Foreclosure information from Realty Trac

I attended a webinar today given by Realty Trac.  I jotted down some very good information that I would like to share in this blog:

• Foreclosure activity may peak in 2011.  The levels continue to rise from the past three years.  REO inventories will stay at high levels through 2013.
• There is a massive "shadow inventory" that will slow down the housing market recovery.  There are about 1.0 REOs and 700,000 are not listed for sale.  1.2 million homes are currently in foreclosure.  Over 5 million loans are in some stage of delinquency.
• Distressed Properties are in High Demand.
• 60% of homebuyers are actively looking for foreclosure and bank-owned properties
• 25-30% of all residential home sales in 2010 were foreclosures or bank-owned homes.
• Nationwide, homebuyers saved an average of 30% when purchasing a foreclosure property.  Short sales averaged a 19% savings; REO sales averaged over 37% savings.

I am guessing that the reason why banks are slowly releasing their REO inventory is that they would not want to flood the market with foreclosures, thus, bringing the values of comparables even lower.  That's smart of the banks, to think of us.

Are you a buyer?  You are probably wondering where you can get a copy of this list.  I have 2 pages in my website that have these foreclosure list.  One is in the MLS or one is with RealtyTrac.  These are FREE to use.  You may also enter the area or zip code and a list of homes will be returned.  If you need further assistance, please give me a call.

I made someone's problem go away thru Short Sales

After my sellers signed the closing paperwork today, the husband (the seller) said the most touching words during my career in real estate.  He said (from what I recall) "Miss Pearl, we love our house very much from the time we bought it and moved in. But lately, this house has been a problem and YOU Miss Pearl made those problems go away.  We appreciate you very much in helping us get out of this problem."

The problem he was referring to, was his inability to pay his mortgage due to the decrease of his income.  I was able to short sale his home successfully, which made his problems go away.

I want you to know that if you are in a situation where you have missed a payment in your home, or close to missing a payment in your home, and you have a hardship, whether it be a divorce, illness, death of spouse, loss of job or decrease in salary, or other reasons, please call me as I may be able to help you.
All it takes is 15 minutes on the phone.  Call me at (512)786-7355.  I am a short sale specialist in Austin (Cedar Park, Manor, Kyle, Buda, Georgetown, Round Rock, Lakeway, Spicewood, Bee Caves, Pflugerville) and have completed many short sale transactions in the past 3 years.

February 2011 Real Estate in Austin

In Austin, TX, residential sales (units) for single family homes were down 4% in February compared to last February (2010).  The above charts were supplied by Alamo Title of Austin, TX.

January real estate in Austin lookin' good!

Alamo Title of Austin has graciously provided us, Realtors, with statistics monthly.  And we are very greatful for your efforts in informing us and the public regarding our real estate market.  It appears from the first picture that our sales in January 2011 for single family residential homes have been higher that the past 2 Januarys.  That is a 13% increase in units sold.  That is just awesome.  We are seeing more activity in our market center and ad calls. 

If you wish more information on our real estate, please give me a call today at (512)786-SELL/7355.