Oh how the real estate world continues to change. A year ago the focus was on foreclosure properties and how to get into an over crowded niche. Now as 2009 starts to wind down the new niche is short sales. Short sales are a different breed but appear to be here for the next 3 - 5 years as so many homeowners are upside down in mortgages obtained during the boom. Every other agent in our market claims to be a short sale specialist or short sale certified but still I see over and over every day these so called experts handle these transactions completely wrong. The same thing happened a year ago with foreclosure properties and agents that were telling asset management companies how much experience they had and how great they were at taking care of their properties. What we saw was a huge number of properties with grass 2 feet high, mold growth due to utilities that were never turned on, homes filled with trash, properties grossly under valued by agents, and agents who got so lazy and comfortable with their business that they couldn't even take a phone call from another agent and insisted all communication be through email. Now with short sales we see many of the same problems from these so called experts. Agents who under value a property, have sellers negotiate numerous contracts even when ratified, submit evry single offer received to the buyers lender even though they should only be submitting the one that was accepted, not obtaining all the documents needed by the buyers lender which in turn either causes delay or creates the deal falling out and a homeowner ending up in foreclosure, etc.
How do we sort out the so called experts from real experts? There must be a way to sift through these agents who are ultimatly hurting our markets, business, and reputations. Our office tries to keep agents from doing foreclosure business unless they are educated on the process, and will not allow agents to call themselves short sale experts or certified unless they truely know what they are doing. Our corporate slogan is "The Right Agent Makes All The Difference In The World" and the one thing the market has taught us in the past 4 years is how true our slogan really is.
The following article regarding the state of the local real estate market was published in The Free Lance Star on 06/11/09 and indicates that the market may actually be showing some signs of life. It has been a long and challenging 3 years in the local real estate market so let's hope the improving trend continues!
Date published: 6/11/2009
BY BILL FREEHLING
The Fredericksburg-area housing market showed strong signs of improvement in May, according to data released yesterday by Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc.
There were 412 homes sold in the Fredericksburg area in May through the Multiple Listing Service. That's the most since June 2007 and a 30 percent improvement from May 2008.
The 2,525 homes listed on the market in the Fredericksburg area as of yesterday's data is the lowest total since February 2006. The area includes the city and Spotsylvania, Stafford, Caroline and King George counties.
At last month's sales pace, there was a 6.1-month supply of homes on the market. That's close to what housing experts consider the sign of a healthy balance between supply and demand. It's the lowest ratio since December 2005. By way of contrast, there was a 20.6-month supply of homes in January 2008.
Area Realtors are reporting incidents of multiple contracts being written on homes within days of the listing. That's the kind of activity that occurred during the housing boom of a few years ago.
The significant difference between now and then is the prices of the houses being sold. The median sales price in May for the area was $210,000, a 22 percent decline from last May's median.
The figure is about a third of the springtime prices from 2005 and 2006. But it's also the first time that median prices have risen above $200,000 since January.
Many warn that more foreclosures will hit the market over the next couple of years, adding to the inventory. According to RealtyTrac data being released today, all of the following localities are among Virginia's top 20 for foreclosure rates in May: Spotsylvania, Stafford, Caroline, Orange, Fauquier, Culpeper, Fredericksburg and King George. Topping the list are Manassas, Prince William and Fairfax.
It's also possible that more people who have been renting their homes or waiting out the downturn may decide to list if conditions continue to improve. And May is always a strong month for housing sales.
Nonetheless, reduced prices, lower mortgage rates and tax incentives for first-time buyers appear to be drawing people into the market. A sharp decline in building permits is helping to keep the inventory low.
Homes that sold through the MLS last month spent an average of 105 days on the market, which is the lowest total since November 2006. The average sales price was a 10 percent discount to the list price, a smaller discount than in recent months.
Distressed sales--short sales or foreclosures--made up 43.9 percent of the total sales last month in the area. That's down from 48.5 percent in April and 56.3 percent in March.
Though government-backed loans continue to make up a majority of home financing types (54.4 percent in May), conventional loans showed a bit of a comeback. About a quarter of area home sales were financed with conventional loans last month.
Cash deals comprised 14 percent of MLS home sales last month. Nearly half of the 12 sales in Fredericksburg city last month were cash deals, a possible sign of investor activity.
As a true skeptic I really did not buy into the social networking thing too much but at the suggestion of one of my agents I decided I would give it a try. Much to my surprise I have found that not only do I like sites such as Facebook and Twitter but today I actually received a referral from another broker out of my area as a direct result of Facebook. I have come to enjoy the networking sites to keep up with distant friends and peers, and have found it a great way to connect and re-connect. Getting actual business is just a bonus! I am sold and plan to incorporate it's use more and more into my business. The best part is I don't even need to have a lot of technical skills to use these great tools!
Modern technology... the internet, social websites, blogs, it's all so amazing. Just 20 years ago a PC was still in it's baby stages and now it is a dinosour. Today I learned some new social networking tools. I am now on Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, and of course write the occasional blog on Activerain. We now have these small net computers that are half the size of a laptop (which I already think is small), texting is a big craze (although it is still one technology that I can't seem to adjust to), Youtube allows us to post videos of everything you can think of for the whole world to see, Facebook and Myspace allow us to share everything we are doing every second of the day, Instant messaging allows us to send messages to friends and family in a split second and so on. I don't consider myself an old person by any means but I am in complete amazement how much technology has evolved just since the mid-80's. I think it's great and it makes our life much simpler but I am having a tough time keeping up with it all...
Broker Dan Lesher was inducted in Realty World International's Hall of Fame at the company's annual convention in Las Vegas recently. The Fredericksburg, VA office, which opened in 2007, also was named Office of the Year, beating out more than 1,000 offices worldwide, as well as receiving the Platinum Cup award for highest number of closed units for 2008.
Also honored with the Platinum Award at the convention were local agents Stephanie Crist, Ron Chronister, Joby Cunningham, Sean Dankers, Kay Dennison, Juli Hawkins, Butch Irby, Thom Jones, Jason Krause, Linda Bruno, Jeremy McCommons, Christy Poole, Jorge Saliceti and Twila Tuxbury
Another failed policy is brewing. I received a letter from my mortgage lender telling me to call within 15 days to do a loan modification on my Alt A mortgage loan. Knowing that my payments are current and my income has not changed I went ahead and made the call. The representative said that they wanted to modify my loan by reducing my principal and/or my interest rate but I needed a hardship in order to qualify. After going over my history he informed me that I did not qualify but they really wanted to do a modification and if I thought I would have any kind of hardship even coming up such as a reduction in hours or pay or divorce, anything... they could modify the loan. Basically he was trying to talk me into coming up with some sort of hardship so they could rework my loan.
If Obama's bailout plan is going to encourage lenders to solicit people who are current on their loans and then encourage them to make up a hardship to modify a perfectly good loan, then we are headed for even more trouble. It is just a disgrace to think we have mortgaged our grandchildrens futures with this mortgage bailout and reward people for not paying their bills, now we are encouraging the people that are paying, to stop. When will this fiasco end???
Gorgeous waterfront property on acreage with lots of recent upgrades including brand new seawall, new trex built deck, new floating dock, boathouse with lift, in-ground pool, hot tub, workshop, whole house generator, and more, more, more! This wonderful home was built for entertaining and the views are to die for! Many extras included, call for additional details!
Recently renovated and shows wonderfully. Newer siding, windows, roof, kitchen cabinetry and appliances, beautifully refinished hardwood throughout main level, all new interior paint, finished lower level with full bath would make great in-law/teen suite. Fenced rear yard with inviting paver patio and more. This one is a real charmer!!
A true champion is what our racer Dylan Poole is driving his number 2 Realty World Select cart throughout the state of Virginia! Dylan has been racing for several years now and at 9 years old has won numerous races. Realty World Select is proud to sponsor such a great kid and proud of the effort Dylan puts into each and every race! Thanks Dylan, you are a true champion!!
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