Archive for March, 2010

The Short Sale Boogie! (Has a ring to it, huh?)

March 31st, 2010 categories: For Buyers, For Sellers, Foreclosures, Lake Tahoe Real Estate, National real estate news, short sales, South Lake Tahoe, CA, Stateline, NV

Short Sales are bigger than... Elvis?The opening line is "you put your left foreclosure in, you put your right foreclosure out, first you do a short sale, that's what it's all about!"

Ok, maybe the lyric is shamelessly taken from The Hokey Pokey melody, and it's not a new hit song yet. But it soon could be!

We've written about the increasing popularity and incidence of short sales before. Here's yet another article about them.

Some key bullet points found in yesterday's CNNMoney.com article:

  • Short sales are the hottest thing going in the distressed-property market.
  • The trend is expected to get even hotter in coming weeks, when the government starts handing out cash to encourage lenders to close these deals.
  • Short Sales accounted for 17% of all residential real estate sales in February, up from nearly 13% in November.
  • Bank of America, the country's largest mortgage servicer, has more than doubled the number of short sales it processed in recent months.
  • Short sales are being more quickly approved these days. (BOA recently approved one in just 24 days.)
  • Six months ago most would describe the Short Sale process has real estate hell. (a Short Sale then averaged more than a half year to complete.)
  • Banks now realize they make more money from a short sale than a foreclosure. (often as much as 20% more and up.)"
  • On April 5, lenders and mortgage investors will have even more incentives to offer troubled borrowers short sales instead of foreclosing.
  • Under the new Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program, borrowers will earn a $3,000 "relocation incentive" and servicers will get $1,500 for handling a short sale.

(full CNNMoney article here)

(Hokey Pokey below)

  Greg & Steve – Hokey Pokey .mp3  
   
Found at bee mp3 search engine

Written by Richard Bolen | Discussion: Please leave a comment.

A Citibank Windfall for the US Govt?

March 30th, 2010 categories: For Buyers, For Sellers, Lake Tahoe Real Estate, National real estate news

Citibank to the rescue?But What about the US Taxpayer? (That would be us!)

We love this one. Citibank gets $45 billion from us, the government makes more than $8 billion in return. Here's the story.

Among the national banks that reign over Wall Street, Citigroup got the biggest bailout of all.

For getting their $45 billion rescue, Citibank gave the government a 27% stake in the conglomerate. On paper now, that 27% has grown in value to $33 billion, a profit of more than $8 billion.The O'Bama administration is in final preparations to sell their stake in the company.

This will be the largest profit returned from any firm that accepted bailout funds, and the transaction would be the second-largest stock sale in history. 

According to the Washington Post, the windfall expected from the stock sale would amount to a validation of the rescue plan adopted by government officials during the height of the financial panic.

We suspect both political parties will posture claims on this windfall, and we also surmise that those who publicly decried the bailout will somehow forget their former position in the face of such profits. (Oh, how we love politicians.)

A year ago, Citigroup's stock hovered around a dollar a share, and the bank's future seemed in doubt. Last Friday, the stock closed at $4.31. 

If the sale of the government's stake in the company proceeds as planned, Citigroup will have cut nearly all of its ties to the $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP).

Citigroup was one of nine major banks to take bailout funds in October 2008, and all have returned their federal loans. In addition to being repaid, the US Treasury has received interest, dividends and about $3.5 billion from the sale of warrants, which are contracts allowing a holder to buy a company's stock in the future.

In other words, because of the TARP program, some of our biggest banks were saved; they are doing better now; we taxpayers have been paid back for the most part, and the US Treasury has made a profit on that part of the TARP deal.

It also appears that the tide has definitely changed for Citibank too. The company reported a decline in credit losses in the fourth quarter of 2009 and set aside less money for bad loans, and recent upbeat remarks from Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit have not hurt the perception of the company either.

Just maybe, it was Citibank... that we rescued!At a company conference earlier this month, Pandit suggested that the firm's Citicorp division, which oversees its investment bank and consumer banking businesses, had the potential to soon deliver profits of $20 billion.

 An Aside : (a few comments on banks, consumers and credit)

We wonder how much charging up to 30% interest on credit cards helped the rather rapid, remarkable Citibank turnaround. We suspect it wasn't that much, though these usurious rates were of course charged to the very consumers whose tax dollars helped bail them out.

Remember, the bank's position is they have to charge such rates due to bad credit. Put into context, we like that. A consumer owes $5,000 on a credit card, for example. The bank they owe it to has to borrow $45 billion to survive, and it's the consumer's credit the bank worries about. (Oh, brother!)

Sources used for this story, The Washington Post (here) and CNNMoney.com (here).

Here's some other news about Citibank since it received its rescuing bailout:

  • November 17, 2008. New York attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, urged Citigroup  to eliminate bonuses for its top executives.. (here)
  • January 22, 2009. Key Citigroup executives, including CEO Vikram Pandit, decline incentive or retention awards in stock or cash. (here).
  • February 12, 2009. Citigroup's Indian American CEO, Vikram Pandit vows to take a token salary of and no bonus until the ailing banking giant returns to profitability. (here)
  • August 26, 2008. (This is where the "every last dime" part comes in.) Citibank takes more than $14 million from its customers through the use of a computer program that wrongfully swept positive account balances from credit-card customer accounts into Citibank’s general fund. (here)
  • June 24, 2009. Citibank to raise salaries of key employees by as much as 50% to offset new bonus restrictions because it took bailout money. (here)

 

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Written by Richard Bolen | Discussion: Please leave a comment.

New Mortgage Relief Program: Will it Work?

March 29th, 2010 categories: For Buyers, For Sellers, Foreclosures, Lake Tahoe Real Estate, National real estate news

Banks are today's leopards that need to change their spots!Big Expansion in Effort to Help Homeowners.

Last Friday the media was ripe with articles about the proposal of a new government program aimed at helping troubled homeowners and the jobless. Needless to say, this was something we liked hearing.

The centerpiece of the expanded program addresses the steep decline in property values by requiring banks to consider reducing loan balances, a move a growing chorus of experts say is essential to righting the housing market.

The question is, of course, will the banks play ball?

Without delving into politics, we hope we're not being presumptuous that you may fell somewhat like we do when it comes to our national banks. We find it outrageous that on the brink of failure they were rescued by our taxpayer dollar, yet hammer the hell out of any one of us that might need their help and consideration in return. (It's a plague of institutional hypocrisy!)

If the banks do become tamer lepoards that have changed their spots, which is what will have to happen for the program to work, it may very well result in a quicker return to both a healthier housing market and US esconony. Here's a few points in the proposed government program:

  • For eligible unemployed borrowers, the effort would require loan servicers to reduce monthly mortgage payments to 31% or less of income.
  • The assistance would last up to six months, after which the borrower would be evaluated for a loan modification.
  • The initiative requires servicers to consider writing down mortgage balances when evaluating borrowers for the Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP.
  • Servicers, who have been reluctant to cut loan balances, would receive financial incentives to do so.
  • The writedown would be available for HAMP-eligible borrowers who owe more than 115% of their home's current value.
  • The balance would be forgiven as long as the homeowner remains current with payments for three years.
  • Some borrowers who are current on their mortgages but have seen their property values drop could refinance into Federal Housing Administration loans of no more than 97.75% of their home's price.

Here's links to some of the articles about this program that appeared in the last few days:

CNNMoney.com"Obama pushing mortgage modification for jobless." (here).

"Unemployed and 'underwater' to get mortgage relief." (here)

"Obama expands mortgage modification effort." (here)

New York Times

"U.S. Plans Big Expansion in Effort to Aid Homeowners." (here)

 

Written by Richard Bolen | Discussion: Please leave a comment.

South Lake Tahoe, NV Real Estate Listings Update: Summit Tahoe Village

March 29th, 2010 categories: California Neighborhoods, Condominium Reports, For Buyers, For Sellers, Lake Tahoe NV Statistics, South Lake Tahoe Statistics, Stateline, NV, Summit Tahoe Village

South Lake Tahoe Real Estate: Summit Tahoe Village Neighborhood

Current Real Estate Activity: Summit / Tahoe Village Condominiums, Stateline, NV area of South Lake Tahoe.

We’ve just updated all  Summit / Tahoe Village  (NV) townhomes and condominium real estate activity in the Stateline, NV area of South Lake Tahoe, including all 2010 sales, current escrow and all active listings. Please note “Summit / Tahoe Village  (NV)” found in our left sidebar.

2010 Summit / Tahoe Village, Stateline, NV townhome or condo Sales, here.

Current  Summit / Tahoe Village, Stateline, NV  townhome or condos in escrow,  here.

Current  Summit / Tahoe Village, Stateline, NV  townhome or condos  listed,  here.

Also note that we have added information about distressed sales to this report, which can be found in the "special conditions" column on our neighborhood spreadsheets.

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Written by Richard Bolen | Discussion: Please leave a comment.

South Lake Tahoe, NV Real Estate Listings Update: Lake Village

March 29th, 2010 categories: Condominium Reports, For Buyers, For Sellers, Lake Tahoe NV Statistics, Lake Tahoe Real Estate, Lake Village, Nevada Neighborhoods, South Lake Tahoe Statistics, Stateline, NV

South Lake Tahoe Real Estate: Lake Village Neighborhood

Current Real Estate Activity: Lake Village townhomes & condominiums, Stateline, NV area of South Lake Tahoe.

We’ve just updated all  Lake Village  (NV) townhomes and condominium real estate activity in the Stateline, NV area of South Lake Tahoe, including all 2010 sales, current escrow and all active listings. Please note “Lake  Village  (NV)” found in our left sidebar.

2010 Lake Village townhome or condo sales, here.

Current  Lake Village, Stateline, NV  townhome or condos in escrow,  here.

Current  Lake Village, Stateline, NV  townhome or condos  listed,  here.

Also note that we have added information about distressed sales to this report, which can be found in the "special conditions" column on our neighborhood spreadsheets.

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Written by Richard Bolen | Discussion: Please leave a comment.

Escrow Report: South Lake Tahoe, NV

March 27th, 2010 categories: Escrow Report, For Buyers, For Sellers, Major Market Reports, Stateline, NV

Stateline, NV Escrow - South Lake Tahoe Real Estate MarketHomes in Escrow in the Stateline, NV area of South Lake Tahoe.

We have just updated the Stateline, NV Real Estate Market Escrow Report.

At present there are 16  homes in escrow.  That same number was 13  a month ago (see chart below). 56.3% of these homes in escrow are distressed sales. (REOs or short sales). That same number was 84.6%% a month ago.

All Current Escrow – Stateline, NV, plus statistics, here.

More Stats and Chart below.

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Written by Richard Bolen | Discussion: Please leave a comment.

Just Which Agent Sells What in South Lake Tahoe Luxury Home Sales?

March 23rd, 2010 categories: Lake Tahoe Real Estate

Most of the time the buyer has their own agent.A lot more often than not, the listing agent does not represent the Buyer.

While crunching the numbers for the post below, we had an idea to add to the subject of that post with a specific look at high end sales on both sides of our South Lake Tahoe real estate market.

We thought it might be interesting to look at how often a high end sale is represented by a buyers agent, and conversely a listing agent as well. Here's what we found.

 South Lake Tahoe, CA : (chart below)
For the California side of our market, lets define a high-end sale as any property that sold for $1M or more. Lets also define our ultra high-end as any property that sold for $3M or more.

  • 30 properties have sold at $1M or over since January 1, 2008.
  • All of these save one have been represented by a buyer's agent.
  • There have been only 4 sales in the last 2.3 years that have sold at $2M or more.
  • All of these were also represented by a buyer's agent.
  • With only 30 sales in the last 27 months, the number of $1M plus sales that are being sold per month is 1.1.
  • At present there are 32 listings priced above $1M or more.
  • At the current market absorption rate of 1.1 per month, it will take a little more than 29 months, or two and a half years to sell them all.

 Stateline, NV : (chart below)
For the Nevada side of our market, lets also define a high-end sale as any property that sold for $1M or more, and also define our ultra high-end as any property that sold for $3M or more.

  • 45 properties have sold at $1M or over since January 1, 2008.
  • 35, or 78% of these were represented by a buyers agent.
  • Only 10, or 22% of these sales had buyers that were represented by the listing agent.
  • There have been only 15 ultra high-end sales since January 1, 2008 ($3M or above).
  • With 45 sales above $1M in the last 27 months, the number sold per month is 1.67.
  • At present there are 67 properties listed at $1M or more on the Stateline, NV side of our market.
  • At current absorption rates it will take a little more than 40 months (3.34 years) to sell them all.
  •  

The chart below indicates South Lake Tahoe, CA luxury home sales by agent type since January 1, 2008.

South Lake Tahoe, CA luxury home sales

The chart below indicates Stateline, NV luxury home sales by agent type since January 1, 2008.

Stateline, NV luxury home sales since January 1, 2008.

 

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Written by Richard Bolen | Discussion: Please leave a comment.

South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Reporting: What “Sold” Really Means

March 22nd, 2010 categories: Lake Tahoe Real Estate

Careful sign interpretation is often a good thing.Just How Many Agents are Number One in South Lake Tahoe Anyway?

A real estate agent makes a living by selling property. If we don't sell anything we don't support our families very well; that's pretty much it.

Because we all want to do well, and support our families better, agents want to distinguish themselves in their marketplace. The idea is those that are more distinguished get more business. It makes perfect sense, and that idea applies to brokerages as well.

Since success at the agent or brokerage level is based on how much one sells, the focus of most real estate marketing follows this same idea. The sub-text of this kind of advertising is simply this: "pick me… because I sell more than anybody else."

This is where superlatives enter the real estate advertising mix, and we all know what we're talking about here. Way too often we have all seen "the best", "the most" and "I'm number one" appear in real estate advertising… to a mind-numbing point past ad nauseam.

It's our belief that the public doesn't buy it, and that we are not the only ones who are tired of this kind of approach. There is also real reason not to take claims of who sold what at face value either.

 What Sold Really Means :
When it comes to real estate sales, all is not what it appears. What "Sold" really means may not be what you think.

This is one of the nuances of our trade, and it can be somewhat misleading. Not too long ago most multiple listing service (MLS) rules across the country stated that only a listing agent may claim that they "sold" a property.

But here's the kicker, 89.3% of the time a South Lake Tahoe, CA home is sold by an agent other than the listing agent (chart below). We've researched this number since 2002, and this number varies by only a few percentage points every year. In other words, year in and year out, almost 9 out of every 10 home buyers in South Lake Tahoe, CA has their own agent.

Because there are so few home sales on the Nevada side of our market, that number can fall off somewhat. From January 1, 2008 to today, 73% of all sales came with a buyer's agent. This same number was 84% and 85% from 2004 to 2006, for example, and it was 82% in 2009.

The MLS rules use to be that a buyers agent had to use this language to advertise a sale: "sold in cooperation with another brokerage." That has changed now so that a buyer's agent can claim "sold", though there are some schools of thought remaining that its more representative to the public to use the old language as well.

In summary, a buyer's agent comes with an offer to purchase a property between 80% and 90% of the time. This puts a rather different perspective, we think, on what "sold" really means.
 

The chart below indicates the number of total South Lake Tahoe, CA sales, the number of sales sold by a buyers agent, and a listing agent since January 1, 2008.

Whichagent sold what in South Lake Tahoe, CA since 2008.

The chart below indicates the number of total Stateline, NV sales, the number of sales sold by a buyers agent, and a listing agent since January 1, 2008.

Which agent sold what in Stateline, NV since 2008.

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Written by Richard Bolen | Discussion: Please leave a comment.

How Long Does it Take to Sell a South Lake Tahoe Distressed Property?

March 19th, 2010 categories: For Buyers, For Sellers, Foreclosures, Lake Tahoe Real Estate, short sales, South Lake Tahoe Statistics, South Lake Tahoe, CA, Stateline, NV

A short sale takes longer to sell than it does to fall.A Short Sale is a Process, not a Race.

There are always issues when looking at data about how long it takes to sell a house. The source of that data is our multiple listing service (MLS). All mls's across the country do not look at the-average-time-it-takes-to-sell-a-house data the same, however. At the core of the issue is how a particular mls accounts for a listing that has been on the market before, but is relisted with another agent.

When a listing is relisted with the same agent, most mls's across the country continue the days on market data without interruption. Both of ours do that too. Our mls's also start days on market data anew when a property is relisted with another agent.

This is good for the agent, because they get a fresh start, so to speak, on their new listing, but it's not great for data integrity. A prime example of this occurred some time ago with a high-end listing that had been on the market for 5 or so years, but was relisted with another agent and sold within a few months. As such the days on market data reflected the property being on the market for months, rather than years.

So, one always looks at days-on-market data with an understanding that it is a guide, not an exact fact.

Nevertheless, while working on stats this morning, we we wondering what the difference might be in how long it takes to sell a short sale here in South Lake Tahoe, CA. We thought it would be fun to look at a comparison of short sales vs. bank owned sales, and homes that are not.

Here's what we found out:

  • At present, it takes 100 days (37.9%) longer to sell a short sale than a home that is not a distressed property.
  • So far this year, it takes 107 days (36.2%) longer to sell a short sale than a home that was not a distressed property.
  • In 2009, it took 100 days (28.3%) to sell a short sale than a home that was not a distressed property.

Here the data is sound, because it's the relationship of the data that we're after. What we see above is a consistency over time that it takes about 100 days, or a little more, to sell a short sale.

 What Does it Mean ?

It means anybody involved in a short sale must be patient. It's a process, not a race.

How much longer does a South Lake Tahoe, CA short sale take?

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Written by Richard Bolen | Discussion: Please leave a comment.

South Lake Tahoe, CA Home Sales… from 2002 to today.

March 18th, 2010 categories: Buyers Report, For Buyers, For Sellers, Lake Tahoe Real Estate, South Lake Tahoe Statistics, South Lake Tahoe, CA

More South Lake Tahoe home sales is goodA 23% Increase in the number of sales last year… and a 7.4% difference so far this year.

We like a few things about this study. One of which is we went back through all South Lake Tahoe, CA sales since 2002, and we like that the number of monthly sales adds up to exactly the number of annual sales. It's always fun when multiple columns of data balances perfectly.

We also like that South Lake Tahoe, CA had an increase in sales last year.  A 23% increase in the number of sales is a good thing, we think. We haven't had an increase in overall market demand since 2004.

Although there is only a 7.4% increase in sales so far this year, we like that because we're only half way through March, and this increase includes all of March sales last year.

At this moment there are 107 homes in escrow in South Lake Tahoe, CA. We don't know how many of these will close by the end of the month, but whatever that is will add to the increase in the number of sales we are already seeing so far this year.

South Lake Tahoe, CA home sales by year since 2002.

South Lake Tahoe, CA home sales by month since 2002.

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Written by Richard Bolen | Discussion: Please leave a comment.

Real Esate Tomato Chiclet