Grande Estates...price reduction

The Biltmore on Houlton (5 posts below) has just reduced their price again...this time from $383,500 to $378,900. It has now been on the market 118 days.

No way housing has bottomed...

I just watched this video on Yahoo Finance (you can click on it to take a look at it) and it reflects what I have been advising my clients for some time now...we HAVE stabilized a bit in the current quarter; but not to get too excited...there is a lot of distressed property yet to hit the market. Keep in mind that this housing "recovery" is occurring while we have historically low interest rates-what happens if they go to 6%...7%? It will affect affordability and consumer confidence in this fragile market.

Send me an email and let me know what you think.

Under contract...Kensington

A Kensington on Houlton has gone under contract. This home is currently priced at $399,000 and was priced as high as $450,000 at one point. It is being sold by the original owner who paid $370,300 for it in December of 2001. 

The home was marketed as a short sale.

New listing...Pueblo

A Pueblo model on C Durham just came on the market priced at $225,000. This home is being marketed as a short sale.

Yuma price reduction

A Yuma on Ethan Dr that was previously listed for $400,000 reduced their asking price to $380,000. This home has been on the market for 61 days. The current owners purchased the home in July of 2005 for $580,000.

Bank owned sale...Grande Estates

A Versailles on Wilbur Way that was bank-owned just sold for $320,000. This home went back to the bank in September of 2008 and was listed by the bank agent for 262 days before the sale.

The previous owner (prior to the bank), paid $455,000 in July of 2004.

Priced reduction...Grande Estates

A Biltmore model, 1 story, 4/3/2, lake, pool, has just reduced their asking price again. The home is now priced at $383,500. This home has been on the market for 112 days and was originally priced at $414,900.

It has had a sequence of reductions as follows: $405,000... $399,000... $398,900...  $398,700... $398,500... $388,500... $383,500.

The current owners purchased the home in January of 2004 for $380,000.

New on the market

A Pecos, 1 story, 4/2/2, 2400+ sq ft, on the lake, has just been placed on the market at an asking price of $450,000. The home is being sold by the original owners who paid $290,000 for the home in December of 2000.

Strategic default?

Read the article below...it details something I have seen personally and heard expressed recently by quite a few "upside-down" homeowners. I think we'll see a lot more of it...

NATION'S HOUSING

Homeowners who 'strategically default' on loans a growing problem

A study shows that people who abruptly and intentionally abandon their mortgages often have high credit scores, in stark contrast with most financially distressed borrowers.

By Kenneth R. Harney

September 20, 2009

Reporting from Washington - Who is more likely to walk away from a house and a mortgage -- a person with super-prime credit scores or someone with lower scores?

Research using a massive sample of 24 million individual credit files has found that homeowners with high scores when they apply for a loan are 50% more likely to "strategically default" -- abruptly and intentionally pull the plug and abandon the mortgage -- compared with lower-scoring borrowers.

Lis Pendens report...as of September 15th

According to Palm Beach County courthouse records availabe to us, as of September 15, there are 34 Journeys End/Grande Estates properties with an active mortgage-related "Lis Pendens". Basically, a Lis Pendens can be described as a recorded notice of a pending lawsuit against a property owner. Some states require lenders to file a lis pendens to begin the foreclosure process if a borrower is in default on loan payments.

However, a Lis Pendens does not necessarily mean that a particular property is "about to be sold at the courthouse steps". Many homeowners catch up on missed payments...work out a forebearance agreement with their lender...refinance...sell...short sell, etc. So don't expect there to be 34 bank-owned homes in Journeys End anytime soon...but, that's about 7% of all Journeys End homeowners with an active Lis Pendens-which does not take into account the number of homeowners behind on payments where the lender has not filed a Lis Pendens yet. So, notwithstanding all of the recent positive housing news...it doesn't look like we're totally out of the woods yet.

Grande Estates...under contract again

A Versailles on Eugene Ct. has gone under contract again. The home was priced at $362k at the time of contract.

The current owners paid $478,000 in July of 2004.

The home has been on and off the market since February of 2007, at which time the asking price was $599,000.

Grande Estates, Biltmore...price reduction

A Biltmore, 4/3/2, lake, pool, on the market for 106 days, has reduced their price for the sixth time to $388,500. This home was originally priced at $414,900...then $405,000...then $399,000...then $398,900...then $398,700...then $398,500 now $388,500.

The current owners paid $380,000 in January of 2004.