Monday, October 5, 2009

Residential Home Sales Market Statistics: A Comparison of Normal Sales versus Short Sales and Foreclosures in September 2009

Middle Tennessee Residential Property Foreclosure Activity Report
Residential Real Estate Market Sales Activity - Foreclosures, Pre-foreclosures and Short Sales Compared to Regular Listings
Counties & Cities/Towns Covered:
Rutherford County Tennessee: Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN and La Vergne TN (LaVergne TN)
Williamson County Tennessee: Brentwood TN and Franklin TN
Month & Year
Sep-09
Start Date
9/1/2009
End Date
9/30/2009
City/Town
Active Listings - Total
Active Listings - % Foreclosures & Short Sales
Pending Sales - % Foreclosures & Short Sales
Months of Residential Inventory Based on Pending Sales Rate
Murfreesboro
1,254
8.29%
10.45%
6.24
Smyrna
348
12.07%
32.65%
7.10
La Vergne
280
23.21%
50.00%
5.60
Brentwood
615
4.39%
3.57%
10.98
Franklin
1,058
3.31%
5.62%
11.89





Totals & Averages
3,555
7.68%
15.51%
7.99
Notes:
As you can see from the chart above the percentage of Pending Sales that are distress sales (Foreclosures and Short Sales) is greater than their representation as a percentage of Active Listings.  This means that these distressed listings are Pending (i.e. selling) at a faster rate then regular listings.

Moody’s: Homebuilders May Lose $500M in 2010

Moody’s: Homebuilders May Lose $500M in 2010

According to this HousingWire article, Homebuilders May Lose $500m in 2010: Moody’s, US home builders will likely lose a combined $500 million in 2010.

According to the article, "US homebuilders still face risks, despite improvements in home sales and housing starts, and Moody’s Investors Service expects building industry's operating losses to worsen by 8% in 2009. Moody’s vice president and senior credit officer Joe Snider expects homebuilders to continue generating pre-impairment operating losses over the next 12 to 18 months. An increase in foreclosures and weak employment figures will contribute to house prices at their currently low levels, and might cause prices to fall more and for a longer period than currently anticipated."

The article quotes Snider as saying "We expect that the industry’s one relatively bright spot — that is, robust cash-flow generation — will keep fading in the year ahead, as inventory liquidation plays itself out and funds from operations remain negative."

If you live in Middle Tennessee (Rutherford County TN, Williamson County TN, Davidson County TN, Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN, La Vergne TN, Eagleville TN, Lascassas TN, Rockvale TN, Christiana TN, Brentwood TN, Franklin TN, Nashville TN and Belle Meade TN) you have probably seen all the new neighborhoods and the advertisements from the builders promoting all the incentives they are offering to buyers. Please understand that if you are buying a new home today you are likely paying too much. Frequently, you can buy a very similar new, or newer, home that is a foreclosure or short sale for less than the cost of construction and less than you can buy it from the builder. You can use my website to search the Middle TN MLS so that you can find a distressed property, a foreclosure or a short sale in Middle Tennessee.

Greenspan: Unemployment Likely to Exceed 10%

Greenspan: Unemployment Likely to Exceed 10%

According to this Bloomberg article, Greenspan Opposes New Stimulus Even With 10% Unemployed Likely, Alan Greenspan, the former Federal Reserve Chairman, believes that the federal government should not consider a new stimulus package even though the US unemployment rate is likely "to penetrate the 10 percent barrier and stay there for a while."

The article quotes Greenspan as saying "The focus has got to be on trying to get the economy going, but you also have to be careful that in trying to do too much you can actually be counterproductive" on ABC’s "This Week" program. Greenspan noted that only abouyt 40% of the $787B stimulus money has been spent thus far.

Regarding last week's unemployment report, the article quotes Greenspan as saying that the unemployment report was "pretty awful no matter how you looked at it." However, Greenspan still believes the economy is in the early stages of a recovery. Greenspan did raise concerns, though, about the number of people unemployed for 6 months or more. According to the September 2009 unemployment report, that figure is now at 5.44 million people, which is a 9% increase over August 2009. The result of these alarming figures is that more homeowners will default on their mortgages and short sales and foreclosures will increase.

If you are a homeowner in Middle Tennessee who has lost their job and cannot pay your mortgage and your home is worth less than your mortgage balance, please contact me to discuss selling your home via a short sale. I am a Middle Tennessee distressed real estate, short sale, pre-foreclosure (preforeclosure) and foreclosure expert and REALTOR. I serve real estate owners, homeowners and investment property owners in Rutherford County TN, Williamson County TN, Davidson County TN, Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN, La Vergne TN, Eagleville TN, Lascassas TN, Rockvale TN, Christiana TN, Brentwood TN, Franklin TN, Nashville TN and Belle Meade TN.

If you need to sell your home fast you can request help on my website JimTheRealEstateExpert.com.

As Economy Falters More People Going Back to School: MTSU Sees Record Enrollment

As Economy Falters More People Going Back to School: MTSU Sees Record Enrollment

According to this Daily News Journal article, Record MTSU enrollment is official, according to official university figures, the Fall 2009 enrollment at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) reached a record 25,191, which 5.5% higher than the Fall 2008 enrollment of 23,872. Fall 2009 undergraduate enrollment reached 22,301, which is 4.9% than percent higher than the 21,252 students who enrolled in Fall 2008. For the Fall 2009, graduate student enrollment increased to 2,860, which is 9.1% higher than the 2,620 graduates who enrolled in the Fall of 2008.

According to the article, Sherian Huddleston, associate vice provost for enrollment services, attributed the enrollment increases "to the economy and to the attractiveness of the university." Huddleston stated, "When there is an increase in unemployment, we find people go back to school or to school. MTSU has excellent programs and the faculty and staff are great. We have a great location and great access in Middle Tennessee."

Going back to school is just one more way that people deal with a poor job market. I am personally assisting a homeowner with a short sale who lost their job and is now back in school. I think that is a reasonable path to take given the current state of the economy. Hopefully, the education that these students obtain will help them find jobs when the graduate in a few years. I think at least most of the new university graduates will indeed find jobs, especially if the economy improves a little in the next few years.

In the meantime, if you are a homeowner in Middle Tennessee who cannot pay your mortgage and your home is worth less than your mortgage balance, please contact me to discuss selling your home via a short sale. I am a Middle Tennessee distressed real estate, short sale, pre-foreclosure (preforeclosure) and foreclosure expert and REALTOR. I serve real estate owners, homeowners and investment property owners in Rutherford County TN, Williamson County TN, Davidson County TN, Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN, La Vergne TN, Eagleville TN, Lascassas TN, Rockvale TN, Christiana TN, Brentwood TN, Franklin TN, Nashville TN and Belle Meade TN.

If you need to sell your home fast you can request help on my website JimTheRealEstateExpert.com.

Short Sales: Demand High, but Supply Low? Banks Making It More Difficult to Close Short Sales?

Short Sales: Demand High, but Supply Low? Banks Making It More Difficult to Close Short Sales?

According to this Business Week article, Short Sales: A Fraying Lifeline for Homeowners, banks are making it more difficult for financially troubled homeowners to close short sales. According to the article, one year ago banks were responding to short sales in an average time period of 4.5 weeks and frequently forgiving the unpaid mortgage balances (i.e. the portion of the mortgage not paid off by the short sale), but now the banks are taking an average of 9.5 weeks to respond to short sale requests and frequently demanding that the seller sign a promissory for part of the shortage, or the seller (or someone else) pay additional cash funds to close the short sale. In short, one year ago banks were eager to close short sales due to their capital being depleted, but now, due to government bailout funds and record fee income (another way banks stick it to consumers), banks are being more difficult.

According to the article, "The situation could be a setback for the already wobbly housing recovery. A record one-third of borrowers owe more on their mortgage than their properties are worth, notes research firm First American CoreLogic. The number of underwater homeowners will only continue to rise since values are still falling. And if distressed borrowers can't negotiate short sales, more may be forced into foreclosure, further depressing prices. Since the housing bust, short sales have been a key part of the market. They accounted for 12% to 18% of national home sales over the course of this year. In such hard-hit areas as Miami and Phoenix, roughly a third of listings involve underwater mortgages, according to real estate brokerage ZipRealty."

The article quotes a Bank of America spokesperson as saying "A selling homeowner may be expected to reasonably participate in the shortfall on a sale, unless a financial hardship is demonstrated." According to the article, OneWest Bank has a policy which "requires borrowers who sell their homes for less than the mortgage to pay part of the difference. One West, formerly IndyMac Bancorp, was taken over last year by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and purchased in March by a group of investors that includes billionaires George Soros and Michael S. Dell. As part of that deal, the FDIC agreed to eat most losses after the first $2.5 billion. Given the government's broad support of One West, some real estate agents and sellers are frustrated that the lender wants a promissory note—especially in cases where the government is picking up some losses." Again, this distortion of the market is due to government intervention. If the government had not provided any backstop for the losses incurred by this investor group they would be forced to deal with market realities instead of a government created profit opportunity. On another note, it is interesting to see that George Soros is making money by sticking it to sellers in financial distress. I find this particularly hypocritical since Mr. Soros is a major campaign contributor to the Democrats who supposedly "care about people". Anyone who thinks the Democrats are not using this financial crisis to financially benefit their largest campaign contributors on Wall Street, etc. needs to rethink their position (just look at all the money Barack Obama, Chris Dodd and Barney Frank received from AIG, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and George Soros).

According to the article short sales are further complicated when there are 2 different lenders involved, which usually happens when there are 2 or more mortgages on the property. The 2nd lenders, in particular, are demanding 5% of the sale proceeds in order to satisfy their 2nd mortgages. Thus far, I have not personally experienced this demand, but we will see. The article does mention that new government rules to encourage short sale transactions are imminent, but I personally do not have any hope that this government knows what they are doing so I don't think the rules will help much.

Based on the proven fact that lenders lose less with short sales versus foreclosures (due to less legal fees, property holding costs, maintenance costs, etc.), the banks should be favoring short sales, and, therefore, actively encouraging them. The question then is why are the banks making short sales more difficult? My guess is that the banks get more government bailout funds when they foreclose rather than approve short sales since with short sales the banks are voluntarily accepting their losses. I haven't seen any actual documented proof of why the banks are being difficult with respect to short sales, but there has to be a reason. Therefore, I think it has to do with the government bailout funds. Unfortunately, the indisputable conclusion of all of this is that more foreclosures will occur as a result of the actions taken by the banks.

If you are homeowner in financial distress the most important information to take from this article is that short sales are difficult to close so you should hire a knowledgeable short sale REALTOR to sell your home. This is different from the normal recommendation that a seller hire a neighborhood expert. Closing short sales requires a different skill set so you will need a different type of REALTOR to close your short sale.

If you are a homeowner in Middle Tennessee who cannot pay your mortgage and your home is worth less than the amount(s) you owe, please contact me to discuss selling your home via a short sale. I am a Middle Tennessee distressed real estate, short sale, pre-foreclosure (preforeclosure) and foreclosure expert and REALTOR. I serve real estate owners, homeowners and investment property owners in Rutherford County TN, Williamson County TN, Davidson County TN, Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN, La Vergne TN, Eagleville TN, Lascassas TN, Rockvale TN, Christiana TN, Brentwood TN, Franklin TN, Nashville TN and Belle Meade TN.

If you need to sell your home fast you can request help on my website JimTheRealEstateExpert.com and my Active Rain profile Jim McCormack's Active Rain Profile - Short Sale REALTOR and Real Estate Expert.