Yuma price reduction in Journeys End, today.

A Yuma, that last sold in July of 2005 for $580,000 has just reduced their asking price to $349,000. The home has been on the market since July, priced initially at $400k.

This home is not being marketed as a short sale.

SOLD...Santa Fe

A Santa Fe that was originally placed on the market in April of 2008 at $427,500...subsequently rented for a year in August of '08...then placed back on the market in September of this year at an asking price of $365,000, has just sold for $327,500.

The home was sold by the original owners who purchased the home in December of 2000 for $219,554. The sale was a conventional sale...not a short sale.

FHA, 1st time buyers, and perceptions...

Nearly 40% of existing homes purchased in November used a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured mortgage, according to a National Association of Realtor (NAR) survey.

As a result, the FHA is having to defend the program, saying that it is well enough capitalized to avoid any major losses in case of surging defaults. Earlier this month, Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary Shaun Donovan was before Congress defending the FHA, and ensuring the House Financial Services Committee that the single-family insurance program is “not the next subprime.”

The increase in demand caused the capital reserve ratio at the FHA to drop below the Congressionally mandated 2% minimum, leaving HUD and the FHA scrambling to ensure the FHA program’s soundness.

A number of proposals are being considered, including the raising of  insurance premiums, raising the minimum FICO (credit score) requirements, raising the minimum required down payments and reducing the allowable seller contribution...all of which will make it more difficult for buyers to qualify for and obtain financing (and hence, not good for sellers).

Other results from the Realtors confidence index showed first time homebuyers accounted for 51% of all transactions and are actively competing with investors for distressed properties...

And, distressed properties aren’t just affecting transaction price, however. The presence of distressed properties is influencing buyers’ perceptions of other homes for sale and many buyers have pricing expectations that treat every property as if it were a distressed sale.

Additionally, HUD issued a ruling that borrowers who were in default on their mortgage at the time of a short sale are not eligible for an FHA-insured mortgage for three years...

Another Windsor sale...

A Windsor on Shaina Court was reported as sold on 12/17 at a sale price of $415,000. This was not a short sale. The home was placed on the market in July at $495,000 and was priced at $465,000 at the time of contract.

The sellers purchased the home new in May of  2002 for $381,300. Annualized, that is about a 1.25% appreciation rate

Windsor closed sale...

A Windsor on Houlton Circle was reported as sold on 12/18 at a cash sale price of $369,000.

The seller purchased this home in November of '07 for $500,000 and it appears to have been a corporate relocation sale. That is a 26% loss in 24 months...

Closed sale on a Biltmore in Grande Estates

A Biltmore on Houlton Circle sold on 12/11/09 at a final sales price of $335,000.

If you have read this blog, you will recall seeing this listing mentioned numerous times, as this home had 11 price reductions during its 193 days on the market. The original asking price was $414,900 back on June 4th. In the end, this home sold for about a 20% discount to original asking price.

Grande Estates side, Buckingham on the market

A Buckingham model with a modified floorplan was just placed on the market with an asking price of $365,000. The property is not being marketed as a short sale. The sellers purchased the home in June of 2003 for $387,500

Great advice for Tim Geitner...and the rest of us!

Pecos price reduction

A Pecos model that is being marketed as a short sale has just reduced their asking price from $450,000 to $399,900. The home was priced at $450,000 for 80 days.

The sellers are the original owners who purchased the home in December of 2000 for $290,000.

Laredo short sale

A Laredo that has been on and off the market since February of 2007 has gone under contract. The home was priced at $249,000 at the time of contract. But, back in 2007, the seller was asking $399,900.

Take a look below at the pricing of this home and you will once again see what I refer to as "chasing the market down". That means: A seller pricing to high, usually with the thought that "I can always come down", but ending up always one step behind the declining market...with terrible consequences.
Here is the pricing progression:

1. $399,900...2/2007
2. $379,900...8/2007
3. $359,900...11/2007
4. Off the market from 4/2008 - 9/2008
5. $349,900...9/2008
6. $329,900...11/2008
7. $299,900...1/2009
8. $275,000...8/2009
9. $249,000...10/2009

If you are selling now, or thinking of selling; don't make this mistake. Even if you are not our client, make sure that the agent you have now or eventually hire advises you honestly about pricing and can support their pricing recommendation with solid market data...

Santa Fe...comes back on the market

A Santa Fe that was once on the market for $725,000 back in the wild-n-wooly 2005 heyday of local real estate is now back on the market as a short sale at an asking price of $335k. This short sale went under contract back in July but that contract is no longer in place.

This home was purchased by the current owner in June of 2001 for $380,000.

For all intents and purposes, this home has been on the market since 2005, but the owner just kept missing the proper price point and ended up "chasing the market down"...and its still not sold!

Biltmore...conventional sale and some opinion and prediction for what's coming up!

A Biltmore model on Houlton Circle was sold on 11/30 at a price of $315,000. This was a conventional sale (not a short sale or foreclosure). The home was on the market 62 days at an asking price of $325,000.

The sellers were the original owners who purchased the home in November of 2000 for $222,700.

This sale is a very good example of what I have been saying recently regarding homes that are NOT distress sales: These homes are selling quickly and for prices above what a comparable short sale will bring. Buyers are fed up with the inefficiency and incompetence displayed by the lenders in negotiating short sales and will pay a premium to avoid dealing with that situation.

Couple the above with the expanded and extended tax credit and the next 6 months will be a good time for sellers to market property that is not a short sale.

After the expiration of the tax credit (which I don't believe will be extended again) and the scaling back of the open market purchase of mortgage backed securities, (which will most likely cause mortgage interest rates to rise), I think the market goes into another decline as a result of the removal of those artificial supports.

Here is a little snippet of an article I was just reading regarding MBS: The Federal Reserve is pumping $1.25 trillion into mortgage-backed securities to try to bring down mortgage rates, but that money is set to run out next spring. The goal of the program is to make home buying more affordable and prop up the housing market.


The window of opportunity is open now...

Sample of some of the video marketing we have done recently