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Specializing in the amazing homes of East Sacramento and surrounding neighborhoods

Less Foreclosures, Less Discounts

Less Foreclosures, Less Discounts

Posted by on Nov 12, 2012 in In the News, Sales Price, Short Sales | 0 comments

I read an interesting article in the Washington Post today.  It was about the reduced number of foreclosures and the greatly reduced discount of buying a foreclosure. These have both been obvious to any agent that is active in the Sacramento market, but it is always interesting to see the national market and media realize it too.  The quote that I like the most out of the article is “Zillow found that in Las Vegas and Phoenix, there is “no discernible difference” between foreclosure and non-foreclosure sales. Discounts have shrank to less than 1 percent in Sacramento, 3 percent in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area and barely 4 percent in Los Angeles.” While I never refer to Zillow for specific property prices, they are a huge number crunching organization and have a vast amount of data at their command. For them to state that the discount for a foreclosed property in Sacramento is only 1% is a pretty significant statement.  The market has shifted greatly and inventory is down to less than one months supply, the lowest it has been in over a decade. Prices have been climbing since December and multiple offers are common.  To top it all off, the national news is now reporting all about the tight market.  The housing market has definitely...

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Short Sales and HAFA

Posted by on Jan 8, 2011 in Short Sales | 0 comments

It was promoted as a way to get through the short sale mess so much quicker. A 10 day turnaround from the banks, a pre-approved short sale price BEFORE the listing goes live. The banks get a little extra incentive from the government to move quickly, the seller gets a little bit of money to leave the home in a clean and orderly fashion, the new buyer doesn’t have to wait for 3 months before hearing if the bank will accept the offered priced. Sigh. On January 6th 2011, American Banker posted an article quoting the California Association of Realtors (CAR) that fewer than 400 properties have successfully made it through HAFA by the end of September. The primary cause is that “Servicers are ignoring HAFA guidelines altogether”. CAR’s president Beth Peerce wrote in the letter that “countless consumers have lost deals, primarily because servicers take so long to review and approve short sales that potential buyers gave up or walked away from the deal.” Having worked both the listing side trying to get the pre-approved HAFA and from the buyer side waiting 9 weeks for the “10 day response” to a HAFA short sale, I know first hand that the program isn’t working. Now I know that it’s not just me and my clients, it’s not working for almost anyone. You can read CAR’s full letter here:...

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