Simi Valley Short Sale

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: Uncategorized 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

Trulia Voices Answers Understanding Short Sales Buyer’s Purchase Contract Issues

August 24, 2010 By Ted Mackel 1 Comment

Short Sale Buyer Contract deal points can make or break a short sale. In this video blog I go over the Short Sale Addendum for a quick overview of the form and some commentary on how it can help protect the buyer in the transaction.

Make sure to read: Simi Valley Short Sale Information here on HomeBuysBlog.com

Thanks for reading Simi Valley’s Premiere Real Estate Blog!

Author – Ted Mackel Simi Valley Real Estate Agent – Keller Williams Realty

Ted Mackel is a top producer at Keller Williams Realty Simi Valley,

specializing in Simi Valley Real Estate

(805) 432-7705

Filed Under: Buyers, short sales Tagged With: Home Buyers, short sales, Simi Valley, Trulia

Understanding Home Valuations – Broker Price Opinions (BPOs)

March 15, 2010 By Ted Mackel 3 Comments

Understanding Home Valuations – Broker Price Opinions (BPOs)

This Video segment covers the “BPO” AKA Broker Price opinion.

What is a BPO?
How is it conducted?
Who orders a BPO?
How many BPOs are ordered?

These are some of the topics covered. In the segment that will follow this, I will explain how these values are used with Short Sales and Bank Owned homes. I will show you how to figure if a Short Sale even has any chance of being accepted, based off the listing price.

Recently the Appraisal industry has tried to block the real estate industry from conducting BPOs claiming this is outside the scope of licensed Real Estate activity. Frankly, I believe this to be a very short sighted view and that both groups need each other. Appraisers are not actively engaged in the day to day activity of selling and marketing properties and Real Estate agents are not trained to evaluate homes on the same level as an appraiser, but the voids of the two professions cross over and require cooperation on the part of both groups to get home values right.

For more information you can read on this blog:

Simi Valley Short Sale Information

Thanks for reading Simi Valley’s Premiere Real Estate Blog!
Author – Ted Mackel Simi Valley Real Estate Agent – Keller Williams RealtyTed Mackel is a top producer at Keller Williams Realty Simi Valley,specializing in Simi Valley Real Estate(805) 432-7705

Filed Under: Buyers, Sellers, short sales Tagged With: BPO, Broker Price Opinion, Home Valuations, short sales, Simi Valley

Contingent Simi Valley Homes in Escrow out number Sales by 3 times, why?

February 27, 2010 By Ted Mackel 1 Comment

Contingent Simi Valley Homes in Escrows out number Sales by 3 times, why?

Simi Valley Homes for Sale in Escrow As a Realtor, I have access to detailed information on all the Home Sales activity posted in the multiple listing service. My avocation of real estate blogging pushes me to dig deeper into the numbers so I can provide a better economic snapshot of how Simi Valley home sales and pricing is reacting to current buyer and seller sentiment.

Important numbers to get a barometrical view of the market include

the number of active homes for sale
the number of homes with the status of contingent
the number of homes pending
and of course the number of homes selling

The number of homes active for sale is a tricky number as the multiple listing service lumps the actives and the homes contingent together. However, looking closer at the contingent properties a remarkable number sticks out. Month after month after month through 2009 and continuing in 2010, contingent properties dwarf our monthly closing rates by as much a 3 times. Between the properties that are active and the amount of properties that close on average each month this massive number properties sitting contingent never catch up or diminish. Like Many Short Sales, they never close.

So what is the situation with all these contingent properties?

Let’s look at the numbers for today, February 25, 2010. Currently there are 171 Simi Valley single-family detached homes listed as contingent. Just to review, contingent means that an offer has been accepted. Of these 171 properties, 115 are short sales. This leaves 56 properties with the potential to close. As of today, 47 single-family detached homes have closed escrow. With just a couple of days left in the month, closings for Simi Valley single-family detached homes may dip below January’s count of 74. This is not alarming, as it follows a pretty predictable trend year-over-year in up and down markets. What is important to know out of all of this, is that this huge inventory of short sale escrows is a good indicator that a recovery is going to be a long and slow process.

Next time you hear that there are 350 or more single-family detached homes for sale in Simi Valley, you can lop off at least 40% of those homes as they are in short sale limbo. Our averages for active listings in Simi Valley on a weekly basis were averaging below 170 total single-family detached homes for sale up through November 2009. We’ve had a small bump in for the last couple months have been averaging in the 190′s.

Simi Valley Home Sales Report January 2101

Simi Valley Home Sales Report YTD 2009