the Lender during this process.
• SHORT SALE= Default process is over because the borrower sells the home short with the Lender(s) approval.

 SHORT SALE VS FORECLOSURE GUIDELINES (Published by CDPE February 2010)

There is another option called “Deed in Lieu” which is basically the homeowner giving the house back and is considered a Foreclosure without having to go thru the legal proceeding of a Trustee Sale.  If the home doesn’t sell to a private 3rd party (many investors pick up great bargains) at a Trustee Sale (aka Auction), then title goes back to the bank and they have to remarket the home.  That’s where the term REO (Real Estate Owned) comes from, sometimes called a Lender or Bank Owned Home.  Those homes get marketed normally on the MLS, here’s a link to the Bank Owned Homes in our area.

If you have any further questions about this process, feel free to call us at 480-243-4242 or go to our Get Started Tab and enter in your information so we can see if we can help you or someone you know who is in DEFAULT on their Mortgage payment(s). We do everything we can here to help those that need it!

What does this mean to you if you live in Chandler?

• Of the homes currently active today:
• 47.2% are Short Sales &/or Pre-Foreclosures listed for sale at an average price of $102.12 per sqft
• 12.18% have already been Foreclosed and are “Lender Owned” (aka REO or Bank Owned) at an average price of $96.93 per sqft
• 40.62% are normal listings, new term “Equity” sales and are asking an average price of $147.75
• What actually sold last month (closed escrow) in Chandler:
• 28.76% were Short Sales that closed at an average price of $99.58 per sqft
• 37.17% were REO’s that closed at an average price of $96.93 per sqft
• 34.07% were Regular listings that closed at an average price per sqft of $122.91

Seems that if you are wondering where your next mortgage payment is coming from, you aren’t alone. 

Banks are finally beginning to see that they lose more money with a Foreclosure where they have to take over a property and remarket it to get it off their books.  It makes more sense for them to work with people in distress by approving their short sales! 

Many banks are trying to streamline their processes and that is why we are beginning to see more and more people opt for doing a Short Sale rather than stick their head in the sand and wait for the bank to come take back their asset (your home) in a Trustee Sale. 

Many sellers are starting to come back out on the market again; but most need to reduce their prices to actually get their homes sold ($147 vs $122 per sqft). We are also seeing many investors purchasing distressed properties and flipping them for an immediate return on their investments.

Homes that aren’t in distress are still high in demand because:

• The homes are typically better taken care of and aren’t “stripped” or trashed like so many of the pre/foreclosure homes are.
• The buyer can avoid those headaches that the various Banks and Lenders out there give when it comes to negotiating price.
• The buyer isn’t having to send in multiple offers and compete with others looking for a bargain.
• Many buyers run out of time and patience to wait on the banks with the lengthiness of their current processes.

Are you interested in seeing what this graph looks like in your area?  If so, click here to get started.  If you let us know, we’ll send one to you for your area (this report can also be done by Zip Code).  All of this data is provided by Mike Orr of the Cromford Report.

When we take out our buyers to look at both Short Sales and REO’s, we need to set our Buyers expectations between the two because there is a difference in how long they take to close escrow. 

• Short Sales do have a longer time frame involved due to negotiations than other homes on the market unless they’ve already been “pre-approved”; on average about 3 months but it does depend on who is handling the negotiations, who are the banks or lenders involved, and how many lien holders there are all impact the time frame. 
• Bank owned properties (REO’s) take usually less than 2 months start to finish just due to the fact that they already have determined and processed what they want for the home. 
• There are also a lot more “regular” or “equity” sales out there recently because the “flips” are now coming back due to FHA temporarily removing their 90 day seasoning rule.  It has made it more attractive for investors to purchase either bank owned homes or homes on the auction block, aka Trustee Sale Homes. Those also move faster than short sales.

We’ll be happy to further talk with someone interested in buying a home on more specifics because these are merely estimates; each home out there has it’s own story to tell.