Housing Crisis Information

If you are like most people, the news you hear about real estate can be very confusing. On the one hand, real estate has been one of the hardest hit sectors of the economy, and much of the news still reflects this. On the other hand, there are some reports about real estate being one of the most positive indicators of an economic recovery.

Here are some of the most important recent developments you need to know:
Homebuilder Confidence is rising – According to the National Association of Homebuilders, it’s the highest it has been since before the foreclosure crisis began in 2007. This is important because it means that professionals are optimistic about the housing market again. Now, because of how long it takes for homebuilders to ramp up their businesses, it will still be a while before we see a ton of new homes built, but this is definitely a positive sign.

Housing Starts have increased – 535k Single Family Homes were started in August. This is still lower than we need, however, and there is not enough inventory to cover the demand (especially with historically low interest rates). Existing home sales have also skyrocketed according to the National Association of Realtors. In fact, they have gone up almost 10% since this time last year.

Underwater properties are still a large part of the market – In fact, according to NAR, more than 1 in 5 of all home sales is a property that is either behind on their payments or in the foreclosure process.

　 The good news is that this market offers an opportunity for just about everyone. If you are underwater or in danger of losing your home to foreclosure then there have never been more opportunities than there are in today’s market to sell your home and find a dignified solution. If you are looking to buy a new home, this is quite possibly the most affordable time in history to buy a home.

I would love to discuss how today’s market fits your needs. Feel free to contact me
for a free confidential consultation!

Foreclosures Decline but Remain High and Prepayments Surge

A very insightful article by Krista Franks Brock of  DSNEWS.COM on October 3, 2012


Foreclosure inventory continues to decline but remains more than eight times what it was in the decade prior to the housing crisis, according to the latest report from Lender Processing Services (LPS).

Noncurrent loans make up 10.9 percent of all loans as of August, demonstrating a year-over-year change of -7.6 percent, according to LPS.

As of August, the delinquency rate stands at 6.9 percent, and the foreclosure rate is 4.0 percent.
There remains a large gap in the foreclosure rate between judicial states and non-judicial states. In fact, in judicial states the rate remains near an all-time high of 6.49 percent, while the foreclosure rate in non-judicial states is 2.28 percent.

The amount of loans 90 or more days delinquent is near half of its January 2010 peak. The majority of these loans are more than nine months delinquent. About 43 percent are at least 12 months delinquent.

The overall delinquency rate declined 2.3 percent in August. States ranking highest for non-current loans include Florida, Mississippi, New Jersey, Nevada, and New York. States with the lowest percentages of non-current loans include Montana, Alaska, South Dakota, Wyoming, and North Dakota.

LPS noted prepayment activity was up “significantly” in August, nearing levels last reported in 2005.
The annualized prepayment rate at the end of August was almost 25 percent, according to LPS’ findings.

Prepayment was highest among loans with higher combined loan-to-value ratios (CLTVs). For example, among loans with more than 120 percent CLTV, prepayment increased more than 65 percent year to date.

According to LPS, this trend is significant because prepayments are an indicator of refinance activity.
In August, 2011 vintage loans experienced a 23 percent increase in prepayments over the month. Loans with vintages from 2007 and earlier experienced a prepayment increase of just 9 percent, which LPS interprets as signs of a “refi burn out.”

“[I]t is also becoming evident that loans originated in 2007 and earlier have diminished prospects for conventional refinancing opportunities,” stated Herb Blecher, SVP of applied analytics at LPS.

“Fewer than 30 percent of these vintages remain both active and current, and on average, they are marked by larger negative equity positions and lower credit scores,” Blecher explained.

Not All Sunsets are Beautiful

In 2007, the Mortgage Debt Relief Act was passed in an attempt to help the millions of homeowners who, due to the housing crisis and economic crash, suddenly found themselves in danger of losing their home to foreclosure.

The act has helped many distressed homeowners find solutions to avoid foreclosure and opened up options to them that were previously unavailable.

The Mortgage Debt Relief Act, however, was only intended to be a temporary solution and is now set to expire at the end of 2012. There is a bill in Congress that would extend it, but it is unclear if it will pass. For distressed homeowners, this means that time is limited to take advantage of this program.

Time is running out. But there is still a chance to change your financial direction and avoid foreclosure.  Contact me and I can help.  You didn't create this and you are not ALONE!

 

Rob Sales

Prudential Southeast Coastal Properties

Associate Broker, CDPE Advance,
DPP, REO Specialist, CIAS
912-655-7674
www.smartshortsales.net

Smart Short Sale Team Has the Paddles!

Over the last year, I have been building a team of associates to help me provide the best solutions for my clients who have found themselves up a creek without a paddle during this housing crisis.  Just like each oarsman of a crew team steers the boat to victory through the elements, so does my team.

 

So, let me introduce you to my crew "Smart Short Sale Team" and a little history on the sport of Rowing!!! 

 

 

 

Rob Sales
Chief Operating Officer and Real Estate Agent
Rowing Positions: The Stern Pair, The Bow Pair, Coxwain, & Steersman

Well, I actually operate as many positions currently but together with my team working with our clients daily to help them find their way to their finish line out of of this mess of the Housing Crisis remains my PRIORITY!
 
Jane Sales
Chief Executive Officer
Rowing Position:  The Coxwain
The purpose of a coxswain is steering the boat, providing encouragement to the rest of the crew, communication to the crew of how close they are to the finish line, and any other race tactic calls. 

Not only is Jane my devoted wife, she is CEO and my backbone offering moral support!
 

 

Julie Brawn
Financial Institution Communication Director 

Rowing Position: The Middle Crew (The Fuel Tank, The Engine Room, The Power House, The Meat Wagon)

The middle crew has numerous nicknames for themselves as shown in the title. In an eight-person boat, the middle crew is made of numbered individuals three, four, five, and six. In a four-person boat, the middle rowers are numbers two and three. Because the boat moves less in the middle, the middle crew is often the most powerful and heaviest of rowers. They are referred to as the ‘fuel tank,’ the ‘engine room,’ or other nicknames because their focus is simply pulling on oars as hard as they can. It is not necessary for these middle crewmates to be exceptionally reactive or technically sound (like the strokesman). The middle crew is known for their brawn, and it is common for the most technical rowers to be placed at the bow and stern with the strongest rowers in the middle.

 

Her name says it all!  Julie is our latest addition to the Short Sale Team. Julie comes to us with tons of legal experience and will be responsible for the distribution and the communication, with our banking partners. She will feed all the data and information to the various banks, mortgage companies, etc., that we collect from the distressed property owners. Additionally, Julie will have her own short sale listing portfolio that she will process through the Smart Short Sale Team.

 

Charles Kelly
Data Collection & Information Management Director

Rowing Position: The Middle Crew (The Fuel Tank, The Engine Room, The Power House, The Meat Wagon)

 

Recently Charlie agreed to come on board help with the scanning and organizing the files, creating binders for individual files, indexing and sorting out the data and creating binders for each of the properties. Additionally,he maintains our entire filing system for the endless paperwork we submit to the Governement, banks, and legal counselors involved with the maticulous processes of short sales.

 
Chantal Sales
Marketing, Advertising & Public Relations Director
Rowing Position: The Bow Pair

The rower closest to the bow of the boat is called the ‘bow’ or the ‘bowman.’ It is the bowman’s responsibility for the stability of the entire boat. They are expected to be quick and agile, responsible for not only the stability of the boat, but the direction of the boat as well. As expected, the bowman is expected to be quite technically skilled. Furthermore, boats that are bow coxed are dependent on effective communication between the bowman and the cox. The cox cannot see boats coming from behind them, and good communication is essential. 

Approximately a year ago, Chantal started assisting me with my marketing plan.    With the ever changing social networking world, she set up my blogs and network profiles.  She continues to manage the websites, blogs, and designs my print & digital marketing media for each listing and keeps me alive in the Cyber World.  Although she not truly the closest physcially to our team like the Bow Pair is in the boat, she is our social connection to the rest of the world.

 

 

 

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Time is Running Out: How the Mortgage Debt Relief Act can save you!

In 2007, the Mortgage Debt Relief Act was passed in an attempt to help the millions of homeowners who, due to the housing crisis and economic crash, suddenly found themselves in danger of losing their home to foreclosure.

The act has helped many distressed homeowners find solutions to avoid foreclosure and opened up options to them that were previously unavailable.

However, the Mortgage Debt Relief Act was always intended to be a temporary solution and it is now set to expire at the end of 2012. For distressed homeowners, this means that time is limited for you to take advantage of this program.

 
Time is running out. But there is still a chance to change your financial direction and avoid foreclosure.

Contact me for more information so I can help you make a dignified solution before time runs out.

Rob Sales
Prudential Southeast Coastal Properties
Associate Broker, CDPE Advance,
DPP, REO Specialist, CIAS
912-655-7674

Smart Short Sales Partner Testimonials

Over the course of this year, I have compiled a handful of testimonials from clients, attorneys AND agents that I have worked successfully with their distressed property in the Savannah area. 

Client Testimonials




Attorney Testimonials




Agent Testimonials

Recovery or Blimp in Housing Crisis?

As you can see it appears from the following graphs that things are starting to get better.  The big  question remains!!  Is this the start of the recovery or is just a blimp?  The issue is that the inventory of all price points appears to be diminishing in Coastal Georgia.  Additionally, there remains the “Phantom Inventory” that everyone continues to talk about.  Hopefully, we are at the bottom.  However, I believe we will remain at the current level until late fall of 2012.  Review all of the following graphs and make your own conclusion.  Let the numbers speak for themselves.