Simi Valley Foreclosures and Bank Owned Properties

Simi Valley October 2011 Home Sales

November 14, 2011 By Ted Mackel Leave a Comment

October Single Family Detached Home Sales for Simi Valley did not react much different that September. Volume is up over 2010 and 2009. Homes under $400k are pulling the lion’s share of the activity and as interest rates drop into low 4′s and high 3′s buyers still remain cautious.

I mentioned last month the sluggish upper end of the market. If you have a home in the $900k to $999,999 price range, did you know that only 4, yes that is right FOUR homes have sold since January 1, 2011 in this price range for Simi Valley real estate? Currently there are 6 homes on the market in this price range and the last sale for the price range was in May. So, if you are listed in this range and wonder what is happening, wonder no more, even with attractive interest rates buyers for this range are not abundant at this time. At the same time, 10 Simi Valley homes have sold over 1 million with one of those being a custom spec house.

The ditressed market still is a major influencer on the overall market. RealtyTrac recently reported:

California default notices increased 17 percent from the previous month to a 13-month high, helping the state post the nation’s second highest foreclosure rate: one in every 243 housing units with a foreclosure filing in October. A total of 29,240 default notices were reported in California in October, a 1 percent increase from October 2010 — the first year-over-year increase in defaults in California since November 2009.

Even though other parts of the country are seeing some relief. However; Nevada, California, Florida and Arizona continue to battle through many struggling home owner’s loans with modification attempts, short sales and foreclosure.

Below is the 30 year interest rate chart for 30 year conforming loans. 2011 has continues to average with the lowest rates. It is no wonder that investors are out snapping up deals with money this cheap. The Blue line below should be a wake up call to those sitting on the sidelines. The distressed market is continuing to to keep prices in check.

Filed Under: Market Updates Tagged With: Foreclosures, Home Sales, interest rates, Loan modification, short sales, Simi Valley

Who pays for What? Simi Valley Home Buyers & Home Sellers want to know

August 11, 2011 By Ted Mackel Leave a Comment

What is customary for a buyer and seller varies from state to state and in some states like California what is customary for buyers and sellers in Southern California may be different than in Northern California. The following list is what is generally customary for Home Buyers and Sellers in the Simi Valley and Southern California area on purchases, not involving distressed properties (i.e. Short Sales and Foreclosures/Bank Owned):

The SELLER can GENERALLY be expected to pay:

Real Estate Commissions
Document preparation fee for deed
Documentary transfer Tax (deed tax stamps), if any
Pay off all loans in Seller’s name
Interest accrued to lender being paid off
Statement fees, re-conveyance fees and any prepayment penalties
Termite inspection (or according to contract)
Termite work (or according to contract)
Home warranty (or according to contract)
Any judgments, tax liens, etc., against the seller
Tax proration (for any taxes unpaid at the time of transfer title)
Unpaid homeowner’s dues
Recording charges to clear all document of record against the seller
Any bonds or assessments (or according to contract)
Any and all delinquent taxes
Natural Hazards Disclosure
Seller notary fees
Escrow fee (one half)
Repairs on deferred maintenance (if agreed to or according to contract)
Title insurance premium for owners policy
Homeowners Association transfer fee and documents fee
City transfer/conveyance tax (or recording contract)
Mandatory Government Compliance issues (i.e. Smoke detectors, Carbon-monoxide detector, water heater bracing, etc.)

The BUYER can GENERALLY be expected to pay:

Title insurance premium for lenders policy
Escrow fee (one half)
Document preparation (if applicable)
Buyer notary fees
Recording charges for all documents in buyers name
Tax proration (from date of acquisition)
Appraisal
Cost to run Credit Scores
All new loan charges (except those required by lender for seller to pay)
Interest Buy-down points (or according to contract)
Interest on new loan from date of funding to 30 days prior to first payment date
Assumptions/change of records fees for takeover of existing loan beneficiary statement fee for assumption of existing loan inspection fees (roofing, property inspection, sewer, pool, geological, etc.)
Buyer insurance premium for first year

Filed Under: Buyers, Sellers Tagged With: California, Escrow, Foreclosures, Home Buyers, Home Sellers, short sales, Simi Valley, title

Simi Valley Home Sales Report April 2011

May 9, 2011 By Ted Mackel 1 Comment

Simi Valley Single-family detached home sales for the month of April 2011 did not continue to increase in the number of properties sold as we saw in February and March. What was more interesting, was that the volume dropped a little over 10% from 2010. The month-to-month uncertainty that still clouds the market, is a big reason why I do not make claims recovery. Simi Valley is still experiencing single-family detached homes selling under $300,000, the bulk of sales activity continues to be under $500,000 and distressed properties will continue to be a big part of the Simi Valley real estate market for some time to come. Gasoline prices in April near $4.50 a gallon and general economic concerns, locally, statewide and nationally are not improving.

The importance to homeowners at this time is understanding that any market recovery is going to be slow, plans to sell property in the future should consider how the market is reacting in these difficult economic times. The winners in the current marketplace are the buyers with historically low interest rates and pricing hitting pre-bubble levels as reported in the Wall Street Journal in February.

Filed Under: Market Updates Tagged With: April, Foreclosures, Home Sales, short sales, Simi Valley

Simi Valley Homes Sales Report for March 2011

April 10, 2011 By Ted Mackel Leave a Comment

Simi Valley home sales saw the second straight month with the highest volumes since 2006. However, mimicking February, we are still seeing more listings and more sales below $300,000 and the final sales ratios averaging more than 5% below the original list price. Good thing, but home sellers and homeowners I speak with are more interested as to when it will see a recovery in pricing.

Filed Under: Market Updates Tagged With: Foreclosures, Home Sales, March, short sales, Simi Valley

Simi Valley Homes Sales Report for February 2011

March 9, 2011 By Ted Mackel Leave a Comment

Simi Valley single-family detached home sales for February 2011 saw the highest volumes since 2006. While the typical response to a record month of sales was jubilation and claims of market recovery, looking closer at the numbers shows that while there was an uptick in the number of homes sold the market still has a ways to go before we can declare recovery. The continuing trend to watch is the increase of homes sold under $300,000. Most of 2010 saw a few sales under $300,000 per month, but as of December 2000 and the number is picked up. Even with record low interest rates last fall, buyers may have come out to purchase more homes, but higher volumes is not equating into higher prices.

Inflation impacting goods and services especially items like gasoline goes is taking money way that might be attributed to a buyer’s mortgage payment. Overall economic concerns of inflation and employment along with the continued impact of the short sale and bank owned property market are keeping housing prices down. Another factor to watch as the list to sell ratio. This is the difference between what a home was originally listed for and what the seller eventually accepted as an offer. The number typically is in the 3% area, however looking below the number has grown to 5% and higher on average.

Filed Under: Market Updates Tagged With: February, Foreclosures, Home Sales, short sales, Simi Valley

Simi Valley Home Sales Report for January 2011

February 8, 2011 By Ted Mackel Leave a Comment

Simi Valley family detached home sales report for January 2011 really doesn’t jump out compared to last couple of years; pretty much the same activity. Sales under $500,000 continue to dominate the market, with sales under $300,000 continuing to show the market moving along a base price point. The year-over-year average sales price remains in the $460,000 range and the year over year monthly average sales volume has average approximately 80 homes per month for single-family detached units.

The number to watch on the chart for this year will be the “List to Sell Ratio”. This is the price of the house ends up selling at compared to what the property was listed for. If you are a home seller in any one of these ranges you can get a good idea what you expect as a final sales price based on the current activity. The condition and upgrade of any property can negate lower list to sell ratios, but it is important to see how buyers are reacting and prepare your property accordingly prior to selling.

Filed Under: Market Updates Tagged With: Foreclosures, Home Sales, January, short sales, Simi Valley

Simi Valley Home Sales Report for December 2010

January 6, 2011 By Ted Mackel Leave a Comment

Simi Valley home sales for the month of December 2000 and finished off strong and in similar fashion as we saw in December of 2009. The higher volume and sales is not an indicator of market recovery for the following reasons. We’ve seen an increase of homes for sale under $300,000. The distressed market consisting of short sales and foreclosures pushes sales volumes up at year-end as banks try to clear their books.

With record low interest rates continuing many have hoped for turnaround in the market however pressures from inflation on goods and services are still influencing home purchasers decisions. Looking at the tables below, the same trends have continued has over the last 18 months. Homes under 500,000 continued to dominate the market well homes over $900,000 in Simi Valley still show sluggish sales.

Filed Under: Market Updates Tagged With: December, Foreclosures, Home Sales, short sales, Simi Valley

Simi Valley Home Sales Report YTD – October 31, 2009

November 24, 2009 By Ted Mackel 1 Comment

Simi Valley California home sales were down in October 2009. This is very interesting in that the market has been pushed in a positive direction by the first-time home buyers tax credit. In September and October buyers knew that the tax credit was scheduled to expire on November 30, this should have reflected in an increase in sales. So far, November sales of single-family detached homes will be stronger than October. Looking closer at these November sales, the majority are in the entry-level price range making this increased activity for November closely tied to the tax credit.

With the extension of the tax credit moved to April 30, 2010, activity should remain brisk as buyers try to take advantage one final time.

Key factors including the affordability, low interest rates, and low inventory are keeping first-time buyers and the investor market very interested in home purchases. While the economy struggles both nationally, statewide and regionally; home buyers and home sellers should be aware that any recovery will most likely be drawn out over a course of years and fairly bumpy from here on out.

What this means for Simi Valley home sellers is that equity recovery is probably not around the corner, but the low inventory levels are helping sellers remain with a slightly stronger negotiating position over the buyers.

What this means for Simi Valley home buyers is that this high level of affordability will continue to create competition for the low supply of inventory.

You’ll notice below that I’m changing the format of my standard monthly market update for Simi Valley home sales. While the averages from the multiple listing service are interesting, if you’ve seen the charting I have posted over the last year, those averages are skewed as the lower end of the market is behaving much differently than the upper end.

Simi Valley single-family detached activity up through October 31, 2009 was as follows:

Total Detached Homes Sold = 60
Average Sale Price = $460,845
Average Market Time = 82 days

Of these sold properties – 11 were short sales and 12 were foreclosures. The remaining 38 were non-distressed sales.

Total Detached Homes Active For Sale = 183

Of these active properties, 25 were short sales and 11 were foreclosures. The remaining 147 were non-distressed sales and an additional 270 homes were in escrow, with 173 of those Detached homes as short sales and 33 foreclosures.

An evident monthly trend is the extremely high ratio of detached homes in escrow compared to available inventory and actual closed sales. This further points to the difficulty sellers are having with short sales. To understand why there is such a high failure rate on short sales please see my article: What Is a Short Sale And Can I Short Sell My House

Simi Valley Town Homes & Condominiums are reacting better and this trend is most likely tied to the low interest rates, affordability and the first-time home buyer tax credit.

Total Attached Homes Sold = 25
Average Sale Price = $277,907
Average Market Time = 93 days

Of these attached properties sold, 6 homes were short sales and 4 homes were foreclosures. The remaining 15 homes were non-distressed sales.

Total Attached Homes Active For Sale = 50

Of these Attached Active Properties, 15 were short sales and 2 were foreclosures. The remaining 33 were non-distressed sales and an additional 133 Attached Simi Valley homes in escrow with 63 as short sales and 12 as foreclosures.

Both in the attached and detached Simi Valley housing sectors these high numbers of short sales are very important to track. Month after month after month, large numbers of homes in escrow have been dominated by short sellers. An average of 80 single-family detached homes are closing escrow each month and 18 attached homes closing. The large volume of nonperforming loans and bad assets are not dominating the low closing rates and seeing that less than 50% of the monthly sales are distressed properties, the low success rate in purging the market of the short sales, will keep any recovery slow.

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